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eChineseLearning Newsletter (July 1, 2009) |
吃闭门羹 (chī bìméngēng) To be denied entrance
王先生和他的朋友吵架后，每次想去和解都会吃闭门羹。
(wáng xiānsheng hé tā de péngyŏu chăojià hòu, měicì xiăng qù héjiě dōu huì chī bìméngēng.)
Ever since the quarrel between Mr. Wang and his friends, every time Mr. Wang intended to restore their relationship, he was denied.
In 吃闭门羹(chī bìméngēng), 吃(chī) means "eat," 闭门(bìmén) means "close the door" and 羹(gēng) means "soup." In Chinese Tang Dynasty, there was a famous geisha, Miss Shi Feng. She treated her visitors by their social status. When people with low positions visited her, she would put a bowl of soup in front of the closed door to show her refusal to them. Gradually, the phrase 吃闭门羹(chī bìméngēng) became popular.
Actually, there exist two layers of meaning in this word. See examples below:
1. 我每次去拜访他都吃了闭门羹，因为他总是不在家。
(wŏ měicì qù bàifăng tā dōu chī le bìméngēng, yīnwèi tā zŏng shì bú zài jiā.)
Every time I visit him, I was denied entrance because he was always not at home.
In this sentence, 吃闭门羹(chī bìméngēng) is used to describe a fact, that is, he is not at home.
2. When 吃闭门羹(chī bìméngēng) is used in the sentence at the beginning of this essay, it also describes human emotions. In this case, it shows indifference.
Thus, please consider the context before you use the phrase.
月光族 (yuè guāng zú) Moonlight group
Recently, 月光族(yuè guāng zú) has become popular in China. 月光(yuè guāng) actually means "moonlight." But here it has a totally different meaning. 光(guāng) means "running out" here rather than "light." 月光族(yuè guāng zú) refers to a group of people having the following features: They are young, eager to follow the trend and buy fashionable items. They always run out of their salaries at the end of month and hold the principle of "how much earned, how much spent." Thus, they got their special name: 月光族(yuè guāng zú) a group of young people that intend to spend all of their salaries at the end of every month.
e.g. 他很早就成为了月光族的一员。
(tā hěn zăo jiù chéngwéi le yuè guāng zú de yīyuán.)
He joined the moonlight group at an early age.
拼音(pīnyīn) pin yin: chī
笔画(bĭhuà) number of strokes: 6
含义(hányì) meaning: eat
笔顺(bĭshùn) stroke order:
e.g. 吃早饭(chī zăofàn) have breakfast
吃奶(chīnăi) take milk from mother
2) live off
e.g. 吃父母(chī fùmǔ) live off one's parents
坐山吃山(zuò shān chī shān) live off the mountains where your home is
3) suffer, bear
e.g. 吃苦(chīkǔ) to suffer
吃不了兜着走(chī bù liăo dōu zhe zŏu)
be unable to bear; put oneself in serious trouble
Others:
1) 吃穿(chīchuān) food and clothing
e.g. 讲究吃穿(jiăngjiū chīchuān) be particular over one’s food and clothing
不愁吃穿(bù chóu chīchuān) not have to worry about food and clothing
2) 吃喝玩乐(chīhēwánlè) seek pleasure
e.g. 我们难道没有比吃喝玩乐更高的人生目标吗？
(wŏmen nándào méiyŏu bĭ chīhēwánlè gèng gāo de rénshēng mùbiāo ma?)
Can't we have a higher aim in life than mere pleasure-seeking?
3) 吃亏(chīkuī) suffer losses
e.g. 他经常吃亏。
(tā jīngcháng chīkuī.)
He often suffers losses.
4) 吃闭门羹(chī bìméngēng) be denied entrance
e.g. 登门拜访做销售，常常吃闭门羹。
(dēng mén bàifăng zuò xiāoshòu, chángcháng chī bìméngēng)
Those who pay a visit to do sales are often denied entrance.
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Carl has promised his girlfriend May to have dinner with her after work in a new restaurant. But the taxi driver dropped him off at a wrong place and he had troubles in finding the restaurant.
Beginner Level / 初级chūjí
Carl: 你好！能送我去仙踪林餐厅吗？
nĭhăo! néng sòng wŏ qù xiān zōng lín cāntīng ma?
Hi! Could you take me to the RBT restaurant?
A: 恩，大概十五分钟就到了。
en, dàgài shíwǔ fēnzhōng jiù dào le.
OK. It will take you about fifteen minutes.
Carl: 请问仙踪林餐厅在这条街上吗？
qĭng wèn xiān zōng lín cāntīng zài zhè tiáo jiēshàng ma?
Excuse me; is the RBT restaurant on this street?
B: 仙踪林餐厅没在这条街上，但离这里也不远了。
xiān zōng lín cāntīng méi zài zhè tiáo jiē shàng, dàn lí zhèlĭ yě bù yuăn le.
No, it’s not on this street, but not far away from here.
Carl: 那您能告诉我怎么去吗？
nà nín néng gàosu wŏ zěnme qù ma?
Could you tell me how I can get there?
B: 往前走五十米有一个路口，然后左转弯就快到了。
wăng qián zŏu wǔshí mĭ yŏu yí gè lùkŏu, rán hòu zuŏ zhuănwān jiù kuài dào le.
Go straight about fifty meters and there is an intersection. Turn left here and you will be almost there.
街 jiē： n street
路口 lùkŏu： n intersection
Carl: 打扰一下，请问仙踪林餐厅离这里还有多远？
dárăo yí xià, qĭng wèn xiān zōng lín cān tīng lí zhèlĭ hái yŏu duō yuăn?
Excuse me, could you tell me how far away the RBT restaurant is from here?
C: 你还需要走两个街口，大概二十分钟能到。
nĭ hái xūyào zŏu liăng gè jiēkŏu, dàgài èrshí fēnzhōng néng dào.
You have to walk two intersections and it would take you about twenty minutes.
Carl: 这条街上没有出租车，是吗？
zhè tiáo jiēshàng méiyŏu chūzūchē, shì ma?
There is no taxi on this street, right?
C: 是的。你必须走过去。这条街上不允许车辆行驶。
shì de. nĭ bìxū zŏu guòqù. zhè tiáo jiē shàng bù yúnxǔ chēliàng xíngshĭ.
Yes, you have to walk there. Taxi is not allowed on this street.
Carl: 有其它办法过去吗？
yŏu qítā bànfă guòqù ma?
Any other ways I can get there?
C: 你可以走回东大街然后打车过去。
nĭ kéyĭ zŏu huí dōng dàjiē ránhòu dăchē guòqù.
You can walk back to the East Street and take a taxi.
打车 dăchē： v take a taxi
打扰(dărăo) is a verb and used broadly in China.
It can be used as to show pliteness when you need others'help and this term means "I am sorry to bother you" and "Excuse me."
i.e. 对不起打扰一下，请问车站怎么走？
duìb qĭ dárăo yí xià, qĭng wèn chēzhàn zěnme zŏu?
I'm sorry to bother you, but could you tell me the way to the station?
It can be used as a transitive verb with the meaning of “disturb.”
i.e. 他老是打扰我。
tā lăo shì dárăo wŏ.
He's constantly disturbing me.
Xiaonei.com, widely believed to be the Chinese version of facebook, was set up in December, 2005 and was the earliest Social Networking site for universities in China. 校内(xiào nèi) means "within campuses, within universities." At Xiaonei.com, only those who have specific university IP addresses could register and this is to ensure that the majority of the registered users are college students. After registration, just like Facebook, users can create 相册(xiàngcè) albums, write 日志(rìzhì) diaries and leave 留言(liúyán) messages. Let’s take a look at the following phrases that may be helpful if you would like to get on Xiaonei:
网上相册wăngshàng xiàngcè: n web photo album
网上相册(wăngshàng xiàngcè) is a platform for users to present their photos. Here 网上(wăngshàng) means "on the net" and 相册(xiàngcè) means "album."
日志rìzhì: n diary
日志(rìzhì), also called 日记(rìjì), is a personal record of daily experience and reflections.
留言liúyán: n message
留言(liúyán) means "message." 留(liú) means "leave something somewhere" and 言(yán) means "words, information." 留言(liúyán) is a message left by other visitors commenting on what you write on the internet. |
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A rabbit and a tortoise decide to hold a race competition, and the winner will win the ticket to the Forest Concert.
1. 为了赢得森林音乐会的门票，小乌龟决定接受小兔子的挑战，和他进行一次赛跑。
wèi le yíng dé sēnlín yīnyuèhuì de ménpiào, xiăo wūguī juédìng jiēshòu xiăo tùzi de tiăozhàn, hé tā jìnxíng yí
cì sàipăo.
To win a Forest Concert ticket, the tortoise decided to accept the rabbit's challenge and took the race competition against the little Rabbit.
2. 比赛的路线是从老虎市长的办公室门口到森林花园的门口。先到达终点的就是胜利者。
bĭsài de lùxiàn shì cóng láohǔ shìzhăng de bàngōngshì ménkŏu dào sēnlín huāyuán de ménkŏu. xiān dào
dá zhōngdiăn de jiù shì shènglìzhě.
The race route is from the Major Tiger's office to the woods garden and the one who finishes the race first is the
winner.
3. 所有的动物们都看好小兔子，觉得他一定会战胜小乌龟。
suóyŏu de dòngwù men dōu kànhăo xiăo tùzi, jué dé tā yídìng huì zhànshèng xiăo wūguī.
All animals believed the rabbit would be the winner.
4.小兔子飞快跑向终点，路上没有看到小乌龟的身影。他心里暗暗高兴，心想小乌龟肯定还在后面慢慢爬着。
xiăo tùzi fēikuài păo xiàng zhōngdiăn, lùshàng méiyŏu kàndào xiăo wūguī de shēnyĭng. tā xīnlĭ àn àn gāoxìng,
xīn xiăng xiăo wūguī kěndìng hái zài hòumiàn mànmàn pá zhe.
The rabbit ran fast to the destination and didn't see the tortoise on the road. He was so happy and thought the
tortoise was creeping on the road.
5. 可当小兔子转过身时，发现小乌龟已经站在终点了。
kě dāng xiăo tùzi zhuăn guò shēn shí, fāxiàn xiăo wūguī yĭjīng zhàn zài zhōngdiăn le.
But when he turned around, he found the tortoise already arrived.
How did the Little Tortoise win this race competition?
when the competition began, the tortoise knew that he would not win if he didn't find a solution. Finally, he decided to tie himself to the rabbit's tail so that he can always follow the rabbit's pace. When near the destination, the rabbit would turn around to see if the tortoise was behind him. On this moment, the tortoise was just moved to the destination.
Instructions: Fill in the blanks
Hints:
Horizontal:
⑴a cadre
⑵life
⑶strength
⑷quantity, amount
Vertical:
①work on something
②be angry with something
③power
④mathematics
Horizontal:
⑴出(chū)
⑵女(nǚ)
⑶童(tóng)
Vertical:
①出(chū)
②房(fáng)
③女(nǚ)
④童(tóng)
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Learning Chinese Tip (V): learn Chinese by systematic Chinese reading. By doing so, you know more about Chinese characters, Chinese culture and enlarge your Chinese vocabulary. Please select Chinese reading material according to your own level. In addition, occasionally, people would like to find a tutor to help them learn Chinese. In some cases though, taking part in a face-to-face class could be inconvenient due to scheduling, traffics, safety, etc, especially for children who want to learn Chinese or those who want to learn Chinese for business but is busy with work. One option is to take online mandarin Chinese course which could offer convenience and flexibility.
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