#chinese

17 posts

Inhae @blue@social.inhae.blog · 08:09

I’m working on adding the meaning of single characters to some Anki cards, especially when words contain characters that I often mix up, or characters that have different meanings and pronunciations.

I’m using the Notes app to store them, so I can just copy paste them when needed instead of rewriting everything.

For example, I keep mixing up 蕾 and 擂 (I know their meaning, but I keep forgetting which one is which tone), and what didn’t help is that 擂 has two different pronunciations and meanings. The example words on the right are all words I’ve learned and are somewhere in Anki.

A flashcard for learning languages with a chibi character and a sentence in Chinese on top. Then there’s a line and two Chinese characters with blank space next to them. Then there’s an icon and two characters: 蕾 and 擂. Then a table showing two different pronunciation for 擂 with their respective meaning and a word that contains the character.
A screenshot showing a grid of 20 miniature notes with their title, date of creation and file. The notes are composed of a Chinese character and their pronunciation and meaning as well as example of words containing them.
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Inhae @blue@social.inhae.blog · 20:38
Lantern Rite day 2 + Anki

Finally saw Xiao! :neocat_heart:

I really like my current pace of just doing one dialogue and then add words to Anki, and as long as I haven’t studied the current dialogue, I can’t continue the story. I’m really glad the event lasts longer this time.

I always like adding Xiao’s lines to Anki, but there was only one new expression to me in what he said (at least in this short dialogue): 火中取栗 huǒ zhōng qǔ lì: pull sb’s chestnuts out of the fire: be a cat’s paw.

A screen divided into three windows: Left is a flashcard app showing the interface to add new words, right is a reader showing a text in Chinese with a pop-up dictionary definition for a highlighted expression, and finally, a video showing a game cutscene is floating on top of the flashcard app.
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Inhae @blue@social.inhae.blog · 10:47

I found another word with the character 看 kān: look after, guard.
看家本领 kānjiā běnlǐng: one’s special skill (lit. the ability to guard the house)

I only knew 看守 kānshǒu (watch, guard) before, that’s when I learnt that 看 has two pronunciations/meanings.

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Inhae @blue@social.inhae.blog · 11:05

I always tend to mix up words that I learn at the same time if they have similar pronunciations.

It happened before with 遭逢 zāoféng (meet with, come across) and 交锋 jiāofēng (clash, confront). Pronunciation is not even that similar, but I’m having such a hard time with those two!

And now the same happens with 心虚 xīnxū (be afraid of being found out) and 心绪 xīnxù (state of mind).

The problem is that once I start mixing them up, it gets worse and worse. The only way is to use hints in Anki.

Screenshot showing the Chinese word 心虚 on the top left, then a line crossing the whole picture. Underneath is an otter icon, and below the icon there is written: 心虚 ≠ 心绪.
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Inhae @blue@social.inhae.blog · 18:18

I finished 暗黑者 by 周浩晖, and it was such a suspenseful police procedural thriller!! I loved it! :meow_hearts:
It was very easy to read too.

It’s the first volume of a trilogy, and now I need to decide whether I continue with the series straight away or read something else before.

(The second book is twice as long as the first one, so I’ll probably read something else before I commit to such a long novel.)

Inhae @blue@social.inhae.blog · 14:55

I just learnt the word 吹哨 chuīshào which means “to blow a whistle”, so I got curious about how to say“whistleblower” in Chinese, wondering if it would be a calque from English, and it is: 吹哨人 chuīshào rén.

Inhae @Inhae@social.inhae.blog · 21:35
Nod-Krai bounties

I just got the third bounty! 💰

I’m really loving doing this gaming journal! It’s also an opportunity to practice writing in Chinese, not something I do often otherwise.

A page of a notebook with notes in Chinese and French. There are small drawings too: two characters at the top, a mechanical wheel and a poster. Some Chinese words have their pronunciation and meaning in English noted down.
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Inhae @Inhae@social.inhae.blog · 17:55

I haven’t added words to Anki since the beginning of Nod-Krai… I’m still working on the Clink Clank Clash event, and I haven’t studied the Archon Quest yet. I also skipped three days of reviews :ablobgrimace:

Time to go back to studying seriously! Currently adding words from last patch’s event :neocat_laptop:

Screenshot showing two apps near each other. Left is a flashcard app with fields to add new words and right is an app showing a text in Chinese and a word highlighted with its meaning appearing in a floating box. A video is floating on the left bottom corner, showing anime characters.
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Inhae @Inhae@social.inhae.blog · 13:32

I changed my Anki cards for a Lynette theme. I like the brown and green together, not two colours I would have spontaneously matched, but I followed Lynette’s colour palette, and I really like the result.

Screenshot of an app for language learning showing a flashcard with a text in Chinese, three words highlighted in green and a table with these three words in the first column. A chibi character of a cat-girl petting a cat is on the left of text.
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Inhae @Inhae@social.inhae.blog · 14:34

I must admit, I didn’t know that krumkake was the name of a Norwegian cookie…

Clink-Clank Krumkake Craftshop in Chinese is 叮铃哐啷蛋卷工坊.

叮铃 dīnglíng: jingle
哐啷 kuānglāng: (onomatopoeia) crash, clang, bang…
蛋卷 dànjuǎn: egg roll. I think it’s the Chinese name for barquillo (I didn’t know this one either, but it looks like what I would call “cigarettes russes”.)
工坊: gōngfáng: workshop.

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Inhae @Inhae@social.inhae.blog · 12:15
Xiao’s Lantern Rite message in Chinese

Xiao’s Lantern Rite message ❤️

灯火万千,亦难掩夜晚潜藏的危机。
放心,有我在,你只需安心享此良辰便好。

灯火 dēnghuǒ: lights (could also be translated by “lanterns” I guess)
万千 wànqiān: myriad
掩 yǎn: cover up, conceal
潜藏 qiáncáng: hidden beneath the surface
危机 wēijī: crisis (I think “danger” or “evil” are better translations)
享 xiǎng: enjoy
良辰 liángchén: auspicious occasion, pleasant time

My bad literal translation:
A myriad of lights, but they cannot conceal the dangers that are hidden under the surface at night.
Don’t worry, I’m here, you just need to set your mind at rest and enjoy these pleasant times.

亦 ususally means “also”, but I saw it can also mean 不过 (but, however), which makes more sense here.

The only words I didn’t know are 良辰, 掩 and 潜藏 though I could have guessed the last one.

A card with a light teal background and a text in Chinese that includes a red message saying “happy Lantern Rite”. Next to the text is the depiction of Genshin character Xiao holding a mask, with his name written in Chinese and English.
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Inhae @life@social.inhae.blog · 15:12

The character 藏 has two pronunciations and meanings:

藏 zàng: storing place, depository
藏 cáng: hide, conceal

Things get tricky when we talk about hidden treasures

宝藏 bǎozàng: hidden treasure (also: precious mineral deposit).

藏宝箱: cángbǎoxiāng: treasure chest.

Funny that two words with similar meanings use the two pronunciations and meanings of 藏.

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Inhae @Inhae@social.inhae.blog · 09:59

TIL that Zhongli’s title as Wangsheng Funeral Parlor consultant is 往生堂 客卿 wǎngshēngtáng kèqīng.

客卿 is an archaic term that was used during the Spring and Autumn period and the following Warring States period. It was an official title given to persons coming from other states but serving as high-ranking officials for the Qin government. They were treated as “guests” (客 means “visitor, guest” and 卿 means “high ranking official”).

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Inhae @Inhae@social.inhae.blog · 11:21

That’s my setup when studying world quests. I’m using pleco’s clipboard function to add words to anki while listening to the dialogue.

An interface displaying two apps in a multi tasking setup. The app on the left shows different fields filled with Chinese vocabulary. The app on the right shows a text in Chinese with definition shown on click. A video thumbnail is visible at the bottom left, showcasing animated characters.
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Inhae @Inhae@social.inhae.blog · 09:39
Sabzeruz Festival: Cyno’s jokes in Chinese

1- Cold pudding.

怎么样?冷不丁吃到一块冷布丁的感觉。

Cyno gives a cold pudding to Paimon and says: how is it to lěngbudīng” eat a “lěngbùdīng”.

The first word is 冷不丁 (lěngbudīng) and means “suddenly, unexpectedly”.
The second one is 冷 (lěng) “cold” + 布丁 (bùdīng) “pudding”.

> How is it? the feeling of unexpectedly eating a cold pudding?

2- Seven petals.

因为…它的花瓣向来只有五片,绝不可能存在「七片』!

Cyno asks why henna berries would never deceive people. That’s because they only have five petals, so there cannot be “qīpiàn”.

It’s written has 七片 (qīpiàn) which means “seven petals” (片 is a measure word used with petals).

But you can also hear it as 欺骗 (qīpiàn) “deceive, cheat”

> Because… they always only have five petals, so there absolutely cannot be seven petals (= deception).

3- Eat salt.

湖里的鲈鱼,它们可从不食「盐」。

I’m not sure about this one :meow_question:
Cyno asks Paimon if she would be confident enough to swear to the bass fish in the lake, adding that the bass fish don’t eat “yán”.

It’s written 盐 (yán) which means “salt”. (食盐 shíyán means “table salt”, but my guess is that it means “to eat salt” here, but I could be wrong.)

It could be replaced with 言 (yán) because “eat one’s word” (食言 shíyán) means “go back on one’s word”.

> The bass fish in the lake, they never eat salt (=do not come back on their word).

4- Hat card (with Wanderer).

你的牌⋯会变成「帽」牌货!

Cyno is relieved that Wanderer (Hat Guy) does not play TCG because otherwise, his card would become a “hat” card (= imitation, forgery)

牌 pái: card.
帽 mào: hat.

冒牌货 màopáihuò means “fake goods, imitation, forgery”. But Cyno replaced the 冒 with 帽 which has the same pronunciation but means “hat”.

> Your card… would become a hat card (=forgery)!

(By the way, Cyno and Wanderer are both very strong in TCG. Cyno overload with Chevreuse is meta, and Wanderer freeze with Mona and Eula has always been one of the strongest decks. I’m always scared when I face them lol, so it’s funny that they have a TCG interaction.)

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Inhae @Inhae@social.inhae.blog · 18:43


I started playing during the beginning of Sumeru, and the voice-over made me fall in love with Chinese and made me want to start learning it, which I did.

During 4.5, I switched my game to Chinese only (not just the voice-over, but the entire game), and I created this account to record some of the things I learn along the way.

So I will be posting mainly about learning Chinese and about things that happen in game.

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