Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave — Page 15

Vocabulary

如果

rúguǒ — if; supposing a certain condition is true

是

shì — to be; am, is, are

后者

hòuzhě — the latter; the second of two mentioned things

你

nǐ — you; second-person singular pronoun

准备好

zhǔnbèi hǎo — to be ready; fully prepared for something

为

wèi — for; on behalf of; for the sake of

他们

tāmen — they; them; third-person plural pronoun

做

zuò — to do; to make; to perform an action

什么

shénme — what; used in questions about things

敢于

gǎnyú — to dare to; have courage to do something

了

le — particle indicating completed action or change

吗

ma — question particle indicating a yes/no question

要

yào — to want; to need; must; will

忠诚

zhōngchéng — loyal; faithful; devoted to a cause or person

警觉

jǐngjué — vigilant; alert; watchful against danger

不懈

bùxiè — unremitting; persistent; without slackening effort

努力

nǔlì — to work hard; strive; make great effort

打破

dǎpò — to break; smash; shatter a barrier or record

一切

yīqiè — all; everything; every single thing

枷锁

jiāsuǒ — shackles; chains; bonds of oppression

让

ràng — to let; allow; cause someone to do something

被压迫者

bèi yāpòzhě — the oppressed; those subjected to oppression

得以

déyǐ — to be able to; manage to achieve something

自由

zìyóu — freedom; liberty; free from restraint

无论

wúlùn — no matter; regardless of what happens

发生

fāshēng — to happen; occur; take place

代价

dàijià — cost; price paid; sacrifice made for something

几何

jǐhé — how much; geometry; what amount or degree

在

zài — at; in; on; indicates location or ongoing action

迎风

yíngfēng — facing the wind; into the wind

展开

zhǎnkāi — to unfurl; spread out; unfold broadly

的

de — structural particle indicating possession or modification

旗帜

qízhì — flag; banner; symbol of a cause

上

shàng — on; above; upper surface of something

铭刻

míngkè — to inscribe; engrave words onto a surface

宗教

zōngjiào — religion; organized system of spiritual belief

与

yǔ — and; together with; connects nouns or clauses

政治

zhèngzhì — politics; political affairs and governance

格言

géyán — motto; maxim; short guiding principle statement

奴隶制

núlì zhì — slavery; system of owning people as property

绝不

juébù — absolutely not; never under any circumstances

妥协

tuǒxié — to compromise; make concessions to reach agreement

奴隶主

núlì zhǔ — slaveholder; slave owner; person who owns slaves

联合

liánhé — to unite; join together; combined effort

年

nián — year; used after numbers to indicate a year

月

yuè — month; also means moon

日

rì — day; date; the sun

先生

xiānsheng — Mr.; sir; gentleman; term of respectful address

来信

láixìn — incoming letter; a letter received from someone

亲爱的

qīn'ài de — dear; beloved; affectionate salutation in letters

朋友

péngyou — friend; a person one knows and likes

还记得

hái jìde — still remember; to recall something from the past

那则

nà zé — that (measure word for stories or fables)

古老

gǔlǎo — ancient; very old; dating from long ago

寓言

yùyán — fable; parable; story with a moral lesson

人

rén — person; human being; people

狮子

shīzi — lion; large wild cat of the genus Panthera

其中

qízhōng — among them; within that; in which

抱怨

bàoyuàn — to complain; grumble; express dissatisfaction

说

shuō — to say; speak; tell; express in words

若

ruò — if; should; supposing that (literary usage)

由

yóu — by; from; due to; let someone do something

来

lái — to come; indicating an action to be done

书写

shūxiě — to write; record in written form

历史

lìshǐ — history; record of past events

他

tā — he; him; third-person singular male pronoun

就

jiù — then; precisely; as early as; exactly

不会

bú huì — would not; unable to; will not happen

被

bèi — passive marker; by; indicates something done to subject

如此

rúcǐ — like this; in such a way; so; thus

歪曲

wāiqū — to distort; misrepresent; twist the truth

我

wǒ — I; me; first-person singular pronoun

很

hěn — very; quite; rather; to a great degree

高兴

gāoxìng — happy; glad; pleased; in good spirits

时代

shídài — era; age; period of time in history

终于

zhōngyú — finally; at last; in the end

到来

dàolái — to arrive; come; the arrival of something

我们

wǒmen — we; us; first-person plural pronoun

长期

chángqī — long-term; over a prolonged period of time

以来

yǐlái — since; ever since a certain point in time

只能

zhǐ néng — can only; have no choice but to

从

cóng — from; since; following a particular source

不情愿

bù qíngyuàn — unwilling; reluctant; done against one's wishes

提供

tígōng — to provide; supply; offer something to someone

证词

zhèngcí — testimony; statement given as evidence

中

zhōng — in; within; among; the middle

了解

liǎojiě — to understand; learn about; get to know

本质

běnzhì — essence; true nature; fundamental character

这

zhè — this; referring to something nearby or just mentioned

已经

yǐjīng — already; by now; prior to the present moment

持续

chíxù — to continue; persist; last over a period

太久

tài jiǔ — too long; excessively long period of time

人们

rénmen — people; people in general; the public

确实

quèshí — indeed; truly; certainly; without doubt

可以

kěyǐ — can; may; it is permissible to do

对

duì — toward; regarding; correct; facing

这种

zhè zhǒng — this kind of; this type of thing

关系

guānxi — relationship; connection; ties between people or things

所

suǒ — particle preceding verbs to nominalize or emphasize

必然

bìrán — inevitable; certain to happen; necessarily so

产生

chǎnshēng — to produce; generate; give rise to something

普遍

pǔbiàn — universal; widespread; common; generally applicable

结果

jiéguǒ — result; outcome; consequence of something

感到

gǎndào — to feel; sense; experience an emotion or sensation

充分

chōngfèn — fully; sufficient; ample; to the fullest extent

满足

mǎnzú — satisfied; content; to meet a need or desire

而

ér — and; but; yet; connects contrasting clauses

无需

wúxū — no need to; without needing; unnecessary to

进一步

jìn yī bù — further; one step further; to a greater degree

追究

zhuījiū — to investigate; look into; pursue accountability

这些

zhèxiē — these; referring to multiple nearby things

是否

shìfǒu — whether or not; if something is the case

每一个

měi yī gè — every single one; each individual item

具体

jùtǐ — specific; concrete; detailed and particular

情形

qíngxíng — situation; circumstance; state of affairs

都

dōu — all; both; every; without exception

得到

dédào — to obtain; receive; get; acquire something

印证

yìnzhèng — to verify; corroborate; confirm with evidence

事实上

shìshí shàng — in fact; in reality; actually speaking

那些

nàxiē — those; referring to multiple distant things

盯着

dīngzhe — to stare at; fix one's eyes on something

每周

měi zhōu — every week; weekly; each week

半

bàn — half; semi-; halfway

玉米

yùmǐ — corn; maize; cereal grain crop

热衷于

rèzhōng yú — to be passionate about; zealously devoted to

计算

jìsuàn — to calculate; count; compute a number

奴隶

núlì — slave; person owned and controlled by another

背上

bèi shàng — on the back; upon one's back

鞭痕

biānhén — whip marks; scars left by flogging on skin

数目

shùmù — number; quantity; numerical count of things

很少

hěn shǎo — rarely; seldom; very few; not often

能

néng — can; be able to; have the ability to

成为

chéngwéi — to become; turn into; develop into something

改革者

gǎigézhe — reformer; person who advocates social change

和

hé — and; together with; connecting nouns

废奴主义者

fèinú zhǔyì zhě — abolitionist; person who campaigns to end slavery

材料

cáiliào — material; stuff; suitable candidate for a role

记得

jìde — to remember; recall; have memory of something

许多

xǔduō — many; a lot of; a large number of

等待

děngdài — to wait; await; stay in expectation of something

试验

shìyàn — experiment; trial; test to see if something works

然后

ránhòu — then; after that; subsequently

才肯

cái kěn — only then willing to; not until then agree

加入

jiārù — to join; become a member; take part in

行列

hángliè — ranks; queue; the body of a group or movement

早已

zǎoyǐ — long since; already for a long time

然而

rán'ér — however; but; yet; nevertheless

唉

āi — alas; sigh; exclamation of sadness or regret