Word for today: thrave

音 - yīn - music, sound, tone 音乐 - yīnyuè - music 话音 - huàyīn - tone, voice 声音 - shēngyīn - sound, noise, voice

意 - yì - thought, idea, opinion 意见 - yìjiàn - view, idea, thought, opinion 意义 - yìyì - meaning, significance

竟 - jìng - finally, at last, after all 竟然 - jìngrán - unexpectedly, surprisingly 竟自 - jìngzì - unexpectedly, to one's surprise

镜 - jìng - mirror glass 镜头 - jìngtóu - camera lens 镜片 - jìngpiàn - lens 镜花水月 - jìnghuāshuǐyuè - flowers in a mirror or moon in the water (a very pretty idiom with the meaning of an illusion)

暗 - àn - dark, secret 暗暗 - ànàn - secretly 暗淡 - àndàn - dim, faint, dark 暗察明坊 - ànchámíngfāng - to investigate and understand a situation using various methods

境 - jìng - boundary, area, region 境界 - jìngjiè - boundary, a state 环境 - huánjìng - environment 入境 - rùjìng - to enter a country 出境 - chūjìng - to exit a country

韵 - yùn - rhyme, vowel 韵律 - yùnlǜ - prosody (the metrical rules such as tone patterns, rhyme, and parallelism used in poetry) 韵文 - yùnwén - a literary genre that arranges sentences according to a specific rhythm (e.g. specific types of poems such as Tang poetry, etc) 韵人韵事 - yùnrényùnshì - a charming man enjoys charming interests (an idiom meaning elegant people doing elegant things basically e.g. drinking tea under a moon, painting or playing instruments.)

谙 - ān - versed in, acquainted with 谙练 - ānliàn - skilled, proficient in something 深谙 - shēnān - to know something very well 深谙世故 - shēnānshìgù - having seen much of life, well-versed in life

韶 - sháo - originally this was name of an ancient musical piece, said to have been created during the time of Emperor Shun. Later, it's meaning changed to mean something beautiful. 韶光 - sháoguāng - beautiful 韶华似水 - sháohuásìshuǐ - time/youth passes like flowing water

黯 - àn - dark, sullen, dreary 黯淡 - àndàn - similar to 暗淡, meaning dark and gloomy 黯然失色 - ànránshīsè - to be cast into the shadows/ to be overlooked 黯黑 - ànhēi - pitch dark

喑 - yīn - mute 喑哑 - yīnyǎ - mute 万马齐喑 - wànmǎqíyīn - 10 thousand horses standing mute (an idiom meaning a situation where no one dares to speak up)

歆 - xīn - to like, admire 歆慕 - xīn mù - to admire something 歆羡 - xīn xiàn - same meaning, also means to admire something

Do you ever find yourself over-using the word “said” in your writing? Try using these words/phrases instead:

stated

commented

declared

spoke

responded

voiced

noted

uttered

iterated

explained

remarked

acknowledged

mentioned

announced

shouted

expressed

articulated

exclaimed

proclaimed

whispered

babbled

observed

deadpanned

joked

hinted

informed

coaxed

offered

cried

affirmed

vocalized

laughed

ordered

suggested

admitted

verbalized

indicated

confirmed

apologized

muttered

proposed

chatted

lied

rambled

talked

pointed out

blurted out

chimed in

brought up

wondered aloud

I. Intent, desire, preference

aimer (que) – to like that

aimer mieux (que) – to prefer that

commander (que) – to order that

défendre (que) – to forbid that

demander (que) – to ask that

désirer (que) – to desire that

empêcher (que) – to prevent (from)

exiger (que) – to demand that

interdire (que) – to forbid that

ordonner (que) – to order that

permettre (que) – to permit that

préférer (que) – to prefer that

proposer (que) – to propose that

recommander (que) – to recommend that

souhaiter (que) – to wish that

suggérer (que) – to suggest that

tenir à (ce que) – to insist that

vouloir (que) – to want that

II. Emotion, feeling

adorer (que) – to love that

avoir honte (que) – to be ashamed that

avoir peur (que) – to be afraid that (+ ne explétif)

craindre (que) – to fear that (+ ne explétif)

détester (que) – to hate that

être content / heureux (que) – to be happy that

être désolé (que) – to be sorry that

être étonné (que) – to be surprised that

être fâché (que) – to be angry that

être fier (que) – to be proud that

être furieux (que) – to be furious that

être inquiet (que) – to be worried that

être ravi (que) – to be delighted that

être reconnaissant (que) – to be grateful that

être satisfait (que) – to be satisfied that

être surpris (que) – to be surprised that

être triste (que) – to be sad that

il est bizarre (que) – it is odd that

il est dommage (que) – it is a shame that

il est étonnant (que) – it is surprising that

il est étrange (que) – it is strange that

il est heureux (que) – it is fortunate that

il est incroyable (que) – it is incredible that

il est irritant (que) – it is irritating that

il est navrant (que) – it is distressing that

il est regrettable (que) – it is regrettable that

il est surprenant (que) – it is surprising that

il est triste (que) – it is sad that

redouter (que) – to dread that (+ ne explétif)

regretter (que) – to regret that

III. Doubt, uncertainty, denial

contester (que) – to challenge/contest that

douter (que) – to doubt that

il est douteux (que) – it is doubtful that

il est faux (que) – it is false that

il est impossible (que) – it is impossible that

il est improbable (que) – it is improbable that

il est incertain (que) – it is uncertain that

il n'est pas clair (que) – it is not clear that

il n'est pas évident (que) – it is not obvious that

il n'est pas probable (que) – it is not likely that

il n'est pas sûr (que) – it is not certain that

il n'est pas vrai (que) – it is not true that

nier (que) – to deny that (might use indicative if affirming a fact)

IV. Opinion, judgment, necessity

il est absurde (que) – it is absurd that

il est avantageux (que) – it is advantageous that

il est bon (que) – it is good that

il est capital (que) – it is crucial that

il est convenable (que) – it is proper that

il est curieux (que) – it is curious that

il est décevant (que) – it is disappointing that

il est déplorable (que) – it is deplorable that

il est difficile (que) – it is unlikely that

il est essentiel (que) – it is essential that

il est facile (que) – it is easy that (rare, often indicative)

il est important (que) – it is important that

il est indispensable (que) – it is indispensable that

il est injuste (que) – it is unfair that

il est inutile (que) – it is useless that

il est juste (que) – it is right/just that

il est logique (que) – it is logical that

il est naturel (que) – it is natural that

il est nécessaire (que) – it is necessary that

il est normal (que) – it is normal that

il est obligatoire (que) – it is obligatory that

il est préférable (que) – it is preferable that

il est rare (que) – it is rare that

il est souhaitable (que) – it is desirable that

il est temps (que) – it is time that

il est urgent (que) – it is urgent that

il faut (que) – it is necessary that (must)

il se peut (que) – it may be that

il vaut mieux (que) – it is better that

V. Conjunctions

à condition (que) – provided that

à moins (que)... (ne) – unless

afin (que) – so that

ainsi (que) – just as, so that (literary)

avant (que)... (ne) – before

bien (que) – although

de crainte (que)... (ne) – for fear that

de façon (que) – so that (result)

de manière (que) – so that (result)

de peur (que)... (ne) – for fear that

en attendant (que) – while, until

jusqu'à ce (que) – until

pour (que) – so that

pourvu (que) – provided that

quoique – although

sans (que) – without

soit (que)... soit (que) – whether... or

VI. Other important verbal structures

accepter (que) – to accept that

chercher... (qui) – to look for someone who

comprendre (que) – to understand that (emotional)

se désoler (que) – to be dismayed that

dire (que) – to say that (only in negative/interrogative)

éviter (que)... (ne) – to avoid (that)

faire en sorte (que) – to arrange it so that

il s'en faut (que) – it is far from being the case that

mériter (que) – to deserve that

penser (que) – to think that (only in negative/interrogative)

refuser (que) – to refuse that

se réjouir (que) – to be delighted that

supporter (que) – to bear, stand that

trouver (que) – to find that (in Il est troublant que... or negative/interrogative of opinion)

voir (que) – to see that (in negative/interrogative of perception)

Read more: subjunctive mood, expletive ne

Recently learned that "je suis" has two different meanings.

"I am" & "I follow"

Être = je suis, tu es, il/elle/on est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont

Suivre = je suis, tu suis, il/elle/on suit, nous suivons, vous suivez, ils/elles suivent

So, if you see "je te suis," it doesn't mean "I am you."

richard serra

When I was a young writer, I was told that I often started my sentences with "there is/there was/there are." I was told to eliminate those as much as possible.

I couldn't believe how often I used them. My first novel was completely littered with them.

I learned to diversify and grow my use of verbs. Instead of the state-of-being verbs, like "is" which isn't very descriptive at all, I started using stronger verbs.

Instead of writing "There were a bunch of trees on the hill" I wrote "A cluster of trees towered over the hill."

"Towered" is a much stronger verb than "Is"