Stepping Stones Lesson Three

Existing Vocabulary

成语 (chéng yǔ)

成语 are phrases (almost always four characters long) that usually stem either from an old, traditional Chinese story or some type of traditional saying.  They are often referred to as “idioms” or “proverbs” in English, however, 成语 are not limited to this type of usage.  成语 usually have a literal meaning that leads to the understanding of a more figurative meaning.  In China, it is the general opinion that usage of成语 indicates great literary skill and knowledge.  The 成语 used in this lesson is 朝三暮四 and is based on the story that serves as this lesson’s text.  The literal meaning of 朝三暮四 is “three in the morning, four at night.”  Originally, the figurative meaning of this 成语 referred to actions similar to that of the Daoist priest in this story, i.e. tricking those of lower intelligence for fun.  However, over the years the phrase has come to mean “to play fast and loose.” [Additional Reading]

Using the Word 多

The word 多 is mainly used as the adverb meaning “many” or “a lot.”  An example of this in the text above is “很多食物,” meaning “a lot of food.”  However, 多 can also be used in a comparative sense to mean “more” or “[a certain number] more.”  In the latter case the word order is opposite from the English word order in that the word 多 precedes the number.  For example, in the text above, ““多 了一个栗子” means “one more chestnut.”  The same usage applies to 少 (shǎo), the antonym of 多. [Additional Reading]

Once you've studied the vocabulary and can read each line of the story with comprehension, you are ready to go on to the next step.