觸 – Chu4 – Ram, Knock, Feel

觸電 – Chu4 Dian4 – Touch Electric — Electric Shock

宴 – Yan4 – Rest, Banquet

宴會 – Yan4 Hui4 – Banquet Gathering — Feast

Happy New Year!

社 – She4 – Society

黑社會 – Hei1 She4 Hui4 – Black Society Group — Mafia

Election is a very different kind of Hong Kong gangster movie.

苯 – Ben3 – Benzene

That’s right, Benzene.

缺 – Que1 – Lack, Scarce

缺乏 – Que1 Fa2 – Lack Exhaust — Shortage

I just saw an ad from the local furtiture guy on tv talking about how he’s keeping his prices low… despite the FOAM SHORTAGE. I immediately yelled “THERE’S NO FOAM SHORTAGE!! HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE!!!!!!” Then I went to the internet… guess what… foam shortage! “The recent hurricanes in the Gulf Coast caused extensive damage to petrochemical processing facilities which have resulted in a temporary foam shortage that is affecting North America furniture and mattress manufacturers.” Somehow it was such an issue that there is even a website dedicated to the issue: foamallocation.com.

育 – Yu4 – Nourish, Cultivate, Rear

體育館 – Ti3 Yu4 Guan3 – Body Nourish Hall — Gymnasium

I never knew that the word Gymnasium has as its root “place to be naked”. I bet Effie knew.

氧 – Yang3 – Oxygen

And 二氧化碳 – Er4 Yang3 Hua4 Tan4 – Two Oxygen Chemical Carbon — Carbon Dioxide

抄 – Chao1 – Transcribe, Plagiarize, Shortcut

抄道 – Chao1 Dao4 – Shortcut Way — Shortcut

包抄 – Bao1 Chao1 – Wrap Shortcut — Outflank

語 – Yu3 – Talk, Words, Language

頭字語 – Tou2 Zi4 Yu3 – Head Letter Words — Acronym

Are you like me? Do you like your movie titles to be acronyms? Then you have a reason to watch SPL. Otherwise, avoid.

(Actually, I can only think of one other movie with an acronym title: 2LDK. Are there others? Even Google doesn’t help!)

土 – Tu3 – Earth, Dust

土司 – Tu3 Si1 – Toast

法國土司 – Fa3 Guo2 Tu3 Si1 – French Toast

陔 – Gai1 – Terrace

I have a feeling that there is a more common word for terrace (as in the agricultural kind) but I don’t know what it is. Prompted by these amazing pictures of terraces and other beautiful things in China. I remember while flying there seeing some absolutely amazing terraces from the air that seemed to go on forever, all the way to the top of mountains, and half way down perilous canyons. I tried waking Jenny up to take a look but she refused!

通 – Tong1 – Go Through, Connect, Open, Communicate

pHr1S+ f0|\|3 (a|| !!!11!!1!1~~~~!!!

乳 – Ru3 – Milk, Breast

乳液 – Ru3 Yi4 – Milk Liquid — Lotion

Or 手乳 – Shou3 Ru3 – Hand Milk — Hand Lotion.

妻 – Qi1 – Wife

妻子 – Qi1 Zi5 – Wife

Apparently 妻子 is a formal way to say Wife. I’ve only heard 太太 before. (why does that mean Wife?)

渦 – Wo1 – Whirlpool, Vortex

漩渦 – Xuan4 Wo1 – Whirlpool

凍 – Dong4 – Freeze

Everything froze today. I was lucky to be able to get one door of one car open, by kicking it, a lot. I couldn’t get into the other car at all and I think it will have to be abandoned until spring.

臺 – Tai2 – Platform, Stage, Channel

臺灣 – Tai2 Wan1 – Platform Bay — Taiwan

Often simplified (even in Taiwan, where they don’t use the simplified characters) to 台灣.

擔 – Dan4 – Carry, Bear, Burden

擔心 – Dan1 Xin1 – Burden Heart — Worry, Anxious, Uneasy

耗 – Hao4 – Waste

Today I made lots of progress. Retrograde progress.

痣 – Zhi4 – Mole, Birthmark

“What’s the word of the day?”

“Mole.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m looking at them.”

癢 – Yang3 – Itch

When you are 癢癢 – Yang3 Yang3 – Itchy you should 抓抓 – Zhua1 Zhua1 – Scratch.

千 – Qian1 – Thousand

This is the ONE THOUSANDTH Word of the Day! I can hardly believe I’ve been doing this that long.

罌 – Ying1 – Jar

罌粟 – Ying1 Su4 – Jar Grain — Poppy Seed

Claim:   The consumption of poppy seeds used on bagels and muffins can produce positive results on drug screening tests.

Status:   True.

崩 – Beng1 – Collapse, Fall

雪崩 – Xue3 Beng1 – Snow Collapse — Avalanche

議 – Yi4 – Discuss, Opinion

會議 – Hui4 Yi4 – Gather Discuss — Meeting

What kind of person calls a meeting, at 9 AM, on a SATURDAY? A slightly better person than the kind that actually would SHOW UP.

狀 – Zhuang4 – State, Condition

粉狀的 – Fen3 Zhuang4 De5 – Powder Condition – Mealy

I had a terrible mealy apple today. 三喵, being crazy, would have loved it. Mealy apples are her favorite! Give her some nice, fresh, super crunchy super juicy apples right off a tree, and you know what she’ll say? “Nice… but not mealy enough”.

粥 – Zhou1 – Congee, Gruel

I had some nice gruel for dinner tonight. 燕麥粥 – Yan4 Mai4 Zhou1 – Oat Gruel — Oatmeal, to be exact.

產 – Chan3 – Give Birth, Produce

生產率 – Sheng1 Chan3 Lu4 – Grow Produce Rate — Productivity

Productivity: actually fine! Good thing I don’t program in Perl, I’m not that good with the symbols.

裂 – Lie4 – Split, Crack

分裂 – Fen1 Lie4 – Divide Split — Fission

聚變 – Ju4 Bian4 – Gather Change — Fusion

婚 – Hun1 – Marriage, Wedding

We finally saw WEDDING TERMINATOR: two hours of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn doing their usual schtick.

皮 – Pi2 – Skin, Leather

皮帶 – Pi2 Dai4 – Leather Belt

同步帶 – Tong2 Bu4 Dai4 – Same Pace Belt — Synchronous Belt, Timing Belt