Just watched 我猜猜猜。Here are some words:

What do you call a face without make-up? 素颜

Mascara? - 睫毛膏

Postcard - 明信片

Portrait - 肖像 or 画像

Laminate - 塑封

Silicon - 矽胶

From the 7pm show:

不为人知 - to be kept a secret

融会贯通 - extremely familiar with or well-versed in

泼妇骂街 - to scold like a mad woman in public

深不可测 - very hard to guess or fathom (one's thoughts)

Other words:

Multi-level marketing company - 传销公司

Went to a game shop today...here's the conversation:

Me: 请问有没有卖 championship manager?

Salesperson: 哦，没有 leh, 已经给 football manager replace 了。这两个 game 的 designer 都是同样的人。

Me: 这两个游戏都是同样的 concept 吗？

Salesperson: 都一样的。

I wanted to use the word 构思 instead of concept....but I think maybe he don't understand leh haha. Anyway, if you look at local shows, the standard of mandarin is atrocious. How could the producers allow such crap to go on for years?! Just take a look at Buffet Buffet on Ch8 for a start. Terrible mandarin and I'm not just referring to the mixture of English with Chinese but also the wrong words used.

Examples:

这边的 selection 很多

服务生会自动自发地。。。。（what is 自动自发？）

没有那么多较劲。  （ I think he meant 咬劲。较劲 means to compete.）

它的口感 of 那个米粉很好。 （Wtf??）

它的 durian of 那个口感很 creamy。   （Omg?!?）

这边的 atmosphere 很不错。

。。。。especially 在 high tea 的时候。

在这边吃没有什么 regret 啦。

~Bump~

In today's Sunday Times, Stef Sun wrote about how she struggled with the chinese language when she first made her foray into taiwan. Jacky Woo said something and she didn't understand some of the words, hence a subsequent unintelligent reply.

Then she went on to say that In places like China and Taiwan, complete sentences in mandarin are the norm because that's the way it has to be. In Singapore, there's a rojak of english, malay, hokkien, cantonese.....so singlish is actually a very convenient language. And many times, she had to construct mandarin sentences in her head before enunciating a proper reply. I totally concur with that because for singaporeans, the language of our thoughts is very rojak. And the resulting chinese sentences that comes out of the mouth can be very incoherent if we do not think beforehand.

No doubt we are singaporeans and singlish is a huge part of lives. Nevertheless, let us not forget to always try our best to speak proper Mandarin, with all terminologies, be it places, things, objects etc etc in proper chinese as much as possible. Cheers!

How do we say that the following commonly used words in Mandarin?

window grille - 窗棂

gross domestic product (gdp) - 国家生产总值

container (those transported on ships) - 集装箱

mussel or mussels - 贻贝

a label (maybe on a product or item etc) - 标签

 loading (the internet is loading) - 启动

And these words in chinese which I have recently come across:

意味 - the meaning (the tone)

思维 - a line of though. Also can be said as 思路

破例 - make an exception

苦尽干来 - to describe having overcome a tough journey

相对来讲 - conversely or to say it in the opposite sense

异曲同工 - different method but the same result

本质 - the orginal quality of someone or something

升幅 - the margin of rise

降幅 - the margin of drop

表决 - to decide by a vote in public

一律 - all the same or uniformly eg: 不符合安全条件的车辆一律停止使用

总结 - to summarise

贴心 - very close to the heart / warm

起伏 - the ups and downs

核心 - the crux (of an issue)

明朗 - bright and sunny. Can also mean positive eg: 天气明朗 or 未来的前景不明朗

晴空万里 - bright and sunny weather

Rock, i admire your determination in learning the language

Originally posted by winsomeea:

Rock, i admire your determination in learning the language

Thank you very much, Sir. It's nothing, really. Cheers :)

Some words I came across watching 非诚勿扰， a very popular dating show in China。 You may have seen some of these words before. Nevertheless, still worth a mention imo.

韵味 - a certain appeal or aura of interest about something or someone

衡量 - to measure

渊源 - a link to an origin / source eg: 华人吃月饼是跟古代的嫦鹅有一段渊源。

公有 - owned by all. This is where we can avoid using 公私用 or 公司用，which can be incomprehensible to Chinese not from Singapore.

穿插 - to insert

心眼 - the heart or conscience. A slang would be 耍心眼 which means to use a little wit and trickery to gain benefits

略微 - slight. Same as 稍微

裁决 - to make a decision or judgment

回馈 - to reciprocate

突显 - outstanding

忤逆 - to be rebellious. Same as 叛逆

浅见 - a humble opinion eg: 以我的浅见来看。。。。。

独到 - original (special)

Saw on news just now....this lady mentioned：”突然间，那个announcement 也就没有了。。。。”

How do we say "announcement" in Chinese? Suggestions?

Originally posted by Rock^Star:

Saw on news just now....this lady mentioned：”突然间，那个announcement 也就没有了。。。。”

How do we say "announcement" in Chinese? Suggestions?

Bao kao = Announcement/Report?

Originally posted by winsomeea:

Bao kao = Announcement/Report?

Since this is a public announcement in the MRT (sorry, forgot to mention), then perhaps 公告 is more appropriate, I believe.

Some more words worthy of mention from 非诚勿扰：

质疑 - to suspect

朴实 - down to earth (personality)

坎坷 - winding and uneven (road / path)

悬念 - the mystical effect. 他默默不说又更加增加这件事情的悬念了。

波动 - fluctuations。 Eg: 股市的波动  or  心情的波动。

异常 - not normal

激荡 - emotions raging. Eg: 浓浓的自傲一直在心里不停地激荡。

鼓舞 - to encourage. Same as 鼓励

呵护 - to take care of

憨厚 - han1 hou4.    Honest. Same as 忠厚

投缘 - to hit it off well。 Eg: 他跟这位女生很投缘。 Can also say 谈得来 as Sgporeans often say.

情节 - the story plot or circumstances

转基因食品 - genetically modified food. 基因 here refers to genes. We can say that some has good genes eg 好基因

港湾 - bay / port. Same as 港口

倦怠 - juan4 dai4    Means very tired. Same as 疲倦。

Oh btw, this is the link to 非诚勿扰。

If you have watched before 金童玉女一线牵 that was shown on Ch 8 in the past and you have liked it, then you will also enjoy this one.

More words from 非诚勿扰：

摸索 - to feel around (still in the process of discover) eg: 还在摸索的阶段

铺张 - extravagrant

鉴定 - to appraise. Eg: 鉴定个人的成就

左右 - to obstruct. Eg: 我也不想左右你。

挑毛病 - to pick on. It's like Sgporeans normally say 找麻烦。挑我毛病；找我麻烦。

虚度人生 - to spend life aimlessly

语言犀利 - very incisive words. Can also say 语言尖锐。

指标 - a standard. Like 标准

恒定 - constant

信号 - signal

酝酿 - to be fermented

沉淀 - to settle (like sediments)

低陷 - to settle down. Can refer to dust settling down. 尘埃低陷到地上去。

故障 - malfunction. Eg: MRT 这几天连连发生故障。

牙缝 - gap between the teeth

设想 - to think in consideration of / to imagine

抒发 - to express (emotion)

娇气 - feminine aura

高不成，低不就 - A saying whereby a person will not do something too tough, nor do something ordinary too. Neither here nor there.

微妙 - subtle

改造 - to change a structure or form

抵触 - to contradict.

情怀 - mood

高调 - not just simply meaning "high pitch" but also to describe someone as talking big. Eg: 讲的话很高调。

剪接 - to edit ( a film / video)

缠绵悱恻 - extremely saddening

蹂躏 - rou2 lin4    To bear the brunt of (something which has happened). Eg: 饱受战火的蹂躏。

栏目- segment. Can be in a newspaper or radio. Eg: 杂志里时尚潮流的栏目。

How do we say "better to have none than something mediocre"?  宁缺毋滥  ning4 que1 wu2 lan4

How do we say that someone is a control freak?  这人有超强的掌控欲。

We all know air stewardess is 空姐 but what about a term for all of them in general? Males and females.  乘务员。

Originally posted by Rock^Star:

Just watched 我猜猜猜。Here are some words:

What do you call a face without make-up? 素颜

Mascara? - 睫毛膏

Postcard - 明信片

Portrait - 肖像 or 画像

Laminate - 塑封

Silicon - 矽胶

 

From the 7pm show:

不为人知 - to be kept a secret

融会贯通 - extremely familiar with or well-versed in

泼妇骂街 - to scold like a mad woman in public

深不可测 - very hard to guess or fathom (one's thoughts)

 

Other words:

Multi-level marketing company - 传销公司

素颜 should be a japanese term if i'm not wrong

Originally posted by The man who was death:

素颜 should be a japanese term if i'm not wrong

Really? Pls enlighten me....

眼缘 - the sparks when you first set eyes on someone of the opposite gender

心仪 - moves your heart. Eg: 心仪的男生。Same as 心动。

眉飞色舞 - very radiant disposition

投机取巧 - to create an opportunity out of a situation

涟漪 - lian2 yi2    ripples

广受好评 - widely accepted with good reviews

严谨 - strict and careful

痴迷 - to be fanatic (over something)

芳心 - the sentimental heart (of a lady). Eg: 打动她的芳心

流传 - spreading / circulating around. Eg: 在网路上流传的谣言。

着迷 - to be captivated by

极其 - extremely. Eg: 极其鲜艳的颜色。

阻挠 - zu3 nao2.  To obstruct

惊世骇俗 - shocking to the public

促成 - to form.  Eg: 促成一段婚姻。

打坐 - to sit and meditate

有助于 - helpful towards....Can also be 可以帮助。。。。。

望而却步 - To hold one's step and just watch

养尊处优 - to live like a prince

随遇而安 - Easily adaptable and comfortable with any situation

风华正茂 - the prime of one's life. Can also be 最鼎盛的年龄。

茫然 - flustered

萎靡 - wei3 mi2.  Means very exhausted. 精神萎靡。

刻板 - same as 死板

挺拔 - very stount and straight. Eg: 很挺拔的一棵树

鲜为人知 - Not really known to people

Internet speak: How do we say "click" on something?  点击按钮。

Just learned a new proverb today.

勿以恶小而为之, 勿以善小而不为

Which means do not do evil no matter how trivial, and a good deed not done because it's negligible. This was what 刘备 told his son 刘禅 before he passed on. For those who don't know who 刘备 was, he was one of the three major warlords back in 3rd century feudal China.

How do we say sit up, push up and pull up in mandarin? I can tell you 99.9% of Chinese Singaporeans don't know, me included until last night.

Sit up - 仰卧起坐

Push up - 俯卧撑

Pull up - 拉高

What about botox?  肉毒毒素

How do we say "spread out"? (with reference to papers, cards, books etc) 把 （什么什么）摊出来

How do we say "gardener" in mandarin? 园丁！ Or you can also say 打理公园的 to be more easily understood. That's why I say Singapore is not the environment to practise a higher level of mandarin.

打杂 - do miscellaneous work of sorts

习以为常 - doing something as if it's been a habit

含蓄 - very reserved and cultivated

乌克兰 - Ukraine. It sounded like Auckland!

俱佳 - excellent

悟性 - the ability to learn

曲目- same as 曲子

天造地设 - made for each other (referring to couples)

眨巴 - repeated blinking of the eyes

死皮赖脸 - thick-skinned

底蕴 - the inside story or background

忠告 - same as 劝告

愚钝 - dim witted

面目全非 - totally different from the initial look

傲慢 - same as 自傲

牵绊 - to bind down (like a burden)

伸冤 - to seek redress for an injustice or wrongdoing

Something I just learned:

人非圣贤， 熟能无过

Which means: Humans are no saints, who doesn't commit mistakes?

Another one:

祝你年年有今日，岁岁有今朝。

So instead of simply saying the often heard 生日快乐， why not say something more meaningful to the friend.

Some words that I came across in a conversation yesterday:

瘫痪 - tan1 huan4    Paralysed. Eg: 地铁上个星期出现了几乎瘫痪的现象。

胶带 - tape.....or what we normally call "scotch tape".

通讯 - communications

Some words are like that, they've been etched somewhere in your brain and when it comes up, you will go "oh ya!"....that kind of thing lol.

More words:

事与愿违 - reality is not the same as what one wishes for

航模 - aeroplane or ship models

引申 - same as 引用

飘逸 - soft and wavy. Eg: 飘逸的长发

How do we say advertisement banner in mandarin?  条幅 or 横幅。

Some words I encountered today:

倒立 - stand on the hands

凋谢 - diao1 xie4      to wither....like flowers or leaves

均衡 - homogeneous

乏味 - lacking excitement

各执己见 - each to his own (views)

要害 - vital body parts

憧憬 - a bright future

模棱两可 - at a dilemma

心得 - the heart or thought

How do we say the following in mandarin?

metabolism - as mentioned by tmwwd below

heavy metal music - 重金属音乐  as mentioned by tmwwd below

dividend - 红利

pencil lead - as mentioned by tmwwd below

mechanical pencil - 机械铅笔

acid (like for example Seng Han Thong suffered an acid attack in the past) - 硫酸 is actually sulfuric acid. Normally, 酸 will suffice. Eg: 遭人泼酸。

If you are a student and reading this, how many of your stationery do you actually know how to say in mandarin?

metabolism -新陈代谢

heavy metal - 重金属 - one of the few terms you can literally translate and it's correct

pencil lead -笔芯

acid - 硫酸

Something stumped me today...how many of you can say "cashier" or "cashier counter" in mandarin, without googling...

This may sound weird, understandably of course because it is never ever used in sg but a cashier in mandarin is 出纳员。 Cashier counter is 收款台。

Some words I encountered:

畏缩 - to withdraw because of fear

出洋相- to blunder, in other words, make a faux pas

猥琐 - wretched (appearance)

泰然处之 - calm and composed

矜持 - reserved (personality)

无情未必真豪杰，怜子如何不丈夫 - Being expressionless does not necessarily mean one is a hero, nor does being emotional necessarily say that one is not a man of honour

滴水之恩，当甬泉相报 - A sort of gratifying attitude towards life. One may only receive a little bit of kindness from people around but he or she should always repay back much more.