7 advanced Chinese expressions for unbelievable situations

In this post we're going to explore seven advanced Chinese formations that describe all things over-the-top, extreme.

本文我们将探讨7种用于夸大的、极端语境的高级中文表达式。

1. Adjective + 得不得了 (de bù dé liǎo)

Got a situation in which you'd want to jump for joy. How about a case where you'd tear out your hair in frustration? Here's the perfect way to describe it in Chinese:

想象一下高兴得想跳起来的场景，或者沮丧时想扯断头发的情形，下面便是完美诠释这类情景的中文表达：

不得了 means extremely or exceedingly. Preceded by an adjective, 不得了 intensifies the situation.

“不得了”带有“非常”、“极度”的意味。“不得了”放于形容词之后，用于加剧强化情况。

Example A:

因为他老板给他加薪水，所以他高兴得不得了！

yīn wèi tā lǎo bǎn gěi tā jiā xīn shuǐ, suǒ yǐ tā gāo xìng de bù dé liǎo!

Because his boss gave him a raise, he's happy like mad!

Example B:

他女朋友答应嫁给他，他兴奋得不得了!

tā nǚ péng yǒu dā yīng jià gěi tā, tā xīng fèn de bù dé liǎo!

His girlfriend agreed to marry him; he's super excited!

Now when you want to describe something as so very…whatever, instead of using boring old 很(hěn), you can use adjective + 得不得了.

现在，要是想描述“某事非常（…）”，无论什么，你可以用上“形容词+得不得了”代替老套的“很”。

不得了啦 is an exclamation of panic, similar to “Oh no!” For example, when your computer crashes and you haven't saved your work, you'd probably say “哎呀 不得了啦!” (āi yā bù dé liǎo la!)

“不得了啦”是用于感叹惊慌的情形，类似“Oh no!”。例如，当你的电脑崩溃了而你没来得及保存工作进度的话，你或许会说“哎呀 不得了啦! (āi yā bù dé liǎo la!)”。

2. Adjective + 得很 (de hěn)

Here's another useful way to add emphasis to whatever situation you're describing: adjective + 得很.

下面这个表达适合于强调你所描述的各种情景：形容词+得很。

得很 means "very much so." When it follows a description, you know that the situation is above normal intensity!

“得很”的意思是“very much so”。当跟上情况描述的时候，你会感知到该情况超越了正常强度。

Example A:

他爸不让她去美国读艺术，她伤心得很.

tā bà bù ràng tā qù měi guó dú yì shù, tā shāng xīn de hěn.

Her dad won't let her go to the USA to study art, so she's extremely upset.

Example B:

小周的网站被黑了，他生气得很.

xiǎo Zhōu de wǎng zhàn bèi hēi le, tā shēng qì de hěn.

Zhou's website has been hacked and he's terribly angry.

Using adjective + 得很 is an easy way to let people know that you're not joking—it's really that bad!

用上“形容词+得很”是让别人懂得“你并不是开玩笑而是事实就是那么糟糕”的简单方式。

我的老婆小气得很。

wǒ de lǎo po xiǎo qì de hěn.

 My wife is very easily offended.

她的男朋友有钱得很。

tā de nán péng yǒu yǒu qián de hěn.

His boyfriend is ultra rich.

3. Adjective + 什么? (shénmē)

Here's something to say when you think your friend is being ridiculous. Like: Are you serious—why are you thinking this way? Or, why on earth would you do this?

接下来的表达是可以用于你觉得你的朋友很荒唐的情况。比如：“你是认真的吗？”、“你为什么这么想？”或者“你为什么这么做？”

Here's an example: Let's say your friend is five years older than you and single, and you lament your own singleness in front of her. Of course she'd be indignant! She'd say:

举个例子：假设你的朋友比你大5岁而且是单身，而你在她面前哀叹自己没有男朋友。这时候她当然会觉得愤愤不平，她会说：

我都还没有男朋友,  你急什么急？

wǒ dōu hái méi yǒu nán péng yǒu, nǐ jí shénmē jí?

Even I don't have a boyfriend yet, so why the heck are you in such a hurry?

4. Adjective + 一点 (yī diǎn)

Adjective + 一点 is for describing things that have gone a little overboard.

“形容词+一点”可以用于表达“事情做得有些过度”。

Let's say the day after your friend gets dumped, he posts a mean comment on Facebook about his ex. You text him to say:

我们假设你朋友被甩的隔天，他在Facebook上发表了关于前任的刻薄评论。你给他发了短信说：

你这样是不是过分了一点？

nǐ zhè yàng shì bú shì guò fèn le yī diǎn?

Don't you think what you've done is too harsh?

So adjective + 一点 means that something is a little too much.

因此“形容词+一点”可以表示事情有些过火的意思。

5. 甚至… (shèn zhì)

甚至… is a good way to tell a story so exaggerated. It's almost hard to believe it's true.

“甚至…”是一个夸大事情的好方式，表达“无法相信事情是真的”。

Here are two examples:

举两个例子：

他看过的英语书籍甚至比老师还多！

tā kàn guò de  yīng yǔ  shū jí  shèn zhì bǐ  lǎo shī hái duō!

He has read more English books than even the teacher.

她家里的人都是天才，甚至连她家里的小猫也会唱歌！

tā jiā lǐ de rén dōu shì tiān cái, shèn zhì lián tā jiā lǐ de xiǎo māo yě huì chàng gē!

Everyone in her family is a genius; even the family's cat knows how to sing!

6. 简直… (jiǎn zhí)

Here's another way to emphasize a point, loosely translated as "totally," "absolutely" or "practically."

这是另外一个可以强调观点的方式，大致的翻译是“totally”、“absolutely”或“practically”。

Here are two examples:

举两个例子：

当比赛结果被宣布的时候，她简直不能相信自己的耳朵。她居然得了第一名！

dāng bǐ sài jié guǒ bèi xuān bù de shí hòu, tā  jiǎn zhí bù néng xiāng xìn zì jǐ de ěr duo. tā jū rán dé le dì yī míng!

When the competition results were announced, she practically couldn't believe her ears. She had won first place!

你怎么会忘记你的护照呢？简直是个笨蛋！

nǐ zěnme huì wàng jì nǐ de hù zhào nē？jiǎn zhí shì gè bèn dàn!

How could you forget your passport? What a total idiot!

7. 太夸张了！(tài kuā zhān le)

Finally, we come to this phrase: 太夸张了！

最后要提到的是“太夸张了”这个短语。

This expression can be used for any situation that is way too crazy.

这个表达可用于极度疯狂的任何场合。

Anytime your friend tells you an over-the-top tale, you can simply respond: 哇，太夸张了！(wā tài kuā zhāng le).

任何你朋友告诉了你一个夸大其词的事情的时候，你都可以简单回应：“哇，太夸张了！”

Examples:

You have a desktop, a laptop, a tablet and an iPad mini? 太夸张了!

你有一台台式电脑、一台笔记本、一台平板还有一台iPad mini？太夸张了！

You get free coffee and free cigarettes at work? 太夸张了!

你工作的时候可以免费喝咖啡和抽烟？太夸张了！