A structured way to learn basic Chinese vocabulary and phrases related to Christianity explain the Gospel in Chinese comprehend Chinese sermons start praying in Chinese begin reading the Bible in Chinese learnCnese.wordpress.com Shout-out to everyone who contributed to the material by writing example sentences and prayers, helping with the Chinese or offering suggestions. Thank you so much! Questions and suggestions are more than welcome! Email: [email protected] The latest version of the Cnese material can be downloaded for free at learnCnese.wordpress.com You can and are encouraged to distribute this material in any form, so long as you do not charge money for it. If you develop any additional material that you feel might be helpful for learning Cnese, feel free to send it to the above email. Version 1.0 August 2016 Table of contents Introduction to Cnese ............................................................................................................................. 1 Cnese per Topic ....................................................................................................................................... 3 1 - Basic C-words ................................................................................................................................. 4 2 - Gospel: The basic Gospel ............................................................................................................... 9 3 - Gospel: From the Bible narrative ................................................................................................. 15 4 - Gospel: From Sin to the Gospel ................................................................................................... 22 5 - C-life: A meeting, Praying............................................................................................................. 29 6 - C-life: The Christian life ................................................................................................................ 35 7 - C-life: Spiritual fruits and gifts ..................................................................................................... 43 8 - C-life: Theology proper, Theology+ .............................................................................................. 48 9 - C-life: Sin ...................................................................................................................................... 55 10 - Bible: OT Narrative ..................................................................................................................... 60 11 - Bible: NT Narrative ..................................................................................................................... 67 12 - World: Religions, Holidays ......................................................................................................... 75 13 - Extra: Place names, Church history ........................................................................................... 82 Praying in Chinese ................................................................................................................................. 85 Reading the Chinese Bible .................................................................................................................... 95 Appendix 1 - Books of the Bible ...................................................................................................... 117 Appendix 2 - Some Grammar .......................................................................................................... 120 Introduction to Cnese Many of the missionaries and foreign believers here in China are unfamiliar with much of the Christianity-related Chinese vocabulary, even though their Chinese is already at intermediate or even advanced level. Sharing the Gospel in Chinese, attending local meetings, praying in Chinese, are all on the other side of this language barrier. While understandable (normal textbooks do not teach you any of these words, nor do HSK wordlists include them), it is still a problem: it limits the opportunity for sharing with those who don’t speak English; hinders the continuity of the work; and is demotivating. The goal of the Cnese material therefore is to provide a structured way to Pray for learn basic Chinese vocabulary and phrases related to Christianity, with the goal of being able to: explain the Gospel in Chinese, comprehend your own Chinese sermons, start praying in Chinese and begin reading the Bible in and your Chinese. If you are a Christian and colleagues’ - are learning Chinese at any level; - would like to share the Gospel in Chinese; progress in - want to witness to Chinese people; - think praying in Chinese is difficult learning - are intimidated by the prospect of reading the Chinese Bible; - want to be able to understand a sermon in Chinese; Chinese. then I think Cnese will be useful for you. Cnese includes sections suitable and challenging for both beginning and advanced Chinese learners. It is also designed to fit different learning styles. This means you can pick the sections that suit your level and work well with your preferred style of learning Chinese. Content The material is divided in three main sections. 1. Chinese Christian vocabulary per topic This section introduces Christian vocabulary arranged per topic (TIP: the chapter order is not fixed, you can choose the topics you want). Each chapter includes a word list, some Bible verses to read and various challenges and exercises. Printable flashcards for the words in each chapter are available on the Cnese website (learncnese.wordpress.com). 2. Praying in Chinese To help you begin praying in Chinese, this section includes a number of short prayers written by different brothers and sisters, covering different kinds of prayers and topics. Each prayer has its translation next to it. 3. Reading the Bible in Chinese To help you start reading the Bible in Chinese, this section includes most of the difficult or uncommon words from key passages from the New Testament (primarily covering the life of Jesus), as well as that Scripture in Chinese. Appendix 2 includes an explanation of some Chinese grammar used in the Bible. The appendices in the back contain additional words and grammar help for reading the Bible. 1 Tips for learning Chinese Learning a language only really begins when you leave the classroom or close the book. Fill your life with Chinese (especially those of you living in China). My advice to learners at all levels: use Chinese as much as you can, and if you can’t fully express yourself in Chinese, mix. And start now. - In sharing the Gospel, repeat yourself in Chinese whenever you can, especially for key concepts. - In your time alone with God, start praying in Chinese, even if it is just partially (I know it feels strange, but do it anyway! It is very refreshing to really have to think about what you say to God). - Start attending a local fellowship. Try reading the lyrics of the songs they sing. Pay attention during the whole sermon and try to get the main point. - Start listening to Chinese worship songs, some suggestions can be found below. Other resources Music There is a lot of Chinese Christian music, both original and translated songs. www.zanmeishi.com has a large database of Christian music and performers. Find songs you like and try to understand the lyrics. When you are in a Chinese meeting, note down artists and songs you like. Some suggestions: - 约书亚乐团 – YueShuYaYueTuan – Joshua Band (also known as just 约书亚 – YueShuYa) Joshua Band has a lot of translated songs from Hillsong, Gateway Worship, Bethel, etc; - 小羊诗歌 – XiaoYangShiGe – Lamb Music; - 生命河灵粮堂 – ShengMingHeLingLiangTang – River of Life Church. Sermons and other resources Grace Online (恩典在线, edzx.com/index.php) has a ton of sermons, articles and other Christian resources. Desiring God (desiringgod.org/all-resources/by-language/chinese-simplified) has translations of the transcripts of many of John Piper’s sermons. Wechat channels There are many great Christian Wechat channels (公众号), providing videos and other Christian resources in Chinese. Two recommendations to start: 1. yesHEis, Wechat ID: yesHEis2014 2. 圣经_每日一句 (Bible every day), Wechat ID: bibleeveryday 神是我心里的力量, 又是我的福分, 直到永远 -Psalm 73: 19 2 Cnese per Topic Each chapter, each topic in this section contains some or all of the parts below. The difficulty of each part is indicated by the number of stars (//). Words Cnese introduces 300+ Chinese words related to the Gospel, the Christian life, the Bible narrative and theology. The wordlists include the Chinese and English translations of each word, the word’s grammatical function, and several example sentences written by Chinese Christians to show its use. (For an explanation of the grammar used in some of these sentences, check out Appendix 2. Some words are marked with a ‘*’, meaning some extra explanation is given in the notes under the table. Flashcards To help you study, printable flashcards for the words in each chapter are available on the Cnese website (learncnese.wordpress.com). Exercises Exercises are not always fun, but they’re helpful. Try to make the exercises as much as possible. The exercises are all aimed at preparing you for different places you might use or run into Cnese in real life. Complete the sentence/dialogue To help you practice and apply the words from each chapter, this exercise challenges you to use them in sentences and small dialogues. Verses to read Tackling the big challenge of reading the Bible in