If you have any Chinese friends or colleagues, then you are almost certain to have heard them say at some point, 我上火了(Wǒ shànghuǒ le). But what does this actually mean? Is there any equivalent in English?

The first time I heard this term, as an explanation of why my friend was not feeling very well, I was totally confused and racked my brains to think of a suitable English translation. Since then, I hear it used almost daily, whether it be from the mothers of the children I teach sharing stories about their children’s latest health problems, colleagues who are feeling a little under the weather, or friends who can’t make it out for dinner.

As a term which comes from Chinese medicine, 上火shànghuǒ is certainly a headache for translators. It is often translated as “excessive internal heat”, but to a western audience, this means very little. Apparently there is no real equivalent for the term in western medical terminology, as it is considered too general, with symptoms which correspond to various different medical conditions.

So, if we can’t come up with a good translation, then how can we explain it? What are the causes? What are the symptoms? And how can we get rid of it?

Shànghuǒ in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

The TCM explanation of shànghuǒ all hinges on the theory of yin and yang. Yin-yang theory forms the basis of much of Chinese traditional thought, including Chinese medicine, classical Chinese science and philosophy and martial arts. The theory states that yin (阴yīn) and yang (阳yáng) are contradictory yet interdependent forces, which give rise to one another in turn. Everything in the world has to have both yin and yang elements, although some things contain more yang (said to be male, hot, light, high) and others more yin (female, cold, dark, low). The human body, therefore, whether it is male or female, has to maintain a balance between yin and yang elements in order to remain healthy.

Shànghuǒ is caused when a person’s internal fire (yang element) exceeds the normal level (hence the translation “excessive internal heat”), which manifests itself in redness, swelling and pain. Note, this heat is not the same as body temperature and although shànghuǒ can lead to fever (发烧 fāshāo), it is not a fever in itself.

What are the symptoms?

There are a great number of potential symptoms that can be put down to shànghuǒ, and these depend on which part of the body (heart, lungs, stomach, liver are some of the most common) the excessive fire is in.

Some of the most typical symptoms, however, include spots, rashes and sores in the mouth, as well as swellings (of the gums, for example), toothache and coughing. As you can see, many of these symptoms, but not all, are on the face or head. This list is far from exhaustive, but most times I have heard this term used, it has been used to describe coughing, a sore throat or redness in the form of spots or rashes.

How is it caused?

Shànghuǒ is said to be caused by both internal and external factors, although internal factors are believed to be the more crucial of the two. Internal factors inc

Following on from our post about dating expressions a few weeks back, here are a few more funny Chinese phrases about relationships for you…A lot of them seem to be animal-related, particularly about different animals eating grass!

1. 一个萝卜一个坑 (yí ge luóbo yí ge kēng)  “One radish, one hole”

This phrase can be used to mean that there is someone out there for everyone/ a good match for everyone, no matter what they are like.

Another meaning of this phrase is that there is a place for everyone in society and that nobody is dispensable.

This fits in with another radish-related phrase 萝卜白菜各有所爱(luóbo báicài gè yǒu suǒ ài) which means that “everyone has their own preferences”. This can also used be used to mean that not everyone has the same criteria when looking for a partner.

2. 情人眼里出西施 (qíngrén yǎn li chū xīshī) “In the eyes of a lover, Xi Shi appears”

Xi Shi lived during the Spring and Autumns period and was one of the 4 famous great beauties of ancient China. This phrase, therefore, means that everyone thinks his/her own partner is as beautiful as Xi Shi, regardless of how they may appear to other people.

3. 好马不吃回头草 (hǎomǎ bù chī huítóucǎo) “Good horses don’t go back to graze on grass they have already eaten”

This phrase can be used to mean that if you respect yourself, you will not go back to former partners.

It can also be used to mean that someone will not go back to a former employer once they have worked elsewhere.

4. 兔子不吃窝边草(tùzi bù chī wō biān cǎo) “Rabbits do not eat the grass near their nests”

This phrase can be used to mean that people shouldn’t start relationships with people who are too close to them e.g. colleagues, neighbors etc.

Another usage of this phrase is that even bad people will be good to those who are close to them (family, neighbors etc).

5. 老牛吃嫩草 (lǎo niú chī nèncǎo)  “An old cow eats fresh grass”

This one is slightly more obvious – used if a noticeably older person starts a relationship with someone much younger than him/her.

6. 一朵鲜花插在牛粪 (yì duǒ xiānhuā chā zài niúfèn) “A beautiful flower sticking out of cow dung”

This is used to describe a situation where one partner is more attractive than the other.

7. 他/她红杏出墙了 (tā hóngxìng chū qiáng) “His/her red apricots have grown beyond the wall” (just the literal translation)

This is used to show that someone is having an affair. Other ways to say this include: 她/他有外遇了(tā/ tā yǒu wàiyù le), 他们之间有第三者了 (tāmen zhījiān yǒu dìsānzhě le) “there is a 3^rd person between them”.

If you can think of any more of your own, then share them with us below…If you have any questions about your Chinese learning, then please get in touch with the Chinese School online team! Sign up for your free trial Chinese class on our website today!

Ever heard of someone being called an “iron rooster” (铁公鸡tiěgōngjī) in Chinese? Well, if you have any friends who are always last to put their hand in their pocket when it comes to paying the bill, then these phrases might just come in handy!

This week’s chéngyǔ is: 一毛不拔(yì máo bù bá)

一  yī      one

毛  máo    hair

不  bù       not

拔  bá      pull out

Literally: “unwilling to put out even one hair”

Meaning: “extremely stingy with money”

Other ways to say this:

吝啬小气 lìnsè xiǎoqi- These 2 words can either be used together or separately to indicate that someone is tight with their money, although this is not as extreme as saying 一毛不拔。

占小便宜zhàn xiǎo piányí  “to make small gains at other’s expense” – To always try to get away with letting others pay for things for you, or always try to pay a bit less than your fair share (贪小便宜tān xiǎo piányí has the same meaning).

There is another Chinese saying, 占小便宜吃大亏(zhàn xiǎo piányí chī dà kuī), which means that if you always try to get away with not paying your fair share, then you will eventually suffer a great loss!

铁公鸡 tiěgōngjī “iron rooster” – This may also originate from this idiom, as an iron rooster would be unable to shed a single feather. Used to refer to a person who is particularly stingy or miserly, a scrooge.

Story behind the chéngyǔ

During the Warring States period, there were many different schools of thought. One philosopher called Mo Zhai believed that people should always look out for one another, rather than fighting and killing one another due to self-interest. Another philosopher called Yang Zhu believed that every man had to look out for himself first and foremost in life.

One day, Mo Zhai’s student, Qin Hua, asked Yang Zhu, “If you could pull out a single hair from your body and by doing so, save mankind, would you do it?” Yang Zhu replied, “Mankind’s problems could not be solved by pulling out a single hair”. Qin Hua persisted, “If they could, would you do it?” But Yang Zhu still didn’t agree to do so.

This story is about someone who is unwilling to do a small thing, even if it might have great benefit to someone else. The modern meaning has deviated from this slightly, and although it still indicates someone being selfish, it is now used specifically with regard to money, and so can be translated as being “extremely stingy”.

Example sentences

1.  他的月收入将近5万元，但是他对父母却一毛不拔。

(Tā de yuè shōurù jiāngjìn 5 wàn yuán, dànshì tā duì fùmǔ què yìmáobùbá)

He earns almost 50,000RMB per month, but he is still very stingy with his parents.

2.  他的同学不待见他，因为每次一起吃饭，他像个铁公鸡一毛不拔。

(Tā de tóngxué bù dàijiàn tā, yīnwèi měi cì yīqǐ chīfàn, tā xiàng gè tiěgōngjī yīmáobùbá).

His classmates don’t like him very much. Whenever they go out to eat together, he is always very stingy and never pays his fair share.

If you have any questions, then please get in touch with the Chinese School Online team any time! You can sign up for your free trial online Chinese class on our website today!

I have discovered that French people seem to have a talent for learning languages. My French students are very hard-working and proactive about learning Chinese. They always give me great example sentences when they have learned a new grammar point. One student in particular, we’ll call him F, is great fun to teach. When we studied the construction  “每…都…” měi dōu (every…), he used it in the sentence 在中国，每个外国人都得学汉语 Zài zhōngguó, měi gè wàiguó rén dōu děi xué hànyǔ “In China, every foreigner must study Chinese”. Seems like a great idea to me! When he learnt the construction “如果…就…”rúguǒ jiù (if…), he told me that many French people say, 如果你喝汤你就越来越高 Rúguǒ nǐ hē tāng nǐ jiù yuè lái yuè gāo “If you drink soup, you will grow taller and taller”. It’s always interesting to learn about other cultures! As soon as I teach him a new grammatical structure, he is able to use it in his daily conversations.

One day when we were having class, I was teaching him the difference between two words which can be translated as “old” in English: 老lǎo (used for living things) and 旧 (used for objects). To help him remember when to use each of these words, I looked around the classroom and gave him an example sentence. I knew that he liked to drink coffee and because he had spilt coffee on his book many times, a lot of the pages were stuck together. I said 你的书很旧，我的书很新 Nǐ de shū hěn jiù, wǒ de shū hěn xīn “Your book is old, my book is new”.  He replied with, 不是的，我的书喜欢喝咖啡 Bùshì de, wǒ de shū xǐhuan hē kāfēi “No, it’s not. My book just likes drinking coffee!” and then he burst out laughing. There’s never a dull moment teaching Chinese to foreign students!

If you’re interested in studying Chinese online, then sign up for your free trial class on our website today. Please feel free to get in touch anytime with your questions about studying Chinese!

Each week, Chinese School Online will introduce you to a new Chinese idiom (成语chéngyǔ) and the story behind it to help you remember it!

Today’s chéngyǔ is: 拔苗助长bá miáo zhù zhǎng

Literal meaning: “pulling up the seedlings to help them grow”

Meaning: “ruining things by putting too much pressure on them/by trying excessively hard”

The Story

During the Spring and Autumn Period (722-479BC), in the state of Song, there was a farmer who was waiting anxiously for his crops to grow. He measured them every day, but was very disappointed at how slowly they were growing. One day he came up with a solution to his problem. He decided to pull the crops up out of the ground to make them taller and worked hard all day long until he had done this to every one. He then went home and proudly told his son about his ingenious plan. His son then went out to have a look, but by this point, all the crops were already dead.

This story, therefore, tells us that by being too impatient or by wanting things too much, we can actually do more harm than good.

Example sentences

1.        让小孩子写那么多作业，简直是拔苗助长（Ràng xiǎo háizi xiě nàme duō zuòyè, jiǎnzhí shì bámiáozhùzhǎng）

Making small children do that much homework will do more harm than good.

2.        孩子教育切忌拔苗助长（Háizi jiàoyù qièjì bámiáozhùzhǎng）

We must be sure to avoid putting too much pressure on children in their education, as it will have negative effects.

3.        爱情不能拔苗助长 (Àiqíng bùnéng bámiáozhùzhǎng)

You can’t put too much pressure on love or it won’t last.

If you have any questions, then please let the Chinese School Online team know and we will do our best to help you out! Sign up for your free trial Chinese class on Chinese School Online’s website today!

Here are a few fun Chinese expressions for talking about some characteristics (/stereotypes) of men and women. If you can think of any more, please feel free to post them below!

Men

1. 钻石王老五(zuànshí wánglǎowǔ), “A single, wealthy man.” Zuànshí means “diamond” and wánglǎowǔ means “the 5th son of Wang”, who I guess must have been a rich guy. A common way to refer to the kind of rich, eligible bachelors that many people are chasing after!

2. 花花公子(huāhuāgōngzǐ), “A playboy” , literally “a flowery prince” (can also be referred to as 花心大萝卜huāxīn dà luóbo, literally “a flowery hearted big radish”!)

3. 情场老手(qíngchǎng lǎoshǒu), “A player”, literally means “an old hand on the lover’s field”.

4. 三十而立, 四十不惑，五十知天命 (sānshí ér lì, sìshí bù huò, wǔshí zhī tiānmìng) “By 30, a man should be independent, by 40, a man should have no uncertainties, by 50, a man will know his fate.” A lot of pressure for the Chinese guys then!

5. 男人四十一枝花，女人四十豆腐渣儿 (nánrén sìshí yī zhī huā，nǚrén sìshí dòufǔ zhāér) “At age 40, men are flowers, women are soya bean dregs.” Charming!

Women

1. 拜金女(bài jīn nǚ) “A material girl”, literally “a woman who worships gold”.

2. 白骨精(báigǔjīng) “A strong woman”, literally means “white-boned demon” and refers to a character in the Chinese classic Journey to the West (西游记xīyóujì). This is now commonly used to refer to strong-willed and independent women who know their own mind (you can also say 女强人nǚ qiángrén to refer to successful career women).

3. 花瓶(huāpíng) “A woman who is nothing more than a pretty face”, literally “a vase”.

4. 小三儿(xiǎo sānér) “The other woman/mistress”, literally “little number three” (can also be known as 二奶èrnǎi).

5. 剩女(shèngnǚ) “A leftover woman.” This is used to refer to single career women, usually women in their thirties who haven’t married or had children yet. The word 剩男(shèngnán) does also exist, but is far less widely used than the female equivalent.

There are so many more, so if you can think of any, please share them with us! And if you have any questions, please get in touch with the Chinese School Online team! Sign up for your free trial Chinese class with one of our expert online Chinese teachers on our website, www.chineseschoolonline.com.

Want to practice your Chinese pronunciation? Try out these tongue twisters (绕口令ràokǒulìng)! Chinese tongue twisters are much harder than their English counterparts (She sells seashells, Peter Piper etc), because not only do you have the similar sounds to contend with, but also the different tones…See how you get on!

1. 吃葡萄不吐葡萄皮，不吃葡萄倒吐葡萄皮

chī pútao bú tù pútao pí, bù chī pútao dào tù pútao pí.

This literally means “Eat grapes and don’t spit out the skins, don’t eat grapes and spit out the skins”. This seems to be one of the most popular Chinese tongue twisters. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but a great way to practice your pronunciation!

2. 师尊石狮子

shí zūn shí shīzi.

“10 stone lions”. If this is too easy, there’s a whole story about the 10 stone lions that you can check out…

3. 四是四，十是十，十四是十四，四十是四十；谁把十四说“十适”，就打他十四；谁把四十说“适十”，就打他四十

sì shì sì, shí shì shí, shísì shì shísì, sìshí shì sìshí; shéi bǎ shísì shuō “shíshì”, jiù dǎ tā shísì, shéi bǎ sìshí shuō “shìshí”, jiù dǎ tā sìshí.

Literally “Four is four, ten is ten, fourteen is fourteen, forty is forty. If anyone pronounces “shísì” as “shíshì”, hit them fourteen times, if anyone pronounces “sìshí” as “shìshí”, hit them forty times.”

So many “si” and “shi” sounds! If you can manage that one, I’d say you’re doing pretty well…

4. 盆和瓶，桌上有个盆，盆里有个瓶，砰砰砰，是瓶碰盆，还是盆碰瓶

pén hé píng, zhuō shàng yǒu gè pén, pén lǐ yǒu gè píng, pèng pèng pèng, shì píng pèng pén, hái shì pén pèng píng.

“A basin and a bottle. On the table there is a basin, in the basin there is a bottle. Bang, bang, bang! Is it the sound of the bottle banging against the basin or the basin banging against the bottle?”

Get your “p” sounds into shape with this tongue twister!

5. 黑化肥发灰,灰化肥发黑。黑化肥发黑不发灰,灰化肥发灰不发黑。
Hēi huà féi fā huī, huī huà féi fā hēi. Hēi huà féi fā hēi bù fā huī, huī huà féi fā huī bù fā hēi.

“Black fertilizers look grey, grey fertilizers look black. Black fertilizers look black, they don’t look grey and grey fertilizers look grey, they don’t look black.

These are just a few of the most common for you to try out. All complete nonsense, but fun nevertheless! If you need any help with your Mandarin, please get in touch with our teachers at Chinese School Online! Sign up for your free Chinese lesson on our website www.chineseschoolonline.com today!

A rather amusing article from China Daily today about paper Apple products being sold as Tomb Sweeping Festival gifts. According to the article, over 1,000 tons of paper products are burnt as offerings over the festival, which will take place Sunday 3rd-Tuesday 5th April this year, including everything from TV sets to plane tickets, cars, houses and so on. Everyone in China seems to be crazy about Apple though, so it may be little surprise that ipads, iphones and Mac computers are the latest addition to the range of paper gifts…

Read the full story here: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-03/30/content_12246740.htm

If you’re studying Chinese, it is both interesting and important to learn about Chinese culture alongside the language. Festivals are a great way to learn more about Chinese culture, as they are laden with tradition and show just how much China has changed over the years.

This year, Tomb Sweeping Festival, literally translated as “clear brightness festival”, falls on Tuesday 5th April, and Sunday 3rd-Tuesday 5th April has been designated a national holiday. This festival was only reinstated in mainland China in 2008 when the traditional Labour Day “Golden Week” holiday was reduced to three days, and three day holidays for both Tomb Sweeping Festival and Dragon Boat Festival (端午节duānwǔjié) were introduced. As it was only reintroduced so recently, Tomb Sweeping Festival is not one of the most significant festivals in China’s current festival calendar, despite its traditional importance. Nowadays, the main activities on this festival are, of course, tomb sweeping and paying respects to the dead, alongside various happier activities, such as going on spring outings and kite flying.

Traditionally, the ceremonies in memory of the dead were far more elaborate than they are today, and other traditions, such as carrying willow branches with you on this day, were widely followed. Today, many people do still go and clean up the tombs of their loved ones, however, putting flowers and offerings of food on the graves, and sometimes burning incense and paper money. This festival is also traditionally closely linked to agriculture, as it marked a rise in temperatures and indicated the start of spring. What many Chinese people will be doing this holiday is using the days off to take advantage of the warmer weather and go trips to the mountains or to nearby parks. If you’re in China this holiday, you might want to avoid the major parks, as I have no doubt that they will be absolutely packed!

One thing about holidays in general in China, which is notably different to holidays in the west, is that so-called “three day holidays” actually only consist of one day tagged on to the weekend. Not only that, but weekend days are often designated as working days to make up for the days taken as holiday. This Saturday, for example, is a normal working day in China. This sometimes gets very complicated, like at Mid-Autumn and National Day festivals last year, leaving me, at least, feeling like it might have been better not to have a holiday at all! I guess that this in itself tells us a lot about how hard people have to work in China and the difference in attitudes between China and the west…

Here are a few useful Chinese words related to Qingming：

扫墓(sǎomù) “to sweep or tend to a grave”

踏青(tàqīng) literally “to step on green”, but means “to go on an outing in spring”

放风筝(fàng fēngzheng) “to fly a kite”

爬山(páshān) literally means mountain climbing, but the definition of what counts as a mountain might be different here! This might be better translated as “hiking”, or even “going for a walk in the countryside”.

乍暖还寒(zhànuǎnháihán) “To become cold again after briefly becoming warmer.” Something that has been happening a lot recently, but hopefully spring has finally arrived now!

春暖花开(chūnnuǎnhuākāi) “Spring is warm and the flowers are in bloom.” If you want any more help with learning Chinese or want to know anything more about Chinese culture, please get in touch with Chinese School Online and one of our teachers will be happy to help you out!