Suppose you see the following scene transpire between two friends:
Friend A:
yīqǐ qù páshān ma?
一起去爬山吗？
Want to climb a mountain?
Friend B:
(lüè dài jīngkǒng de) bùle bùle
（略带惊恐的）不了不了
(Slightly frightened) No no no…
If you’re not from China, you might be confused – why is this something to panic about?
Let me break it down for you!
Recently, the meme “一起爬山吗(yìqǐ páshān ma)?” has caught people’s attention. It’s from a popular online TV drama “隐秘的角落(yǐnmì de jiǎoluò)”, or, “The Bad Kids”. In the first episode, Zhang Dongsheng, played by actor Qin Hao, suddenly pushes his father-in-law and my mother-in-law off a cliff while supposedly taking their picture. For many watching, the possibility that this could happen hadn’t crossed their minds – many were greatly disturbed.
A few days ago, Qin Hao posted a photo on the Internet in which he was holding a phone case written “一起爬山吗?” The sentence caught on and people began to joke that, “Want to climb a mountain together?” might mean, “I going to kill you.”
Another quote from the show, “我还有机会吗(wǒ hái yǒu jīhuì ma) Do I still have a chance?” also received a lot of attention from netizens.
Zhang Dongsheng asked this question twice, once when taking his in-laws hiking (his father-in-law decisively rejected him, after which he pushed them off the cliff), and once when his wife was going to leave him (his wife replied that she didn’t love him anymore, after which he drowned her in the ocean).
The show,“隐秘的角落(yǐnmì de jiǎoluò)”, is a mystery drama that focuses on the story of three children in a small coastal town who inadvertently capture a murder on film. The show has received great acclaim, with superb acting, psychological scares, and unexpected plot twists.
In the TV show, it turns out that the phrase “一起去爬山吗?” is a threat; however, in daily conversation this sentence structure is simply a way to ask someone if they want to do something with you.
A: míngtiān yīqǐ qù páshān ma?
A: 明天一起去爬山吗？
A: Do you want to climb a mountain tomorrow?
B: hǎo ya!
B: 好呀！
B: OK!
“yìqǐ……ma?” (Do you want to…..together?) is a very common way in spoken Chinese to invite others to join you* to do something. For example, you can ask someone:
*“一起yìqǐ” means “together”, even though it’s not necessarily translated directly in English.
If you’ve read this far, I suggest that you like, comment and forward this article – or would you rather I take you to climb a mountain?
Please make a sentence with”一起… 吗？” and leave it in the comments below!
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