“En” and “Er” in Traditional Chinese Characters | Chores Vocab and a Care Package ep.69

This is a continuation of my “What a Character!” series, where I analyze traditional Chinese characters in alphabetical order according to their Pinyin spelling. I draw upon a Master's degree in Asian Studies from the University of Pittsburgh, thirty years living in Taiwan, and the assistance of my Taiwanese wife. Today's sound forms are "en," pronounced as if you are adding the prefix "un," and the sound form "er," which sounds more like your stereotypical pirate "arrrr" than our "er" suffix in English. 00:00-01:53 Intro and some expressions about chores in Mandarin. 01:54 - 03:54 恩 "en" 1st tone, "grateful." It's "da" (big) in a box over "heart." 03:54- 05:43 嗯 no tone, 2nd, or 4th tone depending upon the situation. Put a "mouth" in front of the above character to get this character which conveys the meaning of "yes" or an indication that someone is listening to what someone else is saying. 05:44- 06:38 兒 "er" 1st or 2nd tone, "Children" or a suffix that turns other parts of speech into what we would call a "noun" (person, place, or thing). The simplified is just two curved downstrokes ㄦ. 06:39- 7:32 而 2nd tone, "furthermore", Used in the expression to say "on the other hand," "only/ merely." 07:50- 08:35 耳 3rd tone, "ear." It is the same in simplified. Six strokes and it is its own radical for indexing. 08:36- 09:05 爾 3rd tone, "that", "so." It is also used in the expression for "seldom," and in transliteration, for example, in the term for "Ireland." 09:06 -10:15 Looking for a quiet place in my house! Our picture in Thailand at Phi Phi Island. 10:16 - 10:44 二 4th tone, "two." Two horizontal lines. Guess what "three" is....But once you get to four, the fun stops. 10:45 - 14:39 Vlog. Got my hair cut and then picked up a care package at the post office from my aunt. I share the contents with viewers & hope I don't make you too hungry! The next sound form will be "fa." Please "like" and subscribe for more traditional Chinese characters and adventures in Taiwan....or just expat life. Credits: My intro music is a live recording of a woman playing the "Zheng." I use Wikipedia or Gemini AI for explanatory sections (or images) and the Pleco dictionary app to show characters and their definitions. Images are either my own or sourced from the public domain. I edit with free-use practices for education purposes in mind. #expatlife #traditionalchinese #chinesewritingpractice #chineselanguage #chinesewriting #mandarinchinese #taiwanesemandarin