URLLesson Introduction
There are "The Office" type bosses, and Godfather-styled mafia type bosses, and, granted, though most workplaces bosses don't ridicule you or kill you and claim you turned in state's evidence, they all usually give you something to complain about. In this podcast learn how to, in Mandarin Chinese.
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jennyzhu says
December 27, 2007
Juicy vocab today. The best language seems to be driven by rage.
chenlide says
December 27, 2007
Very good and sophisticated vocab. Thanks all of you at chinesepod.
HannahIm says
December 27, 2007
I agree, great vocab. Interestingly, Korean also has the word 变态 biàntài, written as 변태, but in Korean it means "pervert", not just "weirdo." I hate to be the one to ask, but what's the Chinese equivalent of "pervert"?
wildyaks says
December 27, 2007
This is a great lesson. Very useful. Maybe I should go back to the office now to practise the vocab... Only, my boss is not a bad person at all...
rjberki says
December 27, 2007
Yes, very rich vocab. I will spend some extra time on this one. -RJ
wildyaks says
December 27, 2007
我老伴也会臭骂我的，因为我成天挂在Chinesepod上!
wildyaks says
December 27, 2007
那个太监的concept我还不太理解。 你们帮我忙啊
changye says
December 27, 2007
现在我公司总经理和 一位从大连来的顾客 在按摩店正享受着呢。 他们俩约了我一起去 好几次但可惜我只好 婉转拒绝因为我正在 忙着作那位重要顾客 突然要求的几篇报告! 不知今天能不能写完。
artkho says
December 28, 2007
Jenny reports to John? And I thought everyone except for Ken, reports to Jenny. :) May I suggest a lesson on Astroboy in the future? Cpod shouldn't discriminate against Astoboy after teaching all of us about Ninjas and Godzilla. ;-)
rjberki says
December 28, 2007
I also have the same question as Wildyaks regarding the use of the term "court eunich" in this lesson. Does this mean a totally obedient servant that is not distracted by anything and follows orders perfectly? If we used this term in the west it most certainly would not be understood.
klgardensong says
December 28, 2007
I read the comments before listening to the dialogue - and now I understand all the comments about vocabulary. It will take a while to absorb it all - and even longer to use it since I'm my own boss and not overly into self-criticism!
mattwhyndham says
December 28, 2007
"reemed"?? Oh, Reamed. Never having heard this expression, it caused me some puzzlement. "The boss gave me a bollocking", I might have said.
mikeinewshot says
December 28, 2007
RJBerki A eunuch is a castrated man; the term usually refers to those castrated in order to perform a specific social function, as was common in many societies of the past. This term would most certainly be understood in England
pchenery says
December 28, 2007
This is a really cool lesson ! In the second line of the dialogue, "bie2 ti2 le" translates as "Don't ask". Can you also say "bie2 wen4 le" ? If so, which expression would be more common ?
pchenery says
December 28, 2007
Here's another grammar question: "Ba3 wo3 chou4ma4 yi1 dun4". I realize that "dun4" is a measure word for "chou4ma4". Can anyone explain why the "yi1 dun4" would not come before "chou4ma4". ? (Sorry...grammar is my weak point.)
rjberki says
December 28, 2007
Mike- of course I know what a eunich is literally (ouch), actually I wish I didnt :-). The most famous one I know is Zheng He the sailor. Thats not what I meant. I was asking about the way it is used here. Not a metaphor or expression I am used to seeing when referring to my boss or his attitude.
rjberki says
December 28, 2007
In the story - "Yikes, the boss likes that kind of person the best. Working the employees to death helps the company save money. He's a complete eunuch." Is he saying the guy doesnt have any balls (to mean guts here?) It doesnt quite fit . Eunuchs were extremely loyal and had no reason to betray their masters since they had no desires to fulfill ,so I was asking if eunuch is commonly used to imply this, or am I missing something. Maybe Im looking for too much and its simply "no balls"
rjberki says
December 28, 2007
Matt- "reamed" is actually pretty common (if spelled correctly) but graphic, whereas no one in the states would use "bollocking". I had a friend here that had personalized license plates for his car that said "bollocks" (of course he was British). They did not censor it probably because they didn't know what it meant. (or perhaps it just wasn't bad enough). Now that I know how to swear in Chinese, this opens some interesting possibilities for my plates that I'm sure they would never catch on to. The dog's bollocks as it were. :-)
pchenery says
December 28, 2007
The manager in this lesson is likely being called a "eunuch" to re-inforce his "brown-nozing" ability with the big Boss. I think in English we would probably label such a person a "yes-man". Yes, i also think that "no guts" and "no balls" is a good translation.
tvan says
December 28, 2007
Man, I can use this. So, in best cave Mandarin fashion, do "两面派的马屁精“ and “拍马屁的太监” work reasonably well as "two-faced brown noser" and "gutless brown noser?
pchenery says
December 28, 2007
Or how about: liang3mian4pai4 ma3pi4jing1 xiao3ren2 tai4jian4 bian4tai4 "two-faced brown-nozer scoundrel eunuch weirdo"
wildyaks says
December 28, 2007
PaulC, because chouma is a verb in this sentence? When it becomes a noun, then the measure word goes before chouma, like in the sentence I just found in the dictionary: 我挨了一顿臭骂(wo ai le yi dun chouma) tranlated as "I got a dressing down", lit: I suffered an angry scolding.
amber says
December 28, 2007
hi wildyaks and RJBerki, 太监 (tàijiān) In ancient times, the 太监 (tàijiān) served the masters in the palace. They were renowned for kissing up to the master, but being harsh to their own staff. So there is that aspect, as well as being a double insult, of course, because of the physical aspect of being a 'eunuch' for a man.
wildyaks says
December 28, 2007
Thanks, Amber. That helps. Now I have to go and listen to the Cpod again.
jennyzhu says
December 28, 2007
hannahlm, We are on the same page regarding 变态. It means 'psychopath' or 'pervert'. The translation 'weirdo' is a bit mild.
amber says
December 29, 2007
hi PaulC, 别提了 (biétí le) probably portrays the feeling of "Don't ask" in English better than 别问了 (biéwèn le). But you can also say 别问了 (biéwèn le). 别提了 (biétí le) is more common though for sure!
amber says
December 29, 2007
hi tvan, If you wanted to combine those two insults, you would be better to say it like this: 他既是个两面派，又是个马屁精。 Tā jìshì ge liǎngmiànpài, yòu shì ge mǎpìjīng. 他真是个太监，那么会拍马屁。 Tā zhēnshi ge tàijiān, nàme huì pāi mǎpì.
rjberki says
December 29, 2007
Thanks Amber, you understood the question perfectly, even though I may not have expressed it clearly at first. "They were renowned for kissing up to the master, but being harsh to their own staff." I had a hunch this was the case but this would not be well known in the west. Fundamentally this kind of language is all the same, but it is interesting to note the differences in expression based on culture that come to light when you go international. -Bob
tvan says
December 29, 2007
Amber, thank you for the fluent insults. Seriously, whether you use this language or not, you need to know this stuff to recognize it in conversation. You never find any of this in textbooks... Or as the old MasterCard commercial went: 你好吗/"how are you... ¥20. 马屁精/"horsebutt-patting fairy?"... priceless.
enmihutong says
December 30, 2007
我第一年在中国，我在人民日报工作了。 令我吃惊的是，我中国人的同伴都不喜欢他们做的工作。他们认为这样的工作没有意思，但是没有一个敢对领导抱怨。他们只会背后批评领导。 在我的写作肯定有很多错误， 对吗？
mark says
December 31, 2007
Not exactly how I'd describe my boss, but fun none-the-less.
mark says
December 31, 2007
Maybe, next, the couple on the airplane experiencing turbulance could have a parting of the ways. They'd probably have some interesting things to say about eachother after a nasty divorce.
xiaohu says
January 2, 2008
Jenny: I thought 变态 just means "abnormal" hence the translation, "Weirdo" I feel like translating it as "psychopath" or "pervert" is a bit too strong.
xiaohu says
January 2, 2008
I have a question about the expression, "臭骂一顿", there is another expression which is the same characters reversed, "一顿臭骂". Don't the two expressions carry the same meaning? Don't they both mean something like, "give someone a piece of your mind?"
gracieh says
January 2, 2008
大家好，我是在中国天津学习的韩国留学生. 我真的没想到有这么好的网站. 感谢你们! this website is so cool.. in china, i have no time to study more about chinese language cause my major is English Literature.(i know my english isn't good!! that's why i'm learning!) maybe some of you guys think it's weird to learn english, not Chinese... i mean in China.... anyway... =) this site is so useful!! Thanks
amber says
January 2, 2008
hi xiaohu, 臭骂一顿，一顿臭骂 (Chòumà yī dùn, yī dùn chòumà) The meaning is the same, yes "give someone a piece of your mind"
cassielin says
January 4, 2008
hi enmihutong, i think if you say “我到中国的第一年是在人民日报工作，令我吃惊的事，我的中国同事们都不喜欢他们的工作，他们认为/觉得这样的工作没有意思，但是没有一个人敢对领导抱怨的，他们只会在背后批评领导”will be better.
marcelbdt says
January 6, 2008
Is 太监 "tai4jian4" (as twice in the pdf file) or "tai4jian1" (as Amber writes)?
tsack says
January 6, 2008
Is the "He's just a big phony" translation on page 2 a bit off? I didn't really phony in the Chinese. Does ZHE YI TAO kind of imply this?
xiaohu says
January 6, 2008
Hi Amber, Thanks for clearing that up! I have another question though, I've always been a bit unclear on the difference between: 抱怨 (Bao4 Yuan4) and 投诉 (Tou2 Su4). I believe 抱怨 means to generally 'complain about someone or something', while 投诉 means more formally to 'file a complaint' but I'm not sure.
xiaohu says
January 6, 2008
Hi Casie: 你说，“领导”在治理的上下文里是 “leader” 的意思吗？“领导”这个词不是动词吗？ 我以为 “领袖” 这个词才正确地表示英文名词， “leader” 的意思。 是吗？ 正确地说法是不是应该这样， “但是一个同事都没敢对领袖去抱怨的， 他们只会在背后批评领袖”？ 我说得对吗？
amber says
January 6, 2008
hi marcelbdt, 太监 (tàijiàn) is in fact correct. my dictionary appears to have been wrong! sorry about that!
amber says
January 6, 2008
hi xiaohu, 抱怨 (bàoyuàn) is more like to complain or grumble about something 投诉 (tóusù) is more like making a formal complaint
cassielin says
January 6, 2008
Hi 小虎， “领导” 在这里（不是治理）是leader的意思，在中文里，“领导”有两个词性，一个是动词，一个是名词。eg: He is our team leader.他是我们队伍的领导。（名词） Under his leadership we won the game.在他的领导下我们赢了比赛。（动词） and we use the word“领袖” to refer to our National leader.
cassielin says
January 6, 2008
Hi 小虎， Such as Chairman Mao毛主席 and Premier Zhou 周总理that who did some good affect to China can be called our“领袖”or “伟大领袖”
hungthuy says
January 11, 2008
Amber 你好！我觉得你太认真了。你的汉语也不错呀。如果能跟你交朋友就好吧。
goulniky says
January 17, 2008
是不是电视剧的人物，什么样的人?
goulniky says
January 17, 2008
对不起，我没打字了那位人物的名字… 王公公是不是电视剧的人物，什么样的人?
goulniky says
January 17, 2008
got it, <姓>公公, 其实是讽刺的，意思是 eunuch so-and-so