{"id":2113,"date":"2009-04-20T05:55:21","date_gmt":"2009-04-19T21:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.asianramblings.com\/?p=2113"},"modified":"2009-04-20T05:55:21","modified_gmt":"2009-04-19T21:55:21","slug":"useful-chinese-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stevepeer.com\/blog\/useful-chinese-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning your first useful words in Chinese"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tsingdao<\/a><\/p>\n

The people that come to teach English in China may have learned a little Mandarin before arriving in The Middle Kingdom<\/em>. That usually goes out the window: The classroom and the street are vastly different environs.<\/p>\n

Ni Hao<\/em>, they will say (Hello). Or perhaps, Xie Xie<\/em> (Thank you).\u00a0 Other than those two key expressions, new people teaching English in China find themselves lost in a linguistic maze. The local accent, the rapid-fire delivery, lead to confusion, bewilderment, and more often than not, fright.<\/p>\n

There is one phrase all new ESL teachers learn: Something key to their survival in the high-pressure, crazy, dog-eat-dog world of teaching English overseas:<\/p>\n

Pijiu.<\/em><\/p>\n

Beer. That’s right. Before many learn to say (in Chinese) “My name is Bob, I’m an English teacher,” they learn to say: Pijiu<\/em>. The scholars may learn to say: Liang ping pijiu<\/em> (two bottles of beer).<\/p>\n

As they learn the magic word they also learn to forget the polite customs of their homelands. A wave at a waitress might result in a wave back, or a smile. Softly calling, “Xiao Jie<\/em>,” (miss) will not get cold bottles of pijiu <\/em>to your table. Chinese restaurants at meal times can be a controlled riot. You must be loud to be heard over the din of other diners, the kitchen, and the honking horns outside.<\/p>\n

Politeness is forgotten as quickly as pijiu<\/em> is assimilated into the linguistic psyche. The wave or cleared throat is replaced with the bellowed, “Pijiu,<\/em>” the English teacher holding an empty bottle over their head like a trophy that is be both feared and admired. Even if the waitress doesn’t understand the pronunciation of pijiu<\/em>, the dead soldier is a visual cue.<\/p>\n

That cultural hurdle overcome, new people teaching English in China can learn more useful Chinese phrases like: How much is this?<\/p>\n

Photo: Me and my new Strobist gear.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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