Taxi 的士

Posted on April 9, 2012 by rolling piggy

的士 is phonetically translated from taxi. If flagging one down wasn’t successful, try say this phrase out loud: taxi!
I suspect that taxi was first introduced into Cantonese, then Mandarin picked up the phrase from Cantonese. The Cantonese pronunciation of 的士 (dik si) is closer to taxi.


(listen:) taxi 

Tomorrow we will talk about a slang for using a taxi.
• 的: Pronunciation: dí
• 士 refers to members of high class. shì (4)
( 女士 means Mrs / Madam)

Please note that the more common pronunciation for 的 is de. With that, its more common usage is: 的 means ‘s. 我(I)的 means my or mine. 你(you)的means your or yours.

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Clear Bright Festival 清明节

Posted on April 5, 2012 by rolling piggy

Today (April 5th) is 清明节. It is a significant holiday, when people visit and pay respect to their deceased family members. A typical activity for the day is tomb sweeping: visit and sweep dust off the tombs.

The name likely was inspired by the clear air and brighter days that come with April, and the spring time.


(listen:) clear bright festival 

• 清: clear. Pronunciation: qīng (1)
• 明: bright or clear. Pronunciation: míng (2) (see the character in diagram)
• 节: festival or holiday. Pronunciation: jié (2)

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我不知道 I don’t know.

Posted on April 3, 2012 by rolling piggy

知道 is “know”. It literally means “know the path”.


(listen:) I don’t know 

• 我: I or me. Pronunciation: wǒ (3)
• 不: no. Pronunciation: bù (4)
• 知: know. Pronunciation: zhī (1)
• 道: path, method. Pronunciation: dào (4)

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Whatever. 随便

Posted on April 2, 2012 by rolling piggy

When you are asked but don’t want to make a decision, you can say 随便. It literally means follow (whatever is) convenient. This phrase is good for casual conversations.


(listen:) whatever 

• 随: follow. Pronunciation: suí (2)
• 便: convenience. Pronunciation: biàn (4)

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April Fools! 你上当了!

Posted on March 30, 2012 by rolling piggy

你上当了 means you’ve been fooled.  You can use it after successfully pull off a prank on someone too. 

(listen:) April fools 

• 你: you. Pronunciation: nǐ (3)
• 上: up. Pronunciation: shàng (4)
• 当: sell to pawn shop. Pronunciation: dàng (4)
• 了 turns a verb into past tense or adds a feeling of “done”. Pronunciation: le (soft tone)

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