Podcast:Do You Really Understand What Chinese People Say?

前两天，有外国朋友跟我说，中文太难了。我想告诉大家，学习中文并不难，真正难的是如何与中国人相处。如果你能真正听懂中国人口中的中文，理解他们的意思，学中文对你来说，就只是一块小蛋糕！

A foreign friend said to me the other day, “Chinese is too difficult!” However, I would tell you that what is really difficult is not learning Chinese but getting along with Chinese people. Learning Chinese will be just a piece of cake, as long as you can really understand what Chinese people say.

今天想说一个中国人非常常用的词：

Today, I’d like to present you a word that is frequently used by Chinese people.

Suàn le

算了

Forget it

在中国人口中，“算了”只是一句“Forget it”这么简单吗？

Is “算了” simply equivalent to “Forget it”?

它可能还表达了这些意思：

It may imply the following connotation:

1. Never mind!

   A : Bù hǎo yì si，wǒ wàng jì bǎ nǐ de zá zhì huán gěi nǐ le！

E.g. A：不好意思，我忘记把你的杂志还给你了！

        Sorry, I have forgot to give the magazine back to you.

   B: Suàn le，sòng gěi nǐ ba。

   B：算了，送给你吧。

Never mind. Just keep it.

还有可能表示：

as well as:

2. I can not do it! I give up！

   A: Nǐ bú jì xù zuò fàn ma？

E.g. A: 你不继续做饭吗？

       Why don’t you continue with your cooking?

   B: Tài nán le，suàn le ba … …

   B: 太难了，算了吧……

      It’s too difficult. I give up…

如果你听到你的女朋友这样说，她的意思可能是：

When you hear the word from your girlfriend, it may mean：

3. I feel disappointed.

A: Duì bù qǐ，wǒ wàng le nǐ de shēng rì！

E.g. A: 对不起，我忘了你的生日！

Sorry, I have forgot your birthday!

   B: Suàn le suàn le … …

   B: 算了算了……

     Stop it…

或许，当他说这句话的时候他只是失去了耐心：

One may also say the word , when he or she has lost the patience:

4. I don’t want to do it anymore!

A: Nǐ zhěng lǐ le yì tiān fáng jiān，wèi shén me bù zhěng lǐ wán ne？

E.g. A：你整理了一天房间，为什么不整理完呢？

   You have been tidying up the room today. Why don’t you just finish it?

   B：Suàn le，jiù zhè yàng ba。

   B：算了，就这样吧。

      Just call it quits.

在你跟中国人交流的过程中，他们有没有说一些别的词让你困惑呢？如果有的话就留言告诉果果吧~

Have you ever met with any word puzzling you in your communication with Chinese people? If any, leave a message to us.