The Assassin

The Assassin 2015

niè yǐn niáng

9th century China. Ten year old general’s daughter Nie Yinniang is abducted by a nun who initiates her into the martial arts, transforming her into an exceptional assassin charged with eliminating cruel and corrupt local governors. One day, having failed in a task, she is sent back by her mistress to the land of her birth, with orders to kill the man to whom she was promised – a cousin who now leads the largest military region in North China. After 13 years of exile, the young woman must confront her parents, her memories and her long-repressed feelings.

HSK 1
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6.14 Advanced Director Hou Hsiao-hsien 🍅 80%

Cast

Vocabulary

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zhàn prisoner of war ∼HSK 5
nián yòu young; underage ∼HSK 5
yōu sad, grieved; grief, melancholy ∼HSK 5
nián qián by the end of the year; at the end of the year; shortly before New Year HSK 5
dǎn xiǎo cowardice; timid HSK 5
miàn mào face; features; appearance; look HSK 5
bèi lifetime; generation; group of people; class; classifier for generations; (literary) classifier for people HSK 5
dòng yuán to mobilize; mobilization HSK 5
dǎn gall bladder; courage; guts; gall; inner container (e.g. bladder of a football, inner container of a thermos) HSK 5
zhuǎn xiàng to change direction; fig. to change one's stance HSK 5
shì li power; influence; a force (military, political etc) HSK 5
xiàn to offer; to present; to dedicate; to donate; to show; to put on display; worthy person (old) HSK 5
láo dòng work; toil; physical labor HSK 5
chéng to inherit; to succeed to (the throne etc); to carry on (a tradition etc) HSK 5
guāng gaze; (fig.) attention; expression in one's eyes; look; (lit. and fig.) sight; vision HSK 5
dào shi contrary to what one might expect; actually; contrariwise; why don't you HSK 5
fǎn huí to return to; to come (or go) back HSK 5
tóng like; as HSK 5
mate; one of a pair HSK 5
wàng to have expectations; to earnestly hope; expectation; hope HSK 5
quán dōu all; without exception HSK 5
huí bào (in) return; reciprocation; payback; retaliation; to report back; to reciprocate HSK 5
tīng (reception) hall; living room; office; provincial government department HSK 5
chéng to ride; to mount; to make use of; to avail oneself of; to take advantage of; to multiply (math.); Buddhist sect or creed HSK 5
dāng nián in those days; then; in those years; during that time HSK 5
máo dùn contradiction; conflicting views; contradictory HSK 5
Qīng abbr. for 海, Qinghai Province HSK 5
certainly; must; will; necessarily HSK 5
jìng after all; all in all; when all is said and done; in the final analysis HSK 5
surname Li; abbr. for 礼记, Classic of Rites HSK 5
mào to emit; to give off; to send out (or up, forth); to brave; to face; reckless; to falsely adopt (sb's identity etc); to feign; (literary) to cover HSK 5
suì (transitive or intransitive verb) to break into pieces; to shatter; to crumble; broken; fragmentary; scattered; garrulous HSK 5
kuáng mad; wild; violent HSK 5
poison; to poison; poisonous; malicious; cruel; fierce; narcotics HSK 5
to scare; to intimidate; to threaten; (interjection showing disapproval) tut-tut; (interjection showing astonishment) HSK 5
nán hard to (predict, imagine etc) HSK 5
to dance; to wield; to brandish HSK 5
guǐ disembodied spirit; ghost; devil; (suffix) person with a certain vice or addiction etc; sly; crafty; resourceful (variant of 诡); one of the 28 constellations of ancient Chinese astronomy HSK 5
dāi to stay HSK 5
jǐn guǎn despite; although; even though; in spite of; unhesitatingly; do not hesitate (to ask, complain etc); (go ahead and do it) without hesitating HSK 5
zhì to arrive; most; to; until HSK 5
líng used in 令; used in 狐 (Taiwan pr. [lìng]) HSK 5
shā to kill; to murder; to attack; to weaken or reduce; to smart (dialect); (used after a verb) extremely HSK 5
his; her; its; their; that; such; it (refers to sth preceding it) HSK 5
like this; so; such HSK 5
jiāng will; shall; to use; to take; to checkmate; just a short while ago; (introduces object of main verb, used in the same way as 把) HSK 5
Lín qīng Linqing, county-level city in Liaocheng, Shandong Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
zhōu Dezhou, prefecture-level city in Shandong Province; abbr. for Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
Li (surname) Proper Noun ∼HSK 4
Lín chéng Lincheng county in Xingtai, Hebei Proper Noun ∼HSK 4