Takeaway Chinese, where you can take some Chinese away and experience progress day by day Takeaway Chinese, we will promise you a difference Welcome to Takeaway Chinese, I'm Nihon Lin with Steve Hatherly in the studio Hi Steve!
Hello, nice to see you again Always a pleasure having you in the studio doing Takeaway Chinese not only because when I actually give you some Chinese to take away, I feel the fulfillment of actually sharing some Chinese language not only to the audience but also to you.
Yeah, it's like when a parent teaches their baby - A little bit!
How to put a spoon in their mouth by themselves and then - And you see that happening!
Yeah, it's so rewarding, right?
Right in front of your eyes.
Well, in this context, I'm the baby, and Chinese language is the spoon.
The spoon, and I see a lot of spoons recently that makes me happy.
Do that thing where you ask me what I learned recently.
Yes. What you learned recently?
Wow, sir. Which means...
Excuse me. Right. But I have a question.
Okay, so, excuse me in English is very versatile, right?
Meaning that you can use it when you're genuinely asking someone what did they say, like if you want them to repeat themselves you can say excuse me meaning you didn't hear them you can also say get out of the way politely excuse me you can also say it when you're offended right you say something I don't like and I can say excuse me but I'm wondering about the versatility of this expression bú hao yi s or if it's very specific for a situation so this is what I learned it means excuse me but it means excuse me in the sense that or in the context of when you're trying to get someone's attention when they're
not paying attention to you.
So I'm thinking like if you go into a shop and the shop assistant or attendant is busy and they're not looking at you, then you can ask or say, Bu hao yi sirl, then that's saying excuse me.
So, but is it very specific to that situation or can it be used elsewhere?
It can be used elsewhere and remember all the different ways of using it You just mentioned excuse me being used in the English language Except for the very last type the very last version when you say you want to say excuse me in the sense that I am Not happy with what I hear or what I see Except for that type that way of using excuse me using bu ha is in the Chinese language you can use the above all of the other ones.
Oh, okay, cool. So, it can be used when you want people to give you away, say, excuse me, pao yi suo xan gui sa.
Excuse me, I want to go, please, you know, give me the way.
Or, excuse me, are you there?
Can you hear me? This kinda pao yi suo, getting people's attention, and also the occasion if you step on someone's feet, or you wanna say, ah, pao yi suo, pao yi suo, sorry, sorry, sorry.
Okay, okay, okay. Now, how I said it and how you just said it are two very different things so can you slowly give me the proper pronunciation of that had to add something I want to say actually Oh first the three characters you pronounced pretty well okay except for the very last one yes we know there are four tones and one light tone in the Chinese language this one is the light tone so Yīx Wǔ Hǎo Yīx Wǔ Hǎo Yīx Wǔ Hǎo Yīx Perfect!
You got a little bit of rxy in the r sound at the end that was just not no one saying it like that.
I know, in… Steve's Chinese.
Wǔ Hǎo Yīx Wǔ Perfect.
OK, good. Thank you very much.
That's what I learned.
You're very welcome.
You learned that. That is a very important one and glad to see you making progress.
And I feel like you are perfect for today's episode as well because today we're talking about something that I would say something you were quite familiar with.
We're talking about winter sports.
Yeah. I'm a huge fan of winter sports.
I grew up playing ice hockey.
I grew up skiing with my family.
We used to go, we lived not that far away, maybe 40 minutes away from a ski Hill in Nova Scotia.
So we used to do that as a family when I was a kid.
So I learned how to ski and play hockey when I was maybe five.
Wow. And then later in life, I learned how to snowboard.
And yeah, curling, I think I mentioned before is something that I did as well.
I love snow sports or ice sports, all of it.
Perfect. And hopefully today we can cover all of those sports that you are an expert of and know how to say them in Chinese would be the goal of today's Takeaway Chinese.
So for those of you who are interested in Chinese culture and you want to get a grip on the Chinese language, then this is the show for you.
Stick with us for 30 minutes and you soon see the rewards.
And for more fun Chinese learning, follow our Facebook page Learn Chinese to watch many fun videos and livestreams.
But now, let's provide you with some free Chinese for a takeaway.
way. To start with, I know all the winter sports are quite exciting and fun we can talk about them and how to say them in Chinese, but before all that, let's learn about the key, the core of all of those things, that is snow and ice.
So, snow in Chinese would be xiue.
Sure. Perfect. perfect.
And ice is bing. Ah see, you know bing.
Oh yes, we talked about it.
Because I moved to Beijing in the middle of the summer when it was so hot outside, and everywhere I went, I was asking a qing, bing, gi wall.
Qing, gi wall bing.
Qing, gi wall bing please give me ice.
Yes yes yes. So yes, now you know bing would be ice, and she is snow.
I In Chinese we say ice and snow sports, to be more precise.
We say bing shui, yun dong.
We know bing is ice, shui is snow, and yun dong sports.
Ah, same thing though.
Doesn't matter which order you put it in, right?
The only thing is in Chinese matters, it cannot say shui, bing yun dong, no one will understand.
Oh, really, they wouldn't understand.
That's why I'm saying it.
Oh, interesting. Yes.
Okay, that's important.
If you illustrate and if you explain, people would get it.
But bing shui yun dong definitely would be the way to go.
Bing shui yun dong.
Yun dong is sports.
Sports. Got it. Basically yun dong here is the meaning of move around and it means sports, the word means sports.
Bing means ice and snow sounds very similar to water.
Shui ei? Shui is what, shui is water.
Shue is water. Shue ...
Yes. Shue is snow. Snow.
Got it. For example, ice cream?
One way of saying ice cream in Chinese is Shue, go snow cake.
Snow cake. That's so cute.
Chocolate snow cake.
We also have ice pop, Bing Bang.
That's even better.
Sometimes English is so boring right?
Ice cream this feels like so disappointing now is the term for that tasty treat.
Snowcake is much better.
It's lovely, isn't it?
Remember it's snowcake, shi, gave.
Yes, so ice, bing, she is snow, okay.
So let's start with your favorite winter sports.
Oh, excuse me, since we're talking about winter sports, yes we talk about ice and snow sports, spin shui yun dong but apparently we also call it winter sports.
So winter sports would be dong ji yun dong.
Dong ji is winter. Winter is winter.
Ji is short for Ji ji.
Season, so the winter season sports.
Dong ji yun dong. You know, dong ji, winter, is the only season among the four seasons that have their specific sports.
You don't really have 丶且豢, I mean, you can talk about 丶且豢, but it's not exactly a category.
You can say swimming is kind of like a summertime sports, but you know, you can definitely say snowboarding is a winter sports.
I just had an idea for the future.
Take the winter Olympic sports and make them do them in the summertime.
and take the Summer Olympic sport and make them do in the winter time.
Into comedy events?
Imagine the 100 meter dash in two feet of snow.
That would be fun to watch.
That would be harsh to participate.
Listen, not all my ideas are great.
Again, amusement event, for sure.
But yes, wintry day sports.
Okay, back to my previous question, what is your favorite winter sport?
The absolute favorite, so we learned the Chinese word for it first.
So, are you asking my favorite to do or my favorite to watch?
Both. Okay, well I think my overall favorite has to be hockey.
Hockey of course. Or ice hockey as everyone outside of Canada calls it.
It's just such a huge part of Canadian winter culture.
Everybody loves it.
everybody watches it on TV on Saturday nights, it's a family event sometimes.
Yeah, watch the hockey game on TV.
That's my favorite one to do.
I think my favorite new one would be snowboarding.
The reason I say that is because I mentioned I learned it later in life.
So I'm not that good at it.
And the reason I learned it is because if you go to a ski location.
If you go to a ski hill, often times the easiest runs, we call them runs in English, often times the easiest runs are less populated.
There's not so many people on the really easy courses.
I'm on the easy course.
I'll say hi. I'm my snowboard.
I can go down the mountain, but I like to go on the easy courses because there aren't as many people there.
The other courses, the other runs, There are so many people there.
So I decided to learn snowboarding because it provides more space to do it.
Makes a lot of sense.
Can you do both? Can you ski on snowboarding?
No, I can't. Which one can you do?
I can do a little bit of skiing.
I have never tried snowboarding.
Oh really? I can tell you snowboarding is more fun than skiing.
In my opinion it's more fun than skiing.
Let's start with ice hockey.
And then move on to snowboarding and skiing, because in Chinese they're really quite similar and I'll tell you the logic behind the forming of the words to start with with ice hockey.
I don't know if you find the forming of ice hockey in Chinese boring or easy to remember because it's precisely ice ball.
That's ice hockey. Yes, is ball.
We know football, basketball.
So, ping pong cho, ping pong ball.
So, chio is ball. And, bing is ice.
Ice ball, ice hockey.
Bing cho. Bing cho.
Easy to remember. Yeah, right.
It's kinda like giving ice hockey the identity of being the ice ball, I mean the ball on ice.
It's very literal. Yeah.
It's a very literal term.
And now that you say that, hockey, I don't know why it's, I've never even considered why it's called hockey or what hockey means.
Hockey is just hockey.
I've never even considered it for two seconds.
But that's Bing Choo.
That's a very literal term, isn't it?
Yes, and it's easy to remember.
Hopefully you don't find it boring.
So ice hockey, that would be Bing Choo.
Well, wait a minute.
If Bing Choo, ice ball, is hockey, then what's curling because curling is kind of like being chill too.
Not really because if you think about the curling stone they are relatively the bigger heavier stronger and also not a ball well yeah but a hockey puck isn't a would talk about skiing and snowboarding.
Let's talk a little bit about curling.
Curly in Chinese is bing hu.
Bing hu. Hu. Hu. Oh, just like in English WHO, huh?
Yes. Bing hu. Bing hu, because hu carries the meaning of a pot or a kettle.
If you think about it, right?
Yeah, right. It makes more sense, isn't it?
Ice kettle, ice pot.
But yeah, the curling stone does look like a kettle or a pot.
So, bing chiu, ice hockey, bing hu, curling.
Got it. Okay. So you said skiing and snowboarding.
Skiing and snowboarding is also very interesting, because if you think about it, no matter if it's skiing or snowboarding, you're basically on a board and you're sliding on the snow.
Yes. Which is why? huá shíé huá shíé is the general term for both huá is sliding or gliding Okay So síé, we know it's snow So, put together, huá shíé So, snow sliding Snow sliding Okay, but then it's the same word for ski It's the same word for both but if you say Hua Hsu, actually you have to specify, right, you have to specify snowboarding and skiing.
They're two different sports which is why in Chinese we specify them based on the equipment you use.
When you're skiing, you have two board on both of your feet that is why it's called Shuang Ban Hua Hsu.
Shuang means two, ban is the board.
Whereas snowboarding, single board skiing.
Oh, yeah. Right. Two board ice sliding or one board.
I see. I feel like they make sense though.
When we explain them, especially when we, for example, report winter Olympics, we have to, you know, specify.
Yeah, so then okay, using that logic, can I take a guess at what skating is?
Ooh, go ahead. So skating is sliding on the ice, so if slide is hw and ice is bing, then it must be hwa bing.
Hwa bing precisely.
Hwa bing. Yes. Ah, nice.
You got it perfectly right.
I got it, yep. So, that logic follows a follow from one sport to the next.
Got it. So, a little recap.
Bing chiu. Bing Chiu.
Which is? Hold on. Bing is ice.
And xiu, is ball, so that's hockey.
Bing hu? Bing hu. That's curling.
Curling? Yes. Ice kettle.
Ice kettle, precisely.
Hua shiue? Dan ban hua shiue?
Dan ban hua shiue. Yes, so, Dan ban hua shiue.
That's single board snow sliding.
That's snowboarding.
Schonban hua shiue.
That's skiing. And that's...
So, can you say the double again?
Schon. Schon. Schonban hua shiue.
Schonban hua shiue.
Yes. Got it. So shuttleogeneous would be skiing and finally huabing.
Huabing. That's skating.
Skating. Yeah. Now you know a lot of winter sports already.
Yeah. Exactly. So let's put this in sentence or question then.
So just review with me please.
I like and I don't like.
I like is? Hua xi huan.
Hua xi huan. If I want to say I like skating I would say wǒ, shi, huan, huabing.
And if I want to say I don't like something wǒ, bù, shi, huan, huái yáng, huái yáng.
Oh, you know huái yáng huái.
Good for you figure skating!
Yay! So hua yang. Do you know the meaning of hua yang though?
Well, hua is slide.
No. Hua yang, hua being hua, is slide.
So here is the thing.
Hua shares the similar pronunciation yet different tone and different character with hua.
Hua yang means different types of.
So when you're doing figure skating, you actually have different pose, you have different moves, it's very with different variety which is why it said Huá Yáng.
So different variety skating, figure skating.
Oh different variety skating, so Huá Yáng.
Huá Bing. Okay so Huá was the variety.
Huá is the variety.
Huá Bing is the skating, the ice skating.
Right, ice sliding.
Okay so So that's like a two part, so, various moves ice skating.
Yes. Waya Yau Ha Bing.
Yeah, my sentence example was, I don't like figure skating, but actually I don't like doing it.
I only tried it once when I was a kid, but I must say I do enjoy watching it.
It's very beautiful.
On television. Yeah, it's very technical.
It's very pretty to watch on TV.
Yes. Very artistic.
Waya Yau Ha Bing. So now we know a lot of different winter sports, how to say them in Chinese, and we know the logic behind the forming of the words.
Actually in recent years, winter sports have gained even more popularity here in China, especially after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Actually we've already achieved a quite a stunning participants in winter sports, that is we have over 300 million people engaged in winter sports which is quite special because China is not a country with a huge history and culture of engaging the majority of the population in winter sports but definitely you need a little more exercise in winter days and having more people enjoying these different types of sports is definitely a good thing.
Yeah, I mean, it's usually the northern countries in the world that excel at winter sports and enjoy them the most.
That's why Canada really enjoys and is good at, in the Olympics and stuff, with wintertime sports.
Northern part of the United States, also Scandinavian countries, northern European countries.
Anywhere that's pretty far up from the equator, tends to do pretty well in sports.
In the winter time, yes.
So you're listening to Take Away Chinese with myself Nhiyun Hongli and Steve, we would love to hear from you.
Send us your thoughts via email to learnchinese at cri .com .cn.
Coming up next, let's learn about some fun ski resorts that you can enjoy the winter sports here in China.
Don't go away, so you will take some Chinese away.
Welcome back to Takeaway Chinese, I'm Nihon -Ling, joined by Steve Hatherly.
So Steve, you said that you enjoy a lot of winter sports, which I believe?
So tell me, when you search for different ski resorts, or different, for example, ice rinks to do some skating or even figure skating, what are the qualities you look for?
Mm well I guess I'm not overly picky but if I'm choosing something then I want it to be at least a little bit geographically convenient.
Meaning I don't want to travel too too far because oftentimes if you go skating or if you go skiing or snowboarding if you're not staying at the resort then it can be a trip.
You can go in the morning and then come back to your house in the evening.
So something that's close.
In that case, allow me to provide you with the choice of the Actually it is a place.
It's one of the venues for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
It boasts ski slopes suitable for all skill levels with beginner, intermediate and advanced trails.
The resort has a total length of 138 kilometers and 200 ski trails.
200? Yep, that's a lot.
And the surrounding area offers a wide range of dining and accommodation options, ensuring that all visitors needs are met.
And one thing about this place is that it's not far away from Beijing.
Yeah, if it was a venue for the 2022 Olympics, then it must be within, I don't know, maybe an hour or so, or two hours?
A bit longer than that.
But still, it's the kind of place that you can visit, you can, you know, go to and enjoy everything with a one -day trip.
Uh -huh. Did you go to see any of the Winter Olympic events, any of the ski events?
No, I didn't. But I did watch a lot of them on TV.
Yeah. And that was one of the cool things I was in Korea when the Winter Olympics were there in 2018 and I got to see hockey which was cool for me.
I also got to see snowboarding which was really kind of exciting because the Olympic snowboarders I mean those are the best in the world.
That was exciting but the coolest thing I got to see was luge.
It's crazy. It's a crazy sport?
I can tell you this when you are a spectator in hockey you sit in the stands and you're not very close to the action right if you go to watch snowboarding you're in the audience and you're not really that close to the action the luge you can stand literally a foot away really from where they are on that big ice track so what you do is you when you enter into the the area then you just kind of walk along the track and you can just kind of stop and choose your spot right and the really cool thing is that so I was in the middle and you can hear them coming right because they you can hear that the sound
on the ice that little rumble a little bit and then you can hear the audience you know clapping or whatever in that section and when they go by you oh my goodness they are traveling at the speed of sound I feel like, and it's just like and then they're gone.
It's definitely an immersive experience.
Oh, I would that was so cool to witness that.
And in that case, allow me to tell you how to say immersive in Chinese.
Type. So it's kind of like not that important.
Chen means sink or sunk into.
Jin means soak. So it's kind of like you're immersed in the atmosphere like you are sun can immerse in water.
Okay cool how do you say you're going to jail because if you block a LUSURE, that's where you're going next.
I'm not sharing that but I'm just thinking you're really, really close.
Right. And by the way, LUSURE is in Chinese.
Shoo chao. I know LUSURE.
And Bob's letters are really, really close.
Well, they used the Yes.
That's why I say they're quite similar.
But to Chinese audience, or at least to the creator of the word, actually bob sled is called Shu Chua.
Shu means car. So it's kind of like the equipment they use is a bit more together.
You know what I mean?
No, absolutely. And it makes sense because if you use your imagination, a bob sled looks like a car.
yes, whereas a luge looks like a board, right?
So that's the idea, Xiao also cares the meaning of a board, a larger one that you can sit on or lying on.
Yeah. It's a crazy sport.
Crazy in a good way, I guess, but something that I wouldn't personally not try.
And for those of you who really care about the quality of the snow, which I think it's a thing for skiing lovers, They believe that, for example, the powder snow is very important.
It is. Yes, it's like you have to at least have an experience of one -snow season or skiing season.
You have to be on a powder snow once, at least.
Yeah, it's just a different experience, isn't it?
Yes, and that is why I'm also recommending the Ya Buli Hua Shuecha.
That is also another ski resort.
It's a perfect blend of Northeast China culture and the skiing.
Actually this resort located in Heilongjiang Province is one of China's largest ski resorts.
It is renowned for its high quality, natural snow and excellent skiing facilities.
Skiers can choose from slopes that match their skill levels, again ranging from beginners to professional skiers.
It also offers a variety of snow activities, such as horse, drone, sledding.
Yeah, which perfectly integrate the ridge's eyes and snow culture.
Cool, that's the great thing about a really cool ski resort, I've known people who have gone to stay at ski resorts, and don't ski.
Yes. They just do other stuff there.
That they can enjoy during a winter time and winter atmosphere.
and that is actually going to be the theme of our next episode.
We're going to talk about some activities you can enjoy during the cold, cold, winter days, even if you're not a sports guru.
And that brings us to the end of today's Takeaway Chinese.
Already? Yes, I'm Neil Holley with Steve here in the studio.
No worries for our next episode about the activities in winter days.
I will definitely make sure you are still in the studio.
So, for more episodes of the show, visit our website at radio .cytienne .com and go to the column podcast.
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