218 dtg (additions to the english language)

no blogging for a while, have been focusing on study and avoiding english things (like blogging ... but that will change ... as of july these things will be written in chinese first and then translated back to english for posting here) .. anyway ...

I read somewhere that learning a new language is the only way to increase your IQ, because there are concepts that exist in other languages that have no direct equivalent in your mother tongue. Therefore, by learning them you are actually putting a brand new concept into your brain, as opposed to just translating a word you already know.

Anyway, enough theory, I came across these words which have no direct english equivalent and thought they were pretty interestings. I'm also attempting to make up a new english word for them, who knows, they just might catch on:

Jiu-Liang

Your "jiu-liang" is your capacity to drink alcohol. Chinese people love to ask you what your jiu-liang is (in Qingdao it's expressed in terms of how many bottles of 750mL beer your can drink in one sitting), and it's not just a guy thing either - women will quite happily chat about this too.

Suggested New English Word: alcopow (your power to consume alcohol)

Jiao

A jiao is the step you take when you fall down (as oppose to the step you take when you walk or run - bu). The verb "to fall down" is a combination of the verb to fall, and this noun jiao.

Suggested New English Word: stackometre (the metre travelled when you stack it)


Jie-Wei

jie is a word to solve or answer, and wei means to be surrounded. Combined, they describe the verb to save somebody from an embarrassing situation or to help somebody out of a nasty predicament (literally, to find an answer to the things that surround them)

Suggest New English Word: prevred (to prevent somebody's face from turning red with embarrassment)

Pen-Jing

pen means pot (as in pot-plant), and jing is another word of scenery, so this translates as "potted landscape", and describes the scene in your house if you have lots of potplants creating a nice, green look.

Suggested New English Word: potscape (the pot plant landscape)