wǒ de gēshēng lǐ -You Exist in My Song
我 的 歌声 里
In today’s lesson, I would like you to learn some new words from a song that has been quite popular in China. In my opinion, you can pick up some new words from it quite easily. The singer is called Qu Wanting and comes from North China. She sings in Mandarin Chinese. Now, a word of warning! This song has some poetic language that we wouldn’t normally use in everyday Chinese so I will draw your attention to such words in my podcast. First, let’s have a look at some words in the table below. But before you do that, please watch the song here:
| Chinese | PinYin | Translation | Comment |
| 一点点 | yì diǎn diǎn | Bit by bit, gradually, a little bit | 一 (yì) means ‘one’ and 点(diǎn) means ‘a spot’. This is an easy expression to learn because it means literally ‘spot by spot’. |
| 防备 | fang bèi | Precaution, be prepared to defend yourself | 防 (fang) means ‘defence’ and 备(bèi) has thousand meanings so it’s best to learn it in combination with other characters. It can mean ‘prepare’, for example, you have to be cautious and prepare to defend yourself. |
| 不知不觉 | bù zhī bù jué | Lack of awareness, unexpectedly, unconsciously | 不 (bù) means ‘no’ so you can see two of them in this phrase. 知 (zhī) means ‘only/just’ and 觉 (jué) means ‘perceive’. So the phrase can be used like this: I fell in love with you bù zhī bù jué [without realising it/subconsciously]. |
| 消失 | xiāo shī | Disappear or disappearance | 消(xiāo) means ‘to erase’ and 失 (shī) means ‘disappear’. Notice the tone in the second character is the first tone, i.e. flat. |
| 世界 | shìjiè | World | This word goes together so we won’t split it. |
| 音讯 | yīn xùn | Information or news（for people around you） | 音(yīn) means ‘sound/vocal’ and 讯 (xùn ) means ‘information’. |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | Don’t have or without | This just means ‘no’ or ‘don’t have’. |
| 曾经 | céng jīng | Once | A frequently used word in Chinese. |
| 脑海 | nǎo hǎi | Mind or memory | A very poetic word which means ‘脑(nǎo) brain + 海(hǎi) ocean’. The more frequently used word is 记忆 (jì yì). |
| 歌声 | gē shēng | Singing | 歌(gē) means ‘song’ and 声(sheng) means ‘sound/vocal’. We have just seen this word above. It’s a frequently used word. |
| 惊喜 | Jīng xǐ | Surprise | Jīng means ‘astonishing’ and xǐ means ‘happy’ but it can’t be used in the phrase ‘I’m happy’. So please learn it in combination with other words. |
| 肩并肩 | jiān bìng jiān | Side by side | Jiān means ‘shoulder’. Bìng means ‘together/connected’. So in this case, the phrase means ‘shoulder to shoulder’. |
Here we have the lyrics written specially for you. Also, you can watch the video clip with lyrics and the translation and try to learn the song. We understand that there are many new words here but I have chosen some words for you here. If you would like to comment or ask some questions, please write your comments in the box below and I will get back to you. So here is the link to the song with the lyrics this time.
The lyrics:
méi yǒu yì diǎn diǎn fang bèi, yě méi yǒu yì sī gù lǜ
没 有 一 点 点 防 备，也 没 有 一 丝 顾 虑
Without any precaution, and without a trace of apprehension
nǐ jiù zhè yàng chū xiàn zài wǒ de shìjiè lǐ , dài gěi wǒ jīngxǐ ,
你 就 这 样 出 现 在 我 的 世界 里，带 给 我 惊 喜，
qíng bú zì yǐ
情 不 自 已
you easily appeared in my world as you did and brought me a surprise, that I couldn’t resist
Kě shì nǐ piān yòu zhè yàng, zài wǒ bù zhī bù jué zhōng
可 是 你 偏 又 这 样，在 我 不 知 不 觉 中
But like this, without me knowing
Qiāo qiāo de xiāo shī , cóng wǒ de shì jiè lǐ ,méi yǒu yīn xùn , shèng
悄 悄 地 消 失， 从 我 的 世 界 里， 没 有 音 讯， 剩
xià de zhǐshì huí yì
下 的 只 是 回 忆
you silently disappeared from my world, without a word, leaving behind only my memories
nǐ cún zài, wǒ shēn shēn de nǎo hǎi lǐ, wǒ de mèng lǐ, wǒ de xīn lǐ , wǒ
你 存 在， 我 深 深 的 脑 海 里， 我 的 梦 里，我 的 心 里， 我
de gē shēng lǐ
的 歌 声 里
You exist, deep in my mind, in my dreams, in my heart, and in my song
nǐ cún zài, wǒ shēnshēn de nǎo hǎi lǐ, wǒ de mèng lǐ, wǒ de xīn lǐ , wǒ
你 存 在， 我 深 深 的 脑 海 里， 我 的 梦 里，我 的 心 里， 我
de gē shēng lǐ
的 歌 声 里
You exist, deep in my mind, in my dreams, in my heart, and in my song
hái jì dé wǒ men céng jīng, jiān bìng jiān yì qǐ zǒu guò, nà duàn fán
还 记 得 我 们 曾 经， 肩 并 肩 一 起 走 过，那 段 繁
huá xiàng kǒu
华 巷 口
Still remember us once walking side by side together past that bustling alley
Jìn guǎn nǐ wǒ shì mò shēng rén, shì guò lù rén, dàn bǐ cǐ hái shì gǎn
尽 管 你 我 是 陌 生 人， 是 过 路 人， 但 彼 此 还 是 感
jué dào le duì fāng de
觉 到 了 对 方 的
Even though we were strangers, just passing by each other, we still felt each other
yí gè yǎn shén, yí gè xīn tiào ….
一 个 眼 神， 一 个 心 跳….
One look, one beat of the heart
yì zhǒng yì xiǎng bú dào de kuài lè, hǎo xiàng shì
一 种 意 想 不 到 的 快 乐，好 像 是
one unexpected delight. It’s like
yì chǎng mèng jìng, mìng zhōng zhù dìng
一 场 梦 境， 命 中 注 定
a dream, that was destined.
shìjiè zhī dà wéi hé wǒ men xiāng yù
世 界 之 大 为 何 我 们 相 遇
The world is so big, why did we meet?
Nán dào shì yuán fèn?
难 道 是 缘 分
Could it have been chance?
Nán dào shì tiān yì?
难 道 是 天 意…
Could it have been destiny?
Hope you have enjoyed the lesson and if you want some Chinese lessons, please contact me on [email protected].
Good luck learning Chinese.
Matt Wan
