TV in China

It never ceases to amaze me with American tv shows or movies become popular in China.  This fall theaters were showing the new Hunger Games movie alongside the Smurfs sequel.  While the most popular tv shows do not always reflect a positive light on American culture, I am thankful for the connection point it does bring.  While guest lecturing at a university class I used the cast of the Big Bang Theory to explain what a "well-rounded" individual (hint, no one on that show).

For a little bit of fun I thought I would share some of the most watched American shows and their Chinese names.

The Big Bang Theory (生活大爆炸)- "Life Big Bang"
Homeland (国土安全)- "National Safety"
Criminal Minds (犯罪心理)- "Crime Psychology"
Prison Break （越狱)- "Climb Over Prison"
Modern Family (摩登家庭)- "Fashionable Family"
Dexter (嗜血法医)- "Blood Addict Forensic Detective"
The Crazy Ones (病人病活)- "Sick People, Sick Life"
The Vampire Diaries (吸血鬼日记)- "Vampire Diary"
Saturday Night Live (周六夜现场)- "Saturday Night On the Spot"
Mad Men (广告狂人)- "Advertisement Madman"
Breaking Bad (绝命毒老)- "Hopeless Life Poison Teacher"
2 Broke Girls (破产姐妹)- "Bankrupt Sisters"
Hostages (人质)- "Hostage"

Most of the translated titles accurately describe the plot of the show.  Though I have not watched a single episode, from what I gather "Hopeless Life Poison Teacher" is a pretty accurate description of a show about a cancer stricken teacher who produces meth.

Chinese Learning

The more I study Mandarin the more I appreciate how logical the language is.

Here are a few examples:
  Patriotism: 爱国 (ai guo)
      爱 ai means love and 国 guo means country.
       So patriotism in Chinese is literally "love country".

  Significant: 重要 (zhong yao)
    重 (zhong) means considerable and 要 (yao) means importance.

  Classroom: 教师 (jiao shi)
    教 (jiao) means instruct or teach and 师 (shi) mean room.
    So the classroom is the instruction room.

  Innovation:  革新 (ge xin)
       革 (ge) means change or transform
        新(xin) means new

  受骗 (shou pian): means to be deceived or fooled
      受 (shou) means suffer  and 骗 (pian) means cheat or swindle
      People who are deceived are suffering after being swindled.


As I learn to read and recognize more characters, I am often able to deduce the meaning from new words because I know one part of the character. Thankful for my increasing literacy level.

Language Study

Here a some pictures of my main Mandarin textbook and notebook so that you can see what I am learning in language school.  The English definitions of new words are the only English words in my book. As you can see below, I am now at the stage where I am required to read Chinese characters with no help from pinyin, or phonetic pronunciation guides.