Evan had mixed feelings about his new assistant. On the one hand, Sammy was proving indispensable at managing Chinese customs. Without his assistance, Drexler Exports would be shipping perhaps half as much product through Guangzhou and taking twice as long to do it. On the other hand, the new employee's efforts to ingratiate himself with his boss were increasingly irritating. Couldn't he be just a bit more laid back?In this Chinese lesson, we focus on the difference between positive admiration and indulging in the sort of jealous rage that leads to lawsuits. Since we know you're drowning in them for your exceptional Chinese, we also touch on a few ways to deflect compliments and tell someone that they're coming on a bit strong.
chadyanpitre
said on September 23, 2010
Loved the distinction piece between the jealous / envy vocab. Also, "pai ma pi" (sorry pinyin not installed on work comp.) is DEFINITELY a very common colloquial expression in mainland China. I seem to remember another expression about a horse or donkey's mouth, but it slips the mind right now.
Come to think of it, some concentrated lessons on very extremely common expressions like this would be lots of fun. (e.g. cho feng, shu da zhao feng, etc.)
Keep up the great work.
ameristar888
said on September 23, 2010
At first I thought I heard 我真折磨你... ha ha. One has to listen closely.
Echo
said on September 23, 2010
@chadyanpitre,
I think you wanted to say "驴唇不对马嘴“(Lv2chun2 bu4 dui4 ma3zui3) ? Meaning two things are totally different?
Btw, it's "Chou1feng1" ;)
@ameristar888,
Lol,笑死我了!
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
chadyanpitre
said on September 23, 2010
@echo
对了! 我要记住, 找个机会在日常生活使用以下。哈哈。
一般来讲用动物的俗话都比较有意思。 :0)
Chad
MoNigeria
said on September 24, 2010
this reminds me of the whole '个屁‘ thing
啥子啥子个屁。
xiaoxin
said on September 29, 2010
哈哈哈,你们真的在图片上放马的PG啊~~
qyearsley
said on October 9, 2010
Brendon和Echo的声音这么好听,我真羡慕你们……
jeangiscamp
said on October 18, 2010
I'm surprised no one listed:
哪儿的话?
哪里,哪里
过奖,过奖
which as I understand are more corteous?
sebds70
said on March 1, 2011
Hey guys, thanks for the great vocabulary. I've had so many awkward silences when (impartial) people trying to sell me stuff tell me I'm handsome or say how good my Chinese is - not good enough to comfortably bat away compliments! Speaking of which, an old guy once told me I was 漂亮 (I'm a guy). That's not good, is it?
Oh yes, and do people really say 哪里,哪里? I was wondering if it's one of those expressions you get taught in class but people don't really say that much, like 马马虎虎 and 对不起.
谢谢
Sebastian
trevelyan
said on March 1, 2011
Hey Sebastian,
Unless you think he meant it negatively, I wouldn't take 漂亮 as an insult, although it is sort of strange. And while I don't hear 哪里哪里 in Beijing at all, I *do* hear 马马虎虎 on occasion and people definitely use 对不起 quite often in my experience as an apology-demanding tyrant. Be curious what experiences people in other parts of China have....
Cheers,
--dave
sebds70
said on March 2, 2011
Thanks Dave. And sounds like I'd better be careful to stay on your good side. :P
jasonmbechtel
said on September 20, 2014
When I first arrived in Qingdao I would say 哪里,哪里. People seemed to really appreciate that, but I don't think I ever heard natives say it spontaneously. And right away they taught me that I could say 你过奖了我 instead.