Chinese is an ideographic language. Each character has a meaning, and we can arrange them to create many new words, just like playing lego! Today we are going to introduce some words that can also be used after reversing.
Some words are combined by two characters which have similar meanings. The meaning of the words won’t change after reversing the words.
|
Reversing Words |
Meanings |
Examples |
|
代替——替代 dàitì-------tìdài |
Instead of; take place of |
他代替/替代他哥哥当守门员. Tā dàitì/ tìdài tā gēge dāng shǒuményuán. He replaced his brother as goalkeeper. |
|
情感——感情 qínggǎn-- gǎnqíng |
emotion |
别抑制你的情感/感情，想哭你就哭一通吧。 Bié yìzhì nǐ de qíngǎn/ gǎnqíng, xiǎng kū nǐ jiù kū yì tōng ba. Don't hold your emotion in, cry if you want to. |
|
演讲——讲演 yǎnjiǎng--jiǎngyǎn |
give a lecture; make a speech |
他的演讲/讲演迎合了大多数人的愿望。 Tā de yǎnjiǎng/ jiǎngyǎn yínghé le dàduōshù rén de yuànwàng. His lecture hit the will of the most. |
|
问询——询问 wènxún--xúnwèn |
inquiry |
您如何在每个领域询问/问询问题？ Nín rúhé zài měige lǐngyù xúnwèn/ wènxún wèntí? How do you ask the question in each domain? |
|
离别——别离 líbié------biélí |
parting； farewell |
离别/别离的日子是否也是相聚的日子？ Líbié/biélí de rìzi shìfǒu yě shì xiāngjù de rìzi? Shall the day of parting be the day of gathering? |
|
积累——累积 jīlěi------lějī |
accumulate |
我只想在那里积累/累积一些有用的经验。 Wǒ zhǐ xiǎng zài nàli jīlěi/ lěijī yìxiē yǒuyòng de jīngyàn. I just want to accumulate some useful experience there. |
|
忌妒——妒忌 jìdù--------dùjì |
to envy |
你没有理由妒忌/忌妒我。 Nǐ méiyou lǐyóu dùjì/ jìdù wǒ, You have no reason to envy me. |
|
力气——气力 lìqì---------qìlì |
strength; force |
没有谁的力气/气力比得上他。 Méiyou shéi de lìqì/ qìlì bǐ de shàng tā. No man equals him in strength. |
|
缓和——和缓 Huǎnhé----héhuǎn |
to ease; |
紧张关系有所缓和/和缓。 Jǐnzhāng guānxi yǒu suǒ huǎnhé/ héhuǎn. Tensions had eased. |
|
质朴——朴质 zhìpǔ----pǔzhì |
simple and unadorned; plain |
她风格简约而质朴/朴质。 Tā fēnggé jiǎnyuē ér zhìpǔ/ pǔzhì. Her style is pared-down and simple. |
|
互相——相互 hùxiāng---xiānghù |
Mutual; Each other |
我们应该互相/相互帮助! Wǒmen yīnggāi hùxiāng/ xiānghù bāngzhù. We should help each other ! |
|
吞并——并吞 tūnbìng---bìngtūn |
To merger; To swallow up |
那个大公司吞并/并吞了那个小公司。 Nàge dà gōngsī tūnbìng/ bìngtūn le nàge xiǎo gōngsī. The larger firm absorbed the smaller one. |
After reversing: nouns become verbs
One more interesting thing is that you will know the usages of these things after you reversing the words. Because these nouns will become verbs.
What can you do with a toothbrush? It is obvious that we need to brush our teeth with a toothbrush everyday. Learn how we say toothbrush in Chinese and you'll easily know how we say to brush one’s teeth in Chinese at the same time. Please check the following list.
|
Meanings |
Reversing Words |
Meanings |
|||
|
Nouns |
Verbs |
||||
|
toothbrush |
牙刷 yáshuā |
刷牙 shuāyá |
Brush one’s teeth |
||
|
glove |
手套 shǒutào |
套手 tàoshǒu |
To cover one’s hands |
||
|
Pot lid |
锅盖 guōgài |
盖锅 gàiguō |
To cover the pot |
||
|
Bottle plug |
瓶塞 píngsāi |
塞瓶 sāipíng |
To cork a bottle |
||
|
sheepfold |
羊圈 yángquàn |
圈羊 quànyáng |
To round up the sheep |
||
|
fan |
风扇 fēngshàn |
扇风 shànfēng |
To fan |
||
|
Fishing net |
鱼网 yúwǎng |
网鱼 wǎngyú |
To fish with net |
||
|
Door lock |
门锁 ménsuǒ |
锁门 suǒmén |
To lock the door |
||
|
Respiration;mask |
口罩 kǒuzhào |
罩口 zhàokǒu |
To cover the mouth with a mask |
||
All the words could be made into a sentence with 用。“用” means to use.
For example:
1) 我用牙刷刷牙。
Wǒ yòng yáshuā shuāyá.
I brush my teeth with a toothbrush.
2) 他用锅盖盖锅。
Tā yòng guōgài gàiguō.
He covered the pot with a lit.
3) 我的邻居买了一个新门锁，他用门锁锁门。
Wǒ de línjū mǎi le yí ge xīn ménsuǒ, tā yòng ménsuǒ suǒmén.
My neighbor bought a new lock, he locked the door with the lock.
3. Sometimes the words after reversing, the meaning of the new words will change to be relevant.
For instance, many people drink milk a lot, do you know where the milk from ? Yes, you are right! The milk is from dairy cow. The milk in Chinese is 牛奶（niúnǎi, and the dairy cow in Chinese is 奶牛（nǎiniú). In the same way, the honey 蜂蜜（fēngmì）is from the bee (mìfēng）. You will see more interesting examples on the list.
|
Meanings |
Reversing Words |
Meanings |
|
|
Well (noun) |
水井 shuǐjǐng |
井水 jǐngshuǐ |
Well water (the water from a well) |
|
gold |
黄金 huángjīn |
金黄 jīnhuáng |
golden |
|
snow |
白雪 báixuě |
雪白 xuěbái |
Snow-white |
|
hog |
肉猪 ròuzhū |
猪肉 zhūròu |
pork |
|
poisonous snake |
毒蛇 dúshé |
蛇毒 shédú |
snake venom |
|
pest |
害虫 hàichóng |
虫害 chónghài |
damage by insects |
|
to rent a house |
租房 zūfáng |
房租 fángzū |
the rent for a house |
But be careful, there are also a number of words which are composed of two similar words cannot be reversed. For example, 法语（Fǎyǔ）means French language, but 语法（yǔfǎ）means grammar. Their meanings are totally different. So you need to be careful when you are using these words, you should avoid to make mistakes. Here are more examples on the list:
|
Meanings |
Reversing Words |
Meanings |
|
|
celebrity |
名人 míngrén |
人名 rénmíng |
The name of a person |
|
Shanghai(a city in China) |
上海 Shànghǎi |
海上 hǎishang |
on the sea |
|
story |
故事 gùshì |
事故 shìgù |
accident |
|
to calculate (number) |
计算 jìsuàn |
算计 suànjì |
to calculate (other people in a bad way) |
|
necktie |
领带 lǐngdài |
带领 dàilǐng |
to guide; to lead |
|
lover; mistress |
情人 qíngrén |
人情 rénqíng |
human relationship |
|
immediately |
马上 mǎshang |
上马 shàngmǎ |
to mount a horse |
|
illiteracy |
文盲 wénmáng |
盲文 mángwén |
braille |
|
to come ture; to realize |
实现 shíxiàn |
现实 xiànshí |
reality |
Every coin has two sides, the pros of learning these reversing words; you will surprised that you will not only learn one word, but also learn another word at the same time. You will see they are very useful. However there are lots of reversing words in Chinese, it may be easy to make mistakes when we choose the wrong words. But like old sayings said, we will learn from mistakes. Just see things in a positive way, and it is your LEGO time, have fun with learning Chinese!
Hero image by Omar Albeik on Unsplash
