Archive for the ‘Word Hog’ Category

The Curse of the Convergent Concepts

Saturday, May 10th, 2008

We've talked a little bit before about concepts that are distinct in English but are the same in Chinese. Some of the examples I've given (I think) were: jiè 借 = to borrow / to lend ràng 让 = to make / to let / to ask someone to do something In ...

Funnest Things to Say

Thursday, April 24th, 2008

DISCLAIMER: In case I have a Chinese reader, I should tell you "funnest" isn't a real word. This post started out innocently enough as a fun way to test the new audio plugin (thanks to Beijing Sounds for the tip) and celebrate the joy of speaking a foreign language. But ...

Tomb Sweeping Festival

Friday, April 4th, 2008

Happy Qīngmíng Jié 清明节 everyone. I thought I'd share what I learned in the English classes I taught this week. This will NOT be an extensive treatment of all the ins and outs of Qingming Jie, just some new things I've learned. Culture 1. First year for official holiday. ...