Wednesday, December 28, 2022

MEotW: dìqū

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

What’s different about how the current Mandarin version of the NWT Bible (nwtsty) renders the names of lands, and how does that relate to modern-day Mandarin groups and congregations?


Genesis 13:10 (WOL CHS+Pinyin Parallel Translations)


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Sunday, December 25, 2022

Stuck in the Middle

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

MEotW: rénkǒu

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

Does traditional Chinese culture feed its people or “eat” them?


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Tuesday, December 13, 2022

MEotW: chūshēng rìqī

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

How can we talk in Mandarin about Jesus’ date of birth, as opposed to his birthday?


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Saturday, December 10, 2022

3-Line, Pīnyīn Plus, etc. Material Is Not Made to Be Spiritual Food

Wednesday, December 07, 2022

MEotW: qīnglíng

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

What coincidental linguistic connection is there between zero-COVID and the last dynasty of China?


electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19
An electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19
Creative Commons Attribution License logo NIAID


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Saturday, December 03, 2022

Proofread Musical Notation 🎼 with Pīnyīn Lyrics and Proofread Pīnyīn Web Material or Better Available for All the Songs for Mandarin 2022–2023 Circuit Assemblies

[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.


The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]


Thankfully, an official Pīnyīn PDF file for the current songbook “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) is now available for download from jw.org. (The short link for the current songbook, tiandi.info/sjj, has the link and additional information.) Note, however, that the currently available official Pīnyīn PDF file (2020 Nián 3 Yuè Printing) only contains lyrics—it does not contain musical notation 🎼.


While we greatly appreciate the official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file that is available, the PDF format itself was conceived of in a world dominated by paper. Unfortunately, that means that PDF files are often not optimal for reading on the mobile devices that are now so prevalent among Mandarin field publishers.


Also, having to share limited display real estate with Chinese characters (and, in the past, musical notation 🎼) can in certain situations force the Pīnyīn text to be rendered in small type that can be difficult to read, especially for older people.


Another difficulty that is encountered, especially when one needs to quickly find the song that is about to be sung at a meeting, is that the official meeting schedules only list the numbers of the songs to be used, and the brothers announcing what song is about to be sung often only mention the song number, but in the current official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file, there is no listing of song links in song number order.


The official Pīnyīn “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) web material that is now available on jw.org and on the WOL addresses some of the above challenges, but it still does not put musical notation 🎼 together with Pīnyīn, and it still gives prime display real estate to Chinese characters, at the expense of the Pīnyīn.


Unofficial language-learning materials for all the songs for Mandarin 2022–2023 circuit assemblies, in the forms of proofread musical notation 🎼 with Pīnyīn lyrics and proofread Pīnyīn web material (more correct than computer-generated Pīnyīn like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or better, have been posted to this resource that seeks to help with the above-mentioned challenges:

  • “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk.
    (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web)

    (rich information about the Mandarin speech
    used for Kingdom songs,
    as represented by the text of the
    Mandarin “Sing Out Joyfully” book,
    2020-08 Printing, proofread, mobile-friendly,
    Pīnyīn (Pinyin) used as the default writing system,
    links for getting around,
    song links sorted by number;
    Pīnyīn+Music: prezoomed to use full screen width,
    easy-to-read font,
    guitar chords included;
    Pīnyīn Plus: “flashcards” integrated with the text,
    (tap/click on a Pīnyīn expression to reveal its “flashcard”,
    tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn expression
    to hide it the
    “flashcard”),
    carefully done human-translated
    context-appropriate English translations
    with literal & effective meanings,
    Simplified & Traditional characters,
    📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and
    📘 Reveal None controls
    for all the “flashcards” in a
    song, verse, etc.,
    Night Theme that can be turned on or off
    using the ☀️/🌙 button at the top right,
    adjustable text size)
    (Info re offline viewing and printing)
  • Short Links:
    Links > Publications > Books >
    “Sing Out Joyfully” Book Links (tiandi.info/sjj)

Screenshot of Song 118 Proofread Pīnyīn, “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) on an iPhone 12 Pro Max (Portrait Orientation)

Screenshot of Song 27 Musical Notation with Pīnyīn Lyrics, “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) on an iPhone 12 Pro Max (Landscape Orientation)

Screenshot of Song 27 Musical Notation with Pīnyīn Lyrics, “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) on an iPad Air 4 (Portrait Orientation)

Screenshot of Song 27 Musical Notation with Pīnyīn Lyrics, “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) on an iPad Air 4 (Landscape Orientation)

Screenshots of the above web resource on iPhone and on iPad 📱. (It can also be used offline with apps like GoodReader, Documents, etc.) Tap/click on a screenshot to see it full-size.


Scheduling notes:

  • Partially proofread Pīnyīn material (more correct than computer-generated Pīnyīn like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or better is available for all the songs in the “Sing Out Joyfully” (sjj) songbook.
  • Mandarin 2022 conventions: Proofread Pīnyīn lyrics and musical notation 🎼 are available for all the songs scheduled, including the 2022 convention song “Peace at Last!”.
  • Mandarin 2022–2023 circuit assemblies: Proofread Pīnyīn lyrics and musical notation 🎼 are available for all the songs scheduled.

The Pīnyīn songbook material in the above unofficial resource has been designed to be mobile-first, so it works well on mobile devices of various shapes and sizes, including tablets and smartphones 📱 running iOS, iPadOS, Android, etc. Some of the ways in which it does so are:

  • Song material with musical notation 🎼 automatically loads “prezoomed” to take full advantage of the width of your device’s display, so as to render its Pīnyīn lyrics in as large a size as possible.
  • In the song material with musical notation 🎼, the typeface (font) chosen for the Pīnyīn lyrics is one that is especially legible at smaller text sizes.
  • The lyrics-only material uses Pīnyīn Plus technology, so the text automatically reflows according to the width of the display. Also, the text can be set to different sizes by the user, and a Night Theme is available. As time allows, more Pīnyīn Plus “flashcards” will be added, with their English translations, Chinese characters, etc.

The introduction for the above resource explains why it’s good to use Pīnyīn as a writing system on its own.


In the material with musical notation 🎼 in the above resource, expressions in the Pīnyīn lyrics do not trigger a Pīnyīn Plus “flashcard” to appear next to them as usual, because the lyrics need to stay aligned with the musical notation 🎼. As time allows, links will be added to Pīnyīn lyrics in the material with musical notation 🎼. Each of these links will cause a Pīnyīn Plus “flashcard” to appear near the top of the display.


Previously, musical notation 🎼 in the above resource was taken from screenshots of an official PDF file. Note (and make it a musical note ♪, at that 😄), though, that the musical notation 🎼 for song 77 marked the debut in the above resource of musical notation 🎼 produced “from scratch” to be mobile-first in design. This should provide for better and more consistent user experiences going forward, especially on smaller mobile devices like smartphones 📱.


[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]


Tuesday, November 29, 2022

MEotW: qìhòu biànhuà

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

What is the Ancient Chinese Force? Does it have a dark side?


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A news feed for this blog is available here.


Tuesday, November 22, 2022

MEotW: yīnyì

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

What is transliteration? What is transcription? What is Pīnyīn?


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Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Boast in Jehovah, Not in Knowledge of Human Cultural Traditions

MEotW: lìjīng

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

How does one Mandarin expression relate to mirrors, histories, and calendars, and to warp, weft, and scriptures?


lff Lesson 01 - Video Transcripts - Enjoy Life Forever! Bk. (Pīnyīn Plus, Web)


Diagram of a loom, in a Chinese museum


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A news feed for this blog is available here.


Friday, November 11, 2022

Proofread Pīnyīn Lyrics or Better Available for All the Songs for Mandarin 2022–2023 Circuit Assemblies

[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.


The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]


Thankfully, an official Pīnyīn PDF file for the current songbook “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) is now available for download from jw.org. (The short link for the current songbook, tiandi.info/sjj, has the link and additional information.) Note, however, that the currently available official Pīnyīn PDF file (2020 Nián 3 Yuè Printing) only contains lyrics—it does not contain musical notation 🎼.


While we greatly appreciate the official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file that is available, the PDF format itself was conceived of in a world dominated by paper. Unfortunately, that means that PDF files are often not optimal for reading on the mobile devices that are now so prevalent among Mandarin field publishers.


Also, having to share limited display real estate with Chinese characters (and, in the past, musical notation 🎼) can in certain situations force the Pīnyīn text to be rendered in small type that can be difficult to read, especially for older people.


Another difficulty that is encountered, especially when one needs to quickly find the song that is about to be sung at a meeting, is that the official meeting schedules only list the numbers of the songs to be used, and the brothers announcing what song is about to be sung often only mention the song number, but in the current official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file, there is no listing of song links in song number order.


The official Pīnyīn “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) web material that is now available on jw.org and on the WOL addresses some of the above challenges, but it still does not put musical notation 🎼 together with Pīnyīn, and it still gives prime display real estate to Chinese characters, at the expense of the Pīnyīn.


Unofficial language-learning materials for all the songs for Mandarin 2022–2023 circuit assemblies, in the forms of proofread Pīnyīn web material (more correct than computer-generated Pīnyīn like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or better, have been posted to this resource that seeks to help with the above-mentioned challenges:

  • “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk.
    (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web)

    (rich information about the Mandarin speech
    used for Kingdom songs,
    as represented by the text of the
    Mandarin “Sing Out Joyfully” book,
    2020-08 Printing, proofread, mobile-friendly,
    Pīnyīn (Pinyin) used as the default writing system,
    links for getting around,
    song links sorted by number;
    Pīnyīn+Music: prezoomed to use full screen width,
    easy-to-read font,
    guitar chords included;
    Pīnyīn Plus: “flashcards” integrated with the text,
    (tap/click on a Pīnyīn expression to reveal its “flashcard”,
    tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn expression
    to hide it the
    “flashcard”),
    carefully done human-translated
    context-appropriate English translations
    with literal & effective meanings,
    Simplified & Traditional characters,
    📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and
    📘 Reveal None controls
    for all the “flashcards” in a
    song, verse, etc.,
    Night Theme that can be turned on or off
    using the ☀️/🌙 button at the top right,
    adjustable text size)
    (Info re offline viewing and printing)
  • Short Links:
    Links > Publications > Books >
    “Sing Out Joyfully” Book Links (tiandi.info/sjj)

Screenshot of Song 118 Proofread Pīnyīn, “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) on an iPhone 12 Pro Max (Portrait Orientation)

Screenshot of Song 27 Musical Notation with Pīnyīn Lyrics, “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) on an iPhone 12 Pro Max (Landscape Orientation)

Screenshot of Song 27 Musical Notation with Pīnyīn Lyrics, “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) on an iPad Air 4 (Portrait Orientation)

Screenshot of Song 27 Musical Notation with Pīnyīn Lyrics, “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) on an iPad Air 4 (Landscape Orientation)

Screenshots of the above web resource on iPhone and on iPad 📱. (It can also be used offline with apps like GoodReader, Documents, etc.) Tap/click on a screenshot to see it full-size.


Scheduling notes:

  • Partially proofread Pīnyīn material (more correct than computer-generated Pīnyīn like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or more is available for all the songs in the “Sing Out Joyfully” (sjj) songbook.
  • Mandarin 2022 conventions: Proofread Pīnyīn lyrics and musical notation 🎼 are available for all the songs scheduled, including the 2022 convention song “Peace at Last!”.
  • Mandarin 2022–2023 circuit assemblies: Proofread Pīnyīn lyrics or better are available for all the songs scheduled.

The Pīnyīn songbook material in the above unofficial resource has been designed to be mobile-first, so it works well on mobile devices of various shapes and sizes, including tablets and smartphones 📱 running iOS, iPadOS, Android, etc. Some of the ways in which it does so are:

  • Song material with musical notation 🎼 automatically loads “prezoomed” to take full advantage of the width of your device’s display, so as to render its Pīnyīn lyrics in as large a size as possible.
  • In the song material with musical notation 🎼, the typeface (font) chosen for the Pīnyīn lyrics is one that is especially legible at smaller text sizes.
  • The lyrics-only material uses Pīnyīn Plus technology, so the text automatically reflows according to the width of the display. Also, the text can be set to different sizes by the user, and a Night Theme is available. As time allows, more Pīnyīn Plus “flashcards” will be added, with their English translations, Chinese characters, etc.

The introduction for the above resource explains why it’s good to use Pīnyīn as a writing system on its own.


In the material with musical notation 🎼 in the above resource, expressions in the Pīnyīn lyrics do not trigger a Pīnyīn Plus “flashcard” to appear next to them as usual, because the lyrics need to stay aligned with the musical notation 🎼. As time allows, links will be added to Pīnyīn lyrics in the material with musical notation 🎼. Each of these links will cause a Pīnyīn Plus “flashcard” to appear near the top of the display.


Previously, musical notation 🎼 in the above resource was taken from screenshots of an official PDF file. Note (and make it a musical note ♪, at that 😄), though, that the musical notation 🎼 for song 77 marked the debut in the above resource of musical notation 🎼 produced “from scratch” to be mobile-first in design. This should provide for better and more consistent user experiences going forward, especially on smaller mobile devices like smartphones 📱.


[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]


Thursday, November 10, 2022

The Real Purpose of 3-Line, Pīnyīn Plus, etc. Material

Tuesday, November 08, 2022

MEotW: Jīdū

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

When it comes to the Chinese languages, are Chinese characters and their visual designs more important than speech and its sounds?


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A news feed for this blog is available here.


Wednesday, November 02, 2022

Learn From the Bible Bk. Partially Proofread Pīnyīn Web Material or Better for Lesson 58 Added

[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.


The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]


Partially proofread Pīnyīn web material (more correct than computer-generated Pīnyīn like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or better for Lesson 58 of the Learn From the Bible book has been added to the following resource:

  • _Learn From the Bible_ Bk. _Pīnyīn_ Plus web icon
  • Learn From the Bible Bk.
    (Pīnyīn Plus, Web)

    (rich information about Mandarin speech
    for discussing Bible lessons and accounts,
    as represented by the text of the
    Mandarin Learn From the Bible book,
    2021-09 Printing, proofread, mobile-friendly,
    PWA Logo can be used offline in supporting browsers,
    PWA Logo icon can be added to the home screen
    with supporting browsers,

    “flashcards” integrated with the text,
    (tap/click on a Pīnyīn expression
    to reveal its
    “flashcard”,
    tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn expression
    to hide the
    “flashcard”),
    Pīnyīn (Pinyin) used as the default writing system,
    carefully done human-translated
    context-appropriate English translations
    with literal & effective meanings,
    Simplified & Traditional characters,
    📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced,
    and 📘 Reveal None controls for
    all the “flashcards” in a lesson, paragraph, etc.,
    links for getting around,
    picture thumbnails & links, audio links,
    Night Theme that can be turned on or off
    using the ☀️/🌙 button at the top right,
    adjustable text size)
    (Info re offline viewing and printing)
  • Short Links:
    Links > Publications > Books >
    Learn From the Bible Book Links (tiandi.info/lfb)

In the above resource, the following web material is now available for the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book:

Proofread Pīnyīn Plus material:

  • Beginning to Lesson 4

Partially proofread Pīnyīn and Pīnyīn Plus material:

  • Lesson 5 to Lesson 58
  • Material with a grey background has been partially proofread. Pīnyīn material with a golden-hued background has been proofread, but not all of its “flashcards” have been added and proofread.

Note that like most of the other Pīnyīn Plus web material resources, the above resource can be used offline in supporting browsers. Also, an icon can be added to the home screen with supporting browsers.


[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]


Tuesday, November 01, 2022

MEotW: zhízhèng

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

Besides the fact that David was a king, what connection is there between the Mandarin words for “psalmist” and “hold political power”?


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Wednesday, October 26, 2022

MEotW: chá

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

Why do the words “tea” and “chai” both exist when they basically refer to the same thing?


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Tuesday, October 18, 2022

MEotW: shìjiè mòrì

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

Why does a recent jw.org article translate “Armageddon” as “shìjiè mòrì” instead of as “Hāmǐjíduōdùn”?


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Tuesday, October 11, 2022

MEotW: zuì’è

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

Why might it be that the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty) uses “zuì’è” instead of “zuìniè”?


Psalm 103:10 (WOL CHS+Pinyin Parallel Translations)


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Monday, October 03, 2022

MEotW: jùfēng

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

What expressions can we use to talk about hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, and climate change in Mandarin?


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A news feed for this blog is available here.


Thursday, September 29, 2022

NWT Bible Study Edition (nwtsty) Pīnyīn Plus Web Resource Revised to Match the 2022 Official Mandarin Version on the WOL

[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.


The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]


The latest, greatest version of the official Mandarin New World Translation Bible is now the 2022 Mandarin version of the Study Edition (nwtsty).


The existing Pīnyīn Plus web material resources based on the 2001 Edition, 2007 Printing (bi12) and the 2019 Edition, 2020 Printing (nwt) of the Mandarin NWT Bible will continue to be available, but they will not be significantly further developed. Instead, further development re Mandarin NWT Bible Pīnyīn Plus web material will be focused on the below resource that is based on the previous resources. This resource is in the process of being revised to match the latest 2022 Study Edition (nwtsty), with notes on each related page indicating where any material still based on older source material remains:

  • NWT Bible (nwtsty)
    (Pīnyīn Plus, Web)

    (rich information about the Mandarin speech
    used for Bible scriptures,
    as represented by the text of the
    Mandarin NWT Bible, 2022 Study Edition (nwtsty),
    proofread, mobile-friendly, unofficial,
    incomplete but with many often-used scriptures,
    “flashcards” integrated with the text
    (tap/click on a Pīnyīn expression
    to reveal its
    “flashcard”,
    tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn expression
    to hide the
    “flashcard”),
    Pīnyīn (Pinyin) used as the default writing system,
    carefully done human-translated
    context-appropriate English translations
    with literal & effective meanings,
    Simplified & Traditional characters,
    📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and
    📘 Reveal None controls
    for all the “flashcards” in a
    chapter, paragraph, etc.,
    extensive links for getting around, audio links,
    Night Theme that can be turned on or off
    using the ☀️/🌙 button at the top right,
    adjustable text size)
    (Info re offline viewing and printing)
  • Short Links:
    Links > Publications >
    New World Translation Bible Links (tiandi.info/bi)

In the above resource, fully proofread Pīnyīn Plus web material is now available that matches many often-used scriptures in the current 2022 Study Edition (nwtsty) of the Mandarin NWT Bible.


The material in the above resource with a grey background has not yet been fully proofread, and may be based on an older version of the Mandarin NWT Bible. Pīnyīn material in the above resource with a golden-hued background has been proofread to ensure that it is correct Pīnyīn that matches the current version of the Mandarin NWT Bible, but not all of its “flashcards” have been added and proofread.


More existing material will be revised and more new material will be added in the above resource as time allows, e.g., as part of the process of producing Pīnyīn Plus web material for scriptures for other publications.


[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]


Monday, September 26, 2022

MEotW: yǔyán

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

What’s a language, actually? Is it a writing system?


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A news feed for this blog is available here.


Friday, September 23, 2022

Safari Extension for Adding Pīnyīn, etc. to Web Pages

In addition to the existing Android-based solutions for adding Pīnyīn, etc. to web pages with Chinese characters, the following Safari extension that works on Apple mobile devices is now available, and has been added to the list on tiandi.info/apps:

  • Chinese words separator
    (Safari web browser extension,
    iOS/iPadOS 15.0 or later required,
    “Color, space, pinyin, zhuyin/bopomofo, tone, HSK for Chinese words. Dictionary: read more, hover less with sentence dictionary. Convert between Traditional and Simplified characters.”)
  • Short Link:
    tiandi.info/apps

BTW, this extension also works on Safari on Mac computers (macOS 12.0 or later required).


I have been informed that this extension is available for free until September 25; I have no information about what the price will be after that.


Wednesday, September 21, 2022

MEotW: jī‐tóng‐yā‐jiǎng

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

What can help us to avoid ‘feeling like an idiot’ in the Chinese fields? 🐓 🦆


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A news feed for this blog is available here.


Tuesday, September 13, 2022

MEotW: rénwù shēngpíng

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

From the point of view of Mandarin, is life just a game?


Comments are enabled on this blog, so if you are so inclined, comment away!


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Friday, September 09, 2022

Learn From the Bible Bk. Partially Proofread Pīnyīn Web Material or Better for Lesson 57 Added

[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.


The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]


Partially proofread Pīnyīn web material (more correct than computer-generated Pīnyīn like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or better for Lesson 57 of the Learn From the Bible book has been added to the following resource:

  • _Learn From the Bible_ Bk. _Pīnyīn_ Plus web icon
  • Learn From the Bible Bk.
    (Pīnyīn Plus, Web)

    (rich information about Mandarin speech
    for discussing Bible lessons and accounts,
    as represented by the text of the
    Mandarin Learn From the Bible book,
    2021-09 Printing, proofread, mobile-friendly,
    PWA Logo can be used offline in supporting browsers,
    PWA Logo icon can be added to the home screen
    with supporting browsers,

    “flashcards” integrated with the text,
    (tap/click on a Pīnyīn expression
    to reveal its
    “flashcard”,
    tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn expression
    to hide the
    “flashcard”),
    Pīnyīn (Pinyin) used as the default writing system,
    carefully done human-translated
    context-appropriate English translations
    with literal & effective meanings,
    Simplified & Traditional characters,
    📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced,
    and 📘 Reveal None controls for
    all the “flashcards” in a lesson, paragraph, etc.,
    links for getting around,
    picture thumbnails & links, audio links,
    Night Theme that can be turned on or off
    using the ☀️/🌙 button at the top right,
    adjustable text size)
    (Info re offline viewing and printing)
  • Short Links:
    Links > Publications > Books >
    Learn From the Bible Book Links (tiandi.info/lfb)

In the above resource, the following web material is now available for the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book:

Proofread Pīnyīn Plus material:

  • Beginning to Lesson 4

Partially proofread Pīnyīn and Pīnyīn Plus material:

  • Lesson 5 to Lesson 57
  • Material with a grey background has been partially proofread. Pīnyīn material with a golden-hued background has been proofread, but not all of its “flashcards” have been added and proofread.

Note that like most of the other Pīnyīn Plus web material resources, the above resource can be used offline in supporting browsers. Also, an icon can be added to the home screen with supporting browsers.


[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]


Tuesday, September 06, 2022

Pride in the Name of Love?

Feedback Can Help!


FYI, on this blog there is a link on the right side that can be used to email me with feedback.


Monday, September 05, 2022

MEotW: kèchéng

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

As we return to the house-to-house ministry in the Mandarin field, how can we talk about Bible studies?


Comments are enabled on this blog, so if you are so inclined, comment away!


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Tuesday, August 30, 2022

MEotW: chéngfá

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

Why might it be that the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty) uses “chéngfá” instead of “bàoyìng”?


Psalm 103:10 (WOL CHS+Pinyin Parallel Translations)


Comments are enabled on this blog, so if you are so inclined, comment away!


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Enjoy Life Forever! Bk. Partially Proofread Pīnyīn Web Material or Better Added Covering Up to the End of Lesson 5

[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.


The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]


The Enjoy Life Forever! (lff) book is now officially recommended for use on Bible studies, and it is now part of the Teaching Toolbox in the JW Library app. To help us Mandarin field language learners to be prepared language-wise to make good use of this new book without being unnecessarily hindered by the Great Wall of Chinese characters that’s mandated by mere human tradition and cultural pride, the following unofficial Pīnyīn Plus web material resource is being made available:

  • _Enjoy Life Forever!_ Bk. _Pīnyīn_ Plus web icon
  • Enjoy Life Forever! Bk.
    (Pīnyīn Plus, Web)

    (rich information about Mandarin speech
    for discussing basic Bible teachings,
    as represented by the text of the
    Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book,
    2022-03 Printing, proofread, mobile-friendly,
    PWA Logo can be used offline in supporting browsers,
    PWA Logo icon can be added to the home screen
    with supporting browsers,

    “flashcards” integrated with the text,
    (tap/click on a Pīnyīn expression to reveal its “flashcard”,
    tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn expression
    to hide the
    “flashcard”),
    Pīnyīn (Pinyin) used as the default writing system,
    carefully done human-translated
    context-appropriate English translations
    with literal & effective meanings,
    Simplified & Traditional characters,
    📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced,
    and 📘 Reveal None controls for
    all the “flashcards” in a lesson, paragraph, etc.,
    links for getting around,
    picture thumbnails & links, audio links,
    video thumbnails, links, & transcripts,
    Night Theme that can be turned on or off
    using the ☀️/🌙 button at the top right,
    adjustable text size)
    (Info re offline viewing and printing)
  • Short Links:
    Links > Publications > Books >
    Enjoy Life Forever! Book Links (tiandi.info/lff)

Videos are used extensively in the Enjoy Life Forever! book, and a noteworthy feature of the above resource is Pīnyīn Plus video transcripts. These should help us Mandarin field language learners to analyze and understand the Mandarin speech used in the many videos referenced in the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book. This in turn should help us make more effective use of these videos while participating in Mandarin Bible discussions using this book.


Also, using the Pīnyīn Plus video transcripts while watching and listening to the corresponding Mandarin videos gives us good practice at listening to Mandarin speech, with help when needed so that we can actually follow along and understand it, and learn to use it ourselves in the future.


lff Lesson 01 - Video Transcripts - Enjoy Life Forever! Bk. (Pīnyīn Plus, Web)


(Tapping/clicking on the above image will take you to the web page represented.)


In the above resource, material matching both the current 2022-03 Printing of the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book and the current 2021 Study Edition (nwtsty) of the Mandarin NWT Bible is now available that covers the following:

Fully Proofread Pīnyīn Plus Material:

  • Front Cover to Lesson 02

Partially Proofread Pīnyīn and Pīnyīn Plus Material:

  • Lesson 03 to Lesson 06, Point 4

(Even in the latter category above, headings and relatively short paragraphs are typically rendered with fully proofread Pīnyīn Plus material.)


Material with a grey background has been partially proofread. Pīnyīn material with a golden-hued background has been proofread, but not all of its “flashcards” have been added and proofread.


More Pīnyīn and Pīnyīn Plus web material based on the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book will be made available in the above resource as time allows.


(NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.)


Monday, August 22, 2022

MEotW: cānzhàn

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

How could we talk to people in the Mandarin field about why we don’t take part in war?


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A news feed for this blog is available here.


Monday, August 15, 2022

MEotW: hūxī

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

Is it true about East and West that “never the twain shall meet”? What’s a “twain” anyway?


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A news feed for this blog is available here.


Tuesday, August 09, 2022

MEotW: āijiā‐āihù

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

Shall we stick with false “perfection” or strive for progress?


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A news feed for this blog is available here.


Thursday, August 04, 2022

Proofread Musical Notation 🎼 with Pīnyīn Lyrics and Proofread Pīnyīn Web Material or Better Available for All the Songs for Mandarin 2022 Conventions, Including the Concluding Song

[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.


The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]


Thankfully, an official Pīnyīn PDF file for the current songbook “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) is now available for download from jw.org. (The short link for the current songbook, tiandi.info/sjj, has the link and additional information.) Note, however, that the currently available official Pīnyīn PDF file (2020 Nián 3 Yuè Printing) only contains lyrics—it does not contain musical notation 🎼.


While we greatly appreciate the official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file that is available, the PDF format itself was conceived of in a world dominated by paper. Unfortunately, that means that PDF files are often not optimal for reading on the mobile devices that are now so prevalent among Mandarin field publishers.


Also, having to share limited display real estate with Chinese characters (and, in the past, musical notation 🎼) can in certain situations force the Pīnyīn text to be rendered in small type that can be difficult to read, especially for older people.


Another difficulty that is encountered, especially when one needs to quickly find the song that is about to be sung at a meeting, is that the official meeting schedules only list the numbers of the songs to be used, and the brothers announcing what song is about to be sung often only mention the song number, but in the current official Pīnyīn songbook PDF file, there is no listing of song links in song number order.


The official Pīnyīn “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah (sjj) web material that is now available on jw.org and on the WOL addresses some of the above challenges, but it still does not put musical notation 🎼 together with Pīnyīn, and it still gives prime display real estate to Chinese characters, at the expense of the Pīnyīn.


Unofficial language-learning materials for all the songs for Mandarin 2022 conventions, in the forms of proofread musical notation 🎼 with Pīnyīn lyrics and proofread Pīnyīn web material (more correct than computer-generated Pīnyīn like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or better, have been posted to this resource that seeks to help with the above-mentioned challenges:

  • “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk.
    (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web)

    (rich information about the Mandarin speech
    used for Kingdom songs,
    as represented by the text of the
    Mandarin “Sing Out Joyfully” book,
    2020-08 Printing, proofread, mobile-friendly,
    Pīnyīn (Pinyin) used as the default writing system,
    links for getting around,
    song links sorted by number;
    Pīnyīn+Music: prezoomed to use full screen width,
    easy-to-read font,
    guitar chords included;
    Pīnyīn Plus: “flashcards” integrated with the text,
    (tap/click on a Pīnyīn word to reveal its “flashcard”,
    tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn expression
    to hide the
    “flashcard”),
    carefully done human-translated
    context-appropriate English translations
    with literal & effective meanings,
    Simplified & Traditional characters,
    📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and
    📘 Reveal None controls
    for all the “flashcards” in a
    song, verse, etc.,
    Night Theme that can be turned on or off
    using the ☀️/🌙 button at the top right,
    adjustable text size)
    (Info re offline viewing and printing)
  • Short Links:
    Links > Publications > Books >
    “Sing Out Joyfully” Book Links (tiandi.info/sjj)

Screenshot of Song 118 Proofread _Pīnyīn_, “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) on an iPhone 12 Pro Max (Portrait Orientation)

Screenshot of 2022 Convention Song Musical Notation with _Pīnyīn_ Lyrics, “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) on an iPhone 12 Pro Max (Landscape Orientation)

Screenshot of 2022 Convention Song Musical Notation with _Pīnyīn_ Lyrics, “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) on an iPad Air 4 (Portrait Orientation)

Screenshot of 2022 Convention Song Musical Notation with _Pīnyīn_ Lyrics, “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) on an iPad Air 4 (Landscape Orientation)

Screenshots of the above web resource on iPhone and on iPad 📱. (It can also be used offline with apps like GoodReader, Documents, etc.) Tap/click on a screenshot to see it full-size.


Scheduling notes:

  • Partially proofread Pīnyīn material (more correct than computer-generated Pīnyīn like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or better is available for all the songs in the “Sing Out Joyfully” (sjj) songbook.
  • Mandarin 2021–2022 circuit assemblies: Proofread Pīnyīn lyrics and musical notation 🎼 are available for all the songs scheduled.
  • Mandarin 2022 conventions: Proofread Pīnyīn lyrics and musical notation 🎼 are available for all the songs scheduled, including the 2022 convention song “Peace at Last!”.

The Pīnyīn songbook material in the above unofficial resource has been designed to be mobile-first, so it works well on mobile devices of various shapes and sizes, including tablets and smartphones 📱 running iOS, iPadOS, Android, etc. Some of the ways in which it does so are:

  • Song material with musical notation 🎼 automatically loads “prezoomed” to take full advantage of the width of your device’s display, so as to render its Pīnyīn lyrics in as large a size as possible.
  • In the song material with musical notation 🎼, the typeface (font) chosen for the Pīnyīn lyrics is one that is especially legible at smaller text sizes.
  • The lyrics-only material uses Pīnyīn Plus technology, so the text automatically reflows according to the width of the display. Also, the text can be set to different sizes by the user, and a Night Theme is available. As time allows, more Pīnyīn Plus “flashcards” will be added, with their English translations, Chinese characters, etc.

The introduction for the above resource explains why it’s good to use Pīnyīn as a writing system on its own.


In the material with musical notation 🎼 in the above resource, expressions in the Pīnyīn lyrics do not trigger a Pīnyīn Plus “flashcard” to appear next to them as usual, because the lyrics need to stay aligned with the musical notation 🎼. As time allows, links will be added to Pīnyīn lyrics in the material with musical notation 🎼. Each of these links will cause a Pīnyīn Plus “flashcard” to appear near the top of the display.


Previously, musical notation 🎼 in the above resource was taken from screenshots of an official PDF file. Note (and make it a musical note ♪, at that 😄), though, that the musical notation 🎼 for song 77 marked the debut in the above resource of musical notation 🎼 produced “from scratch” to be mobile-first in design. This should provide for better and more consistent user experiences going forward, especially on smaller mobile devices like smartphones 📱.


[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]