Chinlingo Podcast｜Don’t laugh, or I’ll get goose flesh all over!

 Wǒ jì dé xiǎo shí hòu zài wǎng shàng liáo tiān，dāng yí gè xiǎo nán shēng shuō le yí gè yǒu qù de xiào hua，wǒ huì huí fù tā liǎng gè zì：“Hē hē”。Nà shí hòu de “Hē hē”hěn jiǎn dān，zhǐ shì mó fǎng rén xiào qǐ lái de shēng yīn，biǎo shì hěn hǎo xiào huò zhě hěn kāi xīn ！

我记得小时候在网上聊天，当一个小男生说了一个有趣的笑话，我会回复他两个字：“呵呵”。那时候的“呵呵”很简单，只是模仿人笑起来的声音，表示很好笑或者很开心！

When I was young and chatted on line, I would reply with two characters, “呵呵”，to a boy who had told a funny joke. Back at that time, “呵呵” was simply mimicking of one’s laugh, indicating something is funny.

ér qiě，zhè gè cí zài miàn duì miàn liáo tiān de shí hòu bú huì shǐ yòng，wǒ men zhǐ zài xiě wén zhāng huò zhě wǎng luò liáo tiān shí yòng tā。Bǐ rú，zài xiàn shàng liáo tiān de shí hòu：  

而且，这个词在面对面聊天的时候不会使用，我们只在写文章或者网络聊天时用它。比如，在线上聊天的时候：

Moreover, we would use the word only in our articles or in cyber chatting rather than in a face-face talk. For example, in cyber-chatting,

    Nǐ zuó wǎn yǒu méi yǒu kàn qíng jǐng xǐ jù？

男: 你昨晚有没有看情景喜剧？

    Did you watch the sitcom last evening?

   Yǒu！Hē hē，nà shí zài tài hǎo xiào le！

女: 有！呵呵，那实在太好笑了！

Yes! Hoho, it was really funny!

Dàn shì hòu lái，zhè gè cí de yì si gǎi biàn le：dāng zhè gè xiǎo nán shēng gēn wǒ shuō yī xiē wǒ méi yǒu xìng qù de huà tí，wǒ huì zhǐ huí fù tā liǎng gè zì：“Hē hē”。Qí shí zài huí fù “hē hē” de shí hòu，wǒ bù zhī dào yīng gāi huí dá shén me，dàn wǒ bìng bù xiǎng ràng tā gǎn jué dào gān gà。Hòu lái wǒ fā xiàn，yuán lái yǒu hǎo duō rén dōu shì zhè yàng zuò de！Bǐ rú：

但是后来，这个词的意思改变了：当这个小男生跟我说一些我没有兴趣的话题，我会只回复他两个字：“呵呵”。其实在回复“呵呵”的时候，我不知道应该回答什么，但我并不想让他感觉到尴尬。后来我发现，原来有好多人都是这样做的！比如：

However, the word’s meaning changed afterwards. When a boy says something I’m uninterested in, I would reply with “呵呵”，as I don’t know which other word would be the appropriate reply and I wouldn’t like to embarrass him either. In fact, I have found many people are using the word in this way. For example,

    Wǒ gāng cái gēn xiōng dì qù dǎ lán qiú le，kuài lèi sǐ le！

男：我刚才跟兄弟去打篮球了，快累死了！

    I just played basketball with my dudes. I’m exhausted.

    Hē hē

女：呵呵~

    Hoho.

Zhè gè shí hòu，wǎng luò shàng yǒu yí jù liú xíng yǔ：Liú yán zhǐ yú zhì zhě，liáo tiān zhǐ yú hē hē。

这个时候，网络上有一句流行语：流言止于智者，聊天止于呵呵。

Then the saying has become popular in cyber space, “Rumors stop before a wise man, while chatting ends up with ‘呵呵’”.

Xiàn zài，zài wǎng luò de shì jiè，“ hē hē ” yǐ jīng biàn chéng le zuì bù lǐ mào de cí yǔ zhī yī，zài wǎng shàng liáo tiān hé miàn duì miàn liáo tiān quán miàn shǐ yòng，bìng qiě chū xiàn le hěn duō yì si：

现在，在网络的世界，“呵呵”已经变成了最不礼貌的词语之一，在网上聊天和面对面聊天全面使用，并且出现了很多意思：

Nowadays, “呵呵” has become one of the most impolite words in cyber space. It has been used both in online chatting and in a face-face talk, and many meanings have been derived.

1.

Dāng nǐ jué dé yí gè rén de xiǎng fǎ fēi cháng kě xiào，nǐ ké yǐ shuō “Hē hē~”，bǐ rú：

当你觉得一个人的想法非常可笑，你可以说“呵呵~”，比如：

When you find somebody’s idea is ridiculous, you can reply with “呵呵”，for example:

   Wǒ jué dé chǒng wù jiù shì rén lèi de wán jù！

A：我觉得宠物就是人类的玩具！

   I think pets are humans’ toys.

   Hē hē~

B：呵呵~

2.

Dāng yǒu yí gè rén cháo xiào nǐ de xiǎng fǎ huò yì jiàn，ér nǐ bìng bú rèn tóng，nǐ ké yǐ shuō：

当有一个人嘲笑你的想法或意见，而你并不认同，你可以说：“呵呵~”，比如：

   When someone laughs at your idea or opinion and you don’t disagree with him or her, you can say “呵呵”，for example:

   Nǐ de mèng xiǎng gēn běn bù kě néng shí xiàn！

A：你的梦想根本不可能实现！

   Your dream will not come true at all!

   Hē hē~

B：呵呵~

3.

Dāng nǐ duì yí gè rén huò zhě zhè gè rén de yí gè fāng miàn gǎn dào bù mǎn yì，nǐ ké yǐ shuō： “hē hē，bǐ rú：

当你对一个人或者这个人的一个方面感到不满意，你可以说：“呵呵”，比如：

When you are unsatisfied with somebody or something of the person, you can say “呵呵”， for example:

   Nǐ kàn wǒ de xīn xī zhuāng shì bú shì shuài zhà le？

A：你看我的新西装是不是帅炸了？

    Have a look at my new suit! Awesome, isn’t it?

   Hē hē~

B：呵呵~

Zài zhè yì fāng miàn， tóng yàng hán xù de zhōng guó rén de “ hē hē ” yǔ yīng guó rén de “ interesting ” fēi cháng xiàng，zhuān yè fěng cì sān shí nián：

在这一方面，同样含蓄的中国人的“呵呵”与英国人的“interesting”非常像，专业讽刺三十年：

In fact the British are the same with the Chinese in using implicit sarcasm. In English, one can find the equivalence of “呵呵”，“interesting”.

A: What do you think of my new hairstyle?  B: Interesting…

A: Did you agree that the new product is perfect? B: It’s interesting.

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