Lost and Found -- Chinese English Vocabulary -- Ting

(to show the continuity of things che1 deng3 zhe car is waiting -- same character pronounced zhao1, zhao2, zhuo2 with different meanings, usually in combination with other words)

Zhang Meng

Feng Xie

Li Si

走失

zou3shi1

went astray, to have gotten lost

足够

zu2gou4

just enough, ample, sufficient, enough; sufficiently, fully, amply

从来

cong2lai2

always, at all times

紧跟

jin3gen1

to stay close to, to heel

慢慢

man4man4

slow, sluggish, rude

新鲜

xin1xian1

fresh, new, novel, strange

购物

gou4wu4

shopping

可以

ke3yi3

to be able to, may; pretty good

(can be used in question answer -- Ke3yi3 ma? // Ke3 yi3. = Can I? // Sure.)

手推车

shou3tui1che1

cart, push cart, grocery cart, shopping cart

(wheeled push cart of any type -- common example is the metal basket you push in grocery stores -- informally shopping carts are called yi2 liang4 xiao3 che1)

推

tui1

to push, to shove

(don't use this in reference to closing drawers, pushing buttons, or telephones....ok if you want to push someone off a cliff, or use some force)

完

wan2

to complete, to finish; perfect, complete; finished, used up

玩具

wan2ju4

toy, plaything

包

bao1

packet, package, bag, sack

饼干

bing3gan1

biscuit (British), cracker

柜台

gui4tai2

counter

(as in top of cabinet or ticket counter)

胡萝卜

hu2luo2bo

carrot

拿

na2

to get, to take, to hold, to carry, to pick up, to catch, to arrest, to seize, to capture

碰头儿

peng4tou2r

to see each other, to meet

其它的；其他的

qi2ta1 de

others, the rest

(the choice of the pronoun depends on the context)

小车

xiao3che1

cart, shopping cart, grocery cart

(this is the oral form of grocery cart or shopping cart)

小甜饼

xiao3tian2bing3

样

yang4

kind, sort, type

(yang4 is used when items are in a group of dissimilar items -- see lei4 for discussion -- zhong3 is more commonly used to mean kind or type)

竹子

zhu2(zi)

bamboo

竹笋

zhu2sun3

bamboo shoots

(these are young tender shoots off the bamboo tree -- zhu2zi 竹子 )

花

hua1

to spend, to expend

(money, time)

几几排

ji3ji3pai2

aisle, shopping aisle

(ji3ji3pai2 is used orally, see gou4wu4 tong1dao4 for the written form, pai2 is the measure word for row -- has come to be used as a noun)

Cheng Hong

第三排

di4 san1 pai2

third aisle

(pai2 is the measure word for row -- has come to be used as a noun)

通道

tong1dao4

aisle, passage

(see ji3ji3pai2 for oral usage)

一眼

yi4 yan3

a peek, a quick look

眼

yan3

eye

并

bing4

to join, to combine, to merge; equally, simultaneously, together; and, moreover

多么

duo1me

how, what

(also used for emphasis -- such a beautiful, so beautiful -- duo1me mei3)

发现

fa1xian4

to find, to discover, to come to light, to appear

进行

jin4xing2

to proceed with, to go ahead, to carry on, to be in progress

计算机

ji4suan4ji1

computer, calculating machine

开始

kai1shi3

to begin, to start

里

-li3

inside, in the area of

(auxillary word to indicate location)

撇

pie1

to neglect, to leave, to cast aside

撇下

pie1xia4

to leave behind

(most often pronounced pie3xia -- there are two pronunciations of the character which are gradually melding into one -- pie1 will be found in the dictionary)

起来

qi3lai

to get up, to rise, to arise, to start

试验

shi4yan4

trial, experiment

往前

wang3qian2

ahead

笑

xiao4

to smile, to laugh

消防车

xiao1fang2che1

fire engine

洋娃娃

yang2wa2wa

doll, dolly

又

you4

again, more, in addition to; further, furthermore, but, also

电脑游戏

dian4nao3 you2xi4

computer game

(you can also say ji4suan4ji1 you2xi4)

游戏

you2xi4

game; to play

(often used as a verb with zuo4 = 做游戏 )

自行车

zi4xing2che1

bicycle, bike

走进

zou3jin4

to step into, to get into, to walk into

蔬菜

shu1cai4

vegetables

马上

ma3shang4

immediately, at once, right away

抬头

tai2tou2

to raise one's head, to look up, to gain ground, to improve, to go up (in price); space to fill in name (on forms)

突然

tu1ran2

suddenly, abruptly; sudden, abrupt

往

wang4, wang3

to, towards

(often followed by a direction -- right, left, up, back -- then it can be translated as go right, go up ... movement toward the direction)

想起来

xiang3 qi3lai2

to remember, to recall, to call to mind, to be reminded

想起

xiang3qi3

to think, to occur to

意识到

yi4shidao4

to realize, to become aware of, to be conscious of, to wake up to

找

zhao3

to look for, to find, to seek, to search, to call on (a person)

(on phone used for call)

记得

ji4de

to remember

(the negative can either be bu2 ji4de2 or ji4 bu4 de2 -- most often said ji4bude2 -- it's about 50/50 in usage with no difference in meaning)

男式的

nan2shi4 de

man's style

呀

particle indicating surprise

以前

yi3qian2

before, previously, in the past, prior to

糟了！

Zao1 le!

Heck!, Rotten! Damn!

(often used as an interjection meaning "What a mess!", "Bad luck!" )

哎呀

ai1ya1

oh dear, oh, oh my, wow

(expressing surprise)

根本

gen1ben3

essence, foundation; basic, essential, fundamental; simply, actually, at all, utterly

钟表

zhong1biao3

clocks and watches

自己

zi4ji3

self, oneself, ourselves

带

dai4

to wear, to carry, to bring, to take

(to take as in bring -- bring them to the store)

父母

fu4mu3

parents

家伙

jia1huo

whatchamacallit, guy, fellow

哦

起

qi3

to get up, to rise, to start

声音

sheng1yin1

sound, voice

叔叔

Shu1shu

child's name for an adult male, term of respect, mister, uncle

(In China, children are told to call a man, who is as old as his father, Shu1Shu1.)

叔叔

shu1shu

uncle, father's younger brother

抬

tai2

to lift, to raise, to carry together, to pick up together

抬头

tai2tou2

to raise one's head, to look up, to gain ground, to improve, to go up (in price); space to fill in name (on forms)

最好

zui4hao3

best; to had better

冰激淋

bing1ji1lin2

ice cream

( 冰淇淋 bing1qilin2 is what the dictionaries say -- but if you want to buy ice cream in Beijing, you had better know this one!)

匆匆

cong1cong1

hastily, hurriedly

呆

dai1

to stay; silly, foolish, blank

(dai1 is a very common verb to mean 'stay home', 'stay in Shanghai', it does not imply 'silly' when used as a verb -- usually combined with other syllables to mean silly)

丢

diu1

to lose, to misplace, to discard, to put aside

急

ji2

anxious, impatient, impetuous, quick tempered, urgent, quick, pressing, in a hurry, swift, rapid, abrupt;

(one of those adjectives that can be used as a verb -- like hao3)

脚

jiao3

foot

急匆匆

ji2cong1cong1

to rush

事情

shi4qing

affair, matter, thing, things, business

专心于

zhuan1xin1yu2

to pay attention to, to concentrate on, to apply one's mind to, to be absorbed in

次

ci4

second, next, order, position, sequence

(first time = di4 yi2 ci4 -- also used as a measure word)

办公室

ban4gong1shi4

office

打开

da3kai1

to open (up), to switch on, to turn on

广播

guang3bo1

to broadcast, to make an announcement; radio, announcement

(announcement made by a public address system -- also see 收音机 shou1yin1ji1 for 'radio')

接

jie1

to meet, to pick up, to come in contact with, to connect, to welcome, to receive, to accept

(Use this verb to say "I'll pick you up at 8." Also means to meet.)

经理

jing1li3

manager, director

扩音器

kuo4yin1qi4

microphone, mike, PA system

(kuo4yin1qi4 can refer to just the microphone or to the entire PA system or recording system -- mai4ke4feng1, a sound translation from the west, refers only to the microphone)

喇叭

la3ba

loudspeaker, horn, bugle

每个人

mei3 ge4 ren2

everyone, everybody

秘书

mi4shu

secretary

(this term is now used for secretary because xiao3mi4, which also meant secretary, now refers to a woman who is kept by a wealthy man and may be passed off as his secretary)

那样

na4yang4

that kind of, like that, situation, case; so, in that case, such

听

ting1

to listen

听到

ting2dao4

to hear, to learn

以后

yi3hou4

later on, in the future, after, afterwards

照顾

zhao4gu4

to look after, to care for

注意

zhu4yi4

to pay attention to, to take note of, to notice

geng4duo1

公平

gong1ping2

fair; fairness

(evenhanded etc.)

嘿嘿

hei1hei1

sound of ordinary laughing, a shy guy's laugh, a sinister laugh -- Hey! Hey!

(may be used as a wry laugh, like Hey!, to indicate that something isn't funny! You need the right inflection.)

看望

kan4wang4

to visit, to look in on (someone who is ill or dying)

每当

mei3dang1

whenever, every time

当。。。的时候

dang1...de shi2hou

when

(either "dang1" or "de shi2hou" may be found alone when "when" is clear)

位

wei4

measure word for person

(use when you want to show respect - always use it in introductions = Zhe4wei4 shi4 wo3 de peng2you. This respected (person) is my friend. = leaves the noun ren2 (person) out, it is understood)

http://hua.umf.maine.edu/Chinese/topics/zzLFS/douzhong.html
Last update: January 2008
© Marilyn Shea 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008