Your First Chinese Words and Five Awesome Idioms to Start 2017

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It’s the beginning of the new year and I’m sure the topic of “New Year’s Resolutions”  has been brought up many times. I assume lots of them are regarding “losing weight ”, “travel”, “reading” etc, etc. Some of you might throw in "learn more Chinese". Even if you haven’t , these five Chinese idioms are just too good to miss!

Have you ever experienced when you say something simple in Chinese and friendly Chinese people get so excited and keep praising  “Your Chinese is too good!” Yes, these are five of those cool idioms that will make your Chinese friends go nuts when they hear you use them.

焕然一新 huàn rán yì xīn －Freshly new!

It’s the new year and most people are somehow trying something new for their look. Either it’s new clothes, a new hairstyle, for girls maybe it’s new lipstick or new blush… Anyway, this idiom is great for expressing your admiration of someone’s fresh new look.

You can say   “ 你看上去 (you look) 焕然一新 nǐ kàn shàng qù (you look) huàn rán yìxīn”

or “Wow…huàn rán yìxīn！”

It goes particularly well with your eyes popping and a big thumb up!

Tips: You don’t have to only use it for someone’s new look, in any circumstance people will love a compliment like this, especially if a girl might look the same to you but is trying something subtly different:)

不敢相信 bù gǎn xiāng xìn— Unbelievable!

It’s not necessary a pass expression like “unbelievable” in English. It’s good for any context when you want to express your surprise of something. It can be used when someone chugs a glass of bái jiǔ (Chinese rice liquor ) at the annual company dinner or if someone just gave you a big hongbao (red envelope).

It’s simple and complete as itself, you can just say “Wow…bù gǎn xiāng xìn”

Tips: This one goes well if you say it with your head shaking.

肃然起敬 sù rán qǐ jìng —Great respect to you!

This idiom tends to be a formal way of registering profound respect for someone. Chinese use it for fun by exaggerating the circumstance.

When someone does or says something small but impressive you can try to slide this idiom in— for example when someone tells you they are a professor at a university, or have been working on their position continuously for X amount of years.

It’s simple and complete as itself, you can just say “Wow... sù rán qǐ jìng "or “对 (to someone) duì someone sù rán qǐ jìng"

Tip: It will be more convincing with your big thumb is up. Your Chinese friends will feel really flattered especially when it’s coming from a foreigner.

真的假的 zhēn de jiǎ de —For real? / Real or fake?

This is my all time favorite when I hear a foreigner say it. It totally makes you a local! Or at least a smart laowai (Question everything!)! Use it when you are trying to bargain for the price offer or for the product, it might help you get away from all that "expat tax”!

It’s simple and complete as itself, you can just say “Wow…zhēn de jiǎ de ” and whatever people answer you can just say “bù gǎn xiāng xìn”!

Tips: There’s a northern China accent version which goes ”zhén-der jiǎ der"

开玩笑 kāi wán xiào －I’m kidding / Must be kidding!

This is my second favorite when I hear a foreigner say it. And trust me you will use it a lot once you master it as Chinese and foreigners have a totally different sense of humor. This could be a timely savior once you realize your Chinese friend is not getting your joke.

Another usage for this is when you want to express something that is ridiculous or impossible (so they must be kidding). For example, when your boyfriend/ girlfriend asks you to quit your job and go travel the world with him/ her tomorrow.

It’s simple and complete as itself, you can also say ”kāi shén me wán xiào "

Tips: This is a perfect idiom to roll your eyes with for the second usage, it adds character!

We know Chinese is not easy but many people still manage to learn a word or two. What are your first learned Chinese words? Vote below and let us know! If we missed your first words please leave a comment below and tell us the story of how you learned it.

＊＊＊New Year Giveaway＊＊＊ 

We are giving away 3 gifts for the top 3 popular comments for this post (based on the number of "like"). Thanks to Nogogo Online Grocery (www.nogogo.cn) and ALEXANDER'S (www.alexanders.cn) for sponsoring our new year giveaways this week!

 How do you win? 

Share your story of your first Chinese words/ phrases in the comments. 

The stories that get most likes by Jan 31st win.

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