泼冷水 (pōlěnɡshuǐ) Pour cold water on / Dampen the enthusiasm of
The character “泼 (pō)” means to pour or to throw; “冷 (lěng)” means cold
and “水 (shuǐ)” means water.
Tā běnlái jiù xìnxīn bù zú, nǐ jiù bié gěi tā pōlěngshuǐ le. 他本来就信心不足，你就别给他泼冷水了。 …
中国功夫 (Zhōngguó Gōngfu) Chinese Kungfu
Listen to this song:
Key Learning Point (Preview): 松 (sōnɡ): n. pine
Wò sì yì zhāng gōng, zhàn sì yì kē sōng. 卧似一张弓，站似一棵松。 Crouching is like a bow, and standing is like a pine.
Bú dòng bù yáo zuò rú …
海量 (hǎiliàng) Great capacity for liquor
The character “海 (hǎi)” means sea or ocean and “量 (liàng)” means quantity or amount.
Nín zhēn shì hǎiliàng, zài lái yì bēi. 您真是海量，再来一杯。 You really can drink a lot of liquor. Have another glass please!
Got questions? …
受气包 (shòuqìbāo) One Who Always Gets Blamed
“受气包 (shòuqìbāo)” is the phrase for “One who always gets blamed.” The
character “受 (shòu)” means to bear; “气 (qì)” means air or smell, here it
means angry; and “包 (bāo)” means bag or pack. Example:
Yīnwèi Zhāng …
“直肠子 (zhíchángzi)” is the phrase for “Straightforward person.” The character “直 (zhí)” means straight or upright and “肠子 (chángzi)” means intestine.
Gébì Zhāng dàmā zhēn shì gè zhíchángzi, yǒu shá jiù shuō shá. 隔壁张大妈真是个直肠子，有啥就说啥。 Aunt Zhang next door is a …
抓狂 (zhuākuáng) Go Mad
“抓狂 (zhuākuáng)” is the phrase for “Go mad.” The character “抓 (zhuā)”
means to grab or to catch and “狂 (kuáng)” means crazy or mad.
Zhèngdāng Àobāmǎ zhǔnbèi dàlì ɡǎiɡé shí, měiɡuó shīyèlǜ yòu shàngshēng le, zhè ràng tā hěn …
顺风耳 (shùnfēng’ěr) Clairaudient
The character “顺 (shùn)” means in the same direction; “风 (fēng)” means
wind and “耳 (ěr)” means ear.
Zài Fēngshénbǎng lǐ, Gāo Jué shì yí gè shùnfēng’ ěr, tā néng tīngdào qiān lǐyǐ wài de shēngyīn. 在封神榜里，高觉是一个顺风耳，他能听到千里以外的声音。
In The Legend of …
千里眼 (qiānlǐyǎn) Clairvoyant
The character “千 (qiān)” means thousand; “里 (lǐ) is mile and” 眼 (yǎn)”
refers to eyes.
Example: Zài Fēngshénbǎnglǐ, Gāo Míng shì yí gè qiānlǐyǎn, tā néng kàndào qiān lǐ yǐ wài de dōngxi. 在封神榜里，高明是一个千里眼，他能看到千里以外的东西。 In The Legend of Deification, Gao Ming …
旱鸭子 (hàn yāzi) Non-swimmer
The character “旱 (hàn)” means dry or drought; “鸭 (yā)” means duck and “子
(zi)” is used as a suffix here.
Wǒ mèimei búhuì yóuyǒng, dàjiā dōu jiào tā hàn yāzi. 我妹妹不会游泳，大家都叫她旱鸭子。
My sister cannot swim, so we all call …
呆若木鸡 (dāiruòmùjī) Transfixed/Dumb as a wooden chicken
The character “呆 (dāi)” means dull or stupid; “若 (ruò)” means like or as; “木 (mù)” refers to wood and “鸡 (jī)” refers to chicken.
Nà gè nánhái dāiruòmùjī dì zhànzhe, xià dé lián qì dōu bùgǎn …
落汤鸡 (luòtāngjī) Completely Soaked
“落汤鸡 (luòtāngjī)” is the phrase for “Soaked.” The character “落 (luò)” means drop or decline; “汤 (tāng)” means soup and “鸡 (jī)” means chicken. Example:
Tā zhèngzài lùshang zǒuzhe, tūrán xiàqǐ le dàyǔ, jiéguǒ lín de xiàng gè luòtāngjī yíyàng. 他正在路上走着，突然下起了大雨，结果淋得像个落汤鸡一样。…
纸老虎 (zhǐlǎohǔ) Paper Tiger
“纸老虎 (zhǐlǎohǔ)” is the phrase for “Paper Tiger.” The character “纸 (zhǐ)” means paper; “老 (lǎo)” means old and “虎 (hǔ)” means tiger. Example:
Bié pà tā, tā zhǐshì zhǎngxiàng bǐjiào xiōng’ è, qíshí shì gè zhǐlǎohǔ. 别怕他，他只是长相比较凶恶，其实是个纸老虎。
Do not be …
乌鸦嘴 (wūyāzuǐ) Big Mouth
“乌鸦嘴 (wūyāzuǐ)” is the phrase for “Big mouth.” The character “乌 (wū)” means dark; “鸦 (yā)” means crow and “嘴 (zuǐ)” means mouth.
Example:
Wǒ zhèng xiǎng yóuyǒng ne, nǐ jiù shuō ” xiǎoxīn yānzhe, ” nǐ shìbúshì yě tàiwūyāzuǐ le. …
大腕 (dàwàn) Top Notch
“大腕 (dàwàn)” is the phrase for “Top notch.” The character “大 (dà)” means
big or great and “腕 (wàn)” means wrist. Example: Chéng Lóng shì yǎnyìjiè de dàwàn. 成龙是演艺界的大腕。
Jackie Chan is a top notch star in film industry. Got questions?…
Windows 7 was released in China on October 23rd. Because of the incompatibility problems, its preceding edition Vista was questioned and 戏称(xìchēng) jokingly called 围死它(wéi sĭ tā) besiege it to death by some Chinese users. The pronunciation of Vista sounds like …
Beginner Level / 初级chūjí
Fú wù yuán: Xiānsheng, nínhăo, nín xūyào diăn shénme? 服务员：先生， 您好， 您需要点什么？ Waiter: Sir, can I help you please?
Gù kè: Wŏ yào yí fèn niúpái. 顾客：我要一份牛排。 Customer: I’d like a steak.
Fú wù yuán: Hăo de, qĭng shāoděng. 服务员：好的，请稍等。 Waiter: …
