Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Dramatis personae and glossary of terms

Guide to pinyin here. Really helpful pinyin table here, with audio.

Terms defined, people identified:

ZHANG FAMILY (mother's side)
Laoye: grandfather
Laolao: grandmother
Jiujiu: uncle
Xiaoyi: aunt (I'll commonly refer to her as simply "aunt")

TAO FAMILY (dad's side)
Yeye: grandfather
Nainai: grandmother
Gugu: aunt
Shushu: uncle

IN-LAWS
Jiuma: Jiujiu's first wife (Zhen Yi)
Xiao Wang (name of Jiujiu's second wife)
Gufu: Gugu's husband
Shir: Shushu's wife (Tao Yu)

COUSINS, age
Zhang Mingyu, 18 (12th grade)
Zhang Peng (sometimes referred to as Dapeng), 29
Tao Yuan, 16 (11th grade)
Fang Fang, 1
Fei Fei, 1


Uncles (2) and aunts (2) underlined
Cousins italicized
Men: black; women: red
Strikethrough=deceased


Quick note: my dad is seven years older than my mom, but they're both the eldest of three children, and I am their eldest (only) child.

TERMS AND PHRASES
  • Qiu wa(er): Go fuck yourself
  • RMB (pinyin: renmenbi): Yuan (Chinese currency, worth approximately 7x less than the dollar)
  • Zhajianmian (paste noodle): A noodle dish involving a dark meat paste, served with thin slices of cucumbers, green onions and other toppings.

PLACES

STREETS

CITIES

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