Idiot 二百五 (two hundred and fifty)

Posted on March 29, 2012 by rolling piggy

二百五 is two hundred and fifty. It also means stupid, fool, idiot.

One of the stories regarding the origin is: someone killed an Emperor’s favorite advisor. In order to find the murderer, the Emperor falsely announced that he was glad someone killed the advisor, and wanted to award the murderer with 1000 in gold. 4 people fell for the trap. 1000 divided by 4 is … 250.

Like 笨蛋,  二百五 is not very rough, and mostly used in banters.


(listen:) idiot 250 

• 二: two. Pronunciation: èr (4)
• 百: hundred. Metaphorically it means a lot. Pronunciation: bǎi (3)
• 五: five. Pronunciation: wǔ (3)

Typical usage: 他(he)是(is)个(a)二百五.

Posted in greetings, numbers | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

[Idiom] 大智若愚 A man of great wisdom often seems slow-witted

Posted on March 28, 2012 by rolling piggy

大智若愚 represents a humble manner that’s very respected in China: you may be very smart, but there is no need to show off.


(listen:) A man of great wisdom 

• 大: big. Pronunciation: dà (4)
• 智: wise. Pronunciation: zhì (4)
• 若: seems like. Pronunciation: ruò (4)
• 愚: stupid. Pronunciation: yú (2)

Posted in Chinese culture, Chinese idiom | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Idiot! 笨蛋!

Posted on March 26, 2012 by rolling piggy

With April Fool’s Day coming up, it’s only wise to do a few phrases on fools:)

笨蛋 (stupid egg) is a fairly General Audience term. It can even have a touch of cuteness, depending on how it’s delivered.


(listen:) idiot 

• 笨: stupid, clumsy. Pronunciation: bèn (4)
• 蛋: egg. Pronunciation: dàn (4)

Posted in Animals, greetings | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

[Mad Men] Nostalgia 怀旧

Posted on March 22, 2012 by rolling piggy

Don Draper says that “nostalgia” means “pain from old wounds.” A longer version from the dictionary says: a bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations ofthe past.

Chinese for nostalgia is 怀旧. It means holding the past close to your heart. 

(listen:) nostalgia 

• 怀: carry, bosom. Pronunciation: huái (2)
• 旧: past, old. Pronunciation: jiù (4)

Posted in Time | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

[Mad Men] New York Manhattan 纽约 曼哈顿

Posted on March 21, 2012 by rolling piggy

Both of the Chinese names are based on phonetic associations.


(listen:) new york manhatten 

• 纽约: New York. 纽 (knot) niǔ(3)  约 (agreement) yuē(1)
• 曼哈顿: Manhattan. 曼 (beautiful) màn(4)  哈 (sound of laughter) hā(1)  顿 (stop) dùn(4)

Lots of Chinese phrases are made with 2 words, and you need the 2 words to define an accurate meaning. For example, while 约 means agreement, 约会 means dating and 条约 means treaty.

Posted in Foreign countries, Proper Noun | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment