A toddler has fallen asleep standing up, face on the sofa, with the lollipop still in his hand. He never let go of the 棒棒糖.

棒棒糖 (bàng bàng táng) means “lollipop.” 棒 is a stick and 糖 is candy or sugar: stick-stick candy.

Count lollipops with 根 (gēn): 一根棒棒糖 (yì gēn bàngbàngtáng).

我想吃棒棒糖。 — Wǒ xiǎng chī bàngbàngtáng. — I want a lollipop.

他手里拿着一根棒棒糖。 — Tā shǒu li názhe yì gēn bàngbàngtáng. — He is holding a lollipop.

A cat sits on top of a utility pole and will not come down. Stay (居) high (高), not (不) down (下): 居高不下.

居高不下 (jū gāo bù xià) is a set phrase meaning “to remain high” or “to stay stubbornly high.” It is used for numbers that will not come down, such as prices, temperatures or unemployment. The cat on the pole is the literal picture.

In speech, 不 changes to a rising tone before a falling tone, so the phrase is pronounced jū gāo bú xià.

房价居高不下。 — Fángjià jū gāo bú xià. — Housing prices remain high.

气温居高不下。 — Qìwēn jū gāo bú xià. — Temperatures are staying high.

Two yellow leaves and two red ones make the wings, with a green leaf for the body. Leaves that look ready to fly: 蝴蝶.

蝴蝶 (hú dié) means “butterfly.” The two characters work together as one word. Count butterflies with the measure word 只 (zhī): 一只蝴蝶 (yì zhī húdié), one butterfly.

这只蝴蝶很漂亮。 — Zhè zhī húdié hěn piàoliang. — This butterfly is beautiful.

The Loch Ness Monster turns out to be an elephant wading through the lake with a monster head on its trunk. The part above the water is the 怪物.

怪物 (guài wù) means “monster.” 怪 is strange and 物 is a thing or creature: a strange creature. The Loch Ness Monster is 尼斯湖水怪 (Nísī Hú shuǐguài), where 水怪 is a water monster.

我不怕怪物。 — Wǒ bú pà guàiwù. — I am not afraid of monsters.

湖里有怪物吗？ — Hú li yǒu guàiwù ma? — Is there a monster in the lake?

Meanwhile in Minnesota: two players on ice skates rally across a frozen rink, the net tied to a tree stump. Still 网球.

网球 (wǎngqiú) means “tennis,” and also a tennis ball. 网 is net and 球 is ball, so it is “net ball.”

To play tennis is 打网球 (dǎ wǎngqiú); ball games you hit with your hand or a racket take 打. Table tennis is 乒乓球 (pīngpāngqiú).

你会打网球吗？ — Nǐ huì dǎ wǎngqiú ma? — Can you play tennis?

我们周末去打网球吧。 — Wǒmen zhōumò qù dǎ wǎngqiú ba. — Let’s play tennis this weekend.

Grapes for hair, an orange for a nose, and a banana for the mouth. The plate is giving you a 微笑.

微笑 (wēi xiào) means “smile,” as a noun or a verb. 微 is slight and 笑 is to laugh or smile: a slight smile.

她对我微笑。 — Tā duì wǒ wēixiào. — She smiles at me.

请微笑！ — Qǐng wēixiào! — Smile, please!

A red tomato and its pale, round best friend close their eyes and hold each other tight. That is a 拥抱.

拥抱 (yōng bào) means “to hug” or “a hug.” In casual speech people often just say 抱 (bào), as in 抱一下 (bào yíxià), “a quick hug.”

给我一个拥抱。 — Gěi wǒ yí ge yōngbào. — Give me a hug.

他们拥抱在一起。 — Tāmen yōngbào zài yìqǐ. — They are hugging each other.

A phone with a shattered screen lies plugged into its charger, groaning, “I need to stop drinking.” It looks completely 醉.

醉 (zuì) means “drunk.” The left side, 酉, appears in many characters to do with alcohol, such as 酒 (jiǔ).

People usually say 喝醉了 (hē zuì le), literally “drank till drunk.”

他喝醉了。 — Tā hē zuì le. — He’s drunk.

我没醉！ — Wǒ méi zuì! — I’m not drunk!

A hand cuts a pizza with a pair of scissors whose lower blade is a flat spatula, lifting each slice as it cuts. Those are 剪刀.

剪刀 (jiǎndāo) means “scissors.” 剪 means to cut with scissors, and 刀 is knife or blade.

Count scissors with 把 (bǎ): 一把剪刀. To cut something with scissors is just 剪, as in 剪头发 (jiǎn tóufa), to cut hair. In the second example below, 快 means sharp, not fast.

请把剪刀递给我。 — Qǐng bǎ jiǎndāo dì gěi wǒ. — Please pass me the scissors.

这把剪刀很快。 — Zhè bǎ jiǎndāo hěn kuài. — These scissors are very sharp.

One guy asks how to ruin your life in one week; his friend says, “Say yes to everything,” which in Chinese means a week of 好的.

好的 (hǎo de) means “OK,” “sure” or “all right.” It is how you agree to a request or a plan. The 的 is a neutral tone, even though the drawing marks it dē.

Chinese does not use one all-purpose word for “yes.” To answer a yes-or-no question, you usually repeat the verb: 你去吗？去。 (Nǐ qù ma? Qù.) “Are you going?” “Yes.” 好的 agrees to do something; 是的 (shì de) confirms that something is true.

我们明天见面，好吗？好的。 — Wǒmen míngtiān jiànmiàn, hǎo ma? Hǎo de. — Let’s meet tomorrow, OK? OK.

好的，我马上来。 — Hǎo de, wǒ mǎshàng lái. — Sure, I’ll be right there.

On an old computer desktop, the mouse pointer smashes through the edge of the screen, yelling “LET ME OUT.” That pointer is moved by a 鼠标.

鼠标 (shǔbiāo) means a computer “mouse.” 鼠 means mouse or rat, and 标 means marker. The animal is 老鼠 (lǎoshǔ).

To click is 点击 (diǎnjī), or simply 点 (diǎn).

我的鼠标坏了。 — Wǒ de shǔbiāo huài le. — My mouse is broken.

用鼠标点一下这里。 — Yòng shǔbiāo diǎn yíxià zhèlǐ. — Click here with the mouse.

A pale bulldog sits with its forehead pressed against a wooden post, eyes squeezed shut. That is the look of 头痛.

头痛 (tóutòng) means “headache” or “to have a headache.” 头 is head and 痛 means pain. In everyday speech 头疼 (tóuténg) means the same.

As in English, it can also describe something troublesome.

我有点儿头痛。 — Wǒ yǒudiǎnr tóutòng. — I have a bit of a headache.

这个问题真让人头痛。 — Zhège wèntí zhēn ràng rén tóutòng. — This problem is a real headache.

A baby in a yellow onesie lies on a quilt with fists up and one leg kicking, ready for a fight. That is baby 功夫.

功夫 (gōngfu) means “kung fu,” Chinese martial arts; the English word comes from it. The 夫 is usually said light, even though the drawing marks it fū.

功夫 also means time and effort: 花功夫 (huā gōngfu), to put in effort. Chinese martial arts are also called 武术 (wǔshù).

他会功夫。 — Tā huì gōngfu. — He knows kung fu.

学好中文要花很多功夫。 — Xué hǎo Zhōngwén yào huā hěn duō gōngfu. — Learning Chinese well takes a lot of effort.

A big grey beast has a padded sofa built right into its side: a living 沙发.

沙发 (shāfā) means “sofa.” It is a sound loan from English; 沙 (sand) and 发 (send out) don’t mean anything together.

Count sofas with 张 (zhāng) or 个 (gè): 一张沙发.

他坐在沙发上看电视。 — Tā zuò zài shāfā shang kàn diànshì. — He is sitting on the sofa watching TV.

这个沙发太软了。 — Zhège shāfā tài ruǎn le. — This sofa is too soft.

A big pale dog wears pink bunny ears and holds a carrot in its mouth, a bunch of greens dangling beside it. It is trying very hard to be a 兔子.

兔子 (tùzi) means “rabbit” or “bunny.” The 子 is a neutral tone, even though the drawing marks it zǐ. Count rabbits with 只 (zhī): 一只兔子.

Without 子, 兔 appears in set words like 兔年 (tù nián), the Year of the Rabbit.

兔子爱吃胡萝卜。 — Tùzi ài chī húluóbo. — Rabbits love carrots.

这只狗想当兔子。 — Zhè zhī gǒu xiǎng dāng tùzi. — This dog wants to be a rabbit.

A red chili pepper stands with its hands on its hips, eyes squeezed shut, blasting fire out of its mouth. It is very, very 生气.

生气 (shēngqì) means “angry” or “to get angry.” 生 means to produce, and 气 is air, breath or anger.

To be angry with someone, put them in the middle: 生我的气 (shēng wǒ de qì), angry with me.

别生气了。 — Bié shēngqì le. — Don’t be angry anymore.

他还在生我的气。 — Tā hái zài shēng wǒ de qì. — He is still angry with me.

A cream-colored cat with a dark tail sleeps on its back in a green zip-up hoodie, hood pulled up. Those are its 睡衣.

睡衣 (shuìyī) means “pajamas” or “nightclothes.” 睡 is to sleep and 衣 means clothes.

Count a matching set with 套 (tào): 一套睡衣. To put them on is 穿睡衣 (chuān shuìyī).

我一回家就换上睡衣。 — Wǒ yì huí jiā jiù huàn shàng shuìyī. — I change into my pajamas as soon as I get home.

他穿着睡衣去买早饭。 — Tā chuānzhe shuìyī qù mǎi zǎofàn. — He went to buy breakfast in his pajamas.