Speak Mandarin like a Chinese by repeating certain words (Part 1)

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, time to get my snowpea seeds planted in the garden. With luck there will be sweet pea shoots (豆苗 dòu miáo ) and crunchy pea pods (豆荚 dòujiá) to enjoy during summer. When it comes to waiting to harvest the fruit of your labor, time crawls … like a snail. To celebrate the occasion, there you have it, a green snail (蜗牛 wōniú).

Snails move slowly, very slowly. Simply using the word 慢 (màn) doesn’t do justice to its suggishness. Perhaps one might imagine it crawling forward at one mile per hour, stopping every minute to swallow some saliva before moving on. That is the picture painted by the adverb 慢吞吞地 (màn tūn tūn de very slowly).

Now compare the following two sentences:

她慢慢地吃饭.
Tā màn man de chīfàn.
She eats the meal slowly.

她慢吞吞地吃饭.
Tā màn tūn tūn de chīfàn.
She eats the meal very slowly.

The exaggeration in the second sentence adds interest to the description as well as authenticity to your spoken Chinese.

Repeating certain words in Chinese can produce a number of diverse effects. It could help smooth out a sentence, pinpoint emphasis, indicate plurarity, or achieve exaggeration (as we’ve seen above).

When referring to your older brother, you would normally say 我的哥哥 (wǒ de gēgē) instead of just 我的哥 (wǒ de gē). Similarly, when referring to your older brother’s wife, you woud say 我的嫂嫂 (wǒ de sǎosǎo) or 我的嫂子 (wǒ de sǎo zi). It sounds less abrupt than just uttering 嫂 once. See Chapter 3 of “Learn Chinese through Songs and Rhymes” for how to address the various members in the family as well as the extended family.

Many adjectives and adverbs are also repeated to improve the fluidity of the speech. Some examples:

弯弯的眉毛 (wān wān de méimáo) curved eyebrows
这件事怪怪的. (Zhè jiàn shì guài guài de.) This thing is weird.
慢慢地工作 (màn man dì gōngzuò) working slowly
轻轻地哼着歌 (qīng qīng de hēngzhe gē) humming a song softly or gently
呆呆地坐着 (dāi dāi de zuòzhe) sitting blankly

Everyone knows 人 (rén) means a person. When you double this word, the meaning changes to people. Similarly, when you say 天 (tiān day) twice in a row, it means every day or daily. Here are some additional examples: 日日 (rì rì day by day), 夜夜 (yè yè every night), 年年 (nián nián every year), (个个 gè gè all), 某某 (mǒu mǒu so and so – person), 处处 (chùchù everywhere).

Like 慢吞吞 (màn tūn tūn), there are many expressions containing repeated sounds to further characterize a description. Here are a few examples:

凶巴巴 (xiōng bābā) fierce
软趴趴 (ruǎn pā pā) soft and limp
软绵绵 (ruǎnmiánmián) soft as cotton
硬棒棒 (yìng bang bàng) hard as a rod
笑眯眯 (xiàomīmī) smiling genuinely, squinting the eyes
笑哈哈 (xiào hāhā) laughing heartily
热乎乎 (rèhū hū) hot or very warm
胖嘟嘟 (pàng dū dū) chubby
雨蒙蒙 (yǔ méng méng) rainy and drizzly
湿答答 (shī dā dá) dripping wet – Do you hear the sound of the water dripping?
湿淋淋 (Shī línlín) showery wet
光秃秃 (guāngtūtū) bare or bald
乱糟糟 (luànzāozāo) very messy
脏兮兮 (zāng xī xī) icky dirty
假惺惺 (jiǎxīngxīng) hypocritical
黑黝黝 (hēiyǒuyǒu) black, dark, dusky
雄赳赳气昂昂 (xióngjiūjiū qì áng’áng) courageous and spirited

那是猫哭老鼠, 假惺惺.
Nà shì māo kū lǎoshǔ, jiǎxīngxīng.
That’s a cat crying over a mouse, hypocrisy.

我们的战士雄赳赳气昂昂.
Wǒmen de zhànshì xióngjiūjiū qì áng’áng.
Our soldiers are brave and spirited.

For those of you who love four-character Chinese expressions, here is a bunch of easy ones:

日日夜夜 (rì rì (yè yè) day and night, all the time
男男女女 (nánnánnǚnǚ) men and women, or male and female persons
婆婆妈妈 (pópomāmā) garrulous or fussy like old women
马马虎虎 (mǎmǎhǔhǔ) so-so, passable, sloppy
风风雨雨 (fēng fēngyǔ yù) the trials of life
嘻嘻哈哈 (xīxīhāhā) laughing cheerfully
哭哭啼啼 (kūkūtítí) crying ones eyes out
来来回回 (lái láihuí hui) back and forth, to and fro
来来往往 (lái lái wǎngwǎng) passing by in great numbers
扭扭捏捏 (niǔ niǔniē niē) shy, not self-assured or straightforward
战战兢兢 (zhànzhànjīngjīng) trembling with fear, exercising caution
是是非非 (shì shìfēi fēi) scandals or gossips
拖拖拉拉 (tuō tuōlā lā) procrastinating, dilatory, dragging one’s feet

你准备好了吗？不要总是拖拖拉拉.
Nǐ zhǔnbèi hǎole ma? Bùyào zǒng shì tuō tuōlā lā.
Are you ready? Don’t keep dragging your feet.

圣帕特里克节快乐!
Shèng pàtèlǐkè jié kuàilè!
Happy St. Paatrick’s Day!

Happy Moon Festival

It’s that time of the year again – to visit with your family for 中秋节 (Zhōngqiūjié the Mid-Autumn Festival) and savor the 月饼 (yuèbǐng moon cakes). Moon cakes are typically of two varieties, the firm baked pastry moon cakes and the pliable ones made from steamed glutinous rice dough. How to make them? Be forewarned that it’s a time-consuming process (even if you purchase most of the ingredients in packaged, canned or bottled form) then read Christine’s write-up on Traditional Mooncakes. As a bonus, take a look at her Chinese version of the same recipe and try to figure out the Chinese terms with the help of the English version. If you don’t have the special mold for making moon cakes, you could use your palm to pat down the filled moon cake balls so they’re about the size and shape of a typical moon cake. If you have a cookie stamp handy, you could use it to imprint some patterns on the moon cakes before baking.

For those who are far away from their family, the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival may deepen the feeling of homesickness and nostalgia. This sentiment is best captured in a composition by one of the most talented literary giants in ancient China, 苏轼 (Sū Shì) of the Sung Dynasty. Following is the line from this composition that has been quoted so often that it has become a cliché:

但愿人长久,
Dànyuàn rén chángjiǔ,
Hope you and I will stay alive and well,

千里共婵娟.
qiānlǐ gòng chánjuān.
so we may continue to share this beautiful moon though we are far apart.

但愿 (dànyuàn) means “I only wish that …” or “I wish …”. You could also say 希望 (xīwàng I hope), or 只希望 (zhǐ xīwàng I only hope).

长久 (chángjiǔ) means for a long time.

千里 (qiānlǐ) indicates a very long distance. 千里眼 (qiānlǐyǎn) is clairvoyance.

共 (gòng) is to share or to do something together, or to have something in common. This word can also be used as an adverb that means “altogether”.

他们两个共喝了五瓶啤酒.
Tāmen liǎnggè gòng hē le wǔ píng píjiǔ.
The two drank five bottles of beer in all.

婵 (chán) and 娟 (juān) both mean beautiful and graceful. 婵娟 (chánjuān) refers to the moon, or the beautiful fairy, 嫦娥 (Chángé), who is believed to live on the moon with her pet rabbit.

As a matter of fact, the expression 但愿人长久 (Dànyuàn rén chángjiǔ) is imbedded in the song titled 月满西楼 (Yuè mǎn xī lóu) – Click on this link to hear the song. The verses were written by the very popular romance writer 琼瑶 (Qióngyáo). The music was composed by 刘家昌 (Liú Jiāchāng). The performing artist is 甄妮 (Zhēn Nī). Click here for the lyrics in Simplified Chinese characters.

满 (mǎn) means full or to be filled with. It also means to be satisfied or conceited. 西 (xī) is the west side. 楼 (lóu) is a multi-storied building, or one of its stories. The 月 (yuè moon) in the title of this song refers to the moonlight that shines on and fills the western pavilion.

正是 (zhèngshì) means “precisely”. The setting for this song is right at the time when the flowers are blooming and the moon is full and round.

露 (lù) is the dew, and 湿 (shī) means wet or to dampen.
胭脂 (yānzhi) is rouge. It refers to the reddish color of the flowers. 初 (chū) means initial or initially. 透 (tòu) means to seep through or penetrate. Therefore, the second line of the verses describes how the dew is moistening the flowers that are just starting to blush.

殷勤 (yīnqín) means to be attentive to someone. 相守 (xiāng shǒu) means to stay close together with someone. 莫 (mò) is the formal word for “don’t”. It means the same as 不要 (bùyào). 让 (ràng) means to let, to allow, or to yield to. 消瘦 (xiāoshòu) is to waste away. So, if you love the flowers, then stay by their side and don’t let them wither away.

圆 (yuán) means “round”.

惜 (xī) is to cherish, as in 爱惜 (àixī), or to have pity on, as in 可惜 (kěxī). There is an error in the printed lyrics for the line: 惜月且殷勤相守 (Xī yuè qiě yīnqín xiāng shǒu). The sun is mentioned instead of the moon.

溜走 (liùzǒu) means to slip away.

似 (sì) is the formal word for “like”, “appear to be”, or “similar.” 这般 (zhèbān) means “such” or “like this”. 似这般 (sì zhèbān) translates to 像这样的 (xiàng zhèyàng de) in everyday speech. Some artists, like 甄妮 (Zhēn Nī), sing this line with 是这般 (shì zhèbān).

In the last line of the lyrics the second character is missing from 但愿 (dànyuàn).

良辰美景 (liángchénměijǐng) means a wonderful time in a beautiful setting. 蜜意绸缪 (mì yì chóumóu) describes how the lovers are sentimentally attached to each other. This brings us to the ending of the song:

“Oh! Such wonderful ambiance! Such sweet and tender feelings! May the flowers keep blooming, the moon stay full, and we be here forever to enjoy them!”

中秋节快乐!
Zhōngqiūjié kuàilè.
Have a happy Moon Festival!