Chinese For Fun

Squirrel

2008-12-25T16:55:00.000-08:00

Javaness: 坚强的松鼠

谢谢 for teaching me such an important word, java!

輕敵必敗

2008-09-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

Underestimating your enemy guarantees your loss

殺氣

2008-05-07T17:44:00.000-07:00

殺氣 sha1 qi4 murderous look

And yes, that is a snake he is batting around.

Making Tea

2008-01-05T15:14:00.000-08:00

Is there a way to say 'be right back, i am making tea' in chinese?

My sister: 马上回来，我正在泡茶

马上回来，我正在泡茶

马上	ma3 shang4	at once / right away / immediately
回来	hui2 lai5	return / come back
我	wo3	I / me
正在	zheng4 zai4	in the process of (doing something or happening) / while
泡茶	pao4 cha2	make tea

Have a good day!

2008-01-01T22:57:00.001-08:00

Nanny: thank you, one question
how do i say 'Have a good day' in chinese?

Li: hmm
not exact time

Nanny: hmmm, ok, so anything else one would say instead?

Li: 愉快的一天
something like that

Nanny: ok, thank you

Li: a difficult question

Breakfast Revisited

2007-07-26T08:09:00.001-07:00

This morning, I was going to have breakfast and wanted to tell my friends. This was no the preparing anymore, but the actual eating. I had no idea how to say that, so I made it a very simple 我早饭。 I figured it was not correct, but at least it would get through what I was doing and I wanted to practice using Chinese.

When I came back from breakfast, my bro had corrected my chinese already:

Ang: so didnt find you
but looks someone busy
btw it's dutch chinese
我在吃早饭
or我准备吃早饭

我在吃早饭

我 wo3 I
在 zai4 located at / in the middle of doing
吃 chi1 eat
早饭 zao3 fan4 breakfast

我准备吃早饭

我 wo3 I
准备 zhun3 bei4 prepare to
吃 chi1 eat
早饭 zao3 fan4 breakfast

Breakfast

2007-07-25T08:13:00.000-07:00

Nanny: I am going to prepare breakfast
how do I say that in chinese?

Min: 我去准备早饭了

我 wo3 I
去 qu4 to go
准备 zhun3 bei4 prepare
早饭 zao3 fan4 breakfast
了 le5 particle

Stirfried fresh summer vegetables and a fried egg, yum!

Chrysanthemum

2007-07-24T07:40:00.000-07:00

mum
n.
[植](=chrysanthemum)菊花, 沉默

I will have to check whether I have any of that tea left, sipping jasmine tea now.

Welcome back

2007-07-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

Nanny: welcome back
what would welcome back be in chinese?

Ang: 欢迎回来

huan1 ying2 欢迎 to welcome / welcome
hui2 lai5 回来 return / come back

Yes, I know, I have been away for too long. Life was a bit overwhelming, but I am going to try to study more chinese again. Even if it isn't much , keeping some study going will be beneficial, right?

My Handwriting

2007-06-10T23:25:00.000-07:00

I was complaining about my Chinese hand writing to my brother and came up with this sentence:
我的汉字是不好

He corrected me to 我的汉字写得不好

At least I got most of the characters right AND it was all by heart, didn't look up any (no, don't bother to point out that those were very high frequency characters :p)

Logging on and logging off

2007-05-14T08:24:00.001-07:00

我下线了。 i logoff.
我wo4：i
下xia4 线xian4：logoff

我上线了。 i logon.
上shang4 线 xian4：logon

没 mei2关guan1 系xi4：never mind

Gardening

2007-05-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

Gardening: 整理花园

zheng3 li3 hua1 yuan2

Happy Mothers Day

2007-05-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

母亲节快乐
happy mothers day

母亲 = mother
节 = festival
快乐 = happy

that formula works for anything too!
圣诞节快乐
新年快乐
父亲节快乐

不战屈人

2007-05-08T17:36:00.001-07:00

不战屈人

不bu2:don't
战zhan4:fight
屈qu1:yield
人ren2:people

Means yield sb. without fighting. This is a famous chinese proverb and also a important tranditional chinese thinking coming of war. It's also the most important rule of 'techniques of war' written by Sun Zi 2000 years ago.

Love your parents

2007-05-07T18:00:00.000-07:00

A friend told me:

父生我身 is the beginning of a confucian litany on filial piety. the message is honor thy parents.

It is apparently taught to koreans as part of the school curriculum. students are made to memorize the entire litany.
the entire litany is very long, but you can find it here:
http://www.zl169.com/MINGDA/read_user_news.asp?ID=127

It emphasizes the depth of a parents love for a child and the importance of reciprocation and piety
The first few lines are:
父生我身，母鞠我身。腹以怀我，乳以哺我。以衣温我，以食饱我。
恩高如天，德厚似地。为人子者，曷不为孝。
My father raised me, my mother nourished me.
A bosom to hold/cherish me, a breast to nurse me.
Clothing to warm me, food to feed me.
Kindness/graciousness higher than the sky, values/morals thicker than the land.
The son of a man, why not be filial?

Not sure if the translation is that accurate, but things that are 2500 yrs old are hard to translate, but you get the idea...it is very traditional, goes into things like when your parents enter, you must stand and bow, when your parents order you to do something, you must comply etc...

Quote of the Day

2007-05-06T18:50:00.000-07:00

My eight year old daughter comes to me with her Nintendo DS (a handheld gamesystem)
She asks 'How do you spell how?'
Me 'H - O - W'
She replies 'No!! Not that, the OTHER how!!!'
Me 'Um?? Which other how? Can you make a sentence with it?'
She I am trying to spell 'Nin hao'! To say hello!'
Ah, finally I understood and gave her the right spelling :)

Old Chinese Proverb

2007-05-06T11:41:00.000-07:00

A friend told me: "There are not many sunny days here in winter. A famous chinese proverb “蜀犬吠日”tell us it's same sutiation in ancient China.

蜀 su3：the ancient name of Sichuan province of China
犬 quan3:dog
吠 fei4:gnar
日 ri4:sun

The dog gnar to the sun because there seldom saw it in winter in Sichuan."

Mystery Character of the Day

2007-05-05T21:47:00.000-07:00

Saw this fountain with a character at our local nursery. Can anyone tell me which character it is and the meaning?

Greetings

2007-04-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

早上好 zao3 shang5 hao3 good morning
中午好　zhong1 wu3 hao3 good midday/afternoon
下午好　xia4 wu hao3 good afternoon
晚上好　wan3 shang4 hao3 good night
晚安 wan3 an1 good night

Weiqi Word of the Day: cap

2007-04-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

cap=盖gai4帽mao4

Wow!

2007-04-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

哇噻=wow
哇wa噻sai4

Weiqi Words of the Day

2007-04-08T07:29:00.000-07:00

coward! 懦luo4夫fu1
Double hane. 连lian2扳ban1

Calling to China

2007-04-07T18:19:00.000-07:00

My brother Ang asked me to call him at 9am this morning (his time) to help him wake up in time. Calling him made me forget ALL my Chinese at once. The moment I was on the phone, I went blank and couldn't remember any Chinese words I knew. They were fine with English, but it made me admire my sister Min even more, who moved here from China and had the problem the other way around, every time she needed to make a phone call in English.

I WILL work on my Chinese to at least be able to make a rudimentary phone call, I have been focusing on weiqi Chinese too much, and not as much on every-day-useful Chinese.

Snow...

2007-04-05T06:27:00.001-07:00

我讨厌雪
我讨厌雪天
我讨厌下雪

yes, we have 10-20cm of wet, heavy snow in April!

Iron Pillar

2007-04-03T06:39:00.000-07:00

iron pillar 扎zha1钉ding4

l/d problems

2007-03-25T07:15:00.000-07:00

Just blogging this to remember which l/d problems to check out in Stonebase:

"Nice to study l/d problems. There have some good stuff about yose and l/d problems in StoneBase which named 中外古谱 -> 中国古谱 -> 官子谱. It's very useful because almost all the stuffs come from the real game. In fact i almost don't do other l/d problems except this one. It was writed in 17th by GuoBailin."

Today, I am studying attack and defense, and haengma. I guess should do l/d later too.

Have fun!

2007-03-19T18:52:00.000-07:00

Nanny: have fun!
how do you say 'have fun!' in chinese?
Min: I don't think we have special words for it.
Nanny: ok, depends on what one is going to do?
Min: 玩得好
玩得高兴
Nanny: thank you
Min: yes, it depends on what one is going to do and now I can't think of anything similar for have fun.

玩得高兴
wan2 de gao1 xing4

Going to sleep

2007-03-16T22:50:00.000-07:00

Nanny: ok
how do I say, 'I will go to sleep' ?
i know I and sleep, but not sure how to make it into 'I will go to sleep'

lyonweiqi: 我将要去睡觉
or say
我去睡觉

Nanny: ok, let me make a note of that and then i'll follow through on it :)

lyonweiqi: 你应该去睡觉了
您 is more polite
姐姐您应该去睡觉了

Nanny: ok
hehe, just translated that :p

Guess will study more tomorrow, but wanted to make note now.

Have a good trip!

2007-03-16T09:36:00.001-07:00

wutu: 一路顺风
NannyOgg: 谢谢：）
NannyOgg: would you say that before someone goes out on a walk too?
NannyOgg: or only to a specific destination?
wutu: yes
NannyOgg: yes, specific, or yes to walk?
wutu: yes to walk or trip
NannyOgg: ok, great!
NannyOgg: then i learned very useful new vocabulary :D
wutu: hehe

Off to our local science museum!

Placement Stones

2007-03-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

I am playing a game with a friend, and it looks like we'll start with a cross corners hoshi opening. He said:

This looks like placement stones: 座zuo4子zi3

Women's Day

2007-03-10T09:50:00.000-08:00

March 8:

women's day=三八妇女节
三san1 =three
八=ba1 =eight
妇fu4女nv3 =women
节jie2 =festival

All the women will enjoy half day or a day's break. It's not long but interesting because you almost can't see a woman in working in this day.

Did you sleep well?

2007-03-06T16:10:00.000-08:00

谢谢，Min for teaching me this new vocabulary.

早上好

你睡的好吗?

你 ni3 You
睡 shui4 sleep
的 de
好 hao well
吗 ma5

if you want to express the time，you can add last night.
昨晚

昨 zuo 2
晚 wan 3

你昨晚睡的好吗。

Tiger's mouth

2007-03-06T08:38:00.000-08:00

虎hu3=tiger mouth

Kiai!

2007-03-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

"Can't play a move which you are supposed. It's kiai（气qi4合he2）! Now you are supposed to connect at where i was supposed to atari."

(And no, I did not play where he wanted me to play :p)

Family

2007-03-03T20:06:00.000-08:00

弟弟 (di4 di5) is Li Ang, my younger brother.
姐姐 (jie3 jie5) is Iliana, my older sister.
妹妹 (mei4 mei5) is Min, my younger sister
哥哥 (ge1 ge5) are Ronald and Oscar, my older brothers.

Moyo and territory

2007-03-01T00:48:00.001-08:00

Just realized it's not moyo(模mo2样yang4) but territory(实shi2地di4). I am really sorry for saying it a moyo to myself, but i don't feel too sorry for saying it to you^^

sansan

2007-02-12T22:45:00.001-08:00

点dian3三san1三 get into 3-3

Probe

2007-02-10T16:51:00.000-08:00

试shi4应ying4手shou3 probe

Kakari

2007-02-09T10:29:00.000-08:00

挂gua4 kakari

Bamboo Joint

2007-02-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

双shuang1 bamboo joint

断duan4 Cut first, think later.

aiki budoin=合he2气qi4武wu3道dao4 can be transted derectly 'Gathering Gas Together Kong Fu', cool name!

I changed the background and such of my blog, I like the way it turned out.

XieRui's Move

2007-02-05T07:16:00.000-08:00

There is a funny go term in China named XieRui's Move(谢锐的一手). XieRui is a famous go reporter with chinese 5d strength. He has many chances to stay with the China go team members. Sometimes, he loved to show his complacent move to these guys, but the team members though it just put on the board randomly. So, if any team members played a blunder move they would say:"Look, this is XieRui's Move".

Counter attack

2007-02-04T00:38:00.000-08:00

Counter attack=反fan3击ji1

虎hu3 Just because this shape looks like the mouth of a tiger which will eat everything throwing in.

Squeeze

2007-02-03T08:29:00.001-08:00

挤ji3 I haven't found a english term like this.

I think squeeze

Nose Attachment

2007-02-03T08:12:00.000-08:00

鼻bi2顶din3(nose attachment)

And from last night's game:

气合=kiai qi4 he2 ??

不得不杀 I have no choice but to kill
不得不 bu4 de2 bu4 have no choice but to
杀 sha1 to kill

不得不战 I have no choice but to fight
不得不 bu4 de2 bu4
战 zhan4 fight

不得不死 Have no choice but to die!

Can you tell what style of game we were playing? Yes, a fighting game ^^ He started it though, I was trying to peacefully take my 3/4 of the board, but he complicated.

Today I will go to go club

2007-02-02T22:57:00.000-08:00

Great, you can speak some sentences. Guess it something like my english but easy to understand. '今天我要去围棋会' sounds better. It's right to use '将' describle something happens in the future, but we always skip it when have used a definite date.

今天 jin1 tian1 Today
我 wo3 I
要 yao4 will be going to
去 qu4 to go
围棋 wei2 qi2 go
会 hui4 club

Nobi

2007-01-31T10:50:00.000-08:00

Nobi:

长 is a polyphonic character and has different meanings. Though '长zhang3' means 'grow/to develop' when it's a verb, but it's spelled 长chang2 when it's used as a Go term. In fact 长chang2 means 'length' when it's a noun and also means 'long' when it is a adj.. It reall make no sense but i don't know why.

There have many polyphonic characters in chinese and on the other hand they can be combined to words. So 3000 characters is enough for chinese while american have to remember 12000 english one.

I finally got back to listening to chinese lesson podcasts last night. All this go / chinese studying is motivating me to work harder at things :)

I visited Chinese Lessons with Serge Melnyk , a site I hadn't seen before. Looks like a good resource for beginners.

Long time no see

2007-01-30T23:47:00.000-08:00

好久不见

hao3 jiu3 bu5 jian4

Long time no see.

the chinese nation

2007-01-30T09:14:00.000-08:00

LOL, we chinese call it '国骂 ma4' means the abuse word of nation. We call something traditional which is really good such as Calligraphy, Peiking opera and Go etc. as '国粹 cui4', and it means the best old thing of the nation.

Have to do something!

2007-01-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

Ha, you sought complicating first, then i have to cut(我不得不断). '我得断' means i would cut. '不得不' is very useful when you want to say 'have to do something'. For example, i want to be Shodan, so i have to do more L&D problems. Then you may say:
'我想成为初段，所以我不得不做更多的死活题'.

想 xiang3: want
成 cheng2 为 wei2: a word means 'become'.
所 suo3 以 yi3: it's a conj. means 'so'.
更 geng4 多 duo1:m ore.
死 si3 活 huo2:death and life.
题 ti2: problem.

做个好梦.

2007-01-29T22:27:00.000-08:00

做个好梦

做 zuo4 to make
个 ge4 a measure word
好 hao3 good
梦 meng4 dream

Have sweet dreams!

One Space Jump

2007-01-29T22:21:00.000-08:00

Yes, 一间跳 means "one space jump". 间 is something means room. if you wanted to say a single room you could say 单(dan1)间. Sometimes 间 is also a counting word. For example, a house=一间房(fang2)子. 间 also can mean space, like 间隔(ge2)(the distance between two things) or 一间跳.

一 yi1 one
间 jian1
跳 tiao4 jump

Chinese Go Terms

2007-01-29T09:38:00.000-08:00

My friend sent this to me, now just need to learn all of them ^^

I found an article which contains an English-Chinese go dictionary. Hope it would help some. If you had any questions about it you could ask me or jing.

atari 打吃
(da3 chi1) (strike destroy)

bango 番棋
(fan1 qi2) (games go)

byo-yomi 读秒
(du2 miao3) (hard to find literal translation, miao is counting word?)

carpenter's square 小曲尺
(xiao3 qu1 chi3) (small crooked ruler)

chuban (middle game) 中盘
(zhong1 pan2) (middle game)

cut 断
(duan4) (break)

Have to go out caching now, so no time to look up more. From those, I knew the characters for 中，小 , and 棋
I guess the cutting one, 断 duan , would be a good one to learn too. It seems to happen a lot in my games ^^

cutting point 断点

dame 单官，气

dan 段

empty triangle 空三角

eye 眼

furikawari (exchange, trade, swap) 转换、交换

fuseki 布局

geta (net) 枷

gaisei (outside influence) 外势

gankei (eye shape) 眼形

go 围棋

goban 围棋盘

godokoro 棋所

Gosei 小棋圣

gote 后手

gote no sente 后中先

gukei (bad shape) 愚形 (*)

gyaku sente (reverse sente) 逆先手 (*)

gyaku yose (reverse yose) 逆官子 (*)

hamete (trick move) 嵌手 (*)

hanami-ko 无忧劫

hana-zuke (nose attachment) 鼻顶 (*)

hane 扳 (*)

hane-kaeshi 反扳，连扳

hangan (half an eye) 半眼

han-ko 半劫

han-moku (half a point) 半目 (*)

hasami (pincer attack) 夹攻(如定式中的一间夹、二间夹等等) (*)

hasami-kaeshi 反夹(对应于上述夹攻之反夹)

haya-go 快棋 (*)

hazama 穿象眼

hazama tobi 象飞

hiraki (extension) 开拆(如拆二、拆三等等) (*)

hon-ko (real ko) 本劫

Honinbo 本因坊(*)

honte 本手 (*)

hoshi (star point) 星 (*)

igo 围棋 (*)

ikken 一间(常见的有以下四种)：

ikken-basami (one-space pincer) 一间夹 (*)

ikken-biraki (one-space extension) 一间拆 (*)

ikken-jimari (one-space enclosure) 单关守角 (*)

ikken-tobi (one-space jump) 一间跳(单关跳) (*)

insei 院生 (*)

ishi-no-shita 倒脱靴 (*)

ji (territory) 地 (*)

jigo (a drawn game) 和棋，持棋 (*)

joseki 定式 (*)

joban (opening game) 序盘 (*)

josen 定先

jozu 上手，又常指江户时期的七段 (*)

jubango 十番棋 (*)

Judan Sen 十段战

jun-Meijin 准名人

kabe (wall) 壁 (*)

kakari (approach move) 挂角 (*)

kake 飞压

kake-me (false eye) 假眼 (*)

keshi 消，侵消 (*)

ki 棋

kiai 气合

kishi 棋士 (*)

ki-in 棋院 (*)

kido 棋道 (*)

kifu 棋谱 (*)

kikashi (a forcing move requring an answer) 先手利 (*)

kiri (cut) 切断 (*)

kiri-chigai (crosscut) 扭断 (*)

Kisei 棋圣 (*)

ko 劫 (*)

kogeima 小飞(*)

komi 贴目 (*)

komoku 小目 (*)

kosumi (diagonal move) 小尖 (*)

kosumi-tsuke 尖顶

kozai (ko threat) 劫材 (*)

kyu 级 (*)

kyusho (vital point) 急所 (*)

liberty 气 (*)

magari (turning move) 曲 (*)

magari-tsuke 拐头

mane-go (mimic go) 模仿棋 (*)

mannen-ko (thousand-year ko) 万年劫 (*)

me (eye) 眼(*)

me-gatachi (eye shape) 眼形

mekura-go (blindfold go) 盲棋

Meijin 名人 (*)

menjo 免状，棋力证书 (*)

miai 见合 (*)

mokuhazushi (5-3 point) 目外(*)

moyo 模样 (*)

myoshu (A brilliant move) 妙手 (*)

nadare (avalanche joseki) 雪崩 (*)

nidan-bane (two-step hane) 连扳 (*)

nigiri 猜先 (*)

Nihon Ki-in日本棋院

niken 二间(用于下列术语)

niken-basami (two-space pincer) 二间夹(*)

niken-biraki (two-space extension) 二间拆(*)

niken-jimari (two-space corner enclosure) 二间守角

niken-taka-basami (high two-space pincer) 二间高夹(*)

niken-taka-gakari (two-space high approach) 二间高挂(*)

niken-tobi (two-space jump) 二间跳(*)

niren-sei 二连星(*)

nobi (solid extension) 长(*)

nozoki (peep) 刺(*)

nurui (lukewarm, slack) 缓(*)

oba (large fuseki point or extension) 大场，常用 “large point”

ogeima (large-knight approach move) 大飞挂，大桂马(台湾用法)

ogeima-jimari (large-knight's corner enclosure) 大飞守角 (*)

oki-go (Handicap Go) 让子棋(*)

omoi (heavy) 重(*)

onadare (large avalanche joseki) 大雪崩(*)

osae (block) 挡 (*)

oshi (pushing move) 压 (*)

o-shiro go (castle game) 御城棋

Paduk (韩语)围棋

poka (blunder) (*) 恶手，错着(mistake)，漏着(oversight)，以上几个词义相近，
但有程度上的差别。

ponnuki 开花(*)

Ranka 烂柯(围棋的别名)

rengo (team go) 连棋

ryo-atari (double atari) 双打(*)

ryo-ko (double ko) 双劫(同时打两个劫)(*)

ryo-gote (double gote) 双方后手(*)

ryo-sente (double sente) 双方先手(*)

sabaki (making light, flexible shape in order to save a group) 腾挪(*)

sagari (a descent) 立(*)

sandan-bane (triple hane) 三连扳

san-ko (triple ko) 三劫 (*)

sangen 三间(用于下列术语)

sangen-basami (two-space pincer) 三间夹

sangen-biraki (two-space extension) 三间拆

sangen-tobi (two-space jump) 三间跳

san-san (the 3-3 point) 三三

sanren-sei 三连星(*)

saru-suberi (the monkey jump) 大飞伸腿(收官)

seki 双活(*)

sekito shibori (the stone-tower squeeze) 大头鬼(“石塔”)

seme (attacking) 攻击(*)

semeai (a capture race) 对杀(一般指杀气)(*)

sen-ai-sen 先相先，有时简写为B-W-B或B-B-W(江户时期的规则)

senban 先番

san-ni 先二

sente 先手(*)

shibori (squeeze) 滚打包收(*)

shicho (ladder) 征(*)

shicho-atari (a ladder-breaking move or a ladder-making move) 引征 (*)

shido-go (a teaching game) 指导棋 (*)

shitatsu (life and death) 死活 (*)

shi-ko (a quadrule ko) 四劫

shimari (a corner enclosure) 守角(见一间、二间守角等)

shimbun go (Newspaper go) 新闻棋战

Shin Fuseki (New Fuseki) 新布局(一般指吴清源与木谷实的新布局) (*)

shini-ishi (dead stone) 死棋

shinogi (saving an endangered group or stones) 治孤(*)

shitate (the weaker or lower-ranked player) 下手

shodan (1-dan) 初段(*)

shuban (the closing stages of the game) 终盘(收官阶段)，一般用“end game”(*)

shudan 手谈(围棋的别名)

Shusaku-ryu (the Shusaku opening) 秀策流

sogo 争棋(*)

son 损(不常用)

son-ko 损劫

soto dame (an outside liberty) 外气(*)

sugata (shape, formation) 形(*)

suji 筋

sumi (the corner) 角 (*)

suteru (to sacrifice, discard) 弃子(动词)(*)

sute-ishi (sacrifice stones) 弃子

tagai-sen 互先

taisha 大斜(*)

takamoku (the 5-4 point) 高目(*)

takefu (a bamboo joint) (连接时用的)双，竹节。(*)

te (a move) 手(*)

tejun (order of moves) 次序，手顺

tenuki 脱先(*)

tesuji 手筋(*)

tetchu (iron pillar) 铁柱守角(*)

tewari 手割(*)

tengen 天元(*)

thick 厚 (*)

thickness 厚味 (*)

thin 薄 (*)

thinness 薄味 (*)

tobi (a jump, usually toward the center of the board) 跳(*)

tsugi (a connection) 连，接，粘(*)

tsuke (an attachment; a contact play) 靠，碰(*)

tsuki-dashi (pushing in between two enemy stones) 冲

tsume (a cheking extension) 逼(*)

tsume-go (a life and death problem) 诘棋，死活棋(题目)(*)

uchikake (adjourning a game) 打挂

uchikaki (a throw-in move which reduces the opponent's liberties or eyes)
扑入，英文一般用“throw-in”

uchikomi (an invasion) 打入(*)，另一意思是把对手降级(江户时期)。

uchisugi (overplay) 过分之意，中文似乎没有对应的术语。

uki-ishi (floating stones. stones without a base) 浮棋(*)

usui (thin) 薄(*)

usui katachi (a thin or weak shape that can easily be attacked) 薄形

utte-gaeshi (a snapback) 倒扑(*)

warikomi (a wedge between two stones) 挖(*)

wariuchi (an invasion, a splitting move) 割打，分投(*)

watari 渡(*)

yomi (reading, analyzing a position) 读棋(*)

yose (the endgame) 收官(*)

yurumi shicho (a loose ladder) 宽气征(*)

zoku suji (bad style, a crude move) 俗筋(*)

Good night

2007-01-28T10:18:00.000-08:00

晚安 means "Good Night"

wan3 an1

It's not a horse, it's your mother...

2007-01-28T00:55:00.000-08:00

NannyOgg: no wonder your mother was upset ^^
wutu: lol
NannyOgg: 你的马马
wutu: no, 妈妈
NannyOgg: feh
wutu: 马=horse
NannyOgg: i wasn't sure :)
NannyOgg: ok
NannyOgg: 你的妈妈
wutu: so the female horse is mother
NannyOgg: 好的
wutu: 女=femal
wutu: 马=hose
NannyOgg: right
NannyOgg: like haengma :)
NannyOgg: the way of the moving horse
wutu: hehe
wutu: 女马=妈
NannyOgg: ok

Some day I'll actually get this all right, I swear!

Back to Studying

2007-01-28T00:45:00.000-08:00

Me bad, had gotten out of the habit of studying Chinese. An old friend showed up on the go server and motivated me to get back into it. I want to be able to read Chinese go books!

Some review from today:

不客气 bu ke qi means "You are welcome" in a more informal way

Too tired now to write more, but wanted to say hi to my two readers and show that I indeed still do exist ^^

Dumping some weiqi terms

2006-12-05T17:48:00.000-08:00

Trying to translate chinese language weiqi collection names, so dumping some info here where I can find it easily.

NannyOgg: what is 对局系列 ?
lanke: To bureau series
lanke: according to babelfish
lanke: hahahahahahaha
NannyOgg: very helpful, thank you
NannyOgg: i had tried that already ^^
lanke: 对 = facing/opposing
lanke: it can also mean correct
lanke: 局 = game
NannyOgg: oh, that's the collections of two players against each other!
lanke: 对局 just means "games" actually
lanke: series of games between two players
lanke: basically its just a collection of all the games played by two particular players I believe
NannyOgg: ok, makes sense
NannyOgg: So what about the victory bureau series? 胜局系列
lanke: bureau is an inappropriate translation of games
lanke: collections of victories
lanke: basically, like cho chikuns victory series
lanke: means the collection contains games that he won

FlameBlade: 手筋
FlameBlade: tesuji
FlameBlade: 腾挪
FlameBlade: sabaki
FlameBlade: 棋手专辑
FlameBlade: seems to be modern go players collection
FlameBlade: 常昊
FlameBlade: this is Chang Hao
FlameBlade: 古力
FlameBlade: guess who this is
FlameBlade: Gu Li
FlameBlade: Gu Li is Ancient Power
FlameBlade: or strength
FlameBlade: how fitting
FlameBlade: 中国棋手 chinese go players
FlameBlade: 坂田荣男 sakata
FlameBlade: 日本棋手 Japanese go players
FlameBlade: 山下敬吾对集
FlameBlade: this would be...?
NannyOgg: yk!

Saying of the day

2006-11-30T23:06:00.000-08:00

恶有恶报，善有善报

e4 you3 e4 bao4, shan4 you3 shan4 bao4

Evil begets evil (has retribution), good begets good.

Good Morning

2006-11-26T08:12:00.000-08:00

Today learned to say good morning to all in a room:

大家早上好

da4 jia1 = everyone
zao3 shang5 hao3 = good morning

I have been studying a lot of weiqi with my broken leg. Haven't done as much Chinese, because I often do that in the car, and not driving much yet. I guess I should translate more Pooh though, stay posted for more episodes of him :)

Broke My Leg...

2006-11-14T17:08:00.000-08:00

I broke my leg... I haven't been posting or studying Chinese much. I spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself :)

But today, felt like making at least a small post, trying to say in Chinese: I broke my leg.

- I is easy: 我
- broke, no idea, will have to look up. Hmmm, not very promising, so many entries for break. Wonder what would be good. Guess I'll go with " 拗 ao4 bend / break in two"
- my : 我的
- leg: 腿 tui3 leg , or 胫 jing4 lower part of leg. I think i'll go with the first one.

My result:
我坳我的腿

Please leave comments if I totally screwed up. 谢谢

More weiqi terms

2006-11-08T21:46:00.000-08:00

小目= xiao3 mu4 = little point = komoku
小飞 = xiao3 fei3 = little fly = little flying move = keima = knight's move

目= eye, but has many different meanings, here it meant point

以后？

2006-10-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

“以后，以后是什么时候”，小豆问道

Later? Who will come later? Little Peas asked.

Proverb of the day

2006-10-21T00:22:00.000-07:00

My friend S reminded me of this Chinese proverb:

Before enlightenment, chopping wood and carrying water
After enlightenment, chopping wood and carrying water

Babelfish gets me
在启示, 砍木和运载的水之前
在启示以后, 砍木和运载的水

I like the proverb. S helpfully told me I should try to find the original one and translate it into English. Maybe some day ^^

等以后吧，亲爱的

2006-10-15T07:36:00.000-07:00

“ 等以后吧，亲爱的。” 妈妈说。

'See you later, dear', mama says.

Hmmmm, that's a new one to learn, the only one I knew so far is 再见 (tia jian = bye)

Now I'll have to learn 等以后吧 (deng yi hou ba) and figure out when it is used.

But first, time for my aikido and my morning walk, life has been kind of crazy here, so haven't done any of those yet. Sylvia ran off with my Pooh book, so I have a good excuse to translate only one sentence right now ^^

More Pooh

2006-10-13T22:11:00.000-07:00

Back from my trip and found my Pooh book.

“你看，我正在买东西呢！”，他大声说道，“我已经长大了，可以帮妈妈买东西了。“

Hmmm, that is hard, not sure what it says

"You take care, I am going pretend shopping" he said loudly "when I am grown up, maybe I can go shopping with mama"

***

Today I was very happy to send a chinese sentence to a chinese seller on ebay. I had to get Min's help to get it correct, but hey, at least I tried! This is what I wrote:

期待着得到这些围棋书和那个手镯

Some day I will be able to actually do this without extensively scratching my head and using on line dictionaries ^^

Before You Know It

2006-10-04T21:33:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I found the Before You Know It software site and downloaded their trial version for Chinese. I worked myself through one of the lists, it seemed to work quite well. I'll have to use it some more before I can have a grounded opinion on it, but I figured I would put a pointer here so people can check it out for themselves if interested.

Haven't been doing much Chinese, life is happening. This weekend will be gone for a go workshop, but it's a Chinese pro teaching, so I might get some Chinese in anyway.

Morning Walk

2006-09-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

This morning, I went out for a walk, and decided to take my mp3 player with me. It was so nice to be outside in the sun, get my exercise AND listen to Chinesepod. I listened to the tones lesson and the lesson about facial features. I now can tell people "你的宝宝很像你。" Of course, I would have no idea what to say when they answer me in Chinese, but it would be a good conversation starter ^^

小豆

2006-09-24T12:09:00.001-07:00

Found my book again! Just reviewed the translation I have made so far and ready to translate another sentence.

小豆找到一个大大的袋子，开始往里面装东西。

"Little Peas found a bag, and was starting to have fun playing pretend things. "

Not sure about this one, I like how 大 is just big, and 大大 is greatly, enormously. It's interesting to see how the Chinese seem to use double characters for emphasis.

好 = good
好好= nicely
大 = big
大大 = greatly, enormously

I am sure there must be many more like that. I'll keep an eye out for them.

Some Chinese Go Terms

2006-09-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

My Winnie the Pooh book disappeared in my black hole house, so have not been posting much. Today is cleanup day, so will get some chinesepod in. I also dusted off my Rosetta stone and did the first unit。 It went surprisingly well.

Last night, I played go (围棋 wei qi) with a chinese friend, and he taught me some important go terms.

My Corner = 我的角 wo de jiao
My side = 我的边wo de bian
right side = 右边you bian
My center = 我的中央 wo de zhong yang
Another word for center = 中腹 zhong fu
Ko = 劫 jie

I also learned the chinese name for jewelweed: 凤仙花

风 feng phoenix
仙 xian immortal
花 hua flower

Immortal Phoenix Flower

But then mosaica told me: 'Actually, sorry, that's not jewelweed :) ..do an image search for those characters, and you'll see'

Oh well, I still like the name anyway ^^

炒土豆丝

2006-09-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

炒土豆丝－－one of my favorite dishes

recipe:
1.cut potatoes, seedweed, green peppers into matchstick sharp.
2.put some oil (depending how much potatoes you cook) in the wok
3.put (1) into (2) (until the oil is hot enough)
4. stir-fry it quickly, then put soy sauce, a little salt, crushed chili peppers( if you have it)
5. After you cook it for a whole, you may need to add a little water in it.
6. cook it until you feel it is ready.

如何表达时间

2006-09-05T08:19:00.000-07:00

询问时间

What's the time?
What time is it?
Do you know the time?

表达时间

整点表达法：……点钟＋o'clock(o'clock可省略）记得am 和pm
　　
"几点几分"：
　　1.顺读法：按"钟点数＋分钟数"的顺序。
　　6：18 six eighteen 7：30 seven thirty

　　2.逆读法：按"分钟数＋past／to＋钟点数"的顺序表达。
　　A. 分钟数不超过30(包含30)时，用"分钟数＋past＋钟点数"表达。如：6：05 five past six
　　B.分钟数超过30时，用"分钟数＋to＋钟点数"表达。其中"分钟数"为60减去原分钟数，"钟点数"为下一个钟点数，表示"差几分几点"。如：　　9：50 ten to ten
　　　

10：15 a quarter past ten
　　7：30 half past seven

:-) Today I forgot how to express time in English again when I made a appointment with someone on the phone. Wrote it down. Hope I will never forget it again.

是的，亲爱的

2006-09-03T23:24:00.000-07:00

“是的，亲爱的." 袋鼠妈妈说。她一边忙着级(系）大以（衣）扣子，一边找钱包

'Yes dear' said mama kangaroo, while she was busy buttoning her coat and finding her purse.
(The translation is perfect.)

Not sure about that sentence. I could do the " 'yes dear' said kangaroo mama " without dictionary, woohoo ^^

我不想玩

2006-08-31T07:55:00.000-07:00

“我不想玩。”小豆说，“我也要去逛街，我也会买东西呀。”

'I do not want to play nicely!!!' Small Peas said
'I want to go shopping with you too!'

This one I actually understood before I used the dictionary, woohoo!!!
Time to study go, but had to do some chinese first :)

日落

2006-08-31T07:45:00.000-07:00

Last night, my friend Min taught me this word.

日落

ri4 luo4

小豆，乖

2006-08-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

“小豆，乖。妈妈先要出去买东西，然后还要和萨阿以（阿姨）一起吃饭。”袋鼠妈妈说，拟（你）和小熊维尼一起好好儿玩

Small peas, be obedient. Mama has to go out to take care of important things. (Dong xi, I actuall knew that one ^^)After that, I have to get together to eat a meal." Mama kangaroo persuaded, I want you to be nice and amuse yourself.
( Mama has to go out to do some shopping. After that, I will have dinner with aunty Sha. )
(You can play with Winnie and have a good time.)

This one was hard, no idea how close I came to actually figuring out the meaning. This does finish the first page.

But hey, i entered and mostly translated a whole page of chinese text ^^ (yes, yes, I know it is only a kids book)

More Pooh

2006-08-28T16:24:00.000-07:00

“我不想要别人照看！” 小豆大声说。他级的（急得）都快哭了。

'I don't think other people can look after me' Small peas (is that Roo? the little kangaroo?) loudly said. He cried. (?)
（ I don't want other people look after me.) (He was so anxious that he almost cried.)
Pizza is ready, more later. This will take a while to translate the book, but it's fun to see how far I can get.

亲爱的

2006-08-28T14:39:00.000-07:00

I got a chinese Winnie the Pooh book, will use that for chinese translating practice

亲爱的，照看你的人就要来了。袋鼠代数妈妈说

Dear .. (is this an term of endearment?) Yes
Someone is coming to look after you, kangaroo mama says.

The picture shows mama Kanga talking to baby Roo.

More later, sylvia needs attention.

There we go

2006-08-27T11:52:00.000-07:00

那听起来好. 我想要做月饼.

I used the MDBG Chinese-English Dictionary to make sense of it.
First sentence I can't figure out 'How/which listen beginning or continuing good'
Second sentence seems to be 'I think I am going to make moon cakes.'

Let's cheat and see what babelfish tells me. 'That sounds I want to make the moon cake'
So second sentence agrees, but still no idea what to make of the first part.

(It sounds nice. I want to make moon cakes.)

咧嘴

'Draw back corners of mouth' Sounds like laughing?

好, 我将去回到读书

Oh, that one I could figure out with some dictionary help
'Good, I will return to my studies'

嘻嘻笑

Giggle. That's a new one, will have to remember that one. I usually use 哈哈

Welcome to Chinese For Fun

2006-08-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

This is just a blog to have fun with our Chinese language studies.

你好

My goal for today is translating what my friend said this morning，interspersed with my replies, but will post translation later today.

那听起来好. 我想要做月饼.
argh, that will take me a minute

咧嘴
help, too fast!

好, 我将去回到读书
ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
good, I something something something

嘻嘻笑

Chinese For Fun

Squirrel

輕敵必敗

殺氣

Making Tea

Have a good day!

Breakfast Revisited

Breakfast

Chrysanthemum

Welcome back

My Handwriting

Logging on and logging off

Gardening

Happy Mothers Day

不战屈人

Love your parents

Quote of the Day

Old Chinese Proverb

Mystery Character of the Day

Greetings

Weiqi Word of the Day: cap

Wow!

Weiqi Words of the Day

Calling to China

Snow...

Iron Pillar

l/d problems

Have fun!

Going to sleep

Have a good trip!

Placement Stones

Women's Day

Did you sleep well?

Tiger's mouth

Kiai!

Family

Moyo and territory

sansan

Probe

Kakari

Bamboo Joint

XieRui's Move

Counter attack

Squeeze

Nose Attachment

Today I will go to go club

Nobi

Long time no see

the chinese nation

Have to do something!

做个好梦.

One Space Jump

Chinese Go Terms

Good night

It's not a horse, it's your mother...

Back to Studying

Dumping some weiqi terms

Saying of the day

Good Morning

Broke My Leg...

More weiqi terms

以后？

Proverb of the day

等以后吧，亲爱的

More Pooh

Before You Know It

Morning Walk

小豆

Some Chinese Go Terms

更多土豆和海草

炒土豆丝

如何表达时间

是的，亲爱的

我不想玩

日落

小豆，乖

More Pooh

亲爱的

There we go

Welcome to Chinese For Fun