The Scarlet Letter — Page 1

Vocabulary

红字

hóng zì — 'The Scarlet Letter,' famous American novel title.

作者

zuò zhě — Author; the person who wrote something.

附

fù — Attached with; including supplementary material.

插图

chā tú — Illustrations; pictures inserted within a book.

波士顿

Bō shì dùn — Boston, a major city in Massachusetts, USA.

公司

gōng sī — Company; a business organization or firm.

前身

qián shēn — Predecessor; earlier form of an organization.

为

wéi — To be; serves as a linking verb.

与

yǔ — And; connecting two nouns or entities together.

出版

chū bǎn — To publish; to release a book or document.

及

jí — And; as well as; also including.

年

nián — Year; unit of time measurement.

版权

bǎn quán — Copyright; legal right over published work.

所有

suǒ yǒu — All; owned by; possession of something.

保留

bǎo liú — To retain; to keep; to reserve rights.

权利

quán lì — Rights; entitlements one legally possesses.

月

yuè — Month; also means moon.

日

rì — Day; sun; a calendar date.

第二版

dì èr bǎn — Second edition of a publication.

序言

xù yán — Preface; introductory remarks before main text.

令

lìng — To cause; to make someone feel something.

大感

dà gǎn — To feel greatly; deeply feel an emotion.

意外

yì wài — Unexpected; surprising; an accident or surprise.

的是

de shì — The fact that; used to emphasize what follows.

他

tā — He; him; third person masculine pronoun.

那篇

nà piān — That piece; that article or written work.

作为

zuò wéi — As; serving as; in the capacity of.

引言

yǐn yán — Introduction; preface; opening remarks of text.

的

de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification.

官场

guān chǎng — Official circles; the world of government bureaucracy.

生活

shēng huó — Life; daily living; lifestyle or way of living.

素描

sù miáo — Sketch; a brief descriptive portrayal or drawing.

竟

jìng — Actually; unexpectedly; used to show surprise.

在

zài — At; in; located at a place or time.

周遭

zhōu zāo — Surroundings; all around; the nearby environment.

受人尊敬

shòu rén zūn jìng — Respected by others; held in high regard.

社群

shè qún — Community; a group of people sharing common interests.

中

zhōng — Among; in; within a group or place.

引发

yǐn fā — To trigger; to cause something to happen.

了

le — Particle indicating completed action or change.

前所未有

qián suǒ wèi yǒu — Unprecedented; never happened or seen before.

轩然大波

xuān rán dà bō — Great uproar; a huge controversy or commotion.

若

ruò — If; supposing; a conditional conjunction.

无

wú — Without; to lack; to not have.

冒犯

mào fàn — To offend; to disrespect someone unintentionally.

之嫌

zhī xián — Suspicion of; appearance of doing something wrong.

甚至

shèn zhì — Even; to the extent of; going so far as.

不得不

bù dé bù — Have to; cannot avoid doing something.

承认

chéng rèn — To admit; to acknowledge something as true.

此事

cǐ shì — This matter; this particular affair or situation.

颇感

pō gǎn — To feel quite; to find something rather amusing.

好笑

hǎo xiào — Funny; amusing; laughable or ridiculous.

这场

zhè chǎng — This episode; this particular event or incident.

风波

fēng bō — Disturbance; controversy; waves of trouble.

之

zhī — Structural particle; classical equivalent of 的.

激烈

jī liè — Intense; fierce; heated in degree or emotion.

几乎

jī hū — Almost; nearly; very close to a state.

不亚于

bù yà yú — No less than; comparable to in degree.

亲手

qīn shǒu — With one's own hands; personally doing something.

烧毁

shāo huǐ — To burn down; to destroy completely by fire.

海关

hǎi guān — Customs; government agency controlling border goods.

大楼

dà lóu — Large building; a multi-story structure or edifice.

并

bìng — And; furthermore; in addition to that.

用

yòng — To use; to employ something as a means.

某位

mǒu wèi — A certain person; referring to an unspecified individual.

德高望重

dé gāo wàng zhòng — Highly respected; of great virtue and reputation.

人士

rén shì — Person; personage; a notable individual in society.

鲜血

xiān xuè — Fresh blood; blood shed from a wound.

浇灭

jiāo miè — To douse and extinguish; to put out with liquid.

最后

zuì hòu — Last; final; at the very end.

一缕

yī lǚ — A wisp; a thin strand of smoke or thread.

余烬

yú jìn — Embers; remaining ashes after a fire dies.

而

ér — And yet; but; a conjunction linking clauses.

据说

jù shuō — It is said that; reportedly; allegedly.

对

duì — Toward; regarding; directed at someone or something.

此人

cǐ rén — This person; the individual just mentioned.

怀有

huái yǒu — To harbor; to hold feelings internally toward someone.

一种

yī zhǒng — A kind of; a type of; one sort of.

特殊

tè shū — Special; particular; out of the ordinary.

深仇大恨

shēn chóu dà hèn — Deep hatred; profound and intense animosity toward someone.

倘若

tǎng ruò — If; supposing that; in case that something occurs.

自觉

zì jué — To feel oneself; to be self-aware of guilt.

罪有应得

zuì yǒu yīng dé — Deserving punishment; getting what one deserves.

公众

gōng zhòng — The public; the general population of society.

谴责

qiǎn zé — Condemnation; strong criticism or rebuke of wrongdoing.

自会

zì huì — Will naturally; would automatically feel or do.

如负千钧

rú fù qiān jūn — Like bearing a great weight; feeling enormously burdened.

为此

wèi cǐ — For this reason; therefore; because of this.

谨请

jǐn qǐng — Respectfully request; humbly ask someone to note.

说明

shuō míng — To explain; to clarify; an explanation or note.

已

yǐ — Already; having done; completed before now.

仔细

zǐ xì — Carefully; attentively; with great attention to detail.

重读

chóng dú — To reread; to read again for review.

意在

yì zài — Intending to; with the purpose of doing something.

修改

xiū gǎi — To revise; to edit and correct written work.

或

huò — Or; either; an alternative conjunction.

删除

shān chú — To delete; to remove text or content entirely.

一切

yī qiè — Everything; all; without exception.

不当

bù dàng — Inappropriate; improper; not suitable or correct.

之处

zhī chù — Aspect; place; part where something is found.

尽其所能

jìn qí suǒ néng — To the best of one's ability; doing everything possible.

地

de — Adverbial particle linking adverb to following verb.

弥补

mí bǔ — To make up for; to remedy or compensate a fault.

那些

nà xiē — Those; referring to previously mentioned plural things.

被

bèi — Passive marker; indicates subject receives an action.

认定

rèn dìng — To determine; to conclude definitively about something.

罪过

zuì guò — Fault; sin; moral wrongdoing or transgression.

冒失

mào shī — Rash; imprudent; acting without thinking carefully.

之举

zhī jǔ — Such an act; referring to a particular action taken.

然而

rán ér — However; nevertheless; a contrasting conjunction.

看来

kàn lái — It seems; it appears that; apparently.

这篇

zhè piān — This piece; this particular article or writing.

唯一

wéi yī — Only; sole; the one and only thing.

值得

zhí dé — Worthwhile; deserving of; worth doing or having.

称道

chēng dào — To commend; to speak well of; praiseworthy.

在于

zài yú — Lies in; consists in; the key point being.

其

qí — Its; his; their; classical third-person possessive.

坦率

tǎn shuài — Frank; candid; straightforward and honest in manner.

真诚

zhēn chéng — Sincere; genuine; honest and heartfelt in attitude.

幽默

yōu mò — Humor; wit; the quality of being amusing.

以及

yǐ jí — As well as; and also; in addition to.

描绘

miáo huì — To depict; to portray; to describe vividly.

文中

wén zhōng — Within the text; in the writing or article.

人物

rén wù — Character; figure; a person in a story.

时

shí — When; at the time of; while doing something.

所

suǒ — Particle preceding verbs to nominalize the action.

呈现

chéng xiàn — To present; to display; to show or reveal clearly.

真实

zhēn shí — True; real; authentic; corresponding to reality.

印象

yìn xiàng — Impression; the effect or image left in mind.

大体

dà tǐ — Generally; on the whole; for the most part.

准确

zhǔn què — Accurate; precise; correct and without error.

至于

zhì yú — As for; regarding; turning to another topic.

任何

rèn hé — Any; whatever; regardless of the type or form.

形式

xíng shì — Form; format; the shape or manner of something.

敌意

dí yì — Hostility; animosity; unfriendly or aggressive feeling.

恶感

è gǎn — Ill feeling; aversion; negative emotion toward someone.

无论

wú lùn — Regardless of; no matter what or how.

是

shì — Is; to be; a linking verb of identity.

出于

chū yú — Stemming from; arising out of a motive.

私人

sī rén — Personal; private; relating to an individual privately.

恩怨

ēn yuàn — Personal grudges; mixture of gratitude and resentment.

还是

hái shì — Or; still; used to present alternatives.

政治

zhèng zhì — Politics; political affairs or ideology.

立场

lì chǎng — Standpoint; position; one's stance on an issue.

此类

cǐ lèi — This type; such kinds; these sorts of things.

动机

dòng jī — Motive; motivation; the reason behind an action.

予以

yǔ yǐ — To give; to apply; to subject to an action.

断然

duàn rán — Flatly; categorically; in a decisive and firm manner.

否认

fǒu rèn — To deny; to refuse to acknowledge something.