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HOME >> COMMUNITY >> FIREFLY UNIVERSE >> CHINESE FOR THE RP PLAYER

FIREFLY UNIVERSE

Chinese for the RP Player

POSTED BY: CHANNAINUPDATED: Friday, May 27, 2005 07:34SHORT URL: VIEWED: 12219PAGE 1 of 1

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Tuesday, February 3, 2004 2:30 PM

CHANNAIN i DO aim to misbehave

Listed below is a glossary of language used in Firefly episodes and fan fiction for use by RP players. If anyone has an addition or correction to this list, please feel free to enlighten me. PLUS - there are other listings below of Chinese resource Web sites and some discussions on use and application of the Chinese language. If you know of any other sources, again, feel free to post them here. Last Update: 2 February 2005 TITLES and GENDER references bà bà = daddy (familiar) fùqin = father (formal) ge ge = big brother (familiar) xíao dì = little brother (familiar); used with a blood relation xiâo dì dì = little brother (familiar); can be used with someone not related to you mà mà = mommy (familiar) jèijei = big sister (Thanks Dawn) mèimei = little sister xiâo mèi = baby sister; used with a blood relation mu qin = mother (formal) dà ge = big brother (formal); also way of addressing non-relation, similar to "Sir" xiâo péngyou = little friend (familiar), kid, children xiâo mèimei = baby sister; can be used with someone not related to you nan hai = boy COMPLIMENTARY ài rén = sweetheart xin gan = sweetheart, darling bâobèi = precious (item); ie: precious jewels (endearment) kê ài cute/adorable/lovely lìngrén jingyì = stunning, amazing mêilì = beautiful/pretty qin ài de = dear, darling shuài = handsome/snazzy GENERAL bì zuî = be quiet/shut up bù kê néng = (exclamation) no way! da huai = big bad duìbùqî = I'm sorry/excuse me dong ma? = understand? fèi huà = garbage (nonsense) Fei fei pian: Fat lie gan bei = Dry cup or Dry Glass - basically, "Bottom's up" gaxìng jìandào nî = pleased to meet you hâo ba = okay (reluctant) hâo de = okay/will do! hâo le = okay (contextual "Okay, that's enough. Stop right there." can be considered rude) hâo le ma = that's enough, okay? hâo = okay/sure jin kuai = as quickly as possible jiu = move mâshàng = on the double/quickly/right away/immediately méi guanxi = it's nothing/it's okay laja = (n) garbage nî bù dông ma = don't you understand? nî bù dông = you don't understand wen hou = greetings or hello nî hâo mêi = you're so beautiful nî shòu shäng le = you're hurt ni meí shì bà? = are you okay? jiao-zi = pan-fried dumplings lèsè = (n) garbage shénme? = what? shìde = yes/right sishengzi = bastard (not an insult) tìan xiâo de = God knows (heaven/sky only knows) tianna = (exclamation) Oh God Nin xi huan gén wo tiào wu ma? = may I have the pleasure...(of this dance)? wô hâo = I'm fine wode tìan = oh sky! (colloquial: Oh God!) xiâoxin = [be] careful xièxie nî = thank you xièxie = thanks xin nian kuai le = happy new year zài-jiàn = goodbye zôugôu = yes man (derogatory) zhàngfu = husband zhè bìng bù huài = it's not that bad zhùzuî = be quiet/shut up INSULTS bèn dàn = [you] idiot! chûn = stupid chûnrén = fool, jerk (familiar) dòngwù = animal húndàn = asshole/bastard heishôudâng liúmáng = gangster asshole/bastard(s) lâotou = old geezer liúmáng = bastard/asshole/criminal/gangster lièzhì = inferior; shoddy; trashy nuòfu = coward pofù = bitch wúnéug de rén = trash (despicable person) xiao jiay pigu = skinny little ass yúchûn = stupid/ignorant yaoguài = monster Swearing cào = v/t screw, fuck cào nî zûxian shí bâ dai = fuck 18 generations of your ancestors chùsheng xai-jiao de xiang huo = animal fucking bastard daì ruò mù ji = dumb as a wooden chicken gôu pì = bullshit gôushî bùrú = lower than dogshit/lowest of the low gûnkai = fuck off lan-dan jiang! = Weak-ass sauce! lashî = shit (v) made = (exclamation) fuck méiyôu mûqin de xiao gôu = motherless cur qù tamade = (exclamation) fuck him/fuck that! qù tamade = (exclamation) motherfucker qingwa cào de liúmáng = frog-humping sumbitch tamade = (exclamation) motherfucker tamade húndàn = fucking bastard Formosa-Translation.com Chinese Symbols Clip Art Collection http://www.formosa-translation.com/chinese/ Simple Phrases for Firefly Fans http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=14&t=8364&m=110397#110397 We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

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Tuesday, February 3, 2004 3:35 PM

TEELABROWN

Thanks very much! I love learning more insults in foreign languages. And whatever else I can pick up is good too. I can insult people in at least 3 languages. Mandrin is my most frequently used one, though. ............................................................................................ "Freedom is the Freedom to say that 2+2 makes 4. If that is granted, all else follws"-Winston, 1984 Keep flyin', and remember, THEY can't take the sky from US! Teela Brown, keeper of bad typing.

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Wednesday, February 4, 2004 4:04 AM

ASTRIANA

Channain, thanks for putting these up! Yay! ~A~ ...I'm still free, You can't take the sky from me.

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Wednesday, February 4, 2004 3:43 PM

TEELABROWN

Returns ............................................................................................ "Freedom is the Freedom to say that 2+2 makes 4. If that is granted, all else follws"-Winston, 1984 Keep flyin', and remember, THEY can't take the sky from US! Teela Brown, keeper of bad typing.

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Thursday, February 5, 2004 10:45 AM

HIROSTONE

This'll be very helpful for me too. xièxie nî -Hiro "Now you can luxuriate in a nice jail cell, but if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty flowered bonnet, I will end you."

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Friday, February 27, 2004 7:07 PM

SHINY

How to swear in Mandarin: http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing/mandarin.htm RIVER Purple elephants are flying. MAL Good. Thanks for the update.

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Friday, February 27, 2004 8:54 PM

SQUEE

Here's a site for the Firefly Chinese that has been very useful to me: http://fireflychinese.home.att.net/ I'm not broken, in my dream I win...

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Friday, April 9, 2004 4:01 PM

TALVIN

Everybody with the swear words... You want some serious advice, guys? Practice "zhie zhie" (xièxie) like you mean it. I used to work at Wal-Mart, in the Seafood Dept. Kinda like working for the Alliance, only I think the grey uniforms they have look nicer. Anyhow... It was a point of pride with me: every customer was thanked in their mother tongue. I was saying "Thank You" in over 30 languages in this little hick town before I got out of there. Mandarin was one of them. On lunch break, I would go next door to the Chinese Buffet. I was jumped to the front of the line, I did not have to tell them where I wanted to sit, what I wanted to drink, or whether I wanted the buffet or a menu. My drink NEVER got further down than half-full. I paid lunch prices for supper. "Xièxie". As one waiter, in very halting, oh-so-polite language, told me one day...well... It loosely translated as "You're amazing, most of these round-eyes can't even say Thank you in English!" Good advice for your RP characters (I just now remembered what forum this is in), and good advice for RL. GMs: If the player's characters don't remember to say thank you, stiff them on the bill--they've earned it.

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Tuesday, April 13, 2004 8:01 PM

JASONZZZ

I am skeptical of this particular one... wo nén qin ni tiào wu ma...? = may I have the pleasure...(of this dance)? nén specifically means the "capacility to" or "ability to" do something rather than requesting for permission. The English word phrase for "May I" or "Can I" here clearly carries the latter meaning. So, taking into the real meaning. It translates into something odd; as in "Do I have the ability to ask you to dance?" Which might actually provoke a similarly non-sensical response. Ké yi is probably a better choice. But I don't think a Chinese person would say that as it doesn't have the same sense of florish as the English phrase does... Like Fireflyfans.net? Haken needs a new development system. Donate. http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=5&t=3283

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Friday, April 23, 2004 11:42 AM

CHANNAIN i DO aim to misbehave

Quote:Originally posted by Jasonzzz: I am skeptical of this particular one... wo nén qin ni tiào wu ma...? = may I have the pleasure...(of this dance)? Ké yi is probably a better choice. But I don't think a Chinese person would say that as it doesn't have the same sense of florish as the English phrase does... Thanks Jasonzzz - could this possibly be the product of the Chinese/American blending that's supposed to have gone on prior to the time that Firefly takes place? We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

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Friday, April 23, 2004 12:02 PM

JASONZZZ

I doubt it, only if every Chinese speaker died off and all of the first year Chinese lesson books were lost, then subsequently Chinese was retaught but using only an English->Chinese dictionary as an aid. It's likely an oversight and someone on the script team just grabbed a dictionary or something... it's not something that a first year Chinese student could miss. then again, even English speakers (in the US) no longer seem to care to distinguish the differences between could, would, and should... Quote:Originally posted by Channain: Quote:Originally posted by Jasonzzz: I am skeptical of this particular one... wo nén qin ni tiào wu ma...? = may I have the pleasure...(of this dance)? Ké yi is probably a better choice. But I don't think a Chinese person would say that as it doesn't have the same sense of florish as the English phrase does... Thanks Jasonzzz - could this possibly be the product of the Chinese/American blending that's supposed to have gone on prior to the time that Firefly takes place? We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922] Like Fireflyfans.net? Haken needs a new development system. Donate. http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=5&t=3283

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Friday, April 23, 2004 12:16 PM

CHANNAIN i DO aim to misbehave

Quote:Originally posted by Jasonzzz then again, even English speakers (in the US) no longer seem to care to distinguish the differences between could, would, and should... True. I'm glad someone else has noticed. So the revision (if one were made) would be: "wo ké yi qin ni tiào wu ma" We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

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Friday, April 23, 2004 1:08 PM

JASONZZZ

您喜欢跟我跳舞吗? Nîn xîhuan1 gen1 wo3 tiao4 wu ma? is a better approach to the same feeling of the same phrase in English "May I have the pleasure of this dance..." translated more or less "Would you prefer/entertain (the idea of) dancing with me?" The Nin would be important as the gentleman would be attempting to be cordial... Quote:Originally posted by Channain: Quote:Originally posted by Jasonzzz then again, even English speakers (in the US) no longer seem to care to distinguish the differences between could, would, and should... True. I'm glad someone else has noticed. So the revision (if one were made) would be: "wo ké yi qin ni tiào wu ma" We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

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Wednesday, April 28, 2004 5:48 AM

CHANNAIN i DO aim to misbehave

Quote:Originally posted by Jasonzzz Nîn xîhuan1 gen1 wo3 tiao4 wu ma? is a better approach to the same feeling of the same phrase in English "May I have the pleasure of this dance..." Shiny! Problem is, though, some of the phonetics are confusing the site. Could you re-write accordingly? We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

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Wednesday, April 28, 2004 6:03 AM

JASONZZZ

Sorry, I don't have the fonts for generating the proper tonemarks along with the pinyin... But these are the correct pinyin "spelling"... Nin3 xi3huan1 gen1 wo3 tiao4 wu ma?

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Wednesday, April 28, 2004 6:23 AM

CHANNAIN i DO aim to misbehave

Quote:Originally posted by Jasonzzz: Nin xi huan gen wo tiao wu ma? well, in true Browncoat fashion, we'll work with what we can. Thanks for your help!! We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

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Thursday, June 17, 2004 9:17 AM

CHANNAIN i DO aim to misbehave

I moved this over here - seemed more appropos - Quote:Originally posted by Jasonzzz: The equivalent of "bottom's up" in Chinese is "Gan1 Bei1" - literally means "Dry Cup" or "Dry Glass". The usual ritual is to say the phrase while hoisting the vessel with both hands, then draining the cup of its contents with one large gulp or as few gulps as possible. About the same as what you might expect. That's very RP-like material. Only the spelling came through with "1s" in place of the appropriate grammatical symbols. Is it "Gan Bei" as in "gAHn bay?" We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

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Thursday, June 17, 2004 9:38 AM

JASONZZZ

Quote:Originally posted by Channain: I moved this over here - seemed more appropos - Quote:Originally posted by Jasonzzz: The equivalent of "bottom's up" in Chinese is "Gan1 Bei1" - literally means "Dry Cup" or "Dry Glass". The usual ritual is to say the phrase while hoisting the vessel with both hands, then draining the cup of its contents with one large gulp or as few gulps as possible. About the same as what you might expect. That's very RP-like material. Only the spelling came through with "1s" in place of the appropriate grammatical symbols. Is it "Gan Bei" as in "gAHn bay?" We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922 The chinese characters are: 乾杯 the spelling I sent over are the correct spelling using the pinyin system. I couldn't find the equivalent tonal marks available in the regular fonts that I was using here for the first tone, it is acceptable to put the equivalent tone numbers next to each pinyin spelling. So, Gan1 Bei1 is GānBēi are both correct. Here's a bunch of chars to use for the correct tonal marks... ā á ă à ē é ĕ è ī í ĭ ì ō ó ŏ ò ū ú ŭ ù

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Thursday, June 17, 2004 10:22 AM

CHANNAIN i DO aim to misbehave

Quote:Originally posted by Jasonzzz: The spelling I sent over are the correct spelling using the pinyin system. I couldn't find the equivalent tonal marks available in the regular fonts that I was using here for the first tone, it is acceptable to put the equivalent tone numbers next to each pinyin spelling. So, Gan1 Bei1 is GānBēi are both correct. Here's a bunch of chars to use for the correct tonal marks... ā á ă à ē é ĕ è ī í ĭ ì ō ó ŏ ò ū ú ŭ ù Now this may be my problem, or it may be FFF.net, but some of those characters are coming through as tiny little boxes. For my own use, and for our viewers at home, is there any advice on what can be done to correct this? We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

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Friday, June 18, 2004 1:07 PM

RELFEXIVE

Nice work. That'll be useful with my upcoming fanfic too Mal: "We're not gonna die. We can't die, Bendis. You know why? Because we are so... very... pretty. We are just too pretty for God to let us die."

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Monday, July 5, 2004 1:37 PM

CHANNAIN i DO aim to misbehave

Hi Jasonzzz - I have a question for you - is there a Chinese equivalent to the expression "Easy as pie" or even "Easy Peasy" ? We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

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Sunday, July 11, 2004 8:25 PM

JASONZZZ

If you are using windows, you need to install the "Traditional Chinese" language pack. Then turn on the Control Panel/Regional Options/Tradional Chinese settings. Quote:Originally posted by Channain: Quote:Originally posted by Jasonzzz: The spelling I sent over are the correct spelling using the pinyin system. I couldn't find the equivalent tonal marks available in the regular fonts that I was using here for the first tone, it is acceptable to put the equivalent tone numbers next to each pinyin spelling. So, Gan1 Bei1 is GānBēi are both correct. Here's a bunch of chars to use for the correct tonal marks... ā á ă à ē é ĕ è ī í ĭ ì ō ó ŏ ò ū ú ŭ ù Now this may be my problem, or it may be FFF.net, but some of those characters are coming through as tiny little boxes. For my own use, and for our viewers at home, is there any advice on what can be done to correct this? We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

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Friday, October 29, 2004 7:23 PM

CRAZYHORSE

I have another to add to the list, if anyone is still paying attention to this thread. Da Bi2zi(4?) pronounced dah bee-dzuh Basically it means big nose, and it's usually referring to someone as a westerner in a not complimentary way, kinda like round-eyes. also, dong ma can also be dong bu dong which is used more often I think, and means literally do you or do you not understand? "...what'd yall order a dead guy for?" "Oh I got respect, i'm just sayin'... GOLD"

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Friday, April 22, 2005 7:10 AM

CHANNAIN i DO aim to misbehave

Quote:Originally posted by CrazyHorse: I have another to add to the list, if anyone is still paying attention to this thread. I am! Gotta keep it up for WHEN the Gunrunners RP reboots in June. Quote:Originally posted by CrazyHorse: Da Bi2zi(4?) pronounced dah bee-dzuh Unfortunately, some of the letters didn't make it through. Any chance you could edit the post? I'd dearly like to add it to the main list. It's too cool not to. Fans come and fans go...but zealots are with you until the bitter black end. I draw...therefore I am. http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922 Minnesota Meetup - join us! http://firefly.meetup.com/45/

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Thursday, May 19, 2005 7:24 PM

SERENITYSGIRL

Mind if I save this! Serenity's Girl YIM: Danitg31 AIM: fanoffirefly LJ: http://www.livejournal.com/users/luvfirefly/

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Friday, May 27, 2005 7:21 AM

KWANYIN

Awesome. I'm going to link to this thread in FireflyMUX's LiveJournal community ( http://www.livejournal.com/community/firefly_mux) if that's okay - it should come in handy along with our in-game language file! :) FireflyMUX Head Wizard, Kwan Yin

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Friday, May 27, 2005 7:34 AM

CHANNAIN i DO aim to misbehave

Quote:Originally posted by SerenitysGirl: Mind if I save this! Nope, don't mind in the least. It does get updated from time to time, so be sure to check back. Updated translations should appear in purple, if I remember to move the color codes around. I draw...therefore I am. http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922 Live in Minnesota? Join the Group! Yahoo Group, that is... http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/MN-Firefly/

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