Chinese words in daily life

last SG · 2011-06-17T12:31:08+00:00

Came across a few words in Chinese. How do we say the following:Blossom (like a flower)To settle down (feelings)Concrete (wall, pavement etc)Trying to be unc...

BanguIzai SG

If I gotta reword it into a non-negation sentence, then I would translate it as 這個人很死板。 If I gotta follow it as a negation sentence, then I would translate it as 這個人很不靈活。

That's true also....I was more thinking along the lines of 伸缩性。新加坡人的伸缩性很低，一切都要按部就班。

I call the whole thing for injection as 針筒 but I do not know how to call the nozzle.

针筒 would be applicable if there's a needle? 注射器 is what I would use. Nozzle would be 喷嘴。

For 嘴巴很甜 and big mouth，very difficult. I can't think of anything near for the 1st one in my head. How about 油嘴滑舌。

For the second one, I checked "守口如瓶" for it's opposite both on the internet and in my copy of【五用成語詞典】:

I've found it! 口无遮拦。 Means that the mouth has no inhibitions, speaking freely at will.

BanguIzai SG

A funny line which I saw in a movie recently. This chap was trying to sian meimei:

为了朋友的事，我可以说是“两肋插刀”，但是为了女人呐，我可以插朋友两刀！！

肋 (ｌｅｉ４)　here means ribs. Quite a brainless piece of humour there but I appreciate the subtle way in which he twisted the words around.

Yes, I like this humour

BanguIzai SG

Words that we rack our brains for, so much so that we end up in Chinglish:

Car bonnet

Weights (for weightlifting)

Key (keyboard)

Pedal (as in the bicycle pedal)

Oxygen

Carbon monoxide

Carbon dioxide

Bra

Bra strap

Boots

Ashtray

NOTE:　Please, as you read, feel free to contribute those potential Chinglish words.　Ｗｉｌｌ　ｄｏ　ｍｙ　ｂｅｓｔ　ｔｏ　ｔｒａｎｓｌａｔｅ　ｉｔ.

Car bonnet - dunno

Weights (for weightlifting) - (舉重的)dunno

Key (keyboard) - (琴鍵)的鍵

Pedal (as in the bicycle pedal) - (腳踏車的)dunno

Oxygen - 氧氣

Carbon monoxide - 一氧化碳

Carbon dioxide - 二氧化碳

Bra - 奶罩、胸罩、乳罩、内在美、内衣、眼鏡

Bra strap - 奶罩帶、胸罩帶、乳罩帶、内在美的帶、内衣的帶、眼鏡的帶

Boots - 兵鞋、長筒靴

Ashtray - 煙灰缸

BanguIzai SG

Tks for that....ermm...dissertation. Interesting how three words of 半桶水 carries so much history. That Stef Sun on Jacky Wu's show must have been many many years ago....I faintly recall the latter saying that Singapore and Taiwan have different forms of slang. So there you go.....think it wld be nice to check with a Taiwanese to confirm. Angel7030? Ha but she's phoney.

I think that's only a synchronic analysis of the lexicon across topolects which I did, coz I did not perform any of the historical analysis yet.

Check with Taiwanese ahh, I must have this kind of chance again:

http://www.sgforums.com/forums/3545/topics/399974?page=3#post_9803604

(on 22 May 2010)

I usually do these kinds of checks unknowingly (best results) or as naturally as possible. So that the outcome would not be skewed towards questions. I did not do any transcription during the session (to prevent stress, conscious correction, conscious conformity, or mind-block.) , but I immediately did the transcription upon losing sight of them so that as much information as possible is recorded in the shortest possible time to prevent errors.

Rock^Star SG

Too bad, without purposely checking the dictionary or web, I still dunno how to translate the word for 意境 even though I had been using this term since student times. I still haven't check. U check can ? I think artistic conception can la.

Confirmed online....it's artistic conception. Anyway, you see....有意义的境界....so must be la lol.

Rock^Star SG

Car bonnet - dunno

Weights (for weightlifting) - (舉重的)dunno

Key (keyboard) - (琴鍵)的鍵

Pedal (as in the bicycle pedal) - (腳踏車的)dunno

Oxygen - 氧氣

Carbon monoxide - 一氧化碳

Carbon dioxide - 二氧化碳

Bra - 奶罩、胸罩、乳罩、内在美、内衣、眼鏡

Bra strap - 奶罩帶、胸罩帶、乳罩帶、内在美的帶、内衣的帶、眼鏡的帶

Boots - 兵鞋、長筒靴

Ashtray - 煙灰缸

Tks very much! My clarifications in blue as usual.

Car bonnet - dunno 引擎罩

Weights (for weightlifting) - (舉重的)dunno　　举重器

Key (keyboard) - (琴鍵)的鍵　　　　键　ａｌｏｎｅ　ｉｓ　ｐｏｓｓｉｂｌｅ?　Ｉ　ｍｅａｎ　ｔｈｅ　ＰＣ　ｋｅｙｂｏａｒｄ. Or if not，按键。

Pedal (as in the bicycle pedal) - (腳踏車的)dunno　　　　脚踏　ｈａｈａ

Boots - 兵鞋、長筒靴　　　长靴　ｓｕｆｆｉｃｅｓ?

Rock^Star SG

I think that's only a synchronic analysis of the lexicon across topolects which I did, coz I did not perform any of the historical analysis yet.

Check with Taiwanese ahh, I must have this kind of chance again:

http://www.sgforums.com/forums/3545/topics/399974?page=3#post_9803604

(on 22 May 2010)

Wah, rendezvous of hokkien with 5 taiwanese babes lol. I just had a terriblly poor hokkien conversation with my in law's neighbour (man in his 60s)....well, that's because I'm not a hokkien. What's interesting was that their hokkien sounds very much like what I hear in sg. Suddenly, the years of cultural repression by Suharto seemed to flashed by and gone in an instant haha.

They say "ti teh" for pig feet but we say "ter kah". Oh and when I told my mum in law that kemocing (feather duster) is hokkien, she was so so surprised.

BanguIzai SG

Confirmed online....it's artistic conception. Anyway, you see....有意义的境界....so must be la lol.

Thank you.

BanguIzai SG

Tks very much! My clarifications in blue as usual.

Car bonnet - dunno 引擎罩

Weights (for weightlifting) - (舉重的)dunno　　举重器

Key (keyboard) - (琴鍵)的鍵　　　　键　ａｌｏｎｅ　ｉｓ　ｐｏｓｓｉｂｌｅ?　Ｉ　ｍｅａｎ　ｔｈｅ　ＰＣ　ｋｅｙｂｏａｒｄ. Or if not，按键。

Pedal (as in the bicycle pedal) - (腳踏車的)dunno　　　　脚踏　ｈａｈａ

Boots - 兵鞋、長筒靴　　　长靴　ｓｕｆｆｉｃｅｓ?

BanguIzai SG

They say "ti teh" for pig feet but we say "ter kah". Oh and when I told my mum in law that kemocing (feather duster) is hokkien, she was so so surprised.

As a native Hokkien speaker, the moment I see you type "ti teh", I know it is “豬蹄” spoken in the form of the ChiangChiu variety. I myself uses the form “豬腳” (you said "ter kah") like you.

Kemocing is the thing that is whacked into my backside since I was a kid, so definitely I know it is Hokkien. My variety of spoken Hokkien is of the T'ongAn-Quemoy-Amoy type, so it is pronounced as Kue-Mng-Tsh'ing.

BanguIzai SG

Kahwin is from 结婚？No? Tongkat is bahasa? Haha confused liao.

Not sure about manteng....could be manten too.....oh just remembered another word....potehi (figurine puppets show). I just watched one not too long ago in the local temple. And the temple has quite a bit of history. There's this plaque which was endorsed by a Qing dynasty official and shipped over. Then there are tiger footprints in the temple which are still around even today. Okok, before i drift into no man's land...will stop here lol.

I have gathered "Manten" from the Javanese Dictionary just now I go to library to check already.

This is the small slide that I prepared from copying the entries from the dictionary:

So far, no conclusive evidence has yet to show that it could be from Hokkien. But there still might be a possibility of it being an obscure Hokkien loanword that has been long nativised by the Javanese phonology that it is now not obvious to trace it's origin.

So I keep the case open.

BanguIzai SG

Since I was at the library just now, I came across some Hokkien idioms and scribbled on pieces of paper to bring back and share with you here. Feel free to comment on them. Of course I do not know all of them, I was just a copier.

BanguIzai SG

Since we are still on the topic on proverbs and idioms, I shall migrate my topic on Cantonese proverbs and idioms from my all threads here, and we can add on if we want to:

http://www.sgforums.com/forums/2029/topics/426083

http://www.sgforums.com/forums/2029/topics/403297

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冇咁大個頭就唔好戴咁大顶帽

mou-5 gam-3 daai-6 go-3 tau-4 zau-6 m-4 hou-2 daai-3 gam-3 daai-6 deng-2 mou-2

If one has not such a big head, one should not put on such a big hat. (literal)

Do not throw straws against the wind.

One should not swim beyond one's depth.

Cut one's coat according to one's cloth.

Spend no more than one can afford.

Undertake what one can do.

注：比喻做事应量力而为。

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洗腳唔抹腳

sai-2 goek-3 m-4 mut-3 (maat-3) goek-3

Wash feet without wiping them. (literal)

Money birns a hole in one's pocket.

Splash one's money about.

Play ducks and drakes with one's money.

注：比喻揮霍。

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閻羅王嫁女 —— 鬼要

jim-4 lo-4 wong-4 gaa-3 neoi-2 — gwai-2 jiu-3

The king of Jim Lo (The king of hell) marries off his daughters — ghosts want. (literal)

Nobody wants (it).

注：表示沒有人要的意思。

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牛唔飲水唔撳得牛頭低 (Cantonese Proverb)
ngau m yam sœy m kam tak ngau t'au tai

Literal translation: If the cow doesn't want to drink water, there is no way to press it's head down

Meaning: Can't force to do something involuntarily

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貓兒洗面，系咁意 (Cantonese proverb)
maau yi sai min, hai kam yi

Literal translation: Kitty washes its face, just for show

Meaning: Not taking things seriously

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好心畀雷劈 (Cantonese Proverb)
hou sam pei lœy p'ɛk

畫公仔唔使畫出腸 (Cantonese Proverb)
waak kuŋ tsai m sai waak ts'œt ts'œŋ

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上得山多終遇虎 (Cantonese Proverb)
sœŋ tak saan tɔ tsuŋ yü fu

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Clivebenss SG

Nice brush stroke Chinese handwriting, Bangul.

BanguIzai SG

Nice brush stroke Chinese handwriting, Bangul.

Thanks for the complement. Any feedback with regards to the contents ?

Clivebenss SG

Thanks for the complement. Any feedback with regards to the contents ?

will try.

Rock^Star SG

Bangulzai, I second what clivebenss said about your nice chinese handwriting; elegant strokes of the pen.

The following words caught me by surprise today:

Conduct a briefing

Terminology

A common term

Code of conduct

Curriculum vitae (or resume)

Anyone wants to try and translate these into chinese?

BanguIzai SG

Bangulzai, I second what clivebenss said about your nice chinese handwriting; elegant strokes of the pen.

The following words caught me by surprise today:

Conduct a briefing

Terminology

A common term

Code of conduct

Curriculum vitae (or resume)

Anyone wants to try and translate these into chinese?

Thanks for your compliments, Clivebenss and Rock^Star.

Conduct a briefing - How about 開講？

Terminology - 術語 (this one's easy)

A common term - are you referring to common terminology? we use 通稱 often.

Code of conduct - dunno

Curriculum vitae (or resume) - dunno or issit 學歷？

BanguIzai SG

will try.

Thanks for reading through some Hokkien idioms. These will always remind us of our dear mother tongue whenever the government tries to impose the non-native Mandarin as our mother tongue.

I have scanned finish the rest of the articles that I have copied already. Take your time if you want to read them and feel free to comment on anything if you want to. Here is it :

BanguIzai SG

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