The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People — Page 9

Vocabulary

出于

chū yú — out of; due to; stemming from a reason

你

nǐ — you (second person singular pronoun)

根本

gēn běn — fundamentally; at all; basically

无法

wú fǎ — unable to; having no way to do something

理解

lǐ jiě — to understand; to comprehend something

的

de — structural particle indicating possession or modification

尊重

zūn zhòng — to respect; to show regard for someone

称

chēng — to call; to address someone by a name

我

wǒ — I; me (first person singular pronoun)

为

wéi — as; to be; serving as a role

她

tā — she; her (third person feminine pronoun)

叔叔

shū shu — uncle; father's younger brother

住在

zhù zài — to live at; to reside in a place

乡间

xiāng jiān — countryside; rural area or district

寓所

yù suǒ — residence; a place where one lives

由

yóu — by; through; under the care of

出色

chū sè — outstanding; excellent; remarkably capable

家庭教师

jiā tíng jiào shī — private tutor; home teacher for a student

小姐

xiǎo jiě — Miss; young woman; polite female address

照管

zhào guǎn — to look after; to take care of someone

顺便

shùn biàn — by the way; in passing; conveniently

问

wèn — to ask; to inquire about something

一下

yī xià — once; briefly; used to soften a request

那个

nà ge — that; that one (demonstrative pronoun)

在

zài — at; in; located at a place

哪里

nǎ lǐ — where; what place (question word)

那

nà — that; in that case (demonstrative)

与

yǔ — with; and; together with

无关

wú guān — unrelated; having nothing to do with

亲爱的

qīn ài de — dear; beloved; affectionate address to someone

不会

bù huì — will not; cannot; unlikely to happen

被

bèi — passive marker; by (indicates passive voice)

邀请

yāo qǐng — to invite; to extend an invitation to

去

qù — to go; to proceed to a place

可以

kě yǐ — can; may; it is permissible to

坦白

tǎn bái — to be frank; to confess honestly

告诉

gào su — to tell; to inform someone of something

地方

dì fāng — place; location; area or region

不在

bù zài — not at; absent; not located somewhere

就

jiù — then; precisely; as expected

猜到

cāi dào — to guess correctly; to figure out

了

le — particle indicating completed action or change

老兄

lǎo xiōng — old chap; buddy; informal address for a male

曾

céng — once; previously; at some past time

两度

liǎng dù — twice; on two occasions

以

yǐ — using; by means of; under the name of

之名

zhī míng — in the name of; under the guise of

游遍

yóu biàn — to travel all over; to visit everywhere

整个

zhěng gè — entire; whole; the complete thing

好了

hǎo le — all right; enough; that will do

继续

jì xù — to continue; to carry on doing something

说

shuō — to say; to speak; to tell

为什么

wèi shén me — why; for what reason

城里

chéng lǐ — in the city; inside the town

叫

jiào — to be called; to name; to call out

乡下

xiāng xia — countryside; rural area outside the city

不知道

bù zhī dào — do not know; to be unaware of something

能否

néng fǒu — whether or not one is able to

真正

zhēn zhèng — truly; genuinely; real and authentic

动机

dòng jī — motive; motivation; reason behind an action

不够

bù gòu — not enough; insufficient; lacking in degree

严肃

yán sù — serious; solemn; grave in manner

认真

rèn zhēn — serious; earnest; conscientious in attitude

当

dāng — when; while; to serve as a role

一个人

yī gè rén — one person; a single individual; alone

处于

chǔ yú — to be in; to find oneself in a situation

监护人

jiān hù rén — guardian; legal caretaker of a person

位置

wèi zhì — position; place; role or status

必须

bì xū — must; have to; it is necessary to

所有

suǒ yǒu — all; every; entire set of things

事情

shì qíng — matter; affair; thing that happens

上

shàng — on; above; in regard to something

保持

bǎo chí — to maintain; to keep; to preserve a state

极高

jí gāo — extremely high; very elevated in degree

道德

dào dé — morality; ethics; moral principles

标准

biāo zhǔn — standard; criterion; benchmark for evaluation

这

zhè — this; these (near demonstrative pronoun)

是

shì — to be; is; am; are (copula verb)

责任

zé rèn — responsibility; duty; obligation

然而

rán ér — however; yet; but; on the other hand

高尚

gāo shàng — noble; lofty; morally elevated in character

道德情操

dào dé qíng cāo — moral sentiment; ethical integrity and feeling

对

duì — to; for; regarding; correct

健康

jiàn kāng — health; healthy; physical well-being

或

huò — or; either; alternatively

幸福

xìng fú — happiness; well-being; blessed contentment

未必

wèi bì — not necessarily; may not be the case

大有裨益

dà yǒu bì yì — greatly beneficial; of significant advantage or benefit

为了

wèi le — in order to; for the purpose of

能

néng — can; to be able to do something

进城

jìn chéng — to go into town; to enter the city

一直

yī zhí — always; continuously; all along

假装

jiǎ zhuāng — to pretend; to feign; to fake something

有

yǒu — to have; there is; to exist

一个

yī gè — one; a single (measure word plus numeral)

弟弟

dì di — younger brother; male sibling younger than oneself

公寓

gōng yù — apartment; flat; residential unit in a building

总是

zǒng shì — always; invariably; at all times

惹上

rě shàng — to get into; to bring trouble upon oneself

最

zuì — most; the most; superlative degree marker

可怕

kě pà — terrible; frightening; dreadful in nature

麻烦

má fan — trouble; inconvenience; bother or difficulty

就是

jiù shì — exactly is; that is precisely; it is just

全部

quán bù — all; entire; the whole of something

真相

zhēn xiàng — truth; the real situation or facts

简单

jiǎn dān — simple; straightforward; not complicated

明了

míng liǎo — clear; evident; easy to understand

鲜少

xiǎn shǎo — seldom; rarely; very few occasions

纯粹

chún cuì — purely; simply; completely without mixture

也

yě — also; too; as well; either

从不

cóng bù — never; at no time; not ever

若非如此

ruò fēi rú cǐ — if it were not so; were it otherwise

现代

xiàn dài — modern; contemporary; present-day era

生活

shēng huó — life; living; daily existence and lifestyle

将会

jiāng huì — will; shall; going to (future tense marker)

极其

jí qí — extremely; exceedingly; to a very high degree

乏味

fá wèi — dull; boring; lacking interest or flavor

文学

wén xué — literature; the study of written works

更将

gèng jiāng — will even more so; furthermore will

无从

wú cóng — having no way to; unable to start

存在

cún zài — to exist; existence; to be present