Bargaining

Dialogue Text:

【Dialog】(repeat twice and slowly)
老外： 这条围巾多少钱？
小贩：50块。
老外： 太贵了，能不能便宜点儿？
小贩：30块怎么样？
老外： 好吧，我要一条。

【Explanation】
Meimei: When you bargain with venders, you can say "太贵了，能不能便宜点儿?" to ask a discount. When you have got a discount, but you want to get more, you can say "能不能再便宜点儿？" it means "can you make it lower than that?"
Laowai: 能不能再便宜点儿？If I want know the lowest price, how can I say that Chinese?
Meimei: You can say "最少多少钱？" "最少" means "at least". Sometimes, the venders may say "最少40块。" "the bottom price is 40 yuan."
Laowai: Can I give the venders a price when bargaining?
Meimei: Of course, you can. You can say "30块怎么样", "how about 30 yuan？"
Laowai: Meimei, how about 30 yuan for a scarf? 贵吗？
Meimei: 一条围巾30块。I think it is fine with me.
Laowai: I will buy it at 30 yuan. Thank you for teaching me so much.
Meimei: 不客气。

Source: http://www.betterchinese.com

Translations gone awry

快乐 (kuai4 le4) This means "happiness" in chinese. It's used generally to describe happiness. However, just like English, there are variations, to describe the degree of happiness and different types of happiness.

For example, "高兴" (gao1 xing4) would mean "happy" as in "I am happy with my job". In order to exaggerate the degree of happiness, one can use "快乐如神仙" (kuai4 le4 ru2 shen2 xian1) and this means to be as happy as an immortal.















Apparently, the owner of this place tried to get an English translation for the words 餐厅 (can1 ting1) but got an error message instead and didn't realise it. 餐厅 literally means Canteen or dining place.
















I have no idea how they managed to get such a translation! But what the words "生鲜超市" (sheng1 xian1 chao1 shi4) literally means is "live" and fresh supermarket. Maybe what it really means is that it's a supermarket that sells really fresh goods.

祝词 (greetings)

祝词 (zhu4 ci2) are congratulatory phrases, greetings or general phrases that wishes well. They are normally made up of just four words. Sometimes people may also use phrases quoted from scholars in the past. Such phrases come in handy when writing greeting cards. However, it is important to know what they really mean, so as not to use them inappropriately.

Here are some examples:

For Students/Children:
学业进步 (xue2 ye4 jin4 bu4): May your studies improve constantly
快高长大 (kuai4 gao1 zhang3 da4): May you grow up fast and tall

For working adults:
步步高升 (bu4 bu4 gao1 sheng1): May you be promoted fast
马到成功 (ma3 dao4 cheng2 gong1): Success will be here soon

For elders:
福如东海，寿比南山 (fu2 ru2 dong1 hai3, shou4 bi3 nan2 shan1)
May you have prosperity as great as the Eastern sea and longevity as great as the Southern mountain.
身体健康 (shen1 ti2 jian4 kang1): Good health always

General well wishes:
万事如意 (wan4 shi4 ru2 yi4): May everything go smoothly for you
心想事成 (xing1 xiang3 shi4 cheng2): May everything that you wish for come true

词 2

Here are new examples of 词， containing the words 日 (ri4) and 雪 (xue3).

日 (ri4): sun, day

日报 (ri4 bao4): daily newspaper
Literal translation: sun/day-report

日本 (ri4 ben3): Japan
Lit: Sun-(measure word for Books)

日常 (ri4 chang2): daily, usual
Lit: Day-often

日出 (ri4 chu1): sunrise
Lit: Sun-out

日记 (ri4 ji4): Diary
Lit: Day-remember

日内瓦 (ri4 nei4 wa3): Geneva
Lit: Day-Inside-Tile
Note: For countries' names, usually the chinese names are made to sound like the English one, hence, the meaningless literal translation of the words.

雪 (xue3): snow

雪白 (xue3 bai2): White as snow
Lit: Snow-White

雪崩 (xue3 beng1): avalanche
Lit: Snow-break-apart

雪恨 (xue3 hen4): Hatred to be avenged
Lit: Snow-hate

雪花 (xue3 hua1): Snowflakes
Lit: Snow-flower

雪人 (xue3 ren2): Snowman
Lit: Snow-people

雪山 (xue3 shan1): Snow Mountain
Lit: Snow-mountain

雪中送炭 (xue3 zhong1 song4 tan1): (Figuratively) Timely assistance
Lit: Snow-in-send-coal (Sending coal when it's snowing)

Poem 诗 (shi1)

The author of this poem is Bai Juyi (白居易), he lived between 772- 846AD. He uses very simple language, and is therefore most people can understand his poems easily.









Literal Translation:
Part part plain on grass
One year one wither flourish
Prairie fire burn not destroy
Spring wind blow again life
Distant fragrance invade old path
Clear emerald meet ruined town
Again see off noble friend go
Crowded full parting feeling

Meaning:
The grass is spreading out across the plain,
Each year, it dies, then flourishes again.
It's burnt but not destroyed by prairie fires,
When spring winds blow they bring it back to life.
Afar, its scent invades the ancient road,
Its emerald green overruns the ruined town.
Again I see my noble friend depart,
I find I'm crowded full of parting's feelings.

词 (ci2)

Words in Chinese are called 词，they often come in pairs to mean one thing. Sometimes when a 词 is taken apart, the individual words may have meanings that are vastly different from what they would mean when they are together.

Here are some examples of 词 that contain the word 好 (hao3).
好 : good, right; excellent.

好吃 (hao3 chi1): Delicious.
Literal translation: Good-Eat

好处 (hao3 chu4): Benefit, advantage.
Lit: Good-place/area

好感 (hao3 gan3): Good impression.
Lit: Good-Feeling

好久 (hao3 jiu3): a long time.
Lit: Good-Longtime

好像 (hao3 xiang4): Look alike.
Lit: Good-alike

好笑 (hao3 xiao4): Funny.
Lit: Good-Laugh

好在 (hao3 zai4): Fortunately; thanks to
Lit: Good-Here/Present

好转 (hao3 zhuan3): Turn for the better.
Lit: Good-Turn

Here are some examples of 词 that contain the word 太 (tai4).
太: too, over; excessive.

太多 (tai4 duo1): Too many
Lit: Too-many

太后 (tai4 hou4): Empress Dowager
Lit: Too-Back

太监 (tai4 jian4): Eunuch
Lit: Too-watch (as in 'watchmen')

太空 (tai4 kong1): Outerspace
Lit: Too-Empty

太平 (tai4 ping2): Peace
Lit: Too-Flat

太太 (tai4 tai4): Madam
Lit: Too-Too

太子 (tai4 zi3): Crowned prince
Lit: Too-Son

Chinese Festivals --- "Valentine's Day"

The Double Seventh Festival, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, is a traditional festival full of romance. It often goes into August in the Gregorian calendar.

Scholars have shown the Double Seventh Festival originated from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD220). Historical documents from the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD371-420) mention the festival, while records from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) depict the grand evening banquet of Emperor Taizong and his concubines. By the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1279-1368) dynasties, special articles for the "Qi Xi" were seen being sold on markets in the capital. The bustling markets demonstrated the significance of the festival.

Today some traditional customs are still observed in rural areas of China, but have been weakened or diluted in urban cities. However, the legend of the Cowhand and Weaver Maid has taken root in the hearts of the people. In recent years, in particular, urban youths have celebrated it as Valentine's Day in China. As a result, owners of flower shops, bars and stores are full of joy as they sell more commodities for love.

http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/Festivals/78315.htm

This festival is often associated with the story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl. 7th day of the 7th month in the lunar calendar is the day when they meet each other every year. This is where their love story led to this day into becoming Qi Xi. On wikipedia there are two short summaries on two versions of the legend.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi_Xi