Meaning: 瓜葛(guāgé) creeping vines; complicated relationship Usage: “瓜”和“葛”都是蔓生植物，本义是纠缠、纠纷，后来指人与人之间的亲属关系或社会关系，也指两件事件之间相牵连。 Both “瓜” and “葛” come from vines, so this phrase originally meant to twist and dispute. It now refers to family or social relationships. It can Read More

Meaning: 回笼觉 (huílóngjiào) go back to sleep Usage: 睡“回笼觉”是指醒来或起床之后还是困，就又上床睡觉。 One, who has waken up or got up but still feels sleepy and goes back to bed. People call this “回笼觉”. Examples: 1. 专家认为，有时候睡回笼觉对身体并不好，因为打乱了作息规律。     Read More

Meaning: 敲竹杠 (qiāo zhúgàng) fleece; take advantage of sb.’s being in a weak position to overcharge him Usage: “敲竹杠”指利用别人的缺点或弱点来索取财物或讹诈。经常用作“敲某人的竹杠”。 “敲竹杠”refers to ask for or blackmail someone who is being in a weak position. It’s Read More

Meaning: 抱佛脚 (bào fójiǎo) make hasty Usage: “抱佛脚”指平时没准备，等到有事情发生的时候就仓促准备，慌忙应付。常说“临时抱佛脚”。 “抱佛脚” means dealing with something in a hurry because of no preparations for it. It is usually said as “临时抱佛脚”. Examples: 1. 每次考试你都临时抱佛脚，你就不能平时好好学习吗？     Měi cì Read More

Meaning: 护短 (hù duǎn) to shield faults or shortcomings Usage: “为自己或者与自己有关系的人所犯的错误进行辩护或掩饰。 It means to shield faults for oneself or other people who have relation with oneself. Examples: 1. 你一直对孩子这样护短，他永远都不会意识到自己的错误。     Nǐ yìzhíduì háizi zhèyàng hùduǎn, Read More

Structure: Verb + 人家 / 别人 Meaning: 人家 and 别人 both refer to others besides the speaker and the listener, however, 人家 is more colloquial. Examples:     我 不 在乎 别人 怎么 说。     Read More

Meaning: 团购 (tuángòu) group purchase Usage: 团购的字面意思是团体购物，指认识的或者不认识的人一起买东西，这样可以求得最优价格。团购时，商家一般会给出低于零售价格的团购折扣和单独购买得不到的优质服务，这样就可以卖出更多的产品，从中获利。现在团购的主要方式是网络团购，也有某单位集体购买。 “团购”is a type of purchasing behavior that a group of people use to obtain discounts from vendors using their collective buying power. The vendors always offer a Read More

Structure: 可以 + Verb Meaning: 可以 expresses having another person’s permission. It can be thought of in the context of “allowed or not allowed”. Examples:     我 可以 进来 吗？     Wǒ ké yǐ Read More

Structure: 能 + Verb Meaning: 能 expresses having a certain ability or having obtained a certain requirement. It can also indicate that circumstances make an action not possible, or that an action is not Read More

Structure: 会 + Verb Meaning: 会 can express an action that you had to learn or be trained in to do Examples:     他 会 修 电脑。     Tā huì xiū diàn nǎo     Read More