MEotW: Gōngyè‐Dǎng

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• Gōngyè‐Dǎng

In the grand scheme of things, how important is technology?

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MEotW: dòngnù

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• dòngnù

Is anger an appropriate reaction to the suggestion to focus less on characters and more on Pīnyīn?

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MEotW: fántǐ‐zì

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• fántǐ‐zì

As beloved as they are by many, why have there been serious, concerted efforts to simplify and replace traditional Chinese characters?

“愛” is the Traditional Chinese character for “love”. It appropriately has the “heart” radical (“心”) in it, but it’s quite…complicated. 😓

— Troubadour WW (@troubadourww) February 20, 2017

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MEotW: lìyì

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• lìyì

In the Mandarin field, how can we show love that “does not look for its own interests”?

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MEotW: jídù

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• jídù

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

In God's organization, our unity is based on God's truth, not on human tradition.

[image or embed]

— tiandi, Links News (@tiandilinksnews.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 8:27 AM

Maybe this is connected to why so many Chinese people seem to think,

“I suffered with Chinese characters, so you must suffer with them too!”

rather than,

“I want you to use _Pīnyīn_ so you won’t have to suffer with Chinese characters like I did.” https://t.co/rgv337FoFi

— Troubadour WW (@troubadourww) April 13, 2024

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MEotW: mángwén

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• mángwén

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

⠪⠆
is the (Mainland) Chinese Braille representation of

ài (love 爱 愛)

⠪ corresponds to “ai” in _Pīnyīn_, and
⠆ corresponds to 4th tone.

Blind Mandarin-speaking people need to read and write about love too! https://t.co/sXSVzycXre

— Troubadour WW (@troubadourww) January 5, 2021

“_Chinese Braille_…is in principle a conversion of _Hanyu Pinyin_ into braille letters…If braille is a script [writing system], which no one doubts, especially not blind people, then _Hanyu Pinyin_ must also be a script [writing system].” https://t.co/EpGCXe7OOp

— Troubadour WW (@troubadourww) January 5, 2021

Blind Chinese people cannot see Chinese characters, but they can still read and write Mandarin with _Chinese Braille_.

_Chinese Braille_ is based on _Pīnyīn_—they both represent the sounds of Mandarin.

Since _Chinese Braille_ is obviously a writing system, so is _Pīnyīn_.

— Troubadour WW (@troubadourww) January 5, 2021

Many claim that _Pīnyīn_ shouldn’t be used as a writing system because characters are required to avoid confusion from all the homophones (different words that sound the same) in Mandarin.

If that’s true, then people shouldn’t SPEAK Mandarin either! But many do, and it’s fine. pic.twitter.com/1MK0ERuFjc

— Troubadour WW (@troubadourww) April 8, 2025

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MEotW: guīju

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• guīju

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

In God's organization, our unity is based on God's truth, not on human tradition.

[image or embed]

— tiandi, Links News (@tiandilinksnews.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 8:27 AM

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MEotW: Lǐ Huá

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• Lǐ Huá

Who is Lǐ Huá? Why have so many Chinese people and American people been talking about Lǐ Huá on the Chinese social media app Xiǎohóngshū (RedNote)?

Learning Mandarin out of spite? You're not alone.

We’ve seen a ~216% growth in new Chinese (Mandarin) learners in the US compared to this time last year. https://t.co/9hzwBxfTgD pic.twitter.com/qWM9f5oFYA

— Duolingo (@duolingo) January 15, 2025

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MEotW: zìdà

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• zìdà

In the Mandarin field, how can we avoid being inferior B players or unserious tourists?

China relegating _Pīnyīn_ to being just a pronunciation aid for characters is like a company hiring a talented A player executive and then making that person just get coffee for the CEO, because the established power base’s top priority is to preserve itself—B players in action. https://t.co/fNHsBWEsWO

— Troubadour WW (@troubadourww) May 15, 2024

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MEotW: chuīxū

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• chuīxū

Might Chinese characters present a test for Mandarin field language learners? If so, what might they test?

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MEotW: háowú

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• háowú

How does the Mandarin NWT Bible’s translation of 1 Corinthians 13:3 emphasize to us how futile it is to do things out of pride and not out of love?

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MEotW: zìkuā

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• zìkuā

Is Jehovah God impressed by one who boasts about having deep knowledge of Chinese characters?

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MEotW: jítǐ zhǔyì

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• jítǐ zhǔyì

How might collectivism and zero-sum thinking be connected to the obsessive attachment many have to Chinese characters?

Maybe this is connected to why so many Chinese people seem to think,

“I suffered with Chinese characters, so you must suffer with them too!”

rather than,

“I want you to use _Pīnyīn_ so you won’t have to suffer with Chinese characters like I did.” https://t.co/rgv337FoFi

— Troubadour WW (@troubadourww) April 13, 2024

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MEotW: shěshēn

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• shěshēn

Are Chinese characters worthy and good just because they’re hard?

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MEotW: xīndé

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• xīndé

In the Chinese fields, is it enough to just fill our minds with knowledge about Chinese characters?

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MEotW: suàn buliǎo

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• suàn buliǎo

Critics of Pīnyīn like to talk about the different words in Mandarin that sound the same, but what about the different Mandarin words that are written with the same characters?

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MEotW: mìmì

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• mìmì

Ultimately, in the Chinese fields, how valuable or not valuable is knowledge of the secrets of Chinese characters?

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MEotW: qǐshì

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• qǐshì

Is it better to be inspired or to have love?

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MEotW: cì’ěr

The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:

• cì’ěr

How can we avoid being a “clashing cymbal” in the Mandarin field?

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Pride in the Name of Love?

God is love, and as his people, we should always ask ourselves if we are acting out of pride or out of love.

This is especially so since we know that if we have all the traditional knowledge and know all the Chinese characters, but do not have love, we are nothing.—1 Co. 13:1–3. https://t.co/OrWuuyH9Qm

— tiandi, Links News (@TiandiLinksNews) September 6, 2022