I have finally, FINALLY finished reading the first chapter of a BL book. All my efforts in translating the literary giants of China is preparing me well to read the government banned BL.
I started on March 27, 2021 so it took me a total of 4 weeks and 2 days.
Below are 7 vocabulary words I felt worth noting:
1. 中肯 zhòngkěn pertinent; apropos; unbiased
中 zhòng to hit (the mark); to be hit by; to suffer; to win (a prize, a lottery)
肯 kěn to agree; to consent; to be ready (to do something); willing
2. 尴尬 gāngà awkward; embarrassed
尴 gān embarrassed; ill at ease
3. 辛苦 xīnkǔ hard; exhausting; with much toil; thanks for your trouble
辛 xīn (of taste) hot or pungent; hard; laborious; suffering; eighth in order; eighth of
the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干; letter "H" or roman "VIII" in list "A, B, C", or "I, II, III",
etc.; ancient Chinese compass point: 285°; octa; (Chinese surname)
苦 kǔ bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly
4. 好歹 hǎodǎi in any case good and bad; most unfortunate occurrence; in any case;
whatever
好 hǎo good; well; proper; good to; easy to; very; so; (suffix indicating completion or
readiness); (of two people) close; on intimate terms
歹 dǎi bad; wicked; evil
5. 打量 dǎliang to size somebody up; to look somebody up and down; to take the measure
of; to suppose; to reckon
打 dǎ to beat; to strike; to hit; to break; to type; to mix up; to build; to fight; to fetch;
to make; to tie up; to issue; to shoot; to calculate; to play (a game); since; from
量 liàng capacity; quantity; amount; to estimate; abbr. for 量词, classifier (in
Chinese grammar); measure word
6. 犹豫 yóuyù to hesitate
犹 yóu as if; (just) like; just as; still; yet
豫 yù happy; carefree; at one's ease; variant of 預; old variant of 與; abbr. for Henan
province 河南 in central China
7. 副驾 fùjià passenger's seat
副 fù secondary; auxiliary; deputy; assistant; vice-; abbr. for 副词 adverb; measure
word for pairs, sets of things & facial expressions
驾 jià to harness; to draw (a cart etc); to drive; to pilot; to sail; to ride; your good self;
prefixed word denoting respect (polite 敬辞); (Chinese surname)
Below are 7 idioms that I think are useful to know:
1. 行云流水 xíng yún liúshuǐ lit. moving clouds and flowing water (idiom); fig. very natural and flowing style of calligraphy, writing, etc.; natural and unforced
2. 一本正经 yī běn zhèngjīng in deadly earnest; deadpan
3. 不依不饶 bùyī bù ráo not to overlook, nor spare (idiom); unwilling to forgive; to treat
severely without listening to excuses
4. 身无分文 shēn wú fēnwén penniless (idiom)
5. 自学成材 zìxué chéngcái self-study
自学 zìxué self-study; to study on one's own
成材 chéngcái to make something of oneself; to become a person who is worthy of
respect; (of a tree) to grow to full size; to become useful for timber
6. 不相上下 bù xiāng shàngxià equally matched; about the same
7. 凝神聚气 〔not a real idiom, but a nice turn of phrase by 巫哲〕complete
concentration; singular focus
凝神 níngshén with rapt attention
凝 níng to congeal; to concentrate attention; to stare
神 shén deity; soul; spirit; unusual; mysterious; lively; expressive; expression; look
(slang) awesome; amazing; God; abbr. for 神舟
聚 jù to congregate; to assemble; to mass; to gather together; to amass; to
polymerize
气 qì gas; air; smell; weather; to make angry; to annoy; to get angry; vital energy; qi
Lastly, a somewhat philosophical sentence that I enjoyed:
程恪的烟瘾并不大，但人就是这么奇怪，烟和打火机都在手边，他兴许一天也不见得碰一次，可一旦自己想抽的时候抽不成，就跟犯了什么病似的不能忍。
Chéng kè de yānyǐn bìng bù dà, dàn rén jiùshì zhème qíguài, yān hé dǎhuǒjī dōu zài shǒubiān, tā xīngxǔ yītiān yě bùjiàn dé pèng yīcì, kè yīdàn zìjǐ xiǎng chōu de shíhòu chōu bùchéng, jiù gēn fànle shénme bìng shì de bùnéng rěn.
Chéng Kè isn't really a big smoker, but human beings are just so peculiar. When cigarettes and lighter are on hand, he's not likely to touch it once during the day. However if he wants to smoke and cannot, as if seized by a fit of madness, the craving becomes unendurable.
Translator: 鸑岚朠 Yuè LánYīng
Editor: 源于饥饿
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