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The Proof is Piling Up

你吃饭了吗？你最近在看Mandarin Blueprint，是吗？听说Luke和Phil很帅 ;-) (帅 shuài - handsome)

Saying Hello! It Ain’t What You Think, Y’all

“你好!” said no one ever. Bit of an exaggeration, but you’ll hear people start conversations with ‘你吃饭了吗?’ much more frequently. Remember, you don’t have to go too far back into China’s history for that question to be more than just a routine greeting, but a legitimate question. Food was scarce, and if you cared about someone, dispensing with “hello” and getting right to “have you eaten?” makes sense.

From Starving to Busy, a 'Greeting' Evolution

Nowadays (如今 - ‘nowadays’), starvation is nearly eradicated in China, and the rat race is in full swing. People are almost always ‘busy’ (忙 máng), thus bringing rise to:

你最近忙吗？máng - ‘busy’ - ‘You been busy lately?’

It’s still much like saying “hello,” but it also opens the door to catch up with your conversation partner.

No One Says 你好吗 níhǎo ma? - ‘How Are You?’

The only times we’ve heard people say 你好吗 to us is when they think that, because we’re foreigners, we’ll not understand the more complicated:

你最近怎么样？zěnmeyàng - ‘how about’ - ‘How you been lately?’

It’s a sign of how entrenched traditional learning methods are that Chinese teachers will almost invariably teach 你好吗 in lesson one. They know no one says it, but it’s in the textbook, and textbooks are always right, right? RIGHT?!

You ALMOST Slipped, Died, Blabbed, Broke, Forgot…

差点儿 means ‘almost,’ but only for negative things. Perhaps you saw something gross and said “我差点儿吐了 - ‘I nearly vomited.’ The characters make sense, considering that 差 can mean either ‘poor in quality’ or ‘difference.’ The ‘difference’ 差 between something bad happening and not happening is only a ‘little bit’ 点.

The Difference Isn’t a Lot! 差不多

You will hear and say 差不多 all the time. Unlike 差点儿, there isn’t a negative or positive connotation attached to it. Imagine someone comes up to you and says “You finished watching that movie?” If there are only a few minutes left in the movie, then the ‘difference’ 差 between now and finished is ‘not a lot’ 不多.

A: 电影你看完了吗？(电影 diànyǐng - movie)
B: 我差不多看完了。

Estimating!

差不多 & 左右 are both helpful when estimating things (usually times and distances).

我差不多两点看了他 I saw him at about 2 o’clock.
我一点左右吃饭 I eat around 1 o’clock.
一直走一百米左右 Go straight about 100 meters.

You'll learn a few more estimation words that are more like “approximately,” but these two (especially 左右) come up all the time in day-to-day conversation.

Bet That Negative Self-Talk Feels Pretty Silly Now!

If you’re like the vast majority of people, you’ve had thoughts of disbelief about your ability to learn Chinese (if not, please join the Siddhartha Gautama school for the enlightened).

It’s not surprising to experience this type of internal dialogue. Everyone says Mandarin is ‘the hardest language in the world,’ there’s a long road to learn it, and maybe you’ve had negative people in your life who have discouraged you because of their own feelings of inadequacy.

Whatever the origin of those thoughts, they don’t have a leg to stand on now! You’re covered in the armor of evidence now. You can’t learn Chinese? 那么，你为什么能明白这句话?

“You can’t learn Chinese! You aren’t smart enough! You’re not good at languages! You’re too old/young! Who do you think you’re kidding? Chinese? Just give up!”

Prove them wrong.

Luke & Phil

PS Remember that you can always ask questions in the MB Community Forum, it’s a pleasure to hear from you.

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