An old English expression says:
"Most burglaries are committed by casual opportunists."
We all know someone who will step over their neighbors to get what they desire. It happens in every country and every culture, unfortunately. When these opportunistic people take advantage of a situation, in Chinese we call this action "占便宜 (zhàn piányi)." It could mean taking financial advantage of someone or "turning the tables" to make sure things go in that person's favor. In addition to the aforementioned situations, "占便宜 (zhàn piányi)" also has a special meaning when females are being mistreated.
Let's take a closer look at "占便宜 (zhàn piányi)":
Knowledge Point:
占便宜 (zhàn piányi): to gain an extra advantage by unfair means; to profit at another person's expense; be in an opportunistic position
Examples of "占便宜 (zhàn piányi)" in daily life:
Nǐ gèzǐ gāo, dǎ lánqiú zhàn piányi.
你 个子 高，打 篮球 占 便宜。
A tall fellow like you has an advantage in playing basketball.
Tā hěn yǒu quánshì, dàn tā cóng bú zhàn piányi.
他 很 有 权势， 但 他 从 不 占 便宜。
He has found his castle but he doesn't take advantage of it.
And then the "additional meaning." Warning: Be careful when using "占便宜 (zhàn piányi)" around all those Chinese "女神 (nǚshén)" !
Sometimes in Chinese, we use "占便宜 (zhàn piányi)" to express when one "acts indecently towards a woman or women," and usually we would use this structure...Read more
In addition to friendly jokes, it's best not say "我要占你便宜 (wǒ yào zhàn nǐ piányi)" to a girl in any situation.
Quiz:
1. All of the following are examples of "占便宜 (zhàn piányi)" behavior except:
A. a student making friends with the smartest student in the class to copy their notes
B. a storeowner selling a product to a foreigner at a higher price
C. two friends opening a business together and sharing the profits
See Answer
