Author Archive | Alan Park

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 …