Simple Mandarin-Chinese phrases for Firefly fans
POSTED BY: FarscapePKWars
UPDATED: Saturday, March 3, 2007 13:03
VIEWED: 36648
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Ok as all you people will be able to explain to me Firefly is a rich and complex universe, part of this complexity comes from the Chinese cultural influence in the show, the characters, the dress and the speech
So I thought I might start a thread with some basic China phrases and some Chinese symbols
Chinese characters
http:// eagleclaw.rso.wisc.edu/ images/Chinese1 . jpg
China symbols
http://www.jimmattern.com/characters.htm
Phrases and words
Nĭ hăo 你好 and 再见 zàijiàn mean "hello" and "good-bye", respectively. Ni hao 你好 literally means "you good," while the literal translation of zaijian is "see you again." Other ways to say hello include the popular Beijing early-morning greeting 您早 nín zăo. Asking someone if they've eaten 你吃了吗? Nĭ chīle ma? is also acommon way to 打招呼 dă zhāohu (greet someone). 再会 zàihuì is an alternative way to say good-bye. Or you could just say 拜拜 bàibài like all those Taiwanese and Hong Kong
谢谢 Xie Xie (Shay Shay) Thanks
不用谢 Bu yong xie (bu yon shay) Not at all - You're Welcome
一点 yi dian- a little
Where are you from? - Ni cong nali lai?
你从哪里来
大 da - big/great
太好了 tai hao le - great
I live in (New York)- Wo zhu zai (niuyue)我住在(纽约)
不可能 bu ke neng - impossible
朋友 péngyou, which means 'friend'
朋友 péngyou can also mean 男朋友 nán péngyou (boyfriend), 女朋友 nǚ péngyou (girlfriend) or even 亲人 qínrén (lover).
妈妈 mama - mother
喝 he - to drink
What is your name?- Ni jiao shenme mingzi
你叫什么名字
三 san - three
月 yue - month
How much is it? - Zhege duoshao qian?
这个多少钱
I can only speak a little Chinese
- Wo zhi hui shou yidian hanyu 我只会说一点汉语
I'm / I am... 我是～(Wo shi~)
先生 xiansheng Mr., sir, gentleman
They like to dance- Tamen xihuan tiaowu
他们喜欢跳舞
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some more phrases and China words and links to Chinese characters here
1. 很高兴见到你。（hen gao xing jian dao ni )
=Nice to meet you.
2. 今天天气很好啊！（jin tian tian qi hen hao a )
=What a find day.
3. 你是哪里人？ （ni shi na li ren?)
=Where are you from?
4. 我好像在哪里见过你。 （wo hao xiang zai na li jian guo ni )
=Have we met each other somewhere?
http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/forumpost.shtml?toppid=4821&page=2
http://barney.gonzaga.edu/~chongls/CP/hanzik.htm
http://www.bunchoffun.com/html/rubber_stamp_bargain_bin.html
Quoted Letter translation
Quote:
Dear Dr. Ming,
Thank you and we will certainly consider coming to your hospital if we don't have successful treatment hear. So far the treatment has been quite good with Todd's muscles feeling stronger and his skin noticeably warmer. He is also doing deep breathing and strength exercises for his hands and muscles. We are very hopeful. I think I can find your city and hospital. I will write to you if I cannot find it. What types of treatment do you have in your hospital? Acupuncture? Tuina? Qi Gong?
Thanks again for your correspondence.
KI Italy
亲爱的明大夫！
谢谢你！我们肯定会考虑来你们的医院，如果这里治疗不成功。到目前为止，治疗非常地好，托德的肌肉感觉更强壮了，他的皮肤明显更温暖了，他正在做深呼吸和对手的力量锻炼。我们非常有希望我能够找到你的城市和医院。如果我找不到将给你写信，在你们医院的治疗方式是针炙、是推拿、还是气功？
谢谢你的回复！
意大利，KI
If any of you people know of any good Chinese links with good phrases then please put them in this thread
Let's make this one our Chinese phrase learning thread
cussin', foul or naught Chinese words should be put here also
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Quote:A flan after my own heart!
Originally posted by FarscapePKWars:
Ok as all you people will be able to explain to me Firefly is a rich and complex universe, part of this complexity comes from the Chinese cultural influence in the show, the characters, the dress and the speech
So I thought I might start a thread with some basic China phrases and some Chinese symbols
The RP Gang also has a thread with phrases and such - That's not to say we don't need more than one, by any means, so please do carry on!
If you don't mind, I'll add these to the Gunrunner's list and post this thread in amongst the others.
Also, I'd like to ask if you'd be available to translate phrases upon request? There was another flan who was doing that for awhile, but he/she seems to have vanished into the black.
Fans come and fans go...but zealots are with you until the bitter black end.
I draw...therefore I am. http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922
Minnesota Meetup - join us! http://firefly.meetup.com/45/
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Oops I'm not sure if these phrases are simple, in fact some of this is hard to learn
One point to keep in mind when doing the Chinese thing is the Romanised or English spelt version of Chinese
People in China have a kind of unique pronunciation or accent, so it is often hard to describe a Chinese phrase with the English Romanised Alphabet
It might be best to check up each Chinese phrase looking at various methods, or alternative English descriptions for each phrase because sometimes the first alphabetical description may not describe it accurate enough for us to speak Chinese correctly
Catch my drift ?
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Quote:
Originally posted by Channain:Quote:A flan after my own heart!
Originally posted by FarscapePKWars:
Ok as all you people will be able to explain to me Firefly is a rich and complex universe, part of this complexity comes from the Chinese cultural influence in the show, the characters, the dress and the speech
So I thought I might start a thread with some basic China phrases and some Chinese symbols
The RP Gang also has a thread with phrases and such - That's not to say we don't need more than one, by any means, so please do carry on!
If you don't mind, I'll add these to the Gunrunner's list and post this thread in amongst the others.
Also, I'd like to ask if you'd be available to translate phrases upon request? There was another flan who was doing that for awhile, but he/she seems to have vanished into the black.
Fans come and fans go...but zealots are with you until the bitter black end.
I draw...therefore I am. http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922
Minnesota Meetup - join us! http://firefly.meetup.com/45/
Thanks for the links Channain
, I don't think I could work at translations as I don't know Chinese
but Firefly is so good that I plan on studying the language, how do you say 'obsessed' in Chinese ?
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Wow, thanks for that. Just having a teensy bit of trouble with the pronunciation. Do you think you could help me out there?
P.S. I am also thinking of learning the language. I think quite a few of us are. But what can I say?
...and we will call it...this land...
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is there anything in particular you need help with?
Lithi@EstateSerenity.net
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Not specifically, it's sort of the x and q and stuff I need help with.
...and we will call it...this land...
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Quote:
Originally posted by fantasticlaughingfairy:
Not specifically, it's sort of the x and q and stuff I need help with.
...and we will call it...this land...
Pinyin definite has some improvement over wade-giles, but it also introduced some rather strange spelling to people who are not studying Chinese... the X, the Q, the C, and the Zh.
I'll start with X.
You know how photographers would ask kids to say "cheese" to make them smile a certain way? Do that and say cheese, and hold your mouth/lips/teeth where they are. Now without changing the shape of your mouth, say "Sheeee", part your teeth slightly as you let air out.
Xie-xie would sound more like "sh'ay-sh'ay"
The Q produces a "Chi" sound.
Qi-Pao would sound like "Chi-Pao"
The C sounds like the "ts" in "Cats"
Cao-Cao would sound like Ts'ao-Ts'ao
The Zh sounds like the "dr" in "drove"
Zhou sould sound like "Dr'oh"
Another VERY important thing about Chinese is that it is a TONAL language. Pitch and tones greatly change the meaning and the character a particular sound may represent. That's why sometimes you see little marks or numbers accompanying the spellings.
Lithi@EstateSerenity.net
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Thanks for that! It's a great help! See ya!
...and we will call it...this land...
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