The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments — Page 3

Vocabulary

它

tā — third-person pronoun referring to non-human things

不

bù — negation word meaning 'not' or 'no'

仅仅

jǐnjǐn — merely, only, just; used for emphasis of limitation

是

shì — to be; linking verb indicating identity or state

一部

yī bù — one volume or copy of a book or work

学者

xuézhě — scholar, academic; a learned person

版本

bǎnběn — edition or version of a book or text

尽管

jǐnguǎn — even though, despite, although; concessive conjunction

没有

méiyǒu — to not have; negates existence or possession

任何

rènhé — any, whichever; used in negative or conditional sentences

东方学

dōngfāngxué — Oriental studies; academic study of Eastern cultures

学生

xuésheng — student; a person who studies at a school

能够

nénggòu — to be able to, capable of doing something

不备

bùbèi — unprepared, lacking readiness or necessary knowledge

此书

cǐ shū — this book; referring to the work in question

但

dàn — but, however; adversative conjunction

在

zài — at, in, on; preposition indicating location or time

这一

zhè yī — this one; referring to a specific thing just mentioned

狭小

xiáxiǎo — narrow and small; limited in scope or size

圈子

quānzi — circle, group; a small social or professional community

之外

zhī wài — outside of, beyond; indicating exclusion from a group

始终

shǐzhōng — always, from beginning to end, consistently

吸引着

xīyǐnzhe — continuously attracting, drawing in; ongoing appeal

广大

guǎngdà — vast, extensive; referring to a large audience or area

读者

dúzhě — reader; a person who reads books or publications

那些

nàxiē — those; plural demonstrative pronoun for distant things

希望

xīwàng — to hope, wish; desire for something to happen

以

yǐ — by means of, with; a preposition indicating method

最完美

zuì wánměi — most perfect, ideal; the highest degree of perfection

最忠实

zuì zhōngshí — most faithful, truest; highest degree of fidelity

的

de — structural particle linking modifier to noun

呈现

chéngxiàn — to present, display, render; to show something clearly

来

lái — to come; also used to indicate purpose of an action

了解

liǎojiě — to understand, learn about; to get to know something

世界名著

shìjiè míngzhù — world-famous literary classics or masterworks

人们

rénmen — people, folks; referring to people in general

此时此刻

cǐ shí cǐ kè — at this very moment, right now; emphasizes immediacy

正是

zhèngshì — precisely is, exactly; used for strong affirmation

这部

zhè bù — this volume; measure word for books or films

作品

zuòpǐn — work, creation; a literary or artistic production

重新

chóngxīn — again, anew; doing something over from the start

面世

miànshì — to be published or released; to appear before the public

大好时机

dàhǎo shíjī — excellent opportunity; a very favorable moment or chance

埃及

Āijí — Egypt; a country in northeastern Africa

如今

rújīn — nowadays, currently; at the present time

世界

shìjiè — world; the entire earth and all its people

瞩目

zhǔmù — to attract attention; to be watched by many eyes

之下

zhī xià — under, beneath; below in position or circumstance

占据着

zhànjùzhe — continuously occupying or holding a position or place

举足轻重

jǔ zú qīng zhòng — of great importance; tipping the balance with one move

地位

dìwèi — status, position, standing in society or hierarchy

而

ér — and yet, while, but; adversative or additive conjunction

一千零一夜

Yīqiān líng yī yè — One Thousand and One Nights; famous Arabic story collection

所

suǒ — particle used before verbs to nominalize or emphasize action

讲述

jiǎngshù — to narrate, tell a story; to recount events in detail

最多

zuìduō — most, the greatest number; at most, maximum

许多

xǔduō — many, a lot of; a large quantity or number

故事

gùshi — story, tale; a narrative of events real or fictional

起源上

qǐyuán shàng — in terms of origin; regarding where something came from

属于

shǔyú — to belong to; to be part of a category or group

印度

Yìndù — India; a large country in South Asia

或

huò — or; a conjunction indicating alternatives

波斯

Bōsī — Persia; ancient civilization in modern-day Iran

其

qí — its, their; third-person possessive pronoun

背景

bèijǐng — background, setting; context of a story or event

几乎

jīhū — almost, nearly; very close to but not quite

纯粹

chúncuì — purely, entirely; without mixture or exception

发生地

fāshēng dì — place of occurrence; location where events take place

名义上

míngyì shàng — nominally, in name only; not necessarily in reality

可能

kěnéng — possibly, maybe; indicating likelihood or possibility

巴格达

Bāgédá — Baghdad; capital city of Iraq

甚至

shènzhì — even, going so far as; used for surprising extremes

遥远

yáoyuǎn — distant, far away; remote in space or time

中国

Zhōngguó — China; the People's Republic of China

天方夜谭

Tiānfāng Yètán — Arabian Nights; also means fantastical or implausible tale

场景

chǎngjǐng — scene, setting; a specific place or moment depicted

实际上

shíjì shàng — in reality, actually; contrasting appearance with fact

设定

shèdìng — to set, establish; to place a story in a specific context

中世纪

zhōng shìjì — Middle Ages; medieval period of European and world history

开罗

Kāiluó — Cairo; capital and largest city of Egypt

马穆鲁克

Mǎmǔlǔkè — Mamluk; medieval Islamic slave soldier dynasty in Egypt

王朝

wángcháo — dynasty; a succession of rulers from one family

时代

shídài — era, age, epoch; a distinct period in history

书中

shū zhōng — within the book; inside or throughout the text

描写

miáoxiě — to describe, depict; to portray in words or art

人物

rénwù — characters, figures; persons depicted in a story

不是

bùshì — is not; negation of identity or state

印度教徒

Yìndùjiào tú — Hindu; a follower of the Hindu religion

中国人

Zhōngguórén — Chinese person; a person of Chinese nationality or ethnicity

而是

érshì — but rather, instead; used to correct a previous statement

十五世纪

shíwǔ shìjì — fifteenth century; the period from 1400 to 1499 CE

生活

shēnghuó — life, living; daily existence or to live and reside

其中

qízhōng — among them, within it; inside a group or place

阿拉伯人

Ālābó rén — Arab person; member of the Arab ethnic group

和

hé — and; conjunction connecting words or phrases

埃及人

Āijí rén — Egyptian person; a native or citizen of Egypt

彼时

bǐ shí — at that time; referring to a specific past moment

至今

zhìjīn — until now, to this day; continuing up to the present

仍令

réng lìng — still causes, continues to make; ongoing effect on something

成为

chéngwéi — to become; to change into or develop into something

艺术家

yìshùjiā — artist; a person who creates art professionally

心中

xīn zhōng — in one's heart or mind; innermost thoughts and feelings

乐土

lètǔ — paradise, promised land; an ideal or blissful place

美丽

měilì — beautiful, pretty; pleasing to the senses aesthetically

清真寺

qīngzhēnsì — mosque; an Islamic place of worship and prayer

陵墓

língmù — mausoleum, tomb; a grand burial monument or structure

正在

zhèngzài — in the process of; indicates an ongoing action right now

兴建

xīngjiàn — to build, construct; to establish or erect a structure

奥斯曼

Àosīmàn — Ottoman; referring to the Ottoman Turkish empire

土耳其人

Tǔěrqí rén — Turkish person; a native or citizen of Turkey

破坏

pòhuài — to destroy, damage; to ruin or undermine something

之手

zhī shǒu — the hands of; agency or authorship of an action

尚未

shàngwèi — not yet; something has still not happened up to now

伸向

shēn xiàng — to extend toward, reach out to a direction or target

法老

fǎlǎo — pharaoh; ancient Egyptian ruler, also refers to Egypt symbolically

之地

zhī dì — the land of; a place associated with something

若要

ruò yào — if one wants to; conditional expression for a desire

细致

xìzhì — meticulous, detailed; careful and thorough in description

描绘

miáohuì — to depict, portray; to describe or paint in detail

阿拉伯

Ālābó — Arab, Arabic; relating to Arab people or culture

社会

shèhuì — society; the community of people living together organized

面貌

miànmào — appearance, face, aspect; the overall look of something

无可匹敌

wú kě pǐdí — unrivaled, matchless; without equal or competitor

这位

zhè wèi — this person; polite measure word referring to a person

先生

xiānsheng — mister, sir; respectful address for an adult man