Vogelsang, Lesson 02

日

rì, n_c, ‘sun’

[“What’s this?” “Er … the sun?”]

月

yuè, nc, ‘moon’

[“What drawer did I put my Moon Boots? You, ah, seen them?”]

乐〔樂〕yuè “music”

春

chūn, n_temp, ‘spring’

[‘Spring’ — when the sun is peeking through the tree branches — from “Four Seasons” by Vivaldi is, as a the British say, “A right out choon.”]

秋

qiū, n_temp, ‘autumn’

[Autumn is the time to chew apples with my Halloween buddy Frankenstein’s monster.”]

冬

dōng, n_temp, ‘winter’

[Don put on his stocking hat to go out and shovel snow in the winter.]

夏

xià, n_temp, ‘summer’

[See a guy delivering pizzas in the summer.]

母

mǔ, n_c, ‘mother’

[If a mumu is a grandmother, then maybe a mother is mu. Maybe she moos when she sleeps.]

上

shàng, n_loc, ‘top’

[Mr. Shaw is a stylite and lives on top of the platform on that pillar and shuns society.]

下

xià, n_loc, ‘bottom’

[Mr. T says, “Go to the bottom you fool.” Lit Sia says, “Oh snap.”]

天

tiān, n_c, ‘heaven’

[St. Peter asks, “What would you like here in heaven? Tea an’…?”]

地

dì, n_c, ‘earth’

[“Choose an option for what planet I want to live on? I choose D, ‘earth’.”]

子²

zǐ, ‘son’

[“That’s a son. He’s number 7 in his family.”]

女

nǚ, n_c, ‘daughter’

[“Is this girl new?” “No, she is my daughter.”]

東

dōng, n_loc, ‘east’

[Here’s a picture of Don Knotts sailing a boat into the east.]

西

xī, n_loc, ‘west’

[“See, Mr. Pi is riding his horse out west.”]

南

nán, n_loc, ‘south’

[Her grandmother they called Nan was a Math teacher in the south.]

北

běi, n_loc, ‘north’

[“I’m going fishing with a hook and bobber. Where’s the bay?” “Take this road north from San Diego.”]

堯

Yáo, n_p, a mythical ruler

[Yow, another robot! This one with an antenna and two plus signs for eyes. No, it’s the legendary emperor.]

湯

Tāng, np, Shang ruler

[Tang was a ruler who would stir up his Tang in hot water with four spoons at once.]

武

Wǔ, n_p, Zhou ruler

[The ruler wanted to woo a girl and took her fishing.]

兄

xiōng, nc, ‘older brother’

[My older brother Roggy owns a TV that walks around.]

弟

dì, n_c, ‘younger brother’

[“My younger brother D is a real ass.”]

君

jūn, n_c, ‘ruler’

[“King P is sitting on his throne. He’s been the ruler since June.”]

臣

chén, nc, ‘servant’

[I worked like slave building that brick wall in the chunnel.]

夫

fū, n_c, ‘husband’

[“Foo on you. I want to marry a big guy for a husband.”]

婦

fù, n_c, ‘married woman’

[“Well, foo on you. She’s a married woman.”]

長

zhǎng, v_st, as n_c, ‘senior’

[Despite John being a senior, he is still serving double-decker hamburgers at Ruby Tuesdays.]

幼

yòu, v_st, as n_c, ‘younger one’

[“Yo! Ed! Not you, the younger one.”]

朋

péng, n_c, ‘comrade’

[Acrobats play ping pong with a friend while hanging from a ladder.]

友

yǒu, n_c, ‘friend’

[“I’m just out walking my dog named Yo. Man’s best friend.”]

與

yǔ, conj, ‘and, or’

[“You and he are standing between the raised discs behind a tractor. Be careful or you’ll be diskettes.”]

物

wù, n_c, ‘creature’

[“I want to woo that beautiful creature.”]

我

wǒ, pr_per, ‘I’, ‘we’

[“Whah? I don’t want to get chased by someone with a spear.” “We don’t either.”]

利

lì, n_c, ‘profit, benefit’

[Lee Mack likes to do a benefit, especially if he gets to talk with a microphone.]

命

mìng, n_c, ‘fate’

[What does fate mean? Two doors in the afterlife. What’s your chance?]

仁

rén, n_c, ‘benevolence’

[Render kindness and benevolence to people of both levels of society.]

此

cǐ, pr_dem, ‘this’

[“No, suh, I ladled this soup myself.”]

彼

bǐ, pr_dem, ‘that’

[“Be that guy. Like Mr. T putting a cross on top of a pedestal.”]

爾 | 尔

ěr, pr_per, ‘you’

[“Are you going to Scarborough Fair? You should not drink much of that moonshine.”]

吾

wú, pr_per, ‘I’, ‘we’

[“Sergeant Wu?” “It is I. That’s my name. I’m sitting on the couch with my laptop.”]

汝

rǔ, pr_per, ‘you’

[“Where are you running to and who are you?” “I’m a Jew running from the Egyptians.”]

海

haǐ, nc, ‘sea’

[“Hi! Here’s two boxes of Hi-C. You need it before going across the sea.”]

中

zhōng, n_loc, ‘middle’

[There was a sign in the middle of the road that said Jonestown. I turned around to go a different way.]

國

guó, n_c, ‘state’

[“You don’t have to walk to the state of New Mexico to get good guac. You can go without.”]

孔

Kǒng, np, family name

[“Dip in there an make me an ice cream cone. Thanks Mr. Kong.”]

金

jīn, n_c, ‘bronze’

[“Jean has a still made of bronze in which she makes gin. She just put a new roof on it.”]

山

shān, nc, ‘mountain’

[“Look at the three peaks of the mountain, Mt. Shannon.”]

林

lín, n_c, ‘forest’

[I’m going to build a lean-to between these two trees in the forest.]

堂

táng, n_c, ‘hall’

[The Maori warrior performs the Haka sticking out his tongue in front of the hall called a wharenui.]

前

qián, n_loc, ‘ front’

[I climbed a ladder to get on the roof and fell off in front of my house and hurt my chin.]

而

ér, pr_per, ‘your’ (literary); “and”

[“Are you kidding me? Your beard is better than mine? My beard and mustache are better than yours.”]

其

qí, pr_per, ‘his’

[“Look at it! See his wardrobe walking away.]

妻

qī, n_c, ‘wife’

[“My wife practices Tai Chi and is so strong she can carry a piano — along with tuner — on her back.”]

高

gāo, vst, ‘be high, tall’

[This skyscraper hoosgow is very tall. Why did I have to get high to go to jail in a tall building.]

大

dà, v_st, ‘be big’

[The Irish lad yelled a warning to his father when he saw a bear, “Da, make yourself be big.”]

小

xiǎo, v_st, ‘be small’

[“I like Etsy. Ow, my cape is too small around my neck.”]

家

jiā, n_c, ‘family’

[“Gee, ah, is this your little family of piglets?

弱

ruò, v_st, ‘be weak’

[“You will rue the day when you are proven to be weak against the Ice Giants bearing bows with icicle arrows.”]

燕

Yān, n_p, a state

[“Do you live in a northern state?” “Yah.”]

彊/強

qiáng, v_st, ‘be strong’

[“Be strong! Rub your Chia pet when you feel weak.”]

齊

Qí, n_p, a state

[The see of Rome is in Vatican State. I guess.]

民

mín, n_c, ‘people’

[People can be so mean, especially when they kick you.]

姓

xìng, n_c, ‘clan’

[“His clan lives over there by the radio tower. They like to sin and sing.”]

飛 | 飞

fēi, v_i, ‘fly’

[“I thought you were fae. Flap those wings and let’s fly.”]

鳥

niǎo, nc, ‘bird’

[I was sitting on a bench holding my packages, when a Chinese cat bird landed and said, “Neow.”]

補 | 补

bǔ,v_tr, ‘to mend’

[“Who mended your pants, Jem?” “Boo Radley.”]

衣

yī, n_c, ‘clothes’

[“Ye should wear the proper clothes when you use a scythe including a hat.”]

生

shēng, n_c as v_i, ‘live’

[“Hey Shawn, hang your beret on the coat stand, take your shoes off, and live a bit.”]

愛

ài, v_tr, ‘love’

[“I love being a chef and giving judgment from my pedestal.]