Investing in Chinese

Money is important. Investing is easily learned in Chinese.

信用卡 -- credit card

利息 -- interest rate

節省 -- to be frugal [by saving in some way]

到期 -- expire

滿期 -- expire

股票 -- stock

股市 -- stock market

股份 -- stock shares

股息 -- dividend

共同基金 -- mutual fund
房地產 -- real estate
投資 -- invest
風險 -- risk
賺 -- earn a profit
賠 -- take a loss

上市公司 -- public company

信用卡快要到期的時候銀行會寄給你新的。

[Your bank will send you a new credit card right as the old one is about to expire].

如果你的銀行想要改你的利息他們隨時都可以。

[If the bank wants to change your interest rates, they can do it anytime].

我買股票，股市大跌。我賣股票，股市大漲。

[When I buy stocks, the market tanks. When I sell, the market skyrockets].

我不要在房地產上投資，我要買房子。
[I don't want to invest in real estate, I want to buy a house!].

上市公司股票的風險比沒有上市的小。
[A public company's stock is less risky than a private company's].

聰明的投資者平常賺錢。快買就賣常常賠錢。
[Smart investors usually make money.  Quickly buying and selling often loses money].

Strengths and Weaknesses -- 優點 缺點

優點 -- strengths, strong points

缺點 -- weaknesses, weak points

雖然我先生的缺點很多，他跟我家人處得不錯。

[Even though my husband is a good for nothing, he still gets along with my family].

你有時候洗馬桶是優點。每天洗三次馬桶是缺點。

[Cleaning your toilet once in a while is a plus.  Cleaning it three times a day is not].

孤單一人快樂，缺點無所謂。

[All alone and still happy, one's faults no longer matter].

Complements on getting Married

Verb compliments are the key to idiomatic Chinese actions.

娶 -- [male] to marry

嫁 -- [female] to marry

一輩子都嫁不出來。

[You'll never find yourself a husband].

我娶不起講究排場的女人。

[I can't afford to marry a woman who cares about her social standing].

喜宴的菜這麼多，連世界最餓的人都吃不了。

[There's so much food at the wedding banquet that even the hungriest person on earth couldn't finish it all].

我結婚只有三天可是已經受不了了。

[I've only been married for three days and I already can't stand it].

我太太不願意戴眼鏡，看不見烹飪書的食譜。

[My wife is not willing to wear glasses, so she can't read any of the recipes in the cookbook].

夫婦吵架的時候想不開。

[Married couples don't think things through when they're fighting].

他把情婦的肚子又弄大了。

[He got her mistress pregnant again].

Change? Which Change?

The verb to change in English is broad in its use. Chinese has more specific words.

改 -- To change [modify or correct]

改變 -- To change [modify]

變 -- To change [to become ...]

變成 -- To change in to [transformational]

換 -- To change [replacement], exchange

修 -- To fix [something broken]

你的數學作業完全不對！叫哥哥幫你改。

[Your math homework is completely wrong! Get your brother to help you].

中國女人結婚的時候改不改名字？

[Do Chinese women change their name after marrying?].

美國要中國改人民幣的匯率。

[The United States wants China to change the Yuan's exchange rate].

公司給員工免費的菜，後來有的人變胖了。

[Some people became fat when the company started giving its workers free food].

我要換工作，也許變成工程師。

[I want to change jobs and maybe become an engineer].

為了讓青蛙變成王子，公主需要吻它。

[In order to turn the frog in to a prince, the princess needs to give it a kiss].

去外面玩以前，應該先換衣服。

[You ought to change your clothes before going outside to play].

中國銀行可以給你換外幣拿人民幣。

[The Bank of China will exchange foreign currency for Chinese Yuan].

換一個說法。。。

[To say it another way, ...].

我不知道怎麼修自行車的輪胎。

[I don't know how to fix a bicycle tire].

政府准許你改名字。小偷常常換他的身分。

[The government will let you change your name. A thief often changes his identify].

上海改變了很多。

[Shanghai has changed a lot].

我改變我的想法了。

[I don't think about it the same anymore].

你要改一改你的壞習慣。

[You have to fix your bad habits].

他的問題變成我的問題了。

[His problem is now my problem].

Get online -- 下載新的生詞

Getting online is easy in Chinese.

下載 -- download [internet files]
上載 -- upload [internet files]
上網 -- get on the internet [go online]
網站 -- website


我回家就上網看世界日報。
[The first thing I do when I get home is go online and read the World Journal].

這個網站看不到，怎麼辦？
[This web site won't load. Is there anything I can do about it?].

我可以下載多快？那要看你付給電話公司多少錢。
[How fast can I download? That depends on how much you pay the phone company].

Working at work -- 公司生活

Some simple words for the workplace.

老闆 -- boss
經理 -- manager
手下人 -- subordinates
同事 -- co-worker
薪水 -- salary

經理不在的時候只好讓顧客當我的老闆。
[When my manager is not around, the customer is my boss].

這三天以來我的同事不知不覺地晚一個小時上班。
[For the last three days my co-worker has unknowingly arrived an hour late].

老闆的薪水當然比手下人的多很多。
[The manager's salary is without question more than his subordinates'].

上班無聊。下班很累。生活有意思嗎？
[Bored at work, tired at home, what's the point of living?].

Meeting for Meetings

To meet with someone as a social visit is different from meeting someone to discuss business.

會議 -- [office] meeting
開會 -- attend a meeting
參加 -- attend [a gathering]
出席 -- attend [seated in attendance]
見面 -- meet [see someone]
遇到 -- meet [run in to someone]


我每個星期應該參加全公司會，可是常常跟朋友見面去看電影。
[I should go to the weekly company meeting, but I usually meet up with friends and see a movie instead].

你今天開幾個會？
[How many meetings do you have to go to today?].

每個會議以後頭髮越來越白。
[I think I have more gray hair after every meeting I attend].