Archive for the ‘Vocabulary’ Category

Hey, That’s Cheating! OK?

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

When my brother was about six years old, I watched him play battleship against my father (play free here--WARNING: turn down sound first). There was a break in the action when my dad had to answer the phone, during which I left the room as well. When I came back ...

Boy Left Girl Right

Saturday, June 19th, 2010

The other day I saw a few students taking a photo together and as they were arranging themselves the girl holding the camera shouted: "Nán zuǒ nǚ yòu" 男左女右 [boy left girl right] This seems to be a common/traditional way of arranging a boy and a girl for a picture or on ...

Proverb Assistance: Enemy’s Enemy

Saturday, June 19th, 2010

This tiny article at Wikipedia gives the Chinese credit for the proverb: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." as well as: "It is good to strike the serpent's head with your enemy's hand." But there are no references for either. I'd like to learn the Chinese for one or both of those. So ...