{"id":2011,"date":"2022-03-07T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/?p=2011"},"modified":"2024-03-10T15:53:44","modified_gmt":"2024-03-10T22:53:44","slug":"ruqin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/2022\/03\/07\/ruqin\/","title":{"rendered":"r\u00f9q\u012bn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\t\t\tr\u00f9q\u012bn<\/span>\n(r\u00f9\u00b7q\u012bn\nenter; {go into} \u00b7 invade; {intrude into} \u2192<\/span> [invade; intrude into]<\/span>\n\u5165\u4fb5)<\/span>\n\n \u2190 Tap\/click to show\/hide the \u201cflashcard\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n\n

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.<\/p>\n

The article \u201cRussia Invades Ukraine<\/a>\u201d has been featured on jw.org<\/a> since not long after the crisis began, and the Mandarin translation of that article\u2019s title is \u201c\u00c9lu\u00f3s\u012b<\/i><\/span>\n(Russia<\/span>\n\u4fc4\u7f57\u65af\n\u4fc4\u7f85\u65af<\/span>)<\/span>\n\nR\u00f9q\u012bn<\/i><\/span>\n(R\u00f9\u00b7q\u012bn\nEnters \u00b7 Invades \u2192<\/span> [Invades]<\/span>\n\u5165\u4fb5)<\/span>\n\nW\u016bk\u00e8l\u00e1n<\/i><\/span>\n(Ukraine<\/span>\n\u4e4c\u514b\u5170\n\u70cf\u514b\u862d<\/span>)<\/span> \ud83d\udd17<\/a>\u201d. So, we can see that this week\u2019s MEotW, \u201cr\u00f9q\u012bn<\/i><\/span>\n(r\u00f9\u00b7q\u012bn\nenter; {go into} \u00b7 invade; {intrude into} \u2192<\/span> [invade; intrude into]<\/span>\n\u5165\u4fb5)<\/span>\u201d, corresponds with the English word \u201cinvades\u201d.<\/p>\n

To Be Resultative\u2026<\/h4>\n

Another way to say \u201cinvade\u201d in Mandarin is \u201cq\u012bnr\u00f9<\/i><\/span>\n(q\u012bn\u00b7r\u00f9\ninvade; {intrude into} \u00b7 {enter | [go] into} \u2192<\/span> [invade; intrude into]<\/span>\n\u4fb5\u5165)<\/span>\u201d, which has the same morphemes<\/a> as \u201cr\u00f9q\u012bn<\/i><\/span>\n(r\u00f9\u00b7q\u012bn\nenter; {go into} \u00b7 invade; {intrude into} \u2192<\/span> [invade; intrude into]<\/span>\n\u5165\u4fb5)<\/span>\u201d, but in reversed order. There may be a difference between these two words, since the ABC Chinese-English Dictionary<\/i><\/a> refers to \u201cr\u00f9q\u012bn<\/i><\/span>\n(r\u00f9\u00b7q\u012bn\nenter; {go into} \u00b7 invade; {intrude into} \u2192<\/span> [invade; intrude into]<\/span>\n\u5165\u4fb5)<\/span>\u201d as a verb, while it refers to \u201cq\u012bnr\u00f9<\/i><\/span>\n(q\u012bn\u00b7r\u00f9\ninvade; {intrude into} \u00b7 {enter | [go] into} \u2192<\/span> [invade; intrude into]<\/span>\n\u4fb5\u5165)<\/span>\u201d as a resultative verb<\/a>, in which \u201cr\u00f9<\/i><\/span>\n(enter; {go into}; join<\/span>\n\u5165)<\/span>\u201d is taken to mean \u201cinto\u201d, as opposed to the verb \u201center\u201d.<\/p>\n

Or Not to Be Resultative?<\/h4>\n

On the other hand, the dictionaries I have checked re \u201cr\u00f9<\/i><\/span>\n(enter; {go into}; join<\/span>\n\u5165)<\/span>\u201d itself, including the ABC Chinese-English Dictionary<\/i>, emphasize its meaning as being the verb \u201center\u201d, and not so much as being the preposition \u201cinto\u201d (although I think it can be used that way). If we indeed take both their morphemes to be verbs, then it would seem that the case of \u201cr\u00f9q\u012bn<\/i><\/span>\n(r\u00f9\u00b7q\u012bn\nenter; {go into} \u00b7 invade; {intrude into} \u2192<\/span> [invade; intrude into]<\/span>\n\u5165\u4fb5)<\/span>\u201d\/\u201cq\u012bnr\u00f9<\/i><\/span>\n(q\u012bn\u00b7r\u00f9\ninvade; {intrude into} \u00b7 {enter | [go] into} \u2192<\/span> [invade; intrude into]<\/span>\n\u4fb5\u5165)<\/span>\u201d is similar to the case of \u201cf\u01cel\u01dc<\/i><\/span>\n(law<\/span>\n\u6cd5\u5f8b)<\/span>\u201d\/\u201cl\u01dcf\u01ce<\/i><\/span>\n(law<\/span>\n\u5f8b\u6cd5)<\/span>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Regarding \u201cf\u01cel\u01dc<\/i><\/span>\n(law<\/span>\n\u6cd5\u5f8b)<\/span>\u201d\/\u201cl\u01dcf\u01ce<\/i><\/span>\n(law<\/span>\n\u5f8b\u6cd5)<\/span>\u201d, the MEotW post<\/a> for \u201cf\u01cel\u01dc<\/i><\/span>\n(law<\/span>\n\u6cd5\u5f8b)<\/span>\u201d had this to say:<\/p>\n

\n

But, Why?<\/h4>\n

If \u201cl\u01dcf\u01ce<\/i><\/span>\n(law<\/span>\n\u5f8b\u6cd5)<\/span>\u201d and \u201cf\u01cel\u01dc<\/i><\/span>\n(law<\/span>\n\u6cd5\u5f8b)<\/span>\u201d both mean basically the same thing, why did the world\u2019s Mandarin-speaking population bother to switch the order of \u201cl\u01dc<\/i><\/span>\n(law; statute; rule; regulation<\/span>\n\u5f8b)<\/span>\u201d and \u201cf\u01ce<\/i><\/span>\n(law | method; way; mode | standard; model | {magic arts} | {follow; model after}<\/span>\n\u6cd5)<\/span>\u201d in popular usage? Who knows? Appendix A2 of the Mandarin NWT<\/i> Bible, probably wisely, does not get into the why of it, just mentioning that \u201cf\u01cel\u01dc<\/i><\/span>\n(law<\/span>\n\u6cd5\u5f8b)<\/span>\u201d is now the more common usage. Even if it turns out that there was a reason, it may not be what most would consider a good reason. Sometimes people are just weird, and, speaking as a Chinese person myself, that includes Chinese people\u2014just look at some of the arbitrary ways in which Chinese characters have been designed, that have turned trying to figure out the pronunciations and meanings of unfamiliar Chinese characters into a guessing game.<\/p>\n

Speaking of what\u2019s commonplace or popular and why, I am reminded of this quote<\/a> from William Goldman, who wrote the screenplay for The Princess Bride<\/i> as well as the screenplays for several other successful, well-known movies:<\/p>\n

\nNobody knows anything\u2026Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what\u2019s going to work. Every time out it\u2019s a guess<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Speaking of The Princess Bride<\/i>, that movie is a treasure trove of quotable quotes, including this one<\/a> that serves as a precautionary admonition to us Mandarin language-learners:<\/p>\n

\nYou keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n