This has to be up there with some of the most fun Chinese sayings – it stands out in a sentence, and will cause some puzzled reactions if you use it among people who’ve never heard it. 露出馬腳（露出马脚） Pinyin: lòu … Continue reading
We’ve featured Horse Dragon Fish a few times in the past, and if you’ve read any of their comics you’ll know they have a ‘special’ sense of humour. Well, Horse Dragon Fish is now creating more lesson-type comics that explain … Continue reading
Here’s a fun saying that you can learn to help you tell people to “leave you alone”, well, more like “get lost!”. You wouldn’t want to say it a friend, unless you were using it jokingly, but once you’ve learnt … Continue reading
This is a really fun Chinese saying that also has an interesting back story to go with it. Read on to find out how on earth ‘fried squid’ came to represent being fired or sacked from a job in Chinese. … Continue reading
The following tweet by John Pasden, of Sinosplice, caught my attention a week or so ago: If it’s not immediately apparent what it means then try saying “3Q” out loud, which in Chinese would be “三Q”. The pronunciation really isn’t … Continue reading
A treasure knife does not age. This is a great idiom that is almost always used to describe old people who’ve still got it. What better example could there be than good old 史恩·康納萊 (shǐ ēn · kāng nà lái). … Continue reading
Hey guys, I’m back! This week’s idiom is a really useful one for describing things which may seem easier than they actually are, such as say, learning Chinese for example. 談何容易（谈何容易） Pinyin: tán hé róng yì English: easier said than … Continue reading
Here is a fun slang saying in Chinese that is the equivalent of the English saying ‘on your bike’, which means ‘get out of here’, or ‘no chance’. Don’t worry, the image is a crash test dummy from this Youtube … Continue reading
Whether it’s food, clothes, music or any area where people differ this is a great idiom to use, the Taiwan education department even use medicine in their dictionary example. 因人而異（因人而异） Pinyin: yīn rén ér yì English: to vary from person … Continue reading
Welcome back to no-nonsense idioms, let’s get right into it: 一無所有（一无所有） Pinyin: yī wú suǒ yǒu English: to have nothing left at all Usage Traditional 他除了身上的衣服一無所有 Simplified 他除了身上的衣服一无所有 Pinyin tā chúle shēnshàng de yīfú yīwúsuǒyǒu English He’s got nothing left … Continue reading
