东西 (dōng xī)
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This word – meaning “thing” or “stuff” – directly translates into English as
“East/West.” However, it is not used to talk about direction. Here’s the most
common phrase associated with this word: “go shopping” or “buy something” (买
东西 – mǎi dōng xī). Way back in the Han Dynasty, Luoyang (洛阳 – luò yáng)
and Chang’an(长安 – cháng’ān – now Xi’an) were the two biggest commercial
cities in China. At that time, Luoyang was referred to as “East Capital” (东京 –
dōng jīng – now the Chinese name for Tokyo) and Chang’an was called the “West
Capital” (西京 - xī jīng). If people went shopping in Luoyang, they’d say “buy East”
(买东 – mǎi dōng) and if they headed to Chang’an, they’d say “buy West” (买西 –
mǎi xī). Over time, this evolved into the simple expression that we have today – 东
西. Here are a few examples of this Chinese word in action:
我想去超市买东西 – wǒ xiǎng qù chāo shì mǎi dōng xī
I want to go to the supermarket to buy things.
这是什么东西？- zhè shì shén me dōng xī
What’s this?
我要吃东西 – wǒ yào chī dōng xī
I want to eat something.
左右 – zuǒ yòu
• At first glance, you might translate this simply as “left and
right.” While it’s true that’s one way you can use this, it can
also mean “about”/”approximately.” There isn’t an
interesting story attached to this word, but you will hear it
quite often in daily life. Here are a few examples:
• 走路十 分钟 左右 – zǒu lù shí fēn zhōng zuǒ yòu
• About a 10 minute walk.
• 我们的公司一共有三百人左右 – wǒ men de gōng sī yì
gòng yǒu sān bǎi rén zuǒ yòu
• Our company has approximately 300 people.
• 他身高1点5米左右 – tā shēn gāo yì diǎn wǔ mǐ zuǒ yòu
• He’s about 1.5 meters tall.
马上 – mǎ shàng
• Although it’s certainly possible to use these two characters in their
direct translation – “on the horse” – it’s more common to hear
them used in oral Chinese meaning “right away”/”quickly.” As the
story behind this word goes, there was a general who heard that
the Emperor was gravely ill. He was so worried that he remained on
his horse and headed to the capital immediately. Here are a few
common examples for you to put to use:
• 我们马上就走 – wǒ men mǎ shàng jiù zǒu
• We’ll leave at once.
• 音乐会马上要开始了 – yīn yuè huì mǎ shàng yào kāi shǐ le
• The concert is going to begin soon.
• 看起来马上要下雨了 – kàn qǐ lái mǎ shàng yào xià yǔ le
• It looks like it’s about to rain.
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酒鬼 – jiǔ guǐ
• Chances are you’ve probably never seen an “alcohol ghost,”
but you have probably encountered a “boozehound,”
“wino,” or “drunkard” at some point. If you’re like me and
you’re nursing a cocktail at the moment, then you might
just be able to describe yourself as such. Or if you’ve got a
roommate like mine who always has Bloody Marys ready
on Sunday mornings, you could say:
• 他是个酒鬼 – tā shì gè jiǔ guǐ
• He’s a boozehound.
• Of course, this word can also be used more seriously,
meaning “alcoholic:”
• 我的父母都是酒鬼 – wǒ de fù mǔ dōu shì jiǔ guǐ
• My parents were both alcoholics.
老板 – lǎo bǎn
• This one translates directly as “old board.” Bet you’d never
guess that this one actually means “boss” in Chinese. Well,
it does! I’m sure plenty of folks out there feel like their boss
is about as exciting as an old piece of wood, so I guess this
one makes sense after all. Let’s look at a few sentences
with this word:
• 我的老板让我加班 – wǒ de lǎo bǎn ràng wǒ jiā bān
• My boss makes me work overtime.
• 今天老板很生气 – jīn tiān lǎo bǎn hěn shēng qì
• The boss is very angry today.
• 我们的老板是美国人 – wǒ men de lǎo bǎn shì měi guó rén
• Our boss is American.
• These are just a few examples of words that can’t
exactly be directly translated into English. It wouldn’t
make much sense if you said in English, “My old board
is a real alcohol ghost.” It also wouldn’t make any sense
if you said “I’m going to the mall on the horse to buy
East/West.” Learn the Chinese words and how to use
them the Chinese way, and forget about trying to
translate everything into your native language. Before
we go, here’s one more word that should motivate and
maybe also confuse you – 加油 (jiā yóu) – which
literally means “add oil,” but can also be used to
encourage (as in “go team!” or “you can do it!”) So add
some oil and keep working on your Chinese.