Things learned in November/December
I started out quite well in November and then... everything stopped and I even forgot to make a post at the end of the month. Oops.
So here are the 13 things I wrote down in November and December.
November
01 Chinese: paper things are burned and thereby gifted to the deceased. There are shops that sell everything from paper money to paper Ferraris - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhiza
02 Engineering: There is such a thing as a clock-shaped traffic light (German name: "Heuer-Ampel") - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic-light_signalling_and_operation#Clock-type_traffic_lights
03 Chinese: 合体字 (hétǐzì) are "celebratory characters" combined from other characters into one pleasing shape (but retaining their previous pronounciation) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_characters#Polysyllabic_characters
04 Chinese idiom: 吹灯拔蜡 (chuīdēng bálà) literally: "turn off the lights and blow out the candles" - "bite the dust", "over and done with"
05 German: a Schwibbogen (same word in English and German) is an ornamental candle holder in the form of an arc (German "Bogen") - the "schwib" seems to be an old form of "schweben" (to float, to hover) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwibbogen
06 Chinese: Chinese has five standard styles of writing, two of which are cursive: 行书 (Xíngshū) "semi-cursive, running script" - and 草書 (Cǎoshū) "cursive, grass script, sloppy script" - my fave kind :) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_script_styles
07 Medicine: trypophobia is a fear/disgust reaction to seeing a pattern of small holes - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trypophobia
08 Chinese: idiom 驴唇不对马嘴 (Lǘ chún bùduì mǎ zuǐ) literally: "a donkey's lips don't fit a horse's mouth" - "incongruously"
12 Chinese: idiom 多了去了 (duole qùle) - literally "many more" - "aplenty, millions" - I love this one for its very simple characters. :D
23 Chinese idiom 蝇营狗苟 (yíngyínggǒugǒu) - I love this one because it sounds like the characters should be the same, but they're not - "swarming like flies or begging like dogs"
December
23 Greek: a "periplus" is a kind of naval itinerary, listing ports on a route and their distances - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periplus
They apparently renamed the Chinese entertainment show from Youth Travel to Youth Periplous, this is how I know this. Why they did...? Nobody knows! It's barely watchable anymore anyway.
26 Chinese: via
nnozomi: "May the Force be with you" = 愿力量与你同在 (yuàn lìliàng yǔ nǐ tóng zài).
I think I'll take a break from these posts for a bit now. I still need to recharge a bit more. I still find joy in learning new things, but writing them down feels like a chore. I'll start again when it feels right.
x-posted from dw (comments:
)
So here are the 13 things I wrote down in November and December.
November
01 Chinese: paper things are burned and thereby gifted to the deceased. There are shops that sell everything from paper money to paper Ferraris - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhiza
02 Engineering: There is such a thing as a clock-shaped traffic light (German name: "Heuer-Ampel") - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic-light_signalling_and_operation#Clock-type_traffic_lights
03 Chinese: 合体字 (hétǐzì) are "celebratory characters" combined from other characters into one pleasing shape (but retaining their previous pronounciation) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_characters#Polysyllabic_characters
04 Chinese idiom: 吹灯拔蜡 (chuīdēng bálà) literally: "turn off the lights and blow out the candles" - "bite the dust", "over and done with"
05 German: a Schwibbogen (same word in English and German) is an ornamental candle holder in the form of an arc (German "Bogen") - the "schwib" seems to be an old form of "schweben" (to float, to hover) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwibbogen
06 Chinese: Chinese has five standard styles of writing, two of which are cursive: 行书 (Xíngshū) "semi-cursive, running script" - and 草書 (Cǎoshū) "cursive, grass script, sloppy script" - my fave kind :) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_script_styles
07 Medicine: trypophobia is a fear/disgust reaction to seeing a pattern of small holes - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trypophobia
08 Chinese: idiom 驴唇不对马嘴 (Lǘ chún bùduì mǎ zuǐ) literally: "a donkey's lips don't fit a horse's mouth" - "incongruously"
12 Chinese: idiom 多了去了 (duole qùle) - literally "many more" - "aplenty, millions" - I love this one for its very simple characters. :D
23 Chinese idiom 蝇营狗苟 (yíngyínggǒugǒu) - I love this one because it sounds like the characters should be the same, but they're not - "swarming like flies or begging like dogs"
December
23 Greek: a "periplus" is a kind of naval itinerary, listing ports on a route and their distances - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periplus
They apparently renamed the Chinese entertainment show from Youth Travel to Youth Periplous, this is how I know this. Why they did...? Nobody knows! It's barely watchable anymore anyway.
26 Chinese: via
nnozomi: "May the Force be with you" = 愿力量与你同在 (yuàn lìliàng yǔ nǐ tóng zài).
I think I'll take a break from these posts for a bit now. I still need to recharge a bit more. I still find joy in learning new things, but writing them down feels like a chore. I'll start again when it feels right.
x-posted from dw (comments:
)