Although Chinese and English belong to two different
systems of language, there are still some connections between them. If your
mother tongue is English, to study Chinese better, let us come to some interchanged
words between the two languages.
The
so-called “interchanged words” here mainly refer to some English words
originating from Chinese. The followings listed are some typical words. Regard
it as a online class and study Chinese online. I guess, you will gain a lot in this
process.
People drinking something stronger than tea
might say chin-chin, or ‘cheers!’ This is a mangled pronunciation of “请请(qing3 qing3)”, a Chinese greeting. Another
‘doubled’ word is chop-chop, or ‘quickly’. Chop here is a pidgin Chinese
rendition of Chinese “筷(kuai4)” ‘quick, nimble’, and is also found
in chopstick。
“共和(gong4 he2)”, meaning
‘unthinkingly enthusiastic and eager, especially about fighting’, dates from
the World War II. It is from Chinese “共和(gong4 he2)” ‘to work
together’, and was adopted as a slogan by the US Marines fighting in the
Pacific under General Evans Carlson (1896–1947). He organized ‘Gung-ho’
meetings to discuss problems and explain orders to promote cooperation。
Another interesting word of
this kind is “风水(feng1 shui3)”. Increasing
interest in our living spaces in the 1990s led to the popularity of “风水(feng1
shui3)”
the
ancient Chinese system of designing buildings and arranging objects in rooms to
achieve a positive flow of energy and so bring happiness or good luck. It goes
back a long way in English, and even had an entry in the Encyclopedia
Britannica of 1797.
There are many other examples
waiting for your further study. As far as I am concerned, knowing these
connections between western and Chinese language is beneficial for you to study mandarin efficiently. No matter what
methods you take, as long as you really want to learn Chinese, you will make it one day.
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