Due to its size and the remoteness of many of its smaller towns and cities, China boasts a nearly endless number of dialects, so many in fact that it’s nearly impossible to create a comprehensive list of them all. Furthermore, many of the 200 or so dialects currently thought to be in existence are so dissimilar that people from different parts of the country are often unable to understand each other.
Luckily for us language learners, Mandarin was installed as China’s official language in the 1930s, with the government promoting it as the “common speech” (普通话 pǔtōnghuà) ever since. Though Mandarin has helped bridge many of the gaps between disparate peoples, dialects still flourish across China, the biggest examples being Min, Wu, Gan, Xiang, Hakka, and Cantonese.
With the advent of technology and the relative ease of long-distance communication, numerous words and phrases that were once considered curious have captured the public’s imagination and entered the national vernacular. Not only are these relatively fun to use, they’ll help you sound like a zhōngguó tōng in no time.
For some inspiration to get you started, check out this video of foreigners imitating Chinese dialects.
啥 – shá/shà – what
Where did it come from?: The word 啥 is probably the most well-known and most popular dialect phrase, slipping into mainstream usage across China thanks to its easy and comparatively direct use (combining 什么 shénme into one simple character). It is thought to have originated in areas of Shaanxi and Henan province.
Example sentence:
弄啥咧？nòng shà liē? What are you doing?
咋 – zǎ – how/what
Where did it come from?: Used in many places, both in southern and northern China.
Example sentence:
咋办？zǎ bàn? What should we do?
俺 – ǎn – I/we
Where did it come from?: Originating in northern China, 俺 can be used to represent the individual as well as multiple people.
Example sentence:
俺不知道。ǎn bù zhīdào. I/we don’t know.
整 – zhěng – do
Where did it come from?: Mostly used in northeast China.
Example sentence:
我钥匙没带，这可咋整？wǒ yàoshi mò dài, zhè kě zǎ zhěng? I forgot my keys. What should I do?
忒 – tuī – very
Where did it come from?: Mostly used in Hebei province, especially in Tangshan and Qinhuangdao.
Example sentence:
今天风忒大。jīntiān fēng tuī dà. The wind is very strong today.
中 – zhóng – OK/cool
Where did it come from?: Mostly used in Henan and some parts in Hebei.
Example sentence:
今天晚上你来我家一起看电影吧。-中！jīntiān wǎnshàng nǐ lái wǒjiā yì qǐ kàn diànyǐng ba. – zhóng! Come to my place for a movie tonight. – OK!
晓得 – xiǎodé – know
Where did it come from?: Used in Jiangxi, Hunan, and Sichuan province.
Example sentence:
我晓得。wǒ xiǎodé. I know.
皮实 – píshi – fit/solid
Where did it come from?: Mostly used in northeast China.
Example sentence:
你能一口气跑这么远，真皮实。nǐ néng yī kǒuqì pǎo zhème yuǎn, zhēn píshi. You must be pretty fit to have run this far.
捯饬 – dáo chi – dress up
Where did it come from?: Used in northern China areas.
Example sentence:
他今天有个约会，出门之前对着镜子好生捯饬了一番。tā jīntiān yǒu gè yuēhuì, chūmén zhīqián duìzhe jìngzi hàoshēng dáo chi le yī fān. He’s got a date today so he spent a long time getting dressed up.
埋汰 – máitai – dirty/fatigued
Where did it come from?: Mostly used in northern areas especially the “three northeast provinces” (东北三省 dōngběi sānshěng): Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang.
Example sentences:
看你那股埋汰劲，不许你进屋。kàn nǐ nà gǔ máitai jìn, bùxǔ nǐ jìn wū. You’re so dirty! You’re not allowed to enter the house.
年纪大了，走路赶个集，回家就埋汰了。niánjì dàle, zǒulù gǎn gè jí, huí jiā jiù máitaile. I must be getting old, I feel so fatigued just after visiting the market.
急眼 – jíyǎn – angry/anxious
Where did it come from?: Used in northern areas.
Example sentence:
人家这么两句话就惹你急眼啦，真有出息! rénjiā zhème liǎng jù huà jiù rě nǐ jíyǎn la, zhēnyǒu chūxī! How are you offended so easily? What a baby!
嘚瑟 – dè se – bragging/acting arrogantly
Where did it come from?: Used in Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang.
Example sentence:
自从当上主任，他就一直嘚瑟了。zìcóng dāng shàng zhǔrèn, tā jiù yīzhí dēsè le. Since being promoted as the department head, he’s been bragging non-stop.
鼓捣 – gǔdao – tinker/fiddle
Where did it come from?: Unknown.
Example sentence:
他鼓捣了半天，终于把自行车修好了。tā gǔdaole bàntiān, zhōngyú bǎ zìxíngchē xiūhǎole. He was able to fix the bicycle bell after fiddling with it for a while.
膈应 – gè yīng – disgusting
Where did it come from?: Most commonly used in Tianjin, Shandong, Shanxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Henan, and Xijiang.
Example sentence:
想想他那张脸，就觉得膈应。xiǎng tā nà zhāng liǎn, jiù juédé gé yīng. The thought of seeing his face disgusts me.
磕碜 – kē chěn – adj.: ugly/dishonorable/embarrassing; verb: to insult
Where did it come from?: Used in northeast areas.
Example sentences:
别看他长相磕碜，他可是个文化人。bié kàn tā zhǎngxiàng kē chěn, tā kěshì gè wénhuà rén. Don’t judge him by his looks; he’s a very cultured person.
你这话是磕碜谁呢？nǐ zhè huà shì kē chěn shéi ne? Who are you trying to insult?
敢情 – gǎnqíng – great/so/to express surprise
Where did it come from?: Used in Beijing, Tianjin, and Tangshan.
Example sentences:
你今晚也来？那敢情好！nǐ jīn wǎn yě lái? nà gǎnqing hǎo! You’re joining us tonight too? That’s great!
敢情今天下雨了。gǎnqing jīntiān xiàyǔ le. So it turns out it’s raining today.
敢情你今儿也在啊！gǎnqíng nǐ jīn er yě zài a! Oh, I didn’t expect to see you here!
瞎咧咧 – xiā liēliē – talking bullshit
Where did it come from?: Used in northeast areas and Beijing.
Example sentence:
他什么都不懂，就知道瞎咧咧。tā shénme dōu bù dǒng, jiù zhīdào xiā liēliē. He knows nothing and talks bullshit all the time.
得劲儿 – dé jìn er – feel great
Where did it come from?: Mostly used in Henan and some parts in Hebei.
Example sentence:
这几天身体不大得劲儿。zhè jǐ tiān shēntǐ bù dà dé jìn er. I haven’t been feeling great/have been feeling a bit under the weather for the past few days.
没门儿/门儿都没有 – méimén er/mén er dōu méiyǒu – no way
Where did it come from?: Unknown origin, but now very common throughout China.
Example sentence:
你想趁机占我便宜，没门儿 / 门儿都没有！nǐ xiǎng chènjī zhàn wǒ piányí, méimén er! / mén er dōu méiyǒu! Are you trying to cheat me? No way!
带把儿的 – dài bà er de – to refer to newly-born boy babies
Where did it come from?: Used predominantly in Anhui and Shanxi.
Example sentence:
有了闺女之后他们夫妻两个一直想再要个带把儿的。yǒule guīnǚ zhīhòu tāmen fūqī liǎng gè yīzhí xiǎng zài yào gè dài bà er de. After having given birth to a girl, they’re now trying to have a boy.
READ: Kickstart Your Chinese Character Learning With These 25 Most Common Radicals
Photo: Baidu
