Tag: Usage Examples

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kèchéng

kèchéng+ (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course; curriculum; (Bible) study] 课程 課程) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[This is an updated version of a post that was originally posted on September 5, 2022.]

[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 + Symbols re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

This month, September 2026, there is a worldwide campaign featuring the Enjoy Life Forever! brochure. Appropriately, as of this writing, jw.org is featuring the article “Guided Bible Study Course—Enjoy Life Forever!”. The Mandarin version of this article makes use of the expression “kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course; curriculum; (Bible) study] 课程 課程)”, perhaps preceded by “Shèngjīng+ (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經)”, to correspond with the English expressions “Bible study course”, “course”, and “Bible course”.

Interestingly, “[Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經)] yánjiū (yán·jiū {grinding → [studying]} · {studying carefully} → [study] 研究)”, an expression that has long been used in the past to mean “[Bible] study”, does not appear at all in the above-mentioned article.

Related Expressions

The “kè+ (subject; course; class | lesson 课 課)” in “kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course; curriculum; (Bible) study] 课程 課程)” may be familiar to those who have used the Mandarin versions of publications like the Good News brochure and the Enjoy Life Forever! brochure/book, since that is the Mandarin word used to correspond with the English word “lesson”. For example, “Lesson 10” is “Dì‐10 ((Dì [pref to form ordinal numerals] 第)‐(Shí Ten 10) → [10th]) Kè+ (Lesson 课 課)”.

Besides “kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course; curriculum; (Bible) study] 课程 課程)”, another word that “kè (subject; course; class | lesson 课 課)” appears in is “kèběn+ (kè·běn {course | lessons} · {root or stem → [mw for books, etc.]} → [textbook; coursebook] 课本 課本)”, which the above-mentioned article uses in reference to the Enjoy Life Forever! book that is now officially recommended for use on Bible studies. (Interestingly, the English version of the article does not use the word “textbook”, which is the main dictionary definition for “kèběn (kè·běn {course | lessons} · {root or stem → [mw for books, etc.]} → [textbook; coursebook] 课本 課本)”. It does, though, refer to the Enjoy Life Forever! book as an “interactive Bible course”. So, “coursebook” may be a better match for “kèběn (kè·běn {course | lessons} · {root or stem → [mw for books, etc.]} → [textbook; coursebook] 课本 課本)” in this case.)

As for the second morpheme in “kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course; curriculum; (Bible) study] 课程 課程)”, it is also used, perhaps unexpectedly, in “gōngchéng+ (gōng·chéng work · {journey → [procedure]} → [engineering | [engineering/work] project] 工程)” and in “gōngchéng‐shī+ ((gōng·chéng work · {journeys → [procedures]} → [engineering] 工程)‐(shī master → [skilled person; expert; specialist] 师 師) → [engineer])”.

Usage Examples

Here are a couple of examples of “kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course; curriculum; (Bible) study] 课程 課程)” in use, taken from the above-mentioned article:

English:

In this free interactive Bible course, you will get answers to such questions as:

  • How can I find happiness in life?
  • Will evil and suffering ever end?
  • Will I ever see my dead loved ones again?
  • Does God really care about me?
  • How can I pray and be heard by God?

Mandarin:

📖 📄 ➕ Nǐ (you 你) kěyǐ (kě·yǐ can · [suf] 可以) cóng (from 从 從) zhèige (zhèi·ge this · [mw] 这个 這個) miǎnfèi (miǎn·fèi exempting · {costing → [fee]} → [free of charge] 免费 免費) de (’s 的) hùdòng+ (hù·dòng {each other} · moving → [interactive] 互动 互動)‐shì (type 式) Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course] 课程 課程) dédào (dé·dào get · {arriving at} 得到) yǐxià (yǐ·xià at · below’s 以下) wèntí (wèn·tí asking · subjects → [questions] 问题 問題) de (’ 的) dá’àn (dá’·àn answering · {long, narrow tables or desks → [sets of information]} → [answers] 答案):

  • 📖 📄 ➕ Zěnyàng (Zěn·yàng (in) what · {form → [way]} → [how] 怎样 怎樣) cái ({only then} 才 才/纔) néng (can 能) guòshang (guò·shang {(I) pass} · {(to be) upon} 过上 過上) xìngfú+ (xìng·fú fortunate · {(having) blessings} → [happy] 幸福) de (’s 的) shēnghuó (shēng·huó life · living 生活)?
  • 📖 📄 ➕ Èshì (È·shì evil · things 恶事 惡事) hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) tòngkǔ (tòng·kǔ {being in pain} · {being bitter → [suffering]} 痛苦) huì (will 会 會) yǒu (have 有) zhōngzhǐ+ (zhōng·zhǐ ending · stopping 终止 終止) de (’s 的) yì (one 一) tiān (sky → [day] 天) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?
  • 📖 📄 ➕ Wǒ (I 我) huì (will 会 會) gēn (with 跟) qùshì+ (qù·shì {have gone from} · {generation → [world]} → [have passed away] 去世) de (’s 的) qīnyǒu (qīn·yǒu relatives · friends 亲友 親友) chóngjù+ (chóng·jù again · meet 重聚) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?
  • 📖 📄 ➕ Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) guānxīn+ (guān·xīn {does close → [does concern]} · heart (with) → [does care about] 关心 關心) wǒ (me 我) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?
  • 📖 📄 ➕ Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) huì (will 会 會) tīng (hear 听 聽/听) wǒ de ((wǒ me 我) (de ’s 的) → [my]) dǎogào+ (dǎo·gào prayers · {requestings | tellings} → [prayers] 祷告 禱告) ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)?

English:

You will get the entire course free, including the study guide Enjoy Life Forever! and a Bible if you need one.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 ➕ Zhěnggè (Zhěng·gè entire · [mw] 整个 整個) kèchéng (kè·chéng lessons · {journey → [procedure]} → [course] 课程 課程) hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) kèběn (kè·běn course · {root or stem → [mw for books, etc.]} → [coursebook] 课本 課本) Yǒngyuǎn (Yǒng·yuǎn Eternally · {Far (in Time)} 永远 永遠) Xiǎngshòu (Xiǎng·shòu Enjoy · Receive 享受) Měihǎo (Měi·hǎo Beautiful · Good 美好) de (’s 的) Shēngmìng (Life 生命) dōu (all → [both] 都) shì (are 是) miǎnfèi (miǎn·fèi exempting · {costing → [fee]} → [free of charge] 免费 免費) de ({’s (things)} 的). Nǐ ((if) you 你) xūyào (require 需要) de (’s 的) huà (word 话 話), wǒmen (wǒ·men we · [pl] 我们 我們) yě (also 也) kěyǐ (kě·yǐ can · [suf] 可以) miǎnfèi (miǎn·fèi exempting · {costing → [fee]} → [free of charge] 免费 免費) tígōng (tí·gōng {carry (hanging down from the hand) → [raise]} · provide 提供) yì (one 一) běn ({root or stem of a} → [mw for books, etc.] 本) Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) gěi ({to be given to} 给 給) nǐ (you 你).

For convenience:

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

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

Categories
Culture Language Learning Science Technology Theocratic

zhēnlǐ

zhēnlǐ+ (zhēn·lǐ true · reasoning; logic → [[the] truth] 真理) 👈🏼 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 + Symbols re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

I have long especially liked 1 Corinthians 13. It contains counsel on what really does and doesn’t matter in life, an extensive description and definition of the most important kind of love, and a sublime discussion about the need to become complete, mature, as a person. As these apply to life in general, so too do they apply to our lives as Mandarin field language learners.

As Mandarin field language learners, it can benefit us greatly to consider what we can learn from 1 Corinthians 13, and along the way, we can also consider some of the Mandarin expressions used in that chapter in the current version of the Mandarin New World Translation Bible (nwtsty).

What Do You Rejoice In?

This week’s MEotW, “zhēnlǐ (zhēn·lǐ true · reasoning; logic → [[the] truth] 真理)”, is used in verse 6 (WOL) of 1 Corinthians 13:

Screenshot of “_zhēnlǐ_” in 1 Co. 13:6 (nwtsty, CHS+_Pīnyīn_ WOL)

(Dark mode for the Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY (WOL) website, as shown in the above image, can be enabled in the Safari web browser by using the Noir Safari extension. Other web browsers may also have extensions with similar functionality.)

For comparison, here are the renderings of 1 Corinthians 13:6 in the current English and Mandarin versions of the New World Translation Bible:

English:

It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.

Mandarin (WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)+ 🔗):

📖 📄 ➕ bù (not 不) yīn ({because of} 因) búyì (bú·yì un·righteousness 不义 不義) ér (thus 而) huānxǐ+ (huān·xǐ {does be joyful} · {does be happy} 欢喜 歡喜), zhǐ (only 只 只/秖/衹/祇) yīn ({because of} 因) zhēnlǐ (zhēn·lǐ true · reasoning → [the truth] 真理) ér (thus 而) gāoxìng (gāo·xìng (is with) high · enthusiasm → [is glad] 高兴 高興).

The individual morphemes in “zhēnlǐ (zhēn·lǐ true · reasoning; logic → [[the] truth] 真理)” literally mean “true” and “reasoning; logic”. When these morphemes are put together in “zhēnlǐ (zhēn·lǐ true · reasoning; logic → [[the] truth] 真理)”, the resulting expression effectively means “truth”, or “the truth”.

Linguistic Untruths Fill the “Air”

This world ruled by Satan, “the father of the lie”, is full of linguistic idolatry and mythology (e.g., the myths discussed in the book The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy) surrounding Chinese characters, and it is full of misinformation and disinformation about the Chinese languages in general. (Ephesians 2:2; John 8:44) We Mandarin field language learners need to learn the truth about these things that are such huge factors in our Mandarin learning, and we should ‘rejoice with the truth’ about these things, similarly to how we rejoice over spiritual truth.

Yes, godly love doesn’t just know the truth, it rejoices with the truth, so it chooses the truth. Showing that he lacked godly love, the first man Adam knew the truth, but he loved Eve more, and so he chose to join Eve in rebellion against Jehovah. (1 Timothy 2:14) Also, as we have been reminded by the video series The Good News According to Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day had every reason and opportunity to know the truth, but consumed by pride, they loved their tradition and position and status more, and so they chose to bitterly oppose Jesus to the point of eventually brutally murdering him.

What Side Are You On?

At John 18:37, Jesus said:

For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is on the side of the truth listens to my voice.

In this blog and in other places, I have endeavoured to share the truths that I have learned about the Mandarin language and how to best learn it for use in the Mandarin field. If you as a Mandarin field language learner have come to know some of these truths, what are you going to do about it? Are you “on the side of the truth” regarding these matters? According to 1 Corinthians 13:6, if you are motivated by godly love, you will rejoice with the truth about these things, and you will naturally show your love by happily making use of these Mandarin language-learning truths to better share spiritual truths with Mandarin-speaking people you meet. And as Hebrews 6:10 says, “God is not unrighteous so as to forget your work and the love you showed for his name”.

Categories
Experiences Science Technology Theocratic

wēixíng “jīqì”

wēixíng+ (wēi·xíng tiny · {mould → [type]} → [tiny] 微型) “jīqì+ (jī·qì machine · device → [machine] 机器 機器)” 👈🏼 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 + Symbols re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

Not that long ago, the No. 3 2021 issue of Awake! magazine was featured in the Teaching Toolbox of the JW Library app. This week’s MEotW, “wēixíng+ (wēi·xíng tiny · {mould → [type]} → [tiny] 微型) ‘jīqì (jī·qì machine · device → [machine] 机器 機器)’ ”, occurs in the caption of the picture at the top of the article in that issue entitled “Shēngmìng+ (Life 生命) Gàosu (Tells 告诉 告訴) Wǒmen (Wǒ·men Us · [pl] 我们 我們) Shénme (Shén·me What · [suf] 什么 什/甚麼)?” (“What Life Tells Us”):

English:

The yeast cell is incredibly complex. It has a well-organized nucleus with DNA and microscopic machines that sort, transport, and modify molecules—all of which are vital for the life of the cell.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 ➕ Jiàomǔ+ (Jiào·mǔ yeast · mother → [yeast] 酵母)‐jūn (fungus 菌) de (’ 的) jiégòu+ (jié·gòu {tying → [forming]} · constructing → [structure] 结构 結構) fēicháng (fēi·cháng un·commonly → [extremely] 非常) fùzá (fù·zá {is turned around → [is complex]} · {is mixed} → [is complex] 复杂 複雜). Tā (it 它) yǒu (has 有) yí (one 一) ge ([mw] 个 個/个) bāohán (bāo·hán wraps · {keeps in the mouth} → [contains] 包含) DNA de (’s 的) xìbāo+ (xì·bāo tiny · womb → [cell] 细胞 細胞)‐hé+ ({pit (of a fruit)} → [nucleus] 核 核/覈), háiyǒu (hái·yǒu (there) also · {are having → [are]} 还有 還有) yìxiē (yì·xiē one · {indefinite number of} → [some] 一些) wēixíng+ (wēi·xíng tiny · {mould → [type]} → [tiny] 微型) “jīqì (jī·qì machine · devices → [machines] 机器 機器)”, zhèixiē (zhèi·xiē this · {indefinite number of} → [these] 这些 這些) “jīqì (jī·qì machine · devices → [machines] 机器 機器)” néng (can 能) jìnxíng (jìn·xíng advance · {walk → [carry out]} 进行 進行) fēnzǐ+ (fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard things} → [molecules] 分子) de (’ 的) fēnlèi (fēn·lèi {separating → [differentiating]} · types → [sorting] 分类 分類), yùnshū (transporting 运输 運輸), hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) zhuǎnhuà+ (zhuǎn·huà {to be turned → [to be changed]} · transforming → [transforming] 转化 轉化), ér (and 而) zhèixiē (zhèi·xiē this · {indefinite number of} → [these] 这些 這些) bùzhòu (bù·zhòu steps · {to be trotted} → [steps] 步骤 步驟) shì (are 是) wéichí (wéi·chí {to maintain} · {to hold → [to sustain]} → [to sustain] 维持 維持) xìbāo (xì·bāo tiny · womb’s → [cell’s] 细胞 細胞) shēngmìng (life 生命) bì (certainly 必)‐bùkě (bù·kě not · can → [cannot] 不可)‐shǎo ({be missing} 少) de ({’s (steps)} 的).

As can be seen from above, where the English article refers to the “microscopic machines” inside living cells, the Mandarin version uses this week’s MEotW “wēixíng+ (wēi·xíng tiny · {mould → [type]} → [tiny] 微型) ‘jīqì (jī·qì machine · devices → [machines] 机器 機器)’ ”. Digging down to the morphemes used in this expression, we find that they literally mean “tiny mould machine devices”.

Exquisite and Amazing Molecular Machines

Note also that the above quote mentions that these “microscopic machines” or “tiny mould machine devices” work on molecules inside cells. Thus another term that can be applied to them is the more technical term “molecular machines”. Long-time readers of this blog may recall that a while back, there was an MEotW post on “fēnzǐ jùhé‐tǐ ((fēn·zǐ {divided (off)} · {small and hard thing} → [molecular] 分子) (jù·hé assembled · {closed → [combined]} → [polymerized] 聚合)‐(tǐ body 体 體/体/躰) → [(protein) molecular machine])”, the expression used in the Mandarin version of another Awake! article to translate “molecular machine”.

Here are a couple of quotations from that MEotW post on the topic of these exquisite and amazing little machines inside our cells:

To give us an idea of what some molecular machines are like, here is a video I came across that uses computer animation to help us visualize how tiny molecular machines inside our cells copy DNA:

If one came across an artificial molecular machine, one would undoubtedly conclude with certainty that it had been intelligently designed—something that tiny yet exquisitely complex and functional obviously could not have developed by chance! As microbiologist Yáng Fènglíng ((Yáng {Poplar (surname)} 杨 楊) (Fèng·líng Phoenix · {Tinkling of Jade Pieces} 凤玲 鳳玲) (microbiologist interviewed in g 1/14 p. 8–9)) concluded, the tiny yet exquisitely complex and functional biological molecular machines that inspired humans to create artificial molecular machines similarly must have had an intelligent Creator.