Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
John: Chinese Slang Expressions for Studying
John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to ChineseClass101.com. I'm John Reyna.
Dehua: And I'm Dehua!
John: This is Must-Know Chinese Slang Words and Phrases, Season 1, Lesson 12. In this lesson, you'll learn chinese slang expressions for studying.
John: Study can be fun! Come and learn Chinese slang expressions in study.
SLANG EXPRESSIONS
John: The expressions you'll be learning in this lesson are:
Dehua: 天书 (tiānshū)
Dehua: 学霸 (xué bà)
Dehua: 活到老学到老 (Huó dào lǎo xué dào lǎo)
Dehua: 好记性不如烂笔头 (hǎo jìxìng bùrú làn bǐtóu)
John: Dehua, what's our first expression?
Dehua: 天书 (tiānshū)
John: literally meaning "a book from heaven." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "complex writing."
Dehua: 天书 (tiānshū)
John: Listeners, please repeat.
Dehua: 天书 (tiānshū)
John: Use this slang expression when the contents of a book are very difficult to understand.
John: Now let's hear an example sentence.
Dehua: 我小时候理科很差,物理书对我来说就像天书一样。 (Wǒ xiǎo shíhou lǐkēhěn chā, wùlǐ shū duì wǒ láishuō jiù xiàng tiānshūyīyàng.)
John: "I was really bad at science when I was young. The Physics textbooks were all too complex."
Dehua: 我小时候理科很差,物理书对我来说就像天书一样。 (Wǒ xiǎo shíhou lǐkēhěn chā, wùlǐ shū duì wǒ láishuō jiù xiàng tiānshūyīyàng.)
John: Okay, what's the next expression?
Dehua: 学霸 (xué bà)
John: This literally means "study tyrant." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "someone who studies very hard."
Dehua: 学霸 (xué bà)
John: Listeners, please repeat.
Dehua: 学霸 (xué bà)
John: Use this slang expression when you talk about someone who is very hardworking in study.
John: Now let's hear an example sentence.
Dehua: 她是我们班上的学霸。 (Tā shì wǒmen bān shàng de xué bà.)
John: "She's a hardworking student in our class."
Dehua: 她是我们班上的学霸。 (Tā shì wǒmen bān shàng de xué bà.)
John: Okay, what's our next expression?
Dehua: 活到老学到老 (Huó dào lǎo xué dào lǎo)
John: literally meaning "live until old, learn until old." As a slang expression, it means "You're never too old to learn."
Dehua: 活到老学到老 (Huó dào lǎo xué dào lǎo)
John: Listeners, please repeat.
Dehua: 活到老学到老 (Huó dào lǎo xué dào lǎo)
John: Use this slang expression when talking about keeping up studying something, It is never too old to learn.
John: Now let's hear an example sentence.
Dehua: 学习英语,就要活到老学到老。 (Xuéxí yīngyǔ, jiù yào huó dào lǎo xué dào lǎo.)
John: "You are never too old to study English."
Dehua: 学习英语,就要活到老学到老。 (Xuéxí yīngyǔ, jiù yào huó dào lǎo xué dào lǎo.)
John: Okay, what's the last expression?
Dehua: 好记性不如烂笔头 (hǎo jìxìng bùrú làn bǐtóu)
John: Which literally means "good memory is not better than broken pen tip." As a slang expression, it means "taking notes is better than relying on good memory."
Dehua: 好记性不如烂笔头 (hǎo jìxìng bùrú làn bǐtóu)
John: Listeners, please repeat.
Dehua: 好记性不如烂笔头 (hǎo jìxìng bùrú làn bǐtóu)
John: Use this slang expression when you express that making notes is important.
John: Now let's hear an example sentence.
Dehua: 我们老师经常说,好记性不如烂笔头。 (Wǒmen lǎoshī jīngcháng shuō, hǎo jìxìng bùrú làn bǐtóu.)
John: "Our teacher often says that making notes is better than a good memory."
Dehua: 我们老师经常说,好记性不如烂笔头。 (Wǒmen lǎoshī jīngcháng shuō, hǎo jìxìng bùrú làn bǐtóu.)
QUIZ
John: Okay listeners, are you ready to be quizzed on the expressions you just learned? I’ll describe four situations, and you’ll choose the right expression to use in your reply. Are you ready?
John: You are a hardworking student.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Dehua: 学霸 (xué bà)
John: "someone who studies very hard"
John: You don’t understand anything that is written in a book.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Dehua: 天书 (tiānshū)
John: "complex writing"
John: Your teacher asks you to take notes in the class.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Dehua: 好记性不如烂笔头 (hǎo jìxìng bùrú làn bǐtóu)
John: "taking notes is better than relying on good memory"
John: A 70-year-old is going to university.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Dehua: 活到老学到老 (Huó dào lǎo xué dào lǎo)
John: "You're never too old to learn"

Outro

John: There you have it; you've mastered four Chinese Slang Expressions! We have more vocab lists available at ChineseClass101.com so be sure to check them out. Thanks, everyone, and see you next time!
Dehua: 下回見 (xià huí jiàn).

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