Toll Free - U.S.& Canada:  1-800-791-9386   Hong Kong:  800-902-058   Australia:  1-800-779-835
Free online Chinese learning support
  • Follow us on Facebook!
  • Watch Our YouTube Videos!
  • Follow us on Twitter!
  • Follow us on WeChat!
    Follow Us in WeChat by Scanning!
    Follow Us in "WeChat"
    by Scanning
  • Follow us on LinkedIn
  • Explore Our Instagram Videos & Photos!
United Kingdom:  0-800-086-8969   Germany:  0-800-180-0341   Singapore:  800-130-1652
France:  0-805-080-689   Spain:  900-838-906    

Quote of the week (Jul. 13, 2010)

Jul. 14, 2010

Nǐ de zhìshāng zhēn de hěn tíshén.
你 的    智商       真   的 很   提神。

 

Your IQ is really refreshing. —From “李成功 (Lǐ Chènggōng) Li Chenggong,” criticizing his subordinates in the movie “Lost on a Journey.”

Culture Note:

  1. In a humorous and ironic way, “李成功 (Lǐ Chènggōng) Li Chenggong” chose the Chinese characters “提神 (tíshén) refreshing” to comment on his people’s IQ instead of using “低下 (dī xià) low leveled” or “弱 (ruò) weak.”
  2. The Chinese name of the movie Lost on a Journey is “人在囧途 (rèn zài jiǒng tú).” “囧 (jiǒng)” is a special Chinese character. “囧 (jiǒng)” is a derivative of the Chinese character “冏 (jiǒng)” which means light or bright. But nowadays, Internet users helped derive a new meaning- embarrassed. The reason is that the Chinese character “囧 (jiǒng)” looks like an embarrassed face in which “八 () eight” are the eyes or eyebrow and “口 (kǒu) mouth” is the mouth.

生词 (shēngcí) Vocabulary

 

智商 (zhìshāng): n. IQ (intelligence quotient)

 

提神 (tíshén): adj. refreshing 

 

Got questions? Take a free 1-to-1 lesson with one of our professional teachers by signing up below:
Name: 
E-mail: 
Country/Region: 
-select-

search no result

Tel: 
By clicking Submit, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Your email address and phone number
will be kept STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL.
Submit

Comments

In fact, English letters can also be interesting. I know a combination of three English letters “ORZ” (or “OTZ”) that express admiration. In which “O” is the head, “R” (or “T”) is the body and arms and “Z” is the hip and legs, “ORZ” (or “OTZ”) draws a picture that a person whose hands, knees and head are touching the ground.

Of course, most of Chinese characters are created in accordance with the shape of concrete objects. For example, the Chinese character 人 looks like the combination of a body and two legs; another is 川 which looks like the flowing water in a river.

Ha-ha! 囧 is cool! I believe that only Chinese characters can be so artistic! Is there any other Chinese character like 囧?

Write a comment

Your Name: 
Your Email:  Your email address will not be published.
Comments: 
Verification Code:  Verification Code Unclear? Try another one
By clicking Submit, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Email This Article
Recipients' email addresses:
(separate recipients with comma)
Your name:
Your e-mail address (optional):
Your message (optional):
Verification Code:
By clicking Send, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.


Get 11 FREE Mandarin E-books
Sign up for a free trial now!
Get more information about our Chinese lessons through live chat
Get a FREE live 1-to-1 lesson and FREE e-books. Complete the form below:
Name:
E-mail:
Country/Region:
-select-

search no result

Tel:
By clicking Submit, you agree to our
Terms of Service
and Privacy Policy.
Your email address and phone number
will be kept STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL.