david_dawei Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 While in china, did you hear about 100 replies to "thank you" ; or 100 ways of sending you off or saying "Your Welcome"? I noted the same issue as this link shows... One that I see they did not mention that I frequently heard was "man zou" (walk slowly)... Debating “You’re Welcome”http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/20...e-welcome&page= Link to comment
jim_julian Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 All I hear in the Chongqing area is bu young xie ... but maybe that's because my Mandarin is so terrible. I was talking with lao po tonight and she was wearing a turtleneck sweater. When I explained what it was called in English she didn't know the word "turtle" ... so I looked it up in the dictionary and told her "wu gui". "What?" she said. So I said it several times with slightly different pronounciation ... no clue. As is my standard practice at this point I Googled "turtle" and selected a photo of a turtle, turned the webcam to the screen to show her and she said ... "Oh, wu gui!" Aiiiiyah! It sounded just like the way I said it the first time! Mandarin pronounciation is sure challenging! Link to comment
philb Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 Jim: Remember the game Charades? That is how I feel every trip. Phil Link to comment
jim_julian Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 Remember the game Charades? That is how I feel every trip.173693[/snapback]Yep .... it's the "sounds like" part that's the killer ... Link to comment
Trigg Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 wifeey says bu keqi--means you are very welcome. Link to comment
jim_julian Posted December 6, 2005 Report Share Posted December 6, 2005 wifeey says bu keqi--means you are very welcome.173706[/snapback]Huh? "Bu" is always a negative, no, or not as far as I understand it. So it must mean something like "no problem". Can you clarify Trigg? Jim is always trying to learn Link to comment
Guest Guest Posted December 6, 2005 Report Share Posted December 6, 2005 BuKeQi means: don't mention it; no problem; you are welcome; my pleasure... Man Zou is more like: take care; drive safely (man kai)... Be careful with "Wu Gui" (sometimes it's followed by "Wang Ba Dan/SOB"...it could be an offensive cursing word in Chinese Link to comment
david_dawei Posted December 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2005 wifeey says bu keqi--means you are very welcome.173706[/snapback]Huh? "Bu" is always a negative, no, or not as far as I understand it. So it must mean something like "no problem". Can you clarify Trigg? Jim is always trying to learn173745[/snapback]Bu keqi literally means, "don't be polite", or "don't stand on formality"... fairly close to bu yong xie "no need [to] thank"... but understood as "your welcome"... seems we loose the real meaning in translation... and a clue as to why they don't say 'thank you' as much as we do... Link to comment
rosyanne Posted December 6, 2005 Report Share Posted December 6, 2005 I attent to use NP(brief) alot. lazy already. Link to comment
Guest Guest Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Pet peeve here: Or "excuse me" after they have stepped on your foot 4-5 times in the shopping check-out line??? Don't seem to do it for whether lo wei or Chinese in Shanghai. Asked my wife how to say "excuse me" for this situation and got that blank stare.173790[/snapback]bu4 ke4 qu4 (pinyin) ²»±Ø¿ÍÆø used to say you are welcome but literally means:Does not need to be polite excuse me is something else: to find out go to MDBG free on-line Chinese dictionary and you will get all the answers you need. Also consider signing up with meetup.com and look for a Chinese language study group. Link to comment
michaelj0183 Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Pet peeve here: Or "excuse me" after they have stepped on your foot 4-5 times in the shopping check-out line??? Don't seem to do it for whether lo wei or Chinese in Shanghai. Asked my wife how to say "excuse me" for this situation and got that blank stare.173790[/snapback]bu4 ke4 qu4 (pinyin) ²»±Ø¿ÍÆø used to say you are welcome but literally means:Does not need to be polite excuse me is something else: to find out go to MDBG free on-line Chinese dictionary and you will get all the answers you need. Also consider signing up with meetup.com and look for a Chinese language study group.183520[/snapback]to say excuse me one says, dui4 bu5 qi3 ¶Ô²»Æð it means: I'm sorry / pardon me / forgive me; and is pronounced something like: do-we boo chee. and you say dui and bu fast because they are in the 4th (& 5th) tone and qi you say it slow (falling and rising) because it is the 3rd tone. Link to comment
frank1538 Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Anyone use or hear ²»ÓÃл b¨´ y¨°ng xi¨¨ (not need thanks)? Link to comment
david_dawei Posted January 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Pet peeve here: Or "excuse me" after they have stepped on your foot 4-5 times in the shopping check-out line??? Don't seem to do it for whether lo wei or Chinese in Shanghai. Asked my wife how to say "excuse me" for this situation and got that blank stare.173790[/snapback]bu4 ke4 qu4 (pinyin) ~{2;1X?MFx~} used to say you are welcome but literally means:Does not need to be polite excuse me is something else: to find out go to MDBG free on-line Chinese dictionary and you will get all the answers you need. Also consider signing up with meetup.com and look for a Chinese language study group.183520[/snapback]did you mean for the four characters to pronounced as well: 'bu bi ke qu' ? I had learned that 'bu ke qi' is enough... Link to comment
david_dawei Posted January 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 Anyone use or hear ~{2;SCP;~} b~{(4~} y~{(0~}ng xi~{((~} (not need thanks)?183664[/snapback]I did not hear this much in my SOs northern city but heard it more in south... As for excuse me, if just to get by someone, I heard that "bu hao yi si" is used instead of "dui bu qi".... Link to comment
turtle Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 Be careful with "Wu Gui" (sometimes it's followed by "Wang Ba Dan/SOB"...it could be an offensive cursing word in Chinese173763[/snapback]"Wu gui wang ba dan" is my favorite chinese curse! In literature, it's often translated to "son of a drunken turtle". I can't wait till I get an opportunity to use it Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now