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AIYAHHH!!! = Shocked surprise. Various English equivalents would be "Ohmygod!", "Look at that!", or "Oh, shit!"

Bai Jiu = literally, "White Alcohol".  Chinese Liquor; Chinese White Lightning. Made from Sorghum and Wheat, it tastes liquefied burnt rubber. Can also double as paint thinner and jet fuel in a pinch. If Saddam Hussein has any bottles of it (gifts, of course from the PRC), they should have been declared to the UNSCOM inspectors. Caused a small fire in the White House when Nixon returned from China with a bottle of it gratis Chairman Mao.

Ban = Half. see Ganbei and Yi ban ban.

Bei = North (eg. BeiJing - northern capital); also means "glass"-see Ganbei. Many (most) Chinese words have multiple meanings. It's the tone of voice or the context used which distinguishes them which makes spoken Chinese so difficult for westerners to learn.

Bu = no, not, do not, a negative. To make any verb negative, just tack on bu before the verb. This makes speaking a negative sentence in Chinese bu difficult (easy). Some examples:

bu hao = Not good
bu he = Don't drink
bu hui shuo han-yu = can't speak Chinese
bu keqi = thanks aren't necessary, you're welcome-see Xiexie
bu yao = don't want

C'est dommage = (O.K. I so threw in a French phrase! So sue me!) C'est dommage means "It's a shame" or as my students are fond of saying in their British accents, "What a pity!".

Cesuo = Bathroom, toilet, W.C., The "Hole"

Cha Ke = Wo!  "Chuck" in Chinese. Pronounced "Chah Kuh".

Chi = Eat; Hao Chi = "Good Eats!", "Tastes Good!"; "Chi Fan Le, Ma?" is a common greeting one hears around lunch time. "Have you eaten?" (literally "Eaten Food?). Like the western "What's new?" one isn't supposed to answer with a recital of what you had for lunch (or, in the west, all the things that are new in your life). A simple, "Chi Le" ("Yes I've Eaten") or "Mei Chi" ("No I haven't eaten, yet" suffices.

Chinglish = Chinese-English; see Chuck in China -2: Fun with Chinglish.

Da Zi 大字 = literally "Big Words". Ever see those big red posters hanging around? Ever hear Chinese leaders parrot the same trite (in Chinese) phrases? That's Da Zi. A lot of "sound and fury signifying nothing". If you don't believe me, watch the Chinese audience while this is going on. They talk with each other, send messages on their cell phones, do their nails, do just about anything... but listen to the Da Zi coming from the leaders' mouths.

Dong = East

Dongbei = Nickname for Northeast China. Dong (East) Bei (North). In China they say Eastnorth).

Duibuqi = sorry, excuse me

Duo = many, much

Er Bai Wu = Slang term for "Stupid". Literally "Two Hundred Fifty". It must mean "On a scale of 1000, you are 250". It is really not polite to call somebody Er Bai Wu. See my lesson on it in Chuck in China 3. Other terms for "Stupid!" include "Ben Dan" and "Da Sha Gua!" In Hangzhou local dialect, they say "Liu Er!" which is "62". So I have combined Er Bai Wu and Liu Er and come with my own Chuck's Chinese dialect: Whenever I meet someone really stupid in Hangzhou (a not uncommon occurrence), I call them "San Bai Shi Er" or "312". Of course, I then have to explain that 250 + 62 = 312. That always gets a laugh out of them.

Ganbei = "Cheers!"; "Bottoms Up"; a Chinese toast which requires all present to empty their glasses in one gulp. It literally means "Dry Glass", as in "make your glass dry". As opposed to "ban bei" which requires drinking only half the glass. After a few of these toasts with pijiu, everyone will begin a Confucian debate as to whether the glass is half empty or half full. If the glasses were full of bai jiu, the question becomes whether the glass ever existed at all. A few ganbei's later, the answer is clear: Huh?

Ganlanqiu = "Oval Ball" or "Olive Ball". The Chinese word for American football (and Rugby, too, for that matter). Apparently because it is shaped like an olive. And requires a much larger martini glass.

Gao = Tall. As I walk down the streets of Jinzhou the people I pass say "Tai Gao Le" to their friends: "Too tall".

Gun Kai = "Make like a barrel and roll away". In America, we'd say "Get Lost!" An impolite phrase that's very effective in telling sanlunche drivers to leave you alone. I resort to it only after the fifth Bu Yao doesn't work.

Gui = expensive; (Tai Gui Le = Too expensive)

Guo = Country; see Meiguo; Zhongguo; see also ren: Guoren = a person from that country Waiguoren; Meiguoren

Hai = Sea; Haibin = sea side

Hao = Good - see e.g. Hao Chi; bu hao is not good.

Hao Kan = Good Looking. Handsome or Beautiful depending on who or what you are describing. Literally, Hao (Good)and Kan (Look)

He = To drink (pronounced like kind of like "Huh"). He Cola = drink Coke. He Pijiu = Drink beer; (He Tai Duo Le=Drunk). He is also the word for River though I highly recommend against "He He".... drinking the river water.

Houzi = monkey

Huang = Yellow or blonde. Thus Huang Hai = Yellow Sea; Huang He = Yellow River (I know!,I know!: by I.P. Daily); or Huang Tou = Blonde Hair.

Huitoujian = "See you soon! "Talk to you soon!"; a nice change from Zaijian.

Hu Bin = Lakeside - Lake (Hu) Side (Bin); similarly, He Bin is riverside and Hai Bin is seaside.

Hu Shuo!= "Nonsense!" Literally, "speak nonsense". semi-polite way to say "Bullshit!"

Hutongs = commercial alleys which are everywhere in the cities here

Jia You = "Go! Go! Go!" It's the common chant at basketball games, track meets, football (soccer) matches, and volleyball matches.Roughly translated, it means "More Power!". Literally translated, it is "Add Oil!" which I learned from my students at my college's track meet recently. Since the English Department was participating in the track meet, I led my students in chanting (in English, of course since we were the English Department)"Add Oil! Add Oil! Add Oil!" as their classmates sprinted around the track. Which caused a lot of people, myself included, to scratch their heads.

Kan = The verb "to look". "Kan kan" is the Chinese equivalent of the Chinglish "Lookie Lookie!" which is what all the street vendors yell whenever a foreigner walks by their stall.

Kuaidianr = fast, quickly

Lao = "Old" usually (though the locals will try to convince you that "We really mean "respected" because China has a long and ancient history of respecting elders and blah...blah...blah..." This explanation starts to get "Lao" about three days after you've lived here. See the next few entries for different variations on this theme.

Lao Ban = Boss. Respected Boss; literally "Old leader"

Lao Ren = Literally "Old Man". And actually "old man", too. No Chinese Hu Shuo on this one. If they call you Lao Ren then you better pack it in, retire, retire, and consider wandering the streets slowly with your hands clasped behind your back or walking the bird.

Lao Shi = Respected Teacher; Literally "old master". Example: "Cha Ke Laoshi, Kuaidianr, " = "Quickly, Teacher Chuck" - a phrase often heard when the office decides to change the class schedule at five minutes notice. As in, "Cha Ke Laoshi, Kuaidianr, , we have rescheduled your afternoon class to 8:00 this morning." It is 7:55 a.m.

Lao Shu (老鼠) = An old mouse = Rat.

Lao Wai = "Old foreigner" (see Waiguoren). Do you see a pattern here? When I am called Lao Wai Lao Shi: Old foreigner, old teacher, I am supposed to feel respected. Or so I am told. See my lesson on it in Chuck in China 3.

Ma means many things in Chinese, among them "mother", "horse", a curse word, or "hemp" depending on the tone in which it is spoken. It's most common use is as a question mark. Tack "ma" onto the end of a statement to turn it into a question. So in Chinese, a statement such as "He is at class." Becomes "He is at class?" by tacking ma at the end of the sentence. This makes asking a question in Chinese bu difficult, ma? And if you aren't careful how you say it, you may end up questioning the legitimacy (or lack thereof) of your mother's horse.

Mamahuhu = so-so in English; comme çi comme ça in French; (or another way to say yi ban ban in Chinese).

Mao Zedong = Da Chairman. The "Great Helmsman". You probably know him as Mao Tse Tong under the old style of romanization which also rendered Beijing as Peking and Guangzhou as Canton.

Meiguo = America

Meiguoren = American person

Mei Wenti = No problem! An oft-heard phrase in China. As in "Mei You? Mei Wenti!" = "You don't have it? No problem!" It's what people say when you ask them for help and then what they hope you say when you realize they can't.

Mei You = Don't have; See Chuck in China - 2

Mian Bao Che = literally, the "bread (mian bao) bus (che)" which is what the Chinese call a "mini-bus" because it looks like a loaf of bread!

Nan Ren = A Man. Literally a Man Person (Ren);(see also, Nu Ren)

Ni = You; ("Nimen" is the plural of Ni)

Ni Hao = Hello! Literally means You (Ni) Good (Hao)? "Ni Hao, ma?" literally means "You Good?". "Nimen" is the plural of Ni so "Nimen Hao" = Hi, y'all.

Nu Ren = A Woman. Literally a Woman Person (Ren);(see also(see Nan Ren)

Nupengyou = Girlfriend: Nu (woman) + Pengyou (friend)

Pengyou = Friend

Pijiu = Beer; see Qingdao

Qi Pao = A traditional evening gown-length, silk, slinky dress similar to a kimono, but more tight-fitting. It is worn by women occasionally,particularly the hostesses at the better restaurants, clubs, and Karaoke rooms. Very beautiful. So are the dresses. Here's my friend Lei Zi wearing a Qi Pao.

Qingdao = Known in the U.S. as Tsingtao and served in most American "Chinese" restaurants. It's actually a German beer made in the city of Qingdao on the Shandong peninsula which was controlled by Germany as one result of The Unequal Treaties China was forced into in the 1890s. It was taken away from Germany and given to Japan under the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I. But China got to keep the beer, I guess.

Qiu = ball; Lan Qiu = basketball (Hoop Ball); Bang Qiu = baseball (Stick Ball); Pai Qiu = Volleyball (Clap Ball); Tai Qiu = billiards (Table Ball)Gan Lan Qiu = American Football (Olive Ball).

Ren = Person, people. Also the given name of my Laoban.

RMB or Ren Min Bi = Official name for Chinese money. Literally "People's (Ren Min) Money (Bi)". It's also known on world financial markets as the Chinese Yuan. In everyday spoken Chinese, it's usually just referred to as Kuai (the American equivalent of calling a dollar a "buck").

Sanlunche = You know them as "rickshaws". Literally, "Three Wheeled Vehicles". In Chinglish, they are sometimes called "tricycles" but these are clearly not for children. The drivers are usually the most obnoxious people extant in China. They top the very short list of things I hate about China. Here's a picture of one in Suzhou.

Shan = Mountain

Sheng Dan = Christmas. Sheng Dan Jie = Christmas Day; Sheng Dan Kuaile = Merry Christmas; Sheng Dan Lao Ren = Santa Claus (literally, The Christmas Old Man!)

Shuo = to speak or say; "hui shuo" = can speak; bu hui shuo=can't speak

Tai = Very; too. (Tai Gao Le = Too Tall); (Tai Gui Le = Too expensive); (He Tai Duo Le = Too Drunk); Feng Tai De = Too windy

Tai qi = a/k/a Tai Chi. Chinese exercises (sometimes referred to in the west as martial arts). Everyone in China except me does them in the morning. Here is why I don't.

Tou = Head. Tou Fa = hair. Huang Tou Fa = blonde hair; Mei You Tou Fa = bald-literally "Has No Hair". Mei You Tou = means "Has No Head" as in, "You're so stupid, you have no head". See Mei You.

Xiao = Little

Xiaojie = Miss; Literally it means "Little Sister". In a restaurant it's the same as "Waitress!". In Suzhou I had a taxi driver ask me if I needed a Zhongguo (Chinese) Xiaojie. I'm sitting there wondering why I would need a waitress in a taxicab so I told him I didn't ["Bu yao"]. It was lucky I told him that as I later learned he meant a "Miss" who serves something other than food!

Xiexie = Thank you; to which you reply Bu Keqi

Xueyuan = College

WAHHH! = WOW! Rhymes with "awe". So it's like WOW+Awe.

Waiguoren = foreigner, see Laowai. Literally "Far Country Person". See my lesson on how the Chinese refer to us in Chuck in China 3.

Wo = I, me; Wode = my; mine

Wo bu hu shuo = No bullshit; literally, I don't speak nonsense.

Wo de Mi Mi = It's my secret! A common response when you ask anyone a question or for information here in China.

Yi ban ban = So - so, see Mamahuhu. Literally "one-half this one-half that". In French it would be comme çi comme ça. (We're really getting multi-cultural here!)

Yi Qie Xiang Qian Kan = Everyone thinks only about money. This is the root of Chinese culture and civilization, and the way of life in today's China. Another foreign teacher once suggested that the next time you have a conversation with a Chinese, or the next time you overhear two Chinese talking, start counting 1..2..3..4... until you hear the subject of money come up. You'll never have to count longer than 60 seconds and usually, not more than 10 seconds! It's true! Try it yourself.

Yao = Want; Bu Yao = "Don't want". Learn this phrase if you plan on coming to China. You will be pestered all day long on the streets by vendors and the a**holes who drive the sanlunche.

Yue = Moon; also Month (Duh! A month is how long it takes the moon to circle the earth). Months are named Yi Yue, Er Yue, San Yue, etc. Month 1, Month 2 ... Thus, it's very simple to learn the names of the months if you can count to 12.

Zai = in or at (or @ in stenographer's English - thus Chuck @ China)

Zaijian = The standard Chinese goodbye. Means come back again soon.

Zhende! = "Really!" When you want to emphasize that you really MEAN what you just said, you yell, Zhende!!! On the other hand, if someone says something you DON'T beleieve, you ask them "Zhende, Ma?" (Remember to make a question in Chinese, you add a neutral tone "Ma" to a statement. Like a Canadian "Eh?". So "Zhende Ma?" means "Really?"

Zhongguo = China; Chinese; Zhong = "Middle" and Guo = "Country" or "Kingdom". China is "The Middle Kingdom" - between Heaven and Earth.

Zuo = Sit; "Qing Zuo" means "Please have a seat". Whenever you go anyplace or enter any room, the first thing you hear from the Chinglishly-trained is "Sit Down Please!". It is usually shouted at you as those present grab your elbow and try to drag you towards an uncomfortable chair.