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Posts: 172

Governor

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Q: What are your favorite Chinese words & phrases?

sui bian = whatever (kind of a life motto for me)

si ji dou = spiced green beans (literally; beans for all seasons)

fang pi / gou pi = fart / dog fart (how to call "bullshit" here)

let's hear some more

11 years 37 weeks ago in  Teaching & Learning - China

 
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Posts: 1989

Peasant

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My favorite word is "漂亮" (Piàoliang - 'beautiful'). I don't know why... it's just fun to say.

 

My favorite phrase is probably "非常有意思" (Fēicháng yǒuyìsi - 'very interesting') I'm not sure why I like this one so much... probably because it has all 5 tones in it.

 

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11 years 37 weeks ago
 
Posts: 9

Governor

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 很漂亮 ( Hěn piàoliang )

什么意思?(Shénme yìsi?)

 

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11 years 37 weeks ago
 
Posts: 1838

Emperor

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马马虎虎 (just so-so)

五花八门 (all kinds of everything)

王克 (no meaning but would make an interesting Chinese name for an English guy)

二百五 (you have to laugh at how this has become offensive to Chinese)

不三不四 (simularly this)

markferrer:

I need some explanation here.

 

"5 flowers - 8 doors" = "all kinds of everything"?

"205" & "no 3 no 4" = "something offensive"?

 

What could all these numbers possibly mean?

11 years 37 weeks ago
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Jnusb416:

It's not 205, it's 250, and it's like saying someone is an idiot. A friend explained it to me,  something about a half of a half of 1,000, but I don't remember in detail.

11 years 37 weeks ago
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markferrer:

Thanks Jnusb,

That helps clarify one of them.

Now I'm just looking to figure out "not 3 not 4"

and better understand "5 flowers - 8 doors"

11 years 37 weeks ago
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Kaiwen:

OK, let me try:

 

erbaiwu indeed refers to a person that is not very smart or an idiot.

 

wuhuabamen is a very strange idiom that means a great variety of something (or lots of different kinds). Chinese is full of strange idioms that can be traced back to a story in ancient times. Though I have no idea how it came into being, I am sure there will be a story somewhere.

 

busanbusi is not an idiom. It is a saying meaning to be not up to much. If applied to a person, it seems to be quite insulting suggesting that the person in question is a piece of trash.

11 years 37 weeks ago
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Gaohao:

 Well I got the wang ke reference, and being an Englishman myself i'll take it in the spirit of good humour in which it was surely meant, rather than as a suggestion for all Englishmen.

 Speaking of insulting names in Chinese I heard that the Chinese equivalent of the word bitch (in terms of offensiveness) is 'san ba' ('three eight', sorry, dunno how to access Chinese script on this computer), which is a little odd considering national women's day is called 'san ba jie'.

11 years 37 weeks ago
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:

@Gaohao: about 'San ba':

 

I forget where I heard this, but the insult actually comes from "International Women's Day" , celebrated March 8th (三月八日 in Chinese).

 

Because that day is a Feminist holiday, [sarcasm] and all Feminists are bitches (right?) [/sarcasm], if you're a thinking, strong-willed or otherwise disagreeable woman, you obviously must be a Feminist/Bitch, and so the number is applied .

 

no

[EDIT] Got some funky stuff going on with the chinese text up there... don't know why, or how to fix it-- sorry about that.

11 years 37 weeks ago
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11 years 37 weeks ago
 
Posts: 172

Governor

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some more;

 

man zou = take it easy / have a safe trip (literally, walk slowly)

dan chow fan = egg fried rice (knowing to say this helped me in my early days here)

yu mao qiu = badmitton (literally feather-ball) I think that's a better name for it

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11 years 37 weeks ago
 
Posts: 2409

Emperor

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wu yao yi bai pijiu - I want a glass of beer

ting bu dong - I don't understand

bu shui - I don't speak (Mandarin)

da fei jie - Wink

Xpat.John:

I just ran across an interesting bit of trivia that I thought I would share.  Did you know that spittoons were originally invented in China over 500 years ago?

11 years 37 weeks ago
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markferrer:

speaking of trivia,

Did you know Chinese used to eat with knives and forks before they invented chopsticks?

It was common to invite your worst enemies over to dinner which would often result in someone getting stabbed at the table so they made the switch.

11 years 37 weeks ago
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11 years 37 weeks ago
 
Posts: 277

Governor

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 'Diao ni ma', which quite literally means (excuse me) 'fuck your mother' is not exactly my favourite phrase, but it has probably given me the most entertainment, the reason being that I used to live in Liuzhou and would hear it there constantly, whether by an old old lady at a bus-stop or by one brother to another, it always made me laugh and think, "Ahhhh, that's so sweet."

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11 years 37 weeks ago
 
Posts: 172

Governor

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a few more;

 

mei shi = no problem / don't worry about it

mei ban fa = I'm stumped / we're screwed

cha bu duo = give or take / good enough

 

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11 years 37 weeks ago
 
Posts: 106

Governor

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ren shan ren hai

literally people mountain people sea

like our a sea of people

when to use:  October holiday

such as going to Huangshan (Yellow Mtn) on October 1

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11 years 28 weeks ago
 
Posts: 30

Governor

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你好!

88

the ''uh, eh" particle that chinese peeps often say when responding. it rubs off you know.

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11 years 27 weeks ago
 
Posts: 30

Governor

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你好!

88

the ''uh, eh" particle that chinese peeps often say when responding. it rubs off you know.

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11 years 27 weeks ago
 
Posts: 305

Shifu

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ni ya fengla ma?  - are you fucking crazy

ye merier- dude

galli- amazing

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11 years 27 weeks ago
 
Posts: 796

Shifu

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千里之行,始于足下!

非淡泊无以明志,非宁静无以致远!

三人行,必有我师焉!则其善者而从之,其不善者而改之!

千里之堤,溃于蚁穴!

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11 years 27 weeks ago
 
Posts: 243

Governor

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"Mei you"
"Wo yao dabian"
"Ok la" haha
 

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11 years 27 weeks ago
 
Posts: 243

Governor

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one more "你在哪里啊"

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11 years 27 weeks ago
 
Posts: 131

Governor

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hao bu hao?

 

good or not good?

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11 years 27 weeks ago
 
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