My Cat is an Arsonist 🐱🔥
Has your cat ever tried to set your home on fire?
Word of the Week: 纵火犯 (Zòng huǒ fàn) - Arsonist
An unexpected criminal was on the loose last month in Sichuan Province. A cat named “Jin Gou Diao“ 🐱 set fire to a kitchen by “accidentally’’ turning on an induction cooker while her owner was outside playing Mahjong.
The feline malefactor was quickly caught hiding in a closet and was then forced to work doing livestreams in order to repay the damages caused by the fire.
Let’s take a look at what kind of vocabulary this story can teach us!
中国四川一只小猫在家时意外误开电磁炉，导致发生火灾，单位内所有物品几乎被烧毁。小猫未有受伤，惟女主人为了小猫弥补家中高达10万元人民币的损失，让小猫“下海”，在网上开直播赚钱还债。
电磁炉 (Diàncílú) - Electric stove or induction cooker.
火灾 (Huǒzāi) - Fire disaster or fire accident.
弥补 (Míbǔ) - To make up for; to compensate for; to remedy.
下海 (Xiàhǎi) - To go into business. It is often used figuratively to mean entering into a new field, especially in business or entrepreneurship.
还债 (Huánzhài) - To repay a debt; to settle a debt.
In Sichuan, China, a kitten accidentally turned on the induction cooker while at home, causing a fire that nearly destroyed all items in the unit. The kitten was unharmed, but in order to compensate for the loss of nearly 100,000 RMB, the owner made the kitten "go into business," broadcasting live online to earn money to repay the debt.
中媒报导，该只名叫“金勾钓”的英国短毛猫近日在网上爆红，因为顽皮的它意外误开电磁炉，导致发生火警。女主人丹丹在网上分享家中惨况，照片中可看到，厨房原本雪白的墙面和天花都被烧黑，现场一片狼藉。丹丹表示，当时自己在外打麻将，幸好消防员及时赶到现场，把火势扑灭。当时“金勾钓”躲在柜中，虽然全身沾满黑灰，从橘猫变成灰猫，但是没有受伤。
英国短毛猫 (Yīngguó duǎnmáo māo) - British Shorthair cat.
爆红 (Bàohóng) - To become extremely popular or trendy; to go viral.
顽皮 (Wánpí) - Playful; mischievous; naughty.
惨况 (Cǎnkuàng) - Dire situation; dismal condition; plight.
狼藉 (Lángjí) - Utter mess; shambles; chaos.
扑灭 (Pūmiè) - To extinguish; to put out (fire); to quench.
Chinese media reports that a British Shorthair cat named "Jin Gou Diao" recently went viral online because of its mischievous act of accidentally turning on the induction cooker, causing a fire. The owner, Dandan, shared the dismal situation at home online. In the photos, you can see that the once pristine white walls and ceiling of the kitchen were charred black, and the scene was in utter chaos. Dandan stated that she was playing mahjong outside when the incident happened, thankfully the firefighters arrived promptly and extinguished the fire. At the time, "Jin Gou Diao" was hiding in a cabinet. Although covered in black soot, transforming from an orange cat to a gray one, it was unharmed.
她指出，重新装修单位估计要预估最少10万元人民币，她决定要罪魁祸首“金勾钓”帮忙还债，在其身上挂上“纵火犯”、“直播还债”等牌子，结果猫咪无辜的模样意外爆红，真的获得许多网民帮忙赞助，让她笑称“这下猫的身价真的上10万了”。
罪魁祸首 (Zuìkuí huòshǒu) - The principal culprit; the main instigator; the chief perpetrator of a crime or wrongdoing.
纵火犯 (Zònghuǒ fàn) - Arsonist.
无辜 (Wúgū) - Innocent; blameless; not guilty.
She pointed out that the estimated cost for renovating the unit is at least 100,000 RMB. She decided to make the main culprit, "Jin Gou Diao," help repay the debt by hanging signs on it such as "Arsonist" and "Live Stream Debt Repayment." As a result, the innocent appearance of the cat unexpectedly went viral, and it truly received a lot of support and sponsorship from netizens. She jokingly remarked, "Now the cat's value has really exceeded 100,000."
A Look into the Character 灾
Sometimes we love how Chinese characters are just so obvious. The character 灾 means “Disaster; misfortune,” and we can see why when looking at it; on the top, you have 宀 meaning roof, and at the bottom, you have 火, meaning fire. A fire in your home is definitely a disaster!
But wait! The most interesting part is when comparing this character with its traditional counterpart. The traditional version is 災, which, while giving the same meaning, tells an entirely different story; instead of a roof, you now have 巛, representing flowing water. Meaning that the original representation of a disaster was that of floods and fires!
The funny thing is, both the traditional and simplified versions actually have the exact same number of strokes: 7. So why do you think this character needed a change?
Antoine & Dorota