Category Archives: Chinese basics

[fun composition] 仁者じんしゃ爱山,智者ちしゃ爱水. The kind love mountain, the wise love water

Posted on February 1, 2012 by rolling piggy

Mountain is stable while water is dynamic. The kind love the gentle calmness of the mountain while the wise love the sparks of brilliance dancing in the water. 仁ひとし roots in the idea of two people greeting each other. It … Continue reading →

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[Fun composition] Man proposes, God disposes 谋事在ざい人ひと 成なり事ごと在天ざいてん

Posted on January 31, 2012 by rolling piggy

I was pleasantly surprised there is a perfect mirror translation for this idiom. 天てん is an interesting character: the horizontal stroke on the top symbolizes that no matter how big you are, sky is the limit. 天てん is the home for … Continue reading →

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Fun compositions |大人おとな Grown ups

Posted on January 30, 2012 by rolling piggy

大人おとな literally means big person. In the old days, it was used to address someone of significance. Today, it is a casual term that means adults or grown ups. 大だい vividly illustrates someone spreading their arms (thus looks bigger). (listen:) grown … Continue reading →

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Home: roof + pig

Posted on January 12, 2012 by rolling piggy

In ancient times, most Chinese raised pigs in their homes. A roof with a pig becomes the character for home. 家人かじん is family member(s). (listen:) family member  • 家か: home. Pronunciation: jiā (1) • 人じん: person or people. Pronunciation: rén (2)

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Male= field + strength

Posted on January 8, 2012 by rolling piggy

This week we will highlight a few Chinese characters that have interesting and somewhat intuitive compositions. In a traditional Chinese society back in the old days, men worked in the field and women worked at home. Thus, “male” is field … Continue reading →

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