I am curious about the meaning of 厉害。 The way that Chinese people use it seems to be a very positive adjective, but the dictionary translates it as "terrible, formidable". Some examples of use that I dont quite understand:
In the "Making a Mojito" lesson, a boy announces that he can mix drinks, and a girl is surprised and says "真厉害"
When I tell people how long I've done this or that a common reply is "哇，很厉害！”
However, once I was playing majiang with some Chinese friends (and winning) one of them called me "厉害".
I suppose when translated as "formidable", the word makes sense, but native speakers seem so productive with it and I wonder about all the contexts you can use it in.
Posted on: A Qing Wen to Our Listeners
May 28, 2013 at 9:58 PMI am curious about the meaning of 厉害。 The way that Chinese people use it seems to be a very positive adjective, but the dictionary translates it as "terrible, formidable". Some examples of use that I dont quite understand:
In the "Making a Mojito" lesson, a boy announces that he can mix drinks, and a girl is surprised and says "真厉害"
When I tell people how long I've done this or that a common reply is "哇，很厉害！”
However, once I was playing majiang with some Chinese friends (and winning) one of them called me "厉害".
I suppose when translated as "formidable", the word makes sense, but native speakers seem so productive with it and I wonder about all the contexts you can use it in.
Thanks