You explain something clearly. The other person listens, maybe even says “okay.“ But later, it becomes clear that nothing changed. It‘s not that they misunderstood you, they just didn‘t really take it in.
In English, we might call …
Wǒ hài pà. 我害怕。 I’m scared.
Wǒ yǒu diǎn hài pà. 我有点害怕。 I’m a little scared.
Mā ma, wǒ hài pà. 妈妈，我害怕。 Mom, I’m scared.
Wǒ hěn hài pà. 我很害怕。 I’m very scared.
Wǒ pà hēi. 我怕黑。 I’m scared of the dark.
If you consider …
Shè jì shī 设计师 Designer
Lǐ fà shī 理发师 Hairdresser
Gē shǒu 歌手 Singer
Zuò jiā 作家 Writer
Huà jiā 画家 Painter
Yá yī 牙医 Dentist
Jì zhě 记者 Journalist
Kuài dì yuán 快递员 Delivery courier
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Zāng 脏 Dirty
Shǒu hěn zāng. 手很脏。 Hands are dirty.
Xié zi hěn zāng. 鞋子很脏。 Shoes are dirty.
Zhè ge zāng le. 这个脏了。 This is dirty now.
Bù yào mō, hěn zāng. 不要摸，很脏。 Don’t touch. It’s dirty.
If you consider having your kid learn Mandarin, …
社恐 (Shè kǒng) – social anxiety 不敢开口 (Bù gǎn kāi kǒu) – too shy to speak 内向型选手 (Nèi xiàng xíng xuǎn shǒu) – introvert 闷葫芦 (Mèn hú lu) – quiet, keeps everything inside 存在感为零 (Cún zài gǎn wéi líng) – invisible presence 手脚无处安放 (Shǒu jiǎo …
Lǎo shī 老师 Teacher
Yī shēng 医生 Doctor
Lǜ shī 律师 Lawyer
Chú shī 厨师 Chef
Hù shi 护士 Nurse
Jǐng chá 警察 Police officer
Chéng xù yuán 程序员 Programmer
Gōng chéng shī 工程师 Engineer
Want to learn more?
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人气王 (Rén qì wáng) – popularity king 圈粉 (Quān fěn) – gain fans 自来熟 (Zì lái shú) – friendly with everyone 走到哪红到哪 (Zǒu dào nǎ hóng dào nǎ) – popular everywhere 存在感拉满 (Cún zài gǎn lā mǎn) – strong presence 万人迷 (Wàn rén mí) – …
Zhēn de jiǎ de? 真的假的？ Really?
Yǒu diǎn yì si. 有点意思。 That’s interesting.
Méi bàn fǎ. 没办法。 There’s no way around it.
Kàn qíng kuàng. 看情况。 It depends.
Wǒ fú le. 我服了。 I’m speechless.
Yě hái xíng. 也还行。 It’s okay.
Want to learn more?
Try …
凡尔赛 (Fán ěr sài) – humble brag 炫一下 (Xuàn yī xià) – show off a bit 小骄傲 (Xiǎo jiāo ào) – low-key proud 暗爽 (Àn shuǎng) – secretly happy 忍不住炫耀 (Rěn bù zhù xuàn yào) – can’t stop showing off 嘴角上扬 (Zuǐ jiǎo shàng yáng) …
能躺就躺 (Néng tǎng jiù tǎng) – lie down whenever possible 懒到极致 (Lǎn dào jí zhì) – peak laziness 不想动 (Bù xiǎng dòng) – zero motivation 明天再说 (Míng tiān zài shuō) – tomorrow me will handle it 摆烂 (Bǎi làn) – give up and stop trying …
Gān jìng 干净 Clean
Shǒu hěn gān jìng. 手很干净。 Hands are clean.
Zhuō zi hěn gān jìng. 桌子很干净。 The table is clean.
Wǒ de fáng jiān hěn gān jìng. 我的房间很干净。 My room is clean.
Shǒu xǐ gān jìng le. 手洗干净了。 Hands are clean now.
If …
Bù kě néng. 不可能。 No way. / Impossible.
Yǒu kě néng. 有可能。 Maybe./ Possible.
Kěn dìng de. 肯定的。 For sure.
Nǐ xiǎng de měi. 你想得美。 In your dreams.
Xiǎo cài yī dié. 小菜一碟。 A piece of cake.
Tài nán le. 太难了。 This is so hard.…
有点不太行 (Yǒu diǎn bù tài xíng) – kinda not okay 差点意思 (Chà diǎn yì si) – almost, but not quite 不太合理 (Bù tài hé lǐ) – not very reasonable 体验一般 (Tǐ yàn yī bān) – average experience 希望能改进 (Xī wàng néng gǎi jìn) – hope …
If you‘ve ever said “Anything is fine“ in English, you might think the Chinese word 随便（Suí biàn） works the same way.
But in real Mandarin, 随便（Suí biàn） is far more nuanced than “anything is fine“. Misusing it can make you sound rude, …
Kù 酷 Cool
Zhè ge hěn kù. 这个很酷。 This is cool.
Nǐ hěn kù. 你很酷。 You are cool.
Zhè liàng chē hěn kù. 这辆车很酷。 This car is cool.
Wǒ jué de hěn kù. 我觉得很酷。 I think it’s cool.
If you consider having your kid learn …
Suàn le ba. 算了吧。 Forget it.
Bié zài tí le. 别再提了。 Don’t bring it up again.
Guò qù jiù guò qù le. 过去就过去了。 What’s past is past.
Zhè yàng xiǎng méi yì si. 这样想没意思。 There’s no point thinking like this.
Bié zhè me jiào zhēn. …
吃土 (Chī tǔ) – broke after spending 月光族 (Yuè guāng zú) – paycheck to paycheck 穷到发慌 (Qióng dào fā huāng) – panic-level broke 钱包空了 (Qián bāo kōng le) – wallet is empty 剁手后遗症 (Duò shǒu hòu yí zhèng) – regret after shopping 精打细算 (Jīng dǎ …
Wǒ zhǐ shì kāi wán xiào. 我只是开玩笑。 I was just joking.
Nǐ bù huì dāng zhēn ba? 你不会当真吧？ You did’t take it seriously, right?
Zhè me kāi bù qǐ wán xiào ma? 这么开不起玩笑吗？ Can’t you take a joke?
Nǐ tài rèn zhēn le. 你太认真了。 You’re …
Xiǎo 小 Small
Zhè ge hěn xiǎo. 这个很小。 This is small.
Wǒ yào xiǎo de. 我要小的。 I want the small one.
Zhè ge tài xiǎo le. 这个太小了。 This is too small.
Wǒ de bēi zi hěn xiǎo. 我的杯子很小。 My cup is small.
If you consider …
忙到飞起 (Máng dào fēi qǐ) – insanely busy 连轴转 (Lián zhóu zhuàn) – nonstop working 身心俱疲 (Shēn xīn jù pí) – exhausted in body and mind 顶不住了 (Dǐng bù zhù le) – can’t handle it anymore 喘口气 (Chuǎn kǒu qì) – catch a breath 过劳边缘 …
