Year: 2011

Chinese Slang 101: Chinese geeks and nerds – 宅男

Did you know there are more Chinese internet users than there are Americans? You can bet that many of them are 宅男 (zháinán). 宅男 (zháinán) is Chinese slang for a male geek or nerd, and it literally means “house male.”  …

How to Respond to Compliments in Chinese in 4 Ways

If you speak Chinese and have been to China, you probably know that Chinese people love to compliment foreigners on their Chinese. Next time you get complimented, instead of going back to your standard (xiè xiè – “Thank you”) response, …

China has many kinds of fools – 傻子 vs 呆子

You’ve probably come across tabloid headlines slamming celebrities as 傻子 (shǎzi)  or 呆子 (dāizi), but have you noticed the context in which each expression is used? Both 傻子(shǎzi) and 呆子 (dāizi) describe people who aren’t smart/intelligent and can be …