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L
UN
C

COLLOQUIAL
CHINESE
(NORTHERN)

By
A.

NEVILLE

J.

WHYMANT

Lecturer in Chinese and Japanese, School oj Oriental Studies,

Sometime Sir
of London
Scholar, University of Oxford

University

Chinese

Coolie Songs,

etc.,

John Francis Davis

Author of Chinese

etc.

LONDON
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH. TRUBNER & CO., LTD.,
NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.
1922

Uniform with

Colloquial
Colloquial
Colloquial
Colloquial

this

French

German
Spanish

Japanese

London
Kegan

Volume

Paul, Trench, Trubner

&

Co., Ltd.

NOTE TO THE READER

The following pages form really a sort of note-book of
the Chinese language. There is no pretension to erudition.
Simply has the writer found during some years of teaching
experience in the two most difficult languages in the world
that the student must from the start rely upon himself.
he would make real and sensible progress, he must make
own exercises from the raw material provided in the
notes on construction and the vocabulary. For this reason
exercises herein will be few and will serve as models for
those of the student's own making.
Should the learner feel that he stands in need of further
practice with regard to exercises, he can make his choice
from many excellent manuals easily procurable. The
object in view throughout has been rather to eliminate
matter than to assemble between two covers all that is
If

his

known

of the tongue.


PREFACE
There is an idea generally prevalent that only the genius
with a lifetime of leisure can afford to devote himself to
the study of the Chinese language. It is, however, a
matter of experience that while the Written Style is undoubtedly the most difficult study in the world so difficult,
indeed, that no European has so far succeeded in producing
a composition therein which could earn the approbation
yet the Colloquial Style may be learned by
of a native
any one with ordinary acumen and perseverance in the
same period that one devotes to the study of the elementary
Latin, Greek, or French Classics.
Naturally, the genius of this tongue being totally different
from that of English, many students invest their task with
exaggerated difficulties and with bogies of all descriptions.
At the outset the peculiar script used scares the would-be
sinologue. The seemingly-endless lists of characters with
the same sound and tone the utter dissimilarity of
Chinese, by virtue of which it stands in a class by itself
from among all other languages, the peculiar rhythmic
stress of each sentence as it slips from the tongue of a
Celestial, the absolute precision of utterance demanded in
order that one should be understood, all seem to be insurmountable obstacles in the path of the beginner. Let him,
that many men of
however, take comfort from this fact
ordinary ability who found it impossible to acquire even
the slightest knowledge of the written tongue have been

fluent speakers of the colloquial.

The object of this work is to crystallise the writer's
teaching experience toward the end that the acquisition
of Chinese Colloquial may lose many of its terrors. .In its
preparation, use has been made of the following works
:

Tzu Erh Chi. Sir T. Wade.

Gramm. d. I. Langue Chin. Paul
Perny (Tome premier, Langue
The Chinese Language and How
Sir W. Hillier.
to Learn It.
Eng.-Chin. Diet, of Peking
Sir

Chin.-Eng. Diet.
Giles.

W.

Four

Thousand Tzu.

E. Soothill.

Mandarin Lessons.

Mateer.

Systema Phonet. Script. Sin.

Orale).

Colloquial.

Student's

W.

Hillier.

Prof.

H. A.

Gallery.

La Lingua

Cinese Parlata.

Magnasco.
Chinesische Grammatik.
Notitia Ling. Sinicae.

Premare.

F.

Seidel.
Pfere

Le

PREFACE
Guide

d.

I.

Angl.-Chin.

FrancLe Pere Couv-

Conversa.

reur, S.J.

Pocket Chin.-Eng. Die. C. Goodrich.

Syntaxe

Nouv.

d.

I.

Langue

Chinoise.
Stanislas Julien.
Colloquial Japanese.
Dr.
W.

M. McGovern.

The written character is understood throughout the

eighteen provinces and in other parts of the Chinese Empire
beyond such well-defined limits. There are, however,

many

colloquial variations, differing so widely from each

it is no exaggeration to proclaim them distinct
Northener, attempting to make himself
understood purely by means of the Colloquial among

other that
languages.

Southern Chinese, would encounter the same difficulty

as a Briton, knowing nothing but his mother-tongue,
in the heart of Russia.
This fact notwithstanding,
Pekingese, or rather the tongue erroneously but generally
known as Mandarin, is the lingua franca of the whole of
the Northern provinces, and with but slight variations,
of those of Mid-China.
The substitution of " K " for
initial " CH," and " TS," for initial " CH," are indications
of the change which takes place.
It is for this reason that
the dialect of the North is that generally taught, as its
sphere of utility is much larger than that of any other
of the Indo-Chinese languages.
I have to express my gratitude to my colleague. Dr. W.

Montgomery McGovem, for permission to use some of the

vocabularies in his Colloquial Japanese as a framework
for several similar word-lists in the following pages, and
my very best thanks are due to the Director of the Sc hool
of Oriental Studies, Sir E. Denison Ross, for valued suggestions made during the preparation of the work.
Very
specially have I to thank the Rev. Hopkyn Rees, D.D.,
Reader in Chinese in the University of London, for the
very valuable and expert help he has given me. On the
eve of my departure for China, I had the load of proofreading lifted from my shoulders by reason of his generosity.
He has helped in other directions also, these latter too
numerous to mention.
A.
School of Oriental Studies,

Neville

{London Institution),
University of London.

J.

Whymant.

CONTENTS
Preface
1.

The History and Morphology of the Chinese

Language

2.

General Principles

3.

Varieties of Chinese

12

4.

Examination of Styles of Writing

13

Sound Table
Lesson

14

The Simple vSentence

..

33

Position of Negatives

40

Numerals and Adjectives

51

Pronouns and Exercises

58

English and Chinese Vocabulary

61

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE
1.

The History and Morphology of the Chinese

Language.

There has been current for a long time past a widespread

behef that Chinese stands in the same relation to Japanese
as does English to French or English to German.
this idea

was

bom and

fostered

two Far-Eastern nations.

No doubt

by the propinquity

of the

Radically, however, the

two

Japanese came
from the South, a language colloquially expressive and with
a strongly developed agglutinative tendency, but innocent
of any script.
The Chinese, however, had not only an
artistic system of writing, but also a comprehensive litera-

languages are as far apart as the Poles.

The newly-arrived tenants of the Land of the Rising

Sun immediately borrowed the ideographic scheme of their
Western neighbours and began the laborious task of fitting

ture.

it

to their

own

polysyllabic speech.

Thus arose one

for Chinese

is

of the

most peculiar

of popular delusions

essentially monosyllabic.

and frequent use

By

the invention

of written equivalents of the colloquial

however, the Japanese overcame what must have

seemed at first a supreme difficulty.
So far as can be gathered from the materials at our disposal, it appears that though the essentials of Chinese have

particles,

varied but

little in

the course of millenia of progress, yet

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

some few respects the

colloquial of the present day differs

from that of the time of Confucius some twentyfive centuries ago, for it to be definitely assumed that
scholars of that period would encounter the same difficulty
to-day as would Demosthenes were he to return to modem
Athens. In regard to Mandarin, the chief change is the
loss of the finals, k, p and t, which are still preserved in
modern Cantonese. It is for this reason that the language
of the South bears a s ':ronger resemblance to the old classical
tongue than does Mandarin,
Dr. Edkins, in his paper (printed in the Transactions of
the Peking Oriental Society), on the Development of the
Chinese Language, examines, from a physiological standpoint, the production of sounds among primitive people.
Starting with the production by a newly-born child, of the
simple sound "A," short or long-drawn-out, he proceeds
to show that the paucity of different sounds in Chinese is a
natural companion of the early efforts of a primitive people
towards enunciation. Hence the origin of speech among
the Chinese must belong to a date more ancient than any
we can conceive, or of which our histories can give even an
in

sufficiently

idea.
It

may be

asked

But why have not the Chinese

in their

long history simplified and enlarged the scope of their

tongue ? Surely a matter of four hundred or so vocables is

a poor stock-in-trade for a language of the richness and
The answer to such questions is
precision of Chinese ?

found in the Chinese temperament.

A Chinese is naturally

conservative, and the more highly-educated he becomes

the more pronounced

is

his conservatism.

The

aspirant

to honours in a Chinese University to-day must be throoughly well-versed in the Chinese Classics, and also must

show

in his essays the

same

style of construction as

was

in


HISTORY AND MORPHOLOGY

vogue three thousand years ago. Is it not conceivable that

the vehicle of speech which has served them so well for
every occasion over such a long period of time should be
retained in practically an unchanged form, as a treasure inherited from high antiquity ? And even so it is. There is
no race under the sun in which pride in the mother-tongue
so deeply rooted.

is

The Chinese

glories in his native

speech and venerates the written character.

tongues are

little

better than gibberish

All foreign

Chinese

a grace-

is

and polished exemplar of hnguistic perfection.

The outstanding features of Chinese are as follows
(a) It is purely monosyllabic.
Even a word like
Chiang, which appears to us to be a disyllabic, is to a
Chinese ear merely a monosyllable, being pronounced

ful

almost Jyang.
{h) It has no alphabet.

In place of the abecedaire of

Western tongues, it has a Radical Index of 214 Radicals,

two or more of which enter into the composition of every
compound Chinese character. More will be said of the
Radicals in a later chapter.
(c)
In its written form Chinese runs in parallel columns
from top to bottom and from right to left of the page.
[d) Grammar, as it is understood in other languages,
is absent from Chinese.
There are no articles
nouns
have no gender (saving the natural divisions), nor declension, verbs are not conjugated, and pronouns or prepositions are used as sparingly as possible.
A word may
indifferently be used as a noun, a verb, an adjective or
adverb, without undergoing any greater change than
removal to another part of the sentence. In fact,
position in the sentence is the one law governing Chinese
construction, or, as it has been expressed by the pioneer
" The whole of Chinese grammar depends
Marshman
;

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE.

upon position." Often the context alone is the means

whereby a correct translation can be made of a given
passage. To those wearied by the complex grammatical
systems of Sanskrit, Russian, Classical Arabic or Japanese,
this absence of grammar may seem to be welcome, but
unless the rules of position are properly learned

and

applied, the student will not only fail to speak Chinese

fluently, but will speak English-Chinese (which would
merely be sinicised pidgin-English), instead of Chinese-

Chinese,

and

will fall into the

most ludicrous and em-

barrassing errors,
(e)

Although Chinese syntax

as in English

is

practically the

same

the construction of even the commonest

phrases differs widely from the expressions which the

same

circumstances would call forth from a

More than ever in this tongue is it necessary
to acquire the native point of view.
For example in
demanding silence a Chinese would say Pu yao shuohua, lit. " not want speech," rather than use the imperative positive
construction, " Be quiet."
The
Chinese stylist is enamoured of the negative mood.
Chinese, like Malay, Burmese, Annamese and
(/)
of

set

Westerner.

Siamese, encourages the terse, pithy sentence, almost

ejaculatory in

its

Oriental

tongues.

of Japanese

Frequently

characters), merely paints

sentence

an idea on

(like

the

the consciousness,

leaving the intelligence free to supply its

Enough has been

vague
and some other

force in preference to the long,

and loose-flowing sentences

own

verbiage.

show the broad distinctions

that exist between this anomaly among systems of human
speech and linguistics generally. Later the more detailed
said to

distinctions will be elaborated.

be introduced

No

unnecessary rules will

the student should therefore note that

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

such as appear herein should be thoroughly learned and

practised.

General Principles.

2.

If

we may take

as a definition of the expression " general

principles," those underlying essentials

upon which the

fabric of a language is built, then this section

fall

into the following divisions

may naturally

(a)

Mode

{b)

Use

(c)

Translations from the Language.

(d)

Translation into the Language.

()

Varieties of Sentence.

of Study.

of

Words.

(/)

Differences of Style.

(g)

Notes on Prosody,

First, as to Mode of Study.

(a).
It must be reahsed
from the outset that to study Chinese in the same way as one
would attempt to master any other tongue would be but to
court failure. It is no less than the truth to state in the
first

place that a psychological analysis of the Chinese

mind

would reduce the labour of learning by one half, and in the

second place that a good mimic and one who is not bored
by incessant repetition of the same thing, will achieve far

more than the student who overstocks his mind with monosyllables and blunders along in the futile hope that he may
be able the sooner to express himself easily and before
thoroughly understanding the rules he

is

supposed to have

learned.
If

the assistance of a native can be procured

course, eminently desirable to practise with

and sentence as

it is

of

Native teachers are extra-

and they naturally appreciate the diffiown tongue as experienced by themselves,

ordinarily patient,
culties of their

learned.

it is,

him every word

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

and, moreover, being of more than usual adaptability, they

axe quick to detect the pitfalls in the path of the foreigner.

But for those to whom the above plan is impossible, a

few words of advice here may be of help
Study well the Sound-Table.
Speak slowly until you are sure of the correct sounds.
Emphasise the all-important aspirate.
Be sure of your tones.
While learning Chinese, forget your own nationality,
your own tongue, and copy closely.
Generally speaking, thorough memorisation and application of the Phonology Section is the most important of all.
Use of Words. It cannot be too strongly impressed
(6).
upon the beginner that the Chinese regard oral language
purely as a means of communication and not as a subject
for philological speculation.
Hence, one should certainly
not attempt to force colloquial Chinese into that mould so
beloved by the grammarian. This strangest of speeches
has served well the everyday purposes of countless myriads
of Celestials, and is yet independent of those adventitious
aids to language study and comprehension to which we have
so long been accustomed.
:

To a

Chinese,

what

is

meant by " word "

in English

may

be the sound of one character or the connected sounds of

several characters. Briefly, for " word " understand
" idea." Supposing a native were to wish to convey to our
minds the idea, " a book " in the written style he would
simply write the character whose sound is " shu "
in the
spoken language he would need to say " i pSn shu." The
;

is that there are so many characters bearing

the simple sound " shu " that in speech auxiliary words are

reason for this

needed to indicate which of these characters is intended.

More details of these peculiarities will be found in the
discussion of auxiliaries.


GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Whereas some simple Chinese sentence may appear to us

an undoubted fact that, on the whole, our
speech is more verbose. In Mandarin, omit as frequently
prolix, it is

as possible personal pronouns, verbal particles, relative

clauses, and,

above

Terseness

circumlocution.

all,

is

not

most frequently the royal road

Make sure of your words, perfect your

only highly esteemed,

to understanding.

it is

idiom from English into Chinese, deduct

your verbiage then speak.

fifty

per cent of

The only way

which to appreciate

in

to study carefully

some

this point of

view

is

colloquial phrases, dissect them,

make sure that you see the reason for the presence of every
word or compound therein, and then repeat them until
they become to you as real as are their counterparts in
your mother-tongue. This method will not only give
your mind some material with which to work, but will
indeed prepare your memory for the reception and retention of others cast in the same mould. A firm base having

how

rapidly the super-

Translation from the Language.

Undoubtedly the

been estabhshed,
structure
(c).

is

it is

surprising

reared.

thorn in the side of the student of Colloquial

he

may make

himself understood

former), cannot understand

is

that while

by the native he

what the

(the

latter is saying to

The Chinese, underfor this is twofold.

assumes that you have some practical
acquaintance with his language, and promptly proceeds to
give his answer to your utterance. He is not to know how
much you do not understand, hence the impasse. He may
use compounds of which you know nothing. There is,
naturally, nothing for this but practice, but rapidly one
him.

The reason

standing you,

will acquire all the

and

later those

idioms and colloquialisms in daily use,

needed

for special occasions.

True, there

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

8
is

by MacGillivray, in which one may

up a word or phrase in its romanised alphabetical

the great dictionary

look

order, but

it is

preferable to ask your Chinese to express

As a general rule, he will then

by gesture or other means
The worst thing of all is to allow

himself in another way.

use a simpler

mode

of speech or

convey his meaning.

the best to take note of all
oneself to become discouraged
such occasions as that outlined above,
Translation into the Language. As has been before
(d).
remarked, the paramount necessity is to disabuse one's
mind of preconceived notions as these merely lead to confusion and misunderstanding. Speak clearly and simply,
translating your thoughts rather than your actual words.
;

first efforts at independent sentence-construction may

be clumsy and forced, but remember that the Chinese is a
kind critic not given to imdue mirth at the expense of the
unfortunate foreigner.
Varieties of Sentence.
(e).
It has been said that
Chinese colloquial is easy to learn on account of the fact
that there is but one standard to which it is necessary to
adhere. This is not strictly true. While it is conceded
that once having fallen into the style generally in use, one

Your

may proceed

to

model

all

future constructions thereon, yet

the Chinese are not so lacking in love of variety that they

themselves find no need for alternative forms of expression.

It may be found advisable indeed in a long conversation to
introduce sentences varying from that of four or five
vocables to that of forty or more.

Usually, the Chinese

prefer short phrases to actual sentences, as suggesting the

idea to be conveyed

is

generally enough for ordinary com-

prehension.

The
that

is,

rule,

Elimination

for all practical purposes, is

not only of the obviously unnecessary, but also of


GENERAL PRINCIPLES

what seems to us to be essential. Never use a verb if your

meaning is perfectly clear without it. On the other hand,
when occasion arises for emphasis, the native is tempted to
overdo it. Thus the student must be prepared for all kinds
of anomalies in this language, since whatever rules do exist

seem to be present for the sole purpose of demonstration

as to the myriad ways in which they may be broken
It has been stated above that
Differences of Style.
(J).
the Kuan Hua or, as it is generally known, Mandarin, is the
!

medium of intercourse throughout the north of China.

The term is difficult to define owing to its wide application.
The native term printed above signifies " Official Speech,"
but even this is not sufficient to give an adequate idea of the
ground covered by the phrase. At the time the words came
into use they designated that form of the colloquial employed by the educated classes of officials employed by the
State. As by degrees these officials " toned down " some
of the elegancies of this dialect, so did the classes inter-

mediate between the Officers of State and the coolie attempt

to reach the same level of speech as that employed by their
superiors.
Various sections of the population developed
each their own conception of what the standard tongue
should be. The result is seen to-day in the existence of the
following styles

" Coolie Talk."

^This is

the

Kuan Hua, mangled and

battered by the careless tongues of coolies.

for

many

As

coolies

were

years the main instrument of communication

between the various parts of the great Empire, it is readily

conceived that each would bring from his own particular
district some item of " patois " and slang to add to the
general pool. Thus even to the present day coolies from
widely different parts of the country will be able to understand each other where more highly educated persons would

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

10

be at a

In addition, the coolies are given to twisting

loss.

and slurring the simplest sounds even as they are prone to

do with the more difficult ones. In spite of this, but little
practice among the natives is necessary to enable a good
speaker of Mandarin to speak and understand this peculiar
development of the national speech.
The Kuan Hua is the ordinary educated means of intercourse.

The Lower Wen-li

is

frequently used as a spoken style

as well as a written form

official

by students and

aspirants for

positions residing in the vicinity of the great Uni-

versity at Peking.

Higher Wen-li

It

i.e.,

is

merely a modification of the

the Easy Written Style.

tions of wide distinctions existing between the

Considera-

two countries

forbid the comparison with anything of a similar nature

among
is

us.

Finally, one

may say that

to speak the

Wen-li

considered a sign of rather superior specialised learning.

{g).

Notes

on Prosody.

At

first

sight

it

may

appear

strange to see any mention of the art of Poesy in a work on

The Chinese are of complex psychoWere the dreams of the average Chinese translated

Colloquial Chinese.
logy.

Empire would be at once the most

most powerful, the most envied, and the most
And as the day winds its sultry way
brilliant in the world.
along, the native, humble or of dignified estate, beguiles the

into reality, the Celestial

beautiful, the

sunlit hours with snatches of song or with excerpts

from

and matter-offact as he is in matters of business, at heart John Chinaman

is a dreamer of dreams, a metaphysician and philosopher
He is fond of speaking in riddles and
of a high order.
parables, and the surest way to his heart is to memorise a
store of his proverbial dicta and bring them into the
conversation at every possible juncture. Although until
the world-old Classic of Poetry,

Practical


GENERAL PRINCIPLES

11

recently quite neglected (Dr. Taylor Headland's

work being

purely concerned with nursery-rhymes), the song of the

coolie is a

mine whence

may

be extracted the gems of

understanding of the nature of this wonderful people.

Labourers in the
jinrickshaw

men

fields,

coolies

carrying heavy loads,

lazing while awaiting a fare, in fact,

men

of every type in China, express their thoughts through the

medium

of verse.

Chinese poetry has

many

rules but, generally speaking,

they are simple and easy of comprehension.

are many also, but those mostly used are

The metres

Four syllables to the line.

Seven syllables to the line.
That classic example, the " San Tzu Ching," or " ThreeCharacter Poem," which is the first book to be learned by
Chinese schoolboys, has three syllables only to the line, but
such is not a common example. Rhyme is very much
different from our conception of it, as it is merely necessary
that the main vowel sound and the tone should be the same
Thus,
in two rh5miing syllables for the poem to be perfect.
to quote from the above-mentioned work, there is no flaw
(a)

(b)

in the following excerpt

Txa' pu^ hsUeh^, If a child does not learn.

Fei^ so' i*, This is not as it should be.
y* pu^ hsiieh', If he does not leam when young.
Lao' ho* wet*, What will he do when he is old ?

Here the

last

word of the second line (pronounced ee), is to

rhyme with the last word of the fourth

native ears a correct

line

(pronounced way).

good example of the four-syllable metre is found in

another Chinese school-book, the " Ch'ien tzu Wn," or
"Thousand-Character Classic." This remarakble comone thousand different characters, so
united as to compose a poem outUning data of the mos:^
pilation consists of

12

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

essential type

on

Chinese youth.

all

It

the elementary subjects taught to

thus serve*^ the double purpose of storing

mind with a thousand different characters of primary

importance and of impregnating the young native with
some idea of the essentials of knowledge. But as this
properly belongs to the department of the written language,
we will leave it to be re-discovered by the student at a later
the

stage of his labours.

Poems

metre abound and metres of

and even higher numbers of syllables are
The metre of the street-song or coolie-ballad

in the seven-syllable

eight, ten, eleven,

to be found.
is variable,

but

is chiefly

of the following type

/ Srh* san^ ssm* wu^, One, two, three, four, five.

Wu^ shih^ wu^ shih* Srh* shih^ wu^, Five times five are twenty-five.
Chung* chung* wo^ ti^ lao^. How heavy is my task.
Man* man* wo^ ti^ fan*, How long the time to dinner
!

There
arity

is

in this

example of a

coolie song another peculi-

the second line being susceptible (by tone-change) of

But these would lose their value by being transany case, the student could at this stage
hardly benefit by understanding them. In conclusion, it
may be stated that by studying and examining these
verses many valuable colloquialisms may be added to one's
puns.

lated and, in

vocabulary.
3.

Varieties of Chinese.

The student must be prepared

ties

to encounter

many

varie-

other than those of style in this most difficult of tongues.

no exaggeration to say that there are of Kuan Hua

than five subdivisions, each requiring as much
These may be sumdefinite study as a separate language.
mariesd thus
It is

no

less

1.

WSn-li.

Used by Scholars.


VARIETIES OF CHINESE
2.

3.

Kuan- Hua Patois. Spoken by the lower

13

Kuan Hua

Proper. spoken by the general welleducated public and by officials.

class gener-

No. 2 interspersed with localisms and

replete with slang and slurred pronunciations.
ally

is

4.

The Classical Written Style. As extant in the days of

Confucius, and still the sine qua nan for University

5.

The Epistolary

aspirants.
Style.

Used solely in writing

letters,

etc.

No. 4

is

the most difficult of

all,

concern us in the present work.

but the

More

first

will

three alone

be found later

on these matters, but for general purposes No. 2

essential to be attacked.
4.
Examination of Styles of Writing.

is

the

The question of the antiquity of Chinese writing is a very

Long verbal and calamic wars have been
waged as to whether it sprang from, or gave birth to, other
vexed one.

very ancient national

scripts,

such as the Egyptian Hiero-

glyphs, the Assyrian Cuneiform or Wedge-writing, etc.

Some

sinologues have placed the historic notice of the

Chinese written language at about B.C. 2000, while ad-

many centuries must have

been needed before the first crude symbols could have
developed into such form as weis at that time in vogue.
Much native information must unfortunately be discredited
the mythological element being too strong. There is,
however, one undeniable fact to be faced, namely
That
the Chinese written language was a very slow gradual process from primitive beginnings.
It is recorded that the
Chinese in the first instance used notched sticks and
knotted cords (as did the Incas of Peru in their primitive
mitting at the same time that

state),

and that

their first efforts in writing

were confined

to.

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE.

14

and later modelled on, their copies or drawings of these elementary systems of recording passing events. Some of the
characters to the present day remind one of pictures of
notched

sticks.

power to leave a mark, however

some circumstance easily recalled
on later seeing such mark again, the Chinese began to copy
the forms of visible objects such as sun, moon, tree, bird,
man, etc., exercising no little ingenuity in cases where
ambiguity might occur. But all too soon they discovered
that they had exploited this source to the full without
having written counterparts for more than a very slight
fraction of their colloquial vocabulary.
Then followed a
long period of enforced idleness in which little was done
towards the development of this monumental script.

Having discovered

their

primitive, to represent

Sound Table.

is

Vowels and Dipthongs.

pronounced as " a " in " father,"

When

in the final syllable " an,"

e.g.,

" chuan,"

its

sound is shortened almost to the " an " of " canny."

is pronounced as " e " in " pen " and as " ay " in
" May." It has the first sound when between " i "
and " n," e.g., " chien," " mien " the second sound
;

" h," as in " chieh," " mieh," etc.

pronounced always as " u " in fun e.g., " fen " is

when followed by

is

sounded exactly as "fun" in English, There is a

tendency in such words as " erh " to make the sound
equal to the " ur " of the English word " slur," but
it will be seen that this is merely a modification of the
true open sound. In addition it is frequently found
that a word ending in " n " precedes this final " erh."

VOWELS AND DIPTHONGS

15

'

In such cases the " n is eHded and all the other letters
run together e.g., " pan-erh" is pronounced " path,"
men-erh is pronounced " merh," and so on.
"

is pronounced

and as in " machine.

employed before a nasal

as in " mint

'

'

of these sounds is
" ming," " ting," etc., the second

first

the final letter of the word

is

invariably

" chi," "

e.g.,

pronounced as "

aw

Thus the word "wo," the pronoun

pronounced

in Chinese,

is

without the

final " r "

not to pronounce
result, as will

it

"

in

'

The
e.g.,

" i"

is

li," etc.

" awful."

of the first person

our word " war,"

like

sound.

when the

'

Care must be taken

otherwise or great confusion will

be seen when we consider the diph-

thongs.

is

pronounced as " u " in " pull."

ception to this rule,

which

is

viz.:

There

is

the verb " to be "

always pronounced as the

first

one ex" yu,"

syllable of

our word "yokel."

is

pronounced as the French " u "

AI

AO
EI

OU
lU

UA
UI

OA

"

in " lune," or the

u " in " suss."

is the sound of the " ai " in the word " aisle," but the
sound is more closed.
is the same sound as that of "ow" in English
" how ? ", but the sound is not so open.
is a very rare diphthong, but where it does occur it
has the sound of " ay " in " May."
has precisely the sound of the English word " owe."
approximates to the sound of "ew" in " new," but
is more open or lengthened,
It is almost
is " oo-ah," but spoken more rapidly.
the sound of the " w " in " want."
nearly as in " fluid," but more open.
The sounds of the individual letters run quickly

German

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

16

together will produce this sound. It is almost like

the " ew-a " in Kew-and-Richmond. It is difficult
to

pronounce

this correctly until learnt

from a native.

One exception not mentioned above should receive

attention here. The word " wang," meaning " king," or
" prince,' has always the sound " wong." In some systems
Romanization it is always spelt with an " o "
the " a " of the Wade system.

of

in place of

Consonants.

Chinese

some

is

poorer in consonants than

is

English, while

of the double consonants appear at first sight very

strange to the eye of one versed in the Latin tongues.

Such

combinations of consonations, however, have been chosen

as the nearest means of representing those sounds which
are to an English ear the most alien and difficult. Such are,
tz, and the aspirated ch, p, tz, which need
owing to the fact that there is nothing analogous in our Western tongues. A word about the " aspirate"

for example, hs,

special care

is

here essential.

Some

Sinologues have affirmed that the aspirate in

of greater importance than the tones.

This is a
very vexed question, but there can be no doubt that both
are of as vital importance as the vocabulary itself. The
Chinese having such a paucity of different vocables it

Chinese

is

became necessary to devise some means

utility of the existing collection.

come by the emission

So

of increasing the

this difficulty was over-

of a strong breath immediately after

the preliminary consonant or consonants.

The nearest

approach to this in the English language is the strong Irish

breathing given to some words by natives of the Emerald
The effect of this " aspirate " is produced by the
Isle.
rapid pronunciation of the letter " h," together with the


CONSONANTS
sound of the word.
system of romanisation

Thus a word

initial

17
spelt in the

Wade

pronounced as though spelt

" ch-h-ee "
a word spelt in this work ch'ien will be enunciated ch-h-ee-en, though of course spoken rapidly in order
to conform to the monosyllabic nature of the language.
It must be continually borne in mind that the aspirate is
of paramount importance in the enunciation of Chinese.
If it be omitted in the pronunciation of a single word where
it properly lies, it will have the effect either of making the
sentence utterly unintelligible, or of changing the meaning
entirely.
Some of the most disastrous as well as some of
the most amusing mistakes have arisen from this cause.
CH is a sound midway between the " ch " of " church "
and the " j " of " jam." The Chinese do not allow a slight
is

emission of breath to follow their consonants as

The pronunciation
than with

CH'

is

of consonants

we

do.

must be much cleaner

us.

the sound of " ch " in " church " but

strongly aspirated.

much more

Pronounce aspirated consonants as

though they were actually followed by another " h "

e.g.,

" chhurch."

F is sounded

as in English.

K. This letter has a sound intermediate between the

" k " of " king " and the " g " of " gun." See remarks
under CH. Pronounce it almost as a hard " g."
K'.

^This letter

should be sounded as the

"kh"

of "ink-

horn."

As in English.
As in English.
N. As
English.
P. This
almost a " b " sound.
L.

M.

in

is

closed, but not too

much

Keeping the lips well

compressed, pronounce a " p," at


COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

18

the same time taking care that no emission of breath follows

the consonant on to the vowel.
P'.

^This is

a strongly aspirated "p."

Pronounce as in

" Uphill," but more readily.

in English.
SH. As in English.

S.

^As

SS

a sharp hissing soimd, and in the mouth of some

is

Chinese almost resembles a whistle.

for the student to pronounce

French or

in

it

It will

be sufficient

with the same sharpness as

Italian,

almost a " d " sound.

Remembering again what

was said under CH, place the tip of the tongue at the top
of the palate near the upper row of teeth and articulate " t."
is

T' is the " th " of the Irishman's " thea."

" outhouse " is a good memoria technica.
TS is almost like the " dz " of " adze."

TS'

is

The word

the " ts " in the expression " bits-of-wood."

TS, and is only followed by " u."

sound similar to the " zz " of " buzz."

TZ

is like

TZ'

is

Tzu

is

the preceding sound followed closely by an aspirate.

As in English.

in English.
Y.

W.

^As

In addition to the foregoing, there are also a few combinations of vowels which may be called Tripthongs.
Although of comparatively rare occurrence, it will be
necessary for the student to be familiar with their sounds.

pronounced as " y-i," in the expression " reallyi.e., its sound is that of " ee-I " rapidly uttered.

lAI
I "

is

lAO. This is pronounced as the "yow" in the slang

word, " yowl " meaning to howl mournfully, to make a
plaintive noise.


CONSONANTS

19

UAI. Pronounce this as many careless speakers of

English enunciate the interrogative " Why ? " i.e., without the aspirate, or as the " wi " in the word " wide."

Remember

that the most difficult of

all

the sounds in the

Chinese language are the following, and endeavour at the

outset to master

IH

them properly

as faulty enunciation in

conquer at a later stage.

occurs only after " ch," " ch'," and " sh," and " j."

these instances

is

very

difficult to

Its sound is at times scarcely perceptible so rapid is

the pronunciation of all the words in final " h." This
final " h " is the relic in romanisation of a tone now practi-

cally lost to the Pekingese. There is a tendency among

Europeans and, indeed, among foreigners generally to stress

we take the " i " of " imgentleman in a fit of temper,

brevity, we shall have the sound of

this syllable far too heavily.

possible," spoken

by a

emphasising a little
the Chinese " ih,"

SSU.

by

its

^This syllable

foreigners.

resembles a

In the

If

choleric

again

is

mouth

much

too heavily stressed

of a native

it

very frequently

For all practical purposes,

it is a near enough approximation to pronounce it as one
would the first syllable of our word " surrender," minus, of
course, the " r " sound. Note that in this and in the next
case, the " u " stands for a nondescript sound and does not
in any way indicate the vowel sound intended to follow
sotto voce whistle.

the double consonant. A similar sound is found in the

"
unaccented " a " of Hindustani, or the initial and final " a
of the

word " America."

TZU and TZ'U. As these two syllables differ only in the

matter of the aspirate, our remarks as to the former will
apply to the latter except for the "h " sound necessarily

combined

in

the latter.

We

have remarked that the

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

ae

is the " dz " of the word " adze."

Here
be plainly seen that no vowel sound is required after

English equivalent
it will

the consonants.

As

it is

presumed that the student

consult other works on Chinese,

give here a warning that

will

it is

many

from tune to time

deemed advisable

to

useful books are to be

obtained in which a system of Romanisation, differing from

that of Sir

Thomas Wade,

is

employed.

very puzzling to one accustomed to the

These systems are

Wade

orthography,

and we propose giving at length a comparative sound-table

showing the relative values of Chinese vocables according
to the styles invented by the various Sinologues named.

Wade
A

A Nga

Ai

Ai

Ai

An
Ang
Ao

An
An
Ao

An
An
Ao

Cha

Chah

Cha

Ch'a

Ch'ah
Chai

Chai

Ch'ach
Chai

Ch'ai

Ch'ai

Ch'ao

Ch'ai

Chan

Chan

Chan

Chan

Ch'an

Ch'an

Ch'an

Ch'an

Chang

Chang

Chang

Chang

Ch'ang

Ch'ang

Ch'ang

Ch'ang

Chao

Chao

Chao

Chao

Ch'ao

Ch'ao

Ch'ao

Ch'ao

Chai

Baller

Mateer
;

Ngai

Ngan
Ngan

Williams

O
Ai

An

Ngai

Ngan

Ang.

Ngao
Cha

Ch'a

Chae

Chei

Ch'ae

Ch'e

Ch'ae

Chen

Chen

Chen

Chin

Ch'^n

Ch'en

Ch'en

Ch'3xi

Ch6

Ch'en

CM

Chd
Ch'^

Chen

Ch'eng

SOUND TABLE
Wade
Ch^ng

Baller
Cheng

Mateer

21

Williams

Cheng

Ching

Ch'eng
Chi

Ch'eng

Ch'eng

Ch'ing

Chih

Chi

Kih; Tsih

Ch'i

Ch'ih

Ch'i

K'ih; Ts'ih

Chia

Chiah

Chia

Kiah

Ch'ia

Ch'iah

Ch'ia

K'ia

Ch'iai

Ch'iai

Ch'iai

Ch'iai

Chiang

Chiang

Chiang

Kiang

Ch'iang

Ch'iang

Ch'iang

K'iang

Chiao

Chiao

Chiao

Kiao

Tsiao

Ch'iao

Ch'iao

Ch'iao

K'iao

Chieh

Chie

Ch'ieh

Chie

Chien

Chien

Chien

Tsien

Ch'ien

Ch'ien

Ch'ien

Ts'ien

Chih

Chih

Chi

Chih

Ch'ih

Ch'ih

Ch'i

Ch'ih

Chin

Chiin

Chin

Tsin

Ch'in

Ch'in

Ch'in

Ts'in

Ching

Ching

Ching

Tsing

Ch'ing

Ch'ing

Ch'ing

Ts'ing

Chiu

Chiu

Chiu

Kiu

Ch'iu

Ch'iu

Ch'iu

K'iu

Chiung

Chiong

Chiung

Kiting

Ch'iung

Ch'iong

Ch'iung

K'iung

Tsie

Chieh Ch'ie

Ts'ieh

Tsieh

Cho

Choh

Choa

Cho

Ch'oh

Ch'oi

Ch'o

Chou

Cheo

Chou

Cheu

Ch'ou

Ch'eo

Ch'ou

Ch'eu

Chu

Chuh

Chu

Chu

Ch'u

Ch'uh

Ch'u

Ch'u

Chua

Chua

Chwa

Chwa

K'ieh

Kien

K'ien

Kin

Ch'o

Ts'iang
Ts'iao

Chieh Chie

Tsiang

K'in

King

K'ing

;:

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

Wade

Baller

Mateer

Williams

Ch'ua
Chuai

Ch'ua
Chuai

Ch'wa
Chwai

Ch'uai

Ch'uai

Ch'wai

Chwai

Chuan

Chuan

Chwan

Chwen

Ch'uan

Ch'uan

Ch'wan

Ch'wen

Chuang

Chuang

Chwang

Chwang

Ch'uang
Chui

Ch'uang
Chui

Ch'wang
Chwei

Ch'wang
Chui

Ch'wei

Ch'ui

Chuen

Chun

Chun
Ch'un

Ch'ui

Ch'ui

Chun
Ch'un

Ch'uen

Ch'un

Chung

Chong

Chung

Chung

Ch'ung

Ch'ong

Ch'ang

Ch'ung
Kiih

Chii

Chiih

Chii

Ch'u

Ch'iih

Ch'ii

Ki'iih

Chiian

Chiien

Chiien

Kiian

Ch'uan

Ch'iien

Ch'iien

K'iien

Chiieh

Chiieh

Chiie

Kiieh

Ch'iieh

Ch'iieh

Ch'iie

K'iieh

Chiin

Chiiin

Chiin

Kiiin

Ch'iin

Ch'iiin

Ch'iin

K'iiin

Eh
En

E; Oa
n
ng

Ngoh
Ngin

rh
Fa
Fan
Fang

Ri

r
Fa
Fan
Fang

Fei

Fei

Fei

F6i

Fen
F6ng
Fo

Fen
Feng

F6n
F6ng
Foa

Fan
Fung

n
ng

Fah
Fan
Fang

Fa

Ts'iien
Ts'iien

Tsiieh
Ts'iieh

Ts'iiin

SOUND TABLE.
Wade

23

Fou

Feo

Fu

Fu

Mateer
Fou
Fu

Ha

Ha

Ha

Hai

Hai

Hai

Hai

Han
Hang
Hao
H6

Han

Han
Hang
Hao
He Hei

Han
Hang
Hao

Hei

Hoh
Han
Hang
Heu

Hei

H6n
H6ng
Hon

Baller

Hang
Hao

Williams
Feu

Fu

Heh
Hen
Heng
Heo

H^n
Heng
Hou

Hsiong

Hsie
Hsien
Hsin
Hsing
Hsiu
Hsiung

Hi Si
Hia
Hiang Siang
Hiao Siao
Hieh Sieh
Hien Sien
Hin Sin
Hing; Sing
Hiu Siu
Hiung

Hsii

Hsii

Hsii

Hsii

Hsiian

Hsiien

Hsiien

Hiien

Hsiieh

Hsiie

Hsiie

Hiie

Hsiin

Hsiiin

Hsiin

Hiun

Hu

Hu

Hwah

Hsi
Hsia
Hsiang
Hsiao
Hsieh
Hsien
Hsin
Hsing
Hsin
Hsiung

Hsi
Hsia

Hsiang
Hsiao
Hsiah
Hsien
Hsin
Hsing
Hsiu

Hsi
Hsia
Hsiang
Hsiao

Hua

Hua

Hu
Hwa

Huai

Huai

Hwai

Hwai

Huan
Huang

Huan
Huang

Hwan
Hwang

Hwan
Hwang

Hui

Huei

Hwei

Hwui

Siien

siiin

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE.

24

Wade

Mateer

Williams

Hwun

Ho

Hun
Hung
Hwoa

Ih

Yih

Jan
Jang
Jao

Ran
Rang
Rao

Je or J6
Jen

Jan
Jang
Jao
Jeh
jan

J^ng

Reh
Ren
Reng

Jan
Jang
Jao
J^ Joa
Jen
Jeng

Jih

Rih

Ji

Jou
Ju
Juan

Reo

Ru

Jou
Ju

J^ng
'Rh
Jeu
Juh

Ruan

Jwan

Jwan

Jui

Rui

Jwei

Jni

Jun
Jung

Ruen
Rong

Jun
Jung

Jung

Hun
Hung
Huo

Baller
Huen
Hong

Hung
Huh Hwuh Hwoh
;

'Jun

Ka

Ka

Kai

Kai

Kai

K'ai

K'ai

K'ai

Kan

Kan

Kan

Kan

K'an

K'an

K'an

K'an

Kang

Kang

Kang

Kang

K'ang

K'ang

K'ang

K'ang

Kao
Koh

Ka
Kai
K'ai

Kao

Kao

Kao

K'ao

K'ao

K'ao

Kg

Keh

Ke

K'oh

K'fi

K'eh

K'6
Kei

K'g

Ken

Ken

Kan

K'gn

K'en

K'^n

K'Sn

Keng

Keng

K6ng

King

Kei

K6n

Kei

SOUND TABLE
Wade

Baller

Mateer
K'eng

25

Williams
K'Sng

K'eng

K'eng

Kou

Keo

Kou

Keu

K'ou

K'eo

K'ou

K'eu

Ku

Kuh

Ku

Ku

K'u

K'uh

K'u

K'u

Kua

Kuah

Kwa

Kwa

K'ua
Kuai

K'wa
Kwai

K'wa
Kwai

K'uai

K'uah
Kuai
Kuai

K wai

K'wai

Kuan

Kuan

Kwan

Kwan

K'uan

K'uan

K'wan

K'wan

Kuang

Kuang

Kwang

Kwang

K'uang
Kuei

K'uang
Kuei

K'wang
Kwei

K'wang
Kw6i

K'uei

K'uei

K'wei

K'w6i

Kun

Kuen

Kun

Kwun

K'un

K'uen

K'un

Kung

K'wun
Kung

Kung

Kong

K'ung

K'ong

K'ung

K'ung

Kuo

Kueh

Kwoi

Kwoh

K'uo

K'ueh

K'woci

La

La

La

K'woh
La

Lai

Lai

Lai

Lai

Lan
Lang
Lao
Lg

Lan
Lang
Lao
Leh

Lan
Lang
Lao
L6

Lan
Lang
Lao

Lei

Lui

Lei

L6i

L^ng

Leng

Leng

Lang

Li

Li

Li

Li

Lia

Lia
Liang

Lia

Lia

Liang

Liang

Liang

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

26

Wade
Liao

Baller

Lin
Ling
Liu

Liao
Lieh
Lien
Lin
Ling
Liu

Lo
Lou

Leo

Lieh
Lien

Loh

Mateer

Williams

Liao

Liao

Lie

Lieh

Liieh

Lien

Lieh

Liieh

Lin

Lieh

Liieh

Ling
Liu

Lieh

Liieh

Lieh

Liieh

Loa
Lou

Lo
Leu

Lu

Lu
Luan
Lun
Lung
Lu

Lu
Luan
Luen
Long

Lu
Lwan
Lun

Liih

Lii

Liian

Luan

Liien

Luan
Lun
Lung
Lu
Lwan

LiocL

Lueh

Liieh

Lung

Liien

Ma

Ma

Ma

Ma

Mai

Mai

Mai

Mai

Man
Mang
Mao

Man
Mang
Mao

Man
Mang
Mao

Man
Mang

Ma

Mei

Mei

Mei

Mei

Men
Meng

Men
Meng

Men
Meng

Man
Mang Mung

Mi
Miao
Mieh
Mien
Min
Ming
Miu

Mi
Miao
Mieh
Mien
Min
Ming
Miu

Mi
Miao
Mie
Mi^n
Min
Ming

Mieh
Miao
Mieh
Mien
Min
Ming

Miu

Miu

Mo
Mou

Mo

Mo&
Mou

Mou

Me

Mo
(ji.e.,

Meu)

SOUND TABLE
Wade

27

Mateer

Williams

Mu

Muh

Mu

Mu

Na

Nah

Na

Nah

Nai

Nai

Nai

Nai

Nan
Nang
Nao
Ne

Nan
Nang
Nao

Nan
Nang
Nao

Nan
Nang
Nao

Nei

Nui

Nei

Nei

mn

Nuen
Neng

Nen
Neng

NSng

Ni
Niang
Niao
Nieh
Nien

Ni
Niang
Niao
Nie
Nien
Nin
Ning
Niu

Ni
Niang
Niao
Nieh
Nien
Nin
Ning
Niu

Noa
Nou
Nou
Nun

No

Neng
Ni
Niang
Niao
Nieh
Nien
Nin
Ning
Niu

Baller

Nin
Ning
Niu

No
Nou
Nu

No

Nuan

Nun
Nung

Nuan
Nuen
Nong

Nil

Nu

Nu

Niieh

Neu

Nu
Nwan
Niin

Nung

Nung

Nil

Nil

Nile

Ngo

Ou

Ou

Pa

Eo
Pa

Fa

P'a

P'a

Pai

Pai

Pai

P'a
Pai

P'ai

P'ai

P'ai

Pa'i

Pa

Ngeu
Pa

Noh

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

28

Wade
Pan

Baller
Pan

Mateer
Pan

Williams

Pan

P'an

P'an

Fan

P'an

Pang

Pang

Pang

Pang

P'ang

P'ang

P'ang

P'ang

Pao

Pao

Pao

Pao

P'ao

P'ao

P'ao

P'ao

Pei

Pei

P6i

P'ei

P'ei

P'ei

P'6i

P^n

Pen

P6n

P'^n

P'en

P'Sn

P^ng

Peng

Png

Pang

P'^ng
Pi

P'eng

P'eng

Pi

Pi

P'ang
Pi

Fi

P'i

P'i

Fi

Piao

Piao

Piao

Piao

P'iao

P'iao

P'iao

P'iao

Pieh

Pieh

Pie

Pieh

P'ieh

P'ieh

Fie

Pien

Pien

Pein

P'6i
^

P&n
P'Sn

P'ieh

Pien

P'ien

P''en

P'ien

P'ien

Pin

Pin

Pin

Pin

P'in

P'in

P'in

P'in

Ping

Ping

Ping

Ping

P'ing

P'ing

P'ing

P'ing

Po

Po

Poa

Po

P'o
P'ou

P'o
P'eo

P'oa
p'ou

P'o
P'en

Pu

Pu

P'u

Pu
Pu

Pu

P'u

Sa

Sah

Sa

Sa

Sai

Sai

Sai

Sai

San

San

San

San

P'u

SOUND TABLE
Wade

Baller

Mateer

29

Williams
Sang
Sao
S

S6n
S^ng
Sha

Sang
Sao
Seh
Sen
Seng
Sha

Sang
Sao
86
San
S6ng
Sha

sang
Sha

Shai

Shai

Shai

Shai

Shan
Shang
Shao
ShS
Shen
Sheng

Shan
Shang
Shao
Sheh
Shen
Sheng

Shan
Shang
Shao
Shd
Shen
Sheng

Shan
Shang
Shao
She
Shan
Shang

Shih

Shih

Shi

Shi;

Shou
Shu

Sheo

Shuai

Shuai

Shou
Shu
Shwai

Sheu
Shu
Shwai

Shuan
Shuang

Shuan
Shuang

Shwan
Shwang

Shwan
Shwang

Shui

Shui

Shwei

Shun
Shuo

Shuen
Shoh
So

Shwn

Shwi
Shun
Shoh

Sang
Sao
Se

So
Sou
Su
Suan

Shu

Seo

Su
Suan

Shwoci

Soi
Sou
Su

Swan

Sui

Suei

Swei

Sun
Sung

Suen
Song

Sun
Sung

Ssu

Si

Si

Ta

Tah

Ta

T'a

T'ah

T'a

Shing

Sh'

Shwoh

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

30

Wade

Baller

Mateer

Williams

Tai

Tai

Tai

Tai

T'ai

T'ai

T'ai

T'ai

Tan

Tan

Tan

Tan

T'an

T'an

T'an

T'an

Tang

Tang

Tang

Tang

T'ang

T'ang

T'ang

T'ang

Tao

Tao

Tao

Tao

Ta'o

T'ao

T'ao

T'ao

T6

Teh

Te

Te

T'

T'eh

T'e

T'eh

Teng

Teng

Teng

Tang

T'eng
Ti

T'eng

T'eng

T'ang

Ti

Ti

Ti

T'i

T'i

T'i

T'i

Tiao

Tiao

Tiao

Tiao

T'iao

T'iao

T'iao

T'iao

Tieh

Tie

Tie

Ti6

T'ieh

T'ie

T'ie

Tieh

Tien

Tien

Tien

Tien

T'ien

T'ien

T'ien

T'ien

Ting

Ting

Ting

Ting

T'ing

T'ing

T'ing

T'ing.

Tei
T'ei

Tiu

Tiu

Tiu

Tiu

To

Toh

Toa

To

T'o

T'oh

T'oa

T'o

Tou

Tou

Tou

Tou

T'ou

T'ou

Tsa

Tsah

T'ou
Tsa

Ts'a

Ts'ah

Ts'a

T'ou
Tsa
Ts'ah

Tsai

Tsai

Tsai

Tsai

SOUND TABLE
Wade
Ts'ai

31

Mateer

Williams

Ts'ai

Ts'ai

Ts'ai

Baller

Tsan

Tsan

Tsan

Tsan

Ts'an

Ts'an

Ts'an

Ts'an

Tsang

Tsang

Tsang

Tsang

Ts'ang

Ts'ang

T'sang

Ts'ang

Tsao

Tsao

Tsao

Tsao

Ts'ao

Ts'ao

Ts'ao

Ts'ao

Ts6

Tseh

Ts'6

Ts'eh

Ts6
Ts^

Ts'6

Tsei

Ts6

Tsei

Ts6n

Tsen

Ts6n

TsSn

Ts'^n

Ts'en

Ts'en

Ts3.n

Tseng

Tseng

Tseng

TsSng

Ts'eng

Ts'eng

Ts'eng

Ts'Sng

Tso

Tsoh

Tso 3.

Tso

Ts'o

Ts'oh

Ts'o a

Ts'o

Tsou

Tseo

Tsou

Tsou

Ts'ou

Ts'eo

Ts'ou

Ts'ou

Tsu

Tsuh

Tsu

Tsu

Ts'u

Ts'uh

Ts'u

Ts'u

Tsuan

Tsuan

Tswan

Tswan

Ts'uan
Tsui

Ts'uan
Tsui

Ts'wan
Tswei

Tsui

ChSng

Ts'wan

Ts'ui

Ts'ui

Ts'wei

Ts'ui

Tsun

Tsuen

Tsun

Tsun

Ts'un

Ts'uen

Ts'un

Ts'un

Tsung

Tsong

Tsung

Tsung

Ts'ung

Ts'ong

Ts'ung

Ts'ung

Tu

Tuh

Tu

Tu

T'u

T'uh

T'u

T'u

Tuan

Tuan

Twan

Twan

T'uan

T'uan

T'wan

T'wan

Ch'ang

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

32

Wade

Baller

Mateer

Williams

Tui

Tui

Twei

Tui

T*ui

T'ui

T'wei

T'ui

Tun
Tung

Tuen
Tong

Tun
Tung

Tun
Tung

T'ung

T'ong

T'ung

T'ung

Tzu

Tsl

Tsi

Tsz'

Tz'u

Tsl

Ts'i

Ts'z'

Wa

Uah

Wa

Wah

Wai

Uai

Wai

Wai

Wan
Wang

Uan
Uang

Wan
Wang

Wan

Wei

Uei

Wei

W6i; Wi

Wen

Uen

Wen

wan

Weng

W6ng

Ngo

Wo

Wo

Wang

Wu

Wu

Wu

Ya

la

Ya

Ya

Yai

lai

Yai

Yai

Yang
Yao
Yeh
Yen

lang

Yang
Yao
Yeh
Yen

Yang
Yao
Yeh
Yen

Yin
Ying

Yin
Ying

lao
leh

len

Yin
Ying

In

Ing

Yu

lu
long

Yung

Yu

Yu

Yung
Yu

Yung
Yuh
Yuen
Yueh
Yun

Yu

Yiian

Uen

Yiian

Yiieh

tJeh

Yiieh

Uin

Yiin

Yiin

NoTK. Wherever "Uang" occurs, it should be pronounced as

though it were "wang." Thus, "chuang" is pronounced almost
as if it were spelt in English, " jwong."


THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

33

Although none of the above systems are perfect for the

purpose of transHterating the Chinese characters, yet, as

has been remarked before, the Wade style has been adjudged
the nearest approach to the actual sounds as pronounced

by a

By means

native.

of this table, the student

can for

himself transfer into the latter words and phrases found

the very useful works by the originators of the other

schemes of Romanisation. It will be found useful also for
the purpose of comparison as to the real value of the various
sounds of the Chinese language. A very good and profitable plan would be to go through the entire table with a
native or a Western scholar of Chinese.

Lesson
The student

is

strongly advised to cover

up

independent
himself.

effort to arrive at the

Then he should

try to

meaning of

made an

the sentences

put the English again into

idiomatic Chinese, this time covering his

then comparison should be

English

the

translations of the Chinese Exercises until he has

made and

own

translation ;

errors corrected.

The Simple Sentence.

I.

As has been before remarked the construction of the

Chinese sentence
desires

now

and

is

simplicity itself so far as the ordinary

necessities of conversation are concerned.

proceed to give examples of the simplest kind,

the tri-verbal sentence.

Wo^ yao^ mai*

Wo^yao^mai^

Wo^ pu^ yao^

Ni^ pu^ yao*
Ta^ pu^ yao*

wish to

wish to buy

do not want
not want

sell

You do

He

does not want

We

viz.:


COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

34
T'a} laiHiao^

T'a} mei^ lai^

Kao^su^t'a^
Ni^ kuo* lai^

Tell

You come

At what time do you go ?

At what time will you come

He

There

Chi^ shih^ ch'U^

Chi^ shih^ lai^
T'a^ lao^ to}
Ch'a}-

pu}

The

to^

He has come
He has not come
him

is

over here

very old
is

rationale of such sentences

much

not
is

difference.

easily seen

when the

meanings of each word are put together in English. In the

case of the last two sentences the words mean literally
He old great," or " He has reached a great age "
and " difference not too much."
As will be seen from the above examples, the tri-verbal
sentence generally takes the form of noun or pronoun
or noun or pronoun negative and verb.
verb and object
This is as far as it is wise to take the grammatical analogy
with which we are so familiar, since these parts of speech as
such do not exist in Chinese.
"I wish to go but he wants to stay,"
In the sentence
we find the Chinese to consist of two simple sentences in
juxtaposition with or without a conjunction. The Chinese
equivalent for " but " is " tan*," although this is by no
means used as much as in English. Thus our sentence will
" Wo^ yao* ch'u\ t'a^ pu^ yao* " literally, " I want
read
This would be much more common than
go, he not want."
would the sentence with tan* as the fourth word in place of
:

'

the

comma.

Taking now a small vocabulary, we can proceed, knowing

the primary meanings and explaining the use of the various
particles as they appear, to simple exercises, wherein the

structure of the language will appear

more

clearly than

THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

36

would be the case by attempting to force grammatical

analysis upon such a language as Chinese.
wo*. I (myself).

wo^-min',

ni^-ti,

we

your.

mine, my.

wo^-ti,

mai^, to buy.
mai^, to sell.
shen^-mo, what

yao^, to want.

m*, you.
ni'-mSn*,

you (plural).
tung^-hsi^, a thing.
/,' liao^ final particle, finished,
past, full stop.
na'^-ko, that.
kei^, to give, and many other

che'^-ko, this.

huan*, to change (generally

peated.

re-)

hers, its.

t'a^-ti, his,

IP-wu*. a present.
k'uai*. quick.

meanings.

sung*, to give, as a present, etc. ch'u^, to go.

pa*, an emphatic final particle
t'a^, he, him, her, it.
yu^, to have.
a sign of imperative mood.
jen*, a man.

From

be seen that the

particle ti is a mark of the genitive or possessive case, save
in the case of adjectives in which event the addition of ti
Notes.

2.

the above

will

it

transforms the adjective into an adverb, e.g.

- quick
k'uai {adj.) -

k'uai-ti (adv.)

mSn added

Also that

but

quickly

only to pronouns

makes

plural of singular.
Ko'^ is

3.

is, it is

what

is

known

as an auxiliary numeral

that

placed immediately after the cardinal numbers and

the ordinals are formed

speech, thus

by means

of

it

and

ti,

in the coolie

Ordinals.
Cardinals.

(1)

i^-ko

(2)

liang^-ko

(3)

san^-ko

(4) ssH^-ko.

(1st) i-^ko-ti

ko-ti
3.)

4.

(4th) ssH'^-ko-ti, etc.

What

is

(2nd) liang^-ko-ti

many

(3rd) san^-

(More will be found in Lesson

meant by saying that

" to give," and

examples.

kei^

has the meaning

others can best be illustrated

It frequently translates

some

by

of our preposi-

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

36

tions, as seen in the

common example

Hsieh^ hsin* kei'=

to write a letter to (some one or other).

(6)

Wo^ yao* huan^huan

chS*-ko-kei^ na*-ko*.

want to change this for that. Literally

I want change
change this, give that,
KeP sometimes has the force of " at ", and in the vulgar
I

speech " with."

5.

*'
is a more polite wora lor
give," and means,
" to escort," as though the present were escorted

Sung*

literally,

by the thoughts and wishes

6.

Pa*

is

of the giver.

the sign of the Imperative, and in

carries with it a derogatory sense, so that

" Ch'0-pa " is

inferiors.
" " Be off with
for " Clear out

used to

it

many

cases

should only be

a frequent expression

you " In the pohte

language, etiquette comes to the aid, and it is scarcely, if
ever, necessary to employ the Imperative
everything being
done by suggestion rather than order.
7.
Liao^, or la*, as it is more commonly pronounced, is,
on the other hand, a universally-used terminal particle.
It rounds off a phrase or a sentence
{h) shows the completion of an action under discussion
(c) shows that the
theme of the conversation is closed. It may be called the
" spoken period." As will be seen later, the Chinese have
similar words to express colloquially, the mark of interroga!

tion,

mark

of exclamation, etc.

Exercise
[a]
[b]
[c]

1a.

Wo^ yao* ch'u*.

NP-men^ yao* mai^ shSn^-mo
Wo^ sung* t'a^ che*-ko.

{d)

Ni^ mai* na*-ko.

{e)

T'a^ sung* wo^ li^-wu.

(f)

Ni^ yao* mai^ shen^-mo ?

lung^-hsi ?

NEGATIVES AND THEIR USE

(g)

Ni^ k'uai*

(h)

T'a mai*-la chS*-ko.

(i)

(j)

ch'ii*

pa.

K'uai*' lai^, k'uai* lai^.

Lai^-liao.

Exercise
(a)

want

(b)

What

(c)

am

(thing)

do you wish to buy

sending him this (or

(h)

Hurry up

(g)

this).

(The Chinese almost invariably repeat

this phrase and, as a rule, repeat

times.)
(j)

send him

(i)

{e)

(/)

1b.

to go (away).

You sell that.

He sent me a present.
What do you want to buy
You get out quick
He sold this.

(d)

37

(I)

Literally, "

Come

most ejaculations several

quickly."

have come.

Negatives and their Use.

Pu^
Mei^
wu^
cKu^

not,

no, not, none of

fei^

mo

no

(final

or before interrogative),

wanting (an initial word)

from

not, no, without,

out, to spring

not, not right, false,

is

not

suffixed to a sentence containing a query.

This is the spoken mark of interrogation.

a,

va

suffixed to a sentence containing startling

news or intelligence.

mark
trarily

of exclamation.

This

is

the spoken

It is also arbi-

used on any occasion,

when calling a person.

the name Ming, the
often be Ming-a

If a
call

as,

e.g.,

person had

would most

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

38
na^-i^ko^
chi^-li^

na^-li

na^-li
8.

- which
- here
- there
- where

shuo^

hua^

to speak

words, speech

shuo^-hua converse, conversation

tsai^

at, near, by, in

The correct use of the negatives

in Chinese is abso-

lutely essential to comprehensible speaking.

By

a few

hoped that the student will appreciate the

underlying principle and will not find this so great a

examples

it is

difficulty.

Pu^ is used in the sense of refusal or disinclination towards

a positive

act,

while mei^ indicates rather that there has not

happened what might have been expected or there

of what one hoped to find.

Example

1.

T'a^ mei^ laP

9.

none

T'a}-pu}lai^

Example

is

2.

He ze'ow7 come
He has not come

T'a^ pu^ ch'u^ lai^

T'a^ mei ^ch'u^ lai^

Remember,

however,

He
He
this

won't

come out

has not come out

very

important

rule.

Never, in Mandarin, use pu^ with the verb yu^ to have.

Always use mei^ as wo'^ mei^ yu^, I have not, t'a^ meP
he has not, etc. The use of pu^ with yu^ is one of
gravest offences in speaking Northern Chinese. (N.B.
Yunnan, however, mei^ seems to be unknown, and there
hears on every hand the expression pu^-yu^, which to

yu^
the

In

Northerner
10.

Wu^

usage and

but as

is

it is

is

is

one
the

unpardonable.)

more a

classical

word than one of colloquial

modern style,

frequently used in the written

often to be

in every-day speech,

met

in quotations

from the

classics

necessary to describe it. Its

"
best described as " without " or " not having

meaning is
and its position

is

it

is

at the beginning of a sentence or phrase.

NEGATIVES AND THEIR USE

Example

Wu^

shan^ jen^

39

" without- virtue "

man

vicious

man
Wu^

chih^ tai*

" without-knowledge " dynasty

an ignorant generation.
11.

Fei^

is

and what

also a written language negative,

has been said of wu'^

may be

repeated here.

tive in the sense of contrariety

not right," " that which

" He who

is a neganot " or " is

Fei^
is

false," " that

which is not," etc.

There are more negatives than those mentioned above,
but they will suffice for the student of colloquial. The

reason for the large

is

number

of negative expressions in

found in the fact that in this language the

negative construction is almost always preferred to the
Chinese

is

positive.

expression

to be

Reduced to a

"is not without

it

literal

example from a native

much

prefers to say that a thing

" than to say " it has it." But the

Chinese

student will have opportunity of getting exercise in the

Chinese negatives ere long.

Exercise
(a)

wo^ mei^

(b)

t'a}

(c)

wo^ pu}

{d)

t'a^

pu^

lai^.

(j) tsai^ che^-li.

ch'ii*.

(k)

mei^ sung* ni ^na*-ko

t'a^

pu^

(/)

t'a^

mei^ ch'u^

met lap ni ?

na^-i^-ko

kei^

jSn^

shuo^-hua ?

kei^ wo^.
ch'ii*.

g) t'a^ mei^ k'uai* lai^-la.

shin^-mo jen^ ch'u^

ni ?

na^-i-ko jen^ lai^-la ?

i'a^ lai^-liao

(/)

{m) ni^

(e)

la ?

t'a^ tsai^ na^-li

(i)

lai^

li^-wu.

(A)

2a.

lai^-

(n)

yao*

(o)

pu^ yao'^ k'uai*-shuo^-hua.

{p)

t'a}

cM*-li

shSn^-mo jen

ni ?

lai^.

shuo^-hua


COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

40

Exercise

He

{b)
(c)

(d)

will

(k)

not come.

speaking

present.
(e)

(/)
(g)

{h)

2b.

(Which man) Who has

come ?
I will not go.
(/) Has he come or not ?
He has not sent you that (w) To whom were you

have not come,

(a)

He will not give me.

He has not gone out.
He did not come quickly,
What man has come out ?

(i)

Where

is

(j)

(He

here

is)

he?

(n)

to

come

here.
(I) do not want (you) to
speak quickly.

(o)

(p)

(lit.

want him

(I)

Who

i^^

the man speaking?

at here).

LESSON

2.

Exercises on the Position of Negatives.

As

has already been stated, " position " is allimportant in Chinese construction, and, above all, the
position of the negative needs close and particular attention.
12.

In this lesson the force of the transference of the negative

from one part of the sentence to the other

will be displayed

fuUy.

In the sentences t'a^ pu^ ch'u^ lai^ and t'a^ mei^ ch'u^ lai^,
literally " he not (will) not come," and " he not

we have

(has) out come," and in order to convey the meaning of the

"
English expressions, " He won't {i.e., refuses to) come out
and " he has not come out " the Chinese expressions above

are invariable.

If,

however,

we move the negative word

we change the meaning of

nearer the end of the sentence,

the

but

first in
still

a very great degree, and the second to a

important, alteration, thus

T'a} ch'u^ pu^

or

He

lai^,

He cannot

cannot get out.

lesser,

{i.e., is

unable

to)

come

out,


POSITION OF NEGATIVES

41

lai^, He has not come out as yet or so far

he has not come out.
Even in this primary example, the importnace, idiomatiThere
cally, of placing the negative correctly can be seen.
are, however, many more idioms formed purely by the

T'a^ mei^ ch'u^

position of the negative particle.

13.
tao* "

we take the word chih^ meaning " to know," with

way " (as in the example t'ieh^ iao*, lit. " iron road,"
railway "), we have the colloquial compound chih^If

i.e.,

"

tao,

which

Now with

is the commonest expression for " to know."

the word shih* meaning " to be," we can make a

negative sentence as follows

Wo^ pu^
I

From

14.

na^-ko* shih* shin^-mo tmtg^-hsi^

chih^'tao'*'

know
know

do not
do not

this

what we should

that

what

thing

it

is

be seen that frequently one uses

compound

call

is

what thing

will

it

verbs.

This

is,

of course,

These compound verbs

by the negative Pu^, though not all

natural in a monosyllabic language.

are frequently split

verbs can be so used.

k'an'^-chien*,

hsiao^-tS^, to

to see.

know.

isou^-lung*, to walk.

shih^-pai*, to

k'an*-shu^, to read.

chung^-chieh^, to end.

fail.

nien*-shu^, to read, study.

ch'i^-lai^,

win*, to ask.

ta}-ying^, to answer.

Now

take the sentence

w6^ wen'^
I

i'a^

ni^

hsiao^

pu^

asked him you didn't (quite) know

as opposed to the following

Wo^

to begin.

wen*

t'a^

asked

him

ti.

(or cannot),

ni^

pu^

you

don't

chih^-tao*.
(or didn't)

know.


COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

42

15.
Although there is actually not a shade of difference
between the two compounds used for " to know," as they
are interchangeable, yet the meaning is different owing to
the negative being placed between the component parts of
the verb. It is not the custom to insert pu^ between
chih^ and tao'^.

Similarly with the verb tsou^-tung.

16.

may assume

Although one

a definite negation of an act in both forms, yet

pu^ tsou^-tung^ means he will not (refuses to) walk, while

pu} tung^ means "he cannot walk," " he is unable
to walk," or, possibly, " he can hardly walk."
One must
rely on the context for the finer shades of meaning.

t'a^

t'a^ tsou^

ta^,

aP, short

great, big, large.

hsiao^, small,

(in height).

tuan^, short (in length).

little.

hao^, good, love.

man^, slow.

pu^-hao, bad, no good.

tung^-te,

hui'^,

understand, com-

prehend.

nSng^, can, able.

ming^-pai, understand.

can, able.

ch'ang^, long.

Wo^

k'an^-chien ta*

I (can) see

ti

k'an^ pu^ chien^ hsiao^

the large (ones)

Ni^ ming^-pai^ mo

Wo^ tung^ pu^

te^.

(I)

Do you

?
I

do not

ti.

cannot see the small (ones).

understand

(quite) understand.

T'a^ shuo^ k'uai liao-yao man'^-man^-ti shuo^ hua^.

He
17.

spoke quickly.

(I)

want slower speech.

Remembering that mei^

is

the negative for_yw^ " to

have," another note may be made here as follows

Mei^ need not be followed invariably by yu^ in point of
fact, by constant usage mei'^ has come to be almost a " not:

have " negative so that frequently

it is

met

in front of


POSITION OF NEGATIVES
main -verb without auxiliary yu^
following examples

43

have as witness the

to

T'a^ mei^

lai'^

T'a^ mei^

k' an^-chien'^ la,

Wo^ mei^

tning^-pai^ la, I

yu^ lai^, He has not come.

has not seen.
have not understood.

for T'a^ mei^

He

Exercise

3a.

(a)

ChS^-ko shih* ch'ang^, na*-ko

(b)

Na'^-ko shih*

(c)

T'a^ pu- ch'u^ lai"

{d)

Ni^-mSn^ tning^-pai^

ta^,

shih'^ tuan^.

che*-ko shih^ hsiao^.

ch'u^

mo

pu^

lai^ liao

mo

(h)

Ni^ chih^-tao* pu chih}-tao^ ?

Man^-man-ti shuo^, k^uai^-k'uai*-U shuo pu^ hao^.
Kei^ wo^ k'an^-chien.
Na^-ko shik^ ch'ang^ shih* tuan^, wo^ pu^ chih^- tao*.

(a)

This

is

(b)

That

is big, this is small.

(c)

Will he not

{e)

(/)

(g)

Exercise
long, that

{e)

(/)

Speak slowly,

(g)

Let

(h)

(Whether) that

me

(plural)

Example

18.

understand

(singular)

see

it is

(lit.

(g)

know

give
is

me

or not

bad to speak quicklJ^

me

look

long or short,

see).

do not know.

in the preceding exercise

better expressed colloquially

give

3b.

short.

come out or can he not get out

Do you
Do you

(d)

is

by

kei^

would be

wo^ k'an^-k'an

(lit.,

look-look), as this is the phrase generally heard

amongst the natives. The one in the exercise may stand,

however, as being perfectly correct and also occasionally
heard.

Example [h) shows a favourite location in Chinese.

Where we say " Whether it is so or not, long or short, large

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

44

or small," the Chinese puts the two adjectives in juxta-

any introductory conjunction or

position, independent of
relative, e.g.

T'a^ hao^ pu^ hao^, wo^ pu^ chih^-tao^ (Whether) he

or bad
19.

good

is

do not know.

" It does not matter "

is

translated colloquially

we may make

a longer sentence thus

by

Pu^ yao*
Na^-ko ch'ang^ tuan^, che*-ko ta^ hsiao^, t'a^ hao^ pu} hao^.
That long short, this great small, he good not good.
Ni^ ming^-pai pu}- ming^-pai, pu^ yao^ chin^.
You understand not understand (it) does not matter.
" It doesn't matter (whether) that is long (or) short,
(whether) this is great (or) small, (whether) he is good (or)
bad, (whether) you understand (or) not."
chin^, so

Neng^ and hui'^. These two words are in everyday

meaning " ability," " can," " able to do." NSng^
implies more proficiency than hui'^ and there are again other
Suppose two men were speaking
distinctions as to their use
very rapidly in Chinese, slurring their words and not
enunciating their sentences clearly. Then one (an outsider)
understanding Chinese might say
20.

use,

T'a^-men man^-man-ti shuo^-hua, wo^ ming^-pai, or better,

T'a^-men jo^ man^-man-H shuo^-hua, wo^ neng^ ming^-pai

If they spoke slowly I could understand, jo^ being the
:

common word

for "if."

Supposing, however, one of the onlookers wished to

know if his neighbour understood Chinese, he would not
"
use ning^ for " can " or able," in his question, " China
chung^-kou^ and Chinese is chung^-kuo^ hua*, and
question, " Can you speak Chinese would run thus

the

You

able

Ni^ hui^ shuo^ chung^

speak China-speech ?

kuo*

hua*'

mo

POSITION OF NEGATIVES
Reduced to a

46

one might say that what with us are

rule,

regarded as accomplishments

e.g.,

speaking foreign lan-

guages, playing musical instruments, etc., need the

hui'^,

whereas

in

adaptability are concerned NSng^

Fa^kuo^

France,
0*-kuo^

word

cases where degrees of proficiency or

Japan,

Germany, Te^-kuo^

is

the word indicated.

Jih*-pSn^-kuo^
Austria, Ao'^-kud^

Russia,

England

Ying^-kuo^.

Another negative which is frequently used, especiis pieh^ which is almost equal to pu^yao*,
Pieh^ shuo^-hua, " Be quiet," lit., " not want speech."
as
Also pieh^ ch'ang^, " don't sing." Pieh^ kuan^ min^, lit.,
" not want shut door."
" Don't shut the door." The
student is warned that he will find this word pronounced as
though spelt " bay," and the first phrase will sound to him
like " bay shwah " (for bee-ay shwaw-hwah), but this is a
slurring to which his ear will become accustomed only by
21.

ally with shuo^ hua,

practice.
22.

in

When the two

a sentence

the result

is

a strong positive.

where emphasis or insistence

Ni^-min wu^

come together

negatives wu^ a.ndfei^

construction beloved of the native speaker)

(a

feV- chi^

You (plural) always

Do you always speak

mo

is

This form

is

required,

e.g.

as rapidly as this

mo

speak

k'uai^-ti shuo^-hua

this quickly-quickly

used often

Chi^ is here short for chi^-ko. The ko is very frequently

dropped when che*-ko and na^-ko precede words with which

they are constantly associated.

Ni^-mSn^ wu^

You

(plural)

fei^ chih^-tao* hui^ hsin* met* lai^ liao.

not have is-not

know answer not has come

finish.

You

are certain that

no answer has come

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

46

Mo is a negative used with a verb in the Imperative

23.

Mood, and means " not," " do not."

which are important idiomatically,
Mo* ta^ wo^, Do not beat me.

Mo*

k'uai*-ti tsou^-tung*,

Do

It
e.g.

it," etc., as in

Mo* hsiao^ yii^

not walk rapidly.

With an adjective mo has a meaning

" nothing like

has also other uses

"
of " incomparable

Nothing so small as this.

{Yii means " with," " by," " at," and is dealt with in a
chS*-ko,

later chapter.)

Mo*

ta*

yu^ na-ko. Nothing so large as that.

With the word jo* the negative mo has the sense of "it
would be better." This is the colloquia equivalent of the
written language expression pu^ ju^ having the same
meaning and also the sense " not so good as." e.g.
:

Mo* jo* {or ju^) chiao* t'a^ o*-kuo^ hua^, It would

him Russian.

to teach

Finally,

24.

never,"

Wo^

is

the negative wei*, meaning

verbs,

wei* ts'ing^

ch'ii*, I

will

e.g.

yet,

have not as yet gone,

They have not yet come.

lai^-la,

a " tense-particle " attached to

be found explained in the chapter on verbs.

Ts'Sng^ here used

and

" not

only used with verbs in the past tense,

T'a?-min^ wei* ts'ing^

The

be better

is

Vocabulary of
pi*-yao, ought, must.
kao*su, tell, inform.
yang*, kind, sort, fashion.

New Words.

hsi*, fine, small,

shui^.

same

minute.

who

(relative pronoun),
as shen^-mo jSn^.

the same, that sort, shao^, few, a small number.

chiu^-i'ien^, to-day.
that style, that fashion.
hsien*-tsai*, now, at present, at the ming^-t'ien^, to-morrow.
sa^-huang^, to tell lies, to speak
moment.
falsely.
shang*-li^-pai* last week.
k'an*, to see, observe, also to
shan^, a mountain.
i^-yang'^-ti,

to^-shao^,

few

how many

").

sA*, a number.
hsin^, deep, very.

(lit.

"

many,

think, consider.
kai^-tang^, ought, should,

pi*-yao.
shang*, to go to,

move

same as

towards.

VOCABULARY OF NEW WORDS

47

a Chinese character, a word

or sign in native script.
rtiany,
a large number.
i^-tien', a
mi*-/an*, cooked rice (the staple t'ien^, Heaven, the commonlyused word for day.
Chinese food except among the
poorer classes where coarser tso^-t' ier}- yesterday.
grains and millet take the tou^, all, every.
" ground-details "),
ti^-hsi* (lit.
place of rice).
details, munite data.
kuo*-shih^, fault, error, transgreshai^-tzu', a small boy, a child,
sion.
young person.
i^-ko*, one, a single, unity
wan^-tuan^, all things, everything, k'ai^, to open, start, begin.
k'ai^ min^, open the door.
the universe.
k'ai^ nien* shu^, start to study.
tan*, but, still, yet, only.
hsiieh^-hsiao*, a school.
pu^-t'ung'^-i*, to differ.
fin^-pu^-ch'u-lai^, I cannot see
kung^-fu^, leisure, holiday.
any difference (lit. " division i^-tien^-Srh, a morsel, a soup(on.
or difference not out comes "). hao^ hsieh^-ko*, a good number, a
large number, many, numerous.
chiu', wine.
shang*-pien, above, the upper met'' hsieh^-ko*, not many, few,
a small number.
side, on top.
shih' tsai*, truly, indeed.
hsia*-pien, below, the underside,
hsUeh^, to learn, to study.

izu*,

li*-ch'ten, profit, gain.

little,

a fraction.

to^,

at bottom.

shen^-mo yang, what kind

sort of

method, plan, remedy.

p'ing^-yu^, a friend, comrade.
hao'-ti (adv. from the adj. hao',
good), well, excellently.
ch'iian^, all, complete, every.
fSn^, to divide, differ (also " a

fa*-tzu^,

hsien^, former, before, formerly.

?

what

tso*-, last, past, as in

tm*-chi*, oneself, self, used after

minute

personal pronouns.
t'a^ tzu*-chi^,

he himself,

etc.

tao*, to reach, up to, as far as.

chia ^-hsia*. at base, at foot of.
/,
a Chinese mile (approx. a
third of English mile).
k'u', bitter, affliction, used as an
emphatic, very.
kao^, high, lofty, exalted.

").

ch'ih^-fan*, to eat.
ho^, to drink.

shuP, water.
li*-tou^, inside.

wai*-t'ou^, outside.
i^ch'u* fang^-tzU^
,

shih^-hou'rh*, time, period, age.

Exercise

4a.

{a)

Wo^

(b)

Ni^-men^ pi*-yao* kao^-su '^wo^-min^.

(c)

NP yu^ shSn^-mo yang^ tung^-hsi ?

{d)

T'a^-men^ hsien^-isai* na^-li^

mei^ yu^ na*-ko* tung^-hsi^.

Wo^ yao

ch'ii^ ?

NP-men^

tso*

chihHao^.

Shang* chung^-

kuo^ ch'u*.
(e)

house,

dwelUng.

shirP-mo yang* iung^-hsi^ ni ?

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

48
(f)

Shang^-li^-pai* wo^ met* k'an* chien* t'a^ liao.

(g)

Ni^ pu^ chih^-tao, t'a^ pu^ chih^-tao, wo^ pu^ ckih^-tao

wen* shin^-mo jin^-yao kao*-su wo^nicn ?

k'o^ i^
{h)

Ni^-men mei^ k'an^-chien la, wo^ tzu-chi k'an* pu^

yang* nSng chih}-iao ni ?
Na*-ko tung^-hsi pu hao, pieli^ kei^ wo^ na* yang*-ti.
Ta^ chS*-lPiao* na* shan^ chiao^-hsia* pu^ chih^-tao yu*

chien*^ la, tsen^

{i)

(j)

to^-shao^
{k)
{I)

li^

shu^.

T'a^-ti tung^-hsi tau^

pu^ hao^.

T'a^ mei^ yu^ shSn^-mo tung^-hsi.

(m) To^ t'ien^ t'a^ mei^ lai^ liao.

(n) Na'^ shari^ shih^ tsai*
(o)

pu^ sMn^ kao^.

puH-yang* ts'ung^ ch'ien^

Hsien*-tsai* chung-kuo

ti^

shih^-hou'rh.
(p)
shih'^
{q)

Yu^-ti shuo^ mei^ yu^-ti, tnei^-ti shuo^ yu^-ii, a*

Pieh^ sa^ huang^.

{r)

Wo^ pu^

(s)

Che* shih* jSn^ jen^ tou^ pi*-yao chiK^-tao.

{t)

Ni^ shuo^ che* hua* shuo^ na* hua*, wo^

chih^-tao ti^-hsi*.

tzu*-chi fin^~

pu-ch'u-lai^.
(u)
{v)

{w)
{x)

pu^

wo^ shuo^ H^.

Wo^ k'an* pu^ chien* na* tung^-hsi.

Wo^ wen* t'a^ tan* t'a^ mei^ td^-ying
Wo^ k'an* pu}- chien* hsiao^-tzU*.
Wo^ pu^ chih^-tao shih* shui^.

(y)

Mei^ shen^-mo

{z)

Wo^ mei^

(a)

T'a^ yu^ hao^-hsieh^-ko* tna^.

{'hui^ fu).

li*-hsi.

kung^-fu^ k'an*

Exercise

shu?-.

5a.

(b)

T'a^ mei^ shen^ mo, tan yu^ i-tien^-Srh mi^-fan*.

(c)

T'a^ mei^yu^ hsieh^-ko* kuo*-shih^.

(d)

ShihUsai'* mei^

fa*-tzu^.

EXERCISES

49

(e)

NP

(f)

Kao'^-su wo^ ni^ tso^-t'ien tso* shSn^-mo.

k'an* chS*ko- hao^

Wo^

(g)

pu

hao^ ?

kei ni^ k'an* ni^ k'o^ pieh^ kao*-su t'a^-min^.

Ni^ jo* pu^ ming^-pai, wSn*

jo* pu^ chih^-tao chiu* win* wo^.

t'a}-mSn,

(h)

(t)

T'a^

(j)

NP

men

mei^ i^-ko peng^-yu^.

Wan* wu*

{k)

mo

niing^-pai

Va^-men

iso* ti

hao^ liao, tan* tnei^ jin^ chih^-tao

ti^

ch'iian^.
{I)

Ni^

pu}- k'an* chi* hai^-tzii kai^-tang

men*-shu^

mo

{m) Hsien*-tsai* 'hai^ mei^ nien* shu^, hsia*-li^-pai* i'a^

shang* hsiieh^-hsiao*

ch'ii*.

()

Wo^-men shuo^ che* hua* shuo^ na* hua* tan^ mei^ fa*-

(o)

T'a tsai hsueh^-hsiao* nien* shu}

la.

(p) Ni'^ kao*-su t'a^ k'uai* ch'u*-pa.

(q)
(r)

(s)
(t)

Wo^ hsien*-isai* yao* ken^ t'a^

Na* ch' u* fang^-tzu li^-t'ou yu^
Wai*-t'ou mei^ jen^.

Ni^

ch'ih^-fan*, t'a^-mSn ho^ chiu^.

Hsien*-tsai* shih* ch'ih-fan*

Kei

(w)
(x)

ch'ih} la-fan* mei^-yu^ ?

Wo^-men

()
(v)

shuo^-hua.
hao^-hsieh^-ko* jen^.

t'a^

shui^;

t'a^

yao

ti^

San-t'ien to^; t'a^ mei^ ch'ih^-fan* liao.

(y)

Ni^ jo* k'uai*

{z)

Kao*-su

lai^

t'a^ wo^-ii

wo^ kao*-su

ni^.

hua*.

(c)

Exercise 4b.
have not that thing.
You (plural) must tell us.
What sort of thing have you ?

{d)

Where

{a)
(6)

shih^-hou'rh.

ho^.

are they going

now

I want to know.
(They are going) to

China.
{e)

What

is

that thing you have done

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

60
(/) I

did not see

him throughout

last

week.

He does not know. I do not

(g) You do not know.
know. "Whom then shall we ask to tell us ?
{h) You (plural) have not seen it, I myself cannot see
it, how then can one know ?
{{)

That thing

is

bad

do not give

(j) From here to the foot

know how many mUes it is.

(k) All his

me any

like

it.

of that mountain, I do not

things are bad.

He has not anything.

(m) He has not come for many
(/)

(n)
(o)

days.

That mountain certainly is not very high.

China nowadays is (certainly) not like it was

in

earlier times.
(p) I

am

to affirm
(q)

Do

not the one to deny what

what
not

is

not (or

is (or

"

is

right ")

tell lies.

do not know the details.

(s) This is something that all men should know.
(/) You may talk this way, you may talk that way,
myself I do not see any difference.
(m) I cannot (quite) see that thing.
(v) I asked him, but he has not answered.
{w) I cannot see very small characters.
{x) I do not know who it is.
iy) There is not any profit.
(z) I have no leisure for reading.
Exercise 5b.
(r)

(a)
(b)
(c)

{d)
(e)

and

is false).

He has a great number of horses.

He has nothing but cooked rice.
He has not many faults.
Truly there is no help for it (no
think this good or bad ?

Do you

way

out).

for

EXERCISES
me what you

(f)

Tell

{g)

(If) I let

61

did yesterday.

you see don't

tell

them.

you do not understand, ask them

know, ask me.
{h)

(t)

(j)

If

Do they understand it or not

You have not a single friend.

they do not

if

Everything (in the universe) was well made, but

not a man who knows (of) everything.
(1) Do you not think that this boy should study ?
{m) At present he has not begun to study
next week
(however) he will go to school.
() We may say this or that, but there is no help for it.
{k)

there

is

(o)

He

studies at the school, or.

He

is

at the school

studying.
(P)
{q)
(r)
(s)
(t)

You

go away quickly.
him now.
In that house there is a great number of men.
Outside there is no one.
Have you yet eaten your rice ?
(This is a very common greeting amongst the Chinese.
It actually takes the place of
Good-morning " or
"
How are you ? amongst us.)
We are eating they are drinking wine.
I

tell

want

him

to

to speak to

(m)
{v)

Now

it is

meal-time.

(y)

Give him water

he wants to drink.
For more than three days he has not eaten food.
If you come quickly I will tell you.

(z)

TeU him what

{w)
(x)

I say.

LESSON

3.

Numerals and Adjectives.

25.

Chinese enumeration

is

a very simple matter.

One

has merely to learn the niunerals from one to ten and four

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

62

remembering that the Chinese use the decimal

others, and,

system, the rest

cardinals

easy.

is

The following

is

list

of the

one,

six, liu*.

i^.

two, Srh*.

seven,

three, san^.

eight, pa^.

four, ssu*

nine, chiu^.

wu^.

five,

ck'i^.

ten, shih^.

One hundred is pai^.

One thousand is ch'ien^.
Ten thousand is wan*.
One million is V-pai^ wan^i.e., one hundred ten thousands.)
Such

the material required for simple enumeraThere is, however, an alternative number
i.e., that while in counting from
for the cardinal " two "
" one " to " ten " erh*^ is used, when speaking of two of
anything one employs the word liang^ which also means
26.

is all

tion in Chinese.

" two

",

" a pair," " duality,"

etc,

Generally, however, the

the suffix " -ko* " as follows
27.

numbers are

recited with

i^-ko*,

one

anything).

(of

liu*-ko*, six (of anything),

two

,,

ch'i^-ko^,

san^-ko*, three

,,

pa^-ko*, eight

ssu*-ko^, four

,,

chiu^-ko'^,

wu^-ko^, five

,,

shih^-ko*, ten

liang^-ko*,

seven
nine

,,

,,

,,

28.
On arriving at " ten " the procedure is quite simple,
the order of the Chinese words being " ten-one, ten-two,"
and so on to " twenty " whence one goes on " twenty-one,

twenty- two,"
shih^-i^-ko'^,

shih^-Srh'^-ko*

etc.,

thus

eleven.
,

twelve.

shih^-san^-ko*, thirteen.

Srh*-shih^-i^-ko*, twenty-one.

erh*-shih^-erh*-ko*,

twenty- two.

Srh^-shih^-san^-ko , twenty-three.

NUMERALS AND ADJECTIVES

53

shih^-ssu*-ko*, fourteen.

Srh*-shth^-ssu*-ko*, twenty-fonr.

shih^-wu^-ko^, fifteen.

erh*-shih^-wu^-ko*, twenty-five.

shih^-liu*-ko^, sixteen.

irh^-shih^-liu^-ko*, twenty-six.

shih^-ch'i^-ko*, seventeen.

erh*-shih^-ch'i^-ko*, twenty -seven,

shih^-pa^-ko^, eighteen.

erh'^-shih^-pa^-ko^, twenty-eight.

shih^-chiu^-ko^, nineteen,

irh^-shih'^-chiu^-ko'^,

Srh*-shih^-ko*, twenty.

san^-shih^-ko*, thirty.

twenty-nine.

29.
This process is regular up to one hundred and
" ninety-nine" will therefore be chiu^-shih^-chiu^-ko^ followed
i^ paP.
One hundred and one is i^-paP-i^-ko\ and so
on through the hundreds to ch'ien}, thence again to wan*
and on to the completion of the million i^ pai^ wan*.

by

The

30.

to the simple
ti*-i^,

the

ti^erh*,

numeral thus

first.

the second.
the third.

ti*-san^,

In the

common

31.

the ninth.

ti^-shih^,

the tenth.

speech one will often hear the numeral

V-ko*-ti^, the first

is

ti^-chiu^,

ti*-shih^-wu^, the fifteenth, etc.

with ko* prefixed to

this

two ways and are as

The word ti* is prefixed

ordinals are formed in

simple as the cardinal numbers.

ti^
;

the genitive particle thus

liang^-ko*-ti^,

the second

etc.,

but

vulgar and not to be recommended.

Auxiliary Numerals or Numeratives.

As

in

Assyrian and several other languages, the Chinese interpose

between the actual number and the name of the

article

described a sort of descriptive word which is called an

" auxiliary numeral." Those acquainted with " PidginEnglish " will recall such expressions as " one-piecey-

man," " one piecey-boat,"

lation of the auxiliary

number

of

This is in general a transetc.

mimeral which, owing to the large

homophones

in the Chinese language helps out

the Colloquial by particularising the sound to convey the

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

54

meaning intended.

In Egyptian hieroglyphs one finds

sjnnbols used as " determinatives," that is, signs used to
fix in

mind the class into which the word immediately

falls.
The Chinese have many words of a similar
intended to " determine " the class of the word

the

preceding
nature,

immediately following.

The word

already familiar to the student,

ko^,

auxiliary of primary importance.

with words of a certain

class.

But

the

is

may be used

it

only

It is chiefly confined to the

numerals and to the word jSn^, " a man," although it will

be met with elsewhere. The following is a list of those the
student should certainly

know and

recognise

Chih^ {" standing alone ") before boats, fowls, gems,

e.g.-i^
i

Feng^

etc.,

chih^ ch'uan^, a boat.

cMh^

chi^,

a fowl.

(" to seal ") before letters, parcels, packets, etc.

V-

feng^ hsin*, one letter.

Chien^ {" a room, an apartment

"),

before houses, build-

ings, yards, gardens, rooms, etc.

i^ chieti^

fang^-tzu, a house.

san^ chien hua^-yuan^-tzU, three gardens.

Chien* {" to divide ") for articles of clothing, wearing

apparel, etc.:
i^

Ko*

{"
("

chien^ i^shang^, an article of clothing.

one piece
one thing

")

for

human

beings, animals coins,

") j boxes, fruit,

watches, etc.

liu^-ko^ hsiang^-tzu, six foxes, hut

erh^-paP jen^, two hundred men.

K'o^

(a

mark

or order) before trees.

a tree, a single

i^

k'o^ shu*,

i^

k'o^ hsiao^ shu*,

tree.

a small tree, a shrub.

Kuan^ (a reed, pipe, tube) before pens,

any small, round, tube-like articles.

pencils, flutes,

and

NUMERALS AND ADJECTIVES

55

K'uai*

(a piece of) before dollars, bricks, stones, etc.

seven stones.

ch'i^ k'uai* shih^,

Pa^

(to

hold in the hand) before table cutlery, forks,

spoons, knives, etc.

i^

Pn^

pa^
V-

P'i^

tao^-tzu,

one knife.

(a root, origin before books, etc.

{to

pin^ shu^, a book.

pair) before mules, camels, donkeys, horses, etc.

na^ P'i^ ma^, that horse.

T'ou^ (the head), before domestic animals

wu^

t'ou^ niu^, five cows.

This word is also used to supplement many nouns,

and not merely as a numeral adjunct,
shih^-t'ou^, stone, rock, boulder.

e.g.,

mu'^-t'ou^,

wood,

etc.

Ting^ (summit, top), before hats, sedan-chairs,umbrellas,

etc.
i^
t'l

ting^ chiao^-tzU,
ting^ mao*-tzu,

Wei* (those upright,

cannon, heavy
Srh'^

artillery,

erect,

ta'^

gentlemanly,

etc.),

before

persons of rank, etc.

wei^ kuan},

ss* wei*^

a sedan-chair,
a hat, a cap.

two

p'^ao*,

officials.

four heavy guns.

Distributive Numerals. Repetition is a constant

and the student can rarely go
wrong if he repeats a noun in order to mark the distributive.
A notable example is t'ien^ t'ien} lit., " day-day, "meaning
32.

factor in Chinese Colloquial,

every day, daily.

ChS* shih^-hou'rh wo^ kao^-su m'^
iso*..

This time
this.)

t'ien^t'ien^chS^yang*

ht..

I will tell

you

every day do

it

this

way

(or like


COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

66

may

Distributions

using the word

" each, every."

conversation

be generally formed, however, by

or the

ko'^

The

word

mei^, both of

latter is the

more usual

which mean
in e very-day

MeP jin^ yu^ hao^-hsieh^-ko*, Each man had a large

number.
Ko* yu^ shu^ ch'ien^ jin^, Each had several thousand men.

firstly

{"

Numerals. These are

then ") to the simple numeral.

ssu'^ tst^

fourthly.

adding the words

>i

Adverbial

33.

adding ts^

tz'u^

once

tz'u*",

Once, twice,

etc.,

formed

Thus

by

i^ tst^

are formed

by

pien^ or hui^ to the cardinal as

liang^ pien^ twice

safi^

hui^ thrice etc.

Fractions. These are headed by i^ pan^, meaning

34.
" a half." Other fractions are formed by an ingenious use
of the word fen^ which originally means " to divide," hence
" a division, a part." Every whole is considered as having
10 parts, each part being called i^fen^. Thus f would be
called Hu^fen^
i.e., i%.
A quarter would be expressed by

the locution ss0-fen^ chih^

case,

and

is

This chih

i^.

language word for the colloquial

ti^,

used in circumstances where

usage either inadmissible or clumsy.

literally " four part's

a quarter.

Thus

one," that

would be

is,

is

the written

the sign of the genitive

ti^ is

by customary

This would read

one of four parts, hence

This

ssu^-fen?- chih^ san.^

for " quarter," however, is not used in saying a

" quarter of an hour " for which the special word k'o*

word

(meaning

fifteen

minutes) exists.

Adjectives. In Chinese adjectives undergo no

35.
change for number, gender or case. It may be said that an
adjective does not exist per se as is the case with any other
part of speech.
It is merely by position that a word is
described as adjective, noun or verb.

But

in the simple

'

NUMERALS AND ADJECTIVES

sentence the adjective invariably precedes

Hao^ jen^,

When

the noun

as

long tube.

great river, etc.

one of quality, the Chinese adjective

is

acquires a predicative force

by the addition

very similar to a relative.

versatile particle

noun

good man.

Ch'ang^ kuan^,
Tfl* ho",

its

67

as

ii^

Che^-ko t'ang^ shih^

This

office

is

of a particle
filled

by the

ts'u^-ti,

This sugar

is

coarse.

usually not difficult to identify the adjective in a

It is

is nearly the same as in

English. As we do, the Chinese speak of " ill-fated,"
" long-headed," and similar locutions are daily to be heard.

Chinese sentence, as the idiom

It

may seem

method

strange to

many

ourselves.

Many

that precisely the same

China as amongst
our adjectives end in " able," and

of adjective-formation
of

is

in use in

these in Chinese are fomied by an ordinar)' word with the

meaning " able," " can," etc., k'o^ is, in effect,

prefix k'o^,

Thus k'o^-hsiao^
of neng^.
" laughable," also hao^-hsiao^ (lit.
" laughable," k'o^-wu^ (lit. " can-hate ") is

the equivalent or a
(lit. " can laugh ")
love laugh)
'
'

is

hateful, detestable

An

synonym

is

'

idiom of frequent occurrence

is

the juxtaposition of

two adjectives of the same or closely similar meaning to

express one idea e.g., lan^-to* (lit. lazy and slothful),
meaning " lazy, idle." Another is the putting together of
adjectives signifying opposites to make an abstract noun,
as kao^ aP, which may mean " tall and short," or as in the
sentence wo^ pu^ chih^-tao to} H^ kao^ aP, " I do not know his
height."
30.

Comparison of Adjectives. This presents no

Comparison is formed by the

difficulty to the student.


COLLOQUIAL CHINESE.

68

use of the word pv^ (to compare). Another way is to add a

signifying " more " such as kSng^, tsai*. etc.

word

pp

Chi^-ko

na'^-ko

hao^.

This compared with that

good.

(is)

Na^-ko

That

(by)

great, this

(is)

gets lazier every

day.

lazy.

That

che^-ko kSng^ ta*.

ta^,

(is)

day most

better than

is

that.

He

T'a^ t'ienWien^ kSng^ lan^-to*.

He day

This

more great.

is

big (but) this

bigger.

is

The superlative degree is expressed by

prefixing to the

{a)

adjective an intensive such as ting^, hin^, chih*. meaning

" very, exceedingly, utmost, furthest," etc. ; (b) by prelit. " ten parts (out of ten) " completely,

fixing shih^-fSn^,

altgoether

by

(c)

suffixing such intrusives as hen^, shSng*,

etc.

Tsai* chung^-kuo^, chiu^ lung^ shan^ shih* ting^ kao^-ti^.

The Chiulung mountains are the highest

Hai^

in China.

hsien^ (this hsien^ stands for wei^ hsien^, a

(Literally, " The sea-road
for " danger ").

lu'^ chih'^

common word

extremest danger

The sea passage

").

Che*^ shih^ shih^-fen^

hao^ (this

is

is

most

perilous.

ten parts good). This

is

absolutely the best.

LESSON

4.

Pronouns and Exercises.

37.

We have already used in the exercises preceding the

There are, however, one or two

made. The pronouns are
as simple as the numerals are, and are used as follows

pronouns

in

common

use.

special observations yet to be

Personal Pronouns.
1st pers. sing.

wo^

1st pers. plur.

2nd

pers. sing.

ni^

2nd

3rd pers. sing.

t'a^

3rd pers. plur.

wo^mSn^.

pers. plur. ni^-mSn^.

t'a^-men^.

PRONOUNS AND EXERCISES.

69

These are unchanged in all their uses. The reflexive

pronoun in all cases is tzu*-chi^, oneself, which is in reality
a postposition
:

I myself,

You
In

Wo^

tzu*-chi^.

yourselves, Ni^-men^

common

the reflexive

often used

is

by

itself

i.e.,

sonal pronoun in which case the latter

and the

the context

and so

tzii^-chi^,

with what has been said before as to

reflexive

is

is

on.
ellipsis,

without the perunderstood from

a post

actually

still

position.

38.

polite

nin^-na, which

is

sometimes used
language form.

form of the 2nd

pronoun

in polite phraseology is

is

nin^ or

Ju^, although

more a written

form of the 3rd pers. pronoun is

is very unusual save in

Ch'i^ as a polite

39.

pers.

equivalent to " You, sir."

again a written language term and

the mouths of scholars.

The personal pronouns are without gender,

40.

he, she or

t'a^ is

it.

The possessive pronouns are formed from the perby the addition of ti to both singular and

41.

sonal pronouns
plural, thus

T'a^-ti his, ni^-men-ti

yours

(plural), wo^mSn-tzH^-chi^-ti^

our very own.

The

42.

shewn

Demonstrative

pronouns

are

as

already

Che'^-ko

this

[or these

and na^-ko

that or

those.

There are others used by graduates and

but they are not in use

among

classical scholars

the people.
,

43.

The

interrogative pronouns are

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE.

60
Shui*, or

more commonly, shen^-mo^ jSn^

" what person "

terrogative " whose

(with

ti

suffixed

these

"who"
make

?,

or

the in-

? ").

which ?
shen^-mo^, what ?
There are pronominal forms widely used in Chinese
44.
which are not exactly pronouns, but honorific and deprecatory particles. Those will be dealt with in a later section.
There is no relative pronoun in Chinese. The
45.
na^-ko^,

effect of the relative is achieved either

juxtaposition or

by a circumlocution.

by dual sentences

in

AN
ENGLISH AND CHINESE VOCABULARY
IN

THE

PEKINGESE AND CANTONESE LANGUAGES.

FOREWORD.
There

is

a widespread belief that Pekingese and Cantonese

are but "dialects" of the Chinese language, but this

For

is

this reason this

vocabulary is
prepared in the two languages, so that whether north or

altogether erroneous.

south be the destination of the traveller, he

may

be able

make his way. No system of marking the tones by

number (though efficient in the case of the northern speech),
to

be effective in the language of the south as there the

tones are greater in variety and more minutely distinguished.
will

Hence no tone-marks have been given in the Cantonese

The enunciation and pitch must be learned from
a native or a good foreign speaker of Cantonese. The fact
of the two columns differing widely in the expression of an
column.

English term will emphasise the fundamental difference

between the two forms of speech.

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

62

English.
A, an

Able

Pekingese.
n-ko
Ning^ hui^
Shang* ch'uan^
;

Aboard
Above

Cantonese.
Yat-ko

Nang-tik
Tsoi-shun

Shang*-t'ou^

Tsoi-Sheting

Abuse, to

Ma*

Accident

Shih^ shan^

Account
Accountant

Kuei*

chi*

Nao yun ka
yun
Gaw in
Cheong muk

Kuei*

chi* yiian^

Cheong kwei

Wang

Active

Kuo*
Huo^

Admiral

Hai^

Advise

Piao^

Affection

At* ch'ing^
Hat* p'a*

Across

ma

tung*

It*

chiin^ shang*

Fai shaw
Shtii ssu tei tuk

chiang^

Afraid

Afternoon
Afterwards

ch'i^ i* chien*

Hou*-pan-t'ien^
Hou*-lai^

Hun
Haw

{yun ka)
tsing

Hung-pa

hoy-pa

Ha ng ha
Haw loy
;

chaw
tseong

loy

yu*

Again

Tsai*

Age

Nien^-chi*

Tsoi

Agent

Ching^-shou^ jSn^

Neen ke
Toy le

Air

K'ung^

Te-he

ch'i*

Hung-

Alike

Lei*

Alarm

Ching^-lo

chung
Tung-yat-yaong
Hak-yat-keng

Alas

Wu^

Pe

ssii*

hu^-ai^ tsai^

All

Tou^

Almanac

Li* shu}

ch'uan^

tsoy

Tow

yat tsung

Tung shu

lek

Almond

Hsing* jen^

Hang yun

Almost

Ch'a^

Tseong kan

i^

tien^

wong

VOCABULARY
English.

Pekingese.

63

Cantonese.

Aloes

Ch'en^ hsiang^

Cham heong

Alone
Already

Tan^

Tok

P-ching

Ya-tsang

Also

Yeh^;

Yik

Alter

Pien^ keng^

Kang koy

Altogether

F kung*

Lung tsung

ku^-

hai^

tok-yat

I-king

yat

koy

Alum

Pai^fan^

Pak fan

Always
Ambassador

Shih^-chung^

She-she

Ta" sMh^

Yam

chat,

wong

chai

Amber

Hu^-p'o^

Among

Tsai^ li^-t'ou

Amount

Chia^-Srh

Anchor

And

Mao^
Ho\ ken^,

Anger
Animar (domes-

Ck'u^-shSng

Kun-shaw

Another

PiehUi

Tei-ee

Answer
Ant

Ta^-pien*

Ui-taw-sun

MaU^

Arm

Ko^-pei
Ping^-ch'i

Ma-gei
Shaw-pe
Kwan-he

Lu*

Sam-kwan

Ch'i^,

nu*

Foo pak
Tsoy chung kan

Kung
Nao
t'ung^,

kei

Tung

Now

kung

he

tic)

Arms

(milit.)

Army

(infantry)

chiin^

Arrow

Chien^

Tseen

Arsenic

P'i^-shuang

Pei-seong

Ascend

Teng^

Sheong-huy

Ash

Hui^

Ashore

Shang*' an^

Fooy
Hong-shun

Ask

WSn*

Man

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

64

English.
Ass

Pekingese.

Assist

Pang^, pang^-chu

Lii^

Cantonese.
Yat chek luy
Seong pong
Teen man
Taw mat

Astronomy

T'ien^ wen^

Auction
Author

Chiao* mat*

Avail

Li*

Average

P'ing^ chufi^

La chay

Awake

Hsing^-lo

Seng he

Away

Ch'ii^-lo

Kuy

Axe

Fu^-tzu

Yat pa

Back

ChP-niang

Pooy

Bad
Bag

Pu^-hao^

M how

K'ou^-tai

Yat ko toy

Baggage

Hsing^-li

Bake

K'ao^

Hang
Hong

Balance

Fu^-yii

Fong-cheng

Yat paou
Po-kaw

Cho^ tsu^ chia}

yung

Tsok shu kay

Cheem
lei

foo taw

shao^

tsek

le
;

kok

Bale

Ball

Ch'iu^-irh

Bamboo

Chu^-tzu

Yat tew chuk

Banish
Barbarian
Barbarous
Barber
Bargain

T'u^ tsui*

Chung-kwan

Yeh^ man^

E yun
Tung-man

pao

Wu^

li^ i* ti^

Li^fa^shih^
Mai^ mai*

Tei taw low

ch'i*

Shuet ting ka tseen

yileh}

Bark

(of trees)

Barley

Yao^
Shu* p'i^-tzii
Ta* mat*

Barrel

T'ung^-tzii

Barter

Chiao^ huan*

(v.)

Shu pe
Tax

mak

Pe pa tung
Tuy oon

VOCABULARY

66

Pekingese.

Cantonese.
Oon

Basket

K'uang^-tzii

Lam

Bat (animal)
Bathe

Yen^-pien hu^

For shu

HsP-tsao^

Set shun

Battle

Ta^ chang

Bay

Wan^-tzii^

Ta cheongyat chun
Hoy wan

Bayonet

Ch'iang^-tzu'^

Be

Shih*

Yat che
Hei

Beam

Liang^

Ok

Bean

Tou^-tzu

Taw

Bear, a

Hsiung^
Shou*

Yat chek yung

Yung shu
Soo

English
Basin

Bear, to

Beard
Beat

Hu^-tzii

Ta^

Ta

Beautiful

Hao^ k'an*

Me

teet

leong

kok

Because

Yin^-wei

Yin wet

Become
Bed

Ch'ing^

Ching

I^ chang^ ch'uang^

Shuy shong

Bee

Mi*-feng^-Srh

Beef

Niu^-jou

Beer
Before
Beggar
Begin
Behind

Pieh*

Mat Jung
Gaw yok
Pay tsaw

'rh

chiu^

tseong

Ch'ien^-t'ou

Seen

Hua?-tzu

Hat-ec

Ch'i^-lai

Hoy shaw

Hou*-i'ou

Haw

(sow

peen

Sun

Believe
Bell

Ling^-tang

Yat ko chur.g

Belly

Tu^-tzu

Tow

Below

Ti^-hsia

Ha

Beside

Tsai* p'ang* pien^

Ling goy

Best

Tsui* hao^

Tei yat che

Between

Tsai chung^ chien*- rh Chung kan

fok

tei

hoief

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

66

English
Beyond
Bill

Pekingese

P wai^
P pp chang*

Bind

Kuo^-shang

Bird

Niao^-erh

Cantonese
goy
Cheong muk tan
Chat
Tseok new
Haiej

Birthday

Sheng-jih

Biscuit

Kan^ po

Bite

Yao^
K'u^

Shang yat
Meen peng
Gaou
Foo

Black
Blacksmith
Blankets
Blind

Hei^

Hak

T'ieh^-chiang

Blinds

Lien^-tzii

Ta teet tseong
Yaong par cheen
Gan mang
Chuk leem

Hsieh^

Heut

Bitter

Blood

^-po

Chan^-tzu

Yen^

hsia}-lo

Kua}

Chuy

Blue

Lan^

Lam

Board
Boat

Pan^-tzu

P chih^ ch'uan^

muk pan
Sam pan

Body

Sheri^-tzu

Shun

Boil

Chu^
Yung^
Ch'a^kun'rh

Pow

Blow

(v.)

Bold
Bolt

Bond
Bone
Book
Bookcase
Boots

shik

Yat fai

Tat

tei

tarn

Moon

pen^ shu}
Shu^ koUzH

Yak tan
Kwat
Shu
Shu ka

Hsueh?-tzu

Heue

Chieh*

Ching*' shu^

Ku^-t'ou

yun

shan

Borrow
Both

Liang^-ko

Tsay loy
Leong ko

Bottle

P'ing^-tzii

Po

Bottom
Boundary

Ti^

Tei

Chie

Kaou

le

tsun

kai

VOCABULARY
English
Bowels

Pekingese

e-:

Cantonese

Ch' ang^-tzu

Cheong tow

Box
Boy

Hsiang^-tzU

Seong

Hai^-tzU

Nam

Bracelet

Cho^-tzu

Show ak

tsei

Braces

Pei^ tai*-tzu

Foo

Brain

Nao^-tzu

Now

Branch

Chih"-

Shu

Brass

T'ung^

Sheong iung

Bread
Break

Mien^ pao^
Ta^ p'o^

Meen taw
Ta Ian

Breakfast
Breast

Tsao^ fan^
Hsiung^ P'u^-tzu

Hung

Breeches

K'u^-tzu

Yat tew foo

Breath
Breeze
Bribe
Brick
Bridge

Ch'i^

He

Fing^

Fing set
Fooy chur

Hui^-lu

Chuan^

t'ou^

tao^ ch'iao^

fai

tseong
che

Tsow fan
tseen

Tseng chune
Yat tew kew

Ma-keong
Ning loy

Bridle

Lung^-t'ou

Bring

Na^

Broad
Broker

K'uan^
Ching^-shou jin^

Tsow king ke yun

Broom

T'iao^-chou

Sow pa

Brother

Ko^-ko

Hing-tei

lai^

Foot

hsiung^-

ti

Brush
Bucket

Shua^-tzu

Tsat

T'ufjg^-tzU

Tung

Build

Kai^

He

Bullock

Kung^ niu^

Bundle
Burn

Pab^-irh

Yat chek eem gaw

Yat pao

Shao^

Shew

Bury

Mai^

Mai

tsong

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

}8

Pekingese

Cantonese

Business

Shih'^

Sze koan

But

K'o^

Wei

Butcher
Butter

T'u^ hu*

Huang^ yu^

Tow yun
Gaw yaw

Butterfly

Hu^

Button

Niu^-tzu

Naw kaw

Buy

Mai^

Mai

fo

Yay

tsoy

English

t'ieh^ 'rh

Oo

tan

teep

C
Cabbage

Pai^

Cabin
Cable
Cage

Ch'uan^ is'ang^

ts'ai^

Lan^

hai^ hsien*

Lung^-tzu

Tsoang wei
Naou lam
Yat ko tseok lung
Kei tan kow

Cake

Kao"^

Calculate

Ho^-suan

Sum

Call

Chiao^

Kew

Calm
Camel

An^

Fung-sik

LoWo

Yat chek

Camp

Ying^-p'an

Kwan ying

Can

Neng^; hui^

Canal

Shui^ tao^

Tak isow
Chap ho
Lap

hsin^

Candle

La''

Candlestick

La*

Cane
Cannon
Canvas
Cap

T'Sng^-tzu

Captain (army)

Lu*^ chiin^ ta^ wei*

Card

Ming^ P'ien'^

t'ai^

lok to

Lap chuk

tak

toy

P'ao*

Yat che peen koan

Tai paou

Ts'u^ pu*

Fan pow

/I ting^ mao*-tzu

Yat teng mow

Shune chu
Pai teep
Sew sum
Shune fo
Te cheen

Careful

Yung'' hsin^

Cargo
Carpet

Huo*
T'an^-tzu

VOCABULARY

69

English

Pekingese

Cantonese

Caxpenter

Mu*-chiang

Carriage

(/2- liang^) ch'e^

Muk-tseong
Ma chay

Carrot

Hung^

Hung

Carry

Yiin^-pan^

Cartridge

Ch'iang^ yii^-tzu

Chat

Cash
Cask
Cat
Catch
Cause

Ch'ien^

Tung
Tung

tseen

Mao^

Maou

ee

Chieh^ ch'iu^

Chok

Yuan^-ku

Une koo
Sew sum
Shan uei

Mu^
(ball)

lo^-po

t'ung^-tzu

Cautious

Hsiao^-hsin

Cave

Tung*-tzii

Por

lo

pak

tok
isei

Cellar

Ti* yin^-tzu

Yan kan fong

Certain

Ch'tieh* shih^

Tik koak

Chain

So^ lien*-tzu

Teet leen

Chair

P-tzu

Chalk

Pai^ fen^

Change

Huan*

Fo shek fun
Kang koy
Fo tan

Charcoal

T'an*

Chase

Ckui^

Chuy koan

Cheap

P'ien^-i

Ka

Cheat
Cheese

PSng^-tzu skou^ 'rh

He peen

NaP ping^

Che-se

Cheek

P'i^ lien*

Yat fai meen chu

Chess

Ch'i^

Ke

Chest

Hsiung^ p'u^-tzu

Chew

Chiao^

Chicken

Hsiao^

Ee seong
Tseok haw
Kei tsei

Child

HaiUzu

Set matt isei

Chin
China
Chocolate

Hsia*-pa

Ha pa

Chung^ kuo^

Chung kwok

Ka}-fei t'ang^

Chi-ko-lat

chi^-tzii

tseen

peng

70

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

English

Pekingese

Chopsticks

K'uai'^-tzu

Fai-tzu

Christianity

Chi^-tii chiao*

Teen chu kacu

Sheng

Cantonese

City

Ch'eng^

Civil

Ho^

Yaw

lee ee

Clean

Kan^-ching

Koan

tseng

Clerk

Shu^-pan

Clever

Ling^

Shu-pan
Nang koan

Climb
Cloak

Teng^ kao^

Pan

Tou^-P'eng

Tai law
She shin chung

Clock
Cloth
Clothes

Coal

Coat

Cock

'

ch'i^

{P chiaY chung^
P

To

sheong

yung

lo

P-shang
Mei^

Mooy

{P chien^) kua^-tzu
Kung^ chi^

Tai sham
Kei kung

sheong
tan

Coffee

Ka?-fei

Ka

Coflftn

Kuan^-ts'ai

Cold

LSng^

Koon
Lang

Collar

Ling^-tzii

Ka how

College

Hsiieh^-yuan^

Shu une

Colour

Yen'^-sS'-

fe
tsoy

Gan-shik

Column

Chu^-tzii

Comb
Come

Mu^-shu

Yat hong
Yat chek she

Lai^

Ne

Commerce

T'ung^ shang^

Maw

Committee

Wei^ yiian^

Chu

Common

Kung^ ti^
Pan^ 'rh

Ting

Companion

Company

Pin^ k'o^

Kung

Compare
Compass

PiU-pi^

Complain

Pao^-yiian

Pe kaou
Lo kang
Sow une

Ting*'

nan^ chSn}

lei

yik
sze leet wei
lei

Tung Poon
sze

VOCABULARY
English
Compliment

Pekingese
Ch'ing*

Conceal

Ts'ang^

Confess

JSn^

Confine

Ch'ii^ yii^

Conjurer

Pien^-hsi fa^-irh-

Consent

Ta^-ying

Consult

Shang^-Uang

Constable

71

Cantonese
Man haw
To nik
Chew yun
Shaw kum
Tew maou shan

ti

Hsiin^-pu

Hang
Cham cheok
Te pow

Contest

Chan^ chSng^

Seong chang

Contract

Ho^-t'ung

Contradict

K'ang^ pien^

Chap tan
Peen pok

Conversation

Yen^

Cook

Ch'u^-tzu

Coolie

Kung^ jen^

tz'u^

Tarn

tarn

Chu tsze
Koon teem

Copper

T'ung^

Copy

Ch'ao^ hsieh^

Cord
Cork

Sheng^ tzu

Shur tung
Chaou say
Yat tew shing

Juan^

Chat

Corner

Chi^ chiao^ 'rh

Corpse

Shih^-shou

Sze-she

Correct

Tui^-lo

Cotton

Mien^-hua

Pan hang tunefong

Meen fa

Cough
Count
Country

Po^ chueh^

Kat saw
Sune show

p'i^

K'o^-sou

Kok

Kuo^

Kwok

Cover
Covet

Kai^-shang

Kum

T'av}

Tarn

Cow

Mu^niu^
Fa^ jin^

Gaw

Coward
Crab

P'ang^-hsieh

tam
Yat chek hat

Crackers

Pien^

Paou

koy

Mow

tseone

72

English
Cream

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE
Pekingese

Cantonese

Credit

Nai^ p'i^ -tzu

Hsin* yung*

Shay
Tsoy

Gaw

nai

yaw

hiiy

Crime

Tsui*

Criminal

Fan* jSn^

Fan

Crimson
Crockery
Crooked
Crop

Tz0

Tai hung shik

Wai^-lo

Wan

Chuang^-chia

Tsow

Crow

Lao^-kua

Low

Cruel

Nueh*

Tsan yun

Cruise

Hsiin^ hai^

Yaw

Crush
Cry

Tsa'

At Ian

Ham

Cuckoo
Cucumber

K'u^
ShuP-ching
K'o^-ku
Huang^-kua

Cunning

KueP

Crystal

hung^

tai*

Pei^

Hsi^ han^ wu*-Srh

Curtain

Chang*-tzu

Cut

La^

sha

hok

kiva

To kei
Pooy

Cup

Tien*-tzii

Wong

Curiosity

Kuan*

hok

Shuy tsing
Pan kaw tei

cha*

Custom

hsi^

Koo tung
Leem
Yuk tsze
Kwei kuy
Koat

D
Dagger

{P pa^) hsiao^

Daily

T'ien^ t'ien^

tao^

Tune tow
Yatyai

Fan yun
Shap

Damage

Sun^

Damp

Ch'ao'^ ch'i*

Dance
Danger
Dark

Hsien^

Get heem

Fa^

Yay hak

T'iao*

wu^

hei^

yun

Tsze he

Tz'u^-ch'i

Cushion

isuy

Tew

he

VOCABULARY

73

Cantonese
Yat how

Pekingese

English
Date

Jih^-tzti

Day

Tieri^

Yat

Dead

Ssu^-lo

Sze lew

Deaf
Dear
Death
Debate
Debt

tsze

Lung^

Kuei'^

Ka

Ssu^

Sze mong

lung
tseen kwei

T'ao^ lun^

Chai*

Foo heem

Decapitate

Chan^

Cham

Deceit

Hua^

Cha

lun

taw

gei

Decide

Ttng^-kuet

Fun

Deck

Ch'uan^ mien^

Shune tsong pan

Decrease

Chien* shao^

Deduct

Ch'u^

Kam shew
Kaw chu

Deed
Deep

Ho^-t'ung

Kei

Shev}

Shum

Deer
Defendant
Degrade
Degree
Delay

(/I chih}) lu*

Luk
Pe kow
Kong kap

Tu*-shu

Tei tow

Tan^-wu

Tarn kok

Deliver

Chiao^ fu*

Kaw
E lai

Depend

(on)

Pei^ kao*

Chiang*

chi^

Chang*-cho

Desert (land)

Sha} mo*

Desk

Hsieh^

tzti*

cho^-irh

tune

Yatte
Say tsze seong

DevU

Kuei^

Mo

Dew

Lu* shui^

Low shuy

Diamond

Chin^ kang^ tsuan*

Kum

kwei

kong

'rh

Dice

Shai^-tzu

Shir

Dictionary

Tz0 tien^

Tsze teen

Die

Wang^

Sze

ssii^

tsze

mong

r4

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

English

Pekingese

Cantonese

Different

Ch'a}

Difficult

Nan^

Im toong
Nan

pzi* t'ung^

Dig

p-ao^

Kwat

Digest

Hsiao^-hua

Sew-shik

Diligent

Ch'in^

Kan

Dinner

Wan^ fan*

Man tsan

Dirt

Ni^

Dirty

Ang^-tsang

Discharge

Tzu^

Discount

Che^-k'ou

Dish

P'an^-tzu

Net
koan tseng
Tzse huy
Kaw taw gun
Oon

Dislike

Hsien^-hsi

M oy

Dismount

Hsia*

Dissatisfied

Pu^ man^

Dissipated

Lang* fei*

Dissolve

Hsiao^

Ha
tsu^

Mow eem tsuk

Fong
San
Une

Distant

Yuan^

Distinguish

Fen^-pieh

Distribute

Fen^ p'ei*

Ditch
Dive

P tao* kou^

ko^

sze

Fun peet
Fun pai
Teen tsun
shuy

Cha^ ming^-tzU

Me

Tsow

Do

Tso*

Doctor

P-sheng

Document

Wen^

Dollar

Don't

Yang^ ch'ien^
Pu* tso*

Door
Double

Men^

Moon

Liang^ pei*

Sheong kay

Doubt

P-huo

Sze ee

DoAvn

Hsia*

Dragon

{P
{P

Drain

shu}

Gan

tseen

Mok
00

Fong ha

t'iao^)

tao*)

E-shang
shu

Man

lung^

kou^

Yat tew lung

Hang kuy

VOCABULARY

75

Cantonese

English

Pekingese

Draw

La^

Lai chay

Ch'ou^-tH

kwei tung

(pull)

Drawer

(table)

Dress

Ch'ing^ i^-shang

Efok

Dream

Tso^ meng*

Fat mung

Drink

Ho^

Yam

Drive out

Hung^-k'ai

Koan chuk

Drop

Tiao^-hsia ch'U*

Yat

Drown

Yen^-ssii

Cham

Drug
Drunk

Yao*-ts'ai

Yok

Tsui^-lo

Yam

Drum

Ku^

Yat ko koo

Dry
Duck

Kan^
{P chih)

Dumb

Ya^-pa

tik

shuy

sze

tsoy

tsuy

Koan
ya}-tzii

Ap
A-tsze

Dust

Ch'en^ t'u^

Chun oy

Duty

wu*
Chu^ chai^
]an^

Pun fun

Dwelling

Dye

/*

Koon

sho

Eem pow

E
Mooy

Each
Ear

t.Yh^-to

Ee-to

Early

Tsao^

Earth
East

Ti* ch'iu^

Tsow
Te chun
Tungfong

Easy
Eat

Jung^-i

Eclipse

Jih*-shih^

Eel

Shan* yu^
Pa>

Eight

Tung^
Ch'ih}

Egg

{Chi^) tan*

Elephant

Hsiang*

Yung-ee
Shik
Yat shik
Sheen u
Pat

Kei tan
Yat chek tseong

76

COLLOQUIAL CHLVESE

English
Emperor
Employ

Pekingese

Cantonese

Huang^-shang

Wong-fei

Yung*

Yung
Hung

Empty
End
Enemy

K'ung^
Chung^

Enough

Kou*

Enquire
Enter
Envelope

Ta^-t'ing

Shaw me
Tik yun

chii^

Ch'ou^ jen

Tsuk
Cha man

Chin*

Yap

Feng^-t'ao*-erh

Shu Jung

Envy

Chi*-tu

Equal

Ping*

Escape
Evening

T'ao^ P'ao^

Tow-ke
chia*

ch'i^

Tung yat yaong

ch'U^

Tsaw iir lat

Ai man
Wing une

Wan^-shang
Yung^ yilan^
Mei^

Kok

Shih* chi*

Haw

Tiao^ ch'a^

Cha

Exercise

Pang^-yang
Huo^-tung shen^-

San Pow

Expense

Fei* yung*

Shai yung

Experience

Chien*-shih

Tsap-leen

Export

YUn*-ch'u-ch'ii*

Extinguish

Mieh*

Everlasting

Every
Evidence

Examine
Example

kung
chat

Yat-ko yaong-tsze

t'i^

Extraordinary

Fei^ ch'ang^

Chong fo chut haw

Meet
Chut ke

Eyes

Yen^-ching

Gan

tseng

F
Face
Factory

Mien* mao

FaU

Shih^ wet*

Meen
Yat kan hong

Tso^-fang
;

hsia ch'ii*

tiao*-

Teet lok

lei

VOCABULARY

11

English

Pekingese

Cantonese

False

Chia^

Ka kay
Ka kune

Family

Chia^

Famous
Fan

Yu^ ming^-ti
{n pa^) shanUzu

Yaw ming shikyun

Fat
Father

Fei^

Fe
Foo

Fu*-ch'in

Yat pa sheen

Yaw kwo
Yun tsing

Fault

Ts'o^-rh

Favour

w^

Fear

P'a*

Feast

(/I cho^) hsi^

Foon yaw

Fee
Feed
Female
Fetch
Fever

Kuei^
Wei*

Chaw

hui'^

Pa
fei'^

tap

NaUai

Yaong haw
Mow-te
Ning

Few

Jo* ping*
Shao^

Mow

ke

Field

(/I k'uai*) fien^ ti*

Yat

maw

Fig

Wu^

Mow

MuUi

Fat shew peng

to

teen

Fight

Ta^ chia*

fa kwo
Ta kaou

Fill

Ch'Sng^ man^

Cham moon

Fa^

Fat gan

Fine

(n.)

hua^ kuo^

Finger

Chih^-t'ou

Yat chek shaw che

Finish

Wan^

Fire

Huo^

Tsow une
Fo

First

T'ou^ i^-ko

Tei yat

Fish

YU^

Fist

Ch'ilan^-t'ou

Fit (proper)

Hsiang^ tang^

Kune taw
Pun tang

Fix

Chih^ ting*

Flag

{n

Flatter

Ch'an^-mei

Cheem me

Flee

T'o^ tsou^

Tow

kan^) ch'iUzu

Teng shat
Yat che ke
tsaw

78

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

English

Pekingese

Cantonese

Flesh

yok

Floor

/OM*
Tt* pan^

Flour

Pai^ mien^

Meen fun

Flow

Liu^

Flower
Fly (V.)
Fly (n.)

Hua^

Law
Fa

Laief

pan

Fei^

Fe sheong

Ts'ang^-ying

Oo-ying

Food

Ch'ih^-shih

Shik mat

Fool

Sha^-tzu

Foot
Forbid
Force

Chiao^

Goy yun
Keok

Chin^ chih^

Kum

Li^

Foreign

Wai^ kuo^

Keong pik
Yaong goy kwok

Forget

Wang^-chi

Mong

Forgive

Jao^

Fork
Formosa
Fortune
Forward

Ch'a^-tzu

Ming^-yiin

Shay
Cha
Tai wan
Tsow fa

Shang* ch'ien^
Ni*

Gak

Chi^ ch'u^

Ke

Hsiao^ chi^-Srh

Kei

Foul
Foundation

Fowl

T'ai-wan

che

ke

Sheong

ii>een

che

Fox

Hu^-li

Oo

Fraud

P'ien*

Hung peen

Fresh

Hsin^-hsien

Friend

P'ing^-yu

Sun seen
Pang yaw

Frighten

Hsia^-hu

Frog

Ha^-ma

Hak keng
Kap na

Fruit

Kuo^-tzu

Kwo

Fry

Cha^

Fuel

Jan^

chien^

liao^

le

tsze

Tseen chaou

Mok

shai

VOCABULARY
English
Funeral

Pekingese
Fa^ sang-tsang*

79

Cantonese
Sung tsong

li^

Kafo

Furniture

Chia^-huo

Gain

Li*

Gale

MSng^ fing^

Tai fung

Gamble
Garden

Shua^

Gate
Gather

MSn^

Tow tseen
Fa une
Moon

Chao^ chi^
Chu^ pao^ yii^-ch'i

Pow

Te^

Lo

Gem
Get
Ghost
Giddy
Ginger

Lee sik

t2

ch'ien^

Yuan^-tzu

Mo^

kuei^

Fu^

tsao*

Chak
shek

kwei

Fow

tsow

Chiang^

Keong

Girl

Nu^

Mooy

Give

Kei^, sung*

hai^ 'rh

Glad

Hsi^-huan

Glass

Po^-li

Gloves

Shou^

Go
God

Ch'u*

t'ao* 'rh

tsei

Pe
Foon he
Po le
Shaw lap

Huy

Shang*

ti*

Shin ming

Gold

Chin^

Kum

Good

Hao^

How

Goose

02

Gradually

Chien* chien*-ti

Go
Tseem tseem he

Grain

Liang^-shih

Grape

P'uWao

Kuk
Pow

Grass

Ts'ao^

Tseng tsow

Gratitude

Kan^

Grave

FSn^

ch'ing^

tei tsze

Neem yun
Fun mew

iO

English

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE
.

Pekingese

Graze
Grease
Great
Grieve
Grind

K'en^ ch'ing^

Ground

Cantonese
ts'ao^

Shik tsow

Kow yaw

Yu^
Ta^

Tai

Pei^ ai^

Shaw moon

Mo^

Mo lee

Ti*

Tee tow

Grow

Chang^

Guess

Ts'ai^ chung^

Gum

Chiao^

Gun

Ch'iang^

Cheong tai
Chai tok
Shu kaou
Tseong
Fo yok

Gunpowder

H
Taw

Hair
Half

Mao^

Ham

Huo^

Hammer

Ch'ui^-tzu

Foo taw

Hand

Shou^
Shou^ p'a*

Shaw
Shaw kan

Handkerchief
Handwriting

Hang
Happy
Hard
Hat
Hate
Have

71

pan*
t'ui^

fat

Yat poon

Fo

tuy

Pi^-chi

Pat

Kua^-ch'i^-lai

Kwa

hee

Yaw

fok

Hsi^-huan

tsik

Ying*

Keen

Mao^-tzu

Mow

Hen''

Unc chaw

Yaw

Hay

Yu^
Kan^

Head

Nao^-tai

Heal

Chih* hao^

Hear

T'ing^

E peng
Teng man

Heart

Hsin^

Sum

Heat

Jo'

E^

ts'ao^

Koan tsaw
Taw shaw

VOCABULARY

81

Cantonese

English
Heaven
Heavy

Pekingese

Heel

Chiao^ kSn^-tzu

Height
Hell

Kao^ ai^
Ti^yu*

Help

Hsiang^ pang^

Henceforth

Ts'ung^

Hen

Mu^

Here
Hide
High

ChS*-li

Ne

Ts'ang^

Tsong mat
Tsoy sheong

T'ien^

Teen

Chung*

Chung
Keok chang

Kow
Tee yok
tz'u^

chi^

Kao"^

Seong pong
Tsze haw

Kei na
chu

Shan

Hinder

Shan^
Fang^

Hire

Ku*

Yam

History

Shih^-chi

Kong kam

Hoist

La^-ch'i-lai

Hold

Na^

Chay
Cha kun

Hole

K'u^-lung

Yat ko lung

Home

Chia^

Honest

Shih^-ch'eng

Ka
Yun

Honey
Horn

FSng^ mi*
Chi^-chiao

Mat
Kok

Horse

Ma^

Ma

House

Fang^-tzU

How?

TsSn^-mo

Hundred
Hungry
Hurry
Husband

P pai^

Ok
Teem yaong
Pak
Tow go
Tsuy
Low kung
Cha sheen

Hill

Hypocrite

ai*

0*-lo

Mang^
Chang*-fu

Hsiang^ yuan*;
Chia^ shan*

Lan

cho

shai

long

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

82

Pekingese

English

Cantonese

Go

Ping'

Ping

Idle

Lan^-to^

If

Jo'

Lan to
Yak

Ignorant

Pu* chih'
Yu^ ping*

Ice

111

Mow

chi

Yaw peng

Import
In
Inch

Shu' ju*

Yap haw

Tsai*

Include

Han' yu^

Tsoy
Yat tsun
Tsoy nay

Increase

Chia'-shang

Kato

Indecent

Yeh^-tiao

Fe

Ink
Inn

Mo''

Mak

Inside

Li^-t'ou

Le taw

Insolent

Shih' ching*

Insult

Wu^ju*

Gow man
Hi foo

Interest

Li^-ch'ien

Le

Intimate

Ch'in'-mi

Seong how

(/I) ts'un*

Lii^

kuan^

Interpreter

T'ung'

Investigate

Chien^ ch'a^

Iron

i*

kuan'

lei

Heei teem

tseen

Tung

sze

Kei cha

T'ieh^

Teet

Hoy chaw

Ivory

Hai^ tao^
Yang^-yang
Hsiang* ya^

Jacket

Hsiao^ ao^-erh

Jam

Kuo^-tzu chiang*

Japan

Jih* pen^

Chung sham
Tong kwo
Yat pun kwok

Jar

Kuan^-tzu

Yat ching

Island

Itch

Lai chong
Tseong ga

VOCABULARY

83

Cantonese
Ga kwan
Sew wa
Kwat tseei

English

Pekingese

Jaw

Sai^-chia

Jest

Shuo^ wan^

Joint

Kung* yu^

Journey
Judge

Lu^ hsing^

Yat ching low

Ts'ai^ p'an* kuan^

Oan

Juggler

Pien*-hsifa^

Chik fat

Juice

Shui^

'rh hua^

'

ti^

'rh-ii

'rh

chat szc

Chap
Tew kwo

Jump

T'iao^-kuo-ch'i*

Just

ChSng* tang^

Justice

Kung^-tao

Key

Yao^-shih

Kick
Kidneys

Shen^ tsang^

Yew

Kill

Sha>

Shal sze

Kindred
King

Ch'in^-ch'i

Kuo^ huang^

Tsum tsik
Kwok wong

T'i^

Kung tow
Kung tow

che

le

So she
Tek
tsze

Tsun tsuy
Chu Jong
Che yew

Kiss

Ch'i'n} tsui^-rh

Kitchen
Kite

Ch'u^ fang^
Feng^-ching

Knee

Po^-leng kai^ 'rh

Sat

Kneel
Knife

Kuei*
Hsiao^ taoHzH

Kwei
Tow

Knot

KoUa

Keet

Know

Chih^-tao

Che tow

Knuckles

Chih^ chieh^ 'rh

Kune taw kwat

Labour
Lace

Kung^

Tsow kung foo

Hsien^

Seen

Lady

T'ang^-k'o

Tong hak

Ladder
Lake

T'i^-tzu

Law

Hu^

Yat ko 00

tei

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

English

Pekingese

Cantonese

Lame

Ch'iieh^-lo

Pei keok

Lamp

{P chan^)

Land
Lane

Ti^
Hu^-t'ung*-rh

ting^

Tang
Te fong
Yat tew kai hong

Wa

Language

Hua*

Lantern

Teng^-lung

Last

Tsui^ kou^

Shaw me

Late

Wan^

Man

Laugh

Hsiao*

Sew

Law

Fa^

Fat

Lazy
Lead

Lan^-to

to

Law
Hok

shuy

Learn

Shu* ye-tzu
Lou*
HsUeh^

Lan
Une
Shu

Leather

P'iUzu

Shuk pe

Leave

Ch'u^fa?-

Law

Left (side)

Tso^

Tso peen

Keok nong
Tak han
Ning mung

(Min.)

Leaf

Leak

kuo"^ yii^

Ch'ien^

Leg

Tui^

Leisure

Hsien^ k'ung*-rh

Lemon

Hsiang^

Length

Ch'ang^ tuan^

Letter

(Pfeng^) hsin*
P'ing^

Level

t'ao^

Tang lung

eep

lok

Cheong
Yat fung shu sun

Peng

Koy

Lie

Kai* 'rh
So} huang^

Life

Ming*

Tai wa
Shang meng

Lift

Chu^-ch' i-lai

Chaw

Light

Jih* kuang^ 'rh

Lightning

Ta^ shan^
Ai*

Yat kwong
Sheep leng luy teen.

Lid

Like
Like

(similar)

Fang^-fu

he

Foon he

How

sze

VOCABULARY

Cantonese

Pekingese

English
Lime

Pai^ hui^

Fooy

Linen

Pu'

Ma pow

Linguist

Y0 hsiieh^ chS^

Tung

Lion

Shih^-tzu

Yat chek tsze

Haw shun

sze

Lips

Tsui^ ch'un^-tzii

Liquor

Chiu^

Tsaw

List

Tan^-tzu

Muk

Litigation

Tz'u^ sung*

Ta koon

Little

Hsiao^

Set

luk
sze

Koan

Liver

Kan^

Lizard

Hsieh^

Loan

Chieh'^-k'uan

Lobster

Lung^ yii

Lock

{/I pa^) so^

Locust

Huang^-ck'ung

Hu^

tzu^

Yat tew eem shay

Tsay chai
Tsum lung u
Yat pa so
Ma long kong

Loiter

Tan^-ko

Long
Look

Ch'ang^

Taw law
Cheong

K'an*

Hoan

Looking-glass

Ching*-tzu

Loose
Loss

Sung^

Chew shun keng

Sung

Loud

Ta* sheng^

Tai sheng

Louse
Love

Shih^ tzu

Skat

Ai*

Low

^l3

Oy
Koan
Kat

Sun^

kai^

Sheet poon

tsze

Luck

Yun^-ch'i

Lump

Kv}

Lungs

Fei*

Mad

FengUo

Fat teen

Magnet
Magpie

Tz'u^ shih^

Sheep shek

Hsi^ ch'iao

He

ting-rh

Yat fai
Fei

tseok

86

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

English

Pekingese

Make

Tso''

Cantonese
Tsow
Nam yun

Male

Kung^-ti

Man

JSn^

Yun

Manage
Mandarin

Pan*
Kuan^

Lew le
Koon foo

Mane

Tsung^

Ma tsung

Manner

Fang^ fa^

Ne yaong

Manufactures

Chih* tsao* p'in^

Shaw tsok mat keen

Many
Map

To"^

How

to

Tu"

Te

tow

Marble
Market
Marriage

Han^ Pai^ yii*

Fa

Shih*

She taw

Mask

Chia^ mien*

Hsi^ shih*
chii*

le

shek

Tsuy tsun
Sew meen hok

Master

Tung^-chia

Ka

Mat

Hsi^

Tsek

Material

Chih^

Tsoy lew

Mean

Hsia*-chien

Tseen

Measles

Ma^

Ma

Measure
Meat

Liang^-i-liang

Leong kwo

Yok
Yok

Meet
Melon

Jou*
Yao*
Hsiang^ hut*
Hsiang^ kua}

Medicine

chen^

chu

ching

tsoy

Chong cheok
Heong kwa

Melt

Jung^ ho^

Yung fa

Memorandum
Memory
Mend

Chieh^-lueh

Ke
Ke

Chin* pu^

Merchant
Mercury

Shang^-jin

Fung pow
Sheong yun

Shui^-yin

Shuy gan

Mercy
Merry

K'uai*-lo

Chi*-hsing

En^

tz'u^

Oy

sze tan

sing

leen

Sum foon

he

VOCABULARY

8';

Cantonese

English

Pekingese

Messenger

Sung*

Metal

Chin^

Kum

Method

Fa^-tzu

Metropolis

Ching^ ch'ing^

Fong fat
King shing
Chung
Poon yay

ksin*-ti

Pow sun yun

Middle

Chung^

Midnight

Pan* yeh*

Midwife

Shou^ shSng^ P'o^

Tseep shang po

Mile

Li^

Le

Milk

Niu^ nai^

Mill

Nien^-tzu

Yat ko mo

Mind
Mine

Hsin^

Sum

K'uang*

Kwong

Miscellaneous

Tsa^
Shou^ ch'ien* nu^

Ling suy

Miser

Misfortune

Tsai^

Han
Nan

Miss

nai

tsoy

yun

sze

Mei^ chao^

Shut

Mist

Wu*

Mistake

Ts'o*-lo

Mix
Modern

Hun*

Een mow
Koo tso
Kaw wan

(v.)

ho^

Kum

Hsin^
Tzu* ch'ien^

Che saw

Moist

ShW-lo

Shap yun

Monday
Money

Li^-pai
Ch'ien^

Tseen

Monsoon

Ch'i*hou*fSng^

Lap ha nam Jung

Modest

i^

Lei pai yat

Moon

Yueh*

Uet

More
Morning
Mortgage
Mother
Mount (v.)
Mourning

To^

To teem
Chew

Tsao^-ch'i

Ti^

ya

Mu^-ch'in

Shang* (ma^)
Ch'uan^ hsiao*

Teen ok

Mow

tsum
Sheong {ma)
Cheok haou

'

88

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

Engush

Pekingese

Cantonese

Mouse
Mouth

Hsiao^

Shek shu

Move
Much

Mud

hao'^-Izn

Haw

Tsui^
.

Tung'^

Yok tung

T'ai*

Huy

to^

lo

Chuk

Multiply

Ni^
Fan^ chih^

Shing show

Murder

Ku*

Shut

Music

Yueh*

Yam gok

Musk

She^ hsiang^

Shay heong

Must
Mustard

Pi*

Mow

Chieh*-mo mien^

Kai moot

Mutton
Myrrh

Yang^ jou^
Hut yao

Nail

Ting^-tzu

Nail (finger)

Chih^-chia

Naked

Kuang^-cho shen^-

Name

Hsing*

Sing

Narrow-

Chai^

Native
Natural

T'u^jen^
Tzu^-jan

Chak
Poon te yun
Poon sing

Tsao* hua^

Sing

Chin*

Kan

sha'

yun

suy

rh

Yaong yuk
Moot yok

N
Yat haw teng
Che kap
Chik shun

tzu

Nature
Near
Nearly
Necessary

Ch'a^

i* tien^

Tseong kan

Pi* yao*

Moo

Neck
Necromancy

PoUzH

Keng

Ting^ hsiang^-ti

Sheng po

Needle
Neighbour

Chen^

Gan cham

Chieh^-fang

Kak

suy

le

kay yun

VOCABULARY
English
Neighbourhood

89

Pekingese

Cantonese

Tso^ chin*

Lun shay

Nephew

Chih^

Net
Never

P chang^ wang^

Chat

'rh

New

Lao^ pu*
Hsin^

News

Hsin^ wen^

Newspaper

{P chang^) Hsir^
wen chih^

Niece

Chih^-n0

yat pai

fong

te

tsze

Yat cheong mong

Mow yat

she

Sun
Sun man
Sun man

chc

Chat nuy

Night

Yeh^

Yay man

Nine

Chiu^

Kaw

No

Pu*-chieh

Mow

Nod

Tien^ t'ou^

Teem taw

Noise

Sheng^-yin

Sheng heong

Noon

Shang^

North

Pei^

wu

An

chaw

Nose

PiUzu

Nostril

Pi^-tzu yen^-rh

Pak
Pe
Pe lung

Not

Pu"

Im

Note

Chi^ tsai*

Peen che

Nothing

Mei^ yu^

Mow

Nourish

Yang^

Yaong

Novel

Hsin^ hsien

Sew

Now

Hsien*

Number
Nun

Shu'^-rh

Shoo

Ni^-ku

Ne

tsai*

Nurse

Lao^ ma}-

Nut

Ho^

Nutmeg

Tou* k'ou*

'rh

'rh

sho wei

shuet shu

U hum
muk

koo

Nai ma
Hat tsze
Yok kwo

90

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

English

Pekingese

Cantonese

Oak

Hsiang* shu*

Oar
Oath

P chang^ Chiang^

Tsaong shu
Yat che tseong

Shih* yiieh^

Shei

Obey

T'ing^

Oblong

Ch'ang^fang^

Tsun

Obstacle

Chang^

Obstinate

Ku^-chih

Ocean
Octagon
Oculist

Yang^
Pa} leng^-rh-ii
Y:n^ k-o t'l

Odd

Ch'i^

'rh

ai^

i^

Offend

Te^-tsui

Office

Chii^

Often

Ch'ang^

Cheong fong

Fong

Koo pan
Yaong
Pat kok yaong

Ganfo
Ling suy
Keen kwai

Ga moon
To tsze

Yaw
Kow yak

Oil

Yu^

Ointment
Old

Yao* yu^
^
Lao^

Olive

Ch'ing^ kiio^

Shuy yung

Once

One

n-ko

Only
Open

Chih^

Yat
Yat
Tok

K'ai^-cho^

Hoy

Opinion

Chti^-i

Opium

Ya^ p'ien yen^

E
A

Opportunity
Opposite

Chi^ hui

Ke

Tui'^ ti^

Or

Huo^

Tuy meen
Yik wak

Orange
Order

Chii^-izu

Chang

FSn^-fu

Yow

huP

Low
tsze

tsze

keen

peen
coy

tsang

tsze

yaw

VOCABULARY.
English
Ore

Pekingese
K'uang* cMh^

Origin

Lai^-yu

91

Cantonese

Orphan

Ku^-Srh^

Kaung
Une poon
Koo oy

Other
Otherwise

Pieh^

Peel ee

Pu^jan^

Tei

Ought

Kai'

Out, go

Ch'u^-ch'ii

Chut

Outside

Wai^-i'ou

Goy taw

Oven

Tsao^

Kuk

Overturn

Fan Chune

Owl

Tien^ fu*
Yeh* mao^-tzu

Maou

Own

Pen^jen^-ti

Tsze ki

Oyster

Ko^-li

Hok how

ee yaong
Ying koy

low
he taw ying

P
Pack

(v.)

Padlock

Chuang^
Yang^ so^

Shaw shap hong

Yat pa shaw so

Pagoda

T'a^

Man

Pain

TSng^

Tung

tap

Painter

Yu^-chiang

Yaw

Pair

n tui*

Yat tuy

Palace

Ta^ net*

Pan

Kuo^

Kung teen
Fan wok

Paper
Pardon

Chih^

tsat tseong

Che
Shay kwo

Parrot

Jao^-shu
Ying^ ko'rh

Parsley

Hsiang^

Part

Pin^fen

Partner

Huo^-chi

Partridge

Shih^ chi^

Une set
Yat fun
Fo ki
Chuk sze

Pass

T'ung^ hsing^

Kwo

Paste

Chiang*-tzu

Tseong oo

ts'ai*

Ang

ko

kei

taw

le

COLU/QUIAL CHINESE

92

English

Pekingese

Pat

P'aP-

Pawnbroker

Tang^-P'u

Cantonese
Pak
Tong pow

Pay

Kei^ ch'ien^

Keet

Pea

Wan^

Ho

Peace
Peach
Peacock

T'ai*-p'ing

Ping oan

T'ao^-rh

Tow tsze
Hung tseok

(v.)

tou^

K'ung^-ch'iao

Ian taw

Chan chu
Go lun shek

Pearl

Chien^ chu^

Pebble

Shih^-t'ou

Peel

Pen

Pao^ p'i^ 'rh

P kuan^ pP

Mok pe
Go mow pat

People

Jen^-chia

Pak

Pepper

Hu^-chiao

Oo tsew

(v.)

tz0

'rh

sing

Perceive

Chueh^-cho

Tei keen

Perfume

Hsiang^ wei^

Heong lew

Perhaps
Permit

Huo*

che^

Perverse

Chun^
Chun^ tan^
Ning*

Petition

Ping^-t'ieh

Perspire

Pheasant

Yeh^

Pickles

Hsien^

Pick

(v.)

chVts'ai^

Ti^

Wak

chay

Chun
Chut hoan

Kwai pik
Pan
Shan kei
Sune kwo
Tsze

Picture

Hua^'rh

Pigeon

Ko^

tzu

Yat fok wa
Bak kop
Yok une

Pill

Wan^-tzu

Pillar

Chu^-tzu

Yat tew chu

Pillow

Chen^-t'ou

Pin
Pipe
Placard

Peng^ chin^

Cham
Cham

Plain

SuUi

Yen^

tai^

Chieh}

t'ieh^

taw

Een toe
Nik ming
Sow

VOCABULARY

93

English

Pekingese

Plaintiff

Yiian^ kao

Cantonese
Une kow
Teep

Plate

P'an^-tzu

Play

Wan^

Pleasure

Yti^ k'uai*

Wan

shua^

sha

Fai

ooi

kee

Pluck

Tan^-ch'i

Tan

Plum

Li^-tzu

Plunder
Pocket

Tou}-tzii

Mooy
Ta keep
Sham toy

Poem

P chang^ shih^

Yat shaw she

Point

Chien^ 'rh

Taw

Poison

Tu^ yao^

Tsang^

kok

Pole

Kan^-tzu

Tuk mat
Chuk kow

Polish

Chien* kuang^

Mo

Polite

Yin^ ch'in

How wa

Poor

Ch'iung^

Poppy

Ying^-su hua}

Pork

Chu^-jou

Postage

Pot

Yu^ fei*
Yu^ ch'ai^
Kuo^

Pan kung
Ang suk
Chu yok
Sun tsze

Potatoes

Shan^-yao tou*

Pour
Power

Tao^-ch'u-lai

Li*-liang

Postman

'rh

kwang

Fai ma
Yat tsun
Ho Ian shu

Cham
Kune Peng

Practice

Lien* hsi^

Tsap

Praise

Ch'ing^-tsan

Pray

Tao^ kao*

Paw tseong
Ke tow

Prepare
Present

(v.)

Yu*-pei

Upe

K'uei*-sung

Sung pe

Preserve

Shou^

Shaw chu

Price

Chia*-ch'ien

Chi* ssu^

Ka tseen
Wo sheong

Yin*

Hoan

Priest

Print

(v.)

shat

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

94

English

Pekingese

Prisoner

Chien'-

Procession

fan^
Hsing^ Ueh*

Profit

Li*

Cantonese
Chaw fan

Hang

heong

Chan gan

i^

Promise

Ying

Proof

P'ing^-cM

Pang kuy

Ying shing

Property

Ch'an^-yeh

Ka

Protect

Pao^-hu

Chew koo
Kew gow
Shang
Shik mat
Chak

Proud

Ao^-man

Province

Sheng^

Provisions

Tsung^
La}

Pull

Punish
Purposely
Pursue

Push
Put (down)
Putty

fsS^

eep

Chih* tsui*

Che tsuy

Ku* iUi

Koo ee
Chuy
Tuy

Chui^
T'lii^

Fong ha
Tung yaw fooy

Ko^-hsia

Q
Quail

An^-ch'un

Um chun

Quality

Teng^-tz'u*

Pan

Quarrel

T'ai^ kang*

Seong naou

Quarry

Shih^ t'ang^

Quarter

Ssu* fen^-chih

Quay
Quench

(fire)

Question

Tsuy shek pooy

i^

Sze fun che yat

Hai^ pien

Hoy peen pow taw

Chieh^

Kaw (fo)
Man wa

P wen*

Quicksilver

Shui^ yin^

Quiet

An^-ching

Quince
Quiver

Mu*

kua^

Sa^-tai

Shuy gan
Oan tsing
Muk kwa
Tseen toy

VOCABULARY
English

Pekingese

95

Cantonese

R
Rabbit
Radish

Tu^'rh

Tow

Hsiao^ pai^ lo^-po

Lo pak

Rag

Sui^ p'u^-ch'en

Lan pow

tsei

Rain

Y0

Rainbow

T'ien^ kang^

Teen kong

Raise

Fu^-ch'i-lai

Raisin

P'u^-t'ou kan^'rh

He kuy
Pow tei

Rash
Rat
Razor
Read
Ready
Reason

Ch'ing^-tsao

Mow

Hao^-tzii

Low shu

Rebellion

tsze

mooy

T'i* i'ou^ tao^ 'rh

Tei taw tow

K'an^ shu^

Neem

Hao^-lo

Tsei pe

Li^ yu^

Tow

Tsokfan

Receipt

Tsao^fan^
Shou^ chW^

Shaw

Receive

Shou^

Tseep shaw

Reckon

Suan'^

Recommend
Red
Redeem

T'ui^ chien*

Hung^

Teem show
Kui tseen
Hong

Shu^

Shuk

Reed

Wei^-tzu

Reflect

Low wei
Fan chew

shu

le

tan

Refuse

Fan^ shi^
T'uiUo

Regulation

Kuei^ ts^

Cheong ching

Reject

Chii^ chiieh^

Tuy wan

Relation

Hsiieh^ tsu^

Tsun

Rehgion

Chiao^

Kaou

Remember
Remove
Repay

ChiUi

Ke

No^
Huan^

Poon
Oon gan

ch'ien^

Tsei

tsik

tak

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

)6

English

Pekingese

Cantonese

Repair

Hsiy}

Saw

Repent
Report
Reprove

Hou^

hui^

Tszefooy

Pao* kao^ shu^

Fung man

Ch'ien* tsS^

Chak

Restrain

Chih^chih^

RetaU
Return
Reveng*

Ling^ mat*

Reward
Rhubarb

Pao*-ying
Tai* huang^

Kuy chuk
Ling suy mat mat
Ooy loy
Pow chaw
Sheong kap
Tai wong

Rice

Tao^-tzu

Met

Rich
Ride
Right (hand)
Right (just)
Ring (finger)

Fu* yu^
Ch'P
Yu* shou^

Kay
Yaw shaw

Ring
Ripe

(v.)

Hui^-lai

Ch'ou^

hin*'

Foo kwei

Tui*-lo

Ying koy

Liu^-tzu

Kai

En''

Gow

che

ShouUo

Shuk

Rise

Ch'P-lai

Risk
River

Ho^

He shun
Heem chung
Hoy

Roast

K'as^

Shew

Roll (up)

Kun^

Roof

Fang^

Wei"- hai*

ting*

Kune
Ok pooy

Room

Wu^-tzu

Yat

Roof
Root

FangHin^
KenHzu

Rope

Sheng^-tzu

Kan
Kan
Lam

Rose
Rotten

Mei^-kuei hua^

Mooy

Fu^ pai*-lo
Ma^-cha
Yuan*

Kow muk

Rough
Round

tsow

Hat
Une

tso

law

kwei fa

VOCABULARY
English

Pekingese

Row

Tang* ch'una^

Rub
Run

P'ao^

Cantonese
Chaou sam pon
Cha
Paou

Rust

Hsiu*

Teet

(a boat)

Ts'a^

saw

S
Sacrifice

Chi^-ssu

Tsei shin

Saddle

Afi^-tzu

Ma

P'eng^

Fung pung
Shuy shaw

(n.)

Sail (n.)
.

oan

Sailor

ShuP-shou

Salt

Pai^-yen^

Eem

Same

T'ung^

E kaw

Sand

Sha^-tzu

Sandal

Ts'ao^ kua^-ta 'rh

Sha
Tsaw hat

Sash

Ta^-po

Yew

tai

Satisfied

Hsifi^ tsu^-lo

Eem

tsur

Save

Chm*

Kaw

chi*

Kuy

Saw

Chu*

Say

Shuo^
Hsueh^ hsiao*

School
Scissors

Chien^-tzn

Scrape

Kua^
Chua

Scratch

(v.)
(v.)

Wa
Hok koon
Kaou tseen
Kwat
Sow

Screw

Lo^-ssu ting*-Srh

Lo

Scroll

T'iao^-shan

Kune shu

Scrub
Sea

Shua^-hsi shua^-hsi

Tarn

Hai^

Hoy

sze

Seal

Y0

Second

Ti* Srh*

Tei ee

hsi^

Yin

Secret

ChP-mi

Mat

sze

Secure

Chieh^-shih

Tarn

pow

See

Ch'iao^

Keen

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

)8

English

Pekingese

Seed
Seek

Ta^ tzu^
Chao^

Seize

Pu^ huo*

Seldom

Shao^

Selfish

Tzu^

SeU
Send

Mai^

Fat mai

Sung*

Ke
Fun peet
Kan pan

Separate

(v.)

'rh

kul^ tzii^

Li^-k'ai

Servant

Hsia* jen^

Set

Cantonese
Chung
Tsam

Na wok
Now ke

ho

sum

Sze

P fen*

Yat foo

Settle (v.)

Ting*-kuei

Tsing

Several

Chi^-ko

Show

Sew

Fing^
Yin^ Uang^-'rh

Pow Ltme
Chay yam

(n.)

Shade

Shadow

Ying^-erh

Yeng

Shake

Yao^-huang

Yew hmg

Shallow

Ch'ten^

Tseen

Shape

Hsing^-hsiang

Mow

Share
Shark
Sharp

P fen^-erh
Sha^ yii^
K'uai*

yang
Yat koo
Sha u
Le

Shave
Sheep

Kua^

Tei soo

Sheet

Pei* tan^ 'rh

lien

Yang^

Yaong
Pe tan

Shelf

Tiao* pan^-erh

Kak

SheU

K'o^-erh

Shew

Kei^-ch'iao^

Hoak
Pe

Ship

Ch'uan^

Shune

Shirt

Han* shan^

Shoe

Hsieh^

Shop

P'uUzu

Short

Tuan^

Hoan sham
Hai
Yaong fo pow
Tune

tei

VOCABULARY
English

Pekingese

Shoulder

Chien^ pang^-erh

99

Cantonese
Pok taw
Tuy
Shan

Shove

Tui^

Shut

Kuari^

Sick

Ping*-lo

Yaw peng

Side

Pien^

Peen

Silk

Ssu^

Sze

Silver

Yin^
Ch'ang*

Gan

Ch'en^ hsia-ch'U

Cham

Sister

Chieh^-chieh

Sit (V.)

Tso*

Tso

Skin

P'i^

Pe

Sky

T'ien^

Tsong teen

Slave

Nu^-ts'ai

Now

Sleep

Shui^

Sleeve

Hsiu^-tzu

Fun
Sham

Slip

Shih}

Shat keok

Sing

Sink

(v.)

ts'o^

Cheong
tsay

tsaw

Che man

Slow

Man*

Small

Hsiao^

Sew

Smell

Win^-i-wen

Man

Smoke
Smooth

Yen^
P'ing^ mien* 'rh

Een
Wat

Snail

Shui^ niu^-erh

Wo gaw

Snake

Ch'ang^-ch'ung

Snatch

To^-kuo-na

tsuy

lat

Ta^ hu^

Shay
Pat huy
Pun pe
Sut
Chay pe hoan^

Soap

P-tzu

Kan

Soft

Juan^

Une

Soldier

Ping^-ting

Ping

Solemn

HSn^ chSng*-chung

Wei

Sneeze

Ta^

Snow

Hsiieh^

Snore

t'i*-p'en

sha
ting
ee

eem suk

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

100

English

Pekingese

Cantonese

Some

Hsieh}-ko

Ke

Son
Soon

ErhUzu
K'uai^

Ee tsze
At peen
Yaong
Ling wan

Sort

Yang^-tzU

Soul

Ling^ hun

Sound
Soup

Sheng^-yin

Yam

T'ang^

Sour
South
Speak
Spend

Suan^

Tong
Sune

Nan^

Nam

Spider

Chu^-chu

Che

Spit

Ts'ui* t'u^-mo

Spoil

Nung^

Sponge
Spoon
Spot
Square
Squeeze

HaP mo^-tzU

Tow gaw shuy

Wai
Shuy pow
Kang

Shuo^

Kong

Fei*

Shei tseen

huai^-lo

Ch'ih^-tzU

dm

Yin tsik
Fang
Lak sok
Sung shu

tien^

Fang^-ti

Chi^

Squirrel

Hui^ shu^

Stable
Stain

Ma^
Wu^

Stand

Chan^ chu*

Ke

Star

Hsing^-hsing

Sing

Startle (v.)

Hsia*

Ta keng

Steal

T'ou^

Taw

Steel

Kang^

Kong

Step

(n.)

Sting

hao^

Ma

fong

tien^

Yin

tsik

sMh^

seet

K'u^ t'ung*

Yat kap
Teng

Chieh}- chiao^

Stocking

Wa^-tzu

Mat

Stone

Shih^-t'ou

Shek

Stop

Chan*-chu-pa

Tang ha

VOCABULARY
English
Storm

Cantonese
Fung u tai tsok

Pekingese

Straight

Pao^feng^
Chih^

Straw

Kan^

Chik
Seen

ts'ao*

Kai
Ta

Chieh^

Street

Strike

(v.)

J
101

Ta^

Seen

String

Shing^-tzu

Strong

Yu^

Suck (v.)
Suddenly
Sugar

Tsai

Leng^-ku
T'ang^

Tong

Summer

Hsia*-t'ien

Ha

Sun

T'ai^-yang

Yat taw

Supper
Support
Surround
Swear (v.)

Wan^fan*
Pu^ chu*

Man

Sweep
Sword
Syrup

(v.)

Yaw

chin*' 'rh

lik

Chuet

Wat

ting^-ti

T'ang^-shui

teen

tsan

Foo che

Chaw

Wei^-chu

Shuo^ ma* hua*

Sao^
Tao^

een

'rh

wet

Fat shei

Sow
Keen
Tong shuy

T
Table

Cho^-tzu

Toy

Tail

P-pa

Me

Ts'ai^-feng

Tsoy fung

Pa*

Shaw huy

Tall

Kao"^

Kow

Taste

Ch'ang^-i-ch'ang

Me tow

Tax
Tea

Na*

Tseen leong

Ch'a^

Cha

Teach
Teacup
Teapot

Chiao^

Kaou

Ch'a^ wan'*

Cha Chung
Cha 00

Tailor

Take

(v.)

shut

Ch'a^ hu^

tai

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

102

English

Pekingese

Cantonese

Tear

Ssu"-

Tell

Kao*-ssii

Mak
Kow

Thank

Hsieh^

Tsay

(v.)

leet

so

Thick

Hou*

Haw

Thief

Tsei^

Thigh
Thin
Thing
Think

Ta^ t'ui^
Pao^

Tsak
Tai pe

Pok

Tung^-hsi

Mat

Hsiang^

Sze seong

Thirsty

K'o^-lo

Hoat

Thread
Throat

Hsien*

Seen

Sang^-tzu

Haw

Throw

Jeng^

Pek

Thumb
Thunder

Ta^-mu chih^-t'ou
Ta^ lei^

Shaw
Luy

Tide

Ch'ao^

Tie

Chieh^

keen

lung
che kung

Tiger

Lao^-hu

Time

Shih^-hou'rh

Shuy tai
Pong kan
Foo
She how

Tin
Tired
Tobacco

Ma^

Sek

Lei^-lo

Kwan

Yen^

Toe

Chiao^ chih^ t'ou

Een
Keok

Tomb

FSn^

Fun mow

To-morrow
Tongue
Tooth

Ming^-t'ien
She^-t'ou

Ting yai
Le taw

Ya2

Ga

Top

Tou^

Ting

Tortoise

Kuei}

(v.)

k'ou^ t'ieh^

X'i2

Kwei
Teem

Town

Ch'ing^

Sheng

Trade

Shang^

Touch

(v.)

yeh*'

kune
che

cheok

Tsow shang

ee

VOCABULARY
Cantonese.

Pekingese.

English.

103

Chin*' tung^

Fan yik
Shu
Ta chun

Trouble

Fin^

Kan

Trousers

K'u^-izu

Yat tew foo

True
Try (V.)
Tube
Turn (v.)

Chen^

Chan

Shih'^-i-sMh

She yat she

Kuan^-tzu

Koon

Chuan^

Chune
Leong ooy
Naw mat

Translate

T'ung^

Tree

Shu''

Tremble

(v.)

Twice
Twist

i^

i*

Liang^

tz'ii*

Ning^

(v.)

foo

U
Ugly
Umbrella
Uncle

Chaw

San^

U chay
A pak
Ha tel

Ta^-yeh

Under
Understand
United

Ch'ou^

Hsia^
(v.)

Ooy

Tung^-ti

T'ung^

shing^

V-

Lap mat

ch'i*

Upon

Shang*-t'ou

Upright

Chih^

Upside down

Fan^ hsiang^

Urn

Tieh^

Tsoy sheong meen

Chik lap
Teen tow

Yung*'

Tap
Yung

Utensil

Tung^-hsi

Kafo

Valley

Shan^ ku^
Kuei* chung*

Use

(v.)

check

V
Value
Vase
Veal

Shan kuk
ti^

Hsiao^ niu^

Chik

Peng

P'ing^
'rh

joW* Gaw

tsei

COLLOQUIAL CHINESE

104

English
Verandah
Very

Ch'uan^-lang

Victory

Sheng*

Village

Ts'un^-chuang-rh

Vinegar

Ts'u*

Virtue

T^

Pekingese
Hen^

Cantonese
Teen toy
Shat shaw
Shing
Heong ha

Tsow
Tar hang
Pai hak

Visit (v.)

Fai'^

Voice

Sheng^-yin

Sheng he

Ou^

Aw

Vonxit

(v.)

t'u^

Hang^

Voyage

Yat shuy
Tsok

hai^

Vulgar

W
Wages

Kung^-ch'ien

Waistcoat

K'an^ chien^

Kung
'rh

tseen

Pooy sum
Tang ha

Wait

Teng^

Wake

Hsing^-lo

Seng

Walk

Tsou^

Tsaw low

Ch'iang^

Tseong

Yao*
Chan* chSng^
Nu'an^-ho

Yew
Ta cheong
Nunc

Hsi^

Set

Piao^

Pew

Water

Shui^

Shuy

Way
Wax

Tao*-Srh

La*

Weak

Juan^

Weary

LeiUo

Low
Lap
Yok
Kune

Wall

Want
War

(v.)

Warm
Wash
Watch

(n.)

Weather

Ch'i* hou*

Weep

K'u^

Teen he
Tik chut gan luy
lok loy

VOCABULARY
English
Weigh
West

Pekingese
Yao^-i-yao^

106

Cantonese
Ching
Set

Hsi"^

Wet
What?
Wheat

Shih^-lo

Shap

Shen^-mo

Mat yay

Mai^-tzU

Mak

Wheel

Lun^-tzi*

When

To^-tsan

Lun
Ke she

Where
Which
White

Na^-'rh

Na^-ko
Pai^

Peen chu
Peen ko
Par shik

Who

Shui^

Shuy

Whole

Ch'iian^

Yat tsung

Why

Ho^ ku*

Wei ho

Widow

Kiid^-ju

Kwa foo

Wife

Fu* jen

Tsei tsze

Win

Sheng'

Wmd
Wine

Feng^
Ch'uang^-hu
Chiu^

Winter

Tung^-t'ien

Wipe
Wish
With

Ts'a}

Hsin^ yiian*

Seong tak

Ken^

Kung

Without (not

Mei^-yu

Mow

Wolf

Lang^

Shai long

Woman

Nw^-jin

Wool

Yang^ mao

Nuy yun
Yaong mow

Wood
Work

Mu^-t'ou

Muk

Huo^

Kung foo

World

Ti^ ch'iu^

Worm

Ch'ung^-tzii

Teen ha
Wong hune

Window

li*

Yeng

Fung
Cheong moon

Tsaw
Tung
Moot

teen

having

106

English

Pekingese

Cantones]

Wrap

Pao^-ch' i-lai

Chat chu

Shou^ wan*-tzu
Hsieh^

Say

Wrong

Ts'oUo

Yaw

Year
Yellow
Yes
Yesterday
Yet

Nien-

Jan^-irh

Young
Your

Nien^ ch'ing^

Hei
Tsok yat
Tsang
Shew neen

NiUi

Ne-te

<v.)

Wrist

Write

(v.)

Ak
tso

Y
Huang^
ShihUi
Tso^-t'ien

Neen

Wong

shik

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