guardian_learning | A little game…?

It's already TGIF where I am, so 我们来玩玩游戏吧！

Since languages are all about connections, and everyone sees different patterns in the chaos:

Post a bit of vocab below, and I (plus anyone else who wants to play!) will reply with other bits of vocab that feel related to it!

Any shape or size of vocab goes – whether a single character or an idiom, your favourite word or one you just learned.

If you're responding, feel free to add why these words seem related to you! "They're the same shape/sound", or "it's a valid answer to 接龙ing the above", or "it came up together in one line of this show"… anything goes! 放飞创意吧！

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

From:

presumenothing

My word: 江湖!

(because Zhou Shen's 江湖觅知音 is currently set as my alarm, heh)

From:

nnozomi

I went to 东京 this week and realized that China has the 江湖 while Japan had 江户...

From:

grayswandir

A longer phrase with 江湖 as part of it: 人在江湖，身不由己.

(no subject)

From:

presumenothing - Date: 2022-10-09 03:56 am (UTC) - Expand

From:

presumenothing

江湖川柯南 would, safe to say, be a very different manga XD

Tangent: kinda interesting that while most/all(?) CN speakers probably know what 江 means, it's one of those words that's generally fallen out of modern use aside from a truly impressive number of names – 黄江、长江、浙江、江南、江苏…

(no subject)

From:

nnozomi - Date: 2022-10-09 10:41 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

presumenothing - Date: 2022-10-11 12:09 pm (UTC) - Expand

From:

petrea_mitchell

Here's something to do with why I'm learning Chinese: 科幻大会

From:

sam_gardener

成都市。你要去吗？

I always think of this song

From:

petrea_mitchell

我会用电脑参加。

I'd love to go in person, but I'm not optimistic about it happening.

From:

reshiel

!! Chinese sci-fi, by any chance? ♥ I have only scraped the surface but I've loved what I've read and watched so far.

In that theme, I'll go with 恒星, a more scientific term for 'star'. (+1: 冥王星 our dearly departed (from planetary status) Pluto.)

* Edited to add: I have since learned where worldcon is happening next year *facepalm* If you go, safe travels!

Edited Date: 2022-10-08 04:41 am (UTC)

From:

grayswandir

Oh, I just recently learned a bunch of 天文学 vocab from a sci-fi show. :D (Didn't learn Pluto, though!)

I really like the word for nebula, 星云.

(no subject)

From:

trobadora - Date: 2022-10-08 11:28 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

grayswandir - Date: 2022-10-08 06:32 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

trobadora - Date: 2022-10-08 07:16 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

grayswandir - Date: 2022-10-08 07:29 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

trobadora - Date: 2022-10-08 07:33 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

grayswandir - Date: 2022-10-08 07:38 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

trobadora - Date: 2022-10-08 07:42 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

reshiel - Date: 2022-10-09 04:22 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

trobadora - Date: 2022-10-09 04:36 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

reshiel - Date: 2022-10-09 05:20 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

trobadora - Date: 2022-10-09 08:36 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

reshiel - Date: 2022-10-09 05:53 am (UTC) - Expand

From:

presumenothing

The funny thing about 科 is that you get a bunch of uses corresponding (roughly) to science/sci- in English: 科学、科技、科幻…

…but then you also have 理科/文科/商科 where it's a general suffix for subjects?

Also, another fun-to-me thing: the way certain uses of 大 don't actually mean to imply a size/extent comparison, but just function as a note that Hey This Is A Big Deal (i.e. it's not like there's a 小会 that you need to distinguish this 大会 from XD)

From:

trobadora

i.e. it's not like there's a 小会 that you need to distinguish this 大会 from XD

Hee! A mini-gathering should absolutely be called a 小会. :D

From:

elwinfortuna

I picked this bit out by ear in Love Between Fairy and Devil just now and it amused me: 可笑!

From:

grayswandir

My first thought was 好笑, but that might be too obvious, so I'll go with one of my favorite 可 words, 可爱. :)

From:

reshiel

Following the 可 pattern, 可口可乐！It was once brought up in class as an example of good brand localization: it sounds like the original name, and also evokes 'delicious' and 'enjoyable'.

(no subject)

From:

presumenothing - Date: 2022-10-08 03:32 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

reshiel - Date: 2022-10-08 05:18 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

presumenothing - Date: 2022-10-08 08:09 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

reshiel - Date: 2022-10-09 07:06 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

presumenothing - Date: 2022-10-11 12:17 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

trobadora - Date: 2022-10-08 11:32 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

presumenothing - Date: 2022-10-09 03:59 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

reshiel - Date: 2022-10-09 07:15 am (UTC) - Expand

From:

presumenothing

Literal parallel from the English construction! (laugh+able, 可+笑)

Related: 可喜可贺、可悲、可怜……

From:

elenothar

I'm going with 龙飞凤舞, which I just came across because I was googling dragon chengyu for Reasons (TM) and I just really liked the mental image of applying that to calligraphy.

From:

sam_gardener

群龙无首 - because it's the only dragon chengyu I know （我真喜欢龙飞凤舞）

From:

presumenothing

Another one – 画龙点睛!

Re: 成语

From:

sam_gardener - Date: 2022-10-08 07:12 am (UTC) - Expand

Re: 成语

From:

presumenothing - Date: 2022-10-09 04:00 am (UTC) - Expand

Re: 成语

From:

elenothar - Date: 2022-10-12 02:35 pm (UTC) - Expand

From:

grayswandir

Oh wow, that's really cool.

The word/term it makes me think of is 舞刀, I guess because of the similar use of 舞 to suggest sweeping movements and flourishes.

(no subject)

From:

presumenothing - Date: 2022-10-08 03:49 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

elenothar - Date: 2022-10-12 02:36 pm (UTC) - Expand

From:

presumenothing

It's a satisfyingly dramatic image! Related-ish: 龙凤胎, purely because also 龙 and 凤.

Tangentially, calligraphy makes me think of 文房四宝 aka 笔墨纸砚, and also 永 containing all the strokes ever.

(no subject)

From:

elenothar - Date: 2022-10-12 02:39 pm (UTC) - Expand

From:

grayswandir

One of my favorites: 對牛彈琴.

From:

sam_gardener

九牛一毛 So many cow chengyu!

Re: 我爱那个！

From:

reshiel - Date: 2022-10-07 10:25 pm (UTC) - Expand

Re: 我爱那个！

From:

sam_gardener - Date: 2022-10-08 01:27 am (UTC) - Expand

Re: 我爱那个！

From:

reshiel - Date: 2022-10-08 05:33 am (UTC) - Expand

Re: 我爱那个！

From:

sam_gardener - Date: 2022-10-08 06:57 am (UTC) - Expand

Re: 我爱那个！

From:

trobadora - Date: 2022-10-08 11:33 am (UTC) - Expand

Re: 我爱那个！

From:

grayswandir - Date: 2022-10-08 06:54 pm (UTC) - Expand

From:

presumenothing

Ha, this one comes along with 班门弄斧 in my head for some reason (and further on to 隔岸观火, in the vein of "doing this thing in this place" format)

(no subject)

From:

grayswandir - Date: 2022-10-08 06:32 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

presumenothing - Date: 2022-10-09 04:09 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From:

grayswandir - Date: 2022-10-09 04:47 am (UTC) - Expand

From:

trobadora

I can't play because the moment you said "post a bit of vocab" every single word or expression I've ever known instantly departed my brain. :p (Same thing happened with Wordle at one point - what do you mean five-letter words, I've never heard of any! *headdesk*) But I'm really enjoying reading all the comments on this post, so thank you a lot! ♥

From:

nnozomi

I can't play because the moment you said "post a bit of vocab" every single word or expression I've ever known instantly departed my brain.
same here, on the whole. but likewise enjoying reading :)