Chinese For Dummies (88 page)

Chapter 13

Recreation and Outdoor Activities

In This Chapter

Talking about your hobbies

Appreciating Mother Nature

Pretending to be Picasso

Creating your own tunes

Exercising as an athlete

A
fter a hard day at work, most people are ready to kick back and relax. But where to begin? Do you feel so consumed by your
gōngzuò
工作
(goong-dzwaw) (
work
) that you can't seem to switch gears? Get a life! Better yet, get a
yèyú àihào
业余爱好
(
業餘愛好
) (yeh-yew eye-how) (
hobby
). Play some
yīnyuè
音乐
(
音樂
) (yeen-yweh) (
music
) on your
xiǎotíqín
小提琴
(shyaow-tee-cheen) (
violin
). Paint a
huà
画
(
畫
) (hwah) (
picture
). Kick a
zúqiú
足球
(dzoo-chyo) (
football
) around. Do whatever it takes to make you relax and have some fun. Your outside interests make you more interesting to be around, and you make new friends at the same time — especially if you join a
duì
队
(
隊
)
(dway) (
team
).

And if you're into
lánqiú
篮球
(
籃球
)
(lahn-chyo)
(
basketball
), just utter the name
Yao Ming
姚明
(yaow meeng); you'll instantly discover hordes of potential language exchange partners from among the many fans of this 7-foot-6-inch Shanghai native who made it big as a Houston Rockets superstar.

Naming Your Hobbies

Are you someone who likes to collect stamps, play chess, or watch birds in the park? Whatever you enjoy doing, your hobbies are always a good conversation piece. Having at least one
yèyú àihào
业余爱好
(
業餘愛好
) (yeh-yew eye-how) (
hobby
) is always a good thing. How about getting involved in some of the following?

guān niǎo
(gwan-nyaow)
观鸟
(
觀鳥
) (
birdwatching
)

jí yóu
集邮
(
集郵
) (jee-yo) (
stamp collecting
)

diàoyú
钓鱼
(
釣魚
) (dyaow-yew) (
fishing
)

kàn shū
看书
(
看書
) (kahn shoo) (
reading
)

pēngtiáo
烹调
(
烹調
)
(pung-tyaow) (
cooking
)

yuányì
园艺
(
園藝
) (ywan-ee) (
gardening
)

A common verb associated with many hobbies is
dǎ
打
(dah) (
to do or play with
[Literally:
to strike, hit, or beat
]). You can use it to talk about partaking in hobbies such as
tàijíquán
太极拳
(
太極拳
) (tye-jee-chwan) (
a slow form of martial arts commonly referred to just as Tai Ji
) and playing
pú kè
扑克
(
撲克
)(poo kuh) (
cards
),
májiàng
麻将 (麻將)
(mah-jyahng) (
mah-jong
), and
guójì xiàngqí
国际象棋
(
國際象棋
) (gwaw-jee shyahng-chee) (
chess
). Here are some quick questions with the verb
dǎ
that can help get a conversation started: