My foot, and where I have stuck it.
lotsofwordsandnospaces
July 02, 2009, 09:59 AM posted in General DiscussionI have really limited Chinese, so I tend to get my self in trouble starting conversations, in conversations, and most things in general.
matt_c
July 02, 2009, 10:38 AMDon't worry too much dude.
Fireball is probably not a word Chinese people use to describe a kid, remember the cultural differences at play (that go beyond linguistic differences). I doubt it would have been offensive, just wouldn't have made too much sense.
I fool people on the phone etc with native-like Chinese, but sometimes in person people are dumbstruck when I speak to them as they are surprised seeing a foreigner speaking Chinese.
lotsofwordsandnospaces
July 02, 2009, 12:51 PMI think another part of it is, I would never say that in English - it was just the first word that came to mind (I think I had read it in a comic that week).
I remember the elementary lesson on climbing vividly, and I was following a Chinese student who looked like she was wearing a pair of high heels a) for the first time and b) four sizes too big, and I chirped up '一步一步来吧!' which I thought was amusing, but again - seemingly was a major insult.
She probably had really sore feet...
Another thing, I realise now you shouldn't comment on a woman's skirt - no matter how offensively short it is for the size of their bum...
I think Matt, it is more to do with me being tactless. I wish I could rewind and get some advice on how to not sound like a jerk in Chinese, and therefore be considered affable by all...
matt_c
July 02, 2009, 02:56 PMOK, um, you could say things like 穿这种鞋子很辛苦吧.
Say stuff that recognises positive things about someone, only if you are sure it's congruent with the local mindset. If not sure, then try to control those impulses. :) I do understand.
lotsofwordsandnospaces
July 02, 2009, 09:58 AMThe entirity of the Chinese I speak is crushingly embarrassing and painful.
I was in Ikea, and a little plum faced Chinese kid was running on the conveyor belt at the checkout. I had been listening to them for a while, so I was pretty sure they were mainland Chinese, so I said:
他是个 小火流星
tā shì ge xiǎo huǒliúxīng
I was trying to say - He is a little fireball!
But it went down like a lead butterfly, and I felt a total failure. I have no idea where I plucked huǒliúxīng from, and I assume the shock of a foreigner speaking Chinese, and probably screwing up his tones was somehow offensive