play in chinese

Four fun new ways to use 玩 (wán)

We all love to play! The Chinese word for play is “玩” (wán) and we use it for all sorts of situations that involve having fun. This was probably one of the first characters you learned, but it has rich meaning and many other uses. 玩 can mean “toy”, “curio” and “to do something for amusement” among other things.

Today we’re going to explore the meanings of 玩 and by looking at four new expressions.

1. 玩火 (wán huǒ)

玩火, literally means “play with fire”. The meaning of the expression is very similar to the English. It can literally mean, “playing with fire” as we see the little boy in the picture being told not to do.

However, 玩火 can also mean “to take foolish risks” which often result in doing people harm. We can extend this to get the expression “玩火自焚” (wán huǒ zì fén) which translates roughly to “play with fire and you will get burned” but can also be a bit more sinister, conveying the idea “whoever plays with fire will perish by fire”.

Here’s an example of how it could be used:

他一直 情,不知 道自己是 在玩火自焚。

(Tā yìzhí zài zuò yìxiē wēixiǎn de shìqínɡ, bù zhīdào zìjǐ shì zài wánhuǒzìfén.)

He has been doing some dangerous things, and he does not even know that he is playing with fire.

2. 玩花招 (wán huā zhāo)

玩花招 (wán huā zhāo) means “to play tricks”. It generally conveys a negative meaning, people doing something bad to achieve their own goals, rather than people playing pranks for fun.

For example:

他总是喜欢玩花招,大家都不喜欢跟他合作.

(Tā zǒnɡshì xǐhuɑn wán huā zhāo, dàjiā dōu bù xǐhuɑn ɡēn tā hézuò.)

He always likes to play tricks, everyone dislikes working with him.

3. 玩儿命(wánr mìnɡ)

玩儿命 means “gambling with one’s life”. Remember the squirrel from the film Ice Age? It was intent on catching the acorn no matter what dangerous situations it put itself in, whether it was plunging itself into freezing cold water or launching itself off mountains. We would say the the squirrel was “玩儿命” or “gambling with his life”.

You might say this to a person as well for example:

你要注意身体,不要太玩儿命

(Nǐ yào zhùyì shēntǐ, ɡōnɡzuò bú yào tài wánr mìnɡ.)

Which means “watch your health, don’t gamble with your life too much at work” but more generally means “Take care of yourself, don’t devote yourself too much to work”.

4. 玩儿完 (wánr wán)

玩儿完 means “the jig is up”, “play’s over” or even “game over”. We use this when we find out a plan or scheme is likely to fail, before it has succeeded. “玩儿完” can also means “to die” or “to fail” more broadly.

For example:

他没有听我的话,公司最后玩儿完了。

(Tā méiyǒu tīnɡ wǒ de huà, ɡōnɡsī zuìhòu wánr wán le.)

He did not listen to me, finally the company busted up.

 

Do you know any other cool uses of玩? Share them with us in the comments!

New Practical Chinese Reader (Volume 1) – Lesson 6

Phonetics

1. Review of the pinyin table in common speech;

2. Tone sandhi rules of

Normally “一” is pronounced in the first tone when it stands by itself, at the end of a word, phrase or sentence, or is used as an ordinal number. However, “一” is pronounced in the fourth tone when it precedes a first tone, second tone, or third tone syllable. It is read in the second tone when it precedes a fourth tone.

 

Key Points

1.  Making suggestion;  

“…, 好吗”and “…, 可以吗” are patterns used when making a suggestion.

 

2. Asking for someone`s opinion;

……,怎么样?(zěn me yàng) It`s an expression commonly used for asking someone`s opinion.

 

3. Asking someone to repeat something;

请再说一遍。(qǐng zài shuō yí biàn。) This phrase is used when the speaker`s words were not heard clearly and you would like him/her to repeat them.

 

Grammar

Sentences with a verbal predicates

 

New Practical Chinese Reader (Volume 1) – Lesson 5

Phonetics

1. Initials:z c s

 Finals:er iong ua uan uang ün

 

2. Retroflex ending (final)

The final “er” sometimes does not form a syllable by itself but is attached to another final to form a retroflex final. A retroflex final is reprented by the letter “r” added to the final. In actual writing, “儿” is added to the character in question.

 

Key Points

1. How to ask directions

……在哪儿?(…… zài nǎr?) Where is the ……?

 

2. How to express gratitude and regret , look for people           

对不起,我来晚了。(duìbùqǐ,wǒ láiwǎn le. ) Sorry, I am late.

……在吗?(…… zài ma?)Is …… in?

对不起,我不知道。(duì bù qǐ , wǒ bù zhī dào.)Sorry, I don’t know.

 

Grammar

Questions with an interrogative pronoun

 

 

 

New Practical Chinese Reader (Volume 1) – Lesson 4

Phonetics

1. Initials

j q x

Finals: ia ian iang uei(-ui) uen(-un) üe üan

 

2. Spelling Rules

Key note: “j” “q” “x” are never combined with “u” and “a”.

 

Key Points

1. How to ask someone’s name politely

你姓什么?(nǐ xìng shén me?) What’s your surname?

请问,您贵姓?(qǐng wèn,nín guì xìng?)May I ask your (honorable) surname?

2. How to introduce yourself

我姓…… (wǒ xìng)

我叫…… (wǒ jiào)

我姓…,叫…(wǒ xìng…, jiào…)

3. How to ask for permission

请… (qǐng …) is an expression used for making polite requests.

可以…吗(kě yǐ… ma) is an expression used for asking for permission.

Grammar

Sentences with “是”

 

ma

Some Useful Chinese 马(mǎ) Slang

Everyone loves horses.Running across the fields,their hair combed by the wind, horses have become a symbol of freedom and loyalty. However, you may not know justhow many Chinese slang phrases revolve around our word for “horse!” Chances are you’ll find some of these pretty funny – let’s take a look.

1. 马屁精 (mǎpìjīnɡ)

马屁精literally means “pickthank,”which in English we might refer to as a “suckup:’ someone who refers to people who flatter others, usually aninferior who flatters his superiors.

e.g

He is just a pickthank in our company, so we don’t like to see him at all.

在我们公司,他就是一个马屁精,所以我们都不喜欢看到他。

(Zài wǒmen ɡōnɡsī,tājiùshì yíɡè mǎpìjīnɡ,suǒyǐ wǒmen dōu bù xǐhuɑn kàn dào tā.)

2. 马大哈(mǎ dà hā)

马大哈 refers to a person who is really careless. Just as in the picture above, where the man clearly should have receivedsurgery on his right leg, the doctor performed surgery onhis left leg. This doctor is obviously a 马大哈.

e.g

At the hospital, doctorsare very important. They must not be careless people.

在医院,医生们非常重要,他们千万不能是马大哈。

(Zài yīyuàn   , yīshenɡ men fēichánɡzhònɡyào , tāmen qiānwàn bùnénɡshì mǎdàhā.)

3. 马后炮(mǎ hòu pào)

In the above example, something has just happened, everyone had expected the result would be something like the horse winning. We might use马后炮to describe this – to refer to someone’s subjective awareness of an expected outcome, or theaction behind the actual objective.

e.g

A man shouldbe honest and kind, do not be always belated.

做人要诚恳,不要总是马后炮。

(Zuò rén yào chénɡkěn , bú yào zǒnɡshì mǎhòupào.)

4. 马虎眼(mǎhu yǎn)

We usually use the phrase“打马虎眼(dǎ mǎhu yǎn)” in a sentence in order to describe someonepretending to be ignorant of  something in order to gloss over it.

e.g

Don’t pretend to be ignorant in front of me! I am not a three year old.

你不要跟我打马虎眼 , 我不是三岁的小孩儿。

(Nǐ búyào ɡēn wǒ dǎ mǎhuyǎn, wǒ búshì sānsuì de xiǎoháir.)

 

Are you ready to try using the different “horses”? Please try to fill in the blanks with the phrases we just learnt.

1. (Qíshí lǐnɡdǎo bù zǒnɡshì xǐhuɑn _____ 。 Yīnwèi _____ jīnɡchánɡshuōjiǎhuà.)
其实领导不总是喜欢   _____ 。因为 _____ 经常说假话。

Actually, leaders do not always like____. Because ____often tell lies.

2. Nǐzhēn shìɡè ____! Zhèxiēshìqínɡ nǐquán zuò cuò le !
你真是个 ____! 这些事情你全做错了!

You are really a _____! You’ve done all these things wrong!