Daimashin

刻舟求劍 (Kèzhōuqiújiàn) - Foolish or stupid. 刻舟 (Kèzhōu) - Carve or mark boat, 求劍 (qiújiàn) - Seeking sword Once upon a time there was a man who came across a woodsman while walking. The man saw the woodsman took out a piece of cloth and tied it to the tree he was chopping. The man asked the woodsman as to the reason the woodsman did that. The woodsman told the man that it's used to mark the tree so that he can come back later and hack at the same spot. Later that day the same man was riding a boat, while standing the boat rocked and his sword fell into the river. The boatman said, "The current is very strong here and the river is deep. How are you supposed to get back your sword?" The man then answered, "Not to worry, I have just the plan." The man took out something and marked a cross on the boat and asked the boatman to carry on. After the boat arrived at the pier, the man started to look for his sword. "The river is much more shallow, I should be able to find my sword here based on the spot that I marked." He jumped into the river but failed to find his sword. The boatman then laughed and said, "Your sword fell at the center of the river, not here. How can you expect to find your sword at a completely different place!" 刻舟求劍 (Kèzhōuqiújiàn) is used to mock someone that is foolish and does silly things. Example: "什麼， 你在外面丟了錢包在這裡找？你這樣就是「刻舟求劍」， 笨蛋!"

China alone has over one billion citizens and they all speak Chinese and that's excluding the other Chinese people around the world so it's safe to say that Chinese is the most spoken language. Furthermore, not only Chinese speak Chinese but some other races speak them too so the numbers are really huge. English isn't the most spoken, it's the most recognised language.

I too use Pinyin when I type on my computers and phones because I find it more convenient than typing by strokes. I think strokes take too much time and sometimes I would get it wrong. Just use Pinyin and select the word I want is a lot faster for me.

English is degrading these days and it's very prevalent in cyber space. If no one bothers to comment or correct a mistake, what will happen to this world? If we don't point out the mistake, how are people supposed to improve their grammar? I point out mistakes isn't because I want to insult said person but I want them to correct their mistakes so they don't repeat them.

掩耳盜鈴 (Yǎn'ěrdàolíng) - To deceive yourself. 掩耳 (Yǎn'ěr) - Cover the ears, 盜鈴 (dàolíng) - Steal the bell. Once upon a time there was an empty house with a giant bell at the front yard. One day, a man passed by and found the bell beautiful so he decided to steal it. He tried to carry it home but to no avail due to its size and weight so he came up with a plan; to knock it apart and reassemble it upon returning home. He took a giant hammer and knocked on the bell. The bell emitted a huge sound and the man's reflex was to cover his ears. Covering his ears, he didn't hear any sound so he thought that since he didn't hear anything by covering his ears, everyone else wouldn't hear it too. He covered his ears and smashed the bell three times causing it to break. While he was picking up the pieces, he wasn't aware that everyone was already standing behind him. He got the shock of his life when he turned his back and saw all those people witnessing his actions. That man was arrested for attempted burglary. 掩耳盜鈴 (Yǎn'ěrdàolíng) is used to describe someone that lies to himself. Example: "你以為你什麼都不理， 問題就會解決嗎？你這樣是「掩耳盜鈴」自己騙自己,你知道嗎?"

I'm an impatient person in real life so I prefer short, and straight to the point writing. But when I write I like to elaborate and be descriptive.

I got Spanish first and Japanese second but I never thought about learning Spanish at all. Not exactly useful to me since no one speaks Spanish where I live.

It's pretty simple to remember for me. All I have to know is that there is only one use for "it's" and that is as a contraction of "it is."

魚目混珠 (Yúmùhùnzhū) - To pass off a fake as genuine 魚目 (Yúmù) - Fish eye, 混珠 (hùnzhū) - As Pearl Once upon a time there was a man, 满愿 (Mǎn yuàn) who owned a humongous pearl. He was a stingy person where when his friends came over to take a look he refused. One of his friends got angry and decided to look for another pearl that is larger. A swindler came to know about this and decided to use a giant fish eye, painted it white and sold it to Mǎn yuàn's friend. The friend having thought that he has found a pearl larger than Mǎn yuàn's decided to show it off but unfortunately suffered from stroke on the day of the exhibition. Among his friends were a doctor that said that in order to cure Mǎn yuàn's friend, he'll need to eat a prescription cooked with a pearl. So Mǎn yuàn took the fake pearl that his friend bought and mixed it into the medicine. Mǎn yuàn was shocked to find that the paint on the pearl had come off thus found out that the pearl was indeed a fish eye. 魚目混珠 (Yúmùhùnzhū) is used to describe when something fake is passed off as the real deal. Example: "你有沒有搞錯， 這個DVD明明就是翻版， 你居然「魚目混珠」當正版來賣!"

After so many years living together, we have learnt to understand simple terms from each other. For example: everyone knows the Malay language and can speak it to a certain extent even though some of us have never studied the language before. Malay people can understand simple Chinese words and so on.

I find it weird that speaking a different language can affect how much money I make. It never occured to me that I'll be spending more just because I speak English according to the quoted text. I just can't find a relation between language and saving money.

When writing contents especially online, it's always better to be simple and straightforward. Majority of online readers don't have long attention span, they tend to skim through articles quickly so articles should be easy to read and understand. Complicated words will only make a reader bored. Writing fictional contents however require a certain extent of big and flowery words for descriptive purposes, it's literature so you have to be artistic.

嗟來之食 (Jiēláizhīshí) - Insulting Help 嗟來 (Jiēlái) - Handout, 之食 (zhīshí) - Food Once upon a time there lived a rich man that yearned to be famous. One day, he heard the news that a famine broke out at a nearby village. The rich man thought that his opportunity has arrived, he would hand out food to the villagers in return they will thank him. So he set out and gave free food to the villagers in hope that he could be famous. All the villagers rushed in to be handed food except for one man. The rich man called the villager to come and get his food but the villager refused citing, "I'm not a beggar, I'll not except insincere help. You're not doing this for charity, you're only doing this for yourself. I'll never take this insult." In the end, the vlllager died of starvation. 嗟來之食 (Jiēláizhīshí) is used to describe when someone gives an assistance that is not sincere or outright insulting. Example: "你不必假裝了， 這種「嗟來之食」我是不會接受的!"

It took me three years to finish my course but I still don't consider myself to have mastered the language. I believe that I'm still learning because knowing the language is one thing, mastering it is another.

I live in a multiracial country that consists of three major ethnics Malay, Chinese, and Indian with smaller groups like English, American, Vietnamese, Thai, and etc. So our country speaks more than a dozen languages with different accents.

Babelfish is what I used before I switched to Google. From my experience from before, Babelfish is quite accurate when translating Chinese and Japanese. I can't say how it compares to Google since it's been so long since I've used Babelfish I thought it's no longer available.

心勞日拙 (Xīn láo rì zhuō) - Make matters worse by lying. 心勞 (Xīn láo) - Think hard, 日拙 (rì zhuō) - Gets worse by the day Once upon a time there was a father and son, they were once rich people but got broke. One day they moved to a new village because the officials confiscated their old home. Dressed in expensive clothing and carried large boxes they pretended that they were still rich people. After entering the house, it was revealed that underneath all the glamour was nothing but potatoes and straws. When his new neighbors came to visit, the father lied about how they just ate a chicken(an expensive item for the time) but in fact all they had was one potato. The neighbor being polite told them that it gets cold at night, the father again lied and boasted that they have plenty of blankets to keep them warm. Soon after the neighbors left, the father told the son to answer "they eat chickens, and sleep with comforters." whenever someone asks. At that night, the neighbors are worried that their new found neighbors were not used to the cold weather so they came knocking again. Even though the pair was freezing to the teeth, the father initially still lied that they were completely fine and the son would keep saying that they slept with comforters. Upon further asking, the father finally admitted that they were lying all the time. Their neighbors in turn told them that, "It's okay to be poor, there's no need to keep it a secret. If you've told us the truth, we would have brought you extra blankets and food." Feeling ashamed, the father apologised to his neighbors. 心勞日拙 (Xīn láo rì zhuō) is used to describe someone that thinks of all sorts of lies to cover up something but in the end only makes the matter worse. Example: "你經濟上有問題就說吧. 何必要「心勞日拙」的在撒謊呢？

I have to say that the ones adapted for television are usually rewritten and not true to the source material. The most recent Chinese version of Journey to the West made in 2011 are the closest to the novel.

I believe so. Animals like dolphins and whales are known to communicate with each other through sonar. I believe that these kind of communication is a language of its own in the animal kingdom. Even cats and dogs are talking with each other when they meow or bark.

Usually people that speak with an accent are thought to be pretentious especially when it's not an accent that is supposed to be used by that person. I don't prejudge if it's how they are taught to speak but some that pretend to speak like an American when clearly they are not irks me sometimes.

I've seen it mentioned in the other thread and thought I'd make one with more details. Origin: Journey to the West is a novel created in the 19th century China during the Ming Dynasty. The novel is inspired by the historic pilgrimage of a monk named 陳玄奘 (Chénxuánzàng) who lived during the Tang Dynasty who travelled to India to bring back Buddhist scriptures. The author of the novel was 吳承恩 (Wú Chéng'ēn). The novel came to be known as one of the four famous novels of Chinese literature alongside 紅樓夢(Dream of Red Mansion)，水滸傳(Water Margin)，and 三國演義(Romance of the Three Kingdoms). Synopsis: The story revolves around the Buddhist monk Táng sānzàng or Monk Tripitaka who took the pilgrimage to India in search of the 大雷音寺(Dà léi yīn sì) where Buddha himself resides to retrieve ancient Buddhist scriptures for the Tang Dynasty in hopes of releasing the people of the sufferings of mankind. While on his way, he met with the mighty 孫悟空 (Monkey), a rebellious celestial monkey that once fought the reign of the Jade Emperor and in the end, imprisoned by the Great Buddha. Monkey was tasked to protect Tripitaka in exchange for his freedom. Along their journey, they met with two other companions; 豬八戒 (Pig), and 沙悟淨 (Sand Monk). The three eventually became Tripitaka's disciples with Monkey the eldest, Pig the second, Sand Monk the third, and Tripitaka's white horse the youngest. The white horse that Tripitaka rode was actually a prince of the sea banished by his father. Each of Tripitaka's disciples contained an origin story of his own with Monkey the longest. The majority of the story is about how the group goes through from one challenge and trial to another in order to earn the worthiness to the scriptures.

It depends on the type of contents I'm writing. When I'm writing something informal or non fiction articles, I'll go with simple words because understanding the subject is more important. If I write something for literature, I'll use more flowery words for descriptive purposes.

繞樑三日 (Rào liáng sān rì) - Great singing 繞樑 (Rào liáng) - Linger around the beam, 三日(sān rì) - Three days During the Warring States, there once was a famous singer called 韓娥(Hán é). One day she arrived at the Kingdom of Qi and found herself out of money so she decided to perform for money. Her amazing singing skills attracted many people to donate. Even though the performance has ended three days ago, her singing can still be heard lingering on the beams of the place she performed and the surrounding areas. 繞樑三日 (Rào liáng sān rì) is used to praise someone who sings beautifully. Example: "張學友的歌聲真的很好聽， 簡直就是「繞樑三日」"

I think I am a good listener but only if the person speaks in an accent that I can understand. I don't understand what the person is talking about when it's in a heavy accent. I also have problem staying focused sometimes when there are other noises around.

Great stuff, I've never thought that there were so many that is related to automotives. "Hit the road" is the most common I've heard people say when leaving.