Intermediate - Abbreviations and Contractions (C2589)

A: 王老师,什么是“驻京办”?还有这个,“为学生减负”里的“减负”?
Wáng lǎoshī, shénme shì" zhùjīngbàn”? háiyǒu zhè ge," wèi xuésheng jiǎnfù” lǐ de" jiǎnfù”?
Mr Wang, what does "驻京办" mean? And this, the "减负" in "为学生减负"?
B: 哦,是缩略语啊。比如“驻京办”就是驻北京办事处,“减负”就是减轻负担。
ò, shì suōlüèyǔ ā. bǐrú" zhùjīngbàn” jiùshì zhù Běijīng bànshìchù," jiǎnfù” jiùshì jiǎnqīng fùdān.
Oh, it's an abbreviation. For example "驻京办" is short for "驻北京办事处" or Beijing Office and "减负" is short for "减轻负担", which means to alleviate someone's burden.
A: 这样的用法在中文里有很多吗?
zhèyàng de yòngfǎ zài Zhōngwén lǐ yǒu hěn duō ma?
Is that kind of usage very common in Chinese?
B: 有很多,为了方便,有时候就会使用缩略语或简写。和英语一样啊。
yǒu hěn duō, wèile fāngbiàn, yǒushíhou jiù huì shǐyòng suōlüèyǔ huò jiǎnxiě. hé yīngyǔ yīyàng ā.
Yes, very common, sometimes we use abbreviations or simplifications for convenience sake. The same as in English!
A: 还有没有其他的例子?
hái yǒu méiyǒu qítā de lìzi?
Are there any more examples?
B: 比如说,“流感”的全称是“流行性感冒”,“外企”就是“外资企业”。
bǐrúshuō," liúgǎn” de quánchēng shì" liúxíngxìnggǎnmào”," wàiqǐ” jiùshì" wàizī qǐyè”.
For example, the full name for "流感" is "流行性感冒" and "外企" is the contracted form of "外资企业".
A: 虽然是缩略语,但听上去也很规范。
suīrán shì suōlüèyǔ, dàn tīng shàngqu yě hěn guīfàn.
Even though it is a contraction, it sounds so normal.
B: 不过也有些比较随意,比如“不明觉厉”,你猜猜是什么意思?
bùguò yě yǒuxiē bǐjiào suíyì, bǐrú" bùmíngjuélì”, nǐ cāi cai shì shénme yìsi?
But there are also a few that are a bit more informal, like for example, guess what "不明觉厉" means?

Key Vocabulary

驻京办 zhùjīngbàn BJO (Beijing Office)
减负 jiǎnfù to alleviate someone's burden
缩略语 suōlüèyǔ abbreviation; contraction
zhù stationed in
办事处 bànshìchù office
减轻 jiǎnqīng to alleviate
负担 fùdān burden
用法 yòngfǎ usage
简写 jiǎnxiě simplification
例子 lìzi example
流感 liúgǎn flu
全称 quánchēng full name
外企 wàiqǐ foreign firm
外资 wàizī foreign capital
规范 guīfàn standard; normal
随意 suíyì casual; informal; off the cuff
不明觉厉 bùmíngjuélì to think something is cool without understanding it

Supplementary Vocabulary

偏爱 piānài preference
Shanghai
辛苦 xīnkǔ laborious
人艰不拆 rénjiānbùchāi Life is already hard, so don't expose the truth!
吊丝 diǎosī loser

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