White nights, and other stories — Page 10

Vocabulary

她

tā — Third-person singular feminine pronoun: she, her.

似乎

sìhū — Seems like; appears to be; apparently.

没有

méiyǒu — Do not have; there is no; did not.

听见

tīngjiàn — To hear; to catch the sound of something.

我

wǒ — First-person singular pronoun: I, me.

的

de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification.

脚步声

jiǎobùshēng — Sound of footsteps; audible sound of walking.

当

dāng — When; at the time of; while.

屏住

bǐngzhù — To hold back; to hold one's breath.

呼吸

hūxī — To breathe; the act of breathing; respiration.

心跳

xīntiào — Heartbeat; the rhythmic beating of the heart.

加速

jiāsù — To accelerate; to speed up; to quicken pace.

地

de — Adverbial particle linking adverb or phrase to verb.

从

cóng — From; passing by; starting from a point.

身边

shēnbiān — By one's side; nearby; close to someone.

走过

zǒuguò — To walk past; to pass by on foot.

时

shí — When; at the time; a point in time.

甚至

shènzhì — Even; going so far as; to the extent that.

动

dòng — To move; to make a motion; to stir.

一下

yīxià — Once; a moment; a single brief action.

奇怪

qíguài — Strange; odd; peculiar; surprisingly unusual.

心想

xīnxiǎng — To think to oneself; to say inwardly; inner thought.

一定

yīdìng — Certainly; definitely; must be; surely.

是

shì — To be; is; am; are; affirmative copula.

全神贯注

quánshén guànzhù — Completely absorbed; fully focused; wholly concentrated on something.

于

yú — In; at; on; concerning; preposition of location or reference.

某件事

mǒu jiàn shì — A certain matter; some particular thing or affair.

突然间

tūrán jiān — All of a sudden; in an instant; abruptly.

僵在

jiāng zài — To freeze at; to be rooted stiffly in place.

原地

yuándì — The same spot; original position; right where one stands.

动弹不得

dòngtan bù dé — Unable to move; completely immobilized; stuck fast.

了

le — Particle indicating completed action or changed state.

一声

yī shēng — A sound; one sound; a single utterance or cry.

压抑

yāyì — Suppressed; repressed; to hold back emotions forcibly.

抽泣

chōuqì — To sob; to cry with intermittent gasping sounds.

是的

shìde — Yes; that's right; an affirmative confirmation.

听错

tīng cuò — To mishear; to hear something incorrectly.

那个

nàge — That; that one; referring to a specific thing or person.

女孩

nǚhái — Girl; young female; a young woman or child.

在

zài — At; in; currently doing; indicates ongoing action or location.

哭泣

kūqì — To cry; to weep; to shed tears quietly.

片刻

piànkè — A brief moment; a short while; an instant.

之后

zhīhòu — After; afterward; following a certain point in time.

接

jiē — Followed by; then; to receive or connect to.

啜泣

chuòqì — To whimper; to sob softly with small intermittent cries.

天哪

tiān na — Oh my goodness; heavens; exclamation of surprise or dismay.

心

xīn — Heart; mind; the center of emotion or thought.

一沉

yī chén — To sink; heart sinks suddenly with worry or sorrow.

尽管

jǐnguǎn — Although; even though; despite the fact that.

女性

nǚxìng — Female; woman; the female gender or sex.

面前

miànqián — In front of; before; in the presence of someone.

向来

xiànglái — Always; consistently; have always been this way.

胆怯

dǎnqiè — Timid; cowardly; lacking courage; easily frightened.

然而

rán'ér — However; yet; but; nevertheless; a contrasting conjunction.

这

zhè — This; referring to something close or just mentioned.

多么

duōme — How; what a; used to express degree or exclamation.

特殊

tèshū — Special; exceptional; out of the ordinary; unique.

时刻

shíkè — Moment; instant; a specific point or period in time.

啊

a — Exclamatory particle expressing surprise, admiration, or emphasis.

转过身

zhuǎnguò shēn — To turn around; to rotate one's body to face another direction.

朝

cháo — Toward; facing; in the direction of.

迈出

màichū — To step out; to take a step forward deliberately.

一步

yī bù — One step; a single stride or pace forward.

本来

běnlái — Originally; was about to; would have done normally.

肯定

kěndìng — Certainly; definitely; to affirm; sure to happen.

会

huì — Will; can; to be able to; likely to happen.

说出

shuōchū — To say out loud; to utter; to speak aloud.

女士

nǚshì — Madam; Ms.; polite address for a woman.

这个

zhège — This; this one; referring to something specific and near.

词

cí — Word; term; a unit of vocabulary or expression.

若不是

ruò bú shì — If it were not for; had it not been that.

知道

zhīdào — To know; to be aware of; to understand a fact.

这句话

zhè jù huà — This sentence; this phrase; these particular words.

每一部

měi yī bù — Every single volume or work; each individual piece.

俄国

Éguó — Russia; the Russian nation or country.

社交

shèjiāo — Social; relating to social interaction or society.

小说

xiǎoshuō — Novel; fiction; a book-length fictional narrative work.

里

lǐ — Inside; within; in; interior location marker.

已被

yǐ bèi — Has already been; passive construction indicating prior action.

说过

shuōguò — Has been said before; already stated or uttered.

千百遍

qiān bǎi biàn — Thousands of times; countless times; repeated endlessly.

正是

zhèngshì — It is precisely; exactly; that is just what.

念头

niàntou — Thought; idea; a notion that crosses one's mind.

使

shǐ — To cause; to make; to enable someone to do.

停

tíng — To stop; to halt; to cease movement or action.

下来

xiàlái — To come down; to slow down; to settle or stop.

但是

dànshì — But; however; yet; introduces a contrasting clause.

搜寻

sōuxún — To search for; to seek out; to look for carefully.

措辞

cuòcí — Wording; choice of words; phrasing of an expression.

之际

zhī jì — At the time of; on the occasion of; just as.

那

nà — That; then; in that case; referring to something distant.

回过神来

huíguò shén lái — To come to one's senses; to snap back to awareness.

环顾四周

huángù sìzhōu — To look around in all directions; to survey surroundings.

吓了一跳

xià le yī tiào — To be startled; to get a sudden fright or shock.

垂下

chuíxià — To lower; to let hang down; to drop downward.

眼睛

yǎnjing — Eyes; the organs used for seeing and vision.

沿着

yánzhe — Along; following the length or course of something.

河堤

hédī — Riverbank embankment; levee or dike along a river.

身旁

shēnpáng — By one's side; beside; next to a person.

悄悄

qiāoqiāo — Quietly; stealthily; without making noise; on the sly.

溜走

liūzǒu — To slip away; to sneak off; to leave quietly.

立刻

lìkè — Immediately; at once; right away; without delay.

跟

gēn — To follow; with; and; to accompany someone.

上去

shàngqu — To go up; to catch up; to move toward.

但

dàn — But; however; yet; a simple contrasting conjunction.

察觉

chájué — To sense; to notice; to become aware of something.

到了

dào le — Arrived; reached; has come to a certain point.

便

biàn — Then; thereupon; immediately as a result; consequently.

离开

líkāi — To leave; to depart; to go away from a place.

穿过

chuānguò — To cross through; to pass through; to traverse.

马路

mǎlù — Road; street; paved public thoroughfare for vehicles.

人行道

rénxíngdào — Sidewalk; pavement; path designated for pedestrians.

走去

zǒuqù — To walk toward; to head off in a direction.

不敢

bùgǎn — Dare not; do not have the courage to do.

街道

jiēdào — Street; urban road; a city thoroughfare with buildings.

跟上

gēnshàng — To keep up with; to follow closely; to catch up.

像

xiàng — Like; resembling; similar to; as if.

一只

yī zhī — One (animal); a single creature; measure word for animals.

被捕

bèibǔ — Caught; captured; arrested; seized by someone.

鸟儿

niǎor — Little bird; a small bird; affectionate term for birds.

一般

yībān — Like; as; general; ordinary; in the same manner.

扑腾

pūteng — To flutter; to flap; to thrash about wildly.

不已

bùyǐ — Without stopping; continuously; incessantly; ceaselessly doing.

就在

jiù zài — Right at; just at that moment or place exactly.

这时

zhèshí — At this moment; just then; at this point in time.

一个

yīgè — One; a single; a measure word for general objects.

机会

jīhuì — Opportunity; chance; a favorable moment to act.

突然

tūrán — Suddenly; all at once; without warning or expectation.

降临

jiànglín — To arrive; to descend upon; to befall; to come down.

助

zhù — To help; to assist; to lend aid to someone.

一臂之力

yī bì zhī lì — A helping hand; lending one's strength to assist another.

同侧

tóng cè — Same side; the identical side of a road or path.

上

shàng — Above; on; upper; on top of a surface.

离

lí — Away from; at a distance from; separated from.

不远

bù yuǎn — Not far; nearby; close in distance; not distant.

处

chù — Place; location; a specific spot or point somewhere.

出现

chūxiàn — To appear; to emerge; to show up; to come forth.

一位

yī wèi — One (person, polite); a single individual, respectfully counted.

身着

shēn zhuó — Wearing; dressed in; clothed in a particular garment.

晚礼服

wǎnlǐfú — Evening dress; formal attire worn to evening occasions.

年岁

niánsuì — Age; years old; one's age or number of years.

不小

bù xiǎo — Not small; considerable in age; fairly old or advanced.

绅士

shēnshì — Gentleman; a man of refined manners and social status.

他

tā — He; him; third-person singular masculine pronoun.

仪态

yítài — Bearing; demeanor; one's manner or dignified appearance.

却

què — Yet; but; however; indicating contrast with what precedes.

全无

quán wú — Completely lacking; totally devoid of; without any at all.

尊严

zūnyán — Dignity; self-respect; honor; the quality of being worthy.

可言

kě yán — Worth mentioning; to speak of; worthy of the name.

踉踉跄跄

liàngliàng qiàngqiàng — Staggering; lurching; walking unsteadily and about to fall.

小心翼翼

xiǎoxīn yìyì — Very cautiously; with great care; extremely careful and attentive.

靠着

kàozhe — Leaning against; resting on; propped up against something.

墙壁

qiángbì — Wall; a vertical structure of a building or boundary.