Descrizione
Luke Wragg is eleven years old. He has been dancing since he was five, trains at the Royal Ballet School Junior Associates, and his ambition is to join the Royal Ballet Company and dance for the rest of his life. In Chinese, to say your age you place the number before 歲 (suì): Luke is 十一歲 (shí yī suì), eleven years old, and when ShaoLan asked him how old he would be next year, he answered in Chinese without hesitating. The character 歲 carries a story as old as the solar system: in ancient China, it was the symbol for Jupiter, because the Chinese used the movement of the five visible planets to build their calendar, and Jupiter's cycle became the measure of a year. One planet, one year, one age: the logic runs all the way through.
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*⏰ TIMESTAMPS:*
0:00 - Introducing Luke Wragg and how to say your age in Chinese
1:00 - 歲 (suì): the character for years old and the Jupiter origin
2:00 - 我十一歲 (wǒ shí yī suì): I am eleven years old
2:45 - Numbers one to ten in Chinese, then building eleven to thirteen
3:30 - 你幾歲 (nǐ jǐ suì): how old are you and how to answer
4:15 - Luke's ambition: joining the Royal Ballet Company at 十八歲
In ancient China, the character 歲 was Jupiter. The planet's orbit around the sun defined a year. Every time you say your age in Chinese, you are counting revolutions of the solar system as the ancients observed them.
*📖 KEY VOCABULARY:*
Year(s)-old: 歲 (suì)
I: 我 (wǒ)
Eleven: 十一 (shí yī)
Ten: 十 (shí)
Five: 五 (wǔ)
I am 11 years old: 我十一歲 (wǒ shí yī suì)
How old are you?: 你幾歲? (nǐ jǐ suì?)
*👤 ABOUT THE GUEST:*
Luke Wragg began dancing at the age of five at Bluebirds Ballet School, London. He trains at the Royal Ballet School Junior Associates, holds a full scholarship at Danceworks International Ballet Academy, and has been awarded the Paul Watson Bursary at Tring Park twice.
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Talk Chineasy is a daily podcast hosted by ShaoLan, creator of the award-winning Chineasy method featured on TED. In each 7-minute episode, ShaoLan and a guest explore Chinese characters, culture, and language through stories that make Mandarin unforgettable. 300+ episodes available.
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