Our teacher’s favourite Chinese characters

Today is United Nation’s Chinese Language Day (联合国中文日Liánhéguó zhōngwén rì). It’s set up in 2010 by UNESCO, to celebrate one of the six official working languages of the United Nations. It’s for Chinese as a whole: Mandarin, Cantonese, or any of its hundreds of varieties.

Picking a day is arbitrary, but it does provide a good annual reminder to celebrate language and cultural diversity around this language that is spoken by so many people around the world.

So let’s also celebrate it in our way by looking at our favourite characters & idioms

Maria (毛瑞Máo Ruì)

My favourite Chinese character:
明Míng (sight/brightness/understand) — because it always gives us hope.

My favourite Chinese idiom:
随遇而安suí yù ér ān (go with the flow) — a relaxed attitude, to let us enjoy life more.

 

Lynn (季玲 Jì Líng)

My favourite Chinese character:
馨 xīn (strong & pervasive fragrance) — because it means a far-flung aroma, warm, like a delicate fragrance (清馨).

My favourite Chinese idiom:
阳春白雪Yángchūnbáixuě (art & literature) — because for me, this word not only expresses literature and art, but also makes a picture of winter white snow and plum blossoms appear in my mind.

 

Sophia (孙鹏 Sūn péng)

My favourite Chinese character:
一 Yī (One) — because it’s the simplest Chinese character but it has so many meanings.

My favourite Chinese idiom:
如约而至rú yuē ér zhì (to arrive as planned/right on schedule) — I hope all the good things come as planned.

 

Selena (励雅静 Lì Yǎjìng)

My favourite Chinese character:
無Wú (None) — Because the strokes are regular and full, and the horizontal and vertical are scattered. The traditional Chinese character “wu” means no. In philosophy, the relationship between “nothing” and “being” is like “yin” and “yang”. They are opposites but always depend on each other, and can be converted into each other under different circumstances. The dialectical thought is particularly interesting.

My favourite Chinese idiom:
天无绝人之路 (There is always a way out) — because no matter how bad the situation is, you must have faith in your heart, and you should not give up any hope.

 

Emily (王蓉 Wang Rong)

My favourite Chinese character:
笑 xiào (Smile) — because it looks like someone is so happy that the eyes become bigger and brighter!

My favourite Chinese idiom:
山不让尘，川不辞盈 Shān bù ràng chén, chuān bù cí yíng (The mountain does not reject every speck of dust, and it accumulates over time, so it can achieve its height. The river gladly accepts every drop of water, and it lasts for a long time) — because this is how mountains and rivers can keep going for such long times.

 

Chloe (高先 Gāoxiān)

My favourite Chinese character:
美Měi (Nice, pretty) — Because the origin of this word is “the sheep are very beautiful”. In ancient times, the plumpest sheep would be selected and given to God as the most precious gift. From the word “sheep”, there are Chinese characters such as “good”, which are related to beauty and kindness. It doesn’t matter if you are smart, you can master the skills with repeated practice.

My favourite Chinese idiom:
熟能生巧Shúnéngshēngqiǎo (Practice makes perfect)  — Because it doesn’t matter if you are smart, you can master the skills with repeated practice. The idiom “practice makes perfect” gives me information and methods to do things, as long as I practice repeatedly, I can do great!

 

Bella (金所静 Jīn Suǒjìng)

My favourite Chinese character:
水Shuǐ (Water)

My favourite Chinese idiom:
知足常乐zhī zú cháng lè (contentment brings happiness) — Because I think happiness is the most important thing in life, but we are often unhappy because we want too many things, so it may be easier to be happy if we are easy to satisfy.

 

Ivy (杨柳青Yángliǔqīng)

My favourite Chinese character:
一 Yī (One) — Because “一生二，二生三，三生万物” (One begets Two (yin and yang), Two begets Three (Heaven, Earth and Man), Three begets all things.)

My favourite Chinese idiom:
既往不咎jì wǎng bù jiù (Let go of the past)  — Because I like to look forward to everything.

 

Vinny (王维Wáng wéi)

My favourite Chinese character:
羽Yǔ (feather) — It looks as light as a feather.

My favourite Chinese idiom:
破镜重圆Pòjìngchóngyuán (a shattered mirror put back together, meaning to pick up the pieces and start anew; for a separated couple to reconcile and reunite) — This idiom comes from a story: in the last years of the Southern Dynasty, Princess Chen Guolechang and her husband Xu Deyan were forced to separate at a time of crisis, but they each took half of the bronze mirrors and agreed that there would be a day of reunion in the future, and finally reunited. Very romantic story.

 

Cherry (程睿Chéng Ruì)

My favourite Chinese character:
I don’t have a particular one I like, only some I really like!

My favourite Chinese idiom:
说到做到 Shuō dào zuò dào (no sooner said than done) — Because I like people with this type of character.

 

Qiao qiao (信乔乔Xìn Qiáo Qiáo)

My favourite Chinese character:
信Xìn (Letter) — The word “信” is a very frequently used word in the Warring States Period. During the Warring States Period, the word “xin” was widely used in people’s names and names of emperors.

My favourite Chinese idiom:
事缓则圆Shì huǎn zé yuán (Take easy and get a good resolution)  — It means that you should not rush things, but try to deal with them slowly, so that you can get a satisfactory solution. This idiom has always guided the way I behave.

 

Clytie (袁家晟 Yuán Jiāshèng)

My favourite Chinese character:
花Huā (Flower)

My favourite Chinese idiom:
水滴石穿Shuǐdīshíchuān (Dripping water penetrates the stone / constant effort brings success) — No special reason, these are the first that come to mind!

 

Ruoran (白若然 Bái Ruòrán)

My favourite Chinese character:
一Yī (One) — Because even though this is the simplest Chinese character, you can form many more complex Chinese characters with it, which can lead to more complex, diverse and rich content. This is just like in our life, everything is from simple to deep, from easy to difficult. Be down-to-earth, do it bit by bit, do it step by step, and do not rush for quick success.

My favourite Chinese idiom:
冷暖自知 Lěngnuǎn zì zhī (Know whether it is cold or warm by oneself) — There is no single answer in life. Everyone has their own way of life and their own different understanding of life. Only by experiencing it can we have the most real life.