Three Favorite Chinese Expressions!

Hey guys! Today I am going to share with you, three of my favorite Chinese Expressions! I thought this may be a fun topic for you all.

 

1. 太贵了

 

Bargaining plays a huge role in China’s social culture. It is customary in most Chinese stores; however it can be a little problematic at times. On both occasions when I visited China, I went to the Peal Market to bargain. One of my favorite expressions that I learned was, “太贵了!”—meaning too expensive. Every time I said, “太贵了” to the salesman, he would then lower the price down until we reached a median cost for an item. The whole process of bargaining was a novel, and pleasurable experience for me at the Pearl Market. Every time I think of my experiences in the Peal Market, I think of the expression “太贵了” and my warmhearted memories precipitously reappear.

 

2. 人山人海

 

Additionally, another favorite Chinese expression of mine would have to be, “人山人海”. This is similar to the English expression, “a sea of people”. As China has a colossal population this expression is commonly used. This expression intrigues me because often times the literal translations of expressions in Chinese do not directly correlate with what the word intends on meaning. For example,“人山人海” literally translates to “people mountain people sea”. Through learning Chinese, I have encountered different idioms, proverbs, and literal translations. The Chinese language is a unique, creative and mind-stimulating language.

 

3. 真的吗！

 

Lastly, another favorite Chinese expression—that I especially find myself saying a lot—would have to be “真的吗！”. “真的吗！” means really!? When Chinese speakers say this word, they normally say it using a lot of emphasis (being that it is composed of three varied tones.) Instead of saying the expressions “真的吗！” you could also say “是吗”。These expressions are used interchangeably. But。。。 why wouldn’t you want to say真的吗！, it is so much fun! Here’s a quick Chinese grammar fact: if you want to formulate a sentence in Chinese, you must put the character “吗”at the end of the sentence, so the reader knows you are asking a question rather than just stating a fact. Lets break it down real quick and make this a bit more simple… basically the character “吗” would be a question mark written in English. So every time you see the character “吗” at the end of a sentence, think of it as a question mark. I hope that helps! I also hope you use the expression “真的吗！”—trust me you will sound like a real native when using this expression!

 

Until next time! 再见！