Category: News Vocabulary

露一手 (lòu yì shǒu) make an exhibition of one's abilities or skills; show off

母老虎 (mǔ lǎohǔ) tigress Usage: “母老虎”是指雌老虎，借指泼妇，就是说话很凶，做事让人害怕的女人。“母老虎(mǔ lǎohǔ)” means a tigress and is a metaphor for a shrew whose talk and behavior intimidate other people.

过瘾 (guòyǐn) satisfy a craving; enjoy oneself to the full Usage: “过瘾”指爱好得到满足，或是做某事觉得很舒服很痛快。它有两种常用的结构，一是“…（动词）得（很）过瘾”，例如“唱得很过瘾”“玩得很过瘾”等。另一种结构是“过…（名词）瘾”，比如“过烟瘾”“过酒瘾”等。"过瘾(guòyǐn)" means satisfying a craving or doing something to one’s heart’s content. “过瘾” is always used in two structures. One is "Verb 得（很）过瘾", for example, “唱的很过瘾” and “玩得很过瘾”. The other is "过 Noun 瘾", for example, “过烟瘾” and “过酒瘾”.

心虚 (xīnxū) with a guilty conscience; lacking in self-confidence Usage: “心虚”有两种含义。一是指做了错事或者坏事怕别人知道；二是指缺乏自信，怕做不好。"心虚(xīnxū)" has two meanings. The first one is to indicate that someone is afraid of being found out about the wrong thing or bad deed he/she did; the second one means being lacking in self-confidence.

打盹（儿）[dǎdǔn(r)]nap; doze off Usage: “打盹（儿）”的意思是小睡，一般是坐着或者靠着不连续地睡。“打盹”是离合词 ，可以说“打（了）个盹（儿）”“打着盹（儿）”等。"打盹（儿）(dǎdǔn(r))" means to take a nap. When one is “打盹（儿）”, he is usually seated or lean on something. This is a separable word. For example, we can also say "打（了）个盹（儿）" or "打着盹（儿）".

钻牛角尖 (zuān niújiǎojiān) to take unnecessary pains to study an insignificant problem; get into a blind alley

猴年马月 (hóunián mǎyuè) indefinite time; long long ago Usage: “猴年马月”指没有准确的期限，不知道什么时候，事情发生或者完成的时间与说话时时间间隔比较长；也用来指这件事情不太可能实现或完成。也有一种说法认为，“猴年马月”是天津话“何年嘛月”谐音的变体。"猴年马月(hóunián mǎyuè)" means there is no specific deadline for an on-going thing or specific date for occurrence of the thing. It also indicates that something is unlikely accomplished. Someone believes that "猴年马月(hóunián mǎyuè)" is derived from “何年嘛月(hénián màyuè)”, an expression in Tianjin dialect.

知音(zhīyīn)a true confidant Usage: 相传，春秋时的俞伯牙精通琴艺，钟子期善于听琴，能听得出俞伯牙琴中所寄托的情感。钟子期去世之后，俞伯牙就再也不弹琴了因为他觉得再也没有懂他琴志的人了，找不到“知音”了。“知音”是指真正了解自己的人。According to ancient legend, Yu Boya was a great musician of the Spring and Autumn Period, and Zhong Ziqi was good at understanding the emotions in his music. After Zhong Ziqi died, Yu Boya did not play anymore because he thought he could never find a “知音” who really understood his music. “知音” means a person who really and truly understands you.

炒作(chǎozuò)hype, speculation Usage: “炒作” 是通过一些手段和技巧，对自己或自己的作品进行刻意的宣传，以提高自己或自己作品的人气和声望。“炒作” is, by means of certain skills and tactics, to create hype about oneself or one’s works, all in order to boost popularity and reputation.