Learn Chinese Weekly

A well known example is the translation of the saying: “The spirit is strong, but the flesh is weak.” When translated from English to Russian and then back to English, it became: “The Vodka is good, but the meat has spoiled.” This reminds me of the interesting term “wall breaker” that is mentioned in some food recipes. As the high-power blenders are touted to be able to break cell walls and make the nutrients more readily available, the Chinese refer to them as 破壁机 (pò bì jī). Therefore, don’t be surprised when you are instructed to use a “wall breaking machine” or a “wall breaker” to prepare a slurpee.

Some of the English idioms and expressions have found their way into the Chinese language. People now know what you are talking about when you mention such things as a lame duck (跛脚鸭 bǒjiǎo yā), teacher’s pet (老师的宠物 lǎoshī de chǒngwù), last straw (最后一根稻草 zuìhòu yī gēn dàocǎo), free lunch (免费午餐 miǎnfèi wǔcān ), brainstorm (头脑风暴 tóunǎo fēngbào) and green thumb (园艺拇指 yuányì mǔzhǐ). However, many other English expressions will make them scratch their heads even after looking up those expressions on the Internet. You might get a good laugh, too, when you see the verbatim translation provided on certain websites for some of those expressions. For example, the expression “Give me a break.” is often misinterpreted as “Let me take a little rest.” One way to say this in Chinese is:

饶了我吧!
Ráole wǒ ba!
Spare me!

In the following list, I will place the English expressions above their Chinese equivalent.

with a grain of salt
半信半疑
bànxìnbànyí

see eye to eye
有一致的看法
yǒu yīzhì de kànfǎ

keep an eye on
密切关注
mìqiè guānzhù

bull’s eye
靶心
bǎxīn

whistle blower
举报人
jǔbào rén

The ball is in your court.
看你了.
Kàn nǐ le.

hit the sack
去睡覺了
qù shuìjiào le

hit the road
上路
shànglù

bark up the wrong tree
找错了对象
zhǎo cuòle duìxiàng

don’t care a fig
根本不在乎
gēnběn bùzàihū

to kick the bucket
翘辫子
qiàobiànzi
(colloquial way of saying “to die”)

to bite the dust
完蛋
wándàn
(colloquial way of saying “to be done for”)

raining cats and dogs
下着倾盆大雨
xiàzhe qīngpén dàyǔ

Break a leg.
祝你好运.
Zhù nǐ hǎo yùn.

to have butterflies in my stomach
覺得很心慌
juédé hěn xīnhuāng

beat around the bush
拐弯抹角
guǎiwānmòjiǎo

costs an arm and a leg
非常贵
fēicháng guì

cut corners
偷工减料
cōugōngjiǎnliào

bite the bullet
咬紧牙关
yǎo jǐn yáguān

a piece of cake
易如反掌
yìrúfǎnzhǎng
or
a piece of cake
小菜一碟
xiǎocài yī dié

Let’s call it a day.
今天就这样吧.
Jīntiān jiù zhèyàng ba.

lose one’s marbles
失去理智
shīqù lǐzhì

up in the air
尚未确定
shàngwèi quèdìng

not my cup of tea
不是我喜欢的
bùshì wǒ xǐhuān de

spill the beans
走漏消息
zǒulòu xiāoxī

out of the blue
晴天霹雳
qíngtiān pīlì

拜托 (bàituō) translates to “respectfully request” or “please” in Englsih. For example:

我拜托他给我哥哥介绍一个女朋友.
Wǒ bàituō tā gěi wǒ gēgē jièshào yīgè nǚ péngyǒu.
I asked him to kindly introduce a girlfriend to my elder brother.

别再唠叨了, 拜托!
Bié zài láo dāo le, bàituō!
Stop nagging, please.

拜托 (bàituō) can also be used sarcastically to remind someone of a fact that the latter missed, as in:

他已经三十岁了, 拜托!
Tā yǐjīng sānshí suìle, bàituō!
He is already thirty years old, for God’s sake!

If you are wondering about how to say a certain English expression in Chinese, post a comment, and we can discuss.

中秋节快乐！
Zhōngqiū jié kuàilè!
Have a Happy Moon Festival (or Mid-autumn Festival)!