{"id":10586,"date":"2019-11-22T12:27:13","date_gmt":"2019-11-22T12:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/?p=10586"},"modified":"2019-11-22T15:59:14","modified_gmt":"2019-11-22T15:59:14","slug":"what-color-is-your-collar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/vi\/what-color-is-your-collar\/","title":{"rendered":"What Color is Your Collar?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In China, people are proud to be referred to as a white-collar worker, because it means they have a decent job with a high salary. However, some "White Collars" also experience financial problems.<\/p>\n

              zán men w\u01cen shàng qù ji\u01d4 ba kàn shì jiè b\u0113i ba
Simon: \u54b1\u4eec\u665a\u4e0a\u53bb\u9152\u5427\u770b\u4e16\u754c\u676f\u5427\u3002<\/strong>
               Let’s go to a pub to watch the World Cup tonight.<\/p>\n

                  w\u01d2 bú qù le \uff0ckuài méi qián le
Xiao Lin: \u6211\u4e0d\u53bb\u4e86\uff0c\u5feb\u6ca1\u94b1\u4e86\u3002
<\/strong>                 I can’t go; I’m almost broke.<\/p>\n

              bú huì ba  n\u01d0 bú shì bái l\u01d0ng ma
Simon:\u4e0d\u4f1a\u5427\uff1f\u4f60\u4e0d\u662f\u767d\u9886\u5417?
<\/strong>              Are you kidding? Aren’t you a White Collar worker?<\/p>\n

                 \u0101i  g\u014dng z\u012b bái l\u01d0ng le
Xiao Lin: \u5509\uff01\u5de5\u8d44\u767d\u9886\u4e86<\/strong>\u3002
                Well, the salary was earned in vain.<\/p>\n

In this dialogue, the trick lies in the word "\u767d\u9886(bái  l\u01d0ng)",<\/strong> which is composed of two Chinese characters "\u767d" and "\u9886". Both characters have many meanings, which helps Xiao Lin to tell Simon she has no mo<\/em>ney through self-deprecation.<\/p>\n

"\u767d"(bái) means "white", and sometimes means "in vain". For example, “\u767d\u5e72”(bái gàn) which is used to describe doing something in vain. "\u9886" is “collar” when it is used as a noun, but it is also used as a verb to mean " to receive" or "to get".<\/p>\n

In the dialogue, when Simon invited Xiao Lin to go to a bar, he is turned down because Xiao Lin says she has no money. Simon is surprised, and replies "\u4e0d\u4f1a\u5427\uff1f\u4f60\u4e0d\u662f\u767d\u9886\u5417?" In the sentence, "\u767d\u9886" literally means "White Collar".<\/p>\n

Xiao Lin respo<\/em>nds : "\u5509\uff01\u5de5\u8d44\u767d\u9886\u4e86", "\u767d" means " in vain" and "\u9886" means "to get", so here Xiao Lin is mocking herself, saying that though she has a favorable salary, she still has no extra mo<\/em>ney to go to a bar.<\/p>\n

In Chinese, different colors are used to describe people working in different fields with different work statuses.<\/p>\n

[j\u012bn l\u01d0ng] \u91d1\u9886  Gold Collar<\/strong>
\u91d1 (j\u012bn) means gold, so the word \u91d1\u9886 (j\u012bn l\u01d0ng) refers to industry elites such as CEOs, senior officials, and so on.<\/p>\n

[f\u011bn l\u01d0ng] \u7c89\u9886 Pink Collar<\/strong>
\u7c89 (f\u011bn) means pink. The word \u7c89\u9886 (f\u011bn l\u01d0ng) usually refers to female professio<\/em>nals working at home, such as freelancers. Their work time is flexible.<\/p>\n

[lán l\u01d0ng] \u84dd\u9886 Blue Collar<\/strong>
\u84dd (lán) means blue. The word \u84dd\u9886 (lán l\u01d0ng) refers to manual workers. Blue collar work may involve skilled or unskilled physical work.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n