The Angel in the House — Page 6

Vocabulary

身形

shēn xíng — body shape or figure of a person

非

fēi — not; negation particle in literary Chinese

纤细

xiān xì — slender, delicate, fine in appearance

的

de — structural particle indicating possession or description

而是

ér shì — but rather; used to contrast two statements

比

bǐ — compared to; more than in comparisons

鸽子

gē zi — dove or pigeon, symbol of gentleness

更

gèng — even more; to a greater degree

温柔

wēn róu — gentle, tender, soft in manner or personality

她

tā — she, her, third-person female pronoun

母亲

mǔ qīn — mother; formal term for one's female parent

气质

qì zhì — temperament, disposition, elegance of manner

面庞

miàn páng — face, facial appearance or countenance

那双

nà shuāng — that pair of; referring to two matching things

明亮

míng liàng — bright, luminous, clear and shining

眼睛

yǎn jing — eyes, the organs of sight

是

shì — to be; linking verb indicating identity or state

爱

ài — love; affection or deep emotional attachment

清澈

qīng chè — clear, transparent, pure as water

湖泊

hú pō — lake, a body of still water

我

wǒ — I, me, first-person singular pronoun

认识

rèn shi — to know, recognize, or be acquainted with

往昔

wǎng xī — former times, the past, days gone by

岁月

suì yuè — years, passage of time, long period

里

lǐ — inside, within; positional particle

体弱

tǐ ruò — physically weak, frail in constitution

面白

miàn bái — pale-faced, having a white or pallid complexion

以为

yǐ wéi — to think, believe, mistakenly assume something

幸福

xìng fú — happiness, bliss, sense of well-being

只

zhǐ — only, merely, just one thing

属于

shǔ yú — to belong to, be owned by someone

美好

měi hǎo — wonderful, beautiful, pleasant and desirable

天地

tiān dì — heaven and earth; the world, universe

过于

guò yú — excessively, too much, overly so

神圣

shén shèng — sacred, holy, divine in nature

出世

chū shì — to transcend the mundane world; otherworldly

而

ér — and yet, but; conjunctive particle in literary Chinese

蔑视

miè shì — to despise, scorn, look down upon

尘世

chén shì — the mortal world, earthly mundane existence

满怀

mǎn huái — filled with, full of a certain feeling

莽撞

mǎng zhuàng — reckless, rash, impulsive in behavior

正义

zhèng yì — justice, righteousness, moral correctness

之论

zhī lùn — discourse or theory about something; literary expression

那些

nà xiē — those, referring to plural distant things

理论

lǐ lùn — theory, theoretical framework or doctrine

拉伸

lā shēn — to stretch, extend, pull to limits

了

le — particle indicating completed action or change

信仰

xìn yǎng — faith, belief, religious or ideological conviction

缰绳

jiāng shéng — reins, bridle rope for controlling a horse

却

què — but, yet, however; indicates contrast

未将

wèi jiāng — did not cause or make; literary negation

其

qí — its, their; third-person possessive pronoun literary

断裂

duàn liè — to break apart, fracture, snap in two

视

shì — to regard as, view, consider something

欢愉

huān yú — joy, delight, cheerful happiness

为

wéi — as, to be; used in literary constructions

修行

xiū xíng — spiritual practice, cultivation, religious discipline

我们

wǒ men — we, us, first-person plural pronoun

意见

yì jiàn — opinion, view, suggestion on a matter

不合

bù hé — to disagree, not get along, incompatible

告诉

gào su — to tell, inform, let someone know

院长

yuàn zhǎng — dean, director, head of an institution

说

shuō — to say, speak, tell something to someone

缺乏

quē fá — to lack, be deficient in something

雅致

yǎ zhì — elegant, refined, tasteful in style

如今

rú jīn — nowadays, at present, these days

三人

sān rén — three people, a group of three

中

zhōng — among, in the middle of a group

最

zuì — most, superlative degree marker

娇柔

jiāo róu — delicate and gentle, tender and soft

野玫瑰

yě méi guī — wild rose, a rose growing in nature

妆点

zhuāng diǎn — to adorn, decorate, embellish something beautifully

着

zhe — particle indicating ongoing state or action

这

zhè — this, referring to something nearby or just mentioned

难道

nán dào — could it be that; rhetorical question marker

对

duì — toward, for; preposition indicating direction or target

自己

zì jǐ — oneself, self, one's own person

和

hé — and, together with, connecting nouns

众人

zhòng rén — everyone, all people, the crowd

都是

dōu shì — all are, both are; inclusive affirmation

甜蜜

tián mì — sweet, pleasant, affectionate feeling

惊喜

jīng xǐ — pleasant surprise, unexpected delightful event

那

nà — that, referring to something distant or past

曾

céng — once, formerly, used to indicate past experience

嬉闹

xī nào — to frolic, play noisily, romp around

滚

gǔn — to roll; here used with hoop-rolling game

铁环

tiě huán — iron hoop, a traditional children's rolling toy

小宠儿

xiǎo chǒng ér — little darling, cherished favorite child

惊叹

jīng tàn — to marvel at, exclaim in admiration

雏菊

chú jú — daisy, a small white flowering plant

般

bān — like, similar to; comparative literary particle

从

cóng — from, since; indicates origin or starting point

何处

hé chù — where, from what place; literary expression

觅得

mì dé — to seek and find, discover through searching

动人

dòng rén — touching, moving, captivating to the heart

弧度

hú dù — curve, arc, graceful curvature of shape

与

yǔ — and, with; literary conjunction connecting elements

低垂

dī chuí — drooping, hanging low, bowing downward gently

多么

duō me — how, what a; exclamatory degree intensifier

失礼

shī lǐ — rude, impolite, breach of etiquette

时光

shí guāng — time, days, the passage of time

但

dàn — but, however; introduces contrasting statement

陌生人

mò shēng rén — stranger, unknown person, unfamiliar individual

更加

gèng jiā — even more, increasingly, to a greater degree

疏离

shū lí — estranged, distant, emotionally detached from others

直到

zhí dào — until, up to the point when

捕捉

bǔ zhuō — to catch, capture, seize something fleeting

到

dào — to arrive at, reach; resultative complement particle

并

bìng — and also, moreover; literary conjunctive particle

回应

huí yìng — to respond, reply, react to something

微笑

wēi xiào — to smile, a gentle pleasant facial expression

蔓延

màn yán — to spread, extend, diffuse gradually outward

至

zhì — to, until, reaching a point; literary preposition

带来

dài lái — to bring, bring about, cause to arrive

自在

zì zài — comfortable, at ease, free and relaxed

少言

shǎo yán — few words, speaking little, quiet by nature

只是

zhǐ shì — merely, just, only; softening or limiting expression

旁观

páng guān — to observe from the side, watch as bystander

有

yǒu — to have, there is, to possess

如此

rú cǐ — like this, such, in this manner

三个

sān gè — three, a quantity of three items

女儿

nǚ ér — daughter, one's female child

理所当然

lǐ suǒ dāng rán — natural, expected, taken for granted as right

地

de — adverbial particle linking adverb to verb

自豪

zì háo — proud, feeling pride in oneself or others

她们

tā men — they, them; third-person feminine plural pronoun

收到

shōu dào — to receive, get something sent to one

来

lái — to come; directional complement indicating source

信

xìn — letter, written correspondence sent by mail

还有

hái yǒu — also, in addition, there is also

西班牙

Xī bān yá — Spain, a country in southwestern Europe

寄来

jì lái — to send here, mail something to someone

李子

lǐ zi — plum, a small sweet stone fruit

好意

hǎo yì — good intentions, kindness, goodwill

问

wèn — to ask, inquire, pose a question

要

yào — to want, need, require; modal verb

解释

jiě shì — to explain, clarify, give an explanation

为何

wèi hé — why, for what reason; literary form

从未

cóng wèi — never, not ever, at no time

剑桥

Jiàn qiáo — Cambridge, a famous university city in England

归来

guī lái — to return, come back from somewhere

问道

wèn dào — to ask, inquire; literary verb of asking

是否

shì fǒu — whether or not, if something is so

已

yǐ — already, by now; literary perfect aspect marker

感到

gǎn dào — to feel, sense, experience an emotion

厌倦

yàn juàn — to be weary of, tired of, bored with

愉快

yú kuài — happy, cheerful, pleasant in mood

谈论

tán lùn — to discuss, talk about, converse on a topic

临别

lín bié — at parting, just before saying goodbye

时

shí — time, moment; when; temporal marker

这份

zhè fèn — this portion of, this measure of something

愉悦

yú yuè — joy, delight, pleasant feeling of happiness

轻叹

qīng tàn — to sigh gently, let out a soft sigh