Dessert

At the beach and in ski huts, cool people naturally wear “ink glasses” to shield themselves from the sun’s blinding rays. When it comes to cool names, China’s “ink glasses” (墨 mò “ink” and 镜 jìng “lens; mirror”) clearly are in the top league of sunglasses. Incidentally, the Inuit used to put little knuckles or […]

Which object does the character 丁 resemble? A nail? An umbrella? Or a coat hanger? A thong! This visual similarity is at least alluded to by the Chinese name for this tiny piece of underwear, which is 丁字裤 dīngzìkù, literally “character ‘thing’ pants.” In fact, “dīngzìkù” is not the only Chinese word that implies a […]

According to the definition, a grimace is “a deliberately strange, bizarre, comical or ugly facial expression,” which already gives you a certain idea. However, the Chinese word for “grimacing” sums up this facial muscle play even more aptly. There it is called 扮鬼脸 bàn guǐliǎn or 做鬼脸 zuò guǐliǎn “to put on a ghost face” […]

Some call them stripes, others call them spots! And so zebras in China are not called “striped” but “spotted horses” (斑 bān or 斑点 bāndiǎn means “spot, patch, blotch” plus 马 mǎ for “horse”). Incidentally, the word zebra is derived from the Spanish “enzebra,” which means “wild donkey.”

If you think about it, the word sunflower is not entirely accurate. Shouldn’t it be called “direction-sun-flower” (向 xiàng “direction,” 日 rì “sun,” 葵 kuí “large-flowered plant”) like in Chinese?

The thought of gingerbread and coconut macaroons or cinnamon stars is sure to make many people’s hearts sing. And the Chinese also have pleasant associations with cakes, pastries, and other small snacks – at least, that’s what the Chinese name for them suggests. They are called 点心 diǎnxīn, literally “little something for the heart.”This term […]

We know paper tigers and house tigers, but in China you may also come across “wall tigers” (壁 bì “wall, wall, rock face”; 虎 hǔ as in 老虎 Lǎohǔ “tiger”). But don’t worry: contrary to what the word might suggest, these are harmless “tigers”, meaning geckos or salamanders. Fancy more? www.new-chinese.org

Fishtail wrinkles (鱼尾 yúwěi “fishtail”; 纹 wén “pattern, grain,” here from 皱纹 zhòuwén “wrinkles”) appeal to some, while others fight them with Botox. Be that as it may: In the Western world, we know the small wrinkles in the eye area with their radial structure colloquially as “crow’s feet,” whereas the Chinese tend to refer […]

A “bread car” (composed of 面包 miànbāo “bread” and 车 chē “cart, car”) is not a bakery truck or a creative alternative to pretzels and raisin buns, but the Chinese word for “minivan.” And we think that hits the nail on the head – after all, the VW bus and the like do look a […]

There is good news for all lazybones and couch potatoes: You can now buy meals in China that practically prepare themselves. I beg your pardon? Yes, really. All you need is plain, room-temperature mineral or tap water. 方便自热食品 fāngbiàn zìrè shípǐn, or “self-heating ready meals,” is the name of this new highlight on supermarket shelves. […]