Hey Kuod



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Dayni Kuo

cat's cradle (string game)
fan1 hua1 sheng2
to flip; flower; rope

garbanzo bean

ying1 zui3 dou4

eagle beak bean

showerhead

lian2 peng2 tou2

lotus seed head . . . head

scooter
hua2 ban3 che1
hua2 ban3 is skateboard so literally it could be skateboard car

skateboard
hua2 ban3
slippery board

croissant
niu2 jiao3 bao1
cow horn bread

lasagna
qian1 ceng2 mian4
thousand layer noodle

fiction
xiao3 shuo1
little talk

lemur
hu3 hou2
tiger monkey

lavender (color)
dan4 zi3 se4
light purple color

magenta
hong2 zi3 se4
red purple color

teal
lan2 luu4 se4
blue green color

jumping jacks
kai1 he2 tiao4
open shut jump

screwdriver (the tool)
luo2 si1 dao1
screw knife

clothesline
shai4 yi1sheng2
sunbathe clothes rope

tambourine
ling2 gu3
bell drum

sink (as in bathroom sink)
xi3 lian3 tai2
wash face stand

shamrock
san1 ye4 cao3
three leaf grass

reptile
pa2 chong2
literally:  crawling bug

udder

nai3 fang2

literally:  milk house

ha ha ha ha ha ha

pinwheel

feng1 che1

literally: wind car

knuckles

zhi3 guan1 jie2

literally: finger joints

bulldozer

tui1 tu3 ji1

push dirt machine

 

excavator/digger/backhoe

wa1 tu3 ji

dig dirt machine

raspberry

shan1 mei2

literally:  mountain berry

 

blackberry

hei1 mei2

literally:  black berry

but when you put in the chinese for blackberry in a search engine you get the blackberry phones.

lipbalm

hu4 cun2 gao1

protect lips cream

pistachio

kai1 xin1 guo3

literally:  well this one is interesting.  for the 3 characters kai1 xin1 guo3 it literally means "open heart fruit."  you have to open the fruit to eat the heart. 

 

but the characters kai1 xin1 together mean happy.  so it could also mean "happy fruit."  becuase, really, who isn't happy after having a few pistachios?  :o)

beets

tian2 cai4

literally:  sweet vegetable

protein

dan4 bai2 zhi3

egg white stuff

hot and sour soup

suan1 la4 tang1

sour spicy soup

 

so how come we don't call it sour hot soup?  huh?  how come?

icing (like for cake)

tang2 zhi1

literally:  sugar juice--sounds delicious, right?!

chattier

there's this preschooler who's been coming here for a while now but just recently we've been chatting.  today he told me he had 2 plums in his pockets.  one for him and one for his sister.  so far he's been a pretty sweet kid. 

slippers

tuo1 xie2

slip off shoes

bloomers

deng1 long2 ku4

literally:  lantern pants

pimple

qing1 chun1 dou4

literally:  young spring (like the season) bean

lentil

bian3 dou4

literally:  flat bean

sweater

mao2 xian4 yi1

literally:  fuzz thread clothes

uterus

zi3 gong1

literally:  son palace

vent (as in an air vent)
tong1 feng1 kuo3
literally: through wind mouth

teething ring

ya2 jiao1

literally:  tooth rubber

drunkard
jiu3 gui3
literally:  wine ghost

thing
dong1 xi1
literally:  east west

i have never understood why east west means thing.

chameleon
bian4 se4 long2
literall:  change color dragon

bicycle jiao3 ta4 che1 foot--to step on--car

stroller ying1 er2 che1 literally:  baby car

avocado e4 li2 literally:  crocodile (or alligator) pear get it?!  'cause an avocado's skin is like a crocodile's!  and the thing is shaped like a pear

placenta tai1 pan2 literally:  fetus dish

diarrhea

la1 du4 zi

literally:  pull stomach

 

never really understood this one.  why would pulling your stomach make you have the runs?

xylophone

mu4 qin2

wooden musical instrument

diaper

niao4 bu4

literally:  urine cloth

chinatown

tang2 ren2 jie1

literally:  Tang (as in the dynasty) people street

sticker

tie1 zhi3

literally:  to stick paper

watermelon

xi1 gua1

literally:  western melon

thief

xiao3 tou1

literally:  little steal

halloween

wan4 sheng4 jie2

10,000 saints holiday

hospital

yi1 yuan4

literally:  medical courtyard

toilet

ma2 tong3

literally:  horse bucket

cellphone

shou3 ji1

literally:  hand machine

 

or

 

cellphone

da4 ge1 da4

literally:  big brother big

i heard this had to do with the fact that gangsters are called da ge da and they were one of the first big users of cells. 

china (country)

zhong1 guo2

literally:  middle country

fever

fa1 shao1

literally:  start burn

college

da4 xue2

literally:  big learn

ceiling

tian1 hua1 ban3

literally:  sky flower board

badminton

yu3 mao2 qiu2

literally:  feather fur ball

giraffe

chang2 jing3 lu4

literally:  long neck deer

kangaroo

tiao4 shu3

literally:  jumping rodent

panda

mao1 qiong2 or qiong2 mao1

literally:  cat bear or bear cat

jealous

chi1 cu4

literally: eat vinegar

air conditioning

leng3 qi4

literally:  cold air

telephone

dian4 hua4

literally:  electric words

abacus

suan4 pan2

literally:  counting plate

pneumonia

fei4 yan2

literally:  lung inflamed

crayon

la4 bi3

wax pencil

balloon

qi4 qiu2

literally:  air ball

oven

kao3 xiang1

literally:  bake box

orgasm

gao1 chao2

literally:  high tide

pickpocket

pa2 shou3

literally:  crawling hand