Baby Ro has just turned 1, and his babbling has become much more diversified in the last few weeks. We can only decipher one new word though: 奶 (milk), which he consistently says when he’s hungry. In the way of babies, he doubles this word into 奶奶 (paternal grandmother). However, it’s been six months since he’s seen his 奶奶, so he probably doesn’t mean grandma.
He also says na na when he wants something. We’re not sure if this is a real word. It could be 那 (that) or 拿 (hold), both words he hears a lot from us, or it could be babbling.
In terms of understanding, he can follow short instructions like 开灯 (turn on the light), 捡起来 (pick it up), and 放回去 (put it back). He knows 狮子 (lion), 大象 (elephant), and 猫咪 (kitty), but I think he knows these as the specific animal magnets he has, rather than the real animal. He responds to 回家 (go home), 还要吗 (want more?), 坐车 (ride in car/stroller) and 去拉嘘嘘 (let’s go pee), mostly by shaking his head when he doesn’t want to. He recognizes his name, our dog’s name, and bye bye/拜拜.
We also say the following phrases to him very often, but since there’s no response required of him, I can’t be sure he completely understands them: 穿衣服 (get dressed), 刷牙 (brush teeth), 洗澡 (take a bath/shower), 饿了吗 (are you hungry?), 喝水 (drink water), 睡觉 (sleep), 上班了 (go to work), 吃饭 (eat a meal), 上楼/下楼 (go up/downstairs), 好吃吗? (is it yummy?), and 系安全带 (put on your seat belt).
He understands a few English words – no, diaper, and bye bye – but in the last few weeks we have switched to primarily speaking Chinese to him.
Lastly, Ro has learned how to growl from our dog. 🙂 Talk about speaking to each the language he knows!
Etymology Adventures 