Hi kids! Mr. Daniel will be visiting the San Francisco Bay Area for a while. Here are some relevant terms.
美国
měiguó
USA
加州
jiāzhōu
California
旧金山 ／ 三藩市
jiùjīnshān / sānfānshì
San Francisco (旧金山 is used more than 三藩市)
无家可归（的人）
wújiākěguī (derén)
homeless (person)
同性恋
tóngxìngliàn
homosexual
男同性恋
nántóngxìngliàn
gay
女同性恋
nǚtóngxìngliàn
lesbian
Ann from California asked:
So apparently “3.72平方” is a joke that no one will explain to me. All they’d say is that it means 3.72 squared (i.e. 13.8384) and that it’s a pun in Shanghainese. So since you’re in Shanghai, you could probably find people who get it. :D
13.8384 is read as shísān diǎn bāsābāsì (十三点八三八四), and it sort of sounds like shísān diǎn busānbusì (十三点不三不四).
十三点
shísāndiǎn
ditz, fool
不三不四
busānbusì
unlike anything, dubious
Chinesehelp.org has a better explanation of 不三不四:
For example someone that doesn’t have a job but also isn’t a beggar, but rather something between. Or someone in school who does neither socialize nor study, and nobody really knows what he is up to. It can also imply that the person has a dubious appearance or clothing.
So 3.722 or 13.8384 is probably used to call someone a dubious fool. It’s not a common phrase, but separately 十三点 and 不三不四 are both commonly used.
手机
shǒujī
cell phone
手机号码
shǒujī hàomǎ
cell phone number
短信
duǎnxìn
text message (SMS)
消息
xiāoxi
message
发短信 ／ 发消息
fā duǎnxìn / fā xiāoxi
send text message
充电
chōngdiàn
charge battery
充电器
chōngdiànqì
battery charger
给手机充电
gěi shǒujī chōngdiàn
charge cell phone
Gillian Chung, aka Ajiao, one of the Hong Kong celebrities involved in the 2008 Edison Chen sex photos scandal, made a public statement saying she was “很傻很天真”.
阿娇
a’jiāo
Ajiao, Gillian Chung’s nickname by which she’s more commonly known
钟欣桐 (traditional: 锺欣桐)
zhōng xīntóng
Zhong Xintong (Chung Yan-Tung), Gillian Chung’s Chinese name
很傻很天真
hěnshǎ hěntiānzhēn
very foolish, very naive
This phase has been used with “很黄很暴力” in online forums to form a mock antithetical couplet.
早上很傻很天真，晚上很黄很暴力。
Zǎoshàng hěnshǎ hěntiānzhēn, wǎnshàng hěnhuáng hěnbàolì.
Very foolish and naive in the morning, very perverted and violent in the evening.
屁
pì
fart (noun)
放屁
fàngpì
fart (verb) (literally “release fart”, or “pass gas“)
你放屁。
Nǐ fàngpì.
You farted.
(你放屁 can also mean “You’re full of shit.”)
是他放屁。
Shì tā fàng pì.
He is the one who farted.
他放得屁。
Tā fàng de pì.
His fart.
这是他放得屁。
Zhè shì tā fàng de pì.
This is his fart.
屁股
pìgǔ
buttocks
那是他的屁股放得屁。
Nà shì tā de pìgǔ fàng de pì.
That is his butt’s fart.
开机
kāijī
boot up
关机
guānjī
shutdown
重启 (short for 重新启动)
chóngqǐ (chóngxīnqǐdòng)
reboot
装
zhuāng
install
软件
ruǎnjiàn
software
程序
chéngxù
application program
死机
sǐjī
system crashed
毒
dú
virus
Example sentence:
靠！又死机了！电脑中毒了。
Kaò! Yòu sǐjī le! Diànnǎo zhòngdú le.
Dammit! It crashed again! The computer got a virus.
楼主
lóuzhǔ
forum thread starter, original poster (OP)
脑残
nǎocán
brain-damaged, moron
Example sentences:
楼主脑残。
Lóuzhǔ nǎocán.
The OP is brain-damaged.
楼主不是一般的脑残。
Lóuzhǔ búshì yībān de nǎocán.
The OP is no ordinary moron.
电脑
diànnǎo
computer
台式机
táishìjī
desktop computer
笔记本
bǐjìběn
notebook/laptop
(A regular paper notebook that you write on is also 笔记本.)
硬盘
yìngpán
hard disk
鼠标
shǔbiāo
mouse (for a computer, not the rodent)
键盘
jiànpán
keyboard
显示器
xiǎnshìqì
monitor
This really shouldn’t be the first lesson of this website but I wanted to get it in before its popularity dies out. Go read this Danwei.org entry for info on “China’s first online meme of 2008″.
很黄很暴力
hěnhúang hěnbàolì
This phrase, first used by a young girl to describe today’s internet (see it here), is actually two phrases: 很黄 (hěnhúang) and 很暴力 (hěnbàolì).
很
hěn
very
黄
húang
yellow, (and in certain context) perverted
暴力
bàolì
violent
很黄很暴力
hěnhúang hěnbàolì
very yellow (perverted), very violent