10 Chinese expressions that LITERALLY make NO sense

Hello! 大家好! I'm Grace. I guess most of you have already learned these words 要、你好看。 But do you know what it means when they're combined? It actually means something quite negative. It's just like in English, the phrase I'm not buying it can mean I don't believe it, even though it's not what it literally says. Chinese also has many expressions like this, and today we're going to learn 10 common ones and decode what they actually mean. To make things a little more fun, before I tell you what each expression means, I will give you 5 seconds to guess. See how many you can get right and let me know in the comments! 那我們現在開始吧! The first one, Now guess its meaning. 要你好看 literally means to want you to look good. But that's not what it really means. It's actually used to threaten or warn someone, saying that you will make them regret what they did. In English, it's kind of like saying I will make you pay for this or I will teach you a lesson. So you can see when people use this phrase, they usually look kind of angry. 我這次再不欠你夢話,就要有你好看! The second one is 能夠得到你的蓋章肯定,我很榮幸! 少來 literally means come less or don't come so often. It can still have that literal meaning in some contexts, but when it's used as a response, it means that you don't believe what the other person is saying. Like this, The woman says she's very honored to have the man's stamp of approval. The man thinks she's exaggerating. So he says 少來 is usually used when you think the other person is exaggerating, pretending or trying to fool you. It's like saying oh come on or don't give me that. Here are some variations of this phrase you might hear. You might also hear people say 少來這套 The third one is 最好 means best and 是 means to be. So 最好是 literally means it's best to or it's best if. For example, But 最好是 can also be used as a response to show that you don't believe or agree with what someone just said. It's like saying yeah right. Depending on your tone, it can sound sarcastic or angry. In Taiwan, we often add this sentence final particle 啦 and say Next, It's actually used to comment on something surprising that someone has done. It's similar to saying you're the man or you're really something. 真有你的 can be used to praise someone for doing something impressive. Here's an example. 哇,你五分鐘就把電腦修好了。真有你的。 Wow, you fixed the computer in just 5 minutes? You're the man! It can also be used sarcastically to express frustration or disbelief about what someone did. For example, you can say You made her cry again? You're really something. The fifth one is Literally, this phrase 哪有 looks like it's asking whether something exists and where it is. But it's actually commonly used to say that something isn't true or didn't happen. It basically means 沒有 when denying something. But it sounds more casual and emotional. For example, She could just say Sounds more casual and expressive. Also, if you listen closely, you can hear that the last word 有 is pronounced like this. It's Chinese intonation that makes the pitch rise and then fall. If you'd like to learn more about Chinese intonation, you can check out my course Grace's Master Guide to Mandarin Tones and Intonation. Alright, now let's look at another example of 哪有 People are saying that the woman can eat a lot. And she said to deny it. You can also just say But saying Sounds more casual and emotional. Next, we have 吃醋 literally means to eat vinegar. 醋 is vinegar. This phrase means to be jealous, especially in a romantic relationship. 我不喜歡你,我吃什麼醋啊? 真的是,自作多情。 拉 means to pull and 倒 means to fall down or to topple over. So literally, it means to pull something down. However, in these contexts, In those contexts, 拉倒 means fine then, forget it. It's used when someone decides to stop insisting and no longer cares to continue. It's often used in this pattern. For example, If you don't want to go, then fine, I'll go by myself. Now let's watch the clips again. Note that in Northeastern Chinese dialects, people may say to dismiss or challenge what someone just said. 放水 is commonly used to mean to go easy on someone or to hold back, which means intentionally not using your full ability to give someone else an advantage. For instance, if you're in a basketball game with your friend, you can say You're too good, go easy on me. Or if you don't want your friend to go easy on you, you can say Don't go easy on me. 你就算想放水让成绩退步也影响不了保底工资。 Next, touch fish. You might hear people say 我上班的时候都在摸鱼。 You might be able to guess what 摸鱼 means. It means to slack off, spending time doing something other than your work or studies when you're supposed to be working or studying. The last expression is 吹 means to blow and 牛 means cow. But its actual meaning is to brag by exaggerating or to talk big. It's used when someone exaggerates their abilities, achievements or experiences or even makes things up to impress other people. Let's see some examples. 这不是我吹牛,他拿过好几次冠军了。 Alright, I hope you enjoyed today's video. Let me know in the comments how many you guessed right. And if you enjoy learning Chinese from real-life conversations, you can learn more on my Patreon, where I've been teaching real-life Chinese for almost two years now. So there are plenty of resources to help you expand your vocabulary and learn useful expressions. I hope you will join me there. 如果你喜欢今天的影片, 别忘记按赞、订阅和分享喔! You can also find me on my Instagram, Grace Mandarin. 那我们下次见啰! Bye bye!