泼冷水 (pōlěnɡshuǐ) Pour cold water on / Dampen the enthusiasm of
The character “泼 (pō)” means to pour or to throw; “冷 (lěng)” means cold
and “水 (shuǐ)” means water.
Tā běnlái jiù xìnxīn bù zú, nǐ jiù bié gěi tā pōlěngshuǐ le. 他本来就信心不足，你就别给他泼冷水了。
You should not pour cold water on him, for he is not confident.…
Christmas Online Shopping in China Key Learning Points (Preview):
网上购物 (wǎngshàng gòuwù) n Online shopping
热销 (rèxiāo) n Best seller
讨价还价(tǎojià huánjià) v To bargain
As the holiday season is coming up soon, the Christmas shopping frenzy is already around the corner. Will you do “网上购物 (wǎngshàng gòuwù) online shopping?”…
中国功夫 (Zhōngguó Gōngfu) Chinese Kungfu
Listen to this song:
Key Learning Point (Preview): 松 (sōnɡ): n. pine
Wò sì yì zhāng gōng, zhàn sì yì kē sōng. 卧似一张弓，站似一棵松。 Crouching is like a bow, and standing is like a pine.
Bú dòng bù yáo zuò rú zhōng, zǒulù yí zhèn fēng.…
走运 (zǒuyùn) Have good luck or Be lucky
The character “走 (zǒu)” means walk and “运 (yùn)” means fortune or luck.
Example:
Jīntiān wǒ diūle yì běn shū, tài bù zǒuyùn le. 今天我丢了一本书, 太不走运了。 I really have a bad luck today, because I lost my book.…
开小差 (kāi xiǎochāi) Be absent-minded
The character “开 (kāi)” means open; “小 (xiǎo)” means small or little and “差
(chāi)” means errand or job. Example: Tā yèlǐ méi shuì hǎo, báitiān shàngkè shí sīxiǎng zǒng kāi xiǎochāi. 他夜里没睡好, 白天上课时思想总开小差。
He can’t sleep well at night and is absent-minded in classes at daytime.…
受气包 (shòuqìbāo) One Who Always Gets Blamed
“受气包 (shòuqìbāo)” is the phrase for “One who always gets blamed.” The
character “受 (shòu)” means to bear; “气 (qì)” means air or smell, here it
means angry; and “包 (bāo)” means bag or pack. Example:
Yīnwèi Zhāng shūshu de lǎopo hé tā fùmǔ bù hé, suóyǐ tā jiù chénɡ le jiā lǐde shòuqìbāo.…
“直肠子 (zhíchángzi)” is the phrase for “Straightforward person.” The character “直 (zhí)” means straight or upright and “肠子 (chángzi)” means intestine.
Gébì Zhāng dàmā zhēn shì gè zhíchángzi, yǒu shá jiù shuō shá. 隔壁张大妈真是个直肠子，有啥就说啥。 Aunt Zhang next door is a straightforward person, who always says whatever’s on her mind.…
大嘴巴 (dàzuǐba) Big Mouth
“大嘴巴 (dàzuǐba)” is the phrase for “Big mouth.” The character “大 (dà)” means big and “嘴巴 (zuǐba)” means mouth. Example: Nǐ kě qiānwàn bú yào bǎ zhège mìmì gàosu Lǐ Lì, tā kě shì chū le míng de dàzuǐba. 你可千万不要把这个秘密告诉李丽，她可是出了名的大嘴巴。
You should never tell the secret to Li Li, because she has a notoriously big mouth .…
抓狂 (zhuākuáng) Go Mad
“抓狂 (zhuākuáng)” is the phrase for “Go mad.” The character “抓 (zhuā)”
means to grab or to catch and “狂 (kuáng)” means crazy or mad.
Zhèngdāng Àobāmǎ zhǔnbèi dàlì ɡǎiɡé shí, měiɡuó shīyèlǜ yòu shàngshēng le, zhè ràng tā hěn zhuākuáng.…
顺风耳 (shùnfēng’ěr) Clairaudient
The character “顺 (shùn)” means in the same direction; “风 (fēng)” means
wind and “耳 (ěr)” means ear.
Zài Fēngshénbǎng lǐ, Gāo Jué shì yí gè shùnfēng’ ěr, tā néng tīngdào qiān lǐyǐ wài de shēngyīn. 在封神榜里，高觉是一个顺风耳，他能听到千里以外的声音。
In The Legend of Deification, Gao Jue is called as a clairaudient who can hear the voices far from a thousand miles away.…
千里眼 (qiānlǐyǎn) Clairvoyant
The character “千 (qiān)” means thousand; “里 (lǐ) is mile and” 眼 (yǎn)”
refers to eyes.
Example: Zài Fēngshénbǎnglǐ, Gāo Míng shì yí gè qiānlǐyǎn, tā néng kàndào qiān lǐ yǐ wài de dōngxi. 在封神榜里，高明是一个千里眼，他能看到千里以外的东西。 In The Legend of Deification, Gao Ming is called as a clairvoyant who can see the things far from a thousand miles away.…
Tàiyáng dāng kōng zhào, 太阳 当 空 照， The sun is shining in the sky.
Huāér duì wǒ xiào, 花儿 对 我 笑， The flowers are smiling to me,
Xiǎoniǎo shuō: “Zǎo! Zǎo! Zǎo! 小鸟 说： “早！ 早！ 早！ The little birds are talking to me: “Morning!…
Listen to this song:
Key Learning Points (Preview):
等待 (děnɡdài): v. to wait
老师 (lǎoshī) n. teacher
Chítáng biān de róngshù shàng, zhīliao zài shēngshēng jiàozhe xiàtiān. 池塘 边 的 榕树 上， 知了 在 声声 叫着 夏天。 The cicadas in BANYAN TREES near the pool were crying for summer.…
旱鸭子 (hàn yāzi) Non-swimmer
The character “旱 (hàn)” means dry or drought; “鸭 (yā)” means duck and “子
(zi)” is used as a suffix here.
Wǒ mèimei búhuì yóuyǒng, dàjiā dōu jiào tā hàn yāzi. 我妹妹不会游泳，大家都叫她旱鸭子。
My sister cannot swim, so we all call her Han Yazi.…
呆若木鸡 (dāiruòmùjī) Transfixed/Dumb as a wooden chicken
The character “呆 (dāi)” means dull or stupid; “若 (ruò)” means like or as; “木 (mù)” refers to wood and “鸡 (jī)” refers to chicken.
Nà gè nánhái dāiruòmùjī dì zhànzhe, xià dé lián qì dōu bùgǎn chuǎn.…
落汤鸡 (luòtāngjī) Completely Soaked
“落汤鸡 (luòtāngjī)” is the phrase for “Soaked.” The character “落 (luò)” means drop or decline; “汤 (tāng)” means soup and “鸡 (jī)” means chicken. Example:
Tā zhèngzài lùshang zǒuzhe, tūrán xiàqǐ le dàyǔ, jiéguǒ lín de xiàng gè luòtāngjī yíyàng. 他正在路上走着，突然下起了大雨，结果淋得像个落汤鸡一样。
Got questions? …
纸老虎 (zhǐlǎohǔ) Paper Tiger
“纸老虎 (zhǐlǎohǔ)” is the phrase for “Paper Tiger.” The character “纸 (zhǐ)” means paper; “老 (lǎo)” means old and “虎 (hǔ)” means tiger. Example:
Bié pà tā, tā zhǐshì zhǎngxiàng bǐjiào xiōng’ è, qíshí shì gè zhǐlǎohǔ. 别怕他，他只是长相比较凶恶，其实是个纸老虎。
Do not be afraid of him–he just looks fierce.…
乌鸦嘴 (wūyāzuǐ) Big Mouth
“乌鸦嘴 (wūyāzuǐ)” is the phrase for “Big mouth.” The character “乌 (wū)” means dark; “鸦 (yā)” means crow and “嘴 (zuǐ)” means mouth.
Example:
Wǒ zhèng xiǎng yóuyǒng ne, nǐ jiù shuō ” xiǎoxīn yānzhe, ” nǐ shìbúshì yě tàiwūyāzuǐ le. 我正想游泳呢，你就说“小心淹着，” 你是不是也太乌鸦嘴了。
When I am going to swim, you’ d say: ” Beware of drowning.…
