{"id":2180,"date":"2022-05-23T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/?p=2180"},"modified":"2024-03-28T17:02:07","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T00:02:07","slug":"xishou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/2022\/05\/23\/xishou\/","title":{"rendered":"x\u01d0sh\u01d2u"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\t\t\tx\u01d0sh\u01d2u<\/span>\n(x\u01d0\u00b7sh\u01d2u\nwash \u00b7 hands [\u2192 [go to the washroom\/lavatory\/toilet\/restroom]]<\/span>\n\u6d17\u624b)<\/span>\n\n \u2190 Tap\/click to show\/hide the \u201cflashcard\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n\n

[Note:<\/strong> Tap\/click on a P\u012bny\u012bn<\/i><\/span>\n(P\u012bn\u00b7y\u012bn\n{Piecing Together} \u00b7 Sounds \u2192<\/span> [Pinyin]<\/span>\n\u62fc\u97f3)<\/span> expression to reveal its <\/span>\u201cflashcard\u201d<\/span>, tap\/click on a <\/span>\u201cflashcard\u201d<\/span> or its P\u012bny\u012bn<\/i><\/span>\n(P\u012bn\u00b7y\u012bn\n{Piecing Together} \u00b7 Sounds \u2192<\/span> [Pinyin]<\/span>\n\u62fc\u97f3)<\/span> expression to hide the<\/span> \u201cflashcard\u201d<\/span>.]<\/p>\n

As of this writing, nearing the middle of the year 2022, the subject of the COVID-19 pandemic has been, to say the least, on people\u2019s minds now for a while. So, it would be good to be able to refer to things related to it in Mandarin when speaking to people in the Mandarin field, or when speaking to our brothers and sisters in the truth.<\/p>\n

\"electron<\/p>\n

An electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2\u2014also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19<\/i>
\n\"Creative<\/a> NIAID<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s MEotW, \u201cx\u01d0sh\u01d2u<\/i><\/span>\n(x\u01d0\u00b7sh\u01d2u\nwash \u00b7 hands [\u2192 [go to the washroom\/lavatory\/toilet\/restroom]]<\/span>\n\u6d17\u624b)<\/span>\u201d, literally means \u201cwash hands\u201d, something that has taken on even more importance than before after the COVID-19-causing coronavirus got added to the list of disease-causing things that washing our hands can help protect us from.<\/p>\n

\u201cX\u01d0sh\u01d2u<\/i><\/span>\n(X\u01d0\u00b7sh\u01d2u\nwash \u00b7 hands [\u2192 [go to the washroom\/lavatory\/toilet\/restroom]]<\/span>\n\u6d17\u624b)<\/span>\u201d can also effectively mean \u201cgo to the washroom\/lavatory\/toilet\/restroom\u201d. Indeed, \u201cx\u01d0sh\u01d2u ji\u0101n<\/i><\/span>\n((x\u01d0\u00b7sh\u01d2u\nwashing \u00b7 hands<\/span>\n\u6d17\u624b)\n(ji\u0101n\n{space in between} \u2192 [room]<\/span>\n\u95f4\n\u9593<\/span>)\n\u2192<\/span> [washroom; lavatory; toilet; restroom]<\/span>)<\/span>\u201d is a commonly used Mandarin expression which literally means \u201cwashing hands space in between\u201d, and which effectively means \u201cwashroom; lavatory; toilet; restroom\u201d.<\/p>\n

Verb-Object Construction<\/h4>\n

\u201cX\u01d0sh\u01d2u<\/i><\/span>\n(X\u01d0\u00b7sh\u01d2u\nwash \u00b7 hands [\u2192 [go to the washroom\/lavatory\/toilet\/restroom]]<\/span>\n\u6d17\u624b)<\/span>\u201d, with the verb \u201cx\u01d0<\/i><\/span>\n(wash; bathe; rinse<\/span>\n\u6d17)<\/span>\u201d (\u201cwash\u201d) and its object \u201csh\u01d2u<\/i><\/span>\n(hand | personally | [\u2192 [mw for skill<\/i>]]<\/span>\n\u624b)<\/span>\u201d (\u201chands\u201d), is an example of a Mandarin expression with verb-object construction<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The ABC Chinese-English Dictionary<\/i><\/a>, edited by John DeFrancis<\/a> and Victor H. Mair<\/a>, among others, tells us the following<\/a> about the entries in it that are marked as having verb-object construction:<\/p>\n

\nV.O.<\/strong> (Verb-Object Construction, D\u00f2ng-B\u012bn Ji\u00e9g\u00f2u<\/strong> \u52a8\u5bbe\u7ed3\u6784).<\/p>\n

Many English verbs get translated into natural Chinese as a verb plus an object noun, e.g. ch\u012bf\u00e0n<\/strong> for ‘eat’, shu\u014dhu\u00e0<\/strong> for ‘speak’, etc. It is important for two reasons to know what is merely a verb in Chinese and what is actually a verb-object construction.<\/p>\n

First, verb-object constructions can never take a second object, i.e. ch\u012bf\u00e0n<\/strong> can never be followed directly by something else to be eaten.<\/p>\n

Second, a verb and its object can be separated from one another, thus allowing<\/p>\n

(i) aspect particles to be placed directly after the verb, e.g. ch\u012ble f\u00e0n<\/strong> ‘after finishing eating’;<\/p>\n

(ii) modification of the object, e.g. ch\u012b Zh\u014dnggu\u00f3f\u00e0n<\/strong> ‘eat Chinese food’; and (iii) quantification of the noun, e.g. ch\u012ble s\u0101n w\u01cen f\u00e0n<\/strong> ‘ate three bowls of rice’.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One Word? Not Two Words?<\/h4>\n

While \u201cwash hands\u201d is two words in the English writing system, the P\u012bny\u012bn<\/i><\/span>\n(P\u012bn\u00b7y\u012bn\n{Piecing Together} \u00b7 Sounds \u2192<\/span> [Pinyin]<\/span>\n\u62fc\u97f3)<\/span> writing system typically renders \u201cx\u01d0sh\u01d2u<\/i><\/span>\n(x\u01d0\u00b7sh\u01d2u\nwash \u00b7 hands [\u2192 [go to the washroom\/lavatory\/toilet\/restroom]]<\/span>\n\u6d17\u624b)<\/span>\u201d as one word. The MEotW post<\/a> on \u201cJ\u00ecni\u00e0n J\u00f9hu\u00ec<\/i><\/span>\n((J\u00ec\u00b7ni\u00e0n\nRemembering \u00b7 {Thinking Of} \u2192 [Commemorating]<\/span>\n\u8bb0\/\u7eaa\u5ff5\n\u8a18\/\u7d00\u5ff5<\/span>)\n(J\u00f9hu\u00ec\nMeeting<\/span>\n\u805a\u4f1a\n\u805a\u6703<\/span>)\n\u2192<\/span> [[the] Memorial]<\/span>)<\/span>\u201d (including a recently added comment<\/a> there) went into some reasons why it can be good for the relatively \u201cyoung\u201d P\u012bny\u012bn<\/i><\/span>\n(P\u012bn\u00b7y\u012bn\n{Piecing Together} \u00b7 Sounds \u2192<\/span> [Pinyin]<\/span>\n\u62fc\u97f3)<\/span> writing system to at times emulate the relatively \u201cexperienced\u201d English writing system, but in cases like the relatively digestible two-syllable \u201cx\u01d0sh\u01d2u<\/i><\/span>\n(x\u01d0\u00b7sh\u01d2u\nwash \u00b7 hands [\u2192 [go to the washroom\/lavatory\/toilet\/restroom]]<\/span>\n\u6d17\u624b)<\/span>\u201d, there is little practical reason relating to readability to impose English word separation conventions.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, while \u201cx\u01d0sh\u01d2u ji\u0101n<\/i><\/span>\n((x\u01d0\u00b7sh\u01d2u\nwashing \u00b7 hands<\/span>\n\u6d17\u624b)\n(ji\u0101n\n{space in between} \u2192 [room]<\/span>\n\u95f4\n\u9593<\/span>)\n\u2192<\/span> [washroom; lavatory; toilet; restroom]<\/span>)<\/span>\u201d is generally rendered in the world as one three-syllable word, this blog and other P\u012bny\u012bn<\/i><\/span>\n(P\u012bn\u00b7y\u012bn\n{Piecing Together} \u00b7 Sounds \u2192<\/span> [Pinyin]<\/span>\n\u62fc\u97f3)<\/span> Plus resources<\/a> will generally render such expressions as two separate words, to make them easier to read. This is similar to how in English, \u201cchangeroom\u201d is a single two-syllable word, but \u201cchanging room\u201d is separated into two words, rather than being rendered as the single three-syllable word \u201cchangingroom\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMelting\u201d Away the Pounds<\/s> Viruses<\/h4>\n

While researching the subject of washing hands in this age of COVID-19, I found the following interesting information<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n\u2026soap \u2014 all sorts of it: liquid, solid, honeysuckle-scented, the versions inexplicably only marketed to men or women \u2014 is\u2026even more routinely effective than hand sanitizer. \u2026<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because when you wash your hands with soap and water, you\u2019re not just wiping viruses off your hands and sending them down the drain. You\u2019re actually annihilating the viruses, rendering them harmless. Soap \u201cis almost like a demolition team breaking down a building and taking all the bricks away,\u201d says Palli Thordarson, a chemistry professor at the University of New South Wales\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026coronaviruses are\u2026bits of genetic information \u2014 encoded by RNA \u2014 surrounded by a coat of fat and protein. Thordarson likes to call viruses \u201cnano-sized grease balls.\u201d And grease balls, no matter the size, are the exact type of thing soap loves to annihilate.<\/p>\n

\u2026<\/p>\n

The soap takes care of the virus much like it takes care of the oil in the water. \u201cIt\u2019s almost like a crowbar; it starts to pull all the things apart,\u201d Thordarson says.<\/p>\n

One side of the soap molecule (the one that\u2019s attracted to fat and repelled by water) buries its way into the virus\u2019s fat and protein shell. Fortunately, the chemical bonds holding the virus together aren\u2019t very strong, so this intrusion is enough to break the virus\u2019s coat. \u201cYou pull the virus apart, you make it soluble in water, and it disintegrates,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Then the harmless shards of virus get flushed down the drain. And even if it the soap doesn\u2019t destroy every virus, you\u2019ll still rid them from your hands with soap and water, as well as any grease or dirt they may be clinging to.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, while technically soap and water disintegrates and dissolves coronaviruses, if a coronavirus subjected to soap and water could talk, it might say, \u201cI\u2019m melting!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n