秀(xiù)”-He likes to show off!

At the recently concluded 2014 Inchon Asian Games, Ning Zetao won the gold medal in the Men’s 100m Freestyle Final and set a new Asian Games record. Now he is called “泳坛新秀(yǒngtán xīnxiù)” by the media. Here, “泳坛新秀(yǒngtán xīnxiù)” means a new swimming star.

“秀(xiù)” literarily means beautiful, elegant and pretty. It can also refer to excellent talent like a “新秀(xīnxiù),” which means an up-and-coming youngster or promising young person. The term “歌坛新秀(gētán xīnxiù)” can be used to refer to new, popular singers and “体坛新秀(tǐtán xīnxiù)” refers to new talents in a given sport.

Examples

Lǐ Jiā:  Nǐ tīngshuō ɡuò TFBOYS ma?
李 佳:你  听说      过   TFBOYS 吗?
Li Jia: Have you ever heard of TFBOYS?

Zhāng Kě: Dāngránlā! Tāmen kěshì yǎnyìquān de xīnxiù.
张       可: 当然啦 !    他们     可是   演艺圈     的  新秀。
Zhanɡ Ke: Of course! They are new, popular stars in show business.

Since “秀” can also be a transliteration of the word “show,” from it a number of new phrases have been derived which are related to networks and TV.

When “秀(xiù)” is used as a noun, it means “performance”, such as “中国达人秀(zhōnɡɡuó dárénxiù) China’s Got Talent,” “脱口秀(tuōkǒuxiù) Talk Show,” “真人秀(zhēnrénxiù) Reality Show,” and so on.

Examples

Lǐ Míng: Nǐ zuì xǐhuan de diànshì jiémù shì shénme?
李  明 :你 最   喜欢    的   电视    节目   是    什么?
Li Minɡ: What’s your favorite TV show?

Wáng Lì:  Àilún xiù,  tā shì wǒ zuì xǐhuan de tuōkǒuxiù jiémù.   Nǐ ne?
王       丽:艾伦 秀,它 是  我  最    喜欢  的   脱口秀    节目 。你 呢?
Wanɡ Li: Allen Show is my favorite talk show. How about you?

Lǐ Míng: Wǒ xǐhuan kàn zhòngguó dárénxiù.
李  明: 我    喜欢    看      中国        达人秀 。
Li Minɡ: I like China’s Got Talent.

When “秀(xiù)” is used as a verb, it means “to show” or “show off”. Usually, it is used in the following format: “秀(xiù) + something.” For example, “秀恩爱(xiù ēn’ài) show affection in public,” “秀厨艺(xiù chúyì) show one’s cooking skills,” etc.

Examples

Lǐ Míng: John wēibó shàng zǒngshì yǒu hěnduō tā gēn tā nǚpéngyou de zhàopiàn.
李  明: John   微博    上        总是    有    很多    他  跟  他   女朋友      的   照片。
Li Minɡ: There are always many photos of John and his girlfriend on his Weibo page.

Xiǎo Wáng: Tā hěn xǐhuan xiù ēn’ài.
小      王:    他 很    喜欢   秀  恩爱。
Xiao Wanɡ: He enjoys showing affection in public!

Jīnwǎn wǒ gěi nǐmen zuòfàn, xiùyixiù wǒ de chúyì.
今晚     我  给   你们   做饭, 秀一秀  我  的  厨艺 。
I’ll cook tonight to show you my cooking skills.

Zhǔchírén: Māmamen, xiù yí xià nǐmen jiā de xiǎobǎobèi ba!
主持人:      妈妈 们, 秀 一 下  你们    家 的   小宝贝     吧!
Hostess: Mothers, come forward and show off your babies!

Quizzes

1. Tā shì NBA  de xīnxiù qiúyuán.
     他  是   NBA 的   新秀    球员。

What we can know from this?

A. He likes to show off his basketball skills.

B. It’s the first time for him to play basketball.

C. He is a new, promising basketball player.

2. Tīngshuō nǐ mǎi iPhone 6s le,   kuài ___ yí xià   nǐ de xīn shǒujī.
      听说        你 买   iPhone 6s了,快   ___ 一 下  你 的  新   手机。

A. 秀(xiù)

B. 拿(ná)

C. 给(gěi)

 

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