One of my goals for the remainder of 2020 – and beyond – is to become truly fluent in Mandarin. I’d say I’m somewhere between an HSK5 to HSK6, which is to say, I can chat conversationally just fine, and read at around a middle school level, but put a business presentation or bestselling novel in front of me and I’ll break into a sweat – both literally and figuratively. It would be nice to finally get rid of all that Mandarin anxiety :-)
So for starters, here are some inspirational Chinese quotes from Weibo that I’ve translated for fun:
如果你认识从前的我，那么你就会原谅现在的我。—— 张爱玲
Translation 1: If you understood me then, you would forgive me now.
Translation 2: If you understood who I’ve been, then you’d forgive who I’ve become
无论什么困难的事，只要硬着头皮去做，就闯过去了。—— 林海音
No matter the task, just lower your head and rush right through it.
一个人出生了，人们并不知道他的未来，却说：恭喜恭喜。一个人死去了，人们并不知道死去后的世界却说：可惜可惜。—— 三毛
When a child is born, no one knows his future, yet we say: What good fortune! When a man dies, no one knows where his soul goes, yet we say: What a pity.
你在乎谁，你说了算。谁在乎你，你说了不算，时间说了算。—— 郑执
Translation 1: You control who you care about. Fate controls who cares about you.
Translation 2: Who you care about is up to you. Who cares about you is left to fate.