Fans of Chinese and Mandarin
Analysis and usage of commonly used everyday Chinese phrases, idioms, and proverbs, tailored to real-life communication.
Chinese has an extremely high frequency of use when it comes to four-character idioms and common sayings. There are several thousand commonly used ones. But most Chinese people probably only master a few hundred. They usually come from historical allusions or fables. I know more than most because when I was a child, China was … Read more
安居乐业 Live in Peace and Work in Contentment 【Interpretation】 Live a stable life and work happily. Anju (安居) literally means a secure house and by extension living a happy life. Leye (乐业) means enjoying one’s work. Together they refer to the general state of good governance, with peace prevailing and everyone in their proper place, … Read more
爱民者强 Power Comes from Caring for the People 【Interpretation】 A state which takes good care of its people is one with true power. A ruler will be trusted and supported by the people, and the state under such a ruler will be a solid stronghold only when the policies and measures made and implemented meet … Read more
Attached to the Land and Unwilling to Move 【Interpretation】 Feeling attached to the native land and reluctant to move to another place. This was a widespread way of thinking and sentiment among the common people in a traditional agricultural society. In essence, it is because they depended on the land to make a living, since … Read more
鸡你太美 is actually a meme. The original line was 只因你太美（only because you are too beautiful）， which was the first line of a song sang by singer Cai Xukun. 只因 is pronounced zhi-yin, which when you say it really fast, becomes Jin, which is pretty close to the pronounciation of 鸡， Ji, which means chicken. So … Read more