Ever smashed your finger in a car door and found yourself at a loss for words? In this podcast we'll teach you how to swear in Chinese using a relatively low-level Chinese swear word. If you haven't run into it before, the word we'll introduce is basically the equivalent of damn in English. If you or your conversation partners are offended easily you may want to skip this one for one of our more family friendly podcasts.

Swearing is a sensitive topic, but it's critical to know how socially appropriate various expressions really are, and understand when escalating is considered crude. Many second language learners have real problems expressing their anger in socially appropriate ways, and jump to extremely offensive language in response to slight provocation. If you are one of them, this podcast is for you. And since proper escalation is key, we also cover some alternate ways to sound more forceful without crossing the line to explicit obscenity.
 said on
May 25, 2009
think its a good lesson and a totally appropriate topic in general...不用过分拘谨泡泡中文;)
 said on
May 25, 2009
a note- in the initail line by line Echo leaves out 再 in the 您能再帮我催一下菜吗?line...she also says 不客气 when the dialogue is just 客气...
 said on
May 25, 2009
i think people will be ok with it. we seem to have a pretty literate and well-traveled crowd here, and I can't imagine anyone who's spent any significant time in China getting offended at 妈的.
 said on
May 25, 2009
这段对话听起来实在是太爽了。
 said on
May 25, 2009
@nadasax,

that's true. and they are both correct. i think Echo will give you more details later today...
 said on
May 25, 2009
Wow I feel like this podcast was tailor made just for me! That's why I like popup so much. They keep it real. Got to straighten a waiter out, or get up in managements face, popup is there for you.

在大陆 Knowing how to speak Chinese literally can be the difference between life and death (metaphorically).

所以大家在泡泡中文 谢谢你们!!!
 said on
May 26, 2009
@小虎,

Haha, thanks. I think you must have found out this lesson was made from the idea in your letter :)

谢谢你,小虎,也感谢所有一直关心Popupchinese,给我们留言,给我写信的“泡粉儿”们 :)

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
 said on
May 26, 2009
@nadasax & gail,

Haha, the truth is I am such a refined lady (淑女) ! 人家比较不好意思一个词一个词地教大家说脏话,但是为了大家能学到真实的全面的中文,我也只好牺牲我的淑女形象......所以,一紧张,一激动,就出错了 :(

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
 said on
May 26, 2009
ha ha ha - don't let Echo fool you for a minute guys... she is a perfect lady right up until the toilet backs up or our lesson creation system crashes when she's in the middle of recording something. Then it's like being at sea with Redbeard: we all cower in fear.

That said, I don't think I've ever heard her use 姑奶奶. 人家 yes, 姑奶奶 no. And she's sort of cute when she swears too. :)
 said on
May 26, 2009
full steam ahead guys. this is useful stuff. I think I'll try referring to myself as 老子我 for a week and just seeing what happens.
 said on
May 31, 2009
你们真让我恶心..! Some education this is, im sure they teach this in schools across china. Well, i got more stuff for you here 能给你们自己爽的。。http://community.travelchinaguide.com/forum2.asp?i=51410。 country bumpkins.
 said on
May 31, 2009
老娘。。。今天我去了南锣鼓巷,穿着高跟鞋走了一个下午,回来的时候,我忍不住说了一句:累死老娘我了!说了以后,觉得很爽。
 said on
June 1, 2009
@Gail,

你这都是为了美啊,这就是美丽的代价啊~~

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
 said on
July 26, 2009
Can't one say 别客气 in this dialog? Nasadax and Gail commented with 不客气 being correct as said by Echo in the mp3 file. The dialog page has the English translation as "Don't be so polite" but the Mandarin as 客气. Kindly explain.
 said on
July 27, 2009
@ameristar888 - I think they're all OK.

客气 is shorthand for 不客气.

别客气 is a contraction of 不要客气, which would feel a bit stronger.

So no reason you couldn't say 别客气 in this context.
 said on
July 27, 2009
@ameristar,

orbital is right, actually i think in this case, 客气,不客气,不要客气,别客气,and 甭客气,不用客气are interchangable...

...o(∩_∩)o...
 said on
July 27, 2009
@orbital and gail - Thanks for clearer meaning and use of 客气. The fog has lifted... :)