Mandarin with Mijia

Here are some interesting Mandarin-isms I've gleaned from studying and would like to share with you...

子宫
zi gong:  baby palace
uterus


学生
xue sheng:  study birth
student


龙虾
long xia:  dragon shrimp
lobster


吃醋
chi cu:  eat vinegar
jealousy when your girlfriend talks to another boy


吃苦
chi ku:  eat bitter
suffer


吃喜酒
chi xi jiu:  eat happy wine
attend a wedding reception


生气
sheng qi:  raw air
very angry


男
nan:  the top half of the character is a field (tian), the bottom is strength (li)
man


电影
dian ying:  electric shadow
movie


红绿灯
hong lv deng:  red green light
intersection


坏蛋
huai dan:  broken egg
a scoundrel


冷笑话
leng xiao hua:  cold joke
corny joke


网球
wang qiu:  net ball
tennis


熊猫
xiong mao:  bear cat
panda


你太二了！
ni tai er le:  you are so two
"You are such an idiot!"


好好学习天天向上。
hao hao xue xi tian tian xiang shang:  good good study, day day up
Mao Zedong's proverb that faithful study will improve your life. 


公安
gong an:  public peace
police


没关系
mei guan xi:  no relationship
"No worries." 


牛仔裤
niu zai ku:  cowboy pants
jeans


野餐
ye can:  wilderness food
picnic


慢走
man zou:  walk slowly
"Take care." What Chinese hosts say when their guest leave. 


笔记本
bi ji ben:  pen remember book
notebook


土泥
tu ni:  potato mud
mashed potatoes


大灯
da deng:  big light
In English we say, "third wheel" when someone is getting between lovers, in Chinese, it's like shining a big obnoxious light on something that wants to be in darkness.


扫兴
sao xing:  sweep away spirit
disappointed


小菜一碟儿
xiao cai yi die'er:  little vegetable on a small plate
"Piece of cake." 


变色龙
bian se long:  change color dragon
chameleon


左右
zuo you:  left right
about


专心
zhuan xin:  professional heart
concentrate


火山
huo shan:  fire mountain
volcano


吃她的豆腐
chi ta de dou fu:  eat her tofu
You can use this phrase if a guy is flirting with a girl and doesn't have holy intentions. 


水龙头
shui long tou:  water dragon head
faucet


成熟
cheng shu:  develop ripeness
mature


圣灵
sheng ling:  Holy Spirit
What's cool about the ling character, is that the top radical (part of the character) is a mountain and bottom radical is fire. Pentecost!


I'll keep studying the oddest, funniest, most useless Chinese over here so that you can learn a bit about Chinese culture and have a healthy giggle.


Your friend,

米佳
mijia:  excellent rice
my name