Structure with 幸亏 幸亏/幸好 + accidental reasons Meaning: 幸亏 (xìngkuī), 幸好 (xìnghǎo), and 好在 (hǎozài) mean “fortunately” or “luckily”. They can be used to express that something has happened by chance, and has thereby Read More

Meaning: 替罪羊(tìzuìyáng) scapegoat; fall guy Usage: “替罪羊”是指代人受过，替人受罪的人。 “替罪羊”refers to a scapegoat or a fall guy. Examples: 1. 你不要参与这件事，免得当替罪羊。     Nǐ búyào cānyù zhè jiàn shì, miǎnde dāng tìzuìyáng     You’d better not join in Read More

Structure: Subject + 不比 + Noun + adjective / Verb Meaning: To say that something is not more adjective as another, you can use 不比 (bù bǐ). No snickering, please. Examples:     我 不 Read More

Meaning: 跟屁虫(gēn pì chóng) one’s shadow; to tag along Usage: “跟屁虫”是一种形象的比喻。其中“跟”指的是跟随的意思，“屁”指屁股，代指背后，而这里用“虫”字来指人则表示出厌恶的语气、不喜欢的情感。整个词用来比喻因为没有主见，需要保护或者因为崇拜而老是跟着别人背后的人，暗含厌恶的意思。 “跟屁虫”is a metaphorical expression. In this noun, “跟”means follow and “屁”whose meaning is bottom refers to the back of somebody. What’s more, the Read More

Meaning: 侃大山 (kǎndàshān) gossip, chat idly, chew the fat Usage: “侃大山”，北京方言，口语，是指闲聊，开玩笑，说一些没有什么意义的话。通常聊天的时候可以持续很长时间。 “侃大山”is a Beijing dialect. As a spoken language, it means chatting, making a joke, or speaking meaningless words. It often lasts a long Read More

Structure: Subject + 看起来 + Adjective Meaning: One of the most common ways to express “it looks like” is to use 看起来 (kànqǐlái). This is what we would use if we wanted to express Read More

Meaning: 滚雪球  (gǔn xuěqiú) snowball；increase or accumulate at a rapidly accelerating rate Usage: “滚雪球”本意是下雪时孩子们玩的一种游戏，就是把雪滚成越来越大的雪球。后来用来指事物在原来的基础上数量越来越多，规模越来越大。 “滚雪球”means a game kids play when it snow which is snowballing. later it’s referred that something has increased or accumulated Read More

Meaning: 变色龙 (biànsè lóng) Chameleon Usage: “变色龙”本义为一种随着环境而改变身体颜色的小动物，现在指没有立场,见风使舵的人。有时候也用来指那些容易适应环境变化的人。 The original meaning of “变色龙”is a small animal changing the colorof its body along with the environment. Now, it refers to a person who has no standpoint Read More

Structure: 多亏 ( 了 ) + [source of help] Meaning: “多亏” (duōkuī) can be translated as “thanks to” and is used to express that, due to somebody’s help, a negative result has been averted. Read More

Structure: Subject + 得 + Verb + Object Meaning: Normally when you see 得 it’s a particle and is pronounced “de”. However, it can also be an auxiliary verb. In this case it’s pronounced Read More