Who is "The Apple of Your Eye?" Describe Them with "心肝宝贝 (Xīngān bǎo bèi)!"

Can you imagine that your eye has an apple in it? And, can you imagine that this same apple in your eye represents a person you are extremely fond of? Well, sometimes expressions are a bit hard to understand, just like "the apple of my eye." In Mandarin Chinese, that person, the dear apple, that you are extremely fond of is not represented in your eye, but rather in your heart and liver. Confused? Well, I will explain how this person moved to these body parts in today’s lesson about the Chinese expression "心肝宝贝 (xīngān bǎobèi)."

The origin of the expression "心肝宝贝 (xīngān bǎobèi)" actually comes from ancient Chinese medicine, or "中医情结 (zhōngyī qíngjié)", something very mysterious to non-Chinese. In ancient Chinese medicine, each organ has a specific role, often with a metaphorical meaning such as "general", "advisor", "judge", etc.

心 (Xīn) heart:
The heart is the official monarch of the body. The monarch is the king of a country, and the true son of heaven. A country cannot be without a king. The "心 (xīn) heart" is the first character of the expression "心肝宝贝 (xīngān bǎobèi)", and it means that "you" are the king in my world. I am yours, my heart is yours.

肝 (Gān) liver:
The liver is the official general of the body. In the minds of the Chinese people, the general's duty is to protect and defend the country, just like the liver protects... Read More

Introduction:

Family is a very important part of any culture, but especially in China. It’s important when learning Chinese to know how to address family members, especially those that are older in the family, in a proper way. This kids’ song is a great way to teach a child all of the immediate family names.

Lyrics:

Bàba de bàba jiào shénme?
爸爸的爸爸叫什么？
What do you call your dad’s dad?

Bàba de bàba jiào yéye.
爸爸的爸爸叫爷爷。
Dad’s father is called grandpa.

Bàba de māma jiào shénme?
爸爸的妈妈叫什么？
What do you call your dad’s mom?

Bàba de māma jiào nǎinai.
爸爸的妈妈叫奶奶。
Dad’s mom is called grandma.

Bàba de gēge jiào shénme?
爸爸的哥哥叫什么？
What do you call your dad’s elder brother?

Bàba de gēge jiào bóbo.
爸爸的哥哥叫伯伯。
Dad’s brother is called uncle.

Bàba de dìdi jiào shénme?
爸爸的弟弟叫什么？
What do you call your dad’s younger brother?

... Read More

Quiz:
1. What do you call your dad’s sister in Chinese?