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COMMON CHINESE WORDS
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ài 愛/爱 love
Sometimes you eye somebody and fall in love with them and then ay, yay, yay the consequences!
ài is fourth tone/falling tone, since you fall in love with someone.
愛 The traditional character shows a hand on top reaching in for someone’s heart, the character 心, through a roof. This roof is the metaphoric barrier we all keep around our hearts for fear of getting hurt. The person whose love is being sought reciprocates by offering up their heart with both hands to the hand reaching in for love.
爱 In the simplified character, the heart and two hands under the roof are replaced by two hands locked in friendship.
ānpái 安排 to arrange
When you bake a pie and invite over guests, you have to arrange what you’re going to put on the pie. Ice cream or whipped cream?
ān is first tone/high level tone, since you arrange things by putting them flat on the table. pái is second tone/rising tone, since you ask your guests, with questioning intonation, would you like some pie?
安 This character shows a woman under the roof arranging things for the party.
排 This character consists of a hand on the left lining the guests up at either side of the table.
bái 白 white
When an army runs up the white flag, they’re saying bye, bye to any hope of victory.
bái is second tone/rising tone, since when asking about ethnicity, a pollster, and certainly a racist, might ask with a questioning intonation “white?”
白 The character shows the sun coming up at the break of day. The top stroke shows the rising of the sun at dawn. The original idea was the “whiteness” of the sun, and has come to mean “white” as well as “fair-skinned.”
bǎi 百 (a) hundred
That’s a great buy for a hundred dollars!
bǎi is third tone/low rising tone, since a hundred ounces of gold in your pocket would certainly sink deep down into it!
百 This character has the character for “one,” 一 as the radical on top, indicating units of ones, tens, hundreds, etc.
bān 搬 to move (place of residence or furniture)
When you move, it’s helpful to have a moving ban (van)!
bān is first tone/high level tone, since when you move things, you try to keep them level and not let them tip over.
搬 The character has the “hand” radical on the left, since we use our hands to move things. The phonetic on the right shows a boat on the left being moved or “poled” by two hands on the right, which was the traditional way of navigating a boat down a river or lake.
bàn 辦/办 to handle/manage (something)
One way to handle a matter, if you’re in a position of authority, is to ban (prohibit) it.
bàn is fourth tone/falling tone, since you need to handle matters decisively and speak with decisive intonation.
辦/办 The traditional character actually shows two criminals with hands and feet in manacles on either side, being handled with force, which in Chinese is the character 力. The simplified character shows handling matters with energy or force, with what appears to be a drop of sweat on either side.
bànfǎ 辦法/办法 method; way (to do something)
One way to keep warm is to make a bonfire (bànfǎ).
bàn is said with the fourth tone/falling tone and means “to handle/manage.” When you are managing things, you have to do so confidently, and so the authoritative fourth tone seems appropriate. fǎ is said with the third tone/low rising tone and means “way; method.” When you manage things, you must do so thoroughly, from top to bottom. Hence bànfǎ is said with a falling tone followed by a low tone.
辦/办 The traditional character actually shows two criminals with hands and feet in manacles on either side, being handled with force, which in Chinese is the character 力. The simplified character shows handling matters with energy or force, with what appears to be a drop of sweat on either side.
法 By itself this character means “law” or “way.” The character shows water on the left and the character 去, meaning “to go,” on the right. The true etymology of this word comes from the Chinese belief that just as water runs in certain channels, human behavior should be guided in certain channels by the rule of law.
bāngmáng 幇忙/帮忙 to help/assist
I get a bang out of helping my fellow man (and fellow woman).
bāng is first tone/high level tone, since you hope the person who helps you will be on the level. máng is second tone/rising tone, since when asking for help, it’s with a rising or questioning intonation: “help?”
幇 The traditional version of this character seems to show earth or dirt piled up in a trench on the top left, with a hand bleeding on the top right; as the guns go off, “bang, bang,” you raise the white flag, the “cloth” radical on the bottom, 巾, shouting “help, help!”
帮 Think of this simplified form as a big guy on the top right holding a weapon or tool on the top left, coming to help when he sees a flag being waved. The top part of the simplified character is actually a phonetic, meaning “confederation.”
忙 This character means “a favor” or “busy.” It shows the “heart” radical on the left is occupied, with the character for “coffin” on the right as a phonetic, warning about the danger of getting too busy!
bāngzhù 幇助/帮助 to help/assist
I get a bang out of helping you!
bāng is first tone/high level tone, since you hope the person who helps you will be on the level. zhù is fourth tone/falling tone, giving the end of the compound word for “help” an affirming, decisive sound, indicating a strong desire to be of assistance.
助 The character means “to aid or assist.” It shows the “energy”/“strength” radical on the right, since you need to use energy or strength to assist others. The phonetic on the right can be seen in the Chinese word 姐姐, meaning “older sister.”
bāo 包 to wrap up
The clerks in the store might bow to you before they wrap up your purchase and put a red bow on it.
bāo is first tone/high level tone, since you need to put a package on a level surface before wrapping it.
包 The character seems to show an embryo wrapped in the womb, but most likely shows a person with their arms wrapped around some object.
bǎo 飽/饱 full (from eating)
bǎo resembles the sound of a burp when a person is full.
bǎo is third tone/low rising tone, since you feel full because food has settled down into your stomach.
飽 The character has the “food” radical on the left, showing a hand on top feeding from a rice bowl in the middle and using a spoon or ladle on the bottom to eat with. The character 包 is the phonetic on the right, seeming to add to the meaning by appearing to show the head and bent leg of a person sitting and feeling full after eating. The top st...
