I don't cook much.

This looks like 油麦菜.

It is a variation of lettuce (Lactuca sativa). From a search on the web (wikipedia), I don't think there is a specific English name for it.

百度百科 gives a Latin name "Lactuca sativa var longifoliaf. Lam" for it. The site also says it can be called "莜麦菜", "苦菜" or "生菜" (note: there is also another kind of vegetable called "生菜"). But I've never heard anyone calling it "苦木". And as it is a kind of vegetable, I think it should be unlikely for it to be called "苦木".


Good resource to learn scientific Chinese

I know of a couple resources for medicine and chemistry. These are technical dictionaries. You can start checking these out. I used to use them for work and never had problems so I guess the translations should be correct. Will post more as I come across them.

Medicine:
drdict.com

Chemistry:
cosdna.com

EDIT:
If you're looking for occasional term references, usually a good bet is to search Wikipedia and switch to the Chinese page.


How do you say "A story is set in another place"

1.故事发生在某火车站上。....(伊塔洛·卡尔维诺：如果在冬夜，一个旅人；萧天佑译)

2.话说梁山泊聚义厅上....(施耐庵：水浒传--第五十一回）


What does ...原来档案都要统统装进铁皮柜，从头干起... mean?

'铁皮柜‘ is a metal filing cabinet.

'统统' is for emphasis. In this case, it is ALL the files, with no exception.

Compare these two sentences, which are identical except for '统统'. Their meanings are basically the same, but the first one is more emphatic.

无论是谁，到新公司后，原来档案都要统统装进铁皮柜，从头干起。

无论是谁，到新公司后，原来档案都要装进铁皮柜，从头干起。

No matter who it is, when one enters the new company, one starts anew, with one's original files (hinting past history) stored away.

There is only one subject in this sentence, it's the one who enters the new company, the one whose files are put away, and the one who has to start anew.


What are some good dictionaries about Mathematics?

What you have is 汉英数学词典 and what you are looking for is 英汉数学词典. If you google 英汉数学词典, you can find a few sources for downloading. You can also search book-selling websites, and you will get a few choices.


What is the verbatim (grammatical) meaning of 不了了之?

Your understanding for 不了 and 了之, respectively, are accurate. The key to your question is the relationship between the two parts.

In classical Chinese, omission of conjunctions is a very common thing, which brings beauty and ambiguity at the same time. In most cases it's intentionally left blank for the reader to interpret. There is no single correct answer. Even with the presence of a conjunction (e.g. 而), it could be just a syntactical tool without nailing down the logical relationship between two clauses. I believe this is the case in 不了了之. The most natural conjunction, if to insert, is 而 i.e. 不了而了之, however it is still unclear whether that's an 'and' or a 'but' or anything else.

One thing clear though is it's definitely not a strong causation (e.g. 'if-then'). But it could really be anything depending on the context from weak causation, adverseness/comparison, concession to simple time continuation. Some possible translations:

Ending without finishing.
There is no resolution but it's ended.
Settle by leaving unsettled.
Although it's not resolved, leave it be.


What is the difference between 嘱咐 and 吩咐?

On the most basic level they both mean "to tell", but they are not exactly the same - there is some nuanced differences.

吩咐 is closer to English "to instruct". It is often used to describe a superior, or elder, telling their juniors to do something. Thus, it carries the connotation of a verbal command, almost ordering someone to do something. But it is less forceful outright than 命令, "to command".
嘱咐 in contrast is more even, and thus closer to English "to ask" or "to urge". It is also used to convey concern, although it doesn't necessary carry any connotations of concern by itself.

Despite these nuances, for the most part the meanings are similar enough that they can be used interchangeably. That's why you'll also find them listed as synonyms.

Examples:

他爸媽吩咐他要照顧好妹妹 : His parents told him to take good care of his sister. Alternatively: "instructed him", or "ordered him".
他爸媽嘱咐他要照顧好妹妹 : His parents bade him take good care of his sister. Alternatively: "asked him", or "urged him".

Note that apart from the meaning of "to tell", 嘱咐 has a second meaning "to entrust", or "to charge".


What are the differences between 报名，登记，挂号？

Definitions:

报名
To fill in personal information to the organizer in order to participate in the activities.
（参加活动时，向主办单位填写个人资料。）

登记
To record the relevant matters in the form or the booklet of the organizer or the competent authority; to register for a service (such as to subscribe to a delivery service or a social networking website).
（将相关事项记录在主办单位或主管机关的表格或册子上。）

挂号
To get a number in order to do something in sequence.
（取得编号，以便依序进行某事。）

Differences:

挂号 must involve the number, however 报名 and 登记 do not have to.
（“挂号”必定牵涉到号码，而“报名”和“登记”则不一定。）

报名 usually 登记 some information, and 登记 may not be a 报名, so 登记 is broader than 报名.
（“报名”通常会“登记”一些资料，而“登记”不一定是“报名”，所以“登记”的范围比较广。）

The relationship between 挂号 and 登记 is relatively close, because 挂号 usually 登记 some information in order to distinguish.
（“挂号”和“登记”的关系比较密切，因为“挂号”通常要“登记”一些资料，才能区别。）

报名 and 挂号 are less relevant. We use them in different areas, and do not mix them up.
（“报名”和“挂号”的关系比较小。各自用在不同的事件。我们不太会把这两个词混用。）

Examples:

报名
考试 examination or test
比赛 competition or game
培训 training or course
加入团队 to join a team

挂号
看病 to see a doctor
寄信 to send a mail
接受服务 to receive service

登记
出生死亡 birth or death
收养 adoption
结婚离婚 marriage or divorce
不动产 real estate
土地房产 land or property
车辆 vehicle
开业 to open a business


How do I ask "Can you wash your clothes at the hotel?"

To translate directly:

  "Can you wash your clothes at the hotel?"

  你可以在宾馆洗你的衣服(clothes)吗?

Not sure if it is really what you want. But if you are asking the hotel staff whether they help you wash your clothes, then it should be:

  "Do you provide laundry service?"

  你有提供洗衣服务(service)吗?

The basic order of a Chinese sentence is usually in the form of subject-verb-object arrangement. From the two sentences above, 你 is the subject, 洗 and 提供 are the verbs, 衣服 and 洗衣服务 are the objects. Please refer to this article for more examples on the Chinese grammar.


When does 一会儿 go before / after the verb?

The meaning just differs.
When 一会儿 is used as an adverbial, i.e. before a verb, it means "in a while", "shortly". It's understood that the action to be set in the future.

别着急，公交车一会儿就来了 = don't worry, the bus will arrive shortly

When 一会儿 is used as a complement, i.e. after a verb, it means "a little while", or "a little longer" if 再 is present. It identifies a time duration.

我想看一会儿电视 = I want to watch a bit of TV


Is there a difference between 连朋友都没告诉过 and 即便是朋友也没有告诉过?

连朋友都没告诉过 = Had not told even his friends

~

即便(是)朋友也没有告诉过(他们) =  Even though they (are) his friends, he had not told (them)

Notice:
即便 means "even though" or "even if"
There's a verb "是" (being) in "是朋友" (being friends)
More example:

连他父母也不知道他是同性恋 = Even his parents don't know he is gay
即便(是他父母)也不知道他是同性恋 = Even though (they are his parent), they don't know he is gay

Example of 即便:

即便(有)朋友也不能告诉(他们) = Even if/ even though he (has) friends, he can't tell (them)

~

即便全国警察都来了也救不了死去的人质了 (Even if) the police of the whole country were here, the dead hostages could not be saved.


Is there any relation between the Cyrillic Ш (sha) and the Chinese 山 (shān)?

No. The Cyrillic script is based on the Greek script, and some other local scripts like Hebrew. The basis for sha is thought to be the Hebrew letter ש (shin).

ש

It's unlikely that shin is based on the Chinese character, either. It seems taken from the Phoenician alphabet, where the corresponding letter looks like a Latin W.
It's worth keeping in mind that at the time Cyrillic characters were invented, Russia did not yet control Siberia. So it was very far from China, and contact between China and the west was limited.

But maybe the Chinese character was influenced by these scripts?
It's not impossible, but the earliest versions of the Character look more like a triangle, so the simpler explanation is that it's just a picture of a mountain:

Considering the evidence, it seems unlikely that these characters are related.


Does anyone know the translation of this character?

It does exist. Mandarin pinyin pronunciation: kāng. It's a common surname, also means healthy.


What's the difference between this 的and this 得 when it comes to meaning in the following sentences

的 generally expresses possession or modification and 得 is used after a verb or an adjective to express possibility or capability.

Here are some literal translations that should help to differentiate between the two examples that you listed:

他说的汉语很流利。
[他说的汉语][很流利]。
[The Chinese that he speaks][(is) fluent].

他说汉语说得很流利。
[他][说汉语][说得][很流利]。
[He][speak Chinese][speaks][fluently].

In general, that which comes before the 的 modifies what comes after it:

他穿的衣服很时髦。
[他穿的衣服][很时髦]。
[The clothes that he wears][(is) fashionable].

The 的 ends up forming a complex subject:

他说的汉语
The Chinese (that he speaks)
“他说” modifies "汉语".
Which Chinese? The Chinese that he speaks.

他穿的衣服
The clothes (that he wears)
"他穿" modifies "衣服".
Which clothes? The clothes that he wears.

红色的书
The (red) book
"红色" modifies "书".
Which book? The book that is red.

得 is generally used in the following pattern to describe the degree to which something is done: [Subject][Verb-Object][Verb 得][Adverb].

她看书看得很快。
[她][看书][看得][很快]。
[She][read books][reads][quickly].
[Subject][Verb-Object][Verb 得][Adverb]

With the dialogue that you provided, the "的" should actually be "得". It seems to just be a typo.

Lily 说：“我小吗？”
Lily: "Am I small?"

Monster 说：“小？ 你？ 你小的不能再小了。你非常小。”
Monster: "Small? You? You're so small that you can't get any smaller. You're very small."

With the third example, 得 should not be used. 的 is correct here, but it can be confusing because there is an implied/omitted noun. The thing being modified isn't said explicitly and all that is said is the modifier.

我不知道我做的对不对。
[我][不知道][我做的][对不对]。
[I][don't know][(that which) I did][is/is not right].
I don't know if what I did was right.

Here is another example dialogue:

A: 我要买书。
A: I want to buy books.

B: 新的还是二手的？
B: New (books) or used (books)?

A: 新的。
A: New (books).

Notice how "书 / books" is not repeated. Once the object is clearly in context, both speakers drop it for convenience and brevity. Natural human speech tends to be like this. It would seem quite odd to say everything explicitly since once something is in context, repeating it can seem unnecessarily redundant.


Are the two pronunciations of 谁 (shéi / shuí) the result of regional differences?

Most of dictionaries include both of them:

  ● 谁

  （誰）

  shuí ㄕㄨㄟˊ 又 shéi ㄕㄟˊ

According to 说文解字,

  从言隹聲。示隹切

It seems to be shuí[1], but according to 康熙字典 it has both pronunciations in different books.

(pinyin added by me)

  《五音集韻》是爲切(shéi) 《玉篇》是推切(shuí)，音垂。

In conclusion, both are right. IMO, shéi seems to be used more in spoken language.

[1] 隹 has three pronunciations, zhuī, cuī, wéi, but only zhuī was mentioned in 说文解字. So I believe the pronunciation of 谁 mentioned in 说文解字 should be shuí.


淡菜 is only the name for dried mussels or dried sea mussels.

汉语大词典's entry for 淡菜 says:

  贻贝的肉经烧煮曝洒而成的干制食品。味佳美, 以煮晒时不加盐, 故名。

So 淡 comes from the fact that 不加盐 (salt is not added).

菜 must be for the fact that it is a dish and not because it is a vegetable.


How did 'velcro' get translated to 魔术贴 ('magic attachment??')

魔术贴 is not a translation or transliteration of Velcro. It is a 'Chinese name' given to the product.

Terms like 魔术(Magic) or 神奇(wonder),  are commonly used in naming new and innovated products.

What is so wonderful about the Wonder Bra? -- unlike normal bra, it wonderfully pushes your breasts up
What is so magical about 魔术贴? -- unlike normal sticker, it can be easily peered off like magic


Yes/no can usually be expressed simply by the verb as you have noticed.

  是不是....
  是

  能不能....
  能

Many learners however like to reply awkwardly with words like 对, if you reply in this manner it would sound much more natural.


"Still better than" informal translation -- X 还是比 Y 好 abbreviation

还是比 FairSeq 好 It's a correct using.

And it can also using like:

AllenNlp 比較好 (AllenNlp  is better)


What is the role of chengyu (成语) in a sentence?

From syntax point of view, how do you know when the chengyu can be adverb or adjective or some thing else?

For starters, even individual words in Mandarin often can't be confined to a single part of speech. Take for instance the word 教. This word can be considered both a verb and a noun (the action "to teach" and the noun "teachings" respectively). We also know that adjectives in many cases can quite liberally function as adverbs, some through the use of 地 and some without.
So if individual words can take the role of several different parts of speech then I think its not farfetched to make the same assumption of 成语. The exact role being employed depends in the context, which seems to be universally true in Mandarin and not just true for 成语.
It might be easier for you to understand if you start treating 成语 as individual words. If words themselves are concepts, why can't 成语 (wich are themselves also concepts) be considered words? The phrase 小题大做 can be thought of as a direct equivalent of the English expression, "make a mountain out of a mole hill". But why limit it to the role of an expression? It could just as easily be defined as a verb, "to treat an issue as though it is larger than it actually is".
你小题大做想骂我。
And here's the fun part:
被太太小题大做地抱怨怎么办？
小题大做地 here can be interpreted as "fussingly".

To summarize, there is no innate syntax that can be used to determine the part of speech appropriate for a 成语. The only way of knowing is to know the concept carried by that 成语, and the only way of knowing that is to see it in usage.


Can someone translate these lyrics in English?

爱恨廉价 - Love and hate are cheap

love and hate here represent human emotions; 'cheap' (easily be bought) implies 'can easily change'*

似苍苍蒹葭 - Like a thick, thick reed field

蒹葭苍苍 《诗经·国风·秦风》中诗 (came from a classical Chinese literature 《Book of poetry》)

苦艾后劲 - like absinthe's strong aftertaste
皆贪共与他 - All because of greed to be with him (贪 = greed = strong desire)
望光亮 - Looking at the light
两世皆行走潇洒 - chicly traveling in  both worlds (two worlds refer to the living world and the afterworld)
破万枷 - breaking all shackles
散馀霞 - scatter the sunset cloud (the remaining sunlight at the dusk shines on the clouds make them seems red)
众相皆渡他 - Everything in the universe enlightens him

相 is a Buddhism term for 'form'; 众相 means 'all forms'. It can be loosely translated as 'the universe'; 渡 is a Buddhism term for 'to enlighten')


What would a good gaming translation for 灵术 be?

Without knowing the full context, my best guess is that 灵术 means spirit magic.

When translating, especially between unrelated languages like English and Chinese, there is often a lack of one-to-one correspondence between words. This is why when you look in a dictionary for the English definition of 术, you get multiple options like technique/surgery. However, when this character is paired with others, it can also take on the meaning of magic. This works the other way around too; when you try to translate magic to Chinese, you get multiple options as well, like 魔术 (magic as in magicians) or 魔法 (magic as in Harry Potter).

You probably won't find "灵术" in a dictionary. Since your context is video games, it's most likely that this is a constructed word for a specific type of magic, which usually have the "X术" form. To demonstrate, here are some other "X术" words that are specific types of magic:

妖术, lit. "supernatural magic", often translated as "sorcery"
巫术, lit. "witch magic", translated as "witchcraft" or "black magic"
通灵术, lit. "communicate with spirits magic", sometimes translated as "necromancy". Note that "ouija board" in Chinese is 通灵板.
仙术, lit. "divine magic", translated as "theurgy"

Interestingly, there are many "X术" words that have nothing to do with magic, such as 医术 (medicine) and 武术 (martial arts). This goes back to traditional Chinese culture, especially Taoism where there is no clear distinction between the natural and supernatural, and that many physical phenomena also have supernatural links, like the concept of qi.


The Chinese mostly call it "花卷" in daily life but you might regard it as a variant of "馒头" as well, if you apply the concept of "馒头" broadly. It's just that it more usually comes with some flavoring compared with 馒头 which can be plain. Apparently there's a Wikipedia entry for it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_roll


the main text is 洛神賦

https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/洛神賦

the inscription is the last line (above the seal)

  同治戊辰閏夏臨于何氏之還讀我書齋

同治戊辰閏夏 is 22nd may - 19th june, in the year of 1868

臨于何氏之還讀我書齋 means copied (臨摹) at mr. ho (何氏) 's (之) premise that named "還讀我書齋"

well, the seal is unrecognised in this resolution. do you have a higher quality one?

have fun :)


收納櫃/置物櫃/抽屜櫃

the following items link to a commercial site:

收納櫃 參考圖片 1

收納櫃 參考圖片 2

收納櫃 參考圖片 3

收納櫃 參考圖片 4

收納櫃 參考圖片 5

收納櫃 參考圖片 6

收納櫃 參考圖片 7


How to translate 'Computer Support Person'?

Do you mean the person who provides assistance for others on computer-related things? I think it could simply be called 技术支持人员. But the problem with this translation is that 技术支持 is a little general rather than focusing on computer. In some companies people may say IT 人员.


Where to put the adjective when asking for something that comes in multiple sizes?

I'm not a linguist, just a native speaker. My opinion is that 大 should go before 杯, i.e. 我要一大杯咖啡, since I have never heard anyone said 我要一杯大咖啡.

Words like 杯 are called 量词(sorry I don't know the exact term), and the adjectives about amount are always placed before 量词. For example,
一大碗饭= a bowl of a lot of rice， 一大把花= a bunch of many flowers.

Maybe this solution is not satisfying; sorry I can't explain it in detail. 量词 is actually quite sophisticated, and is often omitted when translated into English. I hope this article will help (well it's written in Chinese).


Why's 氵(“water”) 澀's semantic component?

涩 means more of "not slippery" rather than "rough". 涩/澀 has many variant characters, such as 歮, 歰, and 澁. 刃 here is an upside down 止 which is a foot.
Opposite of 涩 is 滑 meaning slippery.
When a surface is not slippery, it becomes easier for many feet to walk through. You could also say many feet treading on soil can make it rough.
But it also becomes difficult for water to flow through thus some variants of this character added on an additional water semantic component to emphasize on the fact that the water is stuck. Over time, 涩/澀 became the standard form for this character while 歮, 歰, and 澁 fell into disuse.
涩 has a more commonly used meaning of "astringent", which relates back to the part where water is difficult to flow through in the previous definition. When you eat unripe fruit you can sort of feel like your throat is going to close up (astringent effect). Most unripe fruit tastes tart.
https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E6%B6%A9


Problem in understanding classical Chinese sentences

對揚王休﹒用作尊彝

this verse come from the inscription on 免尊

對 - 報答, to requite

揚 - 讚揚, to praise

王 - the king, or ruler

休 - 樹蔭 shade of a tree --> 庇蔭 to shield --> 美德 virtue

用作 - ~ use for

尊彝 - 彝 is ritual / sacrificial objects, "尊彝" together is a specialised term of ritual objects, roughly a bronze wine vessel needed two hand to hold ( a big goblet?), see the photo from the above link :)

so, the verse means roughly:

to requite (對) [and] to praise (揚) the virtue (休) of [our] king (王), we make inscription (用作) on this goblet (尊彝).

the norm in ancient china was, when an ritual object (彝器) was made, some text would be inscribed onto it, for the purpose to state the rationale of manufacturing.

  朕聞﹒維時兆厥工﹒非不顯

this verse is from 汲塚周書　大戒解

there's a remark "兆始工官言政治維是始正其官" after "朕實不明", in which roughly "兆" means "始", "工" means "官", 言 (said) 政治 ([good] governing) 維 是 (is) 始 (at the beginning) 正 (correctly [appoint]) 其(ruler's) 官 (official).

so:

朕 - i, a specialised pronoun for ruler / king

聞 - heard

維 - particle

時 - time

兆 - 始也, beginning

厥 - short of

工 - labour, in context, 官也, official / civil servants

非 - not

不顯 - inapparent

the context of this verse is, the 周 dynasty was just founded, there're not enough civil servants to fill the posts, in order to govern the nation.

therefore, i would interpret the verse as:

i (朕, a specialised pronoun) heard (聞) [that]: at the beginning stage (時兆), there's shortage of (厥) labour (工); [such reasoning] is not (非) inapparent (不顯)

if incorporate the context directly:

i (朕, a specialised pronoun) heard (聞) [that]: at the beginning stage (時兆) [of founding a nation], there's lack of (厥) officials (工 aka 官); [such reasoning] is not (非) inapparent (不顯)

  今商孽競時逋播以輔﹒余何循

this verse is from 逸周書﹒成開解

今 - now

商 - 商 dynasty

孽 - 餘孽, ~ rebel party

競時 - race against time, incessantly

逋播 - to flee

以 - by, through

輔 - assist, maybe alliance

余 - i / we

何 - what

循 - 遵循, follow

i would interpret this one as:

now (今), there're rebel party (孽) of previous dynasty (商), fleeing (逋播)  incessantly (競時) with (以) assistance (輔); what can (何) we (余) follow (循) [in this situation]?

  汝慎和稱五權﹒維中是以﹒以長小子於位﹒實維永寧

this verse is from 逸周書　五權解

汝 - you

慎 - cautiously

和 - harmonious, aka "river crab" in that area :(

稱 - to weigh, this one is still used in colloquial cantonese nowadays

五 - five

權 - 權術, art of politics. 權 also has the meaning of steelyard balance (秤錘); that's why "稱" is used.

維 = 唯, only

中 - 中道, middle path

是 - this, maybe "being"

以 - 憑藉, to rely on

以 - thereby

長 - 養育, nurture

小子 - in context, my son, aka 周成王

於 - in

位 - throne

實 - if realise, subjunctive

維 - only

永 - long time

寧 - 安寧, peace

you (汝) [must] weigh (稱) the five (五) art of politics (權) cautiously (慎) and harmoniously (和)

only (維) the middle path (中), this (是) [is] reliable (以)

thereby (以), my son (小子) [could be] nurtured (長) in (於) the throne (位)

if [it's] realised (實), [there would] only (維) [be] peace (寧) for a long time (永)

that's all, i left the second one for others :)

have fun :)


Chinese words that are their own antonyms

Not sure if this is exactly what you're asking, but 厉害 (li4hai) can have both a good or bad meaning depending on the context. For example, if a student says a teacher is li4hai they probably mean strict. If you do something and demonstrate great ability, someone might say, "Wow! You're really li4hai!"


How to better identify the location of these land forms?

札达土林 is not Zanda County, but rather the Zhada Earth Forest National Geopark. Note that 札达 in Standard Mandarin pinyin is Zhádá, hence the English translation. The native Tibetan version, རྩ་མདའ, is transliterated with Wylie transliteration as rtsa mda', and the spelling "Zanda" is an approximation of the modern Tibetan pronunciation.

土林 literally does translate to "Earth (as in soil, dirt) Forest", but refers to any "forest of rock formations". Other examples include the one in Yuanmou, Yunnan.


The strict answer is no.

下次 is a shorten form of 下一次 which means next time.
下 carries the meaning of subsequent, the following or the next.
一次 carries the meaning of one time or once.

So, taken together, it means the next time.

But, for the next time to occur, the same or similar situation has to repeat itself (again). Therefore, you are not wrong to translate in the manner you have quoted above.

  I will not do it again.

is equivalent to

  I will not do it the next time.

Or it can be written redundantly as:

  I will not do it again the next time.

In Chinese, you can also write the three sentences above to mean the same thing:

  我不再做就是了。

  下次我不做了。

  下次我不再做就是了。

Although the words don't necessary have the same meaning, they can be written to mean the same thing.

The second part of your question is quite difficult to explain. My opinion is that 了 is used to indicate the closure or completion of an expression. I am not a language expert but I believe that the term perfective aspect may be useful.


The difference in meaning between 俺 and 我

俺----- ǎn, means "I, we (俺们)", is a personal pronoun  in Northern dialect.


Could you give annotated examples regarding the grammar of a sentence in classical Chinese where 爾 is used as an adverbial suffix?

爾/尔 in Classical Chinese can be used similarly to 然, roughly meaning "thus/so/in such a manner", changing the word to which it's suffixed into an adverb. Here's an example from Mencius 孟子 we can analyze:

  一簞食，一豆羹：得之則生，弗得則死。嘑爾而與之，行道之人弗受；蹴爾而與之，乞人不屑也。

My attempt at a faithful English translation:

  A basket of rice, a platter of soup: with them one survives; without them one dies. When offered insultingly, a vagabond would not accept them; when offered trampled, even a beggar would reject them.

Here we see 爾 modify the verbs 嘑 (to insult) and 蹴 (to trample) to convert them into adverbs that indicate how the food is offered.


Word for word translations are not always available or desirable. 至少/起码可以说 works, but is foreign in scope. What you want is a phrase that catches the essence of it, like 说得好听, or 毫不夸张地说, or perhaps 坦率地说. 退一步说 is fine, too.

Shorter and more to the point equivalents are 说少 and 少言之.

打折扣地说 and 轻描淡写 both mean understatement, which is another way of phrasing it.


When do people use a one-character given name alone?

You can duplicate that character (if you are really familiar to him/her). Even you can do that the same with three-char names. For example, 曾國藩, you can just call her 藩藩. You can find it if one's name have a char that pronounces the 1st, 2nd or 4nd tone, you can do duplication. For example, 张扬: 扬扬.

Note 1: Some pronunciation should be changed, otherwise it will be weird for locals:

2nd tone: The second char should pronounce as the 4th tone.

3rd tone: Won't be used in general.

4th tone: The second char should pronounce as a lower tone than the first one.

Note 2: Some Pinyin combination won't be used to duplicate.

3rd tone: Won't be used in general.

Note 3: Never be confused with the meaning of the duplicated word, you will never write them onto the formal papers right? or, you can find for some char with positive meanings to replace them.

Maybe you should ask to your friends first, they may be interested in it, LOL.


What does this mean? It is on the bottom of a strange coffee mug

The characters are "悠游三国喜神方". Proof link here.

三国 (Three Kingdoms) refers to the story of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

悠游三国 (leisurely visit the Three Kingdoms) is an online game.

喜神方 (happiness god's way) is a concept from old Chinese's belief in luck. When the almanac says one shouldn't travel, there are methods to find "happiness god's way" following which one may travel without getting the ill luck. I believe in your phrase, 喜神方 refers to that method (maybe it's a ceremony in the game).

Put them together, 悠游三国喜神方 means 'the method to understand happiness god's way (so one may travel without getting bad luck) in the online game You You Three Kingdoms'.


Throw something at somebody:把(东西)扔向（某人）。
She threw cards at us:
她把卡片扔向我们/她把卡片扔给我们/她朝我们扔卡片/她向我们扔来卡片

However, If playing cards, We don't say it like above. I think we just say "她向我们打出xx牌".
Playing cards: 打牌/打扑克Playing poker


Help w/translating (to English) a stamp on bowl please!

I believe it says 东武.
Reference on the 2nd character: http://www.sfds.cn/6B66/5790852.html
So you bowl is either from 1648 东武, one of the Era names back in China
or...
related to 東武百貨 or Tobu Railway in Japan somehow...but I would guess the characters wouldn't be in simplified form
Hope this helped


How do we describe a "sophisticated person"?

I don't think there is an exact Chinese counterpart for 'sophisticated'. It depends on the context.

世故 (worldly) is the context-agnostic translation but sometimes it has a negative connotation of slyness. When you use it on a 10-year old, it's almost surely negative.

Like the other comment mentioned, (少年)老成 can be used when to say a kid is sophisticated, but 老成 also implies '(psychologically) mature'.

The options Google translation gave you (复杂/尖端/诡辩) are definitely not the common words one would use to say 'sophisticated'. They may serve the purpose only in very specific contexts.

Edit:

For the example you've added to the question, I'd choose 深邃 (deep) which is more idiomatic  than the other words mentioned above to praise a philosopher's thinking ability.

  虽然年轻稚嫩，可是他的思想比世界上最伟大的哲学家还要深邃。

超前 (ahead of time/peers/age/...) mentioned in the other answer, or 领先 (in the lead) is also fine to use, though the meaning is slightly different: 超前/领先 is describing the thoughts, the outcome of thinking, rather than the thinking ability.


What do the first 4 letter stand for? Are they company name that made the tool or something else? ( From history )

Here's a clearer image (taken from http://iantiqueonline.ning.com/group/whadjafind/forum/topics/japanese-kanji-katana-samurai-sword-i-d-help?)

The text is verbatim:

  張武傑 (seal of a person called 張武傑). Maybe this is supposed to suggest that 張武傑 was involved in the manufacturing.

联合刀具

  The name of a company called 联合 cutting tools. 联合 should not be translated into union here, but treated as a proper noun. It might be in imitation of an American company originally called Union Cutlery Co., now called Ka-Bar Knives., Inc; this company's Chinese name is frequently rendered as 联合刀具.

特殊鋼

  Special steel. According to baidu, this is a non-standardised grade of steel, so it doesn't really mean anything.

In terms of orthography,「联」is normally only used in Mainland China, while「鋼」is normally not used in Mainland China. The structure of「联」, simplified from「聯」, is exactly analogous to the simplification of「關」to「関」.「関」is now normally only used in Japan.


知识 is:

  knowledge

in general.

学识 is more like:

  scholarly/academic knowledge

You see how the emphasis is on 学, perhaps you could think of it like book smarts.

To translate your sentence, on the other hand, I’d opt for something like:

  见多识广

Which is to say that someone has seen a lot of stuff and knows lots of things.

“He is a knowledgeable person” could just simply be written: 他见多识广。.


There are three things going on here:

多 pronounced with a 2nd tone

If you observe carefully, you may notice that all examples of 多 with 2nd tone occur when the following character is 4th tone. I believe this is an erroneous extension of the same rule for the characters "一" (yī) and "不" (bù), which both become 2nd tone when the following character is 4th tone, such as the words "一定", "不够" etc. Standard Mandarin does not apply this rule for 多, but some dialects may.

複雜 as 3-2

Not sure about this one; may be a dialect thing.

Last character of word turned into 4th tone, e.g. 回來, 因爲

Actually the tone disappears instead of being 4th tone - it only sounds like 4th tone. It occurs when the last character is unstressed, it loses its tone and sometimes may have its vowel reduced too. Consider the following examples: 东西 dōngxi, 父亲 fùqin, 耳朵 ěrduo.

There are a few more rules covered in the Wikipedia article on Standard Chinese phonology.


Is there a word in Chinese to mean "mostly"? Is "大多" appropriate?

is there a word in Mandarin Chinese to mean "mostly" ?

Of course, but that just depends on different kinds of senarios:

1) “相当，非常……”（程度副词）: adverb something related to the depth:

I mostly love peace (我**非常**热爱和平)

2）It's mostly bad=It's quite bad=It's awfully bad 糟糕**透**了！（implementation to describe "bad"'s depth in Chinese, but that's used as an adverb in English).

3）包含很大程度上的可能性，肯定：
Mostly speaking, It's almost of no hope to save people who sunk in the sea disaster of Korea.（可以这么说，救援韩国海难沉入水的群众希望破灭了）。


Reduplication of adverb in Adv. + V1 + Adv. + V2 structure...?

This is a form of reduplication. However, the general form of reduplication depends on the word.
轻拿轻放 means someone picks up an item, and puts it down. The emphasis is on the gentleness of the action.
You could replace the 拿 with something else, but the 放 also needs to be replaced with something that is related to your substitute word. You could say “他轻手轻脚地走进房间。” 轻手轻脚 means that the person is trying to be quiet (i.e. gentle) when he enters the room.
The reduplication as mentioned above is ABAC. It can also be ACBC, for example. 大吃特吃 means “to eat voraciously”; this time, “eating” is emphasised, while 大 and 特 are used to “show” how the food is devoured.


What is learned by analyzing the component and relationship of 牧野 in regards to The Battle of Muye?

牧野之戰 (Mù Yě zhī Zhàn)
in here,"牧野" is a place name.Don't think too much.


Three ways to say "I danced for three hours".

The 1st one and 2nd one are both correct, and have almost same meaning; but different emphasis.

The emphasis of the 1st one is the lasting time, i.e. 三個小時. e.g.

Q: 你跳舞跳了多长时间？ => The question is focused on how long
A: 我跳舞跳了三个小时。

The emphasis of the 2nd one is what (sb. do). e.g.

Q: 你下午做什么去了？ => The question is focused on what you did
A: 我跳了三个小时的舞。

The 3rd one is wrong. At the end of the sentence a noun is expected; which should be the object of the preceding verb, i.e. 跳.


How to say "Peekaboo" when playing hide and seek

It seems there's not a suitable Chinese name for the game 'Peekaboo'.
Someone says its name should be 躲躲猫, but I'm not sure.
Anyway, if you just want to know what should be said when you show up in a sudden in the game, you can say any modal particles such as "啊!", "哈!" etc.

BTW: In Chinese 捉迷藏 usually means a game played by several children. One child is selected, cover eyes and make a countdown, and the others hide themselves in the period of the countdown. And then the child selected try to find out all other children.
捉迷藏 also can be said as 躲猫猫, 藏猫猫.


How can I memorise easily the four tones?

Words do not generally have tones. Characters have tones, and they are integral to the character.

Memorizing batches of characters with certain tones is like memorizing batches of characters with certain pronunciations, that is, rather pointless.

When memorizing a character, you memorize its strokes and components, its pinyin transliterations, its tones (often more than one), and a number of common words formed by it.


In short 面包refers to bread(general) and 列巴refers to specifically Russian bread.


In pronouncing any given vowel, the recorded frequency spectrum will show distinct amplitude peaks (of the frequency spectrum). These peaks are called formants, and it is commonly accepted that the two lowest frequency formants taken together are enough to characterise the vowel.
The first formant F1 is the lowest frequency formant, and the second formant F2 is the second lowest frequency formant, etc.

Spectrogram of American English vowels [i, u, ɑ] showing the formants F1 and F2. The darkness of the band corresponds to the height of the amplitude/frequency plot; darkest areas show local peaks. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formant#/media/File:Spectrogram_-iua-.png

The F1 frequency (range) corresponds to the perceived openness/height of the vowel, and the F2 frequency (range) corresponds to the perceived backness of the vowel.

Wikipedia IPA vowel chart

To demonstrate the effect of the F1 and F2 components on vowels, you can use artificial vowel generators which take these parameters to produce audible vowels, e.g. http://auditoryneuroscience.com/vocalizations-speech/two-formants.

As an example, consider the

Chengdu /o/ sound, which the graph says is at F1 ≈ 440, F2 ≈ 600 Hz

Pengzhou /o/ sound, which the graph says is at F1 ≈ 550, F2 ≈ 875 Hz

The corresponding artificial vowels are (unmute the audio in the imgur image)

Chengdu

Pengzhou

Produced from auditoryneuroscience.com with a fundamental frequency of 110 Hz


A possible answer which accounts for the fact that the video was made in Hong Kong:

The cangjie (倉頡) code (the input method prevalent in Hong Kong) for 八佰 is HO OMA, and the code for 八百 is HO MA. A simple duplicated character would account for the error.


The list of official Chinese names for common vegetables

Kale - 羽衣甘蓝
Water cress - 水田芥；豆瓣菜（别名为西洋菜）
Collards/collard greens - 宽叶羽衣甘蓝
Brussels sprouts - 球芽甘蓝
Leeks - 韭葱
Artichokes - 洋蓟


What distinguishes modern poetry from prose?

The Wikipedia article on Chinese Poetry is particularly bad, without a single source given for the paragraph on Modern Chinese Poetry. The article on Modern Chinese poetry is equally bad, with most of the references given to a collection of English translations compiled in 1970.

If you're really interested in the subject, try Michelle Yeh's book "Anthology of Modern Chinese Poetry". Although it is now 20 years old, it is still a good survey and will give you a fairly clear idea of what modern Chinese poetry is like and how it has evolved.

If I had to name a characteristic of modern Chinese poetry, it would be that prosody (patterns of words and sound adopted by the poet) is used to give new meaning and emotional impact to ordinary forms of language. Here is an excerpt of a poem by Yang Mu (楊牧), "Let the Wind Recite" (讓風朗誦), that is typical of how modern Chinese poetry reshapes ordinary syntax

假如我能為你寫一首
夏天的詩，當蘆葦
劇烈地繁殖，陽光
飛滿腰際，且向
兩腳分立處
橫流。一面新鼓
破裂的時候，假如我能

為你寫一首秋天的詩
在小船上擺盪
浸濕十二個刻度
當悲哀蜷伏河床
如黃龍，任憑山洪急湍
從受傷的眼神中飛升
流濺 ...

To say that it "seems like a simple short vernacular essay" suggests a very odd idea of what a "vernacular essay" is.


The position of 已经 in "have been doing something for some times already"

已经 (already) can be placed before or after the verb in both Chinese and English if it is followed by a time period

这对老人(已经相爱)三十多年了 = this old couple have already been in love for more than 30 years

这对老人相爱(已经三十多年了) = this old couple have been in love for more than 30 years already

他(已经睡了)四个小时了 = he has already been sleeping for four hours

他睡了(已经四个小时了) = he has been sleeping for four hours already

他们(已经恋爱)一年多了 = they have already been in love for over a year

他们恋爱(已经一年多了) = they have been in love for over a year already

If it is not followed by a time period then 已经 (already) must be placed before the verb

Example:

(已经问)了他' (had already asked him)  cannot be changed to '问了他已经'

(已经问了)他一年' (have already asked him for a year) can be changed to 问了他(已经一年)

In short, when there's no time period at the end, the adverb '已经' must be placed before the verb; if there is a time period at the end , then 已经 is functioning as the adverb for the omitted verb '经过' or '有' in 已经(经过/有)一年

They are in fact two different types of Chinese grammar structures

"已经问了他" is a [verb + object] structure with '问了' as the verb and '他' as the object

"问了他已经一年" is a [topic + comment] structure, in which, '问了他' is the topic and '已经一年' is the comment


行 here means "to do" or "to perform".

行：實行；實踐 to do; to perform; to practice
有：還有 still have
餘：多餘的 superfluous; surplus; excess
力：能力 ability; capability

行有餘力，
After doing these and still having surplus capability,

行有餘力，則以學文。
After one can perform the above things, and has enough time and ability, one should study and learn some knowledge.

"The above things" mean 入則孝，出則弟，謹而信，汎愛眾，而親仁.

Examples:

先思而後行
Think before you act.
Look before you leap.

行之不懈
Do it with no remission.

反其道而行
Do it in an opposite way.

行之有年
Has been performed for years.

知行合一
Unity of knowledge and practice.

知之者不如行之者。
To do is better than to say.

言出必行
Do it after saying it.
No sooner said than done.

勢在必行
Must do it under such a circumstance.

親仁
親近君子 Close to the gentleman
親近有仁德的人 Close to benevolent people
「仁」指「仁者」kind, merciful, benevolent, kindly, charitable people


Why is 去 ("to go") in 也不去考虑以后会是怎样 ("...and don't think about how it will be in the future")?

It's an interesting question.

It's worth to know that "(不)去 + verb" can be considered as a fixed expression in Chinese. For example, （不）去做，（不）去想， （不）去听， （不）去玩， （不）去说，... ...

The literal meaning of （不）去 is "（not） to go". Let's say 我去看你， meaning I go see you.

Its literal meaning can be extended when the following verb doesn't require you to go literally, such as the verb 想, 听，说 and etc. It implies that you would get another place or take another time to do something. I found this dictionary definition can help:

  用在另一个动词前， 表示要做某事.

  你去问一问：please go and ask.

  我们自己去想办法： We'll find a way out ourselves.

For more detailed explanation, 我去考虑一下 vs 我考虑一下, 我去考虑一下 means I will go offline to think about it or I will take another time to think about it. Well, 我考虑一下 doesn't specify when I will think about it and it could mean to think about it right now or I will think about later on(offline).

Hope this can help.


What are the original Chinese characters for the Chinese family name Suening in the Philippines?

Chinese in Macau are mostly Cantonese speakers. It is not uncommon for people to write last name before the first name in Chinese speaking regions.

In your grandfather case "Leo" would actually be the last name. According to British Romanization of Chinese characters "Leo" is most likely "廖" /liu6/ or 柳 /lau5/

Suening was most likely two characters written as one English word, that provided further evidence for 'Leo' (廖/柳) being the family name

Suening as  Sue-Ning make more sense than Suen-Ing because 'Ning'(寧) is a very common first name

The Chinese characters for 'Leo Sue Ning' could be
廖信寧, 柳信寧, 廖迅寧, 柳迅寧, 廖迅齡 or 柳信齡 in Cantonese.

廖/柳信寧 seems to be most probable

Edit:

Suening wrote:

  Hi, I got my Gedmatch (DNA) results and distant relative has 梁 from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liang_(surname) is it totally different from the given above?

梁 in Hong Kong is written as 'Leung'.  "Leo" might be a pronunciation from a Cantonese sub-dialect for 梁. And it is a common surname.

Therefore, 'Leo Sue Ning' could be

梁信寧, 梁迅寧 or 梁信齡

Edit 2:

  This turned a bit complicated as I leaned towards the 'Leong', more and more users were added with the names of 'Liu' (劉) - list; Liu Gui Hua, XiaoxueLiu, Liu Jin Lian, Liu Li Qun, Chang Liu, John Liu, Xiaoou Liu, Liu Shun Ying, Haoshu Liu, Ismayil Liu, Liu, Liu Su Hua, Liu Gui Hua, XiaoxueLiu, Liu Jin Lian

So it could be 劉信寧, 劉迅寧 or 劉信齡 then. Both 劉 and 梁 are very common Chinese surnames. It doesn't change the fact that 'Suening' was most likely  a two characters given name 'Sue Ning' mistakenly turned into a Surname in  the Philippine


What is the difference between 扰乱 and 捣乱?

扰 in 扰乱 carries the meaning of 'to disturb'; 'to disrupt'

捣 in 捣乱 carries the meaning of 'to smash; to crush'

扰乱(to disturb; to disrupt) is usually in non-physical, non-violent forms
When you talk with your classmate during class, you are disrupting (扰乱) the normal flow of the class
when you look over someone's shoulder while he write, you are disrupting (扰乱) his concentration.

~

捣乱 (to create a disturbance) is often in physical, violent forms
When you go smashing up a bar, it is an act of 捣乱 (to create a disturbance)
When you trashing someone's house, it is also an act of 捣乱 (to create a disturbance)

Of course your teacher may consider you and your classmate's disrupting action as 捣乱, in a metaphorically sense.
On the other hand, when the police arrest you for smashing up a bar, you cannot say you are merely disrupting (扰乱) its business. It is more serious than just getting drunk and talked loud.


What is the grammatical reason for 的 at the end of short responses such as 好的, 是的 and 會的?

的: positive response? Not exactly!
The function of 的 is well stated in 漢典:

4 . 助词，用在句末， 表示肯定的语气 ，常与“是”相应：这句话是很对～。
At the end of a sentence, 的 is an auxiliary word, indicating a response with emphasized confidence. It is often used in the "是……的" structure.

I think it's not proper to literally translate 表示肯定的语气 into "indicating a positive response". That's because, although the example sentence

这句话是很对的。 This sentence is quite right.

is a positive response, a negative response in the 是...的 structure perfectly make sense too!

这句话是不对的。 This sentence is not right.

The 是...的 structure has been well studied in this question. See golddc and 孤影萍踪's answer.
的 in a short answer
Come back to OP's question. Indeed, when 的 is used in a short answer, it's generally a positive answer.

Q: 你會彈鋼琴嗎？ A: 會的。
Q: Can you play piano? A: (Yes), I can.

But I would rather say, this effect is related to psychology. Most of the time, we tend to be confident to give a positive response; however on the contrary, a negative response is seldom stated with confidence.

Q: 你會彈鋼琴嗎？ A: 不會的。

The grammar is perfect in this sentence, but it would sound like:

Q: Can you play piano? A: Of course I can't.

You would feel such an answer sounds cynic.
For a neutral question (I mean, whether a "yes" or a "no" answer won't be specially expected), a negative response with confidence is commonly used too.

Q:他會來嗎？ A：不會的。
Q: Will he come? A: I'm sure he won't.
Q:你是黨員嗎？ A:不是的。
Q: Are you a party member? A: Of course not.

It is grammatically perfect and sounds right.
Conclusion
In Chinese, 肯定的语气 is a little ambiguous. It can mean either "positive mood" or "confident mood". In this auxiliary word 的 case, 肯定的语气 is better to be considered as the confident mood.


Your usage of character formation may not be always correct. E.g., 露 used to have that meaning (well before the 12th century AD), but now it means "water drops (on/from plants)".
In general, 道 is a bit more abstract than 路, silimar to "path" and "road" in English. 路 often means the road you're going on, and 道 can have the meaning of "method/approach".

– 你从哪条路过来的？ Which road did you come from?
– 我从那条小道过来的。 I came from that small path.

Usually they are interchangeable, but sometimes...

条条大路通罗马。 (not 大道)
All roads lead to Rome. (not "path")
(road name) XX大道 (Blah Boulevard)
XX大路？ (Blah Big Road)

道 can also mean a social subject,

混白道，混黑道 (do business and run gangs)
白路/黑路 (white road and black road)


It probably means the English word nice(pronunciation).

This pic is very similar to those Chinese Internet meme pics. For example you may have also seen one with the word 因吹丝挺, which means interesting.

These meme pics are often ironic.


Online resources for meanings and examples of radicals in simplified Chinese

I recommend mdbg.net's radical section. The first charachter on each individual radical's page is always the character the radical comes from followed by the radical itself (if they're different), followed by anywhere from a couple to several hundred charachters with that radical in simplified and traditional. Clicking on a charachter on any of the radical page takes you to the dictionary which shows the character in both simplified and traditional.

Hope this was helpful!


For modern Chinese, 下巴 is more commonly used in the daily life for the meaning of jaw or chin. Whereas 頜 is often used in medical words, like 下頜骨.

In Ancient Chinese, 頜 is more common.

  頷、頤,頜也。南楚謂之頷,秦晉謂之頜。頤,其通語也。――《方言》

ref: http://baike.baidu.com/view/269020.htm


Is there a chengyu to describe small-time thieves or scoundrels with a playful connotation?

鼠窃狗偷 (small-time thieves):
Remember the YouTube video that showed a rat pulling a pizza? That's cute; If you have a dog, does he steal your food when you are not looking? Mine did. And it was cute
毛贼 (small thieves):
A thief as small-time as a hair, how much damage can it cause?
笨贼 (dumb thieves/ dumb criminals):
There are many hilarious stories of dumb criminals doing stupid things during the crime. It fits The Beagle Boys' image
If you google '笨贼个案' or 'cases of dumb criminals', you will find a lot of examples
笨贼 is doubly funny for me because it sounds like "stupid dicks" in Cantonese


Why would topolects get described in terms of Mandarin? (声母变异、韵母变异)

Yes or No.

In Chinese linguistic study, there are three rules of distinguishing dialects from languages:

Linguistically, mutual intelligibility
Historically, derivation
Politically, anything except the standard

Dialects are picked out mainly because MSM gets politically recognized as a standard in China Mainland.

In practice, a minor reason is that they do not have matured or accurate writing system.


洞燭先機／／／／／／未雨綢繆／／／／／／防微杜漸／／／／／／防患未然


Website or tools that puts pinyin on top or bottom of the characters automatically

I have never looked for this kind of a tool before - good idea! I just ran a search using  and came across an online tool that will do what you ask:

http://zhongwenzhuanpinyin.51240.com/

If you can read a little bit of Chinese, I would recommend trying this one. It will convert your Chinese characters to pinyin and show tones.

I have read on many Chinese website that there is a way to do all of this with Word but I am not familiar enough with this. You can get the basic idea here:

http://office.wps.cn/wpsword/21508-2013-04-10-16-44-20-302.html

Hopefully someone else will be able to explain how that works in more detail.

Good luck!


Romance of the Three Kingdoms English translation with Pinyin names?

There's official English version of The Romance of Three Kingdoms

To find out the names of characters and places in Chinese characters, you can just input them in Google search, for example  "Cao Cao", and you'll find entries listed the Chinese characters of this name Cáo Cāo (曹操; 155 – March 15, 220)

At Google translate:

Input 曹操 in the request field (translate from Chinese)

the pinyin Cáocāo would appear under it

And the English translation "Cao Cao" will appears on the result field (translate to English)

You can find out the pinyin of all the characters and places' names this way, as long as you know the Chinese characters for them

Books are not dictionaries, they don't list pinyin for characters


Is the rendering of 相 into English as "mutual(ly)" sensible?

少欲俱相類，相聚，相應，相可 《雜阿含經》

少欲者俱相類，相聚，相應，相可 《佛說相應相可經》

少欲者: 貪欲少的人、欲望較少的人 People with less desire

俱: all

相類: 互相類似 They think and behave similarly.

相聚: 互相聚集 They often get together.

相應: 互相契合 They tally or correspond mutually.
相應 means to tally or to correspond (契合) in Buddhism, not to react or to interact.

相可: 互相許可 They agree with one another. They agree mutually.

相 may mean "mutually" or "each other".
However, one is an adverb, and the other is a pronoun.
I think the 相 in 相類, 相聚, 相應 and 相可 are more likely to be the adverbs, not the pronouns.
So, 相 means "mutually" here.


I guess it's origin is 勾持连帮，maybe it's a local phrase that only be used in a small  district.
勾持 may means 勾搭，and be sounded to 狗, 连帮 means to be a group, that's why it's means 勾结起来做坏事.
Realy never heard of this word.


Can you help identify the artist for these Taizong horse rubbings? (Characters identified: 長安市隱李月溪手搨金石章)

the characters of the picture are 长安市隐李月溪手搨金石章.it is a seal or stamp of a person whose name is 李月溪 Li Yuexi.you can google him if you want to know more.I think the two horses you mentioned are from a tomb of a chinese emperor name 李世民 Li Shimin.I heard the relievoes were sold from china since early last century.It is not good.As a chinese I think you should return the paper to my country.I am not good at english.if you can speak chinese and want to know more about this please contact me.


How common is the character 唷 (pinyin: yō) in Mandarin?

Major dictionaries published in mainland China usually have the official Pinyin chart as appendix.

You can download the official pdf of the Pinyin system from the government site: http://www.moe.gov.cn/ewebeditor/uploadfile/2015/03/02/20150302165814246.pdf

You can also find it on wikisource: https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hans/%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E6%8B%BC%E9%9F%B3%E6%96%B9%E6%A1%88

You also need to have a basic understanding of Chinese phonology and the Pinyin system. For instance, when there is no initial, finals beginning with 'i' should be written as 'y', and finals beginning with 'ü' should be written as 'yu'. Hope this clears your questions about yo is in the slot for "y+o" but in this article, it mentioned as a combination of i+o and some charts don't have "yun" but there are clearly hanzi that use it.

In my personal experience, the character 唷 is not very commonly used. 哟 is perhaps more common.

On the whole, interjections are often exceptions from phonological rules. (Think of the English word 'hmm'.) In Chinese, the pronunciation of interjections are often fluid. If a sound combination is only used in interjections and no other character uses this sound combination, it could be considered not part of the normal phonology and thus is not included in the Pinyin chart.


What is the Cantonese equivalent for 你怎么样？

Normally we use the verb "点"

你点啊？
Nei5 dim2 aa3?
leih dim a?
English: What's up? (less formal)
你点样啊？
Nei5 dim2 jeung5 aa3?
leih dim yeung a?
English: How are you doing? (more formal)
你近排点啊？
Nei5 gan6 paai4 dim2 aa3?
leih gan pai dim a?
English: How have you been doing?
你呢排点啊？
Nei5 ni1 paai4 dim2 aa3?
leih li pai dim a?
English: How've you been lately?


What does 现代化 ('modernize') mean in ...兴建了百万平方米的现代化厂房...?

Literally translated, 现代化 is "modernised". Actually I think the construction of Adj+化 in Chinese is actually mimicking the construction created by -ize in English.

Considering only the language aspect, I think 现代化 means the same as 现代(adj.) does. If there is any difference, 现代化 might implies a process of transforming something to be modern, hence "modernized". But in many of its modern usage it is does not. For example, I don't think the sentence in this question implies that those factories or plants were not "modern" but become "modern" by renovation or upgraded equipment. I feel they were built to modern and simply are modern.

This lead to my other point. I think 现代化 is overused in modern Chinese. You see 现代化 was a widely used propaganda term in the context of stimulating industrial and economy growth in the history of PRC. The proper term are "four modernisations", which basically equalised to "better" in the eyes of public. Nowadays, everything is already quite "modern", so there seldom be a "modernisation" process happened to an object described as 现代化的. Most of the time, they are just modern. However, we still see the world quite often, mostly in official speeches or promotional materials.

I'm not sure what is the best way in English that can capture this subtleness, and it's now become more or less a style thing. So in most of the cases, 现代化 = 现代 unless you want to give it an official or tone that relate people to that ideology.


The difference between the two in writing should be clear from these drawings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_35 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_34 and the stroke animations from http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%A4%8A
and http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%A4%82

夂 is normally used at the top (for example 条條修脩务務夐) or the left (for example 处) of a character, and 夊 at the bottom (for example 愛夏复) or the right (for example 致, see http://zhongwen.com/d/173/d80.htm).

Originally both characters were quite different (see http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%A4%8A
and http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%A4%82), but nowadays there are typically both written as 夂 by most people and most fonts don't make the distinction anymore.


What is the word to emphasize the 最~ ("by far the best") in Mandarin?

In Chinese, the equivalent of  by far could be 远超 or 遥遥领先. You can put in your context:

  但是第一个理由远超 其它(两个)。

Or:

  但是第一个理由(所占比例)遥遥领先.


It implies that I had been thinking today is a good day, until I noticed that it would snow soon. 还 means 本来 here, it indicates a continuation of original thought. For no. 3, I wouldn't say it's wrong, but it sounds very Chinglish to me.

It couldn't be "also", because 快下雪 means bad weather, which is opposite to good weather.


Chinese painting signature and seal translation (Characters identified: 羅鼎華印)

There's nothing here but the artist name, which is 羅鼎華 (Mandarin: Luó Dǐnghuá).
The calligraphy says

鼎華
Dǐnghuá

The seal says

羅鼎蕐（華）印
Seal of Luó Dǐnghuá


Difference between 須要 vs 需要 and 嘗試 vs 試試看?

'須要' (need to) applies to 'verb' e.g. '須要付錢' (need to pay)

'需要' (need) applies to 'noun' e.g. '需要金錢' (need money)

'試試看 means 'try and see' e.g. '試試看不付账单' (try not to pay the bill and see); '加些糖試試看' (try add some sugar and see)

If you remove 看 and write '試試' then it would become reduplication of '試' (try/ test) ; 試試 = 'slightly try/ test a little '

'嘗試' means  'to try (one's hand at)' As stated in the other question.


Why is 两十万 (liǎng shí wàn) okay when it contains 两十 (liǎng shí) which is incorrect?

「兩」didn't originally mean two. The character was first used for what is now written「輛」, the unit of measure for vehicles, being differentiated from「丙」and composed of two「丙」side-by-side:

The mark「一」was a decorative stroke added on top later to produce「兩」(note, a similar process occurred with the character「雨」).

The etymology of liǎng is ultimately not known, but very early on,「兩」was used as a phonetic loan for several meanings. The relevant ones to the modern language are:

Comparing and contrasting, or describing, two objects/people/situations.

《詩・齊風・還》： “並驅從兩肩兮， 揖我謂我儇兮。”
《莊子・人間世》： “吾未至乎事之情， 而既有陰陽之患矣；事若不成， 必有人道之患。 是兩也， 為人臣者不足以任之， 子其有以語我來。”

Unit of measurement of weight or objects.

《詩・齊風・南山》： “葛屨五兩， 冠緌雙止。”
《禮記・雜記下》： “納幣一束， 束五兩， 兩五尋。”

From traditional usage,「兩」(1) first of all refers to one or several units of something, then by extension (2) refers to a comparison or description of several/some/a small number of or two units/things. This is not the same usage as the abstract number「二」, and is why you never say abstract numbers with「兩」(e.g. when talking about telephone numbers, decimal numbers, etc.), and never use「兩」when counting objects which use「兩」as a measure word (e.g. for taels).

It is this differential usage which also precludes「兩十」from being a clear expression; 「十」is homophonous with too many other words, unlike「百」,「千」,「萬」.

To answer the question directly,

「兩十」also turns up Baidu hits; it is just as valid or invalid as「兩十萬」
Some of the Baidu hits are actually using「兩」as「輛」
The other ones may be regional colloquialisms; from a discussion here:

  我們老家還眞有，兩個，一十兩，兩十，兩百零兩，都是50歲以上的人，現在已經不怎麽能聽到這種數字了，方言被普通話漸漸消滅了。。。

Finally, note that

In formal currency numerals, there is only the alternative character「貳」, and none corresponding for「兩」. This is related to「兩」being invalid for use as a number in traditional currency systems.
It is exceedingly rare to use「兩」for the meaning two in the Sinoxenic languages (Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese), indicating that using it this way freely is a rather recent colloquial Chinese invention


Question about the use of 中 (first or fourth tone)?

it's zhōng, according to 國語辭典:

http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&searchid=Z00000120693

in cantonese, it jung1 (sydney lay scheme)

http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=中

sound file: http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/sound/zung1.Mp3

方者﹒才也﹒始也; roughly "only then"

have fun :)


Translate 'operational' and 'strategic' in Chinese

I think the most appropriate translation for "operational" is 运营. for example, “the day-to-day operational aspect of the business” can be translated as 公司每天运营方面。。。or for example Chief Operating Office is commonly translated as 首席运营官


What's the difference between 在 and 于 as a preposition?

王得屹's answer is basically correct, 在 is used in colloquial sentences more and 于 is used in literary sentences more.

I would provide examples to illustrate the point more clearly:

"生(于)中国" = "出生(在)中国" (we don't say 生在中国 because 生 is more literary, 在 is more colloquial, mixing the two make it sound unnatural)

"逝(于)日本" = "(在)日本逝世" (we don't say 逝在日本 because 逝 is more literary, 在 is more colloquial, mixing the two make it sound unnatural; meanwhile, 死 and 在 in 死在日本 are both colloquial terms)

"生于中国" and "逝于日本" are more literary

"出生在中国" and "在日本逝世" / 死在日本 are more colloquial

unlike 逝, 逝世 is more suitable for colloquial sentences


The news paper was '國際日報 (International Daily)'

The headline had nothing to do with the quote. It said "US dollar rise to new record high"

Subheading 1: "Eight nations' central bank intervene "

Subheading 2: "Gold price everywhere uniformly..." ( text below not shown, but I guess it was 'raise')


What's a 调警? (In a Command Center (指挥中心))

Three possibilities:

1) 调警 as an internal police term

Examples:

... 指令通过光纤迅速传递到消防大队、派出所、交警中队等处警单位，提高了调警速度和准确性。
通过110快速调警处置，成功抓获现行违法犯罪嫌疑人91人、救助群众165人

In this context, it means "dispatch"(like 911 dispatch).

It is rarely used outside of police force. So civilians rarely heard of it and may consider it as a wrong word.

2） You split the sentence wrong

Examples:

哈尔滨调警用直升机搜捕三逃犯

It is short for 调用, meaning "make use of". Because 警用直升机(police helicopter) also has a 用 in it, omitting the 用 in 调用 would make the sentence less redundant.

3) Short for 调用警力(transfer police force)

Examples:

采用异地调警的方式分别从虹桥分局....


well,  this answer is "limited" only, in relation to poetry in 唐 dynasty & cantonese.

1   cantonese (and several southern dialects/languages) is highly correlated to middle chinese, which was used in 唐 dynasty.

2   cantonese still has 入聲 (entering tone), while mandarin lost it. e.g.

屋 uk1　sound file

沃 yuk1　sound file

燭 juk1　sound file

in mandarin, these three are pronounced as:

屋　wū　(陰平, dark level)

沃　wò　(去, departing)

燭　zhú　(陽平, dark level)

3   韻書 (rime dictionary), e.g. 切韻, 廣韻; one can find character based on cantonese, or other southern dialects / languages, but not mandarin.

4   poetry in 唐 dynasty had rules and patterns. compare to a language without entering tone, characters not in accord with rime dictionary; cantonese is a better choice.

last, there was a book 文鏡秘府論 by japanese monk 遍照金剛　(空海), which was written at about 809. it talks about the rules /  patterns of poetry & chinese phonology in details.

the internet archive has a copy:

https://archive.org/search.php?query=文鏡秘府論

or, 文鏡秘府論匯校彙考

have a read, please.


What is the grammatical analysis of 信得过?

信得过 means 'can be trusted/believed/depended upon'. I would actually classify it as a verbal phrase as there are usually more formal ways to express it in writing, such as 可靠 (dependable) or 可信 (believable).

I would say “他的话是信得过的！” if I wanted to say "His word could be trusted!"


Why should I change the subject in this situation? (V的V, V的V sentence structure)

The only difference I can see is that "我的爸爸" is singular, while "公司的人" is plural.

That is the reason.
[V 的 V] = [the one who v, does v] e.g. "敵兵逃的逃，降的降" = "the enemy soldiers who run, do run; the enemy soldiers who surrender, do surrender". Which means 'some soldiers run, some soldiers surrender'.
打字的打字，打电话的打电话 = the ones who type are typing; the ones who make phone calls are making phone calls = 'some people are typing, some people are making phone calls'

[the enemy soldiers who run] is the subject; The second [run] is the verb

[打电话的(人)] is the subject; the second [打电话] is the verb

The reason for the second '打字' in '打字的打字' is '打字的' is a noun that means 'the one who type'. It doesn't mean he is currently typing until you add the verb '打字' after the noun.
Please see this similar question Grammar: verb + 的 + verb


Translation and script type of Chinese calligraphy scroll (Characters identified: 高明配天 敬璧)

The large calligraphy says 髙（高）明⿰酉卩（配）天
The seal says （敬）璧

「高明配天」 is a short segment from the Doctrine of the Mean. The entire line that this segment is found in is

...博厚配地，高明配天，悠久無疆...

...one's learning as expansive as the land on this earth, one's achievements as noble and lofty as the blue sky, lasting through to eternity...

The seal 「敬璧」 is part of the name of the artist (as given on the smaller calligraphy on the left).
Generally, if you find something that kind of looks like seal script but feels somewhat off (e.g. you can't identify some components), you can assume that it's some kind of pre-Qin writing style. I would classify the large calligraphy as being inspired by oracle bone script and the seal as being inspired by inscriptions from around the Spring and Autumn period.
We can have a go at explaining the character shapes below...

高
The closest shape to the first character in the large calligraphy is 「髙」, which we normally write nowadays as 「高」. 「高」 (high/lofty/tall) is made up of semantic 「京」 (picture of a tall watchtower/pavilion) and a distinguishing mark 「口」 whose function is to distinguish the word represented by 「高」 from the word represented by 「京」.
商甲前1.34.5合集2359西周金不簋蓋集成4329秦簡秦195睡虎地秦簡今楷

配
The third character in the large calligraphy transcribed into regular script is

which was originally made up of a kneeling person 「卩」 next to an alcohol vessel 「酉」. The original meaning was an abstraction of people jointly kneeling or prostrating at a ritual (and wine was often an offering in these rituals), and the joint ritual meaning was semantically extended to join, pair, match.
商甲存2244合集31841西周金㝬鐘集成260春秋金蔡侯盤集成10171
「卩」 was then corrupted into 「己」.
春秋金拍敦集成4644篆酉部說文解字今楷

敬
The closest shape to the first character in the seal is 「」, and this is normally written nowadays as 「敬」. The character 「敬」 (Zhengzhang OC: /*kreŋs/, respect) comes from semantic 「攵・攴」 (hand holding a hitting weapon) and phonetic 「茍」 (/*kɯɡ/). The shape in the seal comes from a corruption of the

part of 「茍」 into 「羌」, and this corruption is not inherited in the modern form 「敬」.
西周金叔䟒父卣集成5428西周金大克鼎集成2836春秋金王子午鼎集成2811隸定
Note: the proportions have been distorted slightly in the seal.

璧
This should be recognisable from the small calligraphy on the left, if not for the distorted proportions.

References:

《漢語大詞典》
季旭昇《說文新證》
董蓮池《說文解字考正》
黃德寬《古文字譜系疏證》
小學堂
漢語多功能字庫
國學大師

郭沫若《甲骨文合集》
中國社會科學院考古研究所《殷周金文集成》

中國哲學書電子化計劃

宋・徐鉉等奉敕校定　漢・許慎《說文解字》


When and why is right to left writing used?

In the past Chinese characters were written from top to bottom and from right to left. Horizontal right to left is not that common even in ancient times. The top scroll in a couplet is one case which might be the one you see at the top of a gate. The one you see on vehicles may not be the case. I think it's just on the right side from head to tail of the vehicle which makes it right to left.
Of course not, or else it would confuse the reader.
Not for most adults, you just need to get used to it.

?right .either English in readers confuse won't it think I


Pronunciation difference between 绿, and 陆。

The initial in 綠 (lü) and 陸 (lu) are the same. You are essentially asking how to pronounce the pinyin ü and u.

Silently, round your lips tightly into a small circle (but don't close it completely). Within the oral cavity, place the tip of your tongue at the very front. Now make some sound from your vocal cords. You are now pronouncing the close front rounded vowel /y/, or the pinyin ü.

Continue to make sound, but now slowly move the tip of your tongue backwards, until you hear the familiar /u/, or the pinyin u. This is the close back rounded vowel.

You may draw reference from other languages that you are familiar with when learning how to pronounce a certain vowel in a new language. (More examples of /y/ and /u/ from Wikipedia)

/y/, ü
/u/, u

English
few [fjyː] (multicultural London)
boot [bu̟ːt]

German
über [ˈyːbɐ] 'over'
Fuß [fuːs] 'foot'

French
tu [t̪y] 'you'
où [u] 'where'

I think the difference in German (ü vs u) is best understood. It is even reflected in its spelling.


我的家

I Assume this is the title. If it is, perfectly fine.

  我叫Ian。我今年十四岁。

Too many subjects. Sound redundant. Better to be: 我叫Ian，今年十四岁。

  我的家在Greenlane。我的家有四口人，爸爸，妈妈，一个姐姐和我。

Redundancy problem again. Suggest to change to 我的家在Greenlane，家里有四口人——爸爸、妈妈、姐姐和我。（Note the correct usage of punctuation.）

I changed your second "我的家" into "家里" because

Although in Chinese, 家 can refer to either family or the house, please avoid refer to both in the same context, which leads to confusion.
We usually do not say "我的家有四口人". Instead, we say "我家有四口人" or "我家里有四口人"。In the second form, 我 can be omitted if your last sentence already uses 我 as subject.

  我的家有三个卧室，三个卫生间，一个厨房，客厅和一个饭厅。

This sentence does not have big problem in grammar. Maybe changing 我的家 into 我家 can may it more oral-like. Another thing to pay attention to is, you remove the quantity of 客厅 only, but keep all other ones with 一个. How about: 我家有客厅、饭厅、厨房、三个卧室和三个卫生间。. I also changed the order to make sure there's no ambiguity.

  我也有一个小花园。

也 is improper, since it implies other people also have a garden. If it's the only garden in your house, you should say 我还有一个花园. Another problem is, the garden does not belong to you only (in my point of view, it should belong to you family), so a better way to state is 我家还有一个花园. However, this would make the subject repeated. Therefore, you can change to another way around, saying 屋子外面还有一个花园.

  我的花园很漂亮。

我的 can be removed.

  我的客厅不大也不小。

Changing 我的 to 我家的, or simply removing it, would be better.

  客厅里有三个沙发，一个棕色的桌子，椅子和一个电视。

If you choose to remove 我的 in your last sentence, you can also remove 客厅 in this sentence and change 里 into 里面。Joining together the two sentences: 客厅不大也不小，里面有三个沙发、一个棕色的桌子、?把椅子和一个电视。（There's no reason to omit the quality of chair. If you omit it, some people may think there's only one chair. If you don't want to mention the number, you can also say 几把椅子.）

  我不喜欢我的客厅一点儿。

This one is too English. I assume you want to say: I dislike my living room a little bit. If this is the case, you should change into 我有点儿不喜欢我家的客厅.

  因为，在晚上，客厅很冷。

Everything fine.

  我喜欢我的卧室因为卧室很暖和。

Fine. But feel a little bit rigid/unnatural when moving from the last sentence. You can add some preposition, such as 相比之下。So the sentence becomes: 相比之下，我更喜欢我的卧室，因为卧室很暖和。. The second 卧室 can be swapped into 它 to remove repeating.

  还有，我的卧室比我姐姐的我是很大。

Typo? 我是 --> 卧室. Again, the second 卧室 can be removed. Another problem, 很大 can not be used to describe comparison. You can say 大很多 instead. The full sentence: 还有，我的卧室比我姐姐的大很多。.

  我的房间里有床，两个白色的书架，一个书桌和两个椅子。

Please don't change subject from 卧室 to 房间. This may makes the audience misleaded. Just say "卧室里有床、两个白色的书架、一个书桌和两把椅子。".

  书架上有英文书，韩文书和中文书。

Fine.

  我最喜欢我的家。

Better to be: 我最喜欢我的家了。 or 我非常喜欢我的家。. Because 最 makes people think you are making comparison.Either you like your home more than somebody else, or you like your home more than something else. Changing to "非常" would make it only mean the degree of your affection. 我最喜欢我的家了。 is another way of saying it with more emotion, instead of plainly state the fact.


Which pronunciation of “kun” is correct or what’s the difference?

In my opinion, the Chinese pinyin "kun" sounds like "kwen".

If you like to take a further look at the the pronunciation, you can see Zhuyin(Bopomofo), which we often use it in Taiwan: ㄎㄨㄣ

ㄎ / ㄨ / ㄣ

k / wu / en

BTW, I think those two audio sounds familiar.


What does 與 mean in 對我來說她的存在是與現實之間的邊界綫?

對我來說 - to me,
她的存在 - her existence
是 - is
???? (object A - missing )
與 - and
現實 reality (object B)
之間的 - that between
邊界綫 - the borderline

[1. 對我來說] [2. 她的存在] [3. 是] [4. X] [5. 與] [6.現實][7. 之間的] [8. 邊界綫]
[1. to me] [2. her existence] [3. is] [4. X][5.and] [6. reality][7. between] [8. the borderline] (Chinese grammar)
[1. to me] [2. her existence] [3. is] [8.the borderline] [7. between] [4. X] [5. and] [6. reality]  (English grammar)

X could be something opposite of reality , e.g. "dream", "fantasy"
"Her existence is the borderline between dream and reality"
X could also be 'I' meaning if she didn't exist, I would have to face reality


What are the most common Chinese honorifics?

When addressing the listener's family, a prefix 令 (ling4, which has a meaning of good, lucky) can be used:

令尊, your father
令堂, your mother
令郎, your son
令嫒, your daughter
令兄, your elder brother
令弟, your younger brother
令姊, your elder sister
令妹, your younger sister

Correspondingly, when addressing the speaker's own family, a prefix 家(jia1, which means home, family) is used:

家父, 家严, my father
家母, 家慈, my mother
家兄, my elder brother
家弟, 舍弟, my younger brother
家姊, my elder sister
家妹, 舍妹, my younger sister

舍 (she4, my humble house) is used only with the younger of the same generation, or the younger generation:

舍侄 (brother's son), 舍甥 (sister's son), my nephew

My son and my daughter are 犬子, 犬女. 犬 here is puppy. But it's extremely rude to call others with any dog related words.
In daily informal cases, we can use:

您 as a replacement of 令
我 as a replacement of 家、舍,
common words like 父亲, 母亲, 哥哥, 弟弟, 姐姐, 妹妹, 儿子, 女儿

Examples:

您父亲, your father
我弟弟, my younger brother

My father and my mother can be 我爸爸, 我妈妈. But 您爸爸X or 您妈妈X is not proper because 爸爸 and 妈妈 are not honorific while 父亲 and 母亲 are.
Besides, 尊 (zun1, honor, respect) is a honorific prefix:

尊夫, your husband
尊夫人, your wife, also 嫂夫人
尊驾, you
尊师, your teacher
尊长, your elders


What's Jackie Chan's Character's Chinese Name (in Characters) in Rush Hour?

Jackie Chan's character only has one name, Lee.

Neither the script, original screenplay, credits, of all three movies give any other name for Lee.

"Yan Naing Lee" is a piece of Wikipedia vandalism that sadly hasn't been caught, until now. See this revision: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rush_Hour_(film_series)&diff=prev&oldid=598230485

And related Movies & TV question: https://movies.stackexchange.com/q/81411/11183


What are the 1,500 chengyu for the 2015 chengyu convention

The list appears accessible here.  In total there are 1352 (level 1) + 801 (level 2) + 702 (level 3) = 2855 chengyu.

Level 1: 1352 words

日以继夜 如痴如醉 如雷灌耳 三番五次 仁人志士 日久天长
风和日丽 三更半夜 其势汹汹 魂飞魄散 饶有兴味 惹事生非
三年五载 山崩地裂 舍死忘生 身价百倍 生搬硬套 冥思苦想
婆婆妈妈 破罐破摔 脉脉含情 目不邪视 装腔作势 明查暗访
老王卖瓜 精雕细琢 假模假式 恼羞成怒 混世魔王 称心如意
路不拾遗 安如磐石 疾风骤雨 孤苦伶仃 茫无头绪 生龙活虎
见景生情 借酒消愁 金璧辉煌 仅此而已 凌乱不堪 零七八碎
面黄肌瘦 名不符实 光明磊落 没精打采 泛泛而谈 见机而行
连绵不绝 良辰吉日 落叶归根 满腔热忱 轮流做庄 见风使舵
旧地重游 口干舌焦 枯燥无味 苦尽甜来 老眼昏花 假戏真做
宾客如云 风靡一时 交口称颂 焦灼不安 尽心竭力 寸草春晖
词穷理屈 蜂拥而上 飞针走线 花枝招展 欢声如雷 刮目相看
红颜薄命 闭门造车 吉凶未卜 话不投机 多多益善 不共戴天
告老还乡 祸从口出 画饼充饥 不堪入目 本性难移 不谋而合
独当一面 兵临城下 鸡犬升天 各执一词 点石成金 众望所归
地广人稀 画蛇添足 别来无恙 鸡犬不宁 虎落平阳 参差不齐
宾至如归 杯盘狼藉 不亦乐乎 虎视眈眈 喋喋不休 不知所措
逢凶化吉 呆若木鸡 得不偿失 不能自拔 大庭广众 不自量力
安营扎寨 单枪匹马 闭门思过 泰然自若 他山之石 驷马难追
昙花一现 随声附和 肆无忌惮 完璧归赵 天伦之乐 泰山压顶
似曾相识 肃然起敬 望洋兴叹 谈虎色变 耸人听闻 天网恢恢
体无完肤 窈窕淑女 万人空巷 徒劳无功 亡羊补牢 万象更新
卧薪尝胆 言外之意 威风凛凛 听天由命 引以为戒 无可厚非
语重心长 业精于勤 以卵击石 心惊肉跳 幸灾乐祸 有口皆碑
迎刃而解 无计可施 壮志未酬 循规蹈矩 学而不厌 一言九鼎
坐井观天 心急如焚 兴师问罪 似是而非 有口无心 应运而生
言不由衷 心如铁石 物尽其用 远见卓识 虚张声势 叶落归根
一纸空文 咬文嚼字 徇私舞弊 秀色可餐 因循守旧 胸有成竹
众口难调 习以为常 血气方刚 玩世不恭 游手好闲 异曲同工
直言不讳 先声夺人 自强不息 专横跋扈 用心良苦 天涯海角
童言无忌 唯唯诺诺 志同道合 张皇失措 逐鹿中原 危言耸听
优柔寡断 一石二鸟 振振有词 先发制人 因材施教 物以类聚
因地制宜 无地自容 悬崖勒马 相得益彰 原形毕露 雄才大略
振臂一呼 逃之夭夭 自圆其说 唯命是从 无奇不有 推心置腹
推波助澜 螳臂当车 朝不保夕 危在旦夕 脱胎换骨 天衣无缝
微不足道 养精蓄锐 脱颖而出 望而却步 针锋相对 喜从天降
易如反掌 徒有虚名 英姿飒爽 有勇无谋 相依为命 自投罗网
瞻前顾后 责无旁贷 趾高气扬 置之度外 一掷千金 引狼入室
悬而未决 循序渐进 羞愧难当 直截了当 袖手旁观 以身试法
无以复加 掷地有声 众目睽睽 众矢之的 自告奋勇 因人而异
朝三暮四 斩钉截铁 震耳欲聋 一落千丈 有条不紊 在所不辞
遥相呼应 忘乎所以 随机应变 无人问津 于事无补 纨绔子弟
损兵折将 一丘之貉 异军突起 自鸣得意 自欺欺人 天罗地网
欲罢不能 追悔莫及 无往不胜 有目共睹 无懈可击 一劳永逸
形影不离 罪魁祸首 自顾不暇 形迹可疑 转危为安 心安理得
应接不暇 自命不凡 走投无路 严阵以待 图谋不轨 贼喊捉贼
无坚不摧 一波三折 引火烧身 隐姓埋名 无所适从 望尘莫及
天壤之别 指日可待 心驰神往 挤眉弄眼 顺手牵羊 新来乍到
阴差阳错 相安无事 势均力敌 浪迹天涯 惊魂未定 首当其冲
嫁鸡随鸡 水落石出 深不可测 咎由自取 双管齐下 细枝末节
树大招风 苦尽甘来 时运不济 牢不可破 利欲熏心 两肋插刀
开卷有益 里应外合 首屈一指 生离死别 事倍功半 历历在目
来日方长 来者不拒 事半功倍 生死与共 扣人心弦 来者不善
空前绝后 焦头烂额 看破红尘 守株待兔 生死攸关 山呼海啸
津津乐道 乐此不疲 临阵磨枪 十恶不赦 时不再来 溃不成军
溜之大吉 守口如瓶 理所当然 明辨是非 居心不良 手足无措
劳而无功 失之交臂 苦不堪言 雷打不动 老谋深算 乐极生悲
金鸡独立 群龙无首 事不宜迟 良师益友 曲高和寡 黔驴技穷
熟视无睹 酒足饭饱 入情入理 瞒上欺下 事在人为 两小无猜
死不瞑目 轻车熟路 事在必行 千差万别 卖主求荣 锲而不舍
局促不安 如鱼得水 入不敷出 两全其美 两败俱伤 立足之地
事与愿违 前仆后继 灵丹妙药 举手之劳 居高临下 例行公事
入乡随俗 毛手毛脚 否极泰来 誓不两立 淋漓尽致 去伪存真
南辕北辙 水到渠成 举一反三 妙手回春 墨守成规 水涨船高
明目张胆 磨刀霍霍 顺理成章 马不停蹄 聚精会神 屡见不鲜
顺藤摸瓜 满城风雨 津津有味 老调重弹 梦寐以求 屡试不爽
灭顶之灾 瞬息万变 论功行赏 量力而行 口干舌燥 难能可贵
漫无边际 马失前蹄 哭天抹泪 了若指掌 家长里短 妙不可言
若隐若现 料事如神 呕心沥血 茅塞顿开 毛骨悚然 临危不惧
披荆斩棘 毛遂自荐 日复一日 狼狈不堪 美不胜收 面面俱到
狼吞虎咽 另起炉灶 落井下石 如胶似漆 妙趣横生 明媒正娶
络绎不绝 前呼后拥 门庭若市 名不副实 略胜一筹 老态龙钟
流连忘返 精益求精 炉火纯青 乐不可支 渺无人烟 貌合神离
名垂青史 泪如泉涌 略知一二 敬而远之 六神无主 时隐时现
名副其实 落落大方 冷眼旁观 麻木不仁 令人发指 赏心悦目
力不从心 就地取材 琳琅满目 据理力争 排山倒海 明知故犯
神乎其神 摩拳擦掌 良莠不齐 忍辱负重 眉来眼去 居心叵测
漫不经心 平起平坐 面红耳赤 破釜沉舟 宽宏大量 嫁祸于人
慢条斯理 据为己有 江郎才尽 如临大敌 庞然大物 命中注定
卷土重来 简明扼要 家贫如洗 拿手好戏 莫名其妙 眉目传情
眉清目秀 名列前茅 决一雌雄 刻舟求剑 就事论事 家喻户晓
耐人寻味 闷闷不乐 名落孙山 乐不思蜀 绝口不提 价值连城
平白无故 面不改色 匹夫之勇 慷慨解囊 梁上君子 开门见山
侃侃而谈 坚不可摧 面目可憎 烂熟于心 柳暗花明 慷慨陈词
迫不得已 面目全非 气味相投 狼狈为奸 交相辉映 来龙去脉
空口无凭 艰难险阻 迫不及待 弃暗投明 盲人摸象 怒发冲冠
江山如画 迫在眉睫 前车之鉴 目不斜视 寄人篱下 将功补过
骄阳似火 其乐无穷 默不作声 轻装上阵 滥竽充数 情窦初开
口若悬河 接二连三 奇耻大辱 夸大其词 截然不同 难兄难弟
奇装异服 目不转睛 情投意合 街头巷尾 难舍难分 坚忍不拔
目光短浅 人各有志 空中楼阁 夸夸其谈 戒备森严 目光炯炯
三头六臂 开诚布公 念念不忘 近在咫尺 怒目而视 舍近求远
伶牙俐齿 金童玉女 弄假成真 怒火中烧 强词夺理 宁缺毋滥
流言蜚语 紧锣密鼓 弄巧成拙 身不由己 量入为出 离题万里
弥天大谎 尽善尽美 见缝插针 三令五申 金碧辉煌 拍案而起
藕断丝连 深谋远虑 见利忘义 掐头去尾 皮开肉绽 气急败坏
琴棋书画 明察秋毫 经久不息 目瞪口呆 旁观者清 旁若无人
深入浅出 水滴石穿 七手八脚 旁敲侧击 神机妙算 渐入佳境
抛头露面 深思熟虑 建功立业 匹夫有责 默默无闻 妻离子散
妙语连珠 刨根问底 蓬头垢面 披头散发 司空见惯 起死回生
劈头盖脸 将心比心 千篇一律 千丝万缕 千里迢迢 可乘之机
谨小慎微 擒贼擒王 惊心动魄 恰到好处 飘飘欲仙 三生有幸
尽力而为 轻于鸿毛 井井有条 神通广大 任重道远 能言善辩
如出一辙 念念有词 九死一生 十拿九稳 杀一儆百 良药苦口
九霄云外 千载难逢 前仰后合 少年老成 久负盛名 乳臭未干
气喘吁吁 十年寒窗 千钧一发 绝处逢生 寿比南山 三长两短
老生常谈 平铺直叙 久经风霜 前功尽弃 千姿百态 书香门第
取而代之 老当益壮 平心而论 前因后果 泣不成声 受宠若惊
鼠目寸光 锒铛入狱 潜移默化 强颜欢笑 束手无策 全神贯注
琅琅上口 奇谈怪论 举世无双 强人所难 寝食不安 思前想后
轻而易举 情不自禁 丧尽天良 轻重缓急 穷困潦倒 见怪不怪
岂有此理 深恶痛绝 上窜下跳 军令如山 将计就计 始终不渝
稍纵即逝 恰如其分 巧夺天工 见机行事 煽风点火 善罢甘休
轻描淡写 蜻蜓点水 穷凶极恶 如雷贯耳 绝无仅有 盛气凌人
秋高气爽 洁身自好 九牛一毛 绳之以法 如愿以偿 弱不禁风
节衣缩食 举棋不定 视死如归 如释重负 若有所思 打抱不平
说三道四 屈打成招 人高马大 铺天盖地 如获至宝 驾轻就熟
燃眉之急 兢兢业业 食不果腹 七零八落 弱肉强食 丧心病狂
趋利避害 人面兽心 声名狼藉 人心惶惶 尽人皆知 将错就错
青梅竹马 忍气吞声 进退两难 盛情难却 奇花异草 若有所失
生不逢时 披麻带孝 人云亦云 精明强干 水中捞月 疲于奔命
苦口婆心 如坐针毡 结党营私 破绽百出 融会贯通 捶胸顿足
若无其事 立竿见影 青红皂白 倾国倾城 穷山恶水 伤风败俗
惹火烧身 锦囊妙计 水泄不通 七上八下 史无前例 声嘶力竭
手无寸铁 神魂颠倒 人迹罕至 神出鬼没 骄兵必败 手舞足蹈
石沉大海 盛极一时 声情并茂 人人自危 斤斤计较 如醉如痴
数不胜数 神清气爽 水天一色 声泪俱下 人满为患 借题发挥
金石为开 齐头并进 始料不及 如狼似虎 神采奕奕 缓兵之计
锦上添花 闭关锁国 高枕无忧 各抒己见 暗送秋波 半推半就
后生可畏 顾名思义 汗马功劳 反客为主 出人头地 咄咄逼人
奔走相告 本末倒置 反目成仇 虎背熊腰 根深蒂固 机不可失
按部就班 黄粱一梦 八面玲珑 彬彬有礼 吃里扒外 各为其主
浑水摸鱼 打草惊蛇 半斤八两 绘声绘色 耿耿于怀 嗟来之食
从一而终 不拘小节 单刀直入 倒背如流 甘拜下风 土生土长
穷乡僻壤 求同存异 人仰马翻 忍无可忍 如虎添翼 如梦初醒
得意忘形 变本加厉 兵荒马乱 不可思议 背井离乡 并驾齐驱
不识时务 断章取义 当机立断 德高望重 不修边幅 腹背受敌
苟且偷生 飞黄腾达 故弄玄虚 对答如流 公报私仇 跋山涉水
掉以轻心 飞来横祸 不容置疑 风调雨顺 短兵相接 寸步难行
乘虚而入 大海捞针 独树一帜 耳濡目染 残兵败将 三心二意
调兵遣将 搬弄是非 长驱直入 东山再起 趁火打劫 春风满面
光天化日 恨之入骨 不由自主 阿谀奉承 耳目一新 不了了之
恩将仇报 不伦不类 愤世嫉俗 恶贯满盈 风餐露宿 不学无术
稳如泰山 千疮百孔 不省人事 才疏学浅 不计其数 大发雷霆
饱经风霜 弹无虚发 堆积如山 恶语伤人 飞檐走壁 将信将疑
乌合之众 无动于衷 无拘无束 无理取闹 无人之境 雪上加霜
饱经沧桑 出其不意 措手不及 地动山摇 东奔西走 攻无不克
饱经忧患 笨鸟先飞 大同小异 夫唱妇随 高抬贵手 根深叶茂
不可开交 荒无人烟 必由之路 皆大欢喜 近水楼台 井然有序
翻江倒海 繁花似锦 飞禽走兽 非分之想 非同小可 狗急跳墙
狗仗人势 好吃懒做 虎口拔牙 昏昏欲睡 祸从天降 酒囊饭袋
娇小玲珑 交口称赞 穷途末路 伤筋动骨 所向无敌 天昏地暗
拉家带口 拉拉扯扯 临危受命 碌碌无为 乱七八糟 三言两语
落荒而逃 眉飞色舞 眉开眼笑 蒙头转向 靡靡之音 名存实亡
逆来顺受 扭扭捏捏 浓妆艳抹 片甲不留 七拼八凑 挖空心思
姗姗来迟 伤天害理 少见多怪 身败名裂 腾云驾雾 天各一方
俗不可耐 所剩无几 投其所好 文不对题 无所事事 痛快淋漓
天花乱坠 歪打正着 万不得已 微乎其微 未老先衰 无缘无故
无事生非 同归于尽 无足轻重 五大三粗 喜形于色 小家碧玉
望风而逃 闻所未闻 稳操胜券 稳扎稳打 喜上眉梢 同舟共济
天理难容 喜怒无常 小鸟依人 同流合污 小肚鸡肠 心怀叵测
天下无敌 无与伦比 小巧玲珑 兵不厌诈 不毛之地 沉鱼落雁
垂帘听政 铁证如山 听其自然 投机取巧 小题大做 不翼而飞
心灰意懒 兴风作浪 行色匆匆 行之有效 雪中送炭 掩耳盗铃
鸦雀无声 言归正传 安然无恙 百步穿杨 班门弄斧 欺人太甚
息息相关 喜笑颜开 无微不至 五雷轰顶 狐朋狗友 挥金如土
弹尽粮绝 粗茶淡饭 洞房花烛 出口成章 地大物博 患难之交
先入为主 显而易见 相提并论 想方设法 想入非非 逍遥自在
垂涎三尺 寸草不生 大刀阔斧 单刀赴会 弹丸之地 东施效颦
度日如年 返老还童 富可敌国 归心似箭 害群之马 狐假虎威
祸不单行 抱头鼠窜 红杏出墙 不屑一顾 八拜之交 不辞而别
八仙过海 恍然大悟 对症下药 丢盔卸甲 飞蛾扑火 杀鸡取卵
笑逐颜开 辗转反侧 张牙舞爪 仗势欺人 心宽体胖 不知所云
助纣为虐 啼笑皆非 铁石心肠 脱口而出 突如其来 痛哭流涕
闻风丧胆 握手言和 无独有偶 势如破竹 忙里偷闲 平分秋色
情有可原 疾风暴雨 集思广益 既往不咎 风吹草动 借古讽今
拭目以待 脍炙人口 借花献佛 名正言顺 难言之隐 孤注一掷
目不暇接 破镜重圆 适可而止 举目无亲 急功近利 百感交集
乘人之危 含笑九泉 心乱如麻 拖泥带水 饥肠辘辘 蠢蠢欲动
不可理喻 车水马龙 百读不厌 不寒而栗 百无一用 不足挂齿
成人之美 海枯石烂 患得患失 张口结舌 肝胆相照 儿女情长
坐吃山空 两面三刀 臭名远扬 利害得失 见异思迁 劳苦功高
削足适履 万古千秋 叶公好龙 绿草如茵 三五成群 愁眉不展
方兴未艾 别开生面 不言而喻 功亏一篑 诲人不倦 百战不殆
高朋满座 后发制人 叱咤风云 虎头蛇尾 不厌其烦 初露锋芒
道貌岸然 俯首帖耳 百川归海 患难与共 后继无人 按兵不动
出奇制胜 恩重如山 与人为善 锋芒毕露 众口一词 四海为家
短小精悍 各有千秋 自吹自擂 心口如一 自惭形秽 现身说法
虚无缥缈 运筹帷幄 望眼欲穿 蔚然成风 痛定思痛 骁勇善战
舞文弄墨 外强中干 偷梁换柱 仗义执言 无孔不入 眼高手低
一蹴而就 作威作福 知人善任 各行其是 引经据典 天旋地转
勇冠三军 指挥若定 相敬如宾 为富不仁 岁寒三友 挑拨离间
所向披靡 心领神会 正中下怀 天外有天 无功受禄 峥嵘岁月
言为心声 心平气和 朝令夕改 义正辞严 颐指气使 忠贞不渝
天马行空 天从人愿 鱼目混珠 夜不闭户 旗开得胜 一筹莫展
跃跃欲试 志大才疏 走马上任 捕风捉影 煞费苦心 人命关天
投笔从戎 惩恶扬善 锣鼓喧天 快人快语 人心叵测 入木三分
鸟语花香 锦绣前程 日理万机 如履薄冰 空头支票 囊中羞涩
气贯长虹 舍生取义 轻歌曼舞 老气横秋 塞翁失马 三顾茅庐
三思而行 南征北战 兴师动众 深明大义 开源节流 乐善好施
名满天下 目空一切 年富力强 匠心独运 千秋万代 情深义重
巧取豪夺 惊涛骇浪 鹏程万里 千头万绪 人多势众 扶老携幼
出生入死 成群结队 不远万里 安分守己 不同凡响 后顾之忧
风雨同舟 高谈阔论 感人肺腑 高不可攀 防患未然 知恩图报
风云人物 感慨万千 高瞻远瞩 花好月圆 大显身手 得意洋洋
山光水色 而立之年 心潮澎湃 扬眉吐气 百年大计 动人心弦
百年树人 赤子之心 数一数二 杀气腾腾 山珍海味 生死相依
自掘坟墓 事出有因 熟门熟路 心明眼亮 自食其力 言过其实
一鸣惊人 引人入胜 坐立不安 才子佳人 窃窃私语 山重水复
一本正经 随行就市 水清无鱼 大兴土木 一蹶不振 市井小人
自食其言 信口开河 意犹未尽 携老扶幼 沾亲带故 志得意满
一挥而就 浩然之气 隔窗有耳 窗明几净 棋逢对手 青云直上
素不相识 羊入虎口 叶落知秋 书声琅琅 评头品足 风云变幻
一马平川 众志成城 言归于好 心腹之患 湖光山色 原封不动
自暴自弃 山高路远 海底捞针 有气无力 万古流芳 顺水推舟
一语道破 衣锦还乡 势不两立 心急火燎 严丝合缝 矢志不渝
无米之炊 装聋作哑 声威大震 中西合璧 言而有信 世风日下
名符其实 鸣冤叫屈 扫地出门 轻如鸿毛 仁至义尽 势不可挡
失魂落魄 睡眼惺忪 无可救药 水深火热 醉生梦死 自以为是
一日三秋 郑重其事 横眉立目 犹豫不决 金玉良言 纸醉金迷
千娇百媚 挑肥拣瘦 十指连心 随波逐流 文山会海 只字不提
一诺千金 纸上谈兵 朝发夕至 整装待发 罪有应得 寸长尺短
座无虚席 迎风招展 羽翼未丰 倚老卖老 抓耳挠腮 阳关大道
下井投石 卸磨杀驴 纵横驰骋 足智多谋 平地青云 损人利己
远交近攻 怨声载道 年深月久 低眉顺眼 身临其境 百废俱兴
将功折罪 春色满园

Level 2: 801 words

鼎足而立 依然固我 长篇累牍 字斟句酌 丧魂落魄 秋毫无犯
郁郁寡欢 鱼贯而入 略表寸心 瘦骨伶仃 虚席以待 酸文假醋
兼济天下 千金一掷 凄风冷雨 金玉其外 襟怀坦白 进退无门
冰肌玉骨 急转直下 学以致用 授受不亲 一言蔽之 至善至美
言必有据 人老珠黄 煞有介事 瘦骨嶙峋 束手就擒 毋庸置疑
置身事外 另当别论 屡次三番 力排众议 来路不明 片言只语
晓行夜宿 搜肠刮肚 霄壤之别 无伤大雅 谈笑自若 图穷匕见
世态炎凉 偃武修文 抑扬顿挫 始乱终弃 声色犬马 生杀予夺
春风化雨 赤县神州 浮光掠影 挂一漏万 积习难除 巧言如簧
品头论足 权衡轻重 坚贞不渝 刀光剑影 倾巢而出 卿卿我我
内外交困 集腋成裘 五行八作 文从字顺 以观后效 起承转合
高山流水 四平八稳 送往迎来 虽死犹生 外柔内刚 得心应手
萎靡不振 含糊其辞 悉听尊便 险象环生 循循善诱 气吞山河
遁入空门 文以载道 物力维艰 闭门谢客 不白之冤 赤膊上阵
岿然不动 离群索居 漠然置之 面授机宜 风烛残年 春寒料峭
欲擒故纵 相映成趣 中流砥柱 载舟覆舟 假公济私 七情六欲
蝇头小利 落花流水 内忧外患 讲古论今 抛砖引玉 强弩之末
忘年之交 天作之合 加官进爵 街谈巷议 求全责备 捷足先登
杞人忧天 矫揉造作 监守自盗 临危授命 力挽狂澜 矫枉过正
青出于蓝 金口玉言 清规戒律 劫富济贫 明升暗降 离情别绪
举重若轻 清心寡欲 劫后余生 人杰地灵 酒色财气 绿林好汉
狂犬吠日 乐不可言 冷暖自知 气象万千 请君入瓮 千虑一失
冷言冷语 冷若冰霜 杀身成仁 开山鼻祖 离经叛道 令行禁止
犬牙交错 口蜜腹剑 殊途同归 礼尚往来 群魔乱舞 流芳百世
立锥之地 量才录用 令出必行 日月如梭 量体裁衣 揭竿而起
束手待毙 时过境迁 计上心来 泾渭分明 落地有声 门户之见
井底之蛙 目无尊长 美玉无瑕 死不足惜 浓墨重彩 披星戴月
民脂民膏 明来暗去 金玉满堂 南腔北调 怒不可遏 逆水行舟
临渊羡鱼 老骥伏枥 神来之笔 思如泉涌 见贤思齐 宝刀不老
形销骨立 兴味索然 锱铢必较 信口雌黄 浅尝辄止 不置可否
百口莫辩 暗度陈仓 大言不惭 隔靴搔痒 步步为营 豁然开朗
厚此薄彼 安步当车 不速之客 风尘仆仆 刚柔相济 哀兵必胜
鞍马劳顿 触类旁通 不可名状 安之若素 乘龙快婿 威德相济
尔虞我诈 泛泛之交 鼻息如雷 睹物思人 沁人心脾 深居简出
见仁见智 口口声声 灰飞烟灭 过犹不及 两相情愿 去粗取精
富甲一方 江河日下 索然无味 忐忑不安 未能免俗 不苟言笑
隔墙有耳 滴水不漏 大放厥词 绰绰有余 不期而遇 风卷残云
过眼烟云 攻其不备 何足挂齿 火中取栗 残花败柳 恩威并用
闪烁其词 人声鼎沸 穷年累月 潸然泪下 戛然而止 旷日持久
画地为牢 囫囵吞枣 路人皆知 空穴来风 口出不逊 接踵而至
口诛笔伐 蹑手蹑脚 设身处地 判若两人 模棱两可 生吞活剥
牵强附会 经年累月 迥然不同 其貌不扬 旁征博引 勤能补拙
萍水相逢 渺无音讯 九五之尊 了然于心 面面相觑 少安毋躁
死灰复燃 每况愈下 另辟蹊径 满腹经纶 美轮美奂 门可罗雀
酩酊大醉 摩肩接踵 名噪一时 满腹狐疑 踉踉跄跄 茫然若失
狡兔三窟 几次三番 绵里藏针 竭泽而渔 神色自若 硕果仅存
叫苦不迭 世外桃源 始作俑者 如影随形 忍俊不禁 实至名归
两手空空 炯炯有神 寥寥无几 瞒天过海 适得其反 燎原之势
玲珑剔透 举步维艰 扪心自问 鸟尽弓藏 权宜之计 勉为其难
流年似水 漏网之鱼 兼容并蓄 明哲保身 星罗棋布 烟波浩渺
丝丝入扣 身外之物 如日中天 乐而忘返 未雨绸缪 万事亨通
寿终正寝 空空如也 鹦鹉学舌 置若罔闻 泰然处之 义气相投
兴味盎然 正颜厉色 坐以待毙 炙手可热 形影相吊 先见之明
轩然大波 招贤纳士 万不及一 望文生义 唾手可得 一笑置之
别出心裁 怅然若失 覆水难收 肺腑之言 风声鹤唳 推己及人
蛊惑人心 处变不惊 车载斗量 陈词滥调 过目成诵 因陋就简
瞠目结舌 裹足不前 鬼斧神工 相去咫尺 虚位以待 死有余辜
安贫乐道 残垣断壁 饱学之士 避重就轻 乘兴而来 丑态百出
黄道吉日 东窗事发 避人耳目 博闻强记 大家风范 相机行事
察言观色 大千世界 雕梁画栋 独善其身 听而不闻 蔚为大观
无所用心 外圆内方 饮水思源 以德报怨 一言兴邦 天荒地老
偃旗息鼓 择善而从 坦然自若 知遇之恩 坐享其成 下里巴人
秀外慧中 虚怀若谷 愚不可及 冰雪聪明 四海升平 枕戈待旦
憨态可掬 词不达意 无庸讳言 扬汤止沸 微言大义 贻笑大方
望其项背 忧心如焚 心无二用 一无所长 仗义疏财 四面楚歌
咫尺天涯 我行我素 因噎废食 行成于思 正襟危坐 吟风咏月
指桑骂槐 瑕不掩瑜 童叟无欺 心向往之 同室操戈 闻风而至
言犹在耳 似水流年 威信扫地 偷天换日 昭然若揭 囤积居奇
心手相应 原原本本 未卜先知 一文不名 心力交瘁 修旧利废
妄自尊大 作茧自缚 欲壑难填 提纲挈领 谈笑风生 弦外之音
仙风道骨 五内俱焚 恣意妄为 欲盖弥彰 跃然纸上 天怒人怨
素昧平生 望穿秋水 桀骜不驯 旁门左道 招摇过市 狭路相逢
七窍生烟 救民水火 气宇轩昂 平步青云 节外生枝 盘根错节
老马识途 金科玉律 决胜千里 绝情寡义 人尽其才 僧多粥少
三十而立 康庄大道 山南海北 礼贤下士 软硬兼施 手足之情
肝肠寸断 破涕为笑 是非曲直 身先士卒 迷途知返 事必躬亲
如花似玉 旷世奇才 任人唯亲 如数家珍 得天独厚 独具慧眼
流离失所 龙马精神 守身如玉 药到病除 百折不挠 刀耕火种
不辞劳苦 盗亦有道 不合时宜 百炼成钢 标新立异 多事之秋
川流不息 浮想联翩 别有用心 重整旗鼓 呼之欲出 兵多将广
反唇相讥 反戈一击 出类拔萃 骇人听闻 风华正茂 逢场作戏
苟延残喘 含辛茹苦 避虚就实 粗枝大叶 毕恭毕敬 慈眉善目
高风亮节 鼎力相助 跌宕起伏 颠沛流离 黯然失色 唉声叹气
好大喜功 独占鳌头 愤愤不平 兵精粮足 不解之缘 碍手碍脚
不可多得 大惊失色 登峰造极 悲欢离合 大动干戈 大失所望
急于求成 不偏不倚 别具一格 包罗万象 不动声色 百思不解
长吁短叹 操之过急 不以为然 变幻莫测 财迷心窍 烽火连天
不足为奇 安家落户 不可或缺 居安思危 官官相护 层出不穷
八面威风 拔地而起 成竹在胸 求贤若渴 暗无天日 茶余饭后
避实就虚 宾客盈门 博学多才 不出所料 波澜壮阔 不可胜数
承前启后 触目惊心 重蹈覆辙 重见天日 除暴安良 当断则断
承上启下 垂死挣扎 春华秋实 大势已去 粗制滥造 粗中有细
低声下气 颠倒是非 耳闻目睹 防不胜防 熙熙攘攘 堂而皇之
感激涕零 高深莫测 攻守同盟 借尸还魂 今是昨非 金字招牌
锦绣山河 好自为之 后患无穷 花容月貌 花天酒地 欢呼雀跃
众星捧月 纤尘不染 月白风清 万全之策 土崩瓦解 销声匿迹
珠联璧合 一概而论 哑然失笑 心悦诚服 相濡以沫 物极必反
衣冠楚楚 摇尾乞怜 舍本逐末 中庸之道 行云流水 嘘寒问暖
探囊取物 委曲求全 言简意赅 不能自已 特立独行 小国寡民
违心之论 笑容可掬 先礼后兵 嬉笑怒骂 玩物丧志 为虎作伥
洋洋大观 天造地设 温文尔雅 一暴十寒 言之有物 一叶知秋
畏首畏尾 游刃有余 一家之言 杳无人烟 惟妙惟肖 无师自通
挥汗如雨 饥寒交迫 半路出家 楚楚动人 大权旁落 大声疾呼
焕然一新 回味无穷 回心转意 老弱残兵 积年累月 吉星高照
假仁假义 酒后失言 看风使舵 空洞无物 弥天大罪 名流轶事
两面夹攻 零敲碎打 流芳千古 龙潭虎穴 痛不欲生 借刀杀人
明眸皓齿 南来北往 七长八短 千恩万谢 青山绿水 头重脚轻
三亲六故 山明水秀 善男信女 擅离职守 深知灼见 河东狮吼
声东击西 师道尊严 十冬腊月 死得其所 坦诚相见 晚节不保
得胜还朝 夺眶而出 法不责众 凡夫俗子 俯首听命 叹为观止
反复无常 风花雪月 福无双至 互通有无 花花世界 欢喜若狂
改头换面 功成名就 里外夹攻 孤立无援 骨肉团圆 固执己见
花前月下 荷枪实弹 横七竖八 后继有人 厚颜无耻 胡作非为
指鹿为马 溢于言表 听之任之 心不在焉 余音绕梁 休养生息
洗耳恭听 心有余悸 鱼龙混杂 心旷神怡 心照不宣 以己度人
庸人自扰 芸芸众生 吐故纳新 味同嚼蜡 鲜为人知 庖丁解牛
反朴归真 体贴入微 指名道姓 古色古香 危机四伏 百废待兴
万死不辞 九泉之下 为人师表 为民请命 闲言碎语 旭日东升
兴利除害 喜新厌旧 先睹为快 相见恨晚 白头偕老 无可名状
天塌地陷 添砖加瓦 轻举妄动 挑三拣四 望而生畏 废寝忘食
勾心斗角 横征暴敛 哗众取宠 急中生智 百家争鸣 雨后春笋
蒸蒸日上 通情达理 张冠李戴 推三阻四 痛心疾首 任人唯贤
误入歧途 识文断字 细水长流 励精图治 飞沙走石 忠心耿耿
嫉恶如仇 好逸恶劳 风起云涌 吹毛求疵 各得其所 好为人师
一片冰心 青黄不接 偏听偏信 气冲霄汉 将遇良才 老牛破车
穷家富路 三教九流 神气活现 顺水人情 沙里淘金 包藏祸心
悲从中来 层峦叠嶂 长风破浪 大义凛然 独断专行 信誓旦旦
妒贤嫉能 歌舞升平 格格不入 各自为战 各自为政 法出多门
广开言路 赫赫有名 古为今用 积土成山 借坡下驴 离心离德
流星赶月 惊魂不定 旧愁新恨 清水衙门 嫉贤妒能 摇唇鼓舌
切中时弊 聚沙成塔 借古喻今 名利兼收 妙笔生花 生生不已
伯仲之间 坐收渔利 助桀为虐 相辅相成 以怨报德 众怒难犯
尚方宝剑 风流韵事 垂涎欲滴 创业维艰 蛇蝎心肠 浪迹萍踪
前无古人 著书立说 急中智生

Level 3: 702 words

覆车之鉴 风姿绰约 扶摇直上 贩夫走卒 反躬自问 不甚了了
并蒂芙蓉 别无二致 搜索枯肠 拾遗补阙 扶危济困 风流倜傥
以儆效尤 残篇断简 不咎既往 穷极无聊 师出有名 无庸置辩
明火执杖 冥顽不化 嘉肴美馔 疾声厉色 机关算尽 解铃系铃
穷则思变 煮豆燃萁 条分缕析 寥若晨星 私相授受 冰释前嫌
谷贱伤农 按迹循踪 百里之才 车马盈门 秉烛待旦 残渣余孽
移樽就教 谈笑封侯 没齿不忘 莞尔而笑 鞠躬如仪 沉渣泛起
文贵天成 降格以求 汪洋恣肆 洞若观火 梦笔生花 千金买笑
镂骨铭心 绿肥红瘦 金刚怒目 论短道长 文不加点 厚今薄古
兼善天下 金玉之言 龙骧虎步 厚积薄发 呼天抢地 公诸同好
明日黄花 以管窥天 金枝玉叶 枯木死灰 未竟之志 独辟蹊径
电光火石 雕栏玉砌 闻鸡起舞 无病呻吟 洗心革面 剑拔弩张
约法三章 薪尽火传 信笔涂鸦 济济一堂 兼收并蓄 理屈词穷
同病相怜 退避三舍 文过饰非 左右逢源 无济于事 物是人非
驽马十驾 审时度势 如临深渊 人心向背 趋之若鹜 望梅止渴
克己奉公 绿叶成荫 买椟还珠 七步成章 兼听则明 雾里看花
文章盖世 卧不安席 污泥浊水 诬良为盗 有恃无恐 随遇而安
无关宏旨 博古通今 跬步千里 落笔千言 债台高筑 文质彬彬
为恶不悛 妄自菲薄 语焉不详 人困马乏 惊人之笔 林林总总
孜孜不倦 喧宾夺主 阳春白雪 一衣带水 衣衫褴褛 五体投地
出言不逊 嗤之以鼻 寡不敌众 慌不择路 晨钟暮鼓 心猿意马
鼎足之势 豆蔻年华 釜底抽薪 孤陋寡闻 白山黑水 病入膏肓
化险为夷 鸣金收兵 轻财重义 文治武功 恬不知耻 抱薪救火
心旌摇曳 言传身教 兔死狗烹 爱莫能助 杯水车薪 不识一丁
晓以利害 无耻之尤 勾魂摄魄 胸无点墨 相得甚欢 鬼迷心窍
物竞天择 息事宁人 喜不自胜 先知先觉 海底捞月 无隙可乘
物阜民安 畏敌如虎 温情脉脉 下笔千言 心腹之交 兴废存亡
跳梁小丑 通宵达旦 彤云密布 添枝加叶 天诛地灭 四海鼎沸
徒费唇舌 推崇备至 万劫不复 枉费唇舌 望风披靡 片瓦不存
徒劳往返 锦衣玉食 围城打援 娓娓而谈 显山露水 摇曳生姿
徒乱人意 泰山北斗 玩火自焚 望风响应 为人作嫁 暴殄天物
审己度人 生灵涂炭 犬马之劳 奇文共赏 世代书香 良辰美景
暮气沉沉 拿贼见赃 年深日久 装神弄鬼 千夫所指 乱臣贼子
门禁森严 宽大为怀 将勤补拙 见神见鬼 老迈年高 老成持重
急不择言 夹七夹八 疾风劲草 扪心无愧 济世之才 慷慨悲歌
魂不附体 和颜悦色 化为乌有 济世安民 教学相长 毁于一旦
过门不入 刚正不阿 放荡不羁 功德圆满 比比皆是 低吟浅唱
当头棒喝 攻城略地 沸沸扬扬 独步当时 咄咄怪事 骨肉相残
翻云覆雨 不得要领 豺狼当道 超凡脱俗 从中作梗 大厦将倾
不见经传 兵戎相见 薄情寡义 沉吟不决 国色天香 魂牵梦绕
不可言传 超然物外 猝不及防 摧眉折腰 蹉跎岁月 大梦初醒
汗牛充栋 手不释卷 舐犊情深 秘而不宣 付之东流 删繁就简
大方之家 差强人意 党同伐异 痴人说梦 顶礼膜拜 吉人天相
何去何从 幡然悔悟 肝脑涂地 风驰电掣 鬼使神差 防微杜渐
处心积虑 冰清玉洁 百无聊赖 耳熟能详 不时之需 感恩戴德
恃强凌弱 束之高阁 蚍蜉撼树 哀鸿遍野 耳提面命 呼朋引类
视如草芥 雷霆万钧 鸣锣开道 少不更事 力不胜任 苦心孤诣
视如粪土 磨杵成针 适逢其会 恃才傲物 临渴掘井 授人以柄
视若路人 南柯一梦 说东道西 流光溢彩 身无长物 奴颜婢膝
身体力行 妙手空空 声名鹊起 狼烟四起 神鬼莫测 声色俱厉
锐不可当 浪子回头 乐天知命 立身扬名 略见一斑 若即若离
如泣如诉 琼浆玉液 群贤毕至 连篇累牍 人微言轻 日甚一日
流水不腐 厉兵秣马 趋炎附势 精兵简政 坚甲利兵 鹿死谁手
曲意逢迎 居功自傲 罄竹难书 三缄其口 金蝉脱壳 木已成舟
魂不守舍 狼子野心 劳燕分飞 巧言令色 经国之才 谦谦君子
借风使船 披肝沥胆 欺人之谈 间不容发 莫可名状 目不识丁
母以子贵 解甲归田 水乳交融 开宗明义 力透纸背 骚人墨客
死而后已 见微知著 莫逆之交 开门揖盗 莫衷一是 牛刀小试
目光如炬 见机而作 马首是瞻 兼而有之 谬种流传 拈轻怕重
金兰之契 劣迹昭昭 落落寡欢 斯文扫地 明火执仗 举案齐眉
民生凋敝 如鸟兽散 另立门户 聊以自慰 老于世故 石破天惊
日薄西山 惊弓之鸟 述而不作 食古不化 怜香惜玉 利令智昏
解民倒悬 琼楼玉宇 谨言慎行 九九归一 久居人下 善自为谋
满目疮痍 蛟龙得水 切磋琢磨 举手投足 蓬荜生辉 惊世骇俗
授业解惑 如法炮制 色厉内荏 失道寡助 拾人牙慧 立地成佛
家无二主 乱世之秋 坚如磐石 孑然一身 金石之言 举止失措
疾言厉色 龙蛇混杂 交杯换盏 千虑一得 悬梁刺股 影影绰绰
无妄之灾 亦步亦趋 子虚乌有 将本求利 缄口不言 龙吟虎啸
玉石不分 隐约其辞 扑朔迷离 要言不烦 引而不发 作法自毙
折戟沉沙 永志不忘 有教无类 凿壁偷光 假以辞色 言不及义
坐而论道 一语破的 鸡鸣狗盗 天公地道 负隅顽抗 枯木逢春
天悬地隔 休戚与共 虚声恫吓 惘然若失 悒悒寡欢 我见犹怜
烜赫一时 万壑争流 仰不愧天 胸无城府 知难行易 繁文缛节
王佐之才 信而有征 无庸赘述 言之凿凿 罪不容诛 万籁俱寂
知人论世 钟灵毓秀 学无常师 诛心之论 相煎何急 鱼贯而行
闻名遐迩 以讹传讹 惴惴不安 修身齐家 睚眦必报 心如止水
形单影只 醍醐灌顶 瓜田李下 天理昭彰 恬淡寡欲 择木而栖
蝇营狗苟 易地而处 衣不解带 支吾其词 心存芥蒂 闲云野鹤
肝胆俱裂 臭名昭著 出尔反尔 唇枪舌剑 唇亡齿寒 道听途说
按图索骥 嗷嗷待哺 草菅人命 不耻下问 曾经沧海 斗转星移
拨云见日 饱食终日 不遗余力 魑魅魍魉 长袖善舞 待价而沽
不假思索 甘居人后 冠冕堂皇 沽名钓誉 惨淡经营 改换门庭
步履维艰 别具匠心 沧海桑田 步履蹒跚 从善如流 不负众望
刚愎自用 不胜枚举 摧枯拉朽 孤芳自赏 混淆视听 有的放矢
固步自封 讳疾忌医 当仁不让 振聋发聩 顾影自怜 功败垂成
穿针引线 藏污纳垢 充耳不闻 峰回路转 耳鬓厮磨 感同身受
卑躬屈膝 闭目塞听 功成身退 奔走呼号 大相径庭 分道扬镳
寅吃卯粮 铁板一块 脱缰之马 兔死狐悲 信马由缰 惜墨如金
仰人鼻息 英雄气短 闻过则喜 抱守残缺 不以为意 穿凿附会
奇货可居 举措失当 曲径通幽 偶一为之 明镜高悬 硕大无朋
人弃我取 乱箭攒心 三人成虎 眉高眼低 十里洋场 山高水长
十室九空 骑马找马 气冲牛斗 日上三竿 巧立名目 鸟枪换炮
平地风波 口不应心 酒酣耳热 敬若神明 如履平地 蜀犬吠日
精卫填海 三纲五常 困兽犹斗 弱不胜衣 上行下效 乐以忘忧
食不甘味 老成练达 双宿双飞 卖官鬻爵 盲人瞎马 大喜过望
馋涎欲滴 壁立千仞 惨绝人寰 纲举目张 殚精竭虑 不足为训
淡泊明志 大而无当 等量齐观 飞扬跋扈 从长计议 不平则鸣
出水芙蓉 敷衍塞责 等闲视之 倒行逆施 飞短流长 不知所终
餐风饮露 踌躇满志 匪夷所思 岌岌可危 不可一世 待人接物
别有洞天 火树银花 俯仰之间 含饴弄孙 黯然销魂 沧海横流
不绝如缕 百无禁忌 荒诞不经 回肠百转 祸国殃民 落草为寇
颠扑不破 甘之如饴 宝马香车 待字闺中 缠绵悱恻 不蔓不枝
积习难改 祸福相椅 不一而足 古道热肠 分崩离析 怪力乱神
恍如隔世 弊绝风清 不揣冒昧 尺短寸长 陈陈相因 屏气凝神
并行不悖 锄强扶弱 春兰秋菊 挥洒自如 花团锦簇 浑然一体
壁垒分明 不即不离 仓皇失措 登坛拜将 等而下之 愁肠百结
横生枝节 穷寇莫追 兴致索然 守望相助 小小不言 一唱三叹
机关用尽 龙肝凤髓 龙眉凤目 龙盘虎踞 脑满肠肥 穷奢极欲
荡气回肠 名士风流 明珠暗投 冥顽不灵 人寿年丰 肉眼凡夫
回天之力 千金一诺 敲骨吸髓 凄风苦雨 欺世盗名 棋逢敌手
如芒在背 三从四德 师出无名 喷薄欲出 痰迷心窍 朝秦暮楚
照本宣科 如日方升 三位一体 天女散花 吞云吐雾 铁树开花
茹毛饮血 三亲六眷 未始不可 象牙之塔 铤而走险 躬逢其盛
同仇敌忾 童心未泯 捉襟见肘 投鼠忌器 投桃报李 侠肝义胆
阳奉阴违 亭亭玉立 缘木求鱼 一叶障目 无稽之谈 闲情逸致
下笔成章 不关痛痒 旷古未闻 管窥之见 光复旧物 积重难返
叠床架屋 俯仰无愧 虎啸风生 兵无常胜 情随事迁 绳锯木断

While they claim copyright, they obviously don't hold the copyright (and it's also here, here, here, here, here, etc. (behind various paywalls)), so I'm just going to disregard that.


Please read this previously asked question : Are both 回了 and 回来了 correct responses to 你回天津了吗 (have you returned to Tianjin)?

Since you are currently in Beijing, the answer should be ' Yes I have came back to Beijing' (我回北京来了 or simply 回来了 or even 回了)

The answer is in your own perspective

~

If you replied: "Yes, I have gone back to Beijing" (我回北京去了) Then you are pretending you are in Shanghai with your friend, because your voice is heard in Shanghai via the telephone.

The answer  would be in your friend's perspective

In conclusion: both 回来了 ( your perspective) and 回去了 (your friend's perspective) are acceptable over the phone.
If you omit 来 or 去 and just say : "回了" then it can be interpreted either way.
It would be much simpler if both you and your friend were in the same location.


How do you refer to continents in the abstract?

这个夏天他去了五个洲。(闲聊天)/这个夏天他去了五大洲（较官方）。


Why do both 太 (too) and 过于 (excessively) occur in 外国人有时候太过于开放 (foreigners are sometimes too excessively open)?

I'm going to convert my comments into an answer to offer another POV to the already given answer.

太过于 is a set phrase.
KEY defines:

太过于
too...

and KEY French defines it:

trop...

Perhaps this is similar to English usage of  too + overly. It's a phrase we often use in English too. A quick google search gives me results like: too overly complex, too overly dependent and too overly ambitious - seems to be about the same logic.
ICIBA also defines it as:

too much

giving examples:

She's too protective towards her children; she should let them be more independent.

她对孩子太过于爱护, 她应当给他们更多的独立性.

Cheese, like oil, makes too much of itself.

乳酪, 如同石油一样, 太过于引人注目了.

Don't be so quick to judge!

不要太过于武断!

Examples of usage (emphasis is my own):
Sina: 周航：很多时候的焦虑是太过于关注短期的东西

在搜狗CEO王小川、顺为资本投资合伙人周航和腾讯前CTO张志东圆桌论坛上，对于“科技发展与服务用户”的话题讨论上，周航认为，我们很多时候的焦虑，是太过于关注短期的东西了。

Sina: iOS 12加快淘汰速度，iPhone6确实太过于老旧了！！

而今天，还需要给大家再次强调，如今都已经是3月份了，如果按照苹果的更新速度，很快将会在秋季之前发布最新的iOS 12系统，这无疑会加快淘汰的速度，因为iPhone6太过于老旧了。

Google Books: 道解《黄帝内经》（上、下）

味太过于咸

and the kicker:
Google Books: 遇见成功的自己

对有些人来说，改变习惯的确是很难很难的事，因为他们太过于原谅自己，太过于迁就自己，太过于开脱自己，太过于娇纵自己。


Why are intermediate cardinal directions read differently in Chinese?

In Chinese,

East/West comes before North/South: e.g. the phrase 东西南北
East comes before West
South comes before North: e.g. 南北朝, 南拳北腿

In asking why these particular orders, we're begging the question of why the Western cardinal directions are in their order? That is:

North/South comes before East/West
East comes before West
North comes before South

After examining reasons for both, hopefully it will become clear why the orders are the way they are.
There are two differences to consider:

whether the East/West axis comes before the North/South, and
whether North comes before South

Warning: there's a lot of guesswork here; if anyone has better reasons or evidence please contribute, which is why I'm making this a CW answer
Why is East/West more important than North/South?
If you were a prehistoric human and observed your world, the sun would be one of the most notable features of your world. It would be easy to notice that every day, it moves from one side of the sky to the other: East to West.
So it should be easy to see why East/West is so important, and why East comes before West. There is evidence that in Western cultures, East once had primacy too, especially in the Medieval period, where most maps were East-oriented. It was also related to the phrase "to orient", where orient also means East.

Why did North/South become more important than East/West?
This leads to the question of why did North/South become more important. The answer is simple:

The compass's influence cannot be understated - it isn't one of the four great inventions of ancient China for no reason - as it was immensely useful for navigation and seafaring. North/South became more important in China too, at least for navigation and cartography, as evidenced in this map dating from the Ming dynasty:

Why is North more important than South, and vice versa?
Which leads to the final question, why North is before South for the West, and South before North at least in the Chinese language. This may be the hardest question to answer, so let's go back to first principles, look at the reasons why North became important in the West, and see if those same reasons or different ones are at play for China:

Compasses point North (but they also point South!)
The North Star, Polaris, is visible in the Northern Hemisphere; no stars pointing South would be visible
Egocentricity: people associate up with good, so naturally they'd orient themselves at the top of maps relative to their neighbours. In Medieval times, the greatest enemy to Europeans were various Islamic sultanates, generally located to their South.
Ptolemy oriented his maps North; in his time the most interesting places were in the North which may have influenced his decision.

What about China then?

For most of China's history, their greatest external threats were various nomadic cultures to their North. Look no further than the walls they built for evidence of this.

These reasons are not that convincing, but hopefully they are a start. It's interesting to see that Chinese maps were once South oriented, but eventually they became North oriented too, leaving the word ordering as a legacy of ancient times.


Why is 道可道，非恆道 translated to "the Dao that can be told, is not the eternal Dao"?

The word 道 (dào) has several different meanings. One of these is "road/path/way"; another is "speak/utter". This is where Wikisource's translation comes from: the first 道 means "road", and the second means "speak".
Chinese also has much less verbal morphology than English does. Where English uses the whole verbal phrase "is able to be spoken", Chinese just uses two words, 可 ("able to") and 道 ("speak"). The time of the action isn't relevant (it's a "gnomic" sentence), and the voice of the verb is clear from context: it's not a road speaking, it's a road that's able to be spoken/explained. Similarly, Chinese doesn't generally use anything equivalent to English "a" or "the", but English requires them, so the translator adds them in.
A big part of translation is knowing what needs to be stated in each language. This translation…

Dao permits Dao, negating a permanent Dao

…isn't a very good one, in my opinion, because it's ignoring the context. Sure, 道可道 could mean "speaking permits a road". But contextually, that doesn't make much sense at all. Out of the hundreds of possible interpretations, adding tense and voice to the verb (because English requires that), "the path which is able to be spoken aloud" seems like the most reasonable one.
For some more examples, here are how some professional translators handled this first sentence.

The Dao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Dao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name. (Legge)
The Reason that can be reasoned is not the eternal Reason. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. (Susuki)
The Dao that can be understood cannot be the primal, or cosmic, Dao, just as an idea that can be expressed in words cannot be the infinite idea. (Goddard)

Note that all of them supplied many, many words that don't correspond to anything in the Chinese sentence! English is a somewhat verbose language, in that it needs to use a lot more words, and specify a lot more details, than Chinese does. So the translator has to add those in to get good, understandable English.


What does 触控 mean in 使用者将可轻松地以触控的方式浏览教科书内容?

What you guessed is right. 触控 is touch and control: 触 as in 触摸 (touch), and 控 as in 控制 (control).


Some characters look different handwritten and on the computer - how to learn the differences?

Ok, this is similar to another question about why certain people refer to 土豆 as peanuts and some as potato and some other people as something else.

Prior to the official process of simplification of characters there has already been different ways in which people were simplifying writing different characters, it didn't just happen overnight. So for certain characters and certain parts of characters there was already different ways of writing these.

And as per the language example above these traveled and certain simplifications were set in certain parts of the country so that there were regional differences. This in turn created sets of written characters used in different regions.

You can switch the character set your browser is using, but most pages now are served in Unicode.

I assume whatever encoding your browser has is not a standard Chinese font or Unicode. My Firefox browser detects the page as Unicode and it displays as follows:

UPDATE:

In answer to your question in the comments above as to which one is the right one for you to use?

Your best bet in answering a question like this is checking a dictionary. That way you can be sure you have the right one. The other resource you can use for this is wiktionary http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E8%81%9A

You can also see variants of characters at this site, including yours here: http://chardb.iis.sinica.edu.tw/variants.jsp?cid=19626 but this doesn't provide information if or where this is being used.


传说 : Legend (legendary tales. Some have reality base. Some don't.  Dragons exist is a legend, Bruce Lee in his prime was defeated by an unknown elderly man is also a legend)

神话 : myth (mystical tales involve gods and spiritual world)


Are there sentences where 跟 and 和 are interchangeable?

Both of them are correct, and the 跟 & 和 here are the conjunction. The one 我同朋友去公园了 is also correct.

They are almost the same, but if you do want to distinguish the meanings (except for the spoken/written difference):

我跟朋友去公园了。: it seems like my friend (朋友) wanted to go to the park (公园), and s/he asked me whether I wanted to go with her/him. So I just went with her/him and left a message to my mother: "Mam, 我跟朋友去公园了".
我和朋友去公园了。: it seems like my friend and I were doing something together (e.g. having lunch), after it, we decided go to the park together.

Maybe that's not a very good example. But I cannot think of a better one because both of them are almost the same (99.9%). :p


What kind of voice is "滄桑的聲音" describing?

To be exact, 沧桑 doesn't just mean aged/old.

沧桑 comes from the idiom 沧海桑田, as you understand, it means huge changes (in a long time). And 沧桑的声音 means a kind of voice, which can make you feel that he/she has experienced many things changed, e.g. many vicissitudes of life.


It is a short word for "丫头养的" only used in area around Beijing city，"丫头" means slave girl or young girl servant. "养的" means feed by.

This is bad language saying somebody's mother is young girl servant, some kind of "son of bitch". However this talking is generalized nowadays, "你丫..." is more compare to "You fucking ..."(你他妈的...)