2008-01-01

What Does it Mean in English?

Here, I'll be setting up a glossary of just a few phrases, either hanzi or pinyin that pop up from time to time on my blog, so that folks don't have to search through pages of posts to find out one little phrase. Entries will be alphabetized according to pinyin. (Look for this page to grow.)

比胜客 (Bi sheng ke): Chinese name for Pizza Hut
不好意思 (bu hao yi si): Literally translated, "Not good meaning," this is often used instead of "I'm sorry."
等等 (deng deng): Usually translated as "and so on" or "etc.," this phrase sometimes actually means, "End list," as in "Three aspects to consider are quality, speed and quantity, 等等."
加油! (Jia you!): Literally "Add gas!," this is a cheer similar to "Let's go!"
可爱 (ke ai): Cute, lovely, beautiful, or (as it often refers to adult females dressed like children) cutesy.
老师 (lao shi): Teacher
雪碧 (Xue bi): Chinese name for Sprite
意想不到 (yi xiang bu dao): Surprisingly, used only for good surprises
外国人 (wai guo ren): Literally, "Outside country person"; foreigner(s)
找不到 (zhao bu dao): Not able to be found; not available.