碰壁(pèngbì) Be rebuffed
In this word, 碰(pèng) means “bump” and 壁(bì) means “wall.” The whole word 碰壁(pèngbì) literally means “run up against a wall.” But people usually use it to describe a situation in which you are turned down or rebuffed. In Chinese feudal times, a corrupted 衙门(yámen) government was always closed to the common people who wanted to 申冤(shēnyuān) seek justice. These people had to put up with the officials’ temper and were often rejected and were not allowed to enter the door, which literally means 碰壁(pèngbì). Thus, 碰壁(pèngbì) became a popular term for being rejected. Nowadays, the word has a much broader usage. Take a look at the examples below:
Wèi le jiĕjué yuángōng de zhùsù wèntí, tā yĭjīng zhăo guò líng dăo hăo jĭcì, dàn cìcì pèngbì.
1. 为 了 解决 员工 的 住宿 问题，他 已经 找 过 领 导 好 几次，但次次 碰壁。
To solve his staff’s accommodation problem, he has called on his superior several times, but every time he was rebuffed.
In this sentences, 碰壁(pèngbì) has a similar meaning with the ancient one.
Wŏ de yígè hăo zhŭyi yòu pèngbì le.
2. 我 的 一个 好 主意 又 碰壁 了。
Another of my great ideas bites the dust(be denied).
Shēnghuó zhōng de duōcì pèngbì yĭjīng ràng tā juéwàng le.
3. 生活 中 的 多次 碰壁 已经 让 他 绝望 了。
So many failures in life made him desperate.
恶搞 (ègăo) Mischievous distortion
There are two famous film awards in the world. One is the “Oscar Awards” and the other is “Golden Raspberry Awards.” While “Oscars” always awards the best actors in the world, “Golden Raspberry Awards” always issues awards to the worst ones. People say “Golden Raspberry Awards” is a 恶搞(ègăo) mischievous distortion of “Oscars.”恶搞(ègăo) comes from Japanese. 恶(è) doesn’t mean “evil, ferocity” here, it is similar to “mischievously” and 搞(găo) generally means “do something.” On the whole, 恶搞(ègăo) can be regarded as “mischievously do something.”The behavior of 恶搞(ègăo) is often conducted by young people who adapt certain dialogs in a show into humorous ones, oftentimes showing a 讽刺(fĕngcì) sarcastic attitude or negative connotation.
Example:
Nà bù diànyĭng shàngyìng bùjiŭ hòu jiù bèi wăngyŏu ègăo le.
那 部 电影 上映 不久 后 就 被 网友 恶搞 了。
The movie was mischievously distorted by Internet users not long after its release.
生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary:
衙门 (yá men): n ancient Chinese government
申冤 (shēn yuān): v to seek justice
讽刺 (fĕng cì): n/v sarcasm/sarcastic
