Chinese · Upper intermediate (B2) · Chapter 9 of 12
Humour and informal language
幽默和口语Yōumò hé kǒuyǔ
Joke and tease in everyday Chinese: 挺…的, 可…了 and …死了, widely used slang like 靠谱 and 学霸, irony, 难道…吗？ and choosing the right register.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Use colloquial patterns: 挺…的, 可…了, …死了, 得了吧
- Understand widely used slang such as 靠谱, 吐槽, 学霸, 放鸽子
- Recognise irony and rhetorical questions with 难道…吗？
- Say the same request from formal to casual
Listen
In Tianjin, university friends Wu Di and Nana meet the day after he failed to turn up for dinner. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Nana
吴迪，你可真行啊！昨天说好七点吃饭，我在饭馆等了你一个小时，你人呢？
Wú Dí, nǐ kě zhēn xíng a! Zuótiān shuōhǎo qī diǎn chīfàn, wǒ zài fànguǎn děngle nǐ yí ge xiǎoshí, nǐ rén ne?
Wu Di, well done, really! We agreed on dinner at seven yesterday, I waited an hour for you at the restaurant, and where were you?
Wu Di
哎呀，对不起对不起！我在图书馆复习，手机没电了，一看表都九点了。
Āiyā, duìbuqǐ duìbuqǐ! Wǒ zài túshūguǎn fùxí, shǒujī méi diàn le, yí kàn biǎo dōu jiǔ diǎn le.
Oh no, I'm so sorry! I was revising in the library, my phone died, and when I looked at my watch it was already nine.
Nana
得了吧，又是这个理由。你已经放了我三次鸽子了，难道你一点儿都不觉得不好意思吗？你这人真不靠谱。
Déle ba, yòu shì zhège lǐyóu. Nǐ yǐjīng fàngle wǒ sān cì gēzi le, nándào nǐ yìdiǎnr dōu bù juéde bù hǎoyìsi ma? Nǐ zhè rén zhēn bú kàopǔ.
Oh, come off it, that excuse again. That's the third time you've stood me up. Don't you feel the least bit embarrassed? You're so unreliable.
Wu Di
这次真的不是故意的！下周就期末考试了，我紧张死了。
Zhè cì zhēn de bú shì gùyì de! Xià zhōu jiù qīmò kǎoshì le, wǒ jǐnzhāng sǐ le.
This time I really didn't mean to! End-of-term exams start next week, and I'm stressed out of my mind.
Nana
你？紧张？你可是我们系有名的学霸，每次考试都第一，还用复习？
Nǐ? Jǐnzhāng? Nǐ kě shì wǒmen xì yǒumíng de xuébà, měi cì kǎoshì dōu dì-yī, hái yòng fùxí?
You? Stressed? You're the department's famous top student, first in every exam. Since when do you need to revise?
Wu Di
学霸也得复习啊。好啦好啦，别吐槽我了。这样吧，今天晚上我请客，地方你挑，想吃啥吃啥。
Xuébà yě děi fùxí a. Hǎo la hǎo la, bié tǔcáo wǒ le. Zhèyàng ba, jīntiān wǎnshang wǒ qǐngkè, dìfang nǐ tiāo, xiǎng chī shá chī shá.
Top students have to revise too. All right, all right, stop having a go at me. Tell you what: dinner's on me tonight. You choose the place and eat whatever you like.
Nana
这还差不多。那我可不客气了，就去那家挺贵的海鲜馆。
Zhè hái chàbuduō. Nà wǒ kě bú kèqi le, jiù qù nà jiā tǐng guì de hǎixiānguǎn.
That's more like it. Then I won't hold back: let's go to that rather pricey seafood place.
Wu Di
啊？海鲜？你这是要我的命啊。我一个穷学生，你就不能挑个便宜点儿的？
Á? Hǎixiān? Nǐ zhè shì yào wǒ de mìng a. Wǒ yí ge qióng xuésheng, nǐ jiù bù néng tiāo ge piányi diǎnr de?
What? Seafood? You'll be the death of me. I'm a poor student; couldn't you pick somewhere a bit cheaper?
Nana
哟，刚才还说想吃啥吃啥，现在就这么小气？
Yō, gāngcái hái shuō xiǎng chī shá chī shá, xiànzài jiù zhème xiǎoqi?
Oh, a minute ago it was “eat whatever you like”, and now you're this stingy?
Wu Di
不是小气，是穷。要不这样，我们去食堂，我请你吃三顿，一举两得：你吃饱了，我也不用破产。
Bú shì xiǎoqi, shì qióng. Yàobù zhèyàng, wǒmen qù shítáng, wǒ qǐng nǐ chī sān dùn, yì jǔ liǎng dé: nǐ chībǎo le, wǒ yě bú yòng pòchǎn.
I'm not stingy, I'm broke. How about this: we go to the canteen and I treat you three times. Two birds with one stone: you get fed and I don't go bankrupt.
Nana
哈哈，你真逗。行吧，看你这么可怜，就食堂吧。不过说好了，下次再放我鸽子，我就天天去你们宿舍蹭饭！
Hāhā, nǐ zhēn dòu. Xíng ba, kàn nǐ zhème kělián, jiù shítáng ba. Búguò shuōhǎo le, xià cì zài fàng wǒ gēzi, wǒ jiù tiāntiān qù nǐmen sùshè cèngfàn!
Ha ha, you're so funny. Fine, you look so pitiful, the canteen it is. But let's be clear: if you stand me up again, I'll come round to your dorm every day and eat your food!
Wu Di
欢迎啊！我室友做饭可厉害了，你来蹭饭，他们肯定高兴死了。
Huānyíng a! Wǒ shìyǒu zuòfàn kě lìhai le, nǐ lái cèngfàn, tāmen kěndìng gāoxìng sǐ le.
You're welcome! My roommates are brilliant cooks. If you come and eat with us, they'll be over the moon.
Understand
Colloquial patterns
Friends rarely say (hěn) all the time. (tǐng … de) means “quite, pretty”: (tǐng guì de), pretty expensive. (kě … le) means “really, so”: (zuòfàn kě lìhai le), are brilliant cooks. Adjective + (sǐ le), literally “to death”, exaggerates: (jǐnzhāng sǐ le), stressed out of my mind; (gāoxìng sǐ le), over the moon. It isn't rude, but it is very casual.
(déle ba), come off it, rejects what someone said. (shá) is a northern (shénme), widely used in Tianjin and Beijing. A question word used twice means “whatever”: (xiǎng chī shá chī shá), eat whatever you like.
| Casual | Neutral | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| (tǐng hǎo de) | (hěn hǎo) | pretty good |
| (kě hǎochī le) | (fēicháng hǎochī) | really delicious |
| (lèi sǐ le) | (hěn lèi) | dead tired |
| (shá) | (shénme) | what |
| (déle ba) | (wǒ bù xiāngxìn) | come off it |
Slang everyone understands
Some words from the internet and student life are now used by everyone, in chat and in conversation. They are friendly and not vulgar, but keep them out of formal writing and job interviews.
(kàopǔ) means reliable, sensible; (bú kàopǔ) is unreliable. (fàng gēzi), literally “release the pigeons”, is to stand someone up; it splits like other verb + object words: (fàngle wǒ sān cì gēzi).
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (kàopǔ) | reliable, sensible | (Zhège bànfǎ tǐng kàopǔ de.) |
| (tǔcáo) | to make fun of, to moan about | (Bié tǔcáo wǒ le.) |
| (xuébà) | top student, swot | (Tā shì wǒmen bān de xuébà.) |
| (lìhai) | amazing, brilliant; severe | (Nǐ zhēn lìhai!) |
| (fàng gēzi) | to stand someone up | (Tā yòu fàng wǒ gēzi le.) |
| (cèngfàn) | to eat at someone else's expense | (Wǒ qù nǐ jiā cèngfàn.) |
Irony, 难道 and register
Irony works in Chinese as in English: the tone of voice tells you. (nǐ kě zhēn xíng a!), literally “you're really capable!”, often means “well done, you've really done it now”. (nándào … ma?) is a rhetorical question: the speaker thinks the opposite is obviously true, or is surprised: (nándào nǐ bù juéde bù hǎoyìsi ma?), surely you feel embarrassed?
Recognising register is part of B2. (bǐjì) are notes, and (jiè) is “to borrow, to lend”. Here is the same request, “Could I borrow your notes?”, from formal to casual:
| Register | Chinese |
|---|---|
| very formal (to a professor) | (Bù zhī néngfǒu jièyòng yíxià nín de bǐjì?) |
| polite | (Néng bu néng máfan nǐ bǎ bǐjì jiè wǒ kàn yíxià?) |
| friendly | (Nǐ de bǐjì néng jiè wǒ kànkan ma?) |
| casual | (Bǐjì jiè wǒ kànkan bei.) |
New words
- 得了吧déle bacome off it, give me a break
- 放鸽子fàng gēzito stand someone up · (fàng wǒ gēzi), to stand me up
- 难道nándàosurely … not?, do you mean to say …? · (nándào … ma?)
- 靠谱kàopǔreliable, sensible · (bú kàopǔ), unreliable
- …死了… sǐ leextremely, to death (after an adjective) · (lèi sǐ le), dead tired; (jǐnzhāng sǐ le), stressed out of my mind; (jǐnzhāng), nervous, stressed
- 学霸xuébàtop student, swot
- 吐槽tǔcáoto make fun of, to moan about
- 请客qǐngkèto treat (someone), to pay for everyone · (wǒ qǐngkè), it's on me
- 啥sháwhat (northern, casual) · = (shénme)
- 挺…的tǐng … dequite, pretty
- 小气xiǎoqistingy, mean · (bú shì xiǎoqi, shì qióng), I'm not stingy, I'm broke; (qióng), poor
- 逗dòufunny; to tease · (nǐ zhēn dòu), you're so funny
- 蹭饭cèngfànto eat at someone else's expense · (qù sùshè cèngfàn), to come round to the dorm for free meals; (shítáng), canteen
- 厉害lìhaiamazing, brilliant; severe
Practise
1.Match the slang with its meaning.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
2.Your friend arrives two hours late and you say (nǐ kě zhēn xíng a!). What do you mean?
3.Wu Di offers to pay. Put the words in order, starting with (jīntiān).
Tap the words below in the right order.Dinner's on me tonight; eat whatever you like.
4.You need to ask your professor if you could borrow her notes. Which sentence fits?
5. (wàng) means “to forget”. Which sentence is a rhetorical question expecting the answer “no”?
0 of 5 exercises done.
Say it out loud
得了吧，又是这个理由。
Déle ba, yòu shì zhège lǐyóu.
Oh, come off it, that excuse again.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.