my stay in china thus far, as represented by what little mandarin i've been able to pick up (in chronological order):
-ni hao (hello) and xie xie (thanks) -- these don't really count, i knew them before i got here
-pinda pijiu (cold beer) the "cold" part is important, otherwise you will be served beer at room temperature
-bu yao (something roughly like "i don't want (that)")
-gambe! (cheers!) oh, and if you say this, where i am anyways, it's expected that you'll drink what glass you're holding all at once... but it's no problem, because they usually serve beer with these little dixie-cup sized glasses. at one excusion to KTV (karaoke), i misplaced my little glass but a student wanted to drink with me, so he jokingly handed me a whole bottle (of beer). when i picked it up, clinked his tiny glass, and drank the whole thing he stared at me with a dropped jaw for like 2 minutes.
-wo ting bu dong (i don't understand) very important. well, not really, because even if you couldn't say it, it quickly becomes apparent that you don't understand. but usually when you say people seem to get a kick out of it. it also lead to a funny conversation, two chinese tutors at work were talking, in chinese of course, then noticed i was sitting there.. looked at each other.. all i heard of what they said was "ting bu dong" and so i said, "dui, ting bu dong" and then they both laughed at me because i'd understood at least that much.
-tai gui le (too expensive) - bargaining is routine here, especially if you're a laowai--foreigner-- and everyone assumes you're a. naive and b. loaded
-guanxi ( difficult to translate... link )
-moli (sounds like maw-lee) (jasmine) -- those of you that know me can imagine how this one might come up as being one of the first few words i learned.
-kuaizi (chopsticks) sometimes in restaurants they'll give us forks because i guess they assume we can't use chopsticks?
-man man chi (equivalent to bon appetit, but it literally means "eat slowly")
-wo chibao le (i'm full)
-ni chifan le meiyou? (have you eaten?) this is kind of a standard greeting, like "how are you?"
-ji rou (chicken meat) for that matter, i've learned most other types of meat, but the reason i bring this up is that i also learned that ji (chicken) is also slang for prostitute
-meiguo (america) once i was in an elevator with a couple of students and some other random people.. one of the dudes pointed at me and asked my student "somethin something...meiguo.... something?" getting off the elevator i asked my student if he asked if i was american. they were clearly impressed with my perfect grasp of their language and flawless fluency.
ok, so i omitted some boring stuff like 'excuse me' and some fruits and vegetables... i'm also a world music geek, so i already knew a lot of the traditional chinese instruments.
-ni hao (hello) and xie xie (thanks) -- these don't really count, i knew them before i got here
-pinda pijiu (cold beer) the "cold" part is important, otherwise you will be served beer at room temperature
-bu yao (something roughly like "i don't want (that)")
-gambe! (cheers!) oh, and if you say this, where i am anyways, it's expected that you'll drink what glass you're holding all at once... but it's no problem, because they usually serve beer with these little dixie-cup sized glasses. at one excusion to KTV (karaoke), i misplaced my little glass but a student wanted to drink with me, so he jokingly handed me a whole bottle (of beer). when i picked it up, clinked his tiny glass, and drank the whole thing he stared at me with a dropped jaw for like 2 minutes.
-wo ting bu dong (i don't understand) very important. well, not really, because even if you couldn't say it, it quickly becomes apparent that you don't understand. but usually when you say people seem to get a kick out of it. it also lead to a funny conversation, two chinese tutors at work were talking, in chinese of course, then noticed i was sitting there.. looked at each other.. all i heard of what they said was "ting bu dong" and so i said, "dui, ting bu dong" and then they both laughed at me because i'd understood at least that much.
-tai gui le (too expensive) - bargaining is routine here, especially if you're a laowai--foreigner-- and everyone assumes you're a. naive and b. loaded
-guanxi ( difficult to translate... link )
-moli (sounds like maw-lee) (jasmine) -- those of you that know me can imagine how this one might come up as being one of the first few words i learned.
-kuaizi (chopsticks) sometimes in restaurants they'll give us forks because i guess they assume we can't use chopsticks?
-man man chi (equivalent to bon appetit, but it literally means "eat slowly")
-wo chibao le (i'm full)
-ni chifan le meiyou? (have you eaten?) this is kind of a standard greeting, like "how are you?"
-ji rou (chicken meat) for that matter, i've learned most other types of meat, but the reason i bring this up is that i also learned that ji (chicken) is also slang for prostitute
-meiguo (america) once i was in an elevator with a couple of students and some other random people.. one of the dudes pointed at me and asked my student "somethin something...meiguo.... something?" getting off the elevator i asked my student if he asked if i was american. they were clearly impressed with my perfect grasp of their language and flawless fluency.
ok, so i omitted some boring stuff like 'excuse me' and some fruits and vegetables... i'm also a world music geek, so i already knew a lot of the traditional chinese instruments.
VIEW 13 of 13 COMMENTS
bobbysox11:
Usually wouldn't hit a blog,but U'rs being located like it is I did.Couldn't be gladder I rooled the dice.Sound's like U'r havin' 1 heck of a good time though!Joining the Navy they give ya what they call a "dream station"w/ 3 choices,so I put down anywhere in Asia 4 all 3,2 my horror i went 2 Europe insteed!A mnth. in Paris & I actually became 1/2 way fluent.When U'r emersed in a culture U quickly adapt!So just keep on tryin' & U'r stories & linguistic skill's will def. improve!!!
pirate_romeo:
Sounds like a blast. More please.