Your 2011 geilivable of ungeilivable?

What was the hottest word in China last year? Nine out of 10 Chinese netizens will tell you it’s the Chinglish word “geilivable,” literally meaning “giving power” or “cool.”

Flush the Closet Pot, Please

I met an incredible translator a while back, an old man who has been studying English for more than 50 years. How cool is that? Even cooler is when he started telling us about his study of English words for “toilet” – WC, washroom, bathroom, “facilities” and so on.

Blacklist

This is a column of words or phrases commonly misused by Chinese speakers. If you’re planning to be an English teacher, reporter or employee of a multinational company, then watch out for this page each week
1. I don’t want people think that this is a comparison between Western and Eastern ways of life.
Professor Zhu Shida [...]

Check the John

John is such a common English name that even when you call it out in a class at a university in China, there will be several respondents, both local and foreign.

WC – No Occupying While Stabling

I took this photo on the train from Beijing to Shanghai a couple months ago. As most of you know, riding the train in China is an experience on its own, and visiting the loo during the trip is a big part of that.

Blacklist

“To trigger” is a transitive verb, meaning “to set off”; or “(informally) to begin, to start or to initiate.” For instance, A spark triggered the explosion.

‘Standing Flower’ and ‘Take Iron’

My nephew works in the import-export business, where he contacts people from around the world and travels a lot. Last week, he came to Beijing for business and stayed at my house for a week.

Police execute an order

The first two characters on this sign say jingcha, which means “police.” There’s a fine balance between enough police presence for us to feel safe and not so much as to make us feel oppressed.

Blacklist

There is nothing wrong with this sentence grammatically. The problem lies in rhetoric and the idiomatic way of saying things.

“Not in her league” – or am I?

I asked a girlfriend to meet me at Q bar Thursday night for a martini. While waiting for her, I spotted someone I dated once or twice five years ago.