Category: Chinese Words&Phrases

高手 (gāoshǒu) expert/master Usage: “高手”指的是在某方面技能很突出或者很专业的人。 “高手(gāoshǒu)”are those who excel at doing certain things or are professional in one specific field.

幸运儿 (xìngyùn ér) a lucky person; fortune's favorite Usage: “幸运儿”是指运气好的人。“幸运儿(xìngyùn ér)”refers to someone with good luck.

夜猫子 (yèmāozi) night owl Usage: “夜猫子”是方言，指猫头鹰。因为猫头鹰白天睡觉，而晚上出来行动，所以人们叫那些喜欢晚睡，白天起床起得很晚的人为“夜猫子”。“夜猫子(yèmāozi)” means owls in Chinese dialect. Since the owl sleeps during the day and preys in the night, people who like to burn night oil and sleep late in the morning are nicknamed “夜猫子”。

左撇子 (zuǒpiězi) left-hander Usage: “左撇子”是指习惯使用左手做事的人，比如左手用筷子、左手用剪刀等。“左撇子(zuǒpiězi)” refers to those who are used to using their left hands to do things such as handling chopsticks or scissors.

宅男/宅女  (zháinán/zháinǚ) be indoorsy Usage: “宅”，本意是名词，指“住宅、房子”；也可以作为动词来用，意思是“呆在家不出门”。“宅男/宅女”是近几年在中国年轻人中流行起来的一个词语，这些年轻人的最大特点就是不喜欢外出，除工作、购物等必要活动以外，整天呆在家里，很少出门，生活圈里基本只有自己。这些人在家中也常常沉迷于电视、电脑、游戏等活动。“宅(zhái)” mainly means a dwelling house, which is a noun. Now it has also taken on another meaning as a verb referring to “staying at home a lot”. Recently the expressions of “宅男/ 宅女(zháinán/zháinǚ)” become popular among the young people in China. The typical feature of those who can be described as “宅男” or “宅女” is that, except for doing some necessary things, such as working and shopping, they always stay at home, and seldom go out. They do not have many friends in their life and spend most of their time in watching TV, playing computers and video games alone.

吹牛 (chuīniú) brag/talk big Usage: 指说话不根据事实，说大话。通常是说话人为了抬高自己的地位，将自己没有的社会地位和能力、优势当作自己的来说给别人听，也可以说“吹牛皮”。“吹牛”可以作为答语而成为独立的句子单独使用，意思是不相信别人说的话，认为别人是在说大话。如：“我可以让天下雨。”“吹牛！”“吹牛( chuīniú)” means to talk but ignore the facts. In order to make him/her important, the speaker usually tells others his/her made-up high social status, strong points and abilities. We can also describe this behavior as “吹牛皮”.“吹牛( chuīniú)” can also be used independently as a response to other’s statement, which suggests the speaker does not believe what the other said, and think he/she was just bragging.

小看 (xiǎokàn) look down upon Usage: “小看”是指看不起，不重视。一般说“小看某人或某物”，在口语中也说“小瞧”。“小看(xiǎokàn)” means to look down upon somebody or belittle something. It is usually followed by the person or the thing. “小瞧（xiǎoqiáo）”, which has the same meaning, is often used in spoken language.

掌上明珠  (zhǎngshàng míngzhǔ) a beloved daughter; the apple of one’s eye

出马  (chūmǎ) take up the matter oneself Usage: “出马”原义是骑马出战杀敌，引申为亲自出面去做事。"出马(chūmǎ)" originally meant riding to the war field to kill enemies. It now means attending to the matter personally.

转眼 (zhuǎnyǎn) in the twinkling of an eye Usage: “转眼”指眼珠转动的瞬间，有时也说“转眼间”或者“转眼之间”。常用来形容时间过得很快。"转眼(zhuǎnyǎn)" literally means the twinkling of an eye, and is extended to refer to a very short time. Sometimes people say "转眼间" or "转眼之间" to indicate that time passes very quickly.