Balcony - 阳台

Prerequisite - 前提

6.8 on the Richter scale - 里氏 6.8 级

See if you can recall what these common words mean:

半斤八两

无可厚非

丝毫

成何体统

顺理成章

嚷嚷

How do we say the following:

To monitor

To formulate (a plan)

To give pressure - besides 给压力

To scoop (water, ice cream, soup etc)

Protective screen (like in the zoos and underwater world at sentosa)

With music to accompany (eg at a restaurant or pub)

(For something) to take effect

Erm... Mouse(Computer) = 滑鼠 and 鼠標 refers to the Mouse(pointer)... ORZ.

Originally posted by assilem08:

Erm... Mouse(Computer) = 滑鼠 and 鼠標 refers to the Mouse(pointer)... ORZ.

Just googled the images of 鼠标 and got a lot of mouse pictures, not the mouse pointer.Most people use 滑鼠。 It's a good point really, now I wonder what we call the arrow / pointer in mandarin. Anyway, brings to mind "click", which we say 点击。

See if you can recall what these common words mean:

半斤八两 - Not much difference between the two in terms of mediocrity

无可厚非 - Can't be blamed

丝毫 - a little bit. Eg: 丝毫都没改变

成何体统 - Ridiculous!

顺理成章 - Same as 理所当然

嚷嚷 - ran1 rang     Means to create a din

A random thought:  instead of saying 不需要， we can say 用不着。

Originally posted by Rock^Star:

Just googled the images of 鼠标 and got a lot of mouse pictures, not the mouse pointer.Most people use 滑鼠。 It's a good point really, now I wonder what we call the arrow / pointer in mandarin. Anyway, brings to mind "click", which we say 点击。

Okay. My bad.

"因形似老鼠而得名“鼠标”（港台作滑鼠）。“鼠标”的标准称呼应该是“鼠标器”。"

I am just too used to calling them 滑鼠 and that's the Hong Kong/Taiwan way of calling them.

The even correct way to call it is 鼠標器 but 鼠標 is good enough for others to understand.

How about these football terms:

Corner kick

Free kick

Penalty

Substitution

Throw in

Originally posted by Rock^Star:

How about these football terms:

Corner kick

Free kick

Penalty

Substitution

Throw in

Corner kick - 角球

Free kick - 自由球

Penalty - 罚球

Substitution - 替补

Throw in - 投球

Just watched CCTV4 news. These political analysts were just rattling off word after word, peppered with idioms here and there. Impressed. If local news had standard like this, we wouldn't be languishing in mediocre mandanrin. Some words:

检阅

僭越

故障

用意

电波

声势

虚张声势

较劲

链接

开采

潜艇

导弹

暗藏美国的身影

激化

火花

打擂台

蓝图

检阅 - inspection

僭越 - overstep intp (normally authority)

故障 - obstacles

用意 - the intention

电波 - electromagnetic waves

声势 - the impressive aura

虚张声势 - to creat false impressions; to mislead

较劲 - to challenge

链接 - website link

开采 - to extract (resources)

潜艇 - submarine

导弹 - missle

暗藏美国的身影 - with America's shadow lurking behind

激化 - to stimulate something to happen

火花 = sparks

打擂台 - a slang for challenging someone

蓝图 - blueprint

Don't give up Chinese language, says Lee Kuan Yew

By Hoe Yeen Nie | Posted: 07 October 2011 2239 hrs

    Photos 1 of 1
Mr Lee Kuan Yew        Video

Don't give up Chinese language, says Lee Kuan Yew

 

SINGAPORE: Former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said if young Singaporeans give up the Chinese language, they will have lost something valuable.

He was speaking at a dialogue at the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention on Friday evening.

Mr Lee chose to speak in a mix of Chinese and English, a reflection of Singapore's bilingual society, and responded to a wide range of questions, including one on his decision to write a book about the bilingual policy here.

Mr Lee has previously said implementing the policy was one of the hardest things he has had to do.

He told his audience that his aim in writing the book is to have younger Singaporeans understand how strongly the Chinese community felt about the decision to make English the first language.

Mr Lee reiterated his long-held belief that if Singapore had chosen Chinese as its first language, the country would not be where it is today.

However, he also advised Chinese Singaporeans not to give up their mother tongue, noting that he himself has spent his whole life trying to master the language as he did not learn it when he was young.

It is not just about the emotional and cultural connection, but a pragmatic consideration too. With many Chinese seeking new opportunities in the world, Mr Lee believes Singapore can play the role of pathfinder.

He said he is also "worried" that more and more families in Singapore are speaking English at home, adding that they should instead speak Mandarin.

"....English, you will learn it anyway. If I have a choice, I will speak to my grandchildren in Chinese and leave English to the schools," he said.

Mr Lee was also asked about the rise of China.

He said while its economic dominance is perhaps inevitable, its military dominance in Asia Pacific will be checked by the concerns of its East Asian neighbours and the continued presence of the US.

-CNA/ac

Kind of ironical. The state of mediocre spoken Mandarin in Singapore can largely be attributed to this fella.

Some words from a documentary:

夭折 yao1 zhe2 - to be aborted prematurely (eg a plan). Same meaning as 破局。

血脉相连 - Same as 命运交叉。Eg: 新加坡和马来西亚的经济可说是血脉相连。

申奏 shen1 zou4 - To send in a petition

按照老路走 - To follow old ways

Javelin - 标枪

Discus - 铁饼

Long jump - 跳远

Sumo wrestling - 相扑

Strong grip - 牢牢的握力

 Sorry for uttering rubbish.

无厘头

交汇 - to inter-cross and mingle. Quite similar to 交叉。

天外有天 - a slang to say that there's a bigger world out there; fascinating things that we couldn't have imagined.

框架 - framework (can refer to a plan)

谦让 - same as 礼让

打个比方 - another term for 譬如说。。。

和谐 - harmonious. Eg 和谐的社会

略知一二 - to know very little about

偏差 - discrepancy. Same as 差距

百步穿杨 - to be very accurate in shooting

销声匿迹 - to disappear or lie low. Same as the slang 人间蒸发

消极 - pessimistic. Same as 消沉

批发商 - wholesaler

频频 - repeatedly. Eg: 笑声频频

经济复苏 - the economy is recovering

启示 - An englightenment. Same as 启发

腼腆 mian2 tian3 - shy. Same as 害羞

感慨 - feeling of regret

文物 - cultural of historical relic

含义 - the meaning from within

健硕 - muscular

魁梧 - big and tall

传承 - to pass down the generations

心性 - one's temperament

灵巧 - very nimble (refers to the hands or legs)

How do we say:

I want to claim an expense for eg: purchase of an item.

报销

Another slang which I have learned today:

培养冠军的摇篮。Which means the cradle where champions of the future are nurtured. Can refer to an academy or training ground.

枯燥 - Uninteresting

视频 - Video

概率 - Probability rate. A synonym would be 机率。

超支 - Overspend

预算 - Budget

打退堂鼓 - To withdraw (from an action or plan)

触摸频 - touch screen

舒心 - comfortable

枉然 - wasted (normally refers to effort)

急功近利 - doing fast work to make short term gains

皇天不负有心人 - the heavens will not let the good people down

转化 - to change into

施展 -  to display / exhibit

传播 - to spread

男女受受不清 - men and women are supposed to keep a distance

即能够。。。。。。，又。。。。。。。 - not only can....but also...

即能够。。。。。。，也。。。。。。。 - not only can...but also...

触礁 - to hit a reef (referring to the ship)

懈怠 - xie4 duo4    to slack

解冻 - to thaw (can refer to the solid ice or relationships)

磨难 - trials and difficulties

辛勤 - hardworking

法案 - a proposed law

冰山 - iceberg

缓和 - to warm up (relations)

融入 - to be integrated

远远低于_________ 的水平 - far lower than ...... 's (standard).

纯度 - the purity

成色不足 - not enough metal composition; normally refers to gold or diamonds

八面玲珑 - smooth and slick (in building relations)

成分 - the composition (of materials)

恰如其分 - the amount is just right

恰到好处 - the situation is just nice / right

不起眼 - not appealing to the eyes

果冻 - jelly

欢声笑语 - laughter and sounds of joy

乐趣无穷 - endless joy

谜团 - mystery

神秘莫测 - hard to fathom and guess

风雨交加 - heavy rain. Sometimes also mentioned as 雷电交加

半个小时车程 - half an hour of journey by car

空旷 - very broad (place)

划分 - to create a seperation / border

Hi everyone, it's been some time. There were some problems with posting on this thread previously, It's been resolved now, I hope.

Some terms that I have recently come across:

一贯的作风 - the usual style (of a person)

惯例 - the usual practice

无风不作浪 - there are no waves without the wind; which means things must have happened for a reason

腼腆 - mian2 tian3   shy

呼叫中心 - call centre

英姿飒爽 - ying1 zi1 sa4 shuang3   full of bravado and style

饥不择食 - beggars cannot be choosy

Repeat~