Feeling Frustrated? Express Your Emotions with This Chinese Slang

In English we have the saying, "Take a chill pill!" This can be slightly derogatory, but it also can encourage others to relax a bit when they are being too up-tight.

In Chinese we have a phrase that very much relates to this meaning. It is "定心丸 (Dìngxīnwán)". And it originally was used to define a specific type of pill that would put people at ease, relax and calm them.

Now, in modern China, we use this phrase to describe someone who can set others at ease. You know that type of person: Someone who assures people, gives them confidence and calms their fears and anxieties.

During the economic crisis period, the government would take some actions like making new protecting policy or offering economic rescue to help small companies and staff go through suffering. At this time, we can say "政府给我们吃了定心丸 (Zhèngfǔ gěi wǒmen chī le dìngxīnwán). The government lets us feel at ease."

Let’s look at the full breakdown of the phrase "定心丸 (Dìngxīnwán)" to fully understand the background and meaning:

定心丸 (Dìngxīnwán): assurance; to be capable of making one at ease.
定 (Dìng): v. to set; to fix; to determine.
心 (Xīn): n. heart.
丸 (Wán): n. pill.

When you use this phrase, you need to make sure you put it into the correct order in the sentence. Here is the most common structure used... Read More

So you are learning to speak Mandarin. That’s great! But can you speak with native Chinese people? The first step to doing so is to use a little slang or at least be able to understand when you hear it in conversation. Today’s slang word is used as an exaggeration for describing something in its entirety.

Have you ever been amazed by how some people are so impatient or careless that they seem to talk faster than thinking? In Chinese, we say "他们把话一股脑儿全说完了 (Tāmen bǎ huà yìgǔnǎo'r quán shuō wán le)。" or "他们把事情一股脑儿都做了 (Tāmen bǎ shìqíng yìgǔnǎo'r dōu zuò le)。" which mean "They said all the words very quickly." or "They have done everything in one go."Basically, it means they blurted out their entire thought process without considering their words first. The key phrase means, completely, "一股脑儿 (yì gǔ nǎo’r)".

Let’s break it down:
一股脑儿 (Yì gǔ nǎo’r): altogether; all in one package; completely.
一 (Yī): one.
股 (Gǔ): share.
脑儿 (Nǎo’r): brains.

Let’s say you had an intense week at work since it’s your first time working in China. There was laughter and there were tears. You get home and your new Chinese friend calls you on the phone to ask about your day. You may want to tell them all the stories, so you start with:

Wǒ jiù yìgǔnǎo'r dōu gàosù nǐ ba.
我 就 一 股脑 儿 都 告 诉 你 吧。
I'll tell you everything.

I hope you’ve never been unfortunate enough to...Read More

Quiz:
1. Read the dialogue below and answer the question:

Which of following statements is true?