Tag: Pleco

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cuò

cuò ({[is] alternating; staggered} [→ [[is] wrong; mistaken; incorrect; erroneous | missed | grinding; rubbing | moving to the side | mistake; error; blunder [→ [fault]]]] | {[is] interlocked and jagged} [→ [intricate]] 错 錯) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Notes: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”; tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”. 📖 📄 📘 icons mean 📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and 📘 Reveal None re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

One of the publications that is now recommended to be used on Bible studies is the Yǒngyuǎn Xiǎngshòu Měihǎo de Shēngmìng—Hùdòng Shì Shèngjīng Kèchéng ((Yǒng·yuǎn Eternally · {Far (in Time)} 永远 永遠) (Xiǎng·shòu Enjoy · Receive 享受) (Měi·hǎo Beautiful · Good 美好) (de ’s 的) (Shēngmìng Life 生命)—(Hù·dòng {Each Other} · Moving → [Interactive] 互动 互動) (Shì (Type 式) (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) (Kè·chéng Lessons · Procedure → [Course] 课程 課程) → [Enjoy Life Forever!—An Interactive Bible Course (lff)]) (Enjoy Life Forever! (lff)) book. This week’s MEotW, “cuò ({[is] alternating; staggered} [→ [[is] wrong; mistaken; incorrect; erroneous | missed | grinding; rubbing | moving to the side | mistake; error; blunder [→ [fault]]]] | {[is] interlocked and jagged} [→ [intricate]] 错 錯)”, occurs at about the 18 second mark of the video for lesson 08, point 6 of this book:

📖 📄 📘 Wǒ (I 我) zǒng (always 总 總/縂) juéde (jué·de {to wake to → [to feel]} · got → [got to feel] 觉得 覺得), fāshēng (fā·shēng {issued forth} · {came to life} → [happened] 发生 發生) zài (on 在) wǒ (me 我) shēnshang (shēn·shang {body → [self]} · upon 身上) de (’s 的) shì (things 事) dōu (all 都) shì (were 是) wǒ de ((wǒ me 我) (de ’s 的) → [my]) cuò ({being staggered} → [error] → [fault] 错 錯).

Many undoubtedly already know this word to mean “wrong” or “mistaken”. However, examination of the various meanings provided for it in various dictionaries, perhaps with an app like Pleco that allows one to quickly check multiple dictionaries, seems to reveal that there is an extra layer of meaning underneath the meaning of “wrong” or “mistaken” that many at first think of for “cuò ({[is] alternating; staggered} [→ [[is] wrong; mistaken; incorrect; erroneous | missed | grinding; rubbing | moving to the side | mistake; error; blunder [→ [fault]]]] | {[is] interlocked and jagged} [→ [intricate]] 错 錯)”. This more basic meaning seems to be that of “alternating”, or “staggered”—basically, not lining up.

As I have continued to research into the meanings of Mandarin expressions as part of my work on this blog, my work on Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material, and just as part of my overall Mandarin language-learning journey, I have come across many such expressions that seem to have turned out to have extra layers of meaning underneath the ones I was at first familiar with.

Digging Deeper

The historical roots of Mandarin Chinese stretch far back in time. As the Wikipedia article on Old Mandarin summarizes:

Old Mandarin or Early Mandarin was the speech of northern China during the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty and the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (12th to 14th centuries).

So, it’s not surprising that there may be etymological layers of meaning underneath the meanings of Mandarin expressions that we are familiar with today. It’s much like how occasionally physical things from the past get discovered in places where people lived and did things in the past, like how so many artifacts have been discovered in places like Egypt or the lands that are now where ancient Mesopotamia used to be, or like how workers excavating the site of the current World Trade Centre building complex came across the remains of a wooden ship.

An Old Chinese Alphabet!

Interestingly, the above-mentioned Wikipedia article on Old Mandarin mentions an alphabet:

The phonology of Old Mandarin has been inferred from the ‘Phags-pa script, an alphabet created in 1269 for several languages of the Mongol empire, including Chinese…

The Wikipedia article on the ʼPhags-pa script provides some further summarized information:

The Phagspa script or ʼPhags-pa script[source] is an alphabet designed by the Tibetan monk and State Preceptor (later Imperial Preceptor) Drogön Chögyal Phagpa for Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan dynasty, as a unified script for the written languages within the Yuan. The actual use of this script was limited to about a hundred years during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty, and it fell out of use with the advent of the Ming dynasty.[source][source]

It was used to write and transcribe varieties of Chinese, the Tibetic languages, Mongolian, the Uyghur language, Sanskrit, probably Persian,[source][source][source][source] and other neighboring languages[citation needed] during the Yuan era.

A manuscript copy of an imperial edict of the Yuan dynasty in ʼPhags-pa script
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A manuscript copy of an imperial edict of the Yuan dynasty in ʼPhags-pa script

An example of the Chinese poem “Hundred Family Surnames” written in Chinese characters and in ʼPhags-pa script
Creative Commons Public Domain logo
An example of the Chinese poem “Hundred Family Surnames” written in Chinese characters and in ʼPhags-pa script

So, despite the claims of some Chinese traditionalists that the Chinese languages can only be written using Chinese characters, Chinese languages, including an old form of Mandarin, have been written with an alphabet before, one that was created for Kublai Khan himself! (Interestingly, Kublai Khan was the ruler of China when Marco Polo visited there. So, this famous Italian may have been there when Chinese languages were written using an alphabet.) Méi ({(there) is not having} 没 沒) cuò ({being staggered} → [mistake] 错 錯), there is historical precedent for the idea that a Chinese language like Modern Standard Mandarin can be written with an alphabetical writing system like Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音).

For convenience:

The direct link for the current generation Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Enjoy Life Forever! book is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Enjoy Life Forever! book is:

More Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web material based on the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book will be made available in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource as time allows.

Categories
Culture Language Learning Science

duōyú

duōyú (duō·yú {(too) much/many} · surplus; excess → [unnecessary; surplus; superfluous; uncalled-for; redundant | excessive] 多余 多餘) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Following on from last week’s MEotW post that discussed unnecessary ceremony, this week’s MEotW is “duōyú (duō·yú {(too) much/many} · surplus; excess → [unnecessary; surplus; superfluous; uncalled-for; redundant | excessive] 多余 多餘)”, which means “unnecessary; surplus; superfluous; uncalled-for; redundant”, or “excessive”.

Here are the usage examples for this expression provided by the Pleco app’s built-in dictionary:

📖 📄 📘 Shāndiào (Shān·diào delete · {to be dropped → [away]} 删掉 刪掉) duōyú (duō·yú {(too) many} · excess → [superfluous] 多余 多餘) de (’ 的) cíyǔ (cí·yǔ words · expressions 词语 詞語)

cut out superfluous words and phrases

📖 📄 📘 Zài (in 在) jíshì (jí·shì {gathered (things) → [country market]} · market → [country market] 集市) shang (upon 上) chūshòu (chū·shòu {put out} · {to sell} 出售) duōyú (duō·yú {(too) many} · surplus → [surplus] 多余 多餘) de (’s 的) nóng (farming 农 農) chǎnpǐn (chǎn·pǐn {given birth to → [produced]} · products 产品 產品)

sell surplus farm products in the market

📖 📄 📘 Shìshí (Shì·shí matters · {being solid} → [facts] 事实 事實) zhèngmíng (zhèng·míng proved · {to be clear} 证明 證明) wǒmen de ((wǒ·men us · [pl] 我们 我們) (de ’s 的) → [our]) dānxīn (dān·xīn {carryings on a shoulder pole → [bearings of (heavy)]} · hearts → [worryings] 担/耽心 擔/耽心) shì (were 是) duōyú (duō·yú {(too) many} · excess → [uncalled-for] 多余 多餘) de (’s 的).

Facts proved that our worries were uncalled-for.

Speaking of “unnecessary”…

Are Chinese Characters Necessary?

This question may be downright heretical to Chinese culture purists, who would say things like “Of course characters are necessary!” and “Chinese culture without the characters would be inconceivable, just inconceivable! Yes, that would be totally and utterly inconceivable!”

If one’s goal is to fit in with the current Chinese world, especially if one is living in a place where the characters are used in everyday life, government services, etc., then of course one will need to know at least some characters, eventually. But, does that mean that Chinese characters should be the primary focus of Mandarin field language learners from day one?

Both modern linguistics (language science) and God’s Word the Bible itself testify against this. A basic principle of modern linguistics is that speech is primary, not writing, and at 1 Corinthians 14:8–11, the Bible emphasizes the primary importance of understandable speech, not even mentioning writing when it does so:

8 For if the trumpet sounds an indistinct call, who will get ready for battle? 9 In the same way, unless you with the tongue use speech that is easily understood, how will anyone know what is being said? You will, in fact, be speaking into the air. 10 It may be that there are many kinds of speech in the world, and yet no kind is without meaning. 11 For if I do not understand the sense of the speech, I will be a foreigner to the one speaking, and the one speaking will be a foreigner to me.

So, while the characters seem necessary from the point of view of traditional worldly Chinese culture that’s intent on glorifying and perpetuating itself, someone whose primary goals in learning Mandarin are to praise Jehovah and to reach the hearts of Mandarin-speakers with the good news of the Kingdom should really primarily focus on understanding Mandarin speech and speaking Mandarin understandably, from the very beginning:

Your first linguistic goal should be to “utter speech easily understood.” [emphasis added] (1 Corinthians 14:8-11) Though people may be tolerant, mistakes or a heavy accent may distract them from listening to your message. Giving attention to proper pronunciation and grammar right from the start will prevent you from forming bad habits that are hard to break.
—“Serving With a Foreign-Language Congregation”, in the March 15, 2006 Watchtower.

A Simple, Elegant, Effective Alternative

The above quote also appears in the article “SPEECH is Top Priority, Not Characters”, which contains other information as well showing why it is that characters and their visual extravagances and traditional complexities are often duōyú (duō·yú {(too) much} · excess → [excessive] 多余 多餘) for Mandarin field language learners. Here is an excerpt:

Publishers need to learn to understand Mandarin speech to benefit spiritually from Mandarin meetings, because the talks, comments, etc. at such meetings are made of Mandarin speech, not characters. In fact, focusing on characters makes this problem worse because it makes learning Mandarin speech harder and slower. At the very least, it distracts from learning Mandarin speech.

In contrast, the simple, elegant Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) writing system handily does the job of representing Mandarin speech in written form without the unnecessary complexities and ceremonial baggage of the characters. When you do need to use a writing system for Mandarin, then, use Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) when you can, and just use characters when you have to. Seriously, doing so is not inconceivable!

Categories
Culture Current Events History

zhōunián

zhōunián (zhōu·nián {circle → [whole; cycle] of} · year → [anniversary] 周年 周/週年) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Notes: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”; tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”. 📖 📄 📘 icons mean 📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and 📘 Reveal None re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

February 24, 2023, a few days before the date of this post, was the one year anniversary of Russia’s sending of significant military forces into Ukraine, resulting in the largest scale open warfare in Europe since World War II. So, as of this writing jw.org is featuring the article “Ukraine War Enters Second Year—What Hope Does the Bible Offer?”, and this week’s MEotW is “zhōunián (zhōu·nián {circle → [whole; cycle] of} · year → [anniversary] 周年 周/週年)”, the Mandarin word used in the Mandarin version of that article to translate the sense of “anniversary”.

Circles

“Zhōunián (Zhōu·nián {circle → [whole; cycle] of} · year → [anniversary] 周年 周/週年)” literally means “circle (or whole; cycle) of a year”, and can be thought of as a year having gone full circle. Another use of the “zhōu (circumference; circle; ring; periphery [→ [whole; cycle] [→ [week]]] | {to circle; to make a circuit} 周 周/週)” in “zhōunián (zhōu·nián {circle → [whole; cycle] of} · year → [anniversary] 周年 周/週年)”, that also involves circles/cycles and time, is to mean “week”. Extending from that, “Zhōu’èr (Zhōu’·èr {Circle → [Cycle] → [Week(day)]} · Two → [Tuesday] 周二 周/週二)” means “Week(day) Two”, or “Tuesday”.

Note, though, that in this pattern, “Sunday” is not “Zhōuqī (Zhōu·qī {Circle → [Week(day)]} · Seven → [not used to mean “Sunday”] 周七 周/週七)”, but rather, “Zhōurì (Zhōu·rì {Circle → [Cycle] → [Week]} · {Sun → [Day]} → [Sunday] 周日 周/週日)”. Note also that regarding “Zhōurì (Zhōu·rì {Circle → [Cycle] → [Week]} · {Sun → [Day]} → [Sunday | weekday] 周日 周/週日)”, the excellent resource Referenced Theo. Expressions (RTE) says:

weekday; Sunday; Apparently 周日 can mean either “weekday” or “Sunday”; it was used in w07 7/1 p.17 to mean “Sunday” (周六和周日 “Saturday and Sunday”; the Traditional version of wtl07 uses the variant 週 for 周) but in w95 7/15 p.29 and w93 11/1 p.31 it was used to translate “weekday” (i.e. non-Sabbath day in Israel), and g02 4/8 p.7 (5/8 in zh) uses 在周日 to translate “during the workweek”.

In addition to “Zhōurì (Zhōu·rì {Circle → [Cycle] → [Week]} · {Sun → [Day]} → [Sunday] 周日 周/週日)”, Mandarin dictionaries also list several other ways to say “Sunday”, some of which originated from Catholicism.

Not Regular Joes

The “zhōu (circumference; circle; ring; periphery [→ [whole; cycle] [→ [week]]] | {to circle; to make a circuit} 周 周/週)” in “zhōunián (zhōu·nián {circle → [whole; cycle] of} · year → [anniversary] 周年 周/週年)” is also used as a surname. For example, for hundreds of years, China was ruled by the Zhōu ({Circumference; Circle (surname)} 周 周/週) dynasty.

A famous Zhōu ({Circumference; Circle (surname)} 周 周/週) of more recent times was Zhōu Ēnlái ((Zhōu {Circumference; Circle (surname)} 周 周/週) (Ēn·lái Kindness · Comes 恩来 恩來) (the first Premier of the People’s Republic of China)) (Wikipedia article), the first Premier of the People’s Republic of China, who served from October 1, 1949 until his death on January 8, 1976. An English translation of an interesting speech he gave in 1958 regarding some of the tasks that the PRC government faced relating to reforming the written language—such as simplification of the characters, popularization of pǔtōnghuà (pǔ·tōng·huà common; universal · {through(out) → [common]} · speech → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in China)] 普通话 普通話), and the creation and implementation of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)—can be found here, on the Pīnyīn.info website.

Usage Examples

In the above-mentioned jw.org Mandarin article, “zhōunián (zhōu·nián {circle → [whole; cycle] of} · year → [anniversary] 周年 周/週年)” is used as follows:

📖 📄 📘 2023 Nián (Year 年 年/秊) 2 Yuè (Moon → [Month] 月) 24 Rì (Sun → [Day] 日) Xīngqīwǔ (Xīng·qī·wǔ {Star · {Period of Time} → [Week (Day)]} · Five → [Friday] 星期五) shì (is 是) yí (one 一) ge ([mw] 个 個/个) cǎndàn (cǎn·dàn tragic · tasteless → [dismal] 惨淡 慘淡/澹) de (’s 的) rìzi (rì·zi {sun → [day]} · [suf for nouns] 日子), biāozhìzhe (biāo·zhì·zhe {marking (with)} · mark (that) · being → [marking that] 标志着 標志/誌/識着/著) Wūkèlán (Ukraine 乌克兰 烏克蘭) zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war] 战争 戰爭) mǎn ({had filled} 满 滿) yì (one 一) zhōunián (zhōu·nián {circle → [cycle] of} · year → [anniversary] 周年 周/週年).

The Pleco app’s built-in dictionary provides these usage examples:

wǔshí zhōunián jìniàn ((wǔ·shí five · tens → [fifty] 五十) (zhōu·nián {circle → [cycle] of} · year → [anniversary] 周年 周/週年) (jì·niàn remembering · {thinking of} → [commemoration] 记/纪念 記/紀念) → [golden jubilee])

yìbǎi zhōunián ((yì·bǎi one · hundred 一百) (zhōu·nián {circle → [cycle] of} · year → [anniversary] 周年 周/週年) → [centenary])

Will There Be Another Anniversary?

For now, it seems uncertain how much longer Russia and Ukraine will continue to battle for. While many experts, including some Western experts, initially expected Russia might succeed in its initial plan to topple the Ukraine government in a few days, Ukraine has succeeded in holding out, and, with much Western support, has even conducted some successful counteroffensives in the last year. Russia continues to have significant combat power, however, and seems intent on continuing to pursue its goals in this war. Recently, the director of the CIA said the USA believes that China is considering providing lethal aid to Russia, perhaps in the forms of drones and ammunition. Meanwhile, Ukraine remains intent on completely driving out the Russian invaders, and many nations, including many Western nations, continue to provide it with ever more significant military support, now including advanced Western main battle tanks.

Regardless of how long this war may drag on, may we keep our brothers and sisters in the affected areas in our prayers to Jehovah, the only true God and the “God of all comfort”—John 17:3, 2 Corinthians 1:3.