Chinlingo Podcast｜You might be a ghost in someone’s eyes

Guǐ, ghost.

鬼，ghost。

In English, ghost mainly refers to the spirit of a dead person, or is used to describe a "ghostly" state. But in Chinese, besides the basic meaning, “鬼” is often used in everyday terms but refers to nothing about dead things.

1.You may use this word to describe your anxiety or something really scaring, for instance:

     Jiàn guǐ le

Eg1.见鬼了

It do not actually mean that a person sees a ghost or runs into a ghost, but rather is an exclamation over something out of the ordinary happening. For example,

Jiàn guǐ le！Wǒ de péng you zuó tiān gēn wǒ shuō，tā hé tā de nán péng yǒu zhèng zài guó wài dù jià, kě shì wǒ gāng cái míng míng zài shàng hǎi kàn dào tā de nán péng you lā！ 

见鬼了！我的朋友昨天跟我说，她和她的男朋友正在国外度假，可是我刚才明明在上海看到他的男朋友啦！

It’s so weird! My friend told me that she was on vacation with her boyfriend yesterday, but I just saw her boyfriend walk by in Shanghai, China!

    xiàng guǐ yí yàng

Eg2. 像鬼一样

You just look like a ghost? Did you even see it once? Of course not! No one knows what a ghost looks like. It is really unknown. But what is the real reason why we feel scared about it? For example,

Nǐ zěn me xiàng guǐ yí yàng, zǒu lù méi yǒu shēng yīn，xià wǒ yí tiào！ 

你怎么像鬼一样，走路没有声音，吓我一跳！

Why you walk like a ghost in such silence?! You scared the hell out of me

2.鬼，may also mean “nothing”. I have to say it is sensible, ‘cause it’s absolute that no one has ever seen it! It’s nothing! Hurray!

Recently, young Chinese often say,

     Guǐ zhī dào wǒ jīng lì le shén me！ 

Eg1. 鬼知道我经历了什么！

英文：Only ghost knows what I’ve experienced.

Qí shí tā zhǐ shì xiǎng shuō：Méi rén zhī dào wǒ jīng lì le shén me … …

其实她只是想说：没人知道我经历了什么……

Actually, what she really means is, “No one knows what I’ve experience! It was so hard!”

Ghost, could also be used to describe something unfavored. For instance,

Nǐ shēn shàng chuān de shì shén me guǐ？！Nǐ zhè gè guǐ yàng zi shì méi yǒu rén xǐ huān de！ 

你身上穿的是什么鬼？！你这个鬼样子是没有人喜欢的！

What the bloody hell are you wearing! No one would like you if you look so awful like this!

That means your outfit is just awful and does not suit you at all.

3."Ghost" can be used to refer to someone with an addiction in what others dislike, for example,

    jiǔ guǐ

Eg1. 酒鬼 Alcoholic 

James de bà ba shì gè jiǔ guǐ，měi tiān hē zuì le dōu yào dǎ tā！

James的爸爸是个酒鬼，每天喝醉了都要打他！

James’ father is an ALCOHOLIC. He beats little James every time when he gets drunk.

    yān guǐ

Eg2. 烟鬼   Chainsmoker

Wǒ de lín jū shì gè lǎo yān guǐ，tā gēn běn méi yǒu bù chōu yān de shí hòu。

我的邻居是个老烟鬼，他根本没有不抽烟的时候。

My neighbor is a chainsmoker. It’s like that he is smoking all the time!

    dǔ guǐ

Eg3. 赌鬼  Confirmed gambler

Wú lùn tā yǒu duō kě lián nǐ zuì hǎo dōu bié bǎ qián jiè gěi tā！Tā shì gè dǔ guǐ，bú huì bǎ qián huán gěi nǐ de！

无论她有多可怜你最好都别把钱借给她！她是个赌鬼，不会把钱还给你的！

You’d better not lend any money to her, no matter how poor she is! She is a real confirmed gambler.She’ll never pay it back to you!

    Lǎn guǐ

Eg4. 懒鬼   lazy bone

Lǎn guǐ kuài qǐ chuáng，bié shuì le，yǐ jīng zhōng wǔ le ne！

懒鬼快起床，别睡了，已经中午了呢！

Get up! You such a lazy bone! It’s 12 o’clock now!

    xiǎo qì guǐ

Eg5. 小气鬼    penny pincher

Nǐ gāi qǐng dà jiā chī fàn le，bié dāng xiǎo qì guǐ！

你该请大家吃饭了，别当小气鬼！

You should treat us a dinner. Don’t be a penny pincher!

The article is translated and editted by Chinlingo. Please indicate the source for any use, reproduction or transfer. 

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