Dummy means stupid?

[meimei]

I called my SO "dummy" tonight, he was not happy and said it's rude to call someone dummy, He said dummy means an ignorant or foolish person, so I made a mistake? I thought it was an unharmful way of teasing.

[Guest Paul]

Is it possible you can ask him to forgive you and you can learn from your mistake?

 

Wheel Man

 

 

 

I called my SO "dummy" tonight, he was not happy and said it's rude to call someone dummy, He said dummy means an ignorant or foolish person, so I made a mistake? I thought it was an unharmful way of teasing.

[Dennis143]

I called my SO "dummy" tonight, he was not happy and said it's rude to call someone dummy, He said dummy means an ignorant or foolish person, so I made a mistake? I thought it was an unharmful way of teasing.

I have seen this work both ways. A Chinese woman on line would call me an English name that she thought was cute, yet I thought was down right demeaning. Of course, some of us have been conditioned by our American exes to be sensitive to words. So, when we hear this coming from our Chinese SO it can sting even if the intent was playful.

 

On the flip side, I have jokingly used Shaghua to mean crazy woman, to only learn that it can mean something even more demeaning.

 

I think the lesson is to keep using words jokingly to a minimum. At least until two people know each other well enough to understand the intent behind the words.

[meimei]

Paul and Dennis, thanks for your kindly replying.

Dennis, if your loved one call you" shagua" in chinese, then it does't mean anything bad at all, it's a fond way of joking. it's in a sense to show the love and closeness beween two people instead of being mean. I guess it's equivalent to" silly" in English.by the way, I think "silly" doesn't have malicious meaning right?(hope I'm not mistaken here again, hehe)

words can be tricky but it's interesting at the same time, hehe

[Dennis143]

Paul and Dennis, thanks for your kindly replying.

Dennis, if your loved one call you" shagua" in chinese, then it does't mean anything bad at all, it's a fond way of joking. it's in a sense to show the love and closeness beween two people instead of being mean. I guess it's equivalent to" silly" in English.by the way, I think "silly" doesn't have malicious meaning right?(hope I'm not mistaken here again, hehe)

words can be tricky but it's interesting at the same time, hehe

Well, I thought the same thing about shagua, so I jokingly called one of my ESL students this name. I was later scolded by Leiqin for it and told that it can also can mean retard. I felt so very bad. I learned a good lesson that day.

[MikeandRong]

We tease each other with sha gua all the time, it's no big deal at all.

 

 

 

Trying to find common words that have a good/same meanings can be differcult at times. Maybe try and ask what would be a good word to say to your SO, one that would both understand the your meaning, but also know you are teasing/kidding.

Edited September 12, 2006 by MikeandRong (see edit history)

[mama bear]

We call each other as "my chouchou", that is stinky stinky;

PB and baby bear call each other "pigu tou", that is butt head, hehe. B)

[Guest Paul]

You are welcome meimei.

 

Cute little words known as "terms of endearment" are fun descriptions for each other. But they have to be said with love, so the other person understands you are only playing. My former wife and I used the terms of Beevis and Butthead when we addressed one another. Hehe, I'm sure you know who Butthead was. Yep, you got it, I was Beevis. When we got mad the terms of enderment turned to terms of much worse, can't say here what we called each other here but use your imiganation. Currently, my SO and I have not developed any terms of endearment but I'm sure we will one day as we both have a fantastic sense of humor and like to play practical jokes on each other. I think humor is a super-great way of (key word: helping) to keep each other happy ... don't you agree?

 

Wheel Man

*********************************************************************

 

Paul and Dennis, thanks for your kindly replying.

Dennis, if your loved one call you" shagua" in chinese, then it does't mean anything bad at all, it's a fond way of joking. it's in a sense to show the love and closeness beween two people instead of being mean. I guess it's equivalent to" silly" in English.by the way, I think "silly" doesn't have malicious meaning right?(hope I'm not mistaken here again, hehe)

words can be tricky but it's interesting at the same time, hehe

[tonado]

Calling someone a dummy is implying the person is not too bright or smart.

 

Dummies are also used for car crash tests.

 

http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/safety/ar...94/article.html

[Dennis143]

I am a jokester, so I think about this often. When you factor in language barrier or not understanding American slang, words can get tossed about without realizing their impact. It is best to give the benefit of the doubt, instead of feeling a sting.

 

I remember last year I was IMing my GZ friend. She called me simple. At first I was pissed. After talking about what she meant, it boiled down to meaning that I was uncomplicated and didn¡¯t seem to be carrying a lot of emotional baggage.

 

The nice thing about my wife¡¯s lack of English is that I can call her all kinds of names and she doesn¡¯t know what the heck I am saying, so it don¡¯t matter. I suppose it works in reverse too. Words can get in the way. My wife and I don¡¯t need many.

[Guest Paul]

Dennis, Dennis, you lucky, lucky man. It's neat the way your wife doesn't know the bad words. My SO in Nanning back in May was trying to teach me some Chinese slang when I asked if she knew any Amerrican. Holy jalapeno, did my ears ever burn. I was amazed when she said I know "f you" in perfect English. She told me she had to know a few of those words, phrases in case some American man said something like that to her. Fortunately, the thought never entered my mind cuz we get alont too well. It's been said on this site many times before and I think it still holds true - we should be very, very paitent with our SO's trying to learn English.

 

 

Wheel Man

****************************************************************

 

 

I am a jokester, so I think about this often. When you factor in language barrier or not understanding American slang, words can get tossed about without realizing their impact. It is best to give the benefit of the doubt, instead of feeling a sting.

 

I remember last year I was IMing my GZ friend. She called me simple. At first I was pissed. After talking about what she meant, it boiled down to meaning that I was uncomplicated and didn¡¯t seem to be carrying a lot of emotional baggage.

 

The nice thing about my wife¡¯s lack of English is that I can call her all kinds of names and she doesn¡¯t know what the heck I am saying, so it don¡¯t matter. I suppose it works in reverse too. Words can get in the way. My wife and I don¡¯t need many.

[tywy_99]

dummy, scummy, crummy, rummy............they're all bad!

[Dennis143]

dummy, scummy, crummy, rummy............they're all bad!

yummy is OK?

 

 

Kewl emoticons, Ty.

 

edit: wow, I just noticed all the new emoticons.

Edited September 13, 2006 by Dennis143 (see edit history)

[march]

I used to say YOU ARE SO STUPID to my husband. he is always patient to correct me "honey, stupid is hurting , use silly."

[Cerberus]

Paul and Dennis, thanks for your kindly replying.

Dennis, if your loved one call you" shagua" in chinese, then it does't mean anything bad at all, it's a fond way of joking. it's in a sense to show the love and closeness beween two people instead of being mean. I guess it's equivalent to" silly" in English.by the way, I think "silly" doesn't have malicious meaning right?(hope I'm not mistaken here again, hehe)

words can be tricky but it's interesting at the same time, hehe

 

Meimei,

 

I have been married coming up on two years now, to an extremely beautiful passionate Chinese woman. My wife calls me "sagqua" frequently. At first I was very offended being a Westerner. Later, I learned exactly what she meant. It is true what you say! Being called a ¡°Sagqua,¡± between a husband and wife is not a bad term! It indicates closeness between a wife and husband, and she is indeed calling him silly, and 7 times out of ten is may even be meant is a intimate affectionate manner! She is not, stating that he/her husband is an idiot!

 

However, as a small anecdote, She was able to P.O. me off when she watched the entire cartoon show on PBS¡­¡­¡­..

 

You know,......... with the Chinese cats, modified Chinese methodology of thinking, etc. The name of the show is ¡°Sagwa.¡±

 

My wife watched the entire 30 minutes of the show¡¯s duration, and then compared me to the cat¡¯s main character role. Only then, did I draw the line¡­¡­.

 

Crap! Being compared to a cartoon character!

 

Excuse me! I have to make this post brief! My wife is calling her "Sagqua" to do the dishes! LOL!