Saturday, June 07, 2025

MEotW: fāngyán

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

What does the Mandarin word often mistranslated as “dialect” actually mean?



List of different Chinese languages in which publications are available on jw.org as of 2025-06-02

List of different Chinese languages in which publications are available on jw.org as of 2025-06-02


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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Tuesday, June 03, 2025

Proofread Musical Notation 🎼 with Pīnyīn Lyrics and Proofread Pīnyīn Web Material or Better Available for All the Songs for Mandarin 2025 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 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 🎼. Also, it does not contain songs 152 to 161, which are available in the Mandarin 2025 Nián 3 Yuè Printing of the current songbook.


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. (This relegation of Pīnyīn to being ruby text reflects the traditional/orthodox but erroneous and unjust view that Pīnyīn can only be a pronunciation aid, when it really qualifies as and works well as a full writing system.)


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) material that is now available in the JW Library app (iOS/iPadOS; Android; Windows) and on jw.org and the WOL does much to address 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 2025 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_ Plus web icon
  • “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,
    2025-03 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 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.,
    Dark mode selectable with the
    dropdown control 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 161 (2025 Convention Song) Proofread Pīnyīn, “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) on an iPhone 13 mini (Portrait Orientation)

Screenshot of Song 161 (2025 Convention Song) Musical Notation with Pīnyīn Lyrics, “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web), on an iPhone 13 mini (Landscape Orientation)

Screenshot of Song 161 (2025 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 Song 161 (2025 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 2024–2025 circuit assemblies: Proofread Pīnyīn lyrics or better and proofread musical notation 🎼 with Pīnyīn lyrics are available for all the songs scheduled.
  • Mandarin 2025 conventions: Proofread Pīnyīn lyrics or better and proofread musical notation 🎼 with Pīnyīn lyrics are available for all the songs scheduled, including the 2025 convention song “To Do Your Will Is My Delight”.

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 is practical.
  • 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 dark mode 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.]


Sunday, June 01, 2025

MEotW: róngyào

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

In the Mandarin field, what kinds of glory should we be mindful of?


“Róngyào” _Pīnyīn_ Plus info, Song 159 (music+_Pīnyīn_), on iPhone 13 mini (landscape orientation)

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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


“Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. Pīnyīn Plus Web Resource Now Matches the Current 2025-03 Official Mandarin Version

[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 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 🎼. Also, it does not contain songs 152 to 161, which are available in the Mandarin 2025 Nián 3 Yuè Printing of the current songbook.


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. (This relegation of Pīnyīn to being ruby text reflects the traditional/orthodox but erroneous and unjust view that Pīnyīn can only be a pronunciation aid, when it really qualifies as and works well as a full writing system.)


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) material that is now available in the JW Library app (iOS/iPadOS; Android; Windows) and on jw.org and the WOL does much to address 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.


The following resource that seeks to help with the above-mentioned challenges is available, and it now matches the current 2025-03 Printing of the Mandarin version of the “Sing Out Joyfully” book:


  • _“Sing Out Joyfully”_ Bk. _Pīnyīn_ Plus web icon
  • “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,
    2025-03 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 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.,
    Dark mode selectable with the
    dropdown control 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 161 (2025 Convention Song) Proofread Pīnyīn, “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) on an iPhone 13 mini (Portrait Orientation)

Screenshot of Song 161 (2025 Convention Song) Musical Notation with Pīnyīn Lyrics, on an iPhone 13 mini (Landscape Orientation)

Screenshot of Song 161 (2025 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 Song 161 (2025 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 2024–2025 circuit assemblies: Proofread Pīnyīn lyrics or better and proofread musical notation 🎼 with Pīnyīn lyrics are available for all the songs scheduled.
  • Mandarin 2025 conventions: Proofread Pīnyīn lyrics or better are available for all the songs scheduled. Proofread Pīnyīn Plus lyrics and proofread musical notation 🎼 with Pīnyīn lyrics are available for the 2025 convention song “To Do Your Will Is My Delight”.

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 is practical.
  • 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 dark mode 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.]


Friday, May 23, 2025

MEotW: yǔzú

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

How closely—or distantly—related are Mandarin and Cantonese? Are Mandarin, Cantonese, etc. just dialects of “Chinese”?


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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Sunday, May 18, 2025

MEotW: Tiānfāng‐Yè‐Tán

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

How could we reply to a Mandarin-speaking person who says that the idea of a world without war is just a fairy tale?


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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Sunday, May 11, 2025

MEotW: yǔxì

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

What is Mandarin’s place in its language family tree? Are Mandarin, Cantonese, etc. just dialects of “Chinese”?


Pinwheel Galaxy

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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Friday, May 09, 2025

Proofread Pīnyīn Lyrics or Better Available for All the Songs for Mandarin 2025 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 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 🎼. Also, it does not contain songs 152 to 161, which are available in the Mandarin 2025 Nián 3 Yuè Printing of the current songbook.


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. (This relegation of Pīnyīn to being ruby text reflects the traditional/orthodox but erroneous and unjust view that Pīnyīn can only be a pronunciation aid, when it really qualifies as and works well as a full writing system.)


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) material that is now available in the JW Library app (iOS/iPadOS; Android; Windows) and on jw.org and the WOL does much to address 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 material for all the songs for Mandarin 2025 conventions, 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 (including much proofread musical notation 🎼 with Pīnyīn lyrics), have been posted to this resource that seeks to help with the above-mentioned challenges:


  • _“Sing Out Joyfully”_ Bk. _Pīnyīn_ Plus web icon
  • “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 / 2024-03 / 2024-10 / 2025-03 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 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.,
    Dark mode selectable with the
    dropdown control 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 161 (2025 Convention Song) Proofread Pīnyīn, “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) on an iPhone 13 mini (Portrait Orientation)

Screenshot of Song 161 (2025 Convention Song) Musical Notation with Pīnyīn Lyrics, on an iPhone 13 mini (Landscape Orientation)

Screenshot of Song 161 (2025 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 Song 161 (2025 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 2024–2025 circuit assemblies: Proofread Pīnyīn lyrics or better and proofread musical notation 🎼 with Pīnyīn lyrics are available for all the songs scheduled.
  • Mandarin 2025 conventions: Proofread Pīnyīn lyrics or better are available for all the songs scheduled. Proofread Pīnyīn Plus lyrics and proofread musical notation 🎼 with Pīnyīn lyrics are available for the 2025 convention song “To Do Your Will Is My Delight”.

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 is practical.
  • 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 dark mode 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.]


Sunday, May 04, 2025

MEotW: zìxué‐chéngcái

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

Does being self-taught as a Mandarin field language learner need to lead to impostor syndrome?


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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Sunday, April 27, 2025

MEotW: shùnxù

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

What distinctive feature of the Learn From the Bible book makes it especially beneficial in the Mandarin field?


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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Sunday, April 20, 2025

MEotW: jídù

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

In the Mandarin field, what are some ways in which jealousy could affect us if we allow it to?


Screenshot of “_jídù_” in 1 Co. 13:4 (nwtsty, CHS+_Pīnyīn_ WOL)



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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Sunday, April 13, 2025

MEotW: mángwén

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

What connection does Chinese Braille have with Pīnyīn, and what does this tell us about Pīnyīn?



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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Sunday, March 30, 2025

MEotW: shíjí

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

Is it bad to become experts at Mandarin, like some around us may imply?


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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Sunday, March 23, 2025

MEotW: xīngqiú

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

What can we say to Mandarin-speaking people about why the earth is unique?


Earthrise - This iconic picture shows Earth peeking out from beyond the lunar surface as the first crewed spacecraft circumnavigated the Moon.

Earthrise
This iconic picture shows Earth peeking out from beyond the lunar surface as the first crewed spacecraft circumnavigated the Moon.


Pale Blue Dot - This narrow-angle color image of the Earth, taken from a distance of more than 4 billion miles (6.4 billion km) from Earth,  is a part of the first ever “portrait” of the solar system taken by Voyager 1 (Earth is the blueish-white speck almost halfway up the rightmost band of light.)

Pale Blue Dot
This narrow-angle color image of the Earth, taken from a distance of more than 4 billion miles (6.4 billion km) from Earth, is a part of the first ever “portrait” of the solar system taken by the Voyager 1 space probe. (Earth is the blueish-white speck almost halfway up the rightmost band of light.)


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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Sunday, March 16, 2025

MEotW: zhōngzhǐ

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

How can we say in Mandarin that Jesus will end war?


John Lennon and Yoko Ono with a sign saying “WAR IS OVER! IF YOU WANT IT Happy Christmas from John & Yoko”

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License logo Wasfi Akab


Yes, war will be over, although perhaps not exactly in the way they had imagined. [source]


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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Sunday, March 09, 2025

MEotW: cōnghuì

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

In the Mandarin field, how can we talk about Jehovah being our intelligent Creator, and why should we do so?



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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Sunday, March 02, 2025

MEotW: wúkě‐bǐnǐ

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

How can we tell Mandarin-speaking people that no one and nothing compares to Jehovah? What shows how great the need is in the worldwide Mandarin field?


“wúkě‐bǐnǐ” _Pīnyīn_ Plus info, Song 152 (music+_Pīnyīn_), on iPhone 13 mini (landscape orientation)

Chart: Languages by First-Language Speakers—2019

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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Sunday, February 23, 2025

MEotW: zìmǎn

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

How can pondering the Needham Question help us in the Mandarin field?



Punched card used to load software into an old mainframe computer
Chinese characters are the punched cards of writing systems. Punched cards were not totally impossible to use, but there are now much better and easier-to-use ways to control computers.
Creative Commons Attribution License logo BinaryApe


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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Sunday, February 16, 2025

MEotW: Dàilìlā

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

What kind of spiritual attack do Jehovah’s people, including those in the Mandarin field, need to be on guard against?


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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Sunday, February 09, 2025

MEotW: guīju

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

In the Mandarin field, how can we avoid acting indecently in God’s eyes?


Screenshot of “_guīju_” in 1 Co. 13:5 (nwtsty, CHS+_Pīnyīn_ WOL)


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


A news feed for this blog is available here.


Saturday, February 01, 2025

MEotW: xiétiáo

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

How can we talk to Mandarin-speaking people about how well-coordinated the molecular machines inside our cells are?


Closeup of a clockwork mechanism



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


A news feed for this blog is available here.