Lessons in the Shanghai Dialect by Rev. F. L. Hawks Pott, D.D.

Notes.

(1) In the ninth sentence of the First Exercise, notice the expression °zoo-ding° (坐定), “to sit quiet.”
(2) In the eleventh sentence of the First Exercise Khe zen (開船) means “to start the boat.” Literally it is “to open the boat.” In the same sentence bing °s (平水) means “slack water.”
(3). In the eighteenth sentence of the First Exercise zau-yau-yien (造謠言) means “to start a rumor.”
(4) In the twenty-fifth sentence of the First Exercise dih-’veh-dzu° (敵勿住) means “unable to oppose.”
(5) In the fifth sentence of the Second Exercise, “to cut off the robber’s head,” is sah-theh °di-kuh °jang-dau° kuh deu (殺脫第個強盗個頭).
(6) In the ninth sentence of the Second Exercise “to travel” is ’ang (行).
(7) In the tenth sentence of the Second Exercise “to erect a fence,” is °tang-po (打笆).

LESSON XXVIII
Abstract Nouns formed from two Adjectives of opposite meaning

Very often two adjectives of opposite meaning are joined together to form an abstract noun of quality. Naturally the Chinese language is defective in abstract nouns, and their lack is partially supplied is this way. Thus Too-°sau (多少), “Much-little,” means “quantity.”

Dzang-°toen (長短), “Long-short,” means “length.” °Yoen-°jung (遠近), “Far-near,” means “distance.” Kau-ti° (高低), “High-low,” means “height.” °‘Eu-bok (厚薄), “Thick-thin,” means “thickness.” Kwheh-‘ah (關狹), “Broad-narrow,” means “breadth.” °Lang-nyih (冷熱), “Cold-hot,” means “temperature.” Sung-°tshien (深淺), “Deep-shallow,” means “depth.” Chung-°dzoong (輕重), “Light-heavy,” means “weight.” Tshoo-si° (粗細), “Coarse-fine,” means “texture” (of cloth).

Verbs are also used in much the same way. Thus we have Le-°waung (來往). “Come-go,” meaning “intercourse,” or Le-chi° (來去), “Come-go,” meaning, “going back and forth.” It generally occurs as Le-le-chi°-chi°. °Ma-ma° (買賣), “Buy-sell,” means “business.”

VOCABULARY

EXERCISES

Notes.

(1) In the seventh Sentence of the First Exercise notice how phi-bing is used both as a noun and as a verb.
(2) In the eighth sentence of the First Exercise Zok (熟), which means “ripe” of fruit, also means “well-known.” It also has the meaning of “thorough” as in the expression dok-zok (讀熟) meaning “to read thoroughly.”
(3) In the thirteenth sentence of the First Exercise notice the position of the deu (頭), “head” between the °Tsen (轉) and the le (來). This is usual in Chinese. Verbs are often broken up in this way.
(4) In the fifteenth sentence of the First Exercise °wung-taung° (穩當) means “safe.”

LESSON XXIX
Some Useful Phrases

As will be seen from the lessons already gone over Chinese is very largely composed of idiomatic phrases. The only way to become acquainted with these phrases is by the constant hearing of the spoken language. We shall introduce in this lesson a few useful phrases and show how they occur in sentences.

“All one’s life,” ih sang-ih-s° (一生一世). Lit. “One life, one world.” “To run about,” Bau-le-bau-chi° (跑來跑去). Lit. “Run come, run go.” “To decide,” Lih-ding-°tsu-i° (立定主意). Lit. “To stand still the will.”

Good-bye (French, au-revoir), An°-hyih-we° (宴歇會). Lit. “We will meet later,” or Tse°-we° (再會). Lit. “I will see you again.”

The ordinary way of saying “good-bye” when you have been to call on a person is to say Chi°-tse (去哉). Lit. “I am going.” Your host will say Man°-chi° (慢去), meaning “Go slowly.”

The expression. Kan-nyih-we° (間日會) would mean: “I will see you in a day or two.”

“Universal” °Phoo-thien-‘au° (普天下), or ‘Eh-thien-°ti-°‘au (合天底下). Lit. “Beneath the whole of heaven.”

“Useless, in vain,” Bak-bak-°li (白白裏). “Indispensable” is °Ba-’veh-tuk (罷勿得).

VOCABULARY

EXERCISES

Notes.

(1) Thien-°tsu is the term used for God by the Romanists and by some Protestants. The other terms used for God are Zung (神), Lit. “a Spirit” and °Zang-ti° (上帝), Lit. “The Celestial Ruler.”
(2) In the fourteenth sentence of the Second Exercise for “to no purpose,” one can say Bak-bak-li-fi°-theh, or the bak (白) can be used with the verb. Thus we can say Bak fi°-theh (白廢脫). Bak is often need in this way with verbs. Thus Bak-tsoo° (白做), “to do in vain.” Bak °siang (白想), “to think in vain, to no purpose,” etc.
(3) In the eleventh sentence of the First Exercise Wan°-z may be translated “or.”

LESSON XXX
More Useful Words and Phrases

In the preceding lessons emphasis has been laid upon idiom and construction. Here a few useful words and phrases are given for the purpose of increasing the vocabulary of the student.

VOCABULARY

EXERCISES

Notes.

(1) In the third sentence of the First Exercise the verb dzung (存) means deposit.
(2) In the fourth Sentence of the First Exercise tung° (噸) means ton.
(3) In the tenth sentence of the First Exercise Soong° bung-°yeu (送朋友) means to send on his way, or as we put it “to see off.”

LESSON XXXI
Polite Language

In the Chinese language there are a great many polite phrases used in conversation. The ability to use these is a sign of education. Every student of the language should become acquainted with the most common ones, for he will have occasion to use them constantly. Some of these phrases have been introduced and explained in these lessons already, but here an attempt will be made to gather together all those that would be ordinarily used is conversation.

When you meet any one for the first time, according to Chinese etiquette you are at liberty to ask him what his honorable name may be. The expression for this is Tsung sing° (尊姓), or Kwe°-sing° (貴姓). In answer he will tell you his surname, but in doing so he will refer to it as his humble name. Thus he will say Bi°-sing° Tsang (敝姓張) (if his surname is Tsang).

Next you might proceed to inquire what his other name was, that is, his private name in distinction from his surname. This you would ask by saying °Tshing kyau° da° ‘au° (請叫大號), “Please teach me your great appellation” or The °foo (台甫). In answer he might say °Tshau-z° Kya-foo (草字嘉甫), meaning “the grass characters are Kya-foo,” or he might say °Siau-ming (小名). (Kya-foo is taken as an example of a name).

Then you might proceed to ask his age. This you would do by saying Too-sau kwe°-kang (多少貴庚). The answer would be °Ngoo hyui doo° san seh soe° (我虛度三十歲). Lit. “I have vainly passed thirty years.” If you ask an old gentleman his age, you would say °Kyi-hau° kau-zeu° (幾化高壽). Lit. “What is your high longevity?”

If you ask a person how he is, as has been already intimated, you would say °Hau-la°-va° (好拉否). The answer might be Khau° fok (靠福), meaning “I depend upon you for my happiness.”

If a person asked you how many years you had been in China, he would say Tau°-ts bi°-kok °kyi z-tse (到之敝國幾時哉). You would answer °Ngoo tau°-ts kwe°-kok nyan nyien (我到之貴國念年). “I arrived in your honorable country twenty years ago” (or any length of time you had been in the country).

When you are asking a guest to take a seat, if he is at all an honorable guest, you must request him to take an honorable seat. This you do by saying °Tshing °zaung-deu °zoo (請上頭坐), meaning “Please sit up higher.”

In asking how many children you have your guest would say °Kyi-we °sau-kyuin (幾位少君), “How many little princes have you.” Your answer is San kuh °siau-koen (三個小干), or °san kuh °siau-noen (三個小囝), or san kuh °siau-°choen (三個小犬).

At table, if you finish before others, you raise your chop-sticks and say to the others Man°-yoong° (慢用), “use slowly.” Then place the chop-sticks on top of the bowl. Your host could answer Yoong°-°pau (用飽), meaning, “Take plenty.”

When a guest is leaving, in addition to saying Chi°-tse, he may say Kyung-tshau 驚吵), meaning, “I have troubled you.” Your answer may be De-man de-man (待慢), meaning, “I have treated you without proper respect.” Or he may say, as he is walking away °Tshing lieu kyung-boo° (請留經步), meaning, “Please restrain your orderly footsteps”; or simply Lieu-boo°, meaning “Don’t trouble to come out.” If you have to excuse yourself after a short stay, you should say Sau-be (少陪).

VOCABULARY

EXERCISES

Notes.

(1) In the third sentence of the First Exercise da-ka (大家) means “together.”
(2) In the fifteenth sentence notice the ’Veh zen meh (勿然末), meaning, “If not so.”
(3) In the tenth sentence of the Second Exercise “to set the house on fire,” may be translated Loong khe °hoo le 弄開火來.
(4) In the eleventh sentence of the Second Exercise Yoong°-sing (用心) and San°-sing (散心) are just the opposite of one another.

LESSON XXXII
Proverbs

As is well known, the Chinese are very fond of proverbs. Their language is exceedingly rich with sententious sayings. They also make use of many felicitous expressions on New Year’s Day, at marriages, etc. Here is a short list of those in common use. Most of them are in literary style, but are used in ordinary speech.

一念之差終身之悔.
ih nyan° ts tsho tsoong sung ts hwe°.
The evil done in a moment’s thought may entail the repentance of a life time.

一言已出駟馬難追.
Ih yien i tsheh, s° °mo nan tsoe.
When a word has gone forth, four horses cannot overtake it.

一心舉念.
Ih sing °kyui nyan°.
A heart holding one thought; a mind set on one purpose.

吃人碗半, 由人使換喚.
Chuh zung °wen pen°, yeu *zung s° hwen°.
If you eat half a bowl of rice of another man, you thereby are placed under obligations.

*Note that the character for man is pronounced Nyung in the vernacular and Zung in the literary language.

皇天不負苦人心.
Waung Thien peh veu° °khoo zung sing.
Great Heaven never forgets the desire of a person in misery.

敗子回頭金不換.
Ba°-°ts we deu kyung peh wen°.
The repentance of a prodigal is more precious than gold.

推車撞之壁.
The tsho dzaung ts pih.
To wheel the cart against the wall,—equivalent to knock your head against a stone wall.

捨近而求遠.
So° °jung r jeu °yoen.
To forfeit what is near and seek what is far. It implies the folly of giving up the bird in the hand for the bird in the bush.

順風扯旗.
Zung° foong °tsha ji.
To float the flag in the wind. This implies “to follow the crowd,” and applies to a person of weak character.

惡有惡報, 善有善報, 若使勿報, 時刻未到.
Auh °yeu auh pau°, °zen yeu °zen pau°, zak-s ’veh pau°, z khuk vi tau°.
Evil has an evil recompense—virtue has a good recompense. If the recompense does not appear, it is because the time has not yet arrived.

冤有頭, 債有生.
Ioen °yeu deu, tsa° °yeu tsu.
Enmity has a source, just as debt has a creditor.

樹高千丈, 葉落歸根.
Zu° kau tshien °dzang, yih lauh kwe kung.
*Although the tree may be ten thousand feet high, its leaves fall down to the roots.

人面獸心.
Zung mien° sen° sing.
He has the face of a man and the heart of an animal.

看死捻鼻頭.
Khoen° °si nyah pih-deu.
To catch hold of the note of a man who is dying. Equivalent to the expression “To hit a man when he is down.”

落水搇.
Lauh °s chung.
To press a drowning man down in the water. This has much the same meaning as the preceding.

近朱者赤, 近墨者黑.
°Jung tsu tse tshuh, °jung muh tse huh.
Contact with red ink makes you red. Contact with black ink makes you black.

損人利己眞小人.
Sung zung li° kyi tsung °siau zung.
To injure another to benefit yourself, is the part of a mean fellow.

欺衆不欺一.
Chi °tsoong peh chi ih.
In dealing harshly with all, you do not deal harshly with any one in particular.

狗看滿天星.
°Keu khoen° °men thien sing.
The dog looks at the sky full of stars. This describes a stupid person who does not understand what he sees.

始終如一.
°S tsoong xu ih.
To continue the same from the beginning to the end.

謀事在人, 成事在天.
Meu z° dze zung, dzung z° dze thien.
Man contrives, God accomplishes. Equivalent to “Man proposeth, God disposeth.”

壽比南山, 福如東海.
Zeu° °pi nen san, fok zu toong °he.
May your longevity be like the Southern Mountain, and your happiness like the Eastern Sea.

琴瑟調和.
Jung seh diau ‘oo.
May the harp and guitar harmonize. Note. This is a wedding wish, the harp and guitar signifying the bride and groom.

百年偕老.
Pak nyien kya °lau.
May you have happiness for a hundred year. A wedding wish.

成雙到老.
Dzung saung tau° °lau.
May the couple remain united until old age. A wedding wish.

稱心如意.
Tshung sing zu-i°.
May everything be according to your own wishes.

壽年千歲.
Zeu° nyien tshien soe°.
May you have a long life of a thousand years.

四季平安.
S° kyi° bing-oen.
May you have peace through the four seasons.

LESSON XXVIII Abstract Nouns formed from two Adjectives of opposite meaning

VOCABULARY

EXERCISES

LESSON XXIX Some Useful Phrases

VOCABULARY

EXERCISES

LESSON XXX More Useful Words and Phrases

VOCABULARY

EXERCISES

LESSON XXXI Polite Language

VOCABULARY

EXERCISES

LESSON XXXII Proverbs

CHINESE-ENGLISH VOCABULARY

LESSON XXVIII
Abstract Nouns formed from two Adjectives of opposite meaning

LESSON XXIX
Some Useful Phrases

LESSON XXX
More Useful Words and Phrases

LESSON XXXI
Polite Language

LESSON XXXII
Proverbs