vocab

Chinese words and definitions: (all taken from the book)

chi - spirit
chunwan chihan - If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. Meaning: One thing is always a result of another.
dim sum - traditional chinese way of eating
heimongmong - dark fog
houlu - small stove for burning coal
hulihudu - confused
kai gwa - open the watermelon
nengkan - ability to do anything you put your mind to.
ni kan - "You watch."
shemma yisz - "What does that mean?"
tounau - a very delicious special tonic soup made of eight ingredients intended to guarantee a long life for mothers.
tyandi - heaven and earth
waigoren - an American person
ying yang - chinese way of thinking
ywansyau - sweet sticky dumpling everyone eats to celebrate
zong zi - sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves, can be filled with things such as roasted ham or sweet lotus leaves

Other difficult English vocabulary: (all taken from Webster's Dictionary)

admonish - to reprove mildly, but seriously
apparition - a ghost-like figure
bougainvillea - bush which has large beautiful flowers, often red
brigands - one who plunders and robs
camphor - volatile chrystalline compound used medicinally and as insect repellent
community property - property owned by a group of people
concubine - a woman who is not honored in marriage, prostitute
discordant - lack of accord or harmony
embezzlement - to take fradulently
fiasco - a total failure
insidiously - working or spreading harmfully in a stealthy way
lacquer - a clear or colored synthetic or resinous coating
malignant - exhibiting intense malevolence; abnormal growth
malodorous - having a foul odor
obstinate - stubbornly adhering to opinions
palanquin - a covered litter for one person that is carried on the shoulders of others
phlegmy - thick mucus secreted especially in the respiratory tract
prodigy - exceptionally talented child
saffron-colored - intense orange colored
snifters - pear shaped goblets especially for brandy
staccato - crisply detatched
teakwood - tall evergreen Asian tree