HSK5 – Technology, Media and Art Words

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Chinese Vocabulary · 中文词汇

Technology, Media and Art Words in Chinese

科技与媒体艺术词汇 kējì yǔ méitǐ yìshù cíhuì

In mainland China, a QR code is called 二维码 (èrwéimǎ). In Taiwan, though, people rarely say it: in daily life most of us just say “QR code” in English, as in “please scan the QR code.”

In Taiwan, the code you show at the cashier is often your 载具 (zàijù, literally “carrier”): a barcode on your phone that is linked to your e-invoice account (电子发票 (diànzǐ fāpiào)). The shop saves your receipt electronically, so you don’t need a paper one, and you will often hear the cashier ask, “Do you have a 载具 (zàijù)?” The best part is that every invoice automatically enters the 统一发票 (tǒngyī fāpiào) lottery, drawn every two months, with top prizes as high as NT$10 million. That is why many people check their numbers with a little hope of winning.

Gadgets and gear

Technology and Electronics Words in Chinese

ChinesePinyinEnglishKoreanJapanese
电池diànchíBattery배터리; 건전지電池
电器diànqìElectrical appliance전자제품; 가전電気器具
电子版diànzǐbǎnElectronic version전자판電子版
二维码èrwéimǎQR codeQR코드QRコード
键盘jiànpánKeyboard키보드キーボード
机器人jīqìrénRobot로봇ロボット
计算机jìsuànjīComputer컴퓨터コンピューター
屏幕píngmùScreen화면画面
软件ruǎnjiànSoftware소프트웨어ソフトウェア
鼠标shǔbiāoComputer mouse마우스マウス
数据shùjùData데이터データ
网络wǎngluòNetwork; internet네트워크; 인터넷ネットワーク

电脑 (diànnǎo) vs 计算机 (jìsuànjī)

This is a classic trap. In mainland China, 计算机 (jìsuànjī) means “computer,” and the everyday word is also 电脑 (diànnǎo). In Taiwan, the usual word for computer is 电脑 (diànnǎo), and 计算机 (jìsuànjī) means “calculator.”

More Taiwan vs mainland pairs

屏幕 (screen): Taiwan says yíngmù and mainland China says píngmù. 软件 (software): Taiwan says ruǎntǐ and mainland China says ruǎnjiàn. 网络 (network; internet): Taiwan says wǎnglù and mainland China says wǎngluò.

Putting it all together

Examples

这个zhè ge软件ruǎnjiàn可以kěyǐ帮bāng你nǐ整理zhěnglǐ数据shùjùThis software can help you organize data.

请qǐng扫sǎo这个zhè ge二维码èrwéimǎ，就jiù可以kěyǐ看到kàndào电子版diànzǐbǎnPlease scan this QR code and you can see the electronic version.

Screen and stage

Media and Art Words in Chinese

ChinesePinyinEnglishKoreanJapanese
导演dǎoyǎnDirector감독監督
动画dònghuàAnimation; cartoon애니메이션アニメ
歌词gēcíSong lyrics가사歌詞
歌曲gēqǔSong노래歌
国画guóhuàTraditional Chinese painting중국화中国画
纪录片jìlùpiànDocumentary다큐멘터리ドキュメンタリー
美术měishùFine arts미술美術
明星míngxīngStar; celebrity스타スター
摄影shèyǐngPhotography사진 촬영撮影
舞蹈wǔdǎoDance무용ダンス
舞台wǔtáiStage무대舞台
影片yǐngpiànFilm; movie; video영화; 영상映画; 映像

Putting it all together

Examples

这首zhè shǒu歌曲gēqǔ的de歌词gēcí很hěn感人gǎnrén，我wǒ听了tīng le好几遍hǎo jǐ biànThe lyrics of this song are very touching, and I listened to it several times.

导演dǎoyǎn拍了pāi le一部yí bù纪录片jìlùpiàn，介绍jièshào传统chuántǒng的de国画guóhuà艺术yìshùThe director made a documentary introducing the art of traditional Chinese painting.

Test yourself

Vocabulary Quiz

HSK5
Do you like it? 🙂