蛋(dàn) probably be one of the most frequently used word in everyday Chinese. But do you know that “蛋(dàn)” can mean something other than food? Let’s see some funny Mandarin words with “蛋(dàn)”
笨蛋Bèndàn
Which means an Idiot. “他是一個笨蛋”, which means he is an idiot.
皮蛋pídàn
When we want to say someone is naughty, we will call that person as “皮蛋(pídàn)”
窮光蛋qióngguāngdàn
Which means a pauper. “他現在是個窮光蛋”, refers to “he is a pauper now”.
混蛋húndàn
This is a bad word. When we are really mad about someone, we can call that person as an asshole.
壞蛋huàidàn
It means a badass. 混蛋only means I am mad about someone, however, 壞蛋really means a bad gay.
王八蛋wángbā dàn
Which means a bastard. The usage is similar like 混蛋.
臉蛋liǎndàn
When we want to describe a person’s face looks cute, nice, fine and so on, we can say”他的臉蛋真好看”, which means “his face looks so beautiful”.
糊塗蛋hútú dàn
Which means absent-minded person. When someone always lost, forget things, very confused, we call that person as 糊塗蛋.
滾蛋gǔndàn
If we are angry to somebody and want that person to get out, we can say 滾蛋. But this is not polite at all.
完蛋wándàn
If I made a mistake and that will bring me a big result, I will say “我完蛋了”, which means “I’m screwed”.
In Taiwan, there are some numbers with special meanings and they are quite funny. Have you ever heard about them? Let’s some examples here.
543
This comes from Minnan Language (one of dialects in Taiwan). It means “saying something which is not important” or “say something which is not helpful”.
In Taiwan, when somebody says”他跟我說了一些543的話(tā gēn wǒ shuōle yīxiē wǔsìsān dehuà)”, it means he came to me and said something not important, or I don’t really like, or not meaningful.
2266
This also comes from Minnan Language, which means can’t managing things well, always forget lots of things. In Taiwan, when somebody says “他做事2266的，我不放心(tā zuòshì èr’èrliùliù de, wǒ bù fàngxīn)”, it means he can’t do things properly, so, I really worried about it”.
8+9
This also comes from Minnan Language. The pronunciation of “8+9” is very similar to “八家將(bā jiā jiāng)”, which is a local religious activity/dancing. There is no problem of the activity itself. The problem is some of their members are pretty much like gangland.
So, when we refer someone as “8+9”, it with bad meaning.
87
This also comes from Minnan Language. In Taiwan, if we want to say someone is an idiot, we will say “白癡(báichī)”. The pronunciation of “87” in Minnan Language is very similar to “白癡(báichī)”, so we use this two numbers refer to “idiot”.
520
This comes from Mandarin, which means “我愛你(wǒ ài nǐ)”. If you still don’t understand why, read it faster！The pronunciation between “520” and “我愛你” are very similar!
In Mandarin, there are a lot of characters with 2 or more pronunciations. And the differences between/amount different pronunciations normally related to its meaning. Let’s some commonly used examples about Mandarin Characters with Multiple Pronunciation and Meanings.
更
gèng：when pronounce” gèng”, it means “even more”. Such as 更多、更好、更熱。The part of speech of this pronunciation is adv.
gēng：when pronounce” gēng”, it means “update”. Such as 更新、更換。The part of speech of this pronunciation is Verb.
便
biàn：there are several meanings under this pronunciation. Such as 方便、便利
pián：the most common combination is 便宜, which means cheap.
Not like “更”，”便” itself has many different meanings. We choice pronunciation according to the meaning.
行
xíng：there are 2 popular usages under this pronunciation. One is “行/不行”, which means can or can’t. another is related to “move”, such as 行動、行為、行人.
háng：there are 3 popular usages under this pronunciation. One is “銀行”, which means bank. Another is row. The last one is about jobs, such as 行業, which means one’s professional or industrial.
還
hái：when we pronounce “hái”, it means “still”, such as 還沒、還要、還有. The part of speech of this pronunciation is adv.
huán：when we pronounce “huán”, it means “return something to somebody”. Such as 還錢、還給他. The part of speech of this pronunciation is Verb.
空
kōng：when we pronounce “kōng”, the first meaning is empty. Such as 空房間、空教室. The part of speech of this usage is adj. The second meaning is space, such as 空間、天空. The part of speech of this usage is Noun.
kòng：when we pronounce “kòng”, it means “free time”. Such as 有空、空閒. The part of speech of this pronunciation is Noun.
了
le：when we pronounce “le”, it is a grammatical word. Which means only use it when there are grammatical needs, such as 我吃飽了(I am full), 太貴了(too expensive).
liǎo：when we pronounce “liǎo”, there are 2 popular usages. The first usage is also under grammatical needs, such as 我吃不了那麼多(I can’t eat that much), 我沒有錢，買不了那麼貴的東西(I am not rich, I can’t pay for such expensive thing). The second usage means “understand”, such as 了解.
假
jiǎ：when we pronounce “jiǎ”, it means fake. Such as 假人,假錢. The part of speech of this usage is adj
jià：when we pronounce “jià”, it means “off day” or “vocation”. Such as 放假,假日. The part of speech of this usage is Noun.
長
zhǎng：when we pronounce “zhǎng”, it means grow. Such as 長大,長高. The part of speech of this usage is Verb.
cháng：when we pronounce “cháng” it means long. Such as 長髮, 長褲. The part of speech of this usage is Adv.
處
chù：when we pronounce “chù”, it means “placae”. Such as 到處, 四處. The part of speech of this usage is Noun.
chǔ：when we pronounce “chǔ”, it means “to deal with”. Such as 處理, 處罰. The part of speech of this usage is Verb.
種
zhǒng：when we pronounce “zhǒng”, it means ”type”. Such as 種類, 一種水果. The part of speech of this usage can be either measure word or Noun.
zhòng：when we pronounce “zhòng”, it means “to plant”. Such as 種花, 種樹. The part of speech of this usage is Verb.
Note：The above information is just for examples, not including all meanings/usages/ pronunciations.
When learning Mandarin Chinese, there are a lot of confusing words that we need to know more about their differences and usage.
想xiǎng VS 要yào
想(xiǎng) is a not confirmed intension
要(yào) is a confirmed intension.
走zǒu VS 走路zǒu lù
走(zǒu) is indicating my movement, I am not running, not flying, I am walking.
走路(zǒu lù) is indicating the “transportation” I choice. Not by bus, not riding bicycle, I move by my feet.
容易róng yì VS 方便fāng biàn (both of them can be translated as “easy”)
容易(róng yì) is for telling people that something is not difficult.
方便(fāng biàn) is for telling people that something is convenient.
再zài VS 在zài
再(zài) means again.
在(zài) means is somewhere or doing something.
高興gāo xìng VS 快樂kuài lè (both of them can be translated as “happy”)
高興(gāo xìng) will be used when there is/are something make you feel happy, or, somebody says it will be used for short-turn.
快樂(kuài lè) will be use to describe someone’s character, so, it also can be explained as long-turn situation. Also, it will be used for a celebration, such as Happy New year.
喜歡xǐhuān VS 愛ài (both of them can be translated as “like”)
喜歡(xǐhuān) normally be use as preference.
愛(ài) is indicated “really like”. If we use it for explaining our feeling about a person, normally it refers to a romantic relationship.
刺激cì jī VS 興奮xìng fèn
刺激(cì jī) is something can speed up our heartbeat,
興奮(xìng fèn) not only speed up our heartbeat, but also bring us positive feeling.
相信xiāng xìn VS 信任xìn rèn
相信(xiāng xìn) means you believe in something or somebody.
信任(xìn rèn) means you trust something or somebody.
As most of you know, Taiwan is a place with a lot of amazing foods. But I am going to warn you that the following 10 foods you better think more before you try it.
Mid-Autumn Festival is a popular festival is East and Southeast Asia. Different place has different ways to celebrate. Let’s see how Taiwanese do for Mid-Autumn Festival.
1.Eating with friends or family
Traditionally, the way Taiwanese celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival is to eat with family at this special day. But nowadays, young generation prefer to celebrate with their friends.
2.Having BBQ instead of eating in a restaurant
Most of our traditional festivals we choice either to eat at home or in a restaurant. But for celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival, we Taiwanese like to have BBQ outside.
You may see a lot of people have their BBQ in the park, in front of their house, or any place that they can do it during Mid-Autumn Festival season. This is a kind of new “tradition” in Taiwan.
However, because of COVID-19, this year we can’t really have BBQ as before.
3.moon cake and yolk pastry are both popular
Cantonese-style moon cake
yolk pastry
mung bean pastry
In Taiwan, we eat many kinds of pastry as moon cake, not only the popular-known type.
First, the popular-known type we call it as “廣式月餅/Guǎng shì yuèbǐng”, which means Cantonese-style moon cakes.
Second is yolk pastry, 蛋黃酥/Dànhuáng sū. Taiwanese now love this more than the Cantonese-style moon cakes.
The third one we call it mung bean pastry (綠豆椪/ Lǜdòu pèng). This is kind of pastry is a traditional local style Mid-Autumn Festival food.
4.Pomelo is a must-eat fruit
There is a must-eat fruit in Taiwan at Mid-Autumn Festival. That fruit is pomelo. After eating pomelo, we will use the peel to make a hat and put on our head. It is just for fun.
5.Greeting words Finally is the greeting words.
In Mid-Autumn Festival, we will say” 中秋節快樂/Zhōngqiū jié kuàilè”,which means happy Mid-Autumn Festival, to each other. Now, let’s 中秋節快樂 to each other!!
Taiwan is an awesome place. When traveling or living in Taiwan, there are certain things you need to know. Either to avoid misunderstanding or adopt local custom easily.
Hack 1 When traveling of living in Taiwan, you needs to know when and how to pay
In Taiwan, if you walk into a local food shop, there are 2 ways to pay.
The first way is to pay first. The shop owner or the clerk will tell you how much in total and ask you to pay. They will say：請先付款(qǐng xiān fù kuǎn)or請先買單(qǐng xiān mǎi dān), which means “pay first, please”.
The second way is pay before you leave. You can either ask the shop owner/ clerk to collect your money or go to the counter with your bill. Under this situation, nobody will ask you to pay before you leave.
If you feel confusing about when to pay, the best way is to ask：先付錢還是吃完再付(xiān fù qián hái shì chī wán zài fù)？which means: pay first or after finish?
Hack 2 how to mark “amount” when ordering food in a local small food shop in Taiwan
There is a fun way that Taiwanese mark amount in the food shop or tea shop. We will use one Chinese character–正 to represent “5”. If the amount is 1, then we will make “一”, if the amount is 2, then we will mark as “丅”…till five. Then we will write another “正”。
Hack 3 how to pay bus fee when living or traveling in Taipei
Here, I specially indicate Taipei, because Taipei has the most convenience and popular public transportation system.
Before you take bus, try to buy the “easy card”. You can storge money in advance. Then you can use the card to take bus、MRT、train、boat. You can also use it to pay your bill in some shop, like convenient stores.
When you take bus with easy card, you need to punch your card(刷卡/shuā kǎ) both get in and out. The machine will charge automatically.
Hack 4 greeting words
Except 你好(nǐ hǎo)、早安(zǎo ān), there are still other popular greeting words, like：
吃飽了嗎(chī bǎo le ma), which means did you have your meals?
去上班啊(qù shàng bān ā), which means are you going to work?
Hack 5 frequently asked question in Taiwan
There are some questions may lake you feel uncomfortable, but are popular questions here.
你幾歲(nǐ jǐ suì): how old are you?
你有沒有男/女朋友(nǐ yǒu méi yǒu nán /nǚ péng yǒu): do you have a boy/girl friend?
這個多少錢(zhè gè duō shǎo qián): how much did you buy that?
你喜歡台灣嗎(nǐ xǐ huān tái wān ma): do you like Taiwan?
Hack 6 customized service~one of the very special service in Taiwan
In Taiwan, there is special service is you can ask to adjust the flavor of your order. Like the following items are the most popular things:
半糖(bàn táng): which means half sugar.
少冰(shǎo bīng): which means lesser ice-cube
不辣、小辣、中辣、大辣(bú là、 xiǎo là 、zhōng là 、dà là): which indicate how spicy your food will be, from not hot at all to very hot.
Hack 7 “wait for a while” doesn’t really mean “short time” in Taiwan
When a Taiwanese tell you: please wait for a while, it never means “a while”, especially in a restaurant or food shop. People always tell you: 快了(kuài le), which means very soon, but nobody knows it will take how long actually.
When you hear people tell you “等一下(děng yī xià)” or “馬上(mǎ shàng)”, it literally means very soon or quickly, but actually means “wait” only.
Hack 8 Taiwanese does not used to say “NO” directly
If a Taiwanese doesn’t like something or doesn’t have the intention to do something, he/she will not say no directly. How to know their real idea? Normally Taiwanese use the following ways:
If they don’t like the flavor: they may say, 很好吃，可是我不習慣那樣的味道(hěn hǎo chī ，kě shì wǒ bù xí guàn nà yàng de wèi dào). It means: the taste is good, but I am not used to eat that.
If they don’t feel comfortable to join an activity, they will say the following sentence first: 我先看看我那天有沒有事哦(wǒ xiān kàn kàn wǒ nà tiān yǒu méi yǒu shì o)! which means let me check my schedule first.
After that, they say: 不好意思，我那天有事(bù hǎo yì sī ，wǒ nà tiān yǒu shì). Which means: sorry I can’t go with you because I have appoint with the others.
Taiwan is a nice and beautiful place. If you are considering to visit Taiwan, you better know the following 10 need-to-know Mandarin Chinese sentence in Taiwan.
Need-to-know sentence 1 我要全糖
When ordering drink in Taiwan, you normally can decide how sweet you like.
So, you can say： 我要 + 全糖 / 半糖 / 少糖 / 無糖
wǒ yào +quán táng /bàn táng /shǎo táng /wú tang
It means I want normal sugar content/ half sugar content/ less sugar content/ no sugar content.
Need-to know sentence 2 我要正常冰
When ordering drink in Taiwan, you normally can choice how “cold” you want.
You can tell the clerk：我要+ 正常冰 / 少冰 / 去冰
wǒ yào +zhèng cháng bīng /shǎo bīng /qù bīng
It means I want normal ice cube content/ less ice cube content/ no ice cube
Need-to-know sentence 3 對不起
When you accidently hit or push somebody, or make any mistake, you need to say ”對不起(duì bù qǐ)”, which means “I am sorry.”
Don’t worry, Taiwanese are very kind people, if you disturb anyone or make a mistake, just say “對不起” to them. They will not really get mad to you (normally).
Need-to-know sentence 4 謝謝
When somebody help you or give you something or after you request something, you can say “謝謝(xiè xie)” to them, which means “thank you”
Need-to-know sentence 5 我要這個，謝謝
When you want to see or buy something, you can point out that and say “我要這個，謝謝(wǒ yào zhè ge ，xiè xie)”, which means “I want this, thank you.”
Need-to-know sentence 6 你好
It is just “hi”, “hello” in English, when you want to talk to somebody, or before you request something, you can always start form “你好(nǐ hǎo)”
Need-to-know sentence 7 我要去這裡
When you are in the street and don’t know how to go to the place you want，you can show people add and tell them “我要去這裡(wǒ yào qù zhè lǐ)”, which means “I want to go here.”
Need-to-know sentence 8 我吃素
If you are a vegetarian, you can tell the food shop “我吃素(wǒ chī sù)”, which means “ I am a vegetarian”.
Need-to-know sentence 9 這個多少錢
When you want to buy something, you better ask the price before you really want to buy it. You can ask the shop owner “這個多少錢(zhè gè duō shǎo qián)”, which means “how much is this?”
Need-to-know sentence 10 這個很好
If you want to commend something, you can say “這個很好(zhè ge hěn hǎo)”, which means “it is great”.
Why learning Mandarin Chinese is a smart decision? Let’s check out the following 5 reasons. You will know why you batter start to learn Mandarin Chinese now.
Reason 1 Mandarin Chinese speaking population is in the very top ranking over the word.
If you can speak Mandarin Chinese, your world will become wilder than your imagination. You will have bigger chance to communicate with a foreigner because both of you may both can speak Mandarin.
Reason 2 Increase you chance to gain more opportunities either in finding a job or developing your business.
Mandarin Chinese is one of the most popular language in the world. Also, there are a lot of Chinese Businessmen and enterprise all over the world.
Learning Mandarin Chinese won’t help you to get a job directly, but will increase the possibility to impress others.
In the other side, knowing Mandarin Chinese can assist you build up a closer relationship to a Chinese-businessman compare with those who don’t know any Mandarin Chinese.
Reason 3 Getting the “first hand” information- not through any translation information.
You may interest in Chinese culture, songs, movies, food or anything. But, how you get related information? How you learn it?
The benefit in learning Mandarin Chinese is you can review the information that you are interested directly. You don’t need to wait the others.
And, you don’t need to worried about if the translation is good or not. You won’t be miss leading. Sometimes, even the translator can really do their job well, but, just not like the original.
Reason 4 Break your limit
Mandarin Chinese is very a different language compare with English or Spain. When you try to understand Mandarin Chinese’s logic, you are also break your old habit, experience another new system.
If you want to learn a new language, why not Mandarin? It is not hard, as long as you find the right way, it is a commonly used language, and can bring you more chance to know different people.
Reason 5 Easier to build up your interpersonal networking relationship
It is a common sense that if you want to make friend with somebody quickly, speak his/her mother language is one of the best ways. Speak that language good or bad is not important, let them feel you are “part of them” is the key-point. Again, since Mandarin Chinese is the top 1 popular language, why don’t you choice it to learn!
Is learning Mandarin Chinese hard to you? Let’s check out the following suggestions. You will find how to learn Mandarin Chinese easily as a beginner.
Choice the right materials and select the right speed to listen
There are a lot of Mandarin Chinese learning material for beginners. You can easily find hundreds of videos in YouTube. What you need to do is to choose the one that fit your level (or a little higher), don’t try to push yourself too much. There is an old saying in Mandarin Chinese: More Haste, Less Speed (欲速則不達) which means don’t be rush.
Some You Tubers can speak really good Mandarin, but maybe bit fast to you. Don’t forget there is a bottom in YouTube can adjust video speed. When the speed slow down, everything will become easier.
One day five vocabulary and one sentence
How many days are there is a year? 365days! That is right. If you can remember one new vocabulary and one sentence per day, after one year, you already familiar with so many new words and sentence.
Don’t think there are nothing, they are very important foundation as a beginner. You can develop yourself on top of them, you will improve fast.
The most important thing is to keep what you learn in your brain. Lesser but really understood and remember what you learned. How much you learned is just a number, how much you can understand and remember is the key point.
Slow is not bad, but need to move forward everyday
Ignore speed. Build up your own tempo. Slow doesn’t means anything, fast neither. As long as you are improving and move toward to your goal, slow is not bad. Well prepared for next level.
Don’t stay in place. It is means everyday get something new, everyday try something harder than yesterday. Not too much, just let you feel comfortable (a little stress still be fine).
Read Mandarin Chinese and find what you know
Language is for communication. Unless I try to connect with the real word, what I have learned will be useless.
As a beginner, how can I build up the connection? One of the easier ways is to read something. Reading is less stress than speaking, because you don’t need to respond people immediately and quickly.
However written language is hard than verbal language. What I suggest here is to pick up the characters/vocabularies that you knew. Through this, you can increase the opportunities to repeat what you know in your brain. Also, when you see them, you can try to think about their pronunciation and meaning and so on.
