东西 -- Dongxi (Dong - Shee) -- Literally, it means "East West". The story goes that at one time, there were markets on the East and West sides of town. They sold different things. So, if you didn't know what you wanted, but you wanted something from the market, you were said to want SOMETHING from either the east or the west markets. So, it means something.
Also in language learning news, I learned how to say "in bed" in Chinese. You know that joke we always use when opening fortune cookies? Well, I don't think anyone's heard of that here. So I will just randomly interject "in bed" at the end of a statement I don't understand that a friend say, and it invariably gets a laugh. Yes, I've killed jokes before, and I'd do it again if they gave me the chance.
Grrr.
No comments:
Post a Comment