Unlike the precisely defined Dutch \u201cwij,\u201d and the English \u201cwe,\u201d Chinese offers two translations for this concept: wo men and zan men. Wo men is we as \u201cwe\u201d know it, a pronoun used to indicate a group wherein the speaker is included. Zan men, on the other hand, offers an expanded meaning. We not only refers to the speaker and someone else, it includes the speaker and the person they\u2019re talking to.<\/p>\n
Sounds confusing?<\/strong> Why does this matter anyways?<\/strong> Learning a new language offers a means of bridging different cultures from around the world, creating a global sense of zan men that we are excited to be part of. The Chinese Bridge Competition will show us what it means to emerge from the pandemic as truly one world, one family.<\/p>\n Would you like to learn more about the characters \u54b1\u4eec and their meaning? Click here ZANMEN to read an additional piece that we have dedicated to these beautiful characters!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Unlike the precisely defined Dutch \u201cwij,\u201d and the English \u201cwe,\u201d Chinese offers two translations for this concept: wo men and zan men. Wo men is we as \u201cwe\u201d know it,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2712,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nSay you want to go and get food with your friends, and you are asking your mom for permission. \u201cMom,\u201d you say, \u201cMy friends and I want to go get Chinese food for dinner. We will be home before 9.\u201d That is the wo men that we are familiar with. But say you are inviting your mom to go out for dinner with you. \u201cMom,\u201d you say, \u201cI miss spending time with you. We should go out for dinner this weekend.\u201d In Chinese, this would be translated using zan men, as the person you\u2019re speaking to, your mother, is included in the we you\u2019re referring to. Basically, wo men can mean me and someone else while zan men is reserved to express me and you.<\/p>\n
\nJust as last year, the theme of the 2021 Chinese Bridge Speech Competition is \u201cOne World, One Family.\u201d We believe that this idea matches the meaning of zan men perfectly. When we say we are a global family, we are including you in it. This is the idea that contestants will speak about when they make their presentations, and an idea that we at CIM have in our mind as we plan this event.<\/p>\n