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Stop Asian Hate
As recent events have unfolded across news outlets and social media platforms, the world has heard of yet another outcry on American soil, pleading “Stop Asian Hate”. This comes shortly after the Black Lives Matter movement rallied globally and is just as significant and timely.
Every year, around 250,000 people in the United States ...
Have you heard the expression, “盘他(pán tā)”?
The expression was made popular by a TikTok video where the speaker said, “Don’t mind what he is, 盘他(pán tā). Everything can be ‘盘’, just ‘盘’”.
What does that mean?
Let’s talk about 盘(pán) first.
Now, you may have seen the word 盘(pán) before in the context of eating. For example: 一盘菜(yī pán cài). This literally means, ...
“斜杠青年(xiégāng qīngnián),” or, “Slashers”, are people who make multiple income streams simultaneously from different careers.
“斜杠(xiégàng)” literally means “slash” in English, and refers to the “/” (particularly the key on the computer keyboard). The term was coined by Marci Alboher, a New York Times columnist, in her book One Person/Multiple Careers, in which she used “slashers” ...
Did you know that the Chinese language is changing at an unbelievable pace? Don’t worry, you will still be able to speak using everyday conversation words and phrases. The rapid change that you need to keep up with, however, is on the internet and with the ever-evolving world of slang. Slang is not only fun, ...
1. What does “宝藏男孩 (Bǎo zàng nán hái)” mean?
“宝藏男孩 (Bǎo zàng nán hái) Treasure boy ” is a hot Chinese word on the Internet, which common used to describe that you like to have a lot of unknown talents on your body slowly discovered by everyone.
The Chinese term “宝藏男孩 (Bǎo zàng nán hái) Treasure ...
Every language and culture has their own metaphors, and often these are shared. When studying Mandarin you’ll learn many colorful and creative metaphors as well as their cultural origins and significance.
Dating back 5,000 years Chinese culture has a plethora of metaphors, some new and some old. Figurative language doesn’t always pass through a language barrier ...
We live in a time where buying something without a recommendation is uncommon. Consumerism has fueled large corporations to supply the increasing demand for their products, with various ranges. Many times it can be hard to determine whether or not the product or service will actually live up to its claims. The social shopping scene ...
Interjections are commonly used in our daily life which are also known as “叹词 (tàncí)" or "感叹词 (gǎntàncí)" in Mandarin Chinese. These kinds of expressions are used in our daily lives to express exclamations or make various kinds of emotional responses. It happens every day! We use interjections or exclamations to express our emotional ...
Have you ever hear the Chinese term 爆表 (bàobiǎo)? Currently this term is extremely popular among young Chinese people and its all over the internet! This fun term originally referred to when a meter “explodes,” or the reader is higher than what the instrument can read, for example, there is an AQI over 500 but ...
“Your Chinese is probably the worst in the class.” A classmate said jokingly to my close friend in a study abroad program. Although her Chinese was not the best, it definitely wasn’t the worse. Yet, she took his teasing very personally and I am pretty sure even cried about it later!
Afterwards, my Chinese roommate taught ...
After looking at the photo above are your eyes feeling spicy? What I mean is, does it feel like a pepper has been squirted in your eye? In Chinese, there is a fabulous internet phrase to describe when you are looking at something awful: 辣眼睛 (làyǎnjīng) or “spicy eyes.” It is a way of commenting ...
Recently, a humorous video titled “Obama hilariously mocks own retirement in skit” gained attention in the US and also in China. What was the occasion for the humorous video and what exactly did Obama do in it? He did something that we call “自黑 (zìhēi) self-mockery” in Chinese.
Each year, at the Washington Hilton, the White ...
Jack: Eric, néng jiè diǎnr qián gěi wǒ ma?
Jack: Eric, 能 借 点儿 钱 给 我 吗？
Jack: Eric, can you lend me some money?
Eric: Nǐ yòu méi qián le?
Eric: 你 又 没 钱 了？
Eric: You ran out of money again?
Jack: Shì a, wǒ xiànzài qióng de zhǐnéng chītǔ le.
Jack: 是啊，我 现在 穷 得 只能 吃土 了。
Jack: Yeah, I’m _____.
What can we learn from the dialogue?
A. Jack wants to ...
Well, summer is here, the hottest time of the year. Do you feel burned by the sun? We do! But we always try to use sun protection. In Chinese, "晒 (shài)" means "to sun" or "to shine." "晒太阳 (shài tàiyang)" means "to bask in the sun." Most people who bask in the sun this year ...
我的神啊 (wŏ de shén a)
Where does it originate?
“我的神啊”(wŏ de shén a) first became popular from a hot Chinese TV series 武林外传(wŭ lín wài zhuàn “My Own Swordsman”)as a pet phrase of Tong Xiangyu, the owner of Tongfu tavern. Then it has been widely spread on the internet. Actually,“我的神啊”(wŏ de shén a) is the assonance ...
During the financial crisis (金融危机 jīn róng wēi jī), millions of people are suffering from the psychological problems caused by losing jobs (失业shī yè), and bankrupcy (破产pò chăn) .Ever since the financial crisis, we have seen an increasing amount of unemployment (失业人员shī yè rén yuán). These people suddenly suffered the fear of job loss ...
猪流感 (Zhūliúgǎn)
In the past few months, the H1N1 virus has made news headlines around the world. The virus was originally referred as 猪流感(zhūliúgǎn) “swine flu.” To help you learn these three Chinese characters, we’ll introduce 猪流感(zhūliúgǎn) word by word.
With the basic meaning of “pig,” “boar” or “swine,” 猪(zhū) conveys a deep cultural connotation in Chinese. ...
秀(xiù) Show
Origin and Meaning
The word 秀(xiù) comes from the transliteration of the English word “show.” Literally, it means handsome and elegant. But now it is more commonly used as the verb “to show.”
Usage of the Phrase
Tā yòu zài xiù zìjĭ de xīn fāmíng.
他 又 在 秀 自己的 新 发明。
He shows his new invention ...
“靠谱(kào pǔ)” is a slang term used daily by Chinese people. The meaning of “靠谱(kàopǔ)” is “to be reliable” or “ to be worthy of trust.” It is used as an adjective to describe a person or thing.
If you trust a person and you rely on him to help solve problems. ( Ask Jennifer!) Then to you, this person is very “靠谱(kàopǔ).”
Examples
Tā hěn ...
In China, you will often hear the word "淡定(dàndìng)" used in daily life, on TV and see it a lot on the Internet. The word "淡定(dàndìng)" means “to calm down or to be at ease about something.” In a romantic comedy called “十全九美 (shí quán jiǔ měi, Almost Perfect), "淡定(dàndìng)" is a pet phrase of ...
