Chinese for the RP Player

POSTED BY: Channain
UPDATED: Friday, May 27, 2005 17:34
VIEWED: 12915
PAGE 1 of 1

CHANNAIN

Wednesday, February 4, 2004 12:30 AM (P)

Listed below is a glossary of language used in Firefly episodes and fan fiction for use by RP players. If anyone has an addition or correction to this list, please feel free to enlighten me.

PLUS - there are other listings below of Chinese resource Web sites and some discussions on use and application of the Chinese language. If you know of any other sources, again, feel free to post them here.

Last Update: 2 February 2005

TITLES and GENDER references
bà bà = daddy (familiar)
fùqin = father (formal)
ge ge = big brother (familiar)
xíao dì = little brother (familiar); used with a blood relation
xiâo dì dì = little brother (familiar); can be used with someone not related to you
mà mà = mommy (familiar)
jèijei = big sister (Thanks Dawn)
mèimei = little sister
xiâo mèi = baby sister; used with a blood relation
mu qin = mother (formal)
dà ge = big brother (formal); also way of addressing non-relation, similar to "Sir"
xiâo péngyou = little friend (familiar), kid, children
xiâo mèimei = baby sister; can be used with someone not related to you
nan hai = boy

COMPLIMENTARY
ài rén = sweetheart
xin gan = sweetheart, darling
bâobèi = precious (item); ie: precious jewels (endearment)
kê ài cute/adorable/lovely
lìngrén jingyì = stunning, amazing
mêilì = beautiful/pretty
qin ài de = dear, darling
shuài = handsome/snazzy

GENERAL
bì zuî = be quiet/shut up
bù kê néng = (exclamation) no way!
da huai = big bad
duìbùqî = I'm sorry/excuse me
dong ma? = understand?
fèi huà = garbage (nonsense)
Fei fei pian: Fat lie
gan bei = Dry cup or Dry Glass - basically, "Bottom's up"
gaxìng jìandào nî = pleased to meet you
hâo ba = okay (reluctant)
hâo de = okay/will do!
hâo le = okay (contextual "Okay, that's enough. Stop right there." can be considered rude)
hâo le ma = that's enough, okay?
hâo = okay/sure
jin kuai = as quickly as possible
jiu = move
mâshàng = on the double/quickly/right away/immediately
méi guanxi = it's nothing/it's okay
laja = (n) garbage
nî bù dông ma = don't you understand?
nî bù dông = you don't understand
wen hou = greetings or hello
nî hâo mêi = you're so beautiful
nî shòu shäng le = you're hurt
ni meí shì bà? = are you okay?
jiao-zi = pan-fried dumplings
lèsè = (n) garbage
shénme? = what?
shìde = yes/right
sishengzi = bastard (not an insult)
tìan xiâo de = God knows (heaven/sky only knows)
tianna = (exclamation) Oh God
Nin xi huan gén wo tiào wu ma? = may I have the pleasure...(of this dance)?
wô hâo = I'm fine
wode tìan = oh sky! (colloquial: Oh God!)
xiâoxin = [be] careful
xièxie nî = thank you
xièxie = thanks
xin nian kuai le = happy new year
zài-jiàn = goodbye
zôugôu = yes man (derogatory)
zhàngfu = husband
zhè bìng bù huài = it's not that bad
zhùzuî = be quiet/shut up

INSULTS
bèn dàn = [you] idiot!
chûn = stupid
chûnrén = fool, jerk (familiar)
dòngwù = animal
húndàn = asshole/bastard
heishôudâng liúmáng = gangster asshole/bastard(s)
lâotou = old geezer
liúmáng = bastard/asshole/criminal/gangster
lièzhì = inferior; shoddy; trashy
nuòfu = coward
pofù = bitch
wúnéug de rén = trash (despicable person)
xiao jiay pigu = skinny little ass
yúchûn = stupid/ignorant
yaoguài = monster

Swearing
cào = v/t screw, fuck
cào nî zûxian shí bâ dai = fuck 18 generations of your ancestors
chùsheng xai-jiao de xiang huo = animal fucking bastard
daì ruò mù ji = dumb as a wooden chicken
gôu pì = bullshit
gôushî bùrú = lower than dogshit/lowest of the low
gûnkai = fuck off
lan-dan jiang! = Weak-ass sauce!
lashî = shit (v)
made = (exclamation) fuck
méiyôu mûqin de xiao gôu = motherless cur
qù tamade = (exclamation) fuck him/fuck that!
qù tamade = (exclamation) motherfucker
qingwa cào de liúmáng = frog-humping sumbitch
tamade = (exclamation) motherfucker
tamade húndàn = fucking b

TEELABROWN

Wednesday, February 4, 2004 1:35 AM (P)

Thanks very much! I love learning more insults in foreign languages. And whatever else I can pick up is good too. I can insult people in at least 3 languages. Mandrin is my most frequently used one, though.

............................................................................................
"Freedom is the Freedom to say that 2+2 makes 4. If that is granted, all else follws"-Winston, 1984
Keep flyin', and remember, THEY can't take the sky from US!
Teela Brown, keeper of bad typing.

ASTRIANA

Wednesday, February 4, 2004 2:04 PM (P)

Channain, thanks for putting these up! Yay!

~A~

...I'm still free,
You can't take the sky from me.

TEELABROWN

Thursday, February 5, 2004 1:43 AM (P)

Returns

............................................................................................
"Freedom is the Freedom to say that 2+2 makes 4. If that is granted, all else follws"-Winston, 1984
Keep flyin', and remember, THEY can't take the sky from US!
Teela Brown, keeper of bad typing.

HIROSTONE

Thursday, February 5, 2004 8:45 PM (P)

This'll be very helpful for me too.

xièxie nî

-Hiro

"Now you can luxuriate in a nice jail cell, but if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty flowered bonnet, I will end you."

SHINY

Saturday, February 28, 2004 5:07 AM (P)

How to swear in Mandarin:

http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing/mandarin.htm

RIVER
Purple elephants are flying.
MAL
Good. Thanks for the update.

SQUEE

Saturday, February 28, 2004 6:54 AM (P)

Here's a site for the Firefly Chinese that has been very useful to me:
http://fireflychinese.home.att.net/

I'm not broken, in my dream I win...

TALVIN

Saturday, April 10, 2004 2:01 AM (P)

Everybody with the swear words...

You want some serious advice, guys? Practice "zhie zhie" (xièxie) like you mean it.

I used to work at Wal-Mart, in the Seafood Dept. Kinda like working for the Alliance, only I think the grey uniforms they have look nicer. Anyhow...

It was a point of pride with me: every customer was thanked in their mother tongue. I was saying "Thank You" in over 30 languages in this little hick town before I got out of there. Mandarin was one of them.

On lunch break, I would go next door to the Chinese Buffet. I was jumped to the front of the line, I did not have to tell them where I wanted to sit, what I wanted to drink, or whether I wanted the buffet or a menu. My drink NEVER got further down than half-full. I paid lunch prices for supper.

"Xièxie". As one waiter, in very halting, oh-so-polite language, told me one day...well...

It loosely translated as "You're amazing, most of these round-eyes can't even say Thank you in English!"

Good advice for your RP characters (I just now remembered what forum this is in), and good advice for RL.

GMs: If the player's characters don't remember to say thank you, stiff them on the bill--they've earned it.

JASONZZZ

Wednesday, April 14, 2004 6:01 AM (P)

I am skeptical of this particular one...

wo nén qin ni tiào wu ma...? = may I have the pleasure...(of this dance)?

nén specifically means the "capacility to" or "ability to" do something rather than requesting for permission. The English word phrase for "May I" or "Can I" here clearly carries the latter meaning.

So, taking into the real meaning. It translates into something odd; as in "Do I have the ability to ask you to dance?" Which might actually provoke a similarly non-sensical response.

Ké yi is probably a better choice. But I don't think a Chinese person would say that as it doesn't have the same sense of florish as the English phrase does...

Like Fireflyfans.net?
Haken needs a new development system. Donate.
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=5&t=3283

CHANNAIN

Friday, April 23, 2004 9:42 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Jasonzzz:
I am skeptical of this particular one...

wo nén qin ni tiào wu ma...? = may I have the pleasure...(of this dance)?

Ké yi is probably a better choice. But I don't think a Chinese person would say that as it doesn't have the same sense of florish as the English phrase does...

Thanks Jasonzzz - could this possibly be the product of the Chinese/American blending that's supposed to have gone on prior to the time that Firefly takes place?

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

JASONZZZ

Friday, April 23, 2004 10:02 PM (P)

I doubt it, only if every Chinese speaker died off and all of the first year Chinese lesson books were lost, then subsequently Chinese was retaught but using only an English->Chinese dictionary as an aid.

It's likely an oversight and someone on the script team just grabbed a dictionary or something... it's not something that a first year Chinese student could miss.

then again, even English speakers (in the US) no longer seem to care to distinguish the differences between could, would, and should...

Quote:
Originally posted by Channain:
Quote:
Originally posted by Jasonzzz:
I am skeptical of this particular one...

wo nén qin ni tiào wu ma...? = may I have the pleasure...(of this dance)?

Ké yi is probably a better choice. But I don't think a Chinese person would say that as it doesn't have the same sense of florish as the English phrase does...

Thanks Jasonzzz - could this possibly be the product of the Chinese/American blending that's supposed to have gone on prior to the time that Firefly takes place?

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922]

Like Fireflyfans.net?
Haken needs a new development system. Donate.
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=5&t=3283

CHANNAIN

Friday, April 23, 2004 10:16 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Jasonzzz
then again, even English speakers (in the US) no longer seem to care to distinguish the differences between could, would, and should...

True. I'm glad someone else has noticed.

So the revision (if one were made) would be:

"wo ké yi qin ni tiào wu ma"

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

JASONZZZ

Friday, April 23, 2004 11:08 PM (P)

您喜欢跟我跳舞吗?
Nîn xîhuan1 gen1 wo3 tiao4 wu ma?

is a better approach to the same feeling of
the same phrase in English "May I have the pleasure of this dance..."

translated more or less "Would you prefer/entertain (the idea of) dancing with me?"

The Nin would be important as the gentleman would be attempting to be cordial...

Quote:
Originally posted by Channain:
Quote:
Originally posted by Jasonzzz
then again, even English speakers (in the US) no longer seem to care to distinguish the differences between could, would, and should...
True. I'm glad someone else has noticed.

So the revision (if one were made) would be:

"wo ké yi qin ni tiào wu ma"

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

CHANNAIN

Wednesday, April 28, 2004 3:48 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Jasonzzz
Nîn xîhuan1 gen1 wo3 tiao4 wu ma?
is a better approach to the same feeling of
the same phrase in English "May I have the pleasure of this dance..."

Shiny! Problem is, though, some of the phonetics are confusing the site. Could you re-write accordingly?

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

JASONZZZ

Wednesday, April 28, 2004 4:03 PM (P)

Sorry, I don't have the fonts for generating the proper tonemarks along with the pinyin... But these are the correct pinyin "spelling"...

Nin3 xi3huan1 gen1 wo3 tiao4 wu ma?

CHANNAIN

Wednesday, April 28, 2004 4:23 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Jasonzzz:
Nin xi huan gen wo tiao wu ma?

well, in true Browncoat fashion, we'll work with what we can.

Thanks for your help!!

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

CHANNAIN

Thursday, June 17, 2004 7:17 PM (P)

I moved this over here - seemed more appropos -

Quote:
Originally posted by Jasonzzz:
The equivalent of "bottom's up" in Chinese is
"Gan1 Bei1" - literally means "Dry Cup" or "Dry Glass". The usual ritual is to say the phrase while hoisting the vessel with both hands, then draining the cup of its contents with one large gulp or as few gulps as possible. About the same as what you might expect.

That's very RP-like material. Only the spelling came through with "1s" in place of the appropriate grammatical symbols.

Is it "Gan Bei" as in "gAHn bay?"

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

JASONZZZ

Thursday, June 17, 2004 7:38 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Channain:
I moved this over here - seemed more appropos -

Quote:
Originally posted by Jasonzzz:
The equivalent of "bottom's up" in Chinese is
"Gan1 Bei1" - literally means "Dry Cup" or "Dry Glass". The usual ritual is to say the phrase while hoisting the vessel with both hands, then draining the cup of its contents with one large gulp or as few gulps as possible. About the same as what you might expect.

That's very RP-like material. Only the spelling came through with "1s" in place of the appropriate grammatical symbols.

Is it "Gan Bei" as in "gAHn bay?"

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

The chinese characters are:
乾杯

the spelling I sent over are the correct spelling using the pinyin system. I couldn't find the equivalent tonal marks available in the regular fonts that I was using here for the first tone, it is acceptable to put the equivalent tone numbers next to each pinyin spelling. So, Gan1 Bei1 is GānBēi are both correct.

Here's a bunch of chars to use for the
correct tonal marks...

ā á ă à
ē é ĕ è
ī í ĭ ì
ō ó ŏ ò
ū ú ŭ ù

CHANNAIN

Thursday, June 17, 2004 8:22 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Jasonzzz:
The spelling I sent over are the correct spelling using the pinyin system. I couldn't find the equivalent tonal marks available in the regular fonts that I was using here for the first tone, it is acceptable to put the equivalent tone numbers next to each pinyin spelling. So, Gan1 Bei1 is GānBēi are both correct.

Here's a bunch of chars to use for the
correct tonal marks...

ā á ă à
ē é ĕ è
ī í ĭ ì
ō ó ŏ ò
ū ú ŭ ù

Now this may be my problem, or it may be FFF.net, but some of those characters are coming through as tiny little boxes. For my own use, and for our viewers at home, is there any advice on what can be done to correct this?

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

RELFEXIVE

Friday, June 18, 2004 11:07 PM (P)

Nice work.

That'll be useful with my upcoming fanfic too

Mal: "We're not gonna die. We can't die, Bendis. You know why? Because we are so... very... pretty. We are just too pretty for God to let us die."

CHANNAIN

Monday, July 5, 2004 11:37 PM (P)

Hi Jasonzzz -

I have a question for you - is there a Chinese equivalent to the expression "Easy as pie" or even "Easy Peasy" ?

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

JASONZZZ

Monday, July 12, 2004 6:25 AM (P)

If you are using windows, you need to install the "Traditional Chinese" language pack. Then turn on the Control Panel/Regional Options/Tradional Chinese settings.

Quote:
Originally posted by Channain:
Quote:
Originally posted by Jasonzzz:
The spelling I sent over are the correct spelling using the pinyin system. I couldn't find the equivalent tonal marks available in the regular fonts that I was using here for the first tone, it is acceptable to put the equivalent tone numbers next to each pinyin spelling. So, Gan1 Bei1 is GānBēi are both correct.

Here's a bunch of chars to use for the
correct tonal marks...

ā á ă à
ē é ĕ è
ī í ĭ ì
ō ó ŏ ò
ū ú ŭ ù
Now this may be my problem, or it may be FFF.net, but some of those characters are coming through as tiny little boxes. For my own use, and for our viewers at home, is there any advice on what can be done to correct this?

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

CRAZYHORSE

Saturday, October 30, 2004 5:23 AM (P)

I have another to add to the list, if anyone is still paying attention to this thread.

Da Bi2zi(4?) pronounced dah bee-dzuh

Basically it means big nose, and it's usually referring to someone as a westerner in a not complimentary way, kinda like round-eyes.

also, dong ma can also be dong bu dong which is used more often I think, and means literally do you or do you not understand?

"...what'd yall order a dead guy for?"

"Oh I got respect, i'm just sayin'... GOLD"

CHANNAIN

Friday, April 22, 2005 5:10 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by CrazyHorse:
I have another to add to the list, if anyone is still paying attention to this thread.

I am! Gotta keep it up for WHEN the Gunrunners RP reboots in June.

Quote:
Originally posted by CrazyHorse:
Da Bi2zi(4?) pronounced dah bee-dzuh

Unfortunately, some of the letters didn't make it through. Any chance you could edit the post? I'd dearly like to add it to the main list. It's too cool not to.

Fans come and fans go...but zealots are with you until the bitter black end.
I draw...therefore I am. http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922
Minnesota Meetup - join us! http://firefly.meetup.com/45/

SERENITYSGIRL

Friday, May 20, 2005 5:24 AM (P)

Mind if I save this!

Serenity's Girl
YIM: Danitg31
AIM: fanoffirefly
LJ: http://www.livejournal.com/users/luvfirefly/

KWANYIN

Friday, May 27, 2005 5:21 PM (P)

Awesome. I'm going to link to this thread in FireflyMUX's LiveJournal community ( http://www.livejournal.com/community/firefly_mux) if that's okay - it should come in handy along with our in-game language file! :)

FireflyMUX Head Wizard,
Kwan Yin

CHANNAIN

Friday, May 27, 2005 5:34 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SerenitysGirl:
Mind if I save this!

Nope, don't mind in the least. It does get updated from time to time, so be sure to check back. Updated translations should appear in purple, if I remember to move the color codes around.

I draw...therefore I am. http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922
Live in Minnesota? Join the Group! Yahoo Group, that is...
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