Lessons in the Shanghai Dialect - F. L. Hawks Pott

(1) In the garden the gardeners have planted three rows of apple trees.
(2) After the cock crows in the morning I am unable to sleep any more.
(3) This man is very polite, and so every one likes him.
(4) In the winter we close all the doors and windows and light a fire, in the summer we open all the doors and windows.
(5) The water in the creek is muddy and not fit to drink.
(6) Some men become rich in business, and some lose money.
(7) Lock the door and do not let the cat come in.
(8) The child fell off the chair and therefore cries.
(9) Yesterday I went to see a seven storied pagoda.
(10) This account is not right; it is not reckoned clearly.
(11) I cannot find out that this man has done anything wicked.
(12) When I met the robber I cried out to others to come and save my life.
(13) This man is very fierce; he is always fighting.
(14) At the end of the year, all the scholars in the college must be examined.
(15) I have lost my key and cannot open my box.
(16) I think you have not lost it, but you have hidden it away somewhere, and have forgotten where you put it; let me go and look for it.

Notes.

(1) Tuh-°dzoe, tuh-°dzoe (得罪) is the usual expression for making an apology in Chinese, It literally meant, “I have sinned against you.”
(2) A two storied house is generally called leu vaung (樓房).
(3) In the fifth sentence of the First Exercise we have the formal salutation used on New Year’s Day Koong-°hyi, fah-dze (恭喜發財) meaning, “may you be happy and grow rich.”
(4) In the twelfth sentence of the Second Exercise the expression to save life should be Kyeu° ming° (救命).
(5) In the tenth sentence of the Second Exercise “this account is not reckoned right” should be translated di°-kuh tsang° ’veh te° kuh (第個帳勿對個); te° means “not in agreement.”

LESSON XXV
Weights and Measures

The following three Tables are very commonly used in China, and the speaker of the language should be familiar with them.