Monday, May 17, 2010
இ Baŋäŋaz இ
In Bananaz last post there is no answer so far to the question of why there is this 'old' lǎo 老 for 'old' tiger 虎[hǔ] and 'old' mouse 鼠[shǔ]? We leave that alone for the time being as the saying goes when the student is ready the master will appear. Thanks to Autumn Belle who says 'old' is sort of a respect. So that's why we have big names like mightymouse, mickey mouse, stuart little to name just a few?. More than often we could get confused with lǎoshī 老師 [teacher] and lǎoshǔ 老鼠 [mouse]. As most Chinese words are derived from the real life images where roughly 600 Chinese characters are pictograms and can you figure out how the word "mouse" to be like in Chinese character? On a note of caution for those Chinese educated friends who may be bored learning the basics kindly bear with Bananaz or why not you are most welcome to contribute more feedback about learning Chinese Mandarin would be much appreciated.
Idiom~猫哭老鼠 māo kū lǎoshǔ
Literally: Cat weeps 'old' mouse
Meaning: The cat weeps for the dead mouse; hypocritical pretence of condolence or crocodile tears
Idiom~蛇鼠一窩 shé shǔ yī wō
Literally: snake mouse one nest
Meaning: A negative remark regarding people of the same character and bad habit.
*Mouse vs Mouse Trap*
Disclaimer: Kindly take note no mouse was harmed during the filming of this video. Check your awareness on how our mind are affected by the things we see. Its a test on your state of calmness in the second part and your sense of humor thereafter, however have to give back credit to the producer/commercial for the 1.29 minutes of entertainment.
Mouse vs Mouse Trap ~ *It Doesn't Concern Me*.
Did you finish watching the above video to the end? The mouse is a WINNER and always lucky. Still on the topic of mouse.. so a mouse looked through the crack and saw the farmer and his wife opening a package. Its a mouse trap! The mouse alerted the chicken, pig and cow but all said the same "It doesn't concern me". Head down and dejected, the mouse had to face the farmer's mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard and in the darkness, a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught bit the farmer's wife. After coming back from hospital she had fever. Everybody knows chicken soup is a good remedy for fever and there goes the chicken.
Friends and relatives heard about her sickness came to take care of the farmer's wife. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral; the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.
The mouse took a peep from the crack in the wall with great sadness.
The next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- this mouse trap story...united we stand, divided we fall. "Try a little kindness because when you're kind and you treat people kind you get treated in kind" ~ Glen Campbell.
Mouse not only loves cheese but big rice as well. We can learn a lot of lessons from the mouse. This may be an oldie "Who Moved My Cheese" by Dr Spencer Johnson as motivational books do not have any expiry date and learning repeatedly fulfills the law of repetition. The two mice or mouses [what do you think the plural of mouse should be?] 'Sniff' and 'Scurry' did leave a very great impression in me and always remember this "If you don't CHANGE you can become extinct". Would love to dedicate this song to my sifu [SK] for sharing and teaching Bananaz on 'html script' and btw [SK] is now the official 'Scripteaser of the Year'. Here you go "wǒ ài [SK] lǎoshī 老師". Xiexie.
Click button for lyrics in Chinese, PinYin & English: Yes No
Posted in: Chinese Idiom
69 Bunchesஇ:
Learning Mandarin is tough. At least for me.
I find learning ABCs easier.
ohh SK oso sent me his html script = =
I know about the mouse love rice grain song. Very lovey dovey. :p
Mei Teng இ learning languages or dialects is very individual and depends on interest and environment. Got a friend from Penang worked in KL for more than 10 years can't complete a sentence in Cantonese. Only speaks English in office. At home speaks Hokkien and his neighbours also Hokkien, mostly Penang lang. tQ.
manglish இ [SK] is now the official "scriptese" of the year. haha. tQ.
Tekkaus இ this may be an old song but very pleasant though may not fully understand the full lyric..am learning bit by bit. tQ
smart and fun post,
love the idea of rice, mouse...
Jingle இ learning must be fun just like your poems & haikus there is so much fun & joy reading them. tQ.
Hmmm... I'm the kind who would pronounce laoshu and call my teacher that. LOL... And some of my students call me that too... hahahahahah....
A nice moral story of the mouse and friends.
I think I heard the 'Mouse Love Rice' song as sung by the Twins.
About the '老' or old for tiger, mouse, teacher, master - can it be used to mean wise? In chinese culture, older people are always regarded as wiser. All of the above are wise creatures and people. In fact the mouse is so wise in the Tom & Jerry cartoon, I pity the cat and sometimes wished that the cat will win over the mouse.
Mouse and snake in the same den - a friend used to joke that some parents believe that a person who is born in the year of the rat will be very compatible (especially in marriage) with another born in the year of the snake. Now, we have also that according to Fengshui, the rat and snake are actually horroscope allies. They make good partners in business and in life. However, our kids study from science class that snakes eat rats (predator vs prey) in the food web. Now, they are enemies right? I hope I didn't confuse you further with my 'thoughts'
Also, about the Mouse Love Rice song, a better direct translation would be "Mouse Love Big Rice". Why is the word 'big' so important? I remember from the TVB drama, Rosy Business starring Wayne Lai and Sheren Teng, somewhere it was explained about 'big rice'. In the olden days when people in China had little to eat due to famine and natural disasters, rice is a very important staple food. Many people fought and/or prosper over rice. Hence rice was given the title "Big" to mean important. In this sence, it does not mean big or small grain size.
Many of my friends also has the opinion that it is a waste of time to watch TVB serials. To the contrary, I find that I have learnt a lot about Chinese culture by watching period dramas. There is a lot of philosophy and history we can learn from there. Like you, I am also a 'banana'. At least you know more mandarin words than me.
I just finished reading the story of the farmer and the mouse. Very meaningful indeed ... Depicts life really. Never be complacent.
cleffairy இ Ms cleffairy laoshu ni hao! haha. Xiexie
mNhL இ in life somehow we are 'connected' direct or indirectly and we have to help each other regardless of race, religion or color. tQ.
Another informative post, Bananaz. Thank you.
"Who Moved My Cheese" is a classic - simple yet impactful lesson.
Wah! Put SK's HTML scripting to the test? Not bad! Haha! I've yet to do anything with it!
Ooh! I like this song although I think the lyrics rather silly haha!
Autumn Belle இ Wow great! Thankz for the enlightenment. Guess 'old' is wise and highly respected but for a mouse errr.. OK let's accept the 'old' as it is think there must be a reason or else there won't be mickey mouse, mightymouse, stuart little to name a few haha.
Really those born under the mouse and snake sign are meant for each other? Have not thought about it until you mentioned could hold some water but also leak to dryness as you said snakes prey on rats. No Bananaz not confused the snakes and rats are. haha..
Autumn Belle இ Yeah missed out the most important 'Big' thankz have added that in. Now recall I have mentioned in my last entry that food which is rice is greater than sky surely must be 'Big'.
You banana too? Thought you are mango [inside and outside yellow]!!! My Mandarin is based on hearsay and lucky to have found my laoshi Jeannie who showed me the MDBG dictionary where I key in the English word and out comes the Chinese translation. Honestly I don't know much Chinese words myself. Its all about copy and paste no doubt I do recognised some words by heart.
Agree with you watching movie or listening to Chinese 98.8 helps tremendously. Watching to pass time without much attention maybe learn nothing at all. Even some advertisement is very educational its a matter how you pick them up. tQ.
One of my favorite old song as well - The tikus love the beras :-)...simple lyric for all bananaz to hafal :-)
I read the book, its very enlightening :)
scriptease.... lol... wow.. this is really very meaningful. i learn a lot from this post.. good good.. more more ok?
awww i felt so sorry for the mouse at first even though you said it wasnt real. then it just made me laugh!! great idea for an advert
Tina from
Mummy Diaries
Gossip Avenue
Travel Shack
Game FreakZ
iamthewitch இ hope the story make us realized the reality of life. tQ
HappySurfer இ you are thinking to write a new book on 'Who Moved My Blog?' haha. tQ.
foongpc இ [SK] just got his award 'scripteaser of the Year'. So almost 10 bloggers have received his 'html script'. Take a while to digest the procedure. Oh lyrics sounded silly but song is nice. Thought the singer is expressing his love just as much as the mouse loves big rice haha. tQ
MODERN ROBINSON CRUSOE இ oh you've got a malay version? haha..song for all ages. tQ.
Kelvin இ simple easy thin book to finish in short span of time. tQ.
Merryn இ lol on scriptease? haven't heard from our sifu [SK] yet not sure he marah? haha. Glad you like this post sure coming soon tQ for the encouragement.
Tina இ yeah when I first view it I closed my eyes just as the mouse climbed on top of the cheese. After the snap sound I opened my eyes and was horrified seeing the mouse lying helplessly. Oh dear poor mouse but 'the eyes of the tiger' music gave me a good belly laugh. lol tQ.
quite a long time never hear this song.
so nice - feel want go to Karaeko lo hahaha
CH Voon இ oh you are another karaoke kaki ah..tQ.
Ah, I have been looking for that type of mouse trap, can't find them selling this nowadays!...LOL!
the song is so moving
Pete இ I have got one in my office room but a very small one 4.5cm x 10cm its a mouse trap but for clipping papers. haha. tQ.
smallkucing இ kucing got friend with mouse or not or waiting to.. haha, yeah nice evergreen song. tQ.
ya, try a little kindness and show a little kindness..
The little mouse song is like become classic.
wenn இ ..♫Shine your light for everyone to see. And if you try a little kindness, then you'll overlook the blindness..♫ tQ.
Superman இ yeah at one time many have downloaded as ring tone for their hand phones. tQ.
not karaoke kaki la... just jerit for fun only.
very meaningful and touching.
thanks for teaching us Mandarin... i have a chinese friend but he's speaking in english in order for us to understand him.. i guess i have to learn more about this from him... so sad he's not a blogger but i try to encourage him hjehe
another for you."mouse head, snake tail" what's that in Chinese?
oh i have watched this vieo in youtube LOL...
i thought the mouse will die.... hahaha this is sooo funny...
i think Mickey mouse deserve a special mention here hehe
have a great day Bananaz and happy blogging
sorry for my late visit
Great lesson.
Aloha from Hawaii
Comfort Spiral
CH Voon இ Bananaz seldom karaoke it OK after also cannot sing. haha tQ
Life Ramblings இ thankz.
Bluedreamer27 இ hey you are born in the year of the Rat~;) yeah took pity for the mouse at first. You are also fan of Mickey besides panda haha. Can understand you are pretty busy with blog idol 2010. Have a great day. Glad you can pick up a Chinese especially 'rat' word each time tQ.
இஇஇ
this is so cute. wah.. got HTML wor..
bluedreamer27 இ maybe can teach Bananaz pinoy language learned this very long long long time ago ~ 'Mabuhay'. tQ
eugene இ oh 'mouse head snake tail'? used to hear mama says 'snake head mouse eyes' izzit the same?. Its like 'one eye see you will know you more more no good man'. [literally speaking]. haha tQ.
Cloudia இ thankz learning day by day aloha. tQ
Donna இஇஇ yeah cutie? thankz. learning *html* from you know who..none other than my sifu the 'scripteaser of the year [SK] haha tQ.
haha, first of all, thrilled to see my name in this blog!! thanks for trying out the HTML Scripts, hope it was fun for you.. hehehehe!!
hahaha!! i like that, Scripteaser of the Year, and i bet you sure would like to see me BARE all the scripts i have with me?? haha.. and oh, did you say you love me too?? *blush*
actually the word 鼠 really came from the shape of a mouse.. if you can go google for how the word is written in the ancient times, you'll see the shape of a mouse indeed (but of course less similar to the modern word now)..
and FYI, your literal meaning of 貓哭老鼠 is not really correct.. the actual meaning is correct though..
猫哭老鼠 is actually referring to 猫哭老鼠假慈悲, it should mean literally that the mouse feels sorry to see the cat's crying.. can mean shedding crocodile tears, but the subject is messed up.. it's the cat's crying, and the mouse pretending to be sad.. you got it??
hehe, love that little video.. quite creative huh.. after eating the cheese, the mouse is strong enough to do his chest bench-press, hahahaha!! :D
and lastly, thanks for dedicating the song to me woh.. although i think it's been too over-ratedly popular, hahahaha!! :p
http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/awards-from-wordwand-trisha-and-more/
pick something from the 8 awards on the bottom,
have fun!
;)
next time manglish come to KL massage, we go to karaokee togehter la....
Oh, the famous song, now I can't get the tune off my head.....:P
Great lesson, as always. Thank you. Love the mouse trap video.
so creative in thinking up idees fir a post... sometimes i look at the screen n nothing...just blank
Your mandarin has improved a lot over time.
Squeak, squeak, squeak!
:F
http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/05/20/thursday-poets-rally-week-19-poem-post/
super comment award,
thank you.
cute post,
keep it up!
hi banana, please visit me here before we start the round 3, i really need your opinion
http://blogidolforum.blogspot.com/
[SK] இ aaaah the sifu aka scripteaser of the year has spoken. tQ so much for sharing the idiom guess certain books or dictionary did not elaborate it in detail and over time many version arises. You mean the rat is the one to pretend not the cat, purr-fect explanation haha. That's meow-ly cute. tQ
[SK]இ on HTML script just like copycat101 now you ask me how I do it soli lah..but getting the hang of it now may do a few more variations but not to often over the post coz can become stale '26' [jilat in Hokkien]. Student loves teacher is OK one why you *blush*? Loves you teaching your style your care etc haha. tQ.
Jingle இ tQ so much.
CH Voon இ taklaoke for Bananaz voice not 'apeeling'. haha tQ.
Mandy Ling இ glad you love the mouse song, don't over listen the song and neglect your studies haha. tQ for dropping by.
gus இ was holding my fist tight when the mouse climbs onto the cheese and ..tQ
Bengbeng இ tQ huh screen blank sometimes? Not sure its the downloading time. Lately steamyx lots of steam and dead slow.
jam இ got help from friends and picking up with the help of the online MBDG dictionary. tQ
Kelvin இ reply: squeaky squeaky squeaky ~;). you and I know what we are talking the rest blur blur haha. tQ.
Jingle இ tQ you are my inspiration.
bluedreamer27 இ Great! Have posted two comments. Hard job on ya. Take care. tQ.
LOL!!! I love this song! Actually I had a post by this same name and I also posted the same video clip:
http://suituapui.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/mouse-loves-rice/
suituapui இ haha you and your "ngiau chu boi in Hokkien". Nice post phew same song some more, but not sure in Canto it means something like "loh she fun" meaning tikus noodles or s**t? haha. tQ.
In Chinese culture, the young ones are taught to respect the older people but you don't too much of that today. The mentality of the youths is more like respect is earned not given. At least here in America. I really never thought about how so many words beginning with "lao", very interesting point you brought up here.
I like the mouse vs mouse trap vid.. lol..
thank you for the lovely comments,
u rock!
I always love music,
thus rock on.
keep entertaining us!
Cheers!
RoseBelle இ lao can alos apply to 'old' buddy or to the name like 'lao' Huang or 'lao' Chen. tQ
Shirleen இ at first you would feel 'pain & sick' when the mouse trapped under the bar and grasping for air until the 'eye of the tiger' make you lol..haha tQ.
Jingle இ way to go have fun keep your great poems and haikus rolling..tQ.
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