People wearing Tang dynasty style hanfu, playing soccer to "La Copa de la Vida (The Cup of Life)" on 唢呐/suona and 笛子dizi
7 intermediate/advanced Chinese grammar fundamentals
I’ve been meaning to write more posts focusing on advanced grammar for a while. So let’s look at 7 characters I’ve selected and some (but not necessarily all) of their key usages.
I consider this content to be upper-intermediate/advanced because I don’t think you’d learn it until at least a 3rd-year college Chinese course. I consider these usages to be fundamental because I encounter them on the regular basis in native content, so you need to have a good grasp on them.
1) 由 yóu
由 yóu - by, via, through / from
- 这个钱该由我付。 This money should be paid by me.
- 这件事由他处理。 This matter is handled by him.
- 现场播放的歌曲由你来决定。 The song(s) that is played live is decided by you.
- 句子是由词组成的。 Sentences are made from/of words.
2) 趁 chèn
趁 chèn - to avail oneself of / to take advantage of
- 这碗面趁热吃吧。 Eat this bowl of noodles while it’s hot.
- 我想趁这个机会讲几句话。 I want to take this opportunity to say a few words.
- 趁着年轻我们要多学点儿知识。 We need to learn more while we are young.
3) 为 wéi
为 wéi - as (in the capacity of) / to take sth as / to act as / to serve as / to behave as / to become / to be
- 我们选她为代表。 We chose her as our representative.
- 我把他视为好朋友。 I consider him to be a good friend.
- 这条街被命名为平安大街。 The street was named (as) Ping'an Street.
- 总面积为78平方米。 The total area is 78 square meters.
- 最高票数为4千票。 The highest number of votes is 4,000 votes.
4) 以 yǐ
以 yǐ - to use / by means of / in order to
- 他们以期待的目光迎接我的到来。 They greeted me with expectant eyes.
- 我们也将以正确的方式进行处理。 We will use the proper method to handle things.
- 联系我们以了解更多信息。 Contact us (in order) to learn more.
- 这是他以集体的名义作出的决定。 This is a decision he made in the name of the collective.
- 人们不仅仅以个人的身份生活。 People don’t just live as individuals.
5) 于 yú
于 yú - (of time or place) in, at, on / (indicating any indirect relation) to, toward, vis-à-vis, with regard to, for / (indicating a source) from, out of / (used in comparison) than
- 他出生于香港。 He was born in Hong Kong.
- 他出生于1995年12月13日。 He was born on December 13, 1995.
- 第一次世界大战爆发于1941年。 World War I broke out in 1941.
- 他毕业于北京大学。 He graduated from Peking University.
- 他有很多事情还需要求助于父母。 There are many things for which he still needs to request help from his parents.
- 吃坚果有利于心脏健康。 Eating nuts is good for heart health.
- 写日记有助于缓解压力和焦虑。 Writing a journal is helpful for relieving stress and anxiety.
- 这座楼高于那座楼。 This building is taller than that building.
6) 非 fēi
非 fēi - to insist on, simply must
- 我非要去不可。 I must go.
- 学好语言非得下功夫不行。 To learn a language, one has to put in work.
- 他不想来就算了，为什么非叫他来？ It’s fine if he doesn’t want to come, why insist on him coming?
7) 凭 píng
凭 píng - on the basis of
- 人们常常凭着直觉去判断和做事。 People often judge and act based on intuition.
- 可是凭经验做事，真的靠谱吗？ But is it really reliable to do things based on experience?
- 你凭什么这么说？ On what basis do you say that?
- 他凭什么得诺贝尔和平奖？ On what basis did he get the Nobel Peace Prize?
PS: I just noticed that Google Slides has added some simplified Chinese fonts! Previously I had to use Japanese fonts, so some characters were not supported. I made this post’s header image in Google Slides.
See past similar posts: Learning to read formal Chinese 5 constructions to take your Chinese to the next level
can anyone remember that post about how children write the best poems & it had an article attached showing the differences between little kids' poetry & preteens?? im desperate to find it again
ok i found it! it's called the average fourth grader is a better poet than you (and me too)
here are three of my favourite excerpts
23|01|2023
this weekend was NOT productive in the slightest but i feel kinda refreshed and hopefully i’ll get more done this week
words i’ve mixed up lately：
出家 vs 出门 // to become a Buddhist nun (lit. to leave home) VS. to leave home
册掉 vs 删掉 // (a bad grammar version of) to let the book fall VS. to delete
How can I feel more masculine? I actually just really want to look more masculine... - Peachy
..at least, that’s how I do it.
hiya! I figured id make an informational post about the little things ive noticed about being on testosterone that I found weren’t talked about a lot when I was starting my transition and even before when I was doing my research. I think that trans sexual health is an extremely important part of trans peoples lives (and that doesnt necessarily mean sex) seeing as the physical changes that happen during transition are often foreign to us. Sexual health keeps us healthy and comfortable in our bodies, so do your best to stay attentive to your body’s changes! As always, consult your doctor if you feel the need to. These are only tips ive learned from transitioning myself and from my doctor when I asked about certain things.
some people on insta said i should post my workout routine since i mentioned how im so happy with the results, so here’s my little workout guide for my fellow trans folk! I focused on getting a more masculine body because obviously that’s what I want. I’m so happy with the results, this workout is saving my fucking life!!!! I can’t get on T soon so this has really been keeping my dysphoria in check. I barely get body dysphoria, i love how my clothes looks on me, i love feeling confident for once in my life!!! HOWEVER Don’t go overboard with working out my friends. Do not work out in a binder, you MUST take days off to let your muscles heal, and you CAN’T starve yourself! Fitness is all about health and diet! Take care of yourself. This is also MY workout routine, you may not get the same results as I have! Every body is different.
EDIT: ahh I really didn’t expect this thing to blow up….A few people have brought it to my attention that some of the nutrition here could be wrong/not work for everyone. I apologize if I caused any harm. I think I stressed enough that you shouldn’t starve yourself to lose weight. That’s very dangerous, and if you’re prone to such habits I suggest don’t count calories, etc, and just make sure your diet is very nutritious. I just provided a way to lose weight that my doctor told me about. You don’t need to lose weight if you don’t want to. Obviously if you’re already thin there’s no need to make a goal to lose weight; that’s dangerous. Also, some of this may or may not be helpful depending on your body type. I was underweight before working out so I have no idea how it would affect someone overweight! Please don’t hold this post to such a high standard; this was just my own routine and things I do to stay in shape, I obviously can’t cater to everyone. I literally didn’t expect this post to blow up like it did, this was literally just for a few people. Sorry for any harm it caused!
A list of 625 words to know in your target language, inspired by the post.
Language >>> Mandarin Chinese
Format >>> Traditional Chinese (to write)│Pinyin (to speak)│English
[click images for high quality]
[transcript under the cut]
Other advice posts that may be of interest:
Some Idioms
假仁假义 jiǎrénjiǎyì - false benevolence, false righteousness 口是心非 kǒushìxīnfēi - say one thing and mean another 虚伪性 xūwèi xìng - (having a) hypocritical nature 两面三刀 liǎngmiànsāndāo - two faces, three knives (double dealing & back stabbing) 佛口蛇心 fókǒushéxīn - Budda’s mouth, snake’s heart
时间 (shí jiān) - Hours
06:00 - 09:00: 早上 zӑo shàng 09:00 - 12:00: 上午 shàng wŭ 12:00 - 13:00: 中午 zhōng wŭ 13:00 - 18:00: 下午 xià wŭ 18:00 - 00:00: 晚上 wӑn shàng 00:00: 半夜 bàn yè 00:00 - 06:00: 凌晨 líng chén
Yesterday: 昨天 zuó tiān Today: 今天 jīn tiān Tomorrow: 明天 míng tiān
Day before yesterday: 前天 qián tiān After tomorrow: 后天 hòu tiān
Last week: 上个星期 shāng ge xing qī This week: 这个星期 zhè ge xing qi Next week: 下个星期 xià ge xing qī
Last month: 上个月 shāng ge yué This month: 这个月 zhè ge yué Next month: 下个月 xià ge yué
Last year: 去年 qù nián This year: 今年 jīn nián Next year: 明年 míng nián
why does the superior Mythbutster, Tory Belleci, simply not eat the other four?
I learned about tally marks yesterday!
(I cross mine from R to L, but Jake does his straight through)
I was watching a kdrama and they were tallying a vote and I was just like: 😍😍😍😍
Cus I’d never considered the cultural implications of tally marks. Lol, I just thought lines to five are lines to 5, ya know? Then I read the whole wiki page and now I want to learn more!
Are there other ways? How do you make tallies? Tell me moooooooore lol ^-^
Dr. Mae Jemison, MD, the first black woman in space and first actual astronaut to appear on a Star Trek show, one of the very few people on this planet of whom two pictures can be posted depicting them doing their job on a spaceship with entirely different contexts.
Holy shit this is a serious contender for the best post I’ve ever seen on tumblr.