A little bit of Chinglish goes a long way. . .

Since I’ve been in China for a few months, I’m picking up all the Chinglish words westerners say.  Some of them are legit, others are a little sketchy with that way they are used.  Either way, these words are a normal part of my every day language:

Dong xi (Dong-she) – Stuff, Any kind of Stuff.  As in, “Grab your dong xi, we gotta leave!”

Shen me (Shen-muh) – Question word: What, Chinese often use this twice in a row. As in, if I didn’t understand you because you were mumbling, I might come back with a quick: “Shen me Shen me?”

Deng yi xia (Dung-E-sh-yah) – Wait one moment.   This comes in handy as I was still saying Uno Momento in Spanish.  Now I can throw it out in Chinese

Dui (dway) – Yes.  Chinese use this word twice in a row, or sometimes 5 or 10 times.  When there is confusion and finally someone understands, they will say, “Dui Dui Dui Dui Dui Dui.”   I’m not sure why.

Ting bu dong (ting boo dong) – I hear you, but I didn’t understand you.  Unfortunately whenever I use this, the Chinese person keeps right on speaking in Chinese…. And then I keep saying ting bu dong, ting bu dong, ting bu dong.  They usually keep smiling and talking, until I nod my head and say, Dui! (yes).  Then they usually say goodbye and we part ways…. I’m never really sure why this phrase doesn’t work. 

Je ge (juh-guh) – That.  As in, I can’t speak any other words in Chinese at a restaurant, so I point at a picture and I say, “Je ge!” Meaning, I want that. 

Wo yao (whoa-yao) – I want.  I use this phrase more than I think I did in English.

Mei you (Mayo, like mayonnaise) – Don’t have.  Ben will say mei you mayo in the house, since he doesn’t like mayonnaise… but I don’t know the word for mayonnaise in Chinese….

Hen hao (hon, like in honey, hon-how) - Very good.  As in, “My Chinese lesson was hen hao”

Bu hao (boo-how) – Not good…  As in, “The bus is 15 minutes late! Bu hao!!”

Zhang fu (jong-foo) - Husband

Tai tai (tie-tie) - Wife

Xie xie (sh-yeah-sh-yeah) – Thank you.  I’m finally out of the “Gracias” stage, and can now be polite in Chinese, too.

Hao chi (how-chur) – literally, good eats, or delicious, or good food.  However, our staff use it for everything, like a slang for “that’s cool” or “I’m glad” or “exciting!”  So, I could say, “Our team won in basketball yesterday.” And another person would say, “Hao Chi!”  It doesn’t make any sense, but it always makes us laugh.  I don’t think Chinese people use Hao Chi this way.  J

And my favorite Chinese word:

Li hai (lee-high) – literally means something like, becoming anxious about, or it can describe a very particular person.  Westerners use it as a synonymous term for OCD. “She is li hai about her toe nails; she goes in for a pedicure every week.”  Or “I’m really li hai about wanting things at right angles” 

I love being able to add to my vocabulary!  I learn new things every week, especially from my Chinese teacher, Susie.  She’s so helpful in teaching me new things to say!