Tag: Stative Verbs

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Current Events

gāowēn

gāowēn (gāo·wēn high · {being warm → [temperature]} 高温 高溫) ← 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.]

Currently, many around the world are being affected by high temperatures, which scientists say is part of a pattern of global warming caused by human activity. As of this writing, jw.org is featuring the article “Record-Breaking Temperatures Worldwide—What Does the Bible Say?”. The Mandarin version of this article uses the expression “pò (breaking 破) jìlù (records 记/纪录 記/紀錄) de (’ 的) gāowēn (gāo·wēn high · {(incidents of) being warm → [temperatures]} 高温 高溫)” to translate the English expression “record-breaking temperatures”. (When talking to people, mentioning that the temperatures being reported worldwide are “pò (breaking 破) jìlù (records 记/纪录 記/紀錄)” (record-breaking) will emphasize that these are noteworthy, atypical (unusual) temperatures.)

The morpheme “wēn ({[is] warm} [→ [temperature]] | {warm [up]} [→ [review; revise | recall; recollect; relive]] 温 溫)”, as used in “gāowēn (gāo·wēn high · {being warm → [temperature]} 高温 高溫)”, can be thought of as being short for “wēndù (wēn·dù {(of) being warm} · {degree of intensity} → [temperature] 温度 溫度)”, which is often used to translate “temperature”.

Stative Verbs

We can also note that in “gāowēn (gāo·wēn high · {being warm → [temperature]} 高温 高溫)”, “wēn ({[is] warm} [→ [temperature]] | {warm [up]} [→ [review; revise | recall; recollect; relive]] 温 溫)” has a literal meaning of “being warm”. Thus, it is here being a stative verb.

“Wēn ({[is] warm} [→ [temperature]] | {warm [up]} [→ [review; revise | recall; recollect; relive]] 温 溫)” is also a stative verb in past MEotW “wēnhé (wēn·hé {[is] warm} · {[is] gentle}; {[is] mild}; {[is] moderate} [→ [mildness]] 温和 溫和)”. The MEotW post for “wēnhé (wēn·hé {[is] warm} · {[is] gentle}; {[is] mild}; {[is] moderate} [→ [mildness]] 温和 溫和)” said the following about stative verbs:

The ABC Chinese-English Dictionary, edited by John DeFrancis and Victor H. Mair, among others, tells us the following about the entries in it that are marked as stative verbs:

S.V. (Stative Verb, Xíngróngcí 形容词).

These entries are frequently translated into English as adjectives, even though they actually behave in Chinese as verbs. That is, the sense of ‘to be’ is already incorporated into these verbs, e.g. Zhèige hěn hǎo ‘This is quite good.’ In fact, it is simply ungrammatical to place the verb shì, ‘to be’, directly in front of a stative verb.

Because stative verbs are actually verbs, they are directly negated by bù, e.g. bù hǎo ‘not good’, and can be further modified by adverbs of degree such as hěn ‘quite’, fēicháng ‘extremely’ and shífēn ‘very; utterly’. One common function of stative verbs is that they may serve as adverbs to other actions, e.g. mànmàn in mànmàn chī ‘Take your time (eating)’ and rènzhēn in rènzhēn de xiě ‘write carefully’.

Usage Examples

Here are a couple of examples of “gāowēn (gāo·wēn high · {being warm → [temperature]} 高温 高溫)” in use, taken from the above-mentioned jw.org article:

English:

[Recently,] record-breaking temperatures [have been] reported worldwide.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Zuìjìn (Zuì·jìn most · {being near → [being recent]} → [recently] 最近), shìjiè (shì·jiè {generation → [world]} · extent → [world] 世界) gèdì (gè·dì various · lands 各地) dōu (even 都) chūxiàn (chū·xiàn {have put out} · {appearings of} 出现 出現) pò (breaking 破) jìlù (records 记/纪录 記/紀錄) de (’ 的) gāowēn (gāo·wēn high · {(incidents of) being warm → [temperatures]} 高温 高溫).

English:

Rising global temperatures have led many to fear that mankind will ruin the earth.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Zài (in 在) shìjiè (shì·jiè {generation → [world]} · extent → [world] 世界) gèdì (gè·dì various · lands 各地) fāshēng (fā·shēng {issuing forth} · {coming to life} → [happening] 发生 發生) de (’s 的) gāowēn (gāo·wēn high · {(incidents of) being warm → [temperatures]} 高温 高溫) ràng ({have made} 让 讓) hěn (very 很) duō (many 多) rén (people 人) gǎndào (gǎn·dào feel · {arriving at} 感到) hàipà (hài·pà feeling · fearing → [fearing] 害怕), dānxīn (dān·xīn {carry on shoulder poles → [take on (heavy)]} · hearts → [worry] 担/耽心 擔/耽心) dìqiú (dì·qiú earth · globe 地球) huì (will 会 會) yīncǐ (yīn·cǐ {because of} · this 因此) bèi ([passive signifier] → [by] 被) rénlèi (rén·lèi man·kind 人类 人類) huǐmiè (huǐ·miè {be destroyed} · {be extinguished} 毁灭 毀滅).

Categories
Culture Theocratic

wēnhé

wēnhé (wēn·hé {[is] warm} · {[is] gentle}; {[is] mild}; {[is] moderate} [→ [mildness]] 温和 溫和) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

The eighth part of the fruitage of the spirit listed is mildness.— Jiālātàishū (Jiālātài·shū Galatia · Book → [Galatians] 加拉太书 加拉太書) 5:22, 23.

Galatians 5:22, 23 (WOL nwtsty-CHS+Pinyin)

The English word “mildness” is translated into Mandarin in the above scripture as “wēnhé (wēn·hé {being warm} · {being mild} → [mildness] 温和 溫和)”, this week’s MEotW.

Note that the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus information for “wēnhé (wēn·hé {being warm} · {being mild} → [mildness] 温和 溫和)” (← tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”), as used in the above context, shows that in the above context it literally means “being warm, being mild”, which in turn effectively means “mildness”. The Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus information renders the literal meaning this way because in this case “wēnhé (wēn·hé {being warm} · {being mild} → [mildness] 温和 溫和)” is a stative verb.

Stative Verbs

The ABC Chinese-English Dictionary, edited by John DeFrancis and Victor H. Mair, among others, tells us the following about the entries in it that are marked as stative verbs:

S.V. (Stative Verb, Xíngróngcí 形容词).

These entries are frequently translated into English as adjectives, even though they actually behave in Chinese as verbs. That is, the sense of ‘to be’ is already incorporated into these verbs, e.g. Zhèige hěn hǎo ‘This is quite good.’ In fact, it is simply ungrammatical to place the verb shì, ‘to be’, directly in front of a stative verb.

Because stative verbs are actually verbs, they are directly negated by bù, e.g. bù hǎo ‘not good’, and can be further modified by adverbs of degree such as hěn ‘quite’, fēicháng ‘extremely’ and shífēn ‘very; utterly’. One common function of stative verbs is that they may serve as adverbs to other actions, e.g. mànmàn in mànmàn chī ‘Take your time (eating)’ and rènzhēn in rènzhēn de xiě ‘write carefully’.

Sometimes a Verbal Noun

One might wonder, though, why “wēnhé (wēn·hé {being warm} · {being mild} → [mildness] 温和 溫和)” is used in the above scripture to translate “mildness”, a noun, if “wēnhé (wēn·hé {being warm} · {being mild} → [mildness] 温和 溫和)” is a stative verb there. This seems to be a case of “wēnhé (wēn·hé {being warm} · {being mild} → [mildness] 温和 溫和)” acting as a verbal noun, or gerundial noun. Verbal/gerundial nouns were discussed in the MEotW post on “jiàodǎo (jiào·dǎo teaching · {guiding [→ [instructing]]} 教导 教導)”:

One interesting thing to note about “jiàodǎo (jiào·dǎo teaching · {guiding [→ [instructing]]} 教导 教導)” (and about “jiàoxun (teaching → [reprimanding | knowledge gained from an error] 教训 教訓)”, for that matter) is that their component morphemes seem to basically be verbs. In certain contexts, however, they are used as nouns. An example of this being done in English is that “teach” and “teaching” are verbs (e.g. “Jesus was teaching the crowd.”), but in certain contexts, “teaching” is used as a noun (e.g. “The crowd was amazed at the teaching Jesus shared with them.”). When a word is used this way, it’s called a verbal noun, or a gerundial noun. Verbal nouns are quite common in Mandarin.

Multifaceted

“Wēnhé (Wēn·hé {[is] warm} · {[is] gentle}; {[is] mild}; {[is] moderate} [→ [mildness]] 温和 溫和)”, then, like many Mandarin words, is multifaceted. Sometimes it acts as an adjective, sometimes it’s a stative verb that seems like an adjective, and other times it functions as a noun. Here are examples of it being used in these different ways:

Used as an adjective:
📖 📄 📘 Tā (he 他) shì (is 是) ge ([mw] 个 個/个) hěn (very 很) wēnhé (wēn·hé warm · mild → [mild] 温和 溫和) de (’s 的) rén (person 人).

Used as a stative verb that seems like an adjective:
📖 📄 📘 Tā (he 他) hěn ({very much} 很) wēnhé (wēn·hé {is warm} · {is mild} → [is mild] 温和 溫和).

Used as a verbal noun:
📖 📄 📘 Tā (he 他) hěn ({very much} 很) yǒu (has 有) wēnhé (wēn·hé {being warm} · {being mild} → [mildness] 温和 溫和).

Categories
Culture Theocratic

réncí

réncí (rén·cí {[is] benevolent; kind; humane; compassionate; sensitive} · {[is] compassionate; kind; loving} [→ [[is] kind | kindness]] 仁慈) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

The fifth part of the fruitage of the spirit listed is kindness.— Jiālātàishū (Jiālātài·shū Galatia · Book → [Galatians] 加拉太书 加拉太書) 5:22, 23.

Galatians 5:22, 23 (WOL nwtsty-CHS)

The English word “kindness” is translated into Mandarin in the above scripture as “réncí ({being kind} → [kindness] 仁慈)”, this week’s MEotW.

Note that the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus information for “réncí ({being kind} → [kindness] 仁慈)” (← tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”), as used in the above context, shows that in the above context it literally means “being kind”, which in turn effectively means “kindness”. The Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus information renders the literal meaning this way because in this case “réncí ({being kind} → [kindness] 仁慈)” is a stative verb.

Stative Verbs

The ABC Chinese-English Dictionary, edited by John DeFrancis and Victor H. Mair, among others, tells us the following about the entries in it that are marked as stative verbs:

S.V. (Stative Verb, Xíngróngcí 形容词).

These entries are frequently translated into English as adjectives, even though they actually behave in Chinese as verbs. That is, the sense of ‘to be’ is already incorporated into these verbs, e.g. Zhèige hěn hǎo ‘This is quite good.’ In fact, it is simply ungrammatical to place the verb shì, ‘to be’, directly in front of a stative verb.

Because stative verbs are actually verbs, they are directly negated by bù, e.g. bù hǎo ‘not good’, and can be further modified by adverbs of degree such as hěn ‘quite’, fēicháng ‘extremely’ and shífēn ‘very; utterly’. One common function of stative verbs is that they may serve as adverbs to other actions, e.g. mànmàn in mànmàn chī ‘Take your time (eating)’ and rènzhēn in rènzhēn de xiě ‘write carefully’.

Sometimes a Verbal Noun

One might wonder, though, why “réncí ({being kind} → [kindness] 仁慈)” is used in the above scripture to translate “kindness”, a noun, if “réncí ({being kind} → [kindness] 仁慈)” is a stative verb there. This seems to be a case of “réncí ({being kind} → [kindness] 仁慈)” acting as a verbal noun, or gerundial noun. Verbal/gerundial nouns were discussed in the MEotW post on “jiàodǎo (jiào·dǎo teaching · {guiding [→ [instructing]]} 教导 教導)”:

One interesting thing to note about “jiàodǎo (jiào·dǎo teaching · {guiding [→ [instructing]]} 教导 教導)” (and about “jiàoxun (teaching → [reprimanding | knowledge gained from an error] 教训 教訓)”, for that matter) is that their component morphemes seem to basically be verbs. In certain contexts, however, they are used as nouns. An example of this being done in English is that “teach” and “teaching” are verbs (e.g. “Jesus was teaching the crowd.”), but in certain contexts, “teaching” is used as a noun (e.g. “The crowd was amazed at the teaching Jesus shared with them.”). When a word is used this way, it’s called a verbal noun, or a gerundial noun. Verbal nouns are quite common in Mandarin.

Multifaceted

“Réncí (Rén·cí {[is] benevolent; kind; humane; compassionate; sensitive} · {[is] compassionate; kind; loving} [→ [[is] kind | kindness]] 仁慈)”, then, like many Mandarin words, is multifaceted. Sometimes it acts as an adjective, sometimes it’s a stative verb that seems like an adjective, and other times it functions as a noun. Here are examples of it being used in these different ways:

Used as an adjective:
📖 📄 📘 Tā (he 他) shì (is 是) ge ([mw] 个 個/个) hěn (very 很) réncí (kind 仁慈) de (’s 的) rén (person 人).

Used as a stative verb that seems like an adjective:
📖 📄 📘 Tā (he 他) hěn ({very much} 很) réncí ({is kind} 仁慈).

Used as a verbal noun:
📖 📄 📘 Tā (he 他) hěn ({very much} 很) yǒu (has 有) réncí ({being kind} → [kindness] 仁慈).