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III. Lw: gift

<a> Tng-Shu: Listening & Speaking
1. Sngl: Give gifts
(1)

Xio Zhng xhun sng lw gi birn.

Xiao Zhang likes to give gifts to others.
(2)

T chngchang sng lw gi tde nnpngyou.

She often gives presents to her boyfriend.

(3)

Shngge xngq, t nnpngyou y sngle yge lw gi t.

Last wek, her boyfriend also gave her a present.

(4)

Tmen sng de sh shnme lw?

What were the gifts that they gave?

(5)

T sng t yf. T sng t hu.

She gave him clothes. He gave her flowers.

lw

gift

sngl

give gifts

sng

give [a gift]

gi

give; for

M. Chu, 36

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2. Grn xqng: Holiday; festival

Sometimes we give presents to others without a particular reason. Some other times, we may give gifts to
express our thanks or appreciation, or celebrate a special event.

1)

Wmen sng shngr lw gi qnrn h pngyou.

We give birthday gifts to relatives and friends.

2)

T zhngxu by, t fm gi t mile yg hngude shuj.

Upon his graduation from high school, his parents bought a very expensive cellphone for him.

3)

Koshng dxu y yurn sngl.

When someone is admitted to college, other people would give gifts to him/her.

4)

W jijie koshng dxu ninin, w ninai snggi t hndu lw.

The year when my older sister was admitted to college, my grandma gave her lots of presents.

5)

Zutin sh w fm jihn snshnin de jninr. W snggi tmen yge d lw.

Yesterday was my parents 30th wedding anniversary. I gave them a big present.

6)

W jihn de shhou, tmen y hu snggi w yge d lw.

When I get married, they will also give me a big present.

by

graduate

koshng

jihn

pass an exam [to be admitted to a new

school or to be issued a certificate]
marry; get married

jninr

Day of commemoration

M. Chu, 37

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3. Jir: Holiday; festival

1)

Hndu rn zi xnnin de shhou sng lw gi biren.

Would gifts be given when someone is admitted to college?
Many people give gifts to others during the new year period.

2)

Zhngqiji wmen sng yubng gi losh h pngyou.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, we give moon cakes to our teachers and friends.
3)

Minin chnji, tmen du mi hndu hochde dngxi snggi pngyou.

Every year at the Spring Festival, they always buy lots of tasty food to give to friends.

4)

Qngrnji de shhu, t song qngrnji k gi hndu pngyou.

At the time of Valentines Day, he gives Valentines cards to many friends.

5)

Yudern bgu shngdnji, tmen y bsng shngdnk.

Some people dont celebrate Christmas, and they do not send out Christmas cards.

jir

Holiday; festival

xnnin

New Year

chnji

Spring Festival; Lunar New Year

zhngqiji

Mid-Autumn Festival; Moon Festival

gn'nji

Thanksgiving

shngdnji

Christmas

qngrnji

Valentines Day

M. Chu, 38

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<b> D-Xi: Reading and Writing

1.
1)

l: gift; rite; ceremony

()

()

()

The character combines the meaning of its two components: (meaning altar and appears as when
used as a side component) and (sacrificial vessel for the meaning of the rite of sacrificial offering..
[Be careful about the difference between this component that has one dot and the one for clothing
that has two dots.]
Can you visualize a food container over , which, as we have learned, also portrays an image of a
sacrificial vessel or food container? was the earlier form of before the component was added to
further clarify the meaning of communion.

2)

w: thing; object; matter

()

()

()

The character consists of two components: and . We have learned that is ox. was a banner, or
a multi-color flag, and the character was used for the general meaning of objects or things. was later
added to reinforce the extended meaning of things or objectscontrast to humans. was later
borrowed for the meaning of warning, do not, which is the only meaning in current use.

lw

gift

lpn

gift items

lpndin

gift shop

lf

ceremonial dress; formal attire

Note:

may be things sold in a store that are potential gift items. The term may also be used
as a collective term to refer to a group of gifts. are presents we give to particular
people.

Zhige shdin y mi lpn, ksh tmen miyu w xing mi de lw.

This bookstore also sells some gift items, but they dont have what I want to give her as a present.

W pngyu gi w de shngr lw wo du hn xhun.

(I like very much all the birthday gifts my friends gave me.)

M. Chu, 39

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Lw, wmen ky q lpndin mi, y ky q qtde shngdin mi.

As for the presents, we may go to a gift shop, and we may also go to other stores to buy them.
is also a term in a number of other common terms such as the following:
food; edibles
shw

wji

commodity prices

shngw

living thing; biology

wl

physics; physical

rnw

character in a story; personage

wnw

cultural/historical objects or relics

bwgun

museum

Xio Wng h Lo L sh dxu tngxu. Tmen du xu shngw.
Xiao Wang and Lao Li were college classmates. They both studied biology.

Zhige xio bwgunl de wnw bdu, ksh hn bogu y hn yuysi.

This small museum does not have a large holding of cultural and historical objects, but these objects are
precious and quite interesting.

3)

go: tall; high

()
(
)
()
()
The ancient scripts clearly illustrate a storied building, or tall building.

Kk de fm du bti go. Ksh Kk hn go.

Both of Kekes parents are not very tall, but Keke is very tall.
[Note: When talking about a persons height, the opposite of is i.]

Xinzi wji tigole. Wmen jntinyngle ybidu yun gumi shw h ryngpn.
The prices are so high now. Today we spent over one hundred dollars on buying foodstuff and household
supplies.

M. Chu, 40

zhnggo

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grow taller

Ynindu bjin, w jijie de lingge hizi yu zhnggole hndu.

Over a year without seeing them, my older sisters children have again grown much taller.

4)

d: low

god

height; difference in degree

Lobixng de shnghu h wji de god hn yu gunxi.

The lives of common people are closely related to the level of commodity prices.
In other words:

Wji de god yngxing lobixng de shnghu.

The level of commodity prices affect the lives of common people.

5)

ngxing

influence

sng: give (a gift); deliver; escort

()
()
()
The ancient graphs illustrate walking with two hands holding a fire (torch) to light the way. The meaning
seems to be close to escort. was used in the Book of Xunzi (3rd Century BCE) for the meaning of
escording the bride to the bridegrooms family.

sngl

give gift

sngxn

deliver letter; send words

sngcn

deliver meal [from a restaurant]

snghu

deliver goods

sng pngyu

see a friend off

M. Chu, 41

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Tde gngzu sh sng dngxi: t sngxn, sngcn, y snghu.

His job is to deliver things: he delivers mails, food and other goods.

4)

gi: give; provide; for the benefit of

()
()
Similar to the character , this is another of those characters that was interpreted by X Shn
(cir. 58-147CE) and his followers as a semantic-phonetic compound. However, Xu Shen did give the
foundamental meaning of the character as plentiful, traditionally referring to that of food and clothings.
Look closely, we find that the left component of the character is (silk), the main materials for clothing,
and the right side component is , a lidded container and very likely a food container as well as the ancient
unit of dry measure for grain. Therefore, it makes sense to have the character combining clothing and
food to represent the meaning of plentiful, and its modern meanings as listed above.

Jntin t mma bziji. T gge gi tmen zufn.

His mom is not at home today. His older brother cooked the meals for them.

Dubuq, qng gi w y zh b, ho ma?

Excuse me! Please give me a pen, would you?

W shngr de nitin, w shyu snggi w ybn sh.

On my birthday, my roommate gave me a book as gift.

Lo Zhng b sngl gi biren, ksh t hn xhun biren sngl gi t.

Lao Zhang does not give gifts to others, but likes very much for others to give gifts to him.

M. Chu, 42

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2. [] [] : The Functions of []
(1) may be used as a [verb-of-action], for the meaning of give:
Let us take two steps to learn to use in this pattern.
A

Something.

[to give]

W gi t shu.
I give him some water.

T bba mma gi t qin.

His parents give him money.

T pngyou gi t lw.
His friends give him gifts.

Qng (n) gi w y zhng zh h y zh b.

Please give me a piece of paper and a pen.
(2) As we have already learned, in a Chinese sentence, the consecutive actions may be illustrated by a string of
verbs (and their objects).

* 30aSentence Pattern
[30a]

(to give)

something

W gi t shu h.
I give him some water to drink.

T fm gi t qin shng dxu.

His parents give him money to go to college.

M. Chu, 43

([for B or A] to do this).

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[ zh: express good wishes]

T pngyou gi t lw zh t shngrkuil.
His friends give him gifts to wish him Happy Birthday.

Qng (n) gi w zh b xixn.

Please give me paper and pen for writing a letter.
(3) Rather than the general purpose of the action taken by B, the recipient, stated in Pattern 27a examples, the
action may be specifically targeted to the same direct object.

* 30bSentence Pattern
[30b]

does

(for B)

(to do this [to x]).

Wmen xi bogo gi losh kn.

We write papers for the teacher to read.

T mi wnj gi t n'r wn.

He buys toys to give to his daughter to play with.

Tmen de ynyu losh chngg gi tmen tng.

Their music teacher sing songs for them to listen.

Xio wng zu Rbn ci gi dji ch.

Xiao Wang makes Japanese food for everyone to eat.
(4) may be used for the meaning of for the benefit of

* 30cSentence Pattern
[27c]

B
(for [the benefit of] B)

does

M. Chu, 44

this.

Jntin t ninai gi tmen zufn.

His grandma cooked for them today.

T gi t n'r mi wnj.
He buys toys for his daughter.

T jijie gi t mile ling jin xn yfu.

His sister bought two new clothes for him.

Qng n gi wmen chng y g g, ho ma?

Please sing a song for us, will you?

M. Chu, 45

10

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3. [] : The Functions of []
(1) may be used as a verb-of-action with a gift as its designated direct-object. may also be used
together with in the form for the same meaning.

* 31aSentence Pattern
[31a]

[]
(to give B)

this gift.

Nmen xing sng t shnme lw?

What presents do you plan to give her?

W xing sng t ybn sh.

Ill give her a book [as present].

T snggi t mimei yg dinno.

He gave his younger brother a computer.

[ is a measure word for vehicle.]

T shu t mngnin xing snggi t titai yling Bom.

He said that he is giving his wife a BMW next year.

(3) may be used in conjunction with in a two step process of gift giving.

* 31bSentence Pattern
[31b]

(to give)

this gift

(to B)

W sngle yg wnj gi t ddi.

I gave a toy to her younger brother.

M. Chu, 46

B.

Nige fndin sng kfi gi zi nli ch zhngfn de krn.

That restaurant offers free coffee to the customers who eat lunch there.

Tmen sngle yg hn yuysi de lw gi w.

They gave me a very interesting present.

M. Chu, 47

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10

4.
5)

z: self
()
()
()
()
The ancient forms before (of which the lines are much straighter) for were all pictures of a nose.
The form was used in and for the meaning of nose. Later it was used to mean self. This
makes sense if we understand that even now, in China, one still often uses ones index finger pointing to
ones nose to refer to oneself.
http://caringclown.jp/imag
es/SelfPointing11.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bw7fCspank/SS2dF8f0drI/AAAAAAAAAKg/8G
ZV1Pw23_U/s320/self-point.jpg

http://www.tomaszwitkowski.pl
/attachments/Image/b_w(1).jpg

b: nose

and share similar graphics in the script. was nose originally and developed later to mean
self. When the abstract idea of self became more associated with the character than its original
designation, nose, a different character was developed particularly for nose by adding a component
(pronounced b in modern Mandarin) to approximate the sound of the word. The result is the character .

6)

bzi

nose

j: self
()
()
()
()
The graphs are generally understood as loose thread. The character is borrowed for the meaning of self.

zj

self

zxu

teach oneself; self-taught

zd

arrogant

zyu

free; freedom

zlishu

running water; tap water

M. Chu, 48

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zynzy

talk to oneself

xinrnhuj

put others before oneself

Zhijin yfu, sh w gi wzj mi de, b sh mile snggi birn de.

This cloth is one I bought for myself, not one I bought to give to others.

Zhizhng zhuzi, sh wzj zu de, b sh mi de.

This table is one I made by myself, not bought.

7)

jin: subtract; reduce

jinsho

reduce; decrease

jinji

reduce price; mark down

djinji

big sale

Can you tell what these signs are about?

Gn'nji yhu, xnnin yqin, hn du shngdin du yu djinji.

After Thanksgiving and before the New Year, many stores have big sales.

Xinzi b jinji le, mi dngxi de krn y jinsho le.

Now that the sales are over, customs are also decreased.

M. Chu, 49

8)

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kui: fast; hurry up; soon

is a phono-semantic combination, with ( xn, heartto illustrate a mood, a mental state, or a
mind-guided quality) indicating its meaning category, and (pronounced gui in modern Mandarin)
indicating its pronunciation.

kuil

happy; cheerful

Shngr Kuil

Happy Birthday!

Xnnin Kuil

Happy New Year!

kuicn din

fast-food restaurant

......

kui... le

will soon...

kui + Verb

hurry up and (do) ...

Li! Wmen li chng shngrkuil g, zh Ll shngrkuil!

Come! Lets sing Happy Birthday to wish Lele a happy birthday!

Kk de shngr y kuidole ba.

(Kekes birthday is coming up soon too, right?)

Kui ch ba! Zhige kuicn din shngy tihole, hn du rn zi dng wizi ne!
Hurry up and eat! The business of this fast-food restaurant is too good; many people are waiting for a seat.

dng

wait

wizi

seat

M. Chu, 50

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<c> Linx: Exercises

1. Bhu jigu: Character Strokes and Structures
(1) Traditional Characters: Trace and write to become familiar with the structure of characters

w: thing; object

: merchandise

l: gift; rite; ceremony

: present

go: high; tall

: grow taller

d: low

: height

sng: give (a gift)

gi: to give

z: self

: give gift

: give to him

: self-taught

jin: subtract; reduce

: reduce price

kui: fast, hurry up

: happy

M. Chu, 51

j: self

: self

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1. Bhu jigu: Character Strokes and Structures

(2) Simplified Characters: Trace and write to become familiar with the structure of characters

w: thing; object

: merchandise

l: gift; rite; ceremony

: present

go: high; tall

: grow taller

d: low

: height

sng: give (a gift)

gi: to give

z: self

: give gift

: give to him

: self-taught

jin: subtract; reduce

: reduce price

kui: fast, hurry up

: happy

M. Chu, 52

j: self

: self

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Notes on Character Simplification:

1.

Adopting the method of (cosh kihu):

Using the short-hand cursive style ( cosh) of a traditional full-form character or character
component but linearizes the connected or tangled strokes into independent standard style (
kish) stroke lines.

is simplified to
2.

Adopting the method of (fho dit):

Replacing complex components of a traditional character with a simpler existing characters or
components, or with particularly created symbols.

is simplified to
The simplification process seems to be using reduced strokes to represent the general contour of
the traditional character. , the complicated right-side component of the traditional character ,
is replaced by the one stroke symbol .
3.

Adopting the method of (jb shnch):

Deleting certain component of the traditional character

is simplified to
4.

(The reduction is only by one stroke)

Adopting the method of (yng ytz):

Using a variant character that may or may not have fewer strokes. The stroke reduction (when it
happens) may result in connecting adjacent strokes or eliminating part of them. This change is
slight and casual and sometimes not included in the simplification scheme.

has a variant form in the simplified character system

M. Chu, 53

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2. C y duyng: Matching words with meaning

Write the Chinese equivalent (multi-syllable words) of the following in characters

<i> gift _______________

<ii> ceremonial dress: ______________

<iii> commodity prices: __________________

<iv> biology: _______________

<v> foodstuff: ________________

<vi> character in a story: _______________

<vii> grow taller: ________________

<viii> height:_______________

<ix> give gifts: ________________

<x> delivery goods_______________

<xi> delivery mail: ________________

<xii> seeing a friend off: _________________

<xiii> reduce: ____________

<xiv> price cut: _________________

<xv> big sale: ________________

<xvi> self: ________________

<xvii> hurry up and eat: ________________

<xviii> hurry up and write: ________________

<xix> Happy Birthday: ________________

<xx> Happy New Year: ________________

M. Chu, 54

3. Hud wnt: Answer Questions

Work with a language partner and take turn to ask and answer these questions.
<i> Record your conversation.
<ii> Write your answers and translate them into English.
(1)

____________________________________________________________________________

(2)

____________________________________________________________________________

(3)

____________________________________________________________________________

(4)

(5)

____________________________________________________________________________

[ chngchng: often]

____________________________________________________________________________

(6)

____________________________________________________________________________

(7)

____________________________________________________________________________

(8)

____________________________________________________________________________

M. Chu, 55

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