Tag: Ukraine War

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xīwàng

xīwàng (xī·wàng hoping · {gazing (into the distance [at]) → [hoping; expecting]} [→ [hope; wishing]] 希望) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

On February 24, 2022, Russia sent significant military forces into Ukraine, resulting in the largest scale open warfare in Europe since World War II. Knowing certain Mandarin expressions will help us in the Mandarin field as we hear about and talk about Ukraine in the time ahead.

Two articles about this situation that have been featured on jw.org are “Russia Invades Ukraine” and “Refugee Crisis​—Millions Flee Ukraine”. In the Mandarin versions of those articles, “xīwàng (xī·wàng hoping · {gazing (into the distance [at]) → [hoping; expecting]} [→ [hope; wishing]] 希望)”, this week’s MEotW, is used to correspond with the English word “hope”.

Hopeful Examples

Here are some examples of how “xīwàng (xī·wàng hoping · {gazing (into the distance [at]) → [hoping; expecting]} [→ [hope; wishing]] 希望)” is used in the above-mentioned articles:

English:

Why can you be hopeful about the future?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Wèishénme (Wèi·shén·me for · what · [suf] → [why] 为什么 為什/甚麼) nǐ (you 你) kěyǐ (kě·yǐ can · [suf] 可以) duì (towards 对 對) wèilái (wèi·lái {(what) is not yet} · come → [the future] 未来 未來) chōngmǎn (chōng·mǎn {be filled} · {full with} 充满 充滿) xīwàng (xī·wàng hoping · {gazing (into the distance) → [hoping]} → [hope] 希望)?

English:

Where can refugees turn for hope?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Nànmín (Nàn·mín calamity · {persons of a certain occupation} → [refugees] 难民 難民) de (’ 的) zhēnzhèng (zhēn·zhèng true · proper 真正) xīwàng (xī·wàng hoping · {gazing (into the distance) → [hoping]} → [hope] 希望)

English:

Besides giving refugees a sure hope for the future, the Bible can help with the challenges that they face now.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) búdàn (bú·dàn not · only 不但) gěi (gives 给 給) tāmen (tā·men him/her · [pl] → [them] 他们 他們) yí (one 一) ge ([mw] 个 個/个) wěnquè (wěn·què {firm → [sure]} · {real → [sure]} 稳确 穩確) de (’s 的) xīwàng (xī·wàng hoping · {gazing (into the distance) → [hoping]} → [hope] 希望), hái (also 还 還) bāngzhù (helps 帮助 幫助) tāmen (tā·men him/her · [pl] → [them] 他们 他們) miànduì (miàn·duì faces · {to be directed at} → [to face] 面对 面對) yǎnqián (yǎn·qián eyes · before → [now] 眼前) de (’s 的) nántí (nán·tí difficult · topics → [problems] 难题 難題).

Hoping and Wishing

Besides being used to correspond with “hope”, “xīwàng (xī·wàng hoping · {gazing (into the distance [at]) → [hoping; expecting]} [→ [hope; wishing]] 希望)” is also used in recent official material to correspond to “want” or “wish”. For instance, lesson 04 point 1 of the Enjoy Life Forever! book contains this example:

English:

Jehovah wants us to know his name.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Yēhéhuá (Jehovah 耶和华 耶和華) xīwàng (xī·wàng {hopes for} · {gazes (into the distance) for → [hopes for]} → [wishes for] 希望) wǒmen (wǒ·men us · [pl] 我们 我們) zhīdào (zhī·dào {to know} · {(the) way (of)} → [to know] 知道) tā de ((tā him 他) (de ’s 的) → [his]) míngzi (míng·zi name · word → [name] 名字).

Gazing into the Distance

One may note from the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus information for “xīwàng (xī·wàng hoping · {gazing (into the distance [at]) → [hoping; expecting]} [→ [hope; wishing]] 希望)” that the morpheme “wàng ({gaze into the distance [→ [hope; expect; look forward]]}; {look over}; observe 望 望/朢)” that’s used in it literally means “gaze into the distance”. Thus, it should come as no surprise that it’s also the “wàng ({gaze into the distance [→ [hope; expect; look forward]]}; {look over}; observe 望 望/朢)” used in “Shǒuwàngtái (Shǒu·wàng·tái {Guarding → [Keeping Watch]} · {Gazing into the Distance} · Platform → [The Watchtower] 守望台 守望臺/台)”.

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Current Events

zhèngfǔ

zhèngfǔ (zhèng·fǔ political · {seat of government} → [government] 政府) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

On February 24, 2022, Russia sent significant military forces into Ukraine, resulting in the largest scale open warfare in Europe since World War II. Knowing certain Mandarin expressions will help us in the Mandarin field as we hear about and talk about Ukraine in the time ahead.

The Mandarin versions of the articles “Russia Invades Ukraine” and “Refugee Crisis​—Millions Flee Ukraine”, both recently featured on the home page of jw.org, use the expression “zhèngfǔ (zhèng·fǔ political · {seat of government} → [government] 政府)”, this week’s MEotW. This expression corresponds with the English word “government”, and thus it is a good word to know for discussions with people in the Mandarin field about how human governments have failed to end wars and other problems, and about how God’s Kingdom government will succeed where human governments have failed.

Interestingly, the first morpheme in “zhèngfǔ (zhèng·fǔ political · {seat of government} → [government] 政府)” is also the first morpheme in zhèngzhì (zhèng·zhì {politics | political} · governing [→ [politics | political]] 政治), which corresponds to “politics” or “political” in English.

Usage Examples

The Mandarin versions of the above-mentioned articles contain excellent examples of how we can use “zhèngfǔ (zhèng·fǔ political · {seat of government} → [government] 政府)” in the Mandarin field:

English:

[God’s] Kingdom is the heavenly government that will accomplish God’s will for the earth, and God’s will includes world peace.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 [Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) de (’s 的)] Wángguó (Wáng·guó King’s · Nation → [Kingdom] 王国 王國) shì (is 是) yí (one 一) ge ([mw] 个 個/个) tiānshang (tiān·shang heaven · upon 天上) de (’s 的) zhèngfǔ (zhèng·fǔ political · {seat of government} → [government] 政府), tā (it 它) huì (will 会 會) shíxiàn (shí·xiàn solidly · {make appear} → [make come true] 实现 實現) Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) duì (towards 对 對) rénlèi (rén·lèi human·kind 人类 人類) de (’s 的) chéngnuò (chéng·nuò {bearings of} · promising → [promises] 承诺 承諾), bāokuò (bāo·kuò wrapping · {drawing together} → [including] 包括) wèi (for 为 為/爲) shìjiè (shì·jiè {generation → [world]} · extent → [world] 世界) dàilái (dài·lái {to bring} · {to come} 带来 帶來) hépíng (peace (nwtsty-CHS Appx. A2 says this term mainly refers to the absence of war or conflict) 和平).

English:

Human governments worldwide have failed the human family.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Zhèngfǔ (Zhèng·fǔ political · {seats of government} → [governments] 政府) méiyǒu (méi·yǒu not · {have had} 没有 沒有) bànfǎ (bàn·fǎ handling · ways 办法 辦法) mǎnzú (mǎn·zú {to fill} · {to be sufficient} → [to satisfy] 满足 滿足) rénmín (rén·mín {(the) people} 人民) de (’s 的) xūyào ({(things) needed} 需要),

English:

He promises to solve the problems of refugees by means of his heavenly government, called God’s Kingdom, which will replace human governments.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) chéngnuò (chéng·nuò bears · promising → [promises] 承诺 承諾), tā (he 他) huì (will 会 會) tōngguò (tōng·guò through · passing → [passing through] → [through] 通过 通過) yí (one 一) ge ([mw] 个 個/个) tiānshang (tiān·shang heaven · upon 天上) de (’s 的) zhèngfǔ (zhèng·fǔ political · {seat of government} → [government] 政府), yě (even 也) jiùshì (jiù·shì exactly · is 就是) Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) de (’s 的) Wángguó (Wáng·guó King’s · Nation → [Kingdom] 王国 王國) lái (come 来 來) qǔdài (qǔ·dài {take (and)} · replace 取代) rénjiān (rén·jiān humans · among 人间 人間) zhèngfǔ (zhèng·fǔ political · {seats of government} → [governments] 政府), zhèige (zhèi·ge this · [mw] 这个 這個) Wángguó (Wáng·guó King’s · Nation → [Kingdom] 王国 王國) huì (will 会 會) jiějué (jiě·jué {untie → [solve]} · decide → [solve] 解决 解決) nànmín (nàn·mín calamity · {persons of a certain occupation} → [refugees] 难民 難民) cháo (tide → [(social) upsurge] 潮) de (’s 的) wèntí (wèn·tí asking · problems → [problems] 问题 問題).

(Remember that since the above Mandarin examples are rendered with Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus technology, tapping/clicking on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression in the examples above will reveal a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus “flashcard” with additional information, such as English meanings, Chinese characters, etc. Tapping/clicking on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression will hide the “flashcard” again.)

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Current Events

bàofā

bàofā (bào·fā exploding; bursting · {sending out}; issuing → [erupting; bursting/breaking out | explosion; eruption] 爆发 爆發) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

On February 24, 2022, Russia sent significant military forces into Ukraine, resulting in the largest scale open warfare in Europe since World War II. Knowing certain Mandarin expressions will help us in the Mandarin field as we hear about and talk about Ukraine in the time ahead.

The Mandarin version of the article “Russia Invades Ukraine”, recently featured on the home page of jw.org, twice uses the expression “bàofā (bào·fā exploding; bursting · {sending out}; issuing → [erupting; bursting/breaking out | explosion; eruption] 爆发 爆發)”, this week’s MEotW. As can be seen from the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus information above, saying “zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war] 战争 戰爭) bàofā (bào·fā exploding · issuing → [erupting; breaking out] 爆发 爆發)” in Mandarin is like saying “war erupting/breaking out” in English.

A Verb That Can Be a Noun

While the morphemes making up “bàofā (bào·fā exploding; bursting · {sending out}; issuing → [erupting; bursting/breaking out | explosion; eruption] 爆发 爆發)” are literally verbs, “bàofā (bào·fā exploding; bursting · {sending out}; issuing → [erupting; bursting/breaking out | explosion; eruption] 爆发 爆發)” can also at times be used as a noun. For example, saying “zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war] 战争 戰爭) de (’s 的) bàofā (bào·fā exploding · issuing → [erupting/eruption; breaking out] 爆发 爆發)” in Mandarin is like saying “the eruption of war” in English.

Such 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.

Backwards and Forward

Another interesting thing to note is that in the article mentioned above, the first occurrence of “bàofā (bào·fā exploding; bursting · {sending out}; issuing → [erupting; bursting/breaking out | explosion; eruption] 爆发 爆發)” has it coming after the word “zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war; warfare] 战争 戰爭)” (“zǔzhǐ (zǔ·zhǐ {to prevent} · {to stop} 阻止) zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war] 战争 戰爭) bàofā (bào·fā exploding · issuing → [erupting] 爆发 爆發)”), but in the second occurrence, “bàofā (bào·fā exploding; bursting · {sending out}; issuing → [erupting; bursting/breaking out | explosion; eruption] 爆发 爆發)” comes before “zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war; warfare] 战争 戰爭)” (“rúguǒ (rú·guǒ if · {fruit → [if indeed]} 如果) bàofā (bào·fā explodes · issues → [erupts] 爆发 爆發) zhànzhēng (zhàn·zhēng war · contending → [war] 战争 戰爭)”). The first occurrence, with some context, is like saying “to prevent war (from) erupting” in English, while the second, with some context, is like saying “if erupts war” in English.

This reminds us that while word order is sometimes reversed in Mandarin compared to English, there is also a certain elasticity, or flexibility, in how words can be ordered in Mandarin, as indeed there also is in English. (While “if erupts war” isn’t quite idiomatic (natural to a native speaker) in English, I don’t think it’s actually wrong, word order-wise—I’m pretty sure constructs with similar word order can be found in English poetry or song lyrics, for example.)