我有一个梦想 wǒ yǒu yí gè mèng xiǎng

Let’s practice formal Chinese. Most of the Chinese stories on this site use mandarin vocabularies that are for daily use. I decide to add some diversity by introducing to you the extract of Martin Luther King,Jr’s (1929-1968) famous speech: I have a dream.

In this Chinese translation of Martin Luther King, Jr’s I have a dream, the overall tone is formal and powerful. You may notice from your learning Chinese experience that we tend to have two sets of vocabularies (if not more): formal & informal. The differences can be very big. In speeches, newspapers, announcements, etc very formal Chinese expressions are used. Here are a few formal expressions in simple Chinese, which you might already know:

• 此时此刻 cǐ shí cǐ kè: 现在, 在这个时候
• 共叙 gòng xù:  一起说, 聊天
• 如同..般 rú tóng ..bān: 好像…
• 有朝一日yǒu zhāo yí rì: 将来有一天

This speech also mentions many places, which we translate phonetically into Chinese (thus sound funny:). For example:

• 密西西比 mì xī xī bǐ  – Mississippi
• 亚拉巴马 yà lā bā mǎ – Alabama
• 佐治亚 zuǒ zhì yà – Georgia
• 路易斯安那 lù yì sī ān nà – Louisiana

or translated into a combination of meaning and sounds, e.g:

南 卡罗莱纳 nán kǎ luó lái nà – South Carolina

I love this speech “I have a dream”, because it is so encouraging and motivating. I hope you’ll find the text useful in practice Chinese.

QUESTION: 你的梦想是什么? What are your dreams? Leave your comments below!

ràng wǒmen huí dào mì xī xī bǐ qù, huí dào yà lā bā mǎ qù, huí dào nán kǎ luó lái nà qù, huí dào zuǒ zhì yà qù, huí dào lù yì sī ān nà qù, huí dào wǒmen běi fāng chéng shì zhōng de pín mín qū hé shǎo shù mín zú jū zhù qū qù, yào xīn zhōng yǒu shù , zhè zhǒng zhuàng kuàng shì néng gòu yě bì jiāng gǎi biàn de.

让我们回到 密西西比 去，回到 亚拉巴马 去，回到 南卡罗来纳 去，回到 佐治亚 去，回到 路易斯安那 去，回到我们北方城市中的 贫民区 和 少数民族居住区 去，要 心中有数 ，这种 状况 是能够也 必将 改变的.

wǒmen bú yào xiàn rù jué wàng ér bú néng zì bá . péng yǒu men, jīn tiān wǒ duì nǐmen shuō, zài cǐ shí cǐ kè, wǒmen suī rán zāo shòu zhǒng zhǒng kùn nán hé cuò zhé , wǒ réng rán yǒu yí gè mèng xiǎng, zhè gè mèng xiǎng shēn shēn zhā gēn yú měi guó de mèng xiǎng zhī zhōng.

我们不要 陷入绝望 而 不能自拔 。朋友们，今天我对你们说，在 此时此刻 ，我们虽然 遭受 种种困难和 挫折 ，我仍然有一个梦想，这个梦想深深 扎根 于美国的梦想之中.

wǒ mèng xiǎng yǒu yì tiān, zhè gè guó jiā huì zhàn lì qǐ lái, zhēn zhèng shí xiàn qí xìn tiáo de zhēn dì : “wǒmen rèn wéi zhēn lǐ shì bú yán ér yù , rén rén shēng ér píng děng 。”

我梦想有一天，这个国家会站立起来，真正实现其 信条 的 真谛 ：“我们认为 真理 是 不言而喻 ，人人生而平等。”

wǒ mèng xiǎng yǒu yì tiān, zài zuǒ zhì yà de hóng shān shàng, xī rì nú lì de ér zi jiāng néng gòu hé xī rì nú lì zhǔ de ér zi zuò zài yì qǐ, gòng xù xiōng dì qíng yì.

我梦想有一天，在佐治亚的红山上， 昔日奴隶 的儿子将能够和昔日 奴隶主 的儿子坐在一起， 共叙 兄弟情谊。

wǒ mèng xiǎng yǒu yì tiān, shèn zhì lián mì xī xī bǐ zhōu zhè ge zhèng yì nì jì , yā pò chéng fēng , rú tóng shā mò bān de dì fāng, yě jiāng biàn chéng zì yóu hé zhèng yì de lǜ zhōu .

我梦想有一天，甚至连密西西比州这个 正义匿迹，压迫成风 ， 如同沙漠般 的地方，也将变成 自由 和 正义 的 绿洲 。

wǒ mèng xiǎng yǒu yì tiān, wǒ de sì gè hái zi jiāng zài yí gè bú shì yǐ tāmen de fū sè , ér shì yǐ tāmen de pǐn gé yōu liè lái píng jià tāmen de guó dù lǐ shēng huó.

我梦想有一天，我的四个孩子将在一个不是以他们的 肤色 ，而是以他们的 品格优劣 来 评价 他们的国度里生活。

jīn tiān, wǒ yǒu yí gè mèng xiǎng.

今天，我有一个梦想。

wǒ mèng xiǎng yǒu yì tiān, yà lā bā mǎ zhōu néng gòu yǒu suǒ zhuǎn biàn, jìn guǎn gāi zhōu zhōu zhǎng xiàn zài réng rán mǎn kǒu yì yì , fǎn duì lián bāng fǎ lìng , dàn yǒu zhāo yí rì , nà lǐ de hēi rén nán hái hé nǚ hái jiāng néng yǔ bái rén nán hái hé nǚ hái qíng tóng gǔ ròu, xié shǒu bìng jìn .

我梦想有一天，亚拉巴马州能够有所转变，尽管该州 州长 现在仍然 满口异议 ，反对 联邦法令 ，但 有朝一日 ，那里的黑人男孩和女孩将能与白人男孩和女孩 情同骨肉，携手并进 。

jīn tiān, wǒ yǒu yí gè mèng xiǎng.

今天，我有一个梦想.

Vocabs :

梦想 mèng xiǎng: dream

密西西比 mì xī xī bǐ: Mississippi

亚拉巴马 yà lā bā mǎ: Alabama

南卡罗来纳 nán kǎ luó lái nà: South Carolina

佐治亚 zuǒ zhì yà: Georgia

路易斯安那 lù yì sī ān nà: Louisiana

贫民区 pín mín qū: slum area

少数民族 shǎo shù mín zú: minority group

心中有数 xīn zhōng yǒu shù: feel certain in heart (idiom)

状况 zhuàng kuàng: situation

必将 bì jiāng : for sure will be…

陷入绝望 xiàn rù jué wàng: sink into desperation

不能自拔 bù néng zì bá: can not get out from (a bad situation)

此时此刻 cǐ shí cǐ kè: at this moment (formal)

遭受 zāo shòu: to suffer

困难 kùn nán: difficulty (n.)

挫折 cuò zhé: setback (n.)

扎根 zhā gēn: to put root in

信条的真谛 xìn tiáo de zhēn dì: true meaning of the creed

真理 zhēn lǐ: the truth

不言而喻 bù yán ér yù: go without say, (something is) obvious

昔日 xī rì: in the past (formal)

奴隶 nú lì: slaves

奴隶主 nú lì zhǔ: slave owners

共叙 gòng xù: to talk/discuss together (formal)

正义 zhèng yì: justice

匿迹 nì jì: to disappear (formal)

压迫成风 yā pò chéng fēng: to swelter with oppression

如同…般 rú tóng …bān: similar to.., as to… (formal)

沙漠 shā mò: desert (n.)

自由 zì yóu: freedom

绿洲 lǜ zhōu: oasis

肤色 fū sè: skin color

品格 pǐn gé: (person’s) quality, trait

优劣 yōu liè: good or bad

评价 píng jià: to evaluate

州长 zhōu zhǎng: the state governor

满口异议 mǎn kǒu yì yì: disagree completely (literal: mouth full of disagreement; idiom)

联邦法令 lián bāng fǎ lìng: federal law

有朝一日 yǒu zhāo yí rì: one day in the future (formal)

情同骨肉 qíng tóng gǔ ròu: bond like brotherhood

携手并进 xié shǒu bìng jìn: to go forward hand in hand (idiom)

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