Archive for April, 2006

Snake

Sunday, April 30th, 2006

Rob from Ohio requested the Chinese translation for “snake” as in “he’s so low, he could walk under a snake with his hat on”…  (don’t ask me where I get these quotes…  lol).

Want to see these characters embroidered on a women’sor unisex t-shirt?  Or on a women’s or unisex tank top?  Click the appropriate preceding link.  Got a translation [...]

Learning Chinese: A Professor’s View (News)

Saturday, April 29th, 2006

“Washington Post, March 14, 2006
Chinese is harder to learn than Western languages partly because Chinese characters, of which an educated person needs to know at least 3,000, are much more complex than Western alphabets”…
Complete article archived here in .pdf format.  (To view, you can download Adobe Reader for free).

Flower

Saturday, April 29th, 2006

Cynthia from New York (again!) requested the Chinese translation for “flower” as in “love is the only flower that grows and blossoms without the aid of seasons”…  would you like some wine with that cheese?…  haha, and no, I’ve never used that line.

Want to see these characters embroidered on a women’sor unisex t-shirt?  Or on a women’s or unisex [...]

Baby

Friday, April 28th, 2006

Cynthia from New York requested the Chinese translation for “baby” as in “laughter is like changing a baby’s diaper…  it doesn’t solve any problems, but it makes things more acceptable for a while”…  author unknown…  lol.

…  where essentially the first character means “infant” and the second character means “child.”
Want to see these characters embroidered on [...]

Artist

Thursday, April 27th, 2006

Matt from Virginia requested the Chinese translation for “artist” as in “the fact that no one understands you doesn’t make you an artist”…  haha…  don’t even remember where I saw that.

…  where the first two characters together means “art”…  the first character by itself insinuates “art,” the second character suggests “skill,” and the third character in [...]

Pleasure

Wednesday, April 26th, 2006

Ellen from New York requested the Chinese translation for “pleasure” as in “humans, chimps, and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure”…  (it’s true, go ahead and Google it…  but what I really want to know is how the scientists confirmed it!)…  and yes, my mind is filled with fascinating and useless [...]

Horse

Tuesday, April 25th, 2006

Philip from the UK requested the Chinese translation for “horse” as in “straight from the horse’s mouth.”  (Now that got me thinking, anyone know the origin of that phrase?)

Want to see these characters embroidered on a women’sor unisex t-shirt?  Or on a women’s or unisex tank top?  Click the appropriate preceding link.  Got a translation request of your own?  Contact [...]

Kung Fu

Monday, April 24th, 2006

Pieta from Massachusetts requested the Chinese characters for “kung fu.”  You just reminded me of those old school kung fu flicks… “little brother, your kung fu is quite good…  but you are no match for my crane-style kung fu…  [ insert martial art sound effects here ]“…  haha, oooooh nostalgia.

…  where the first character is [...]

Mom

Sunday, April 23rd, 2006

Colleen from Wisconsin requested the Chinese translation for “mom” as in “my mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance”…  Tim Allen, comedian…  heyuh!…  we’re good for opening jarlids too…  lol.

…  where essentially the first character means “mom.”  It’s typically repeated twice, similar to how in English, you [...]

Tech Fosters Chinese Language Learning (News)

Sunday, April 23rd, 2006

“School News, January 13, 2006
Number of K - 12 students learning Chinese on the rise.
As Mandarin Chinese language instruction becomes more popular in U.S. schools, a lack of qualified teachers has caused some schools to consider using distance-education technologies to conduct classes.  Mandarin Chinese is the world’s most widely spoken language, but it’s only just [...]