Feels like it’s been a hundred years since I threw something up here. Rest assured I carry the shame of an un-updated blog around with me constantly, so – yay, guilt. I’m actually taking intensive classes in Chinese (yet again) to push my reading level higher, hence the lack of posts. I’m more active on […]
新年快到了，玩具王国决定举行一场盛大的舞会，准备邀请全国的玩具都来参加。舞会那天，玩具们都不停地跳着、笑着，整个舞场热闹非凡。可是在一个角落里，谁也没有注意到，有一只紫色的香草娃娃正一声不吭地望着舞池，她的眼神呆呆的，显得十分孤独。这时，一只小白熊正好从她面前经过，它看到了这一切，就走过去问香草娃娃：“娃娃，你为什么不去跳舞呢？”香草娃娃难过地低下了头，轻轻地说：“玩具们都嫌我个子小，不愿意请我跳舞。”说完流下了眼泪。小白熊听了很气愤，说：“他们怎么能这样对待你呢？难道他们不懂得要团结友爱吗！太过分了！”小白熊拉起香草娃娃的手，说，“娃娃，不要难过了。走，我请你跳舞。”香草娃娃听了这话，脸上顿时露出了灿烂的笑容，她连忙擦掉脸上的泪水，高兴地说：“太好了！太好了！”娃娃和小白熊在舞池里又跳又笑，一起度过了一个愉快的夜晚。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 新年 | xīn nián | New Year; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 快 | kuài | rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant |
| 到了 | dào liǎo | at last; finally; in the end |
| 玩具 | wán jù | plaything; toy |
| 王国 | wáng guó | kingdom; realm |
| 决定 | jué dìng | to decide; to determine; to make up one's mind; decision (CL:個|个[ge4],項|项[xiang4]) |
| 举 | jǔ | variant of 舉|举[ju3]; to lift; to hold up; to cite; to enumerate; to act; to raise; to choose; to elect; act; move; deed |
| 行 | háng | (bound form) row; line; (bound form) line of business; trade; profession; (bound form) commercial firm; (bound form) to rank (first, second etc) among one's siblings (by age); (in … |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 场 | cháng | threshing floor; classifier for events and happenings: spell, episode, bout; variant of 場|场[chang2] |
| 盛大 | shèng dà | grand; majestic; magnificent |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 舞会 | wǔ huì | dance; ball; party; CL:場|场[chang3] |
| 准备 | zhǔn bèi | preparation; to prepare; to intend; to be about to; reserve (fund) |
| 邀 | yao | to invite; to intercept; to seek |
| 请 | qǐng | to ask; to invite; please (do sth); to treat (to a meal etc); to request |
| 全国 | quán guó | whole nation; nationwide; countrywide; national |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 参加 | cān jiā | to participate; to take part; to join |
| 那天 | nà tiān | that day; the other day |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 停 | tíng | to stop; to halt; to park (a car) |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 跳 | tiào | to jump; to hop; to skip over; to bounce; to palpitate |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 笑 | xiào | old variant of 笑[xiao4]; to laugh; to smile; to laugh at |
| 整 | zhěng | (bound form) whole; complete; entire; (before a measure word) whole; (before or after number + measure word) exactly; (bound form) in good order; tidy; neat; (bound form) to put in… |
| 个 | gě | used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個|个[ge4] |
| 舞场 | wǔ chǎng | dance hall |
| 热闹 | rè nao | bustling with noise and excitement; lively |
| 非凡 | fēi fán | out of the ordinary; unusually (good, talented etc) |
| 可是 | kě shì | but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 角落 | jiǎo luò | corner (of a room, courtyard etc); (fig.) remote spot; nook |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 谁 | shéi | who; also pr. [shui2] |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 注 | zhù | (bound form) to pour into; to flow into; to inject; (bound form) to focus (one's spirit, gaze etc) on a single point; to concentrate; (bound form) stake (in gambling); classifier f…; to annotate; to provide explanatory notes on a written text; an annotation; an explanatory note; (bound form) to put on record; to register |
| 意 | yì | (bound form) idea; thought; meaning; sense; (bound form) intention; feeling; inclination; state of mind; (bound form) Italy (abbr. for 意大利[Yi4 da4 li4]) |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 紫色 | zǐ sè | purple; violet (color) |
| 香草 | xiāng cǎo | aromatic herb; vanilla; alternative name for Eupatorium fortunei; (fig.) loyal and dependable person (old) |
| 娃 | wā | baby |
| 正 | zhēng | first month of the lunar year |
| 一声 | yī shēng | first tone in Mandarin (high, level tone) |
| 吭 | ||
| 望 | wàng | full moon; to hope; to expect; to visit; to gaze (into the distance); to look towards; towards; 15th day of month (lunar calendar); old variant of 望[wang4] |
| 舞池 | wǔ chí | dance floor |
| 她 | tā | she |
| 眼神 | yǎn shén | expression or emotion showing in one's eyes; meaningful glance; wink; eyesight (dialect) |
| 呆 | dai | foolish; stupid |
| 显得 | xiǎn de | to seem; to look; to appear |
| 十分 | shí fēn | very; completely; utterly; extremely; absolutely; hundred percent; to divide into ten equal parts |
| 孤独 | gū dú | lonely; solitary |
| 这时 | zhè shí | at this time; at this moment |
| 小白 | xiǎo bái | (slang) novice; greenhorn; (old) (slang) fool; idiot; abbr. for 小白臉|小白脸[xiao3 bai2 lian3], pretty boy |
| 熊 | xiōng | bear; a scolding; surname Xiong |
| 正好 | zhèng hǎo | just (in time); just right; just enough; to happen to; to chance to; by chance; it just so happens that |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 面前 | miàn qián | in front of; facing; (in the) presence (of) |
| 经过 | jīng guò | to pass; to go through; process; course; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 看到 | kàn dào | to see |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 一切 | yī qiè | everything; every; all |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 走过 | zǒu guò | to walk past; to pass by |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 问 | wèn | to ask; to inquire |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) |
| 为 | wéi | as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); variant of 為|为[wei2] |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 跳舞 | tiào wǔ | to dance |
| 呢 | ne | (sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?"); (sentence-final particle) indicating that a state or situation… |
| 难过 | nán guò | to feel sad; to feel unwell; (of life) to be difficult |
| 低下 | dī xià | low status; lowly; to lower (one's head) |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 轻轻 | qīng qīng | lightly; softly |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 嫌 | xiān | to dislike; resentment; abbr. for 嫌犯[xian2 fan4], criminal suspect |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 个子 | gè zi | stature; height; size (of a person or object); (agriculture) bundle of cereal stalks tied together |
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 愿 | yuàn | honest and prudent; variant of 願|愿[yuan4]; (bound form) wish; hope; desire; to be willing; to wish (that sth may happen); may ...; vow; pledge |
| 完 | wán | to finish; to be over; whole; complete; entire |
| 流 | líu | to flow; to disseminate; to circulate or spread; to move or drift; to degenerate; to banish or send into exile; stream of water or sth resembling one; class, rate or grade |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 眼 | yǎn | eye (CL:隻|只[zhi1],雙|双[shuang1]); (often used with 一[yi1]) a look; a glance; small hole; (bound form) salient point; classifier for wells, cave-dwellings etc |
| 泪 | lěi | (bound form) tears; teardrops |
| 听 | yǐn | smile (archaic); to listen to; to hear; to heed; to obey; a can (loanword from English "tin"); classifier for canned beverages; to let be; to allow (Taiwan pr. [ting4]); (literary) to administer; t… |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 气 | qì | gas; air; smell; weather; to make angry; to annoy; to get angry; vital energy; qi |
| 愤 | fěn | indignant; resentment |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 怎 | zěn | how |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 对 | duì | right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to sui… |
| 待 | dǎi | to stay; to remain |
| 难道 | nán dào | don't tell me ...; could it be that...? |
| 懂 | dǒng | to understand; to comprehend |
| 得要 | děi yào | to need; must |
| 团结 | tuán jié | to unite; unity; solidarity; united |
| 友爱 | yǒu ài | friendly affection; fraternal love |
| 吗 | má | (coll.) what? |
| 太过 | tài guò | excessively; too |
| 分 | fēn | to divide; to separate; to distribute; to allocate; to distinguish (good and bad); (bound form) branch of (an organization); sub- (as in 分局[fen1 ju2]); fraction; one tenth (of cert… |
| 拉 | lā | to pull; to play (a bowed instrument); to drag; to draw; to chat; (coll.) to empty one's bowels |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta… |
| 手 | shǒu | hand; (formal) to hold; person engaged in certain types of work; person skilled in certain types of work; personal(ly); convenient; classifier for skill; CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 不要 | bù yào | don't!; must not |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form… |
| 话 | huà | dialect; language; spoken words; speech; talk; words; conversation; what sb said; CL:種|种[zhong3],席[xi2],句[ju4],口[kou3],番[fan1]; old variant of 話|话[hua4] |
| 脸 | liǎn | face; CL:張|张[zhang1],個|个[ge4] |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 顿时 | dùn shí | immediately; suddenly |
| 露出 | lù chū | to expose; to show; also pr. [lou4 chu1] |
| 灿 | cǎn | glorious; brilliant; resplendent |
| 烂 | lǎn | soft; mushy; to rot; to decompose; worn out; utterly; thoroughly |
| 笑容 | xiào róng | smile; smiling expression; CL:副[fu4] |
| 连忙 | lián máng | promptly; at once |
| 擦 | cā | to rub; to scratch; to wipe; to polish; to apply (lipstick, lotion etc); to brush (past); to shred (a vegetable etc) |
| 掉 | diào | to fall; to drop; to lag behind; to lose; to go missing; to reduce; fall (in prices); to lose (value, weight etc); to wag; to swing; to turn; to change; to exchange; to swap; to sh… |
| 水 | Shuǐ | surname Shui; Shui ethnic group |
| 高兴 | gāo xìng | happy; glad; willing (to do sth); in a cheerful mood |
| 太好了 | tài hǎo le | very good |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 一起 | yī qǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with); altogether; in total; an instance of; a case of (murder, accident, dispute etc) |
| 度 | dù | to pass; to spend (time); measure; limit; extent; degree of intensity; degree (angles, temperature etc); kilowatt-hour; classifier for events and occurrences |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 愉 | yú | pleased |
| 夜晚 | yè wǎn | night; CL:個|个[ge4] |
The new year had almost arrived, and the Toy Kingdom planned to invite everyone to a grand ball. The day of the dance, the toys were all dancing and laughing, and the whole ballroom was extraordinarily lively. But off in one corner, receiving no attention from anyone, there was an old purple straw doll silently gazing at the dance floor, her eyes were blank and she looked lonely. Just then, a white polar bear in front of her saw this, walked over and asked the straw doll, “Doll, why don’t you go dance?” The straw doll lowered her head sadly, saying in a small voice, “The [other] toys all say I’m too short, they’re not willing to dance with me.” Saying this, she began to cry. Polar Bear was furious when he heard this, and said: “How could they treat you this way? Don’t they understand solidarity? That’s just too much!” Little Bear pulled on the baby doll’s hand, and said: “Doll, don’t be sad. Come on, I’m asking you to dance with me.” The straw doll heard these words, and a brilliant smile immediately lit up her face. She quickly wiped the tears off her face and said happily, “Wonderful! Wonderful!” On the dance floor, Doll and Bear danced and laughed, and passed a lovely evening together.