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 enabled you to avoid some difficulty. Continue Reading
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 it or you would be a Continue Reading
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 比 你 翻译 得 好。 Continue Reading
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 word“虫”(worm) here is used to describe Continue Reading
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 time. Examples: 1. 北京的老人都喜欢聚在胡同里侃大山。 Běijīng Continue Reading
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 something like “it seems it’s hot Continue Reading
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 at a rapidly accelerating rate. Examples: Continue Reading
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 and changes his mind together with Continue Reading
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. It is similar to 幸亏 but Continue Reading
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 děi and means “must”. Examples: Continue Reading
