6 Useful Mandarin Phrases that will Impress Native Speakers
Chinese school as a young child was the bane of my Saturday existence. Instead of getting to watch Saturday morning cartoons like all the other kids, I was dragged to Chinese (aka Mandarin) school to learn a language that none of my other friends spoke. It wasn’t until I was much older when I took up Mandarin again in college and went to Taipei to learn, that I appreciated the little that I did retain from those Saturday mornings repeating after the teacher and finger writing characters in the air.
My interest grew and it was fun to find all these eloquent sayings and phrases that were in Mandarin that you just don’t have in English. Since then, I’ve self studied and have collected a few of my favorites Mandarin sayings below.
The phrases are written in traditional characters followed by simplified characters followed by the pinyin romanization. Note that some of the phrases are written the same in traditional and simplified characters and thus only one version will be displayed.
1. 生於憂患死於安樂 | 生于忧患死于安乐 | shēng yú yōuhuàn sǐ yú ānlè
This saying is attributed to the Confucian scholar Mencius (孟子) and literally translates to: life comes from hardship, death comes from comfort. It refers to how growth things come from challenges but idleness and complacency comes from living too comfortably. For example: I saw this phrase used in a Chinese idol reality show called “Youth With You 2” in which one contestant was weighed down by the pressure of a singing/dancing challenge. Her teammate told her: 生於憂患死於安樂, i.e. this is the time to grow and push yourself.
For myself personally, I’ve thought about this sentiment a lot during the pandemic and seeing how I could grow during the current situation. I’ve taken the time to practice cooking, gardening, and language learning. I’ve also helped my cousin, a medical professional, gather PPE during the start of the pandemic. The pandemic has also given me time to reflect and do some self care, which I think are examples of 生於憂患死於安樂.
2. 塞翁失馬，焉知非福 | 塞翁失马，焉知非福 | sàiwēng shīmǎ yānzhī fēifú
Literally: Old man loses a horse, who is to say it’s not a good thing? The idiom comes from a story about an old man who loses a horse and the neighbors come to him to express their concern. The old man replies, “Losing a horse, who is to say that it’s a good or bad thing?” The lost horse eventually returns bringing with it a beautiful wild horse in which the neighbors congratulate the old man for his good fortune. Unperturbed, the old man states, “We’ll see if this is truly good fortune.”
The wild horse becomes a favorite of the old man’s son, but one day while riding the horse, the son is thrown off and breaks his leg. The neighbors again share their concerns, but the old man only answers, “We’ll see.” Soon after a war breaks out with a neighboring province that claims the lives of many young men drafted to fight it. The son, however, since his leg was still healing was not drafted and was able to survive the war.
Similar English idioms to 塞翁失馬，焉知非福 (known colloquially as just 塞翁失馬) are “every cloud has a silver lining” or “ a blessing in disguise.”
Source: Chinese Moral Tales by Wu, Kuo, Yeh
3. 花花公子｜huāhuāgōngzǐ
A playboy. This term is also used for the Chinese name of the American magazine “Playboy.” 花 (huā) means flower but another colloquial meaning is lustful. 花 can also mean to spend. 公子 (gōngzǐ) is an honorific term for a son, generally used for the son of nobility. In Mandarin, sometimes an adjective is repeated twice for emphasis, so in this case 花花. Therefore, a 花花公子 can be interpreted as an irresponsible man that spends money freely and pursues having multiple sexual relations.
This is generally considered a pejorative or a humorous dig at a male friend that pursues casual sexual relationships. A related term is 渣男 (zhā nán), which is carries a heavier connotation. It literally means “broken man” and translates to “scumbag,” especially when it comes to relationships.
4. ＡＡ制 ｜ A A zhì
To go dutch. On a date, when both parties split the bill it’s called ＡＡ制. 制 (zhì) means system or to regulate. So what does A A mean? It means “algebraic average.” So ＡＡ制 means the “algebraic average system.”
Even as a native English speaker, I had never heard of AA as being an acronym for algebraic average or even used the term algebraic average; we just say “the average” or “the mean.” I find it fascinating how certain English terms that lose prominence sometimes find a home in other languages, usually in an adapted form.
5. 咄咄逼人 | duōduō bīrén
咄咄 (duōduō) refers to the clucking sound one makes with their tongue when they want to express their superiority over someone. 逼人 (bīrén) means to press or to threaten a person. The two words combined refers to someone being overbearing. It’s a pejorative so be mindful when using it.
For example: After finishing all the Terrace House episodes prior to the show being cancelled, I found a Chinese show called 同一屋檐下 (tóngyī wūyán xià) aka Shanghai Share Life. The format and style of the show is lifted entirely from Terrace House, including an emphasis on mundane drama.
In one scene, Curry (29 year old business owner) and Yujie (23 year old model) get into an argument over bringing a dog into the home. Curry and another roommate Carmen, without letting the other roommates know, bring their dogs into the house to meet the other roommates and get familiar. Unbeknownst to them, Yujie has a childhood fear of dogs. Yujie expresses how unfair it is for them to bring their dogs without notice and that having dogs in the home is going to make the living situation complicated. After some back and forth Curry replies, “你這樣太咄咄逼人” which translates, “The way you’re acting is overbearing.” This immediately causes the conversation to get heated and angry.
So be careful using this phrase!
6. 葉公好龍｜叶公好龙 | yègōng hàolóng
葉公 (yègōng) known in English as Lord Ye was known to have a vast collection of dragon designed accessories and items, from clothing to sword sheaths. Even his doorway and the windows of his home had dragons inscribed in them. Rumor of his love for dragons spread far and wide to the point that it reached the Celestial Dragon in the sky.
Celestial Dragon upon hearing this decided that it would pay a visit to this Lord Ye who loves dragons so much. The majestic creature flew down to Lord Ye’s home and stuck its head in through the window. Lord Ye, upon seeing the huge head of the Celestial Dragon, was shocked speechless and his face grew pale.
As it turned out, he only liked dragon-like stuff, but upon seeing the real deal, he was filled with terror. The term 葉公好龍 therefore is used to describe hypocrisy: a person who says one thing, but does another. Another way to express this is someone who presents a superficial side of themselves, but whose true actions and words betray them.
From the phrases above, I feel that you get a strong sense of Chinese culture and values which have subsequently influenced other East Asian countries like Japan, Korea and Taiwan. I plan to write a bit more on language in the future.
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Resources used: MDBG Chinese Dictionary, Baike Baidu
