September 8, 2020 • 17 mins
If you were asked to name your favourite phrase in Chinese, would you choose something you hear every day in China like 差不多, 哎哟, and 没有? Or would you choose something deeper which reveals layers of meaning like 一山不容二虎, 养儿防老 and 而遇而不可求? In today's final compilation episodes from Season 1, the guests discuss their favourite words and phrases in Chinese. So get ready to make notes in case you want steal any of them for yourself! Chapters 00:00 - Trailer & Intro 01:07 - Main 16:12 - Outro Instagram: www.instagram.com/oscology Facebook: www.facebook.com/mosaicofchina WeChat: www.mosaicofchina.com/wechat
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:07):
[Trailer]Sabrina CHEN:
吸猫 [Xīmāo]. 吸 [xī] means ‘suck’, 猫 [māo] is ‘cat’.
[Intro]OF: Welcome to Mosaic of China,
a podcast about people who are making theirmark in China. I'm your host Oscar Fuchs.
And today's episode is the the finalspecial compilation from Season 01.
If you've been following these ten compilationsfrom the start, you'll remember that the whole
reason I put them together was as a way to buyme some time for the world to return back to
(00:30):
normal before starting to record Season 02. Well,I said that back in April, and it's now September.
And it hasn't quite happened, has it? But in thelast few weeks I have done some recordings, and
I'm happy to say that I have recorded half of thenext season already. I don't record the episodes
in the same order of release, so I still have abusy few weeks trying to fill in all the gaps.
(00:51):
But it's looking like the new serieswill be ready before the end of the year.
So please enjoy this last compilation from Season01. It's all about the guests favourite words or
phrases in Chinese. And I'll be back before youknow it with more in the run-up to Season 02.
[Main][Voiceover]
OF (01:05):
Angie Wu, the jewellery craftsman from Episode 18.
[Clip]AW: When I grew up,
my mom always cared about inner beauty. She wasalways trying to use this word called 气质 [qìzhí].
If you separate the word, it means ‘the qualityof your 气 [qì]’. It's like inner beauty,
(01:26):
grace and elegance. And it's something - my momwould say - something you cannot buy, you have to
nurture it, you have to build it, and it has tobe from childhood. Like, if it's outer beauty,
it’s something that doesn't last. So she alwayswanted us to build this inner beauty: 气质 [qìzhí].
[Voiceover]OF:
Noah Sheldon, the documentaryfilmmaker from Episode 09.
(01:48):
[Clip]NS: I have a least favourite, 差不多 [chàbùduō].
Ah, 差不多 [chàbùduō]? NS
Really? Oh that's actually one of my favourites.
NS (01:57):
In terms of working and stuff, and if you're really going for excellence, it's this really
dangerous kind of idea of ‘It's good enough’.OF: Right. Yes, I mean, there is a time
for 差不多 [chàbùduō] and there’sa time for “No, get it right”.
Right. OF
there’s more perfectionism than a 差不多 [chàbùduō].NS: Yeah. But you're right, you’re right. There is
a very positive side of it. It's just… yeah.OF: When you don't want to hear it, it’s the
(02:20):
last thing you wanna hear.NS: Exactly, exactly.
[Voiceover]OF:
Lissanthea Taylor, the painexpert from Episode 28.
[Clip]LT: 差不多 [Chàbùduō]. I’ll tell
you why it's my favourite phrase.OF: Yes.
LT (02:33):
So I'm Australian. So we have this great saying in Australia like “She'll be right, mate”.
Which basically means “I don't really care”.OF: Right.
It’s someone else's problem. I've done enough. And to me, that's 差不多
[chàbùduō]. Just doing enough.OF: Yeah.
[Voiceover]OF: Nini Sum, the artist from Episode 16.
[Clip]NS: 自然而然 [Zìrán’ érrán]. It's
(02:55):
like very Zen, and self-satisfying, and naturalflow. You cannot force things to happen,
but rather feel the feeling, and gowith the flow, and be true to yourself.
[Voiceover]OF:
Greg Nance, the ultramarathonathlete from Episode 23.
(03:16):
[Clip]GN: 一山不容二虎 [Yīshān bùróng èrhǔ],
which is ‘one mountain cannot have twotigers'. And for me, that's a great
parable about leadership. Ultimately, you needaccountability and you need people responsible.
Just like that one tiger on that one mountain.OF: Is that something about having
two Co-Founders?GN: It might be.
OF (03:36):
Oh dear. [Voiceover]
Jorge Luzio, the marketer for Sprite from Episode 05.
[Clip]JL: Well, honestly - and I feel very bad because
I don't speak very good Chinese - I wouldsay that amongst my phrases - which is very,
very few - is 黄陂南路/复兴路 [HuángpiNánlù/Fùxīng Lù], which is my street.
(04:01):
[Voiceover]OF:
Astrid Poghosyan, the violinist from Episode 04.[Clip]
AP (04:09):
烦死了 [Fánsǐle], it's one of the most frequent things I keep saying all the time, 烦死了 [fánsǐle].
It’s really hard to even translate what it is,it’s just when you get really frustrated or
something, you just keep saying 烦死了 [fánsǐle].OF: I've only heard 太麻烦了 [tài máfanle], but…
太麻烦 [tài máfan], 麻烦 [máfan] is also 烦 [fán], it’s the same 烦 [fán], it’s ‘annoying’.
OF (04:28):
Yeah. AP
Well there you go, I'm gonna switch now. I'm gonna say 烦死了 [fánsǐle].
AP (04:31):
Yes, please. [Voiceover]
OF (04:34):
Lexie Comstock, the cookie supplier from Episode 20.
[Clip]LC: So I have a
very… I'm very lucky, I have amazing neighbours,and I have a very strong relationship with them.
And they always are asking me, no matter the timeof day, no matter if I've just seen them, like,
five minutes before… 吃饭了吗？[chīfànle ma?], whichis like “Have you eaten”? And I just think that's
so sweet. I'm like “Yeah, thank you for checkingup on me, and making sure I'm staying well fed.”
(04:57):
[Voiceover]OF:
Stephane de Montgros, the eventscompany CEO from Episode 19.
[Clip]SDM:
So had you asked me 10 years ago, I would havetold you easily 没有问题 [méiyǒu wèntí], like “OK,
let's move forward and get things done”. And Ithink that's changing. I think ten years ago,
(05:19):
there's never something that cannot be done,it's just a matter of adding more people
to get things done. Now you have to do things theproper way. So it's a very dynamic environment.
So then, if it would have been ‘没有问题 [méiyǒu wèntí]’ which is ‘no problem’, is your favourite
phrase now ‘有很多问题 [yǒu hěnduō wèntí]’?SDM: ‘有很多问题 [Yǒu hěnduō wèntí]’… I wouldn't
(05:39):
say that. Obviously, there's always ways to getthings done. But you have to play by the books.
[Voiceover]OF:
Yael Farjun, the historicalresearcher from Episode 12.
[Clip]YF: 哎哟 [Āiyō].
哎哟 [Āiyō]. YF
you know, it's so natural for me now.OF: And it's like “Oh my god” or,
(06:01):
how would you describe it?YF: Yeah, something like
“Oh, gosh” or something like that.OF: Yeah, usually out of frustration, isn't it?
YF (06:07):
Yes. [Voiceover]
OF (06:09):
Lori Li, the private club GM from Episode 10. [Clip]
LL (06:13):
I like 时髦 [shímáo]. 时髦 [Shímáo], actually the word comes from the 汉 [Hàn] Dynasty, the original
meaning is ‘outstanding people’. The next meaningis about the people who are ‘in’ in society. So I
like this word, because it's really a city feelinglike Shanghai. Between ‘style’ and ‘fashion’.
(06:37):
[Voiceover]OF: Srinivas Yanamandra,
the compliance leader from Episode 15.[Clip]
SY (06:44):
I don't know whether you’ve ever heard that word, it's ‘duāng’.
Actually in 2015, Jackie Chan - when he wasdoing a kind of an interview for a shampoo ad,
it seems - he simply said that "My hair, afterapplying this shampoo, looks like ‘duāng’!”
[Voiceover]OF: Sebastien Denes,
(07:08):
the inclusion advocate from Episode 11.[Clip]
SD (07:10):
听不懂 [tīng bù dǒng] - “I don't understand.” I love this one, because if you say “I don’t
understand” - for example in France,my home country, or I don't know,
maybe in England - people look at you and say “Ah,another one that comes, and he doesn't understand
the language”. And here, it's a completelydifferent attitude. They laugh with you. And
(07:34):
sometimes they keep on talking Chinese, and you'rejust like “听不懂 [tīng bù dǒng]” again, right? Or,
many times they make the effort to make themselvesunderstood, right? So I like this contradiction
of a word that you speak in Chinese, saying “Idon't get it”, and the doors that this opens.
[Voiceover]OF:
(07:56):
Eric Olander, the journalist from Episode 03.[Clip]
EO (07:58):
In Chinese, they have these things called 成语 [chéngyǔ], and you will speak in these idioms and
these phrases that can get a very complex ideainto just normally 4 characters. So they have
one called 养儿防老 [yǎnger fánglǎo], which means thatthe young, when you grow up, you are taking care
of your parents. And I just absolutely love howin this culture, elderly people are cared for and
(08:18):
looked after and valued. And in my culture, forthe most part, older people oftentimes are not.
[Voiceover]OF: Octo Cheung,
the fashion designer from Episode 30.[Clip]
OC (08:29):
厚德载物，行稳致远 [Hòudé zǎiwù, xíngwěn zhìyuǎn]. That means to be good in life you need to have a
good personality, you need to be kind toattract things towards you. But you need
to walk steadily to walk far. When I translateit into English, it looks a little bit stupid.
(08:53):
[Voiceover]OF:
Tom Barker, the diplomat from Episode 25.
[Clip]TB: This has been my favourite word since
day three of being here. It's 外网 [wàiwǎng], I'mprobably brutally mispronouncing it. But it's the
external internet. You know, we're in China whereyou have the firewall. So you have the internal
(09:15):
internet, and then you have 外网 [wàiwǎng], theinternet the rest of the world has. And I just
love the fact that they've had to invent a wordfor what the rest of us just call ‘the internet’.
[Voiceover]OF:
Roz Coleman, the theatre producer from Episode 22.[Clip]
RC (09:31):
I am going to tell you a phrase that was taught to me by James, my boxing
instructor (09:36):
天下没有不散的宴席 [Tiānxià méiyǒu búsàn de yànxí]. So when I asked James what it means,
he grinned his head off and he said “Don’tparty, won't finish”! And he threw his head back
and laughed. And I was like “What does it meandon’t party won’t finish?” I was like “I love it,
I love it, I love it”. Actually, what it meansis, 'all good things must come to an end’
(09:59):
or ‘in the whole world, there isnot one party that will not finish’.
[Voiceover]OF:
Philippe Gas, the Disneyresort CEO from Episode 01.
[Clip]PG: Forgive my accent. I know you’re
gonna look at me and say “what is he saying?”…周末愉快 [zhōumò yúkuài], have a good weekend. It was
actually the first words I learned in Chinese. AndI was known for saying 周末愉快. I was very active in
(10:24):
Chinese on Fridays, typically, that was what Icould use. The other one, has been coming later,
is 好久不见 [hǎojiǔ bùjiàn], long time no see. Justbecause it’s good to reunite with friends and
people you haven't met for a long time. So Ilike this sentence. I like the way it sounds.
[Voiceover]OF:
Sanford Browne, the biochemist from Episode 29.[Clip]
SB (10:46):
千里之行，始於足下 [Qiānlǐ zhī xíng, shǐ yú zúxià], which roughly translates into:
‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a firststep’. And that, to me, is a very inspiring way to
really think about, when you want to do something,and you're not exactly sure how to do it, begin.
(11:07):
[Voiceover]OF:
Maple Zuo, the comedian from Episode 02.[Clip]
MZ (11:13):
My favourite one is called 道 [dào]. It's like the truth of the universe. I don't know
how to translate that one.OF: Yes.
But it's like, it's vague. You don’t know. Sometimes you can get it,
sometimes you don't get it. I want to study moreabout it, and then translate it in the future.
OF (11:30):
Right. I think English speakers probably know the Japanese reading of 道 [dào] which is ‘do’,
because we know judo and kendo, aikido.MZ: Oh, yeah, yeah. That's the 道 [dào].
But then the Japanese didn't pronounce itright..! Or they changed the pronunciation.
Yeah. [Voiceover]
Gina Li, the invention company CEO from Episode 06.
(11:53):
[Clip]GL: 辛苦了 [xīnkǔle]. Because
that's a phrase that is nothing about the result,nothing about anything you do, the purpose. It’s
just about the effort, and the time you put in.And it's including so much of, like, caring and
love. It’s like relieving. And sometimes peoplejust say 辛苦了，加油 [xīnkǔle, jiāyóu] and that's like,
a lot of power.OF: Yeah.
[Voiceover]OF: Sabrina Chen,
(12:16):
the dance programme curator from Episode 26.[Clip]
SC (12:21):
吸猫 [Xīmāo]. 吸 [xī] means ‘suck’, 猫 [māo] is ‘cat’.
Actually, you know, 吸猫 [xīmāo] isa word coming from… taking drugs.
Because cats are so adorable, and adored byso many young people in China. So sometimes
we feel like we are addicted to them.OF: So it's like taking drugs, but the
(12:44):
drug is a cat.SC: Yeah.
[Voiceover]OF:
Michael Zee, the Instagraminfluencer from Episode 07.
[Clip]MZ:
I really like the word 腐 [fǔ], as in 豆腐[dòufu]. In Chinese, it means ‘rotten’.
But in another sense, that word can also besomething that's delicious. You’ve got 腐乳 [fǔrǔ],
(13:07):
which is like ‘rotten breast milk’, or ‘a mother'smilk rotten’. And actually in Chinese culture,
this word is used a lot of times for thingsthat are just preserved or pickled or fermented.
And actually in a Western sense ‘rotten’ is alwayspretty bad. Rotten eggs or a rotten person. The
word ‘rotten’, ‘rotten wood’, there’s always anegative connotation. Whereas in Chinese culture,
(13:31):
it's not necessarily bad. It's such a complexthing, this character. It can mean tasty things.
And it can mean rotten women who are obsessedwith gay men. Or it could just mean tofu.
OF (13:44):
Wow, OK, that one is hard to unpack. MZ
[Voiceover]OF: Yang Yi, the broadcaster from Episode 21.
[Clip]YY: I usually say 好吧 [Hǎo ba]. It’s
a little bit like “Oh, that's fine”.OF: Right.
YY (14:01):
And the meaning behind it is “Maybe it could be better”.
[Voiceover]OF:
Nick Yu, the playwright from Episode 13.[Clip]
NY (14:14):
That word is 作 [zuò]. That is Shanghainese, to talk about girls. and she would do so many things
to make the boyfriend crazy, but still love her.Only Shanghai girls have this 作 [zuò]. You know,
when I put this 作 [zuò] in the play, nobody knewhow to translate it. Until now. I don't know.
(14:40):
[Voiceover]OF:
Emily Madge, the aquariumconservationist from Episode 14.
[Clip]EM: This is really obvious. But
my favourite one is 没有 [méiyǒu].OF: 没有 [Méiyǒu].
EM (14:52):
Because of the amount of times it's been said to me during the beluga project.
OF (14:58):
Right. EM
amount of hurdles we've had, becauseof that word. So I wouldn't say it was
my favourite, but it's the most relevant.OF: Absolutely. And just to any non-Chinese
speakers, what does it mean?EM: No.
[Voiceover]OF:
Simon Manetti, the businessleader from Episode 17.
(15:19):
[Clip]SM: 可遇而不可求 [Kěyù ér bùkě qiú]: ‘This is something
that can be encountered, but not be sought after,or chased’. So this is something you're just gonna
have to encounter in life, and not try to seek it.And when I first learned it, I was like “Ah OK,
there’s an English equivalent to this”. Butthen I realised, when I tried to translate it,
there isn’t. And it's such a beautiful concept.[Voiceover]
Abe Deyo, the tour manager from Episode 27. [Clip]
AD (15:42):
This is my favourite to tell artists. So 牛逼 [niúbī].
OF (15:46):
Oh, hang on, hang on. I think I know where you're going with this. Is 牛 [niú] the cow?
AD (15:51):
OK. So it means basically like ‘f**king great’, ‘f**king awesome’.
OF (15:55):
Right. AD
Yeah. AD
during shows and stuff.OF: Really?
AD (16:04):
Oh, yeah. So when I try to explain that to the artists,
they all love it. Because they think it’s funny.
[Outro]OF:
Thank you for listening, to thisand to the other nine compilations.
It has been great to listen back tosome of the voices from the season.
And I'm really excited to bring you the nextseason of Mosaic of China. Please follow us
(16:25):
on social media to keep in touch with updates,we're on mosaicofchina on Instagram, Facebook,
and on WeChat. Until now, I've been asking you touse a different account on WeChat, but I finally
got my hands on the right username now. Andwhile you are busy adding me on those platforms,
I will get busy filling the gaps in the season.And I look forward to seeing you again soon.
(16:57):
[Clips]PG: Thank you very much.
MZ (16:58):
Thank you. EO
AP (17:02):
Thank you too. JL
GL (17:06):
Thank you. MZ
VV (17:06):
Thank you so much. NS
LL (17:06):
My pleasure too. SD
YF (17:06):
Thank you. NY
EM (17:06):
Thank you. SY
NS (17:06):
Thank you for having me. SM
AW (17:08):
Thank you. SDM
LC (17:08):
Thanks for having me. YY
RC (17:08):
Thank you so much for having me. GN
GC (17:10):
Thank you TB
you very much.SC: Thank you.
AD (17:12):
Great to see you too. LT
SB (17:14):
Thanks. OC
[Trailer]Sabrina CHEN:
吸猫 [Xīmāo]. 吸 [xī] means ‘suck’, 猫 [māo] is ‘cat’.
[Intro]OF: Welcome to Mosaic of China,
a podcast about people who are making theirmark in China. I'm your host Oscar Fuchs.
And today's episode is the the finalspecial compilation from Season 01.
If you've been following these ten compilationsfrom the start, you'll remember that the whole
reason I put them together was as a way to buyme some time for the world to return back to
(00:30):
normal before starting to record Season 02. Well,I said that back in April, and it's now September.
And it hasn't quite happened, has it? But in thelast few weeks I have done some recordings, and
I'm happy to say that I have recorded half of thenext season already. I don't record the episodes
in the same order of release, so I still have abusy few weeks trying to fill in all the gaps.
(00:51):
But it's looking like the new serieswill be ready before the end of the year.
So please enjoy this last compilation from Season01. It's all about the guests favourite words or
phrases in Chinese. And I'll be back before youknow it with more in the run-up to Season 02.
[Main][Voiceover]
OF (01:05):
Angie Wu, the jewellery craftsman from Episode 18.
[Clip]AW: When I grew up,
my mom always cared about inner beauty. She wasalways trying to use this word called 气质 [qìzhí].
If you separate the word, it means ‘the qualityof your 气 [qì]’. It's like inner beauty,
(01:26):
grace and elegance. And it's something - my momwould say - something you cannot buy, you have to
nurture it, you have to build it, and it has tobe from childhood. Like, if it's outer beauty,
it’s something that doesn't last. So she alwayswanted us to build this inner beauty: 气质 [qìzhí].
[Voiceover]OF:
Noah Sheldon, the documentaryfilmmaker from Episode 09.
(01:48):
[Clip]NS: I have a least favourite, 差不多 [chàbùduō].
Ah, 差不多 [chàbùduō]? NS
Really? Oh that's actually one of my favourites.
NS (01:57):
In terms of working and stuff, and if you're really going for excellence, it's this really
dangerous kind of idea of ‘It's good enough’.OF: Right. Yes, I mean, there is a time
for 差不多 [chàbùduō] and there’sa time for “No, get it right”.
Right. OF
there’s more perfectionism than a 差不多 [chàbùduō].NS: Yeah. But you're right, you’re right. There is
a very positive side of it. It's just… yeah.OF: When you don't want to hear it, it’s the
(02:20):
last thing you wanna hear.NS: Exactly, exactly.
[Voiceover]OF:
Lissanthea Taylor, the painexpert from Episode 28.
[Clip]LT: 差不多 [Chàbùduō]. I’ll tell
you why it's my favourite phrase.OF: Yes.
LT (02:33):
So I'm Australian. So we have this great saying in Australia like “She'll be right, mate”.
Which basically means “I don't really care”.OF: Right.
It’s someone else's problem. I've done enough. And to me, that's 差不多
[chàbùduō]. Just doing enough.OF: Yeah.
[Voiceover]OF: Nini Sum, the artist from Episode 16.
[Clip]NS: 自然而然 [Zìrán’ érrán]. It's
(02:55):
like very Zen, and self-satisfying, and naturalflow. You cannot force things to happen,
but rather feel the feeling, and gowith the flow, and be true to yourself.
[Voiceover]OF:
Greg Nance, the ultramarathonathlete from Episode 23.
(03:16):
[Clip]GN: 一山不容二虎 [Yīshān bùróng èrhǔ],
which is ‘one mountain cannot have twotigers'. And for me, that's a great
parable about leadership. Ultimately, you needaccountability and you need people responsible.
Just like that one tiger on that one mountain.OF: Is that something about having
two Co-Founders?GN: It might be.
OF (03:36):
Oh dear. [Voiceover]
Jorge Luzio, the marketer for Sprite from Episode 05.
[Clip]JL: Well, honestly - and I feel very bad because
I don't speak very good Chinese - I wouldsay that amongst my phrases - which is very,
very few - is 黄陂南路/复兴路 [HuángpiNánlù/Fùxīng Lù], which is my street.
(04:01):
[Voiceover]OF:
Astrid Poghosyan, the violinist from Episode 04.[Clip]
AP (04:09):
烦死了 [Fánsǐle], it's one of the most frequent things I keep saying all the time, 烦死了 [fánsǐle].
It’s really hard to even translate what it is,it’s just when you get really frustrated or
something, you just keep saying 烦死了 [fánsǐle].OF: I've only heard 太麻烦了 [tài máfanle], but…
太麻烦 [tài máfan], 麻烦 [máfan] is also 烦 [fán], it’s the same 烦 [fán], it’s ‘annoying’.
OF (04:28):
Yeah. AP
Well there you go, I'm gonna switch now. I'm gonna say 烦死了 [fánsǐle].
AP (04:31):
Yes, please. [Voiceover]
OF (04:34):
Lexie Comstock, the cookie supplier from Episode 20.
[Clip]LC: So I have a
very… I'm very lucky, I have amazing neighbours,and I have a very strong relationship with them.
And they always are asking me, no matter the timeof day, no matter if I've just seen them, like,
five minutes before… 吃饭了吗？[chīfànle ma?], whichis like “Have you eaten”? And I just think that's
so sweet. I'm like “Yeah, thank you for checkingup on me, and making sure I'm staying well fed.”
(04:57):
[Voiceover]OF:
Stephane de Montgros, the eventscompany CEO from Episode 19.
[Clip]SDM:
So had you asked me 10 years ago, I would havetold you easily 没有问题 [méiyǒu wèntí], like “OK,
let's move forward and get things done”. And Ithink that's changing. I think ten years ago,
(05:19):
there's never something that cannot be done,it's just a matter of adding more people
to get things done. Now you have to do things theproper way. So it's a very dynamic environment.
So then, if it would have been ‘没有问题 [méiyǒu wèntí]’ which is ‘no problem’, is your favourite
phrase now ‘有很多问题 [yǒu hěnduō wèntí]’?SDM: ‘有很多问题 [Yǒu hěnduō wèntí]’… I wouldn't
(05:39):
say that. Obviously, there's always ways to getthings done. But you have to play by the books.
[Voiceover]OF:
Yael Farjun, the historicalresearcher from Episode 12.
[Clip]YF: 哎哟 [Āiyō].
哎哟 [Āiyō]. YF
you know, it's so natural for me now.OF: And it's like “Oh my god” or,
(06:01):
how would you describe it?YF: Yeah, something like
“Oh, gosh” or something like that.OF: Yeah, usually out of frustration, isn't it?
YF (06:07):
Yes. [Voiceover]
OF (06:09):
Lori Li, the private club GM from Episode 10. [Clip]
LL (06:13):
I like 时髦 [shímáo]. 时髦 [Shímáo], actually the word comes from the 汉 [Hàn] Dynasty, the original
meaning is ‘outstanding people’. The next meaningis about the people who are ‘in’ in society. So I
like this word, because it's really a city feelinglike Shanghai. Between ‘style’ and ‘fashion’.
(06:37):
[Voiceover]OF: Srinivas Yanamandra,
the compliance leader from Episode 15.[Clip]
SY (06:44):
I don't know whether you’ve ever heard that word, it's ‘duāng’.
Actually in 2015, Jackie Chan - when he wasdoing a kind of an interview for a shampoo ad,
it seems - he simply said that "My hair, afterapplying this shampoo, looks like ‘duāng’!”
[Voiceover]OF: Sebastien Denes,
(07:08):
the inclusion advocate from Episode 11.[Clip]
SD (07:10):
听不懂 [tīng bù dǒng] - “I don't understand.” I love this one, because if you say “I don’t
understand” - for example in France,my home country, or I don't know,
maybe in England - people look at you and say “Ah,another one that comes, and he doesn't understand
the language”. And here, it's a completelydifferent attitude. They laugh with you. And
(07:34):
sometimes they keep on talking Chinese, and you'rejust like “听不懂 [tīng bù dǒng]” again, right? Or,
many times they make the effort to make themselvesunderstood, right? So I like this contradiction
of a word that you speak in Chinese, saying “Idon't get it”, and the doors that this opens.
[Voiceover]OF:
(07:56):
Eric Olander, the journalist from Episode 03.[Clip]
EO (07:58):
In Chinese, they have these things called 成语 [chéngyǔ], and you will speak in these idioms and
these phrases that can get a very complex ideainto just normally 4 characters. So they have
one called 养儿防老 [yǎnger fánglǎo], which means thatthe young, when you grow up, you are taking care
of your parents. And I just absolutely love howin this culture, elderly people are cared for and
(08:18):
looked after and valued. And in my culture, forthe most part, older people oftentimes are not.
[Voiceover]OF: Octo Cheung,
the fashion designer from Episode 30.[Clip]
OC (08:29):
厚德载物，行稳致远 [Hòudé zǎiwù, xíngwěn zhìyuǎn]. That means to be good in life you need to have a
good personality, you need to be kind toattract things towards you. But you need
to walk steadily to walk far. When I translateit into English, it looks a little bit stupid.
(08:53):
[Voiceover]OF:
Tom Barker, the diplomat from Episode 25.
[Clip]TB: This has been my favourite word since
day three of being here. It's 外网 [wàiwǎng], I'mprobably brutally mispronouncing it. But it's the
external internet. You know, we're in China whereyou have the firewall. So you have the internal
(09:15):
internet, and then you have 外网 [wàiwǎng], theinternet the rest of the world has. And I just
love the fact that they've had to invent a wordfor what the rest of us just call ‘the internet’.
[Voiceover]OF:
Roz Coleman, the theatre producer from Episode 22.[Clip]
RC (09:31):
I am going to tell you a phrase that was taught to me by James, my boxing
instructor (09:36):
天下没有不散的宴席 [Tiānxià méiyǒu búsàn de yànxí]. So when I asked James what it means,
he grinned his head off and he said “Don’tparty, won't finish”! And he threw his head back
and laughed. And I was like “What does it meandon’t party won’t finish?” I was like “I love it,
I love it, I love it”. Actually, what it meansis, 'all good things must come to an end’
(09:59):
or ‘in the whole world, there isnot one party that will not finish’.
[Voiceover]OF:
Philippe Gas, the Disneyresort CEO from Episode 01.
[Clip]PG: Forgive my accent. I know you’re
gonna look at me and say “what is he saying?”…周末愉快 [zhōumò yúkuài], have a good weekend. It was
actually the first words I learned in Chinese. AndI was known for saying 周末愉快. I was very active in
(10:24):
Chinese on Fridays, typically, that was what Icould use. The other one, has been coming later,
is 好久不见 [hǎojiǔ bùjiàn], long time no see. Justbecause it’s good to reunite with friends and
people you haven't met for a long time. So Ilike this sentence. I like the way it sounds.
[Voiceover]OF:
Sanford Browne, the biochemist from Episode 29.[Clip]
SB (10:46):
千里之行，始於足下 [Qiānlǐ zhī xíng, shǐ yú zúxià], which roughly translates into:
‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a firststep’. And that, to me, is a very inspiring way to
really think about, when you want to do something,and you're not exactly sure how to do it, begin.
(11:07):
[Voiceover]OF:
Maple Zuo, the comedian from Episode 02.[Clip]
MZ (11:13):
My favourite one is called 道 [dào]. It's like the truth of the universe. I don't know
how to translate that one.OF: Yes.
But it's like, it's vague. You don’t know. Sometimes you can get it,
sometimes you don't get it. I want to study moreabout it, and then translate it in the future.
OF (11:30):
Right. I think English speakers probably know the Japanese reading of 道 [dào] which is ‘do’,
because we know judo and kendo, aikido.MZ: Oh, yeah, yeah. That's the 道 [dào].
But then the Japanese didn't pronounce itright..! Or they changed the pronunciation.
Yeah. [Voiceover]
Gina Li, the invention company CEO from Episode 06.
(11:53):
[Clip]GL: 辛苦了 [xīnkǔle]. Because
that's a phrase that is nothing about the result,nothing about anything you do, the purpose. It’s
just about the effort, and the time you put in.And it's including so much of, like, caring and
love. It’s like relieving. And sometimes peoplejust say 辛苦了，加油 [xīnkǔle, jiāyóu] and that's like,
a lot of power.OF: Yeah.
[Voiceover]OF: Sabrina Chen,
(12:16):
the dance programme curator from Episode 26.[Clip]
SC (12:21):
吸猫 [Xīmāo]. 吸 [xī] means ‘suck’, 猫 [māo] is ‘cat’.
Actually, you know, 吸猫 [xīmāo] isa word coming from… taking drugs.
Because cats are so adorable, and adored byso many young people in China. So sometimes
we feel like we are addicted to them.OF: So it's like taking drugs, but the
(12:44):
drug is a cat.SC: Yeah.
[Voiceover]OF:
Michael Zee, the Instagraminfluencer from Episode 07.
[Clip]MZ:
I really like the word 腐 [fǔ], as in 豆腐[dòufu]. In Chinese, it means ‘rotten’.
But in another sense, that word can also besomething that's delicious. You’ve got 腐乳 [fǔrǔ],
(13:07):
which is like ‘rotten breast milk’, or ‘a mother'smilk rotten’. And actually in Chinese culture,
this word is used a lot of times for thingsthat are just preserved or pickled or fermented.
And actually in a Western sense ‘rotten’ is alwayspretty bad. Rotten eggs or a rotten person. The
word ‘rotten’, ‘rotten wood’, there’s always anegative connotation. Whereas in Chinese culture,
(13:31):
it's not necessarily bad. It's such a complexthing, this character. It can mean tasty things.
And it can mean rotten women who are obsessedwith gay men. Or it could just mean tofu.
OF (13:44):
Wow, OK, that one is hard to unpack. MZ
[Voiceover]OF: Yang Yi, the broadcaster from Episode 21.
[Clip]YY: I usually say 好吧 [Hǎo ba]. It’s
a little bit like “Oh, that's fine”.OF: Right.
YY (14:01):
And the meaning behind it is “Maybe it could be better”.
[Voiceover]OF:
Nick Yu, the playwright from Episode 13.[Clip]
NY (14:14):
That word is 作 [zuò]. That is Shanghainese, to talk about girls. and she would do so many things
to make the boyfriend crazy, but still love her.Only Shanghai girls have this 作 [zuò]. You know,
when I put this 作 [zuò] in the play, nobody knewhow to translate it. Until now. I don't know.
(14:40):
[Voiceover]OF:
Emily Madge, the aquariumconservationist from Episode 14.
[Clip]EM: This is really obvious. But
my favourite one is 没有 [méiyǒu].OF: 没有 [Méiyǒu].
EM (14:52):
Because of the amount of times it's been said to me during the beluga project.
OF (14:58):
Right. EM
amount of hurdles we've had, becauseof that word. So I wouldn't say it was
my favourite, but it's the most relevant.OF: Absolutely. And just to any non-Chinese
speakers, what does it mean?EM: No.
[Voiceover]OF:
Simon Manetti, the businessleader from Episode 17.
(15:19):
[Clip]SM: 可遇而不可求 [Kěyù ér bùkě qiú]: ‘This is something
that can be encountered, but not be sought after,or chased’. So this is something you're just gonna
have to encounter in life, and not try to seek it.And when I first learned it, I was like “Ah OK,
there’s an English equivalent to this”. Butthen I realised, when I tried to translate it,
there isn’t. And it's such a beautiful concept.[Voiceover]
Abe Deyo, the tour manager from Episode 27. [Clip]
AD (15:42):
This is my favourite to tell artists. So 牛逼 [niúbī].
OF (15:46):
Oh, hang on, hang on. I think I know where you're going with this. Is 牛 [niú] the cow?
AD (15:51):
OK. So it means basically like ‘f**king great’, ‘f**king awesome’.
OF (15:55):
Right. AD
Yeah. AD
during shows and stuff.OF: Really?
AD (16:04):
Oh, yeah. So when I try to explain that to the artists,
they all love it. Because they think it’s funny.
[Outro]OF:
Thank you for listening, to thisand to the other nine compilations.
It has been great to listen back tosome of the voices from the season.
And I'm really excited to bring you the nextseason of Mosaic of China. Please follow us
(16:25):
on social media to keep in touch with updates,we're on mosaicofchina on Instagram, Facebook,
and on WeChat. Until now, I've been asking you touse a different account on WeChat, but I finally
got my hands on the right username now. Andwhile you are busy adding me on those platforms,
I will get busy filling the gaps in the season.And I look forward to seeing you again soon.
(16:57):
[Clips]PG: Thank you very much.
MZ (16:58):
Thank you. EO
AP (17:02):
Thank you too. JL
GL (17:06):
Thank you. MZ
VV (17:06):
Thank you so much. NS
LL (17:06):
My pleasure too. SD
YF (17:06):
Thank you. NY
EM (17:06):
Thank you. SY
NS (17:06):
Thank you for having me. SM
AW (17:08):
Thank you. SDM
LC (17:08):
Thanks for having me. YY
RC (17:08):
Thank you so much for having me. GN
GC (17:10):
Thank you TB
you very much.SC: Thank you.
AD (17:12):
Great to see you too. LT
SB (17:14):
Thanks. OC
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