By Tom ParnellThe words “dark brown”, “dark blue”, “dwarf”, “pale brown” and “brownish-green” are among the words that are likely to cause some confusion among those of us who speak Chinese.
There is a popular misconception that these are the words of a Chinese woman, who is described as having a “pig-faced” face, and thus the words “brown face” are often used in Chinese.
But these are not the only common Chinese terms that are used in English.
There are other common Chinese words used in everyday speech, such as “cheap”, “good” and “good” to describe the way someone behaves or how they behave, or “good-looking” to denote someone who is successful, attractive or a good worker.
Chinese words that we often use as everyday speechExamples: “dawn” (大月), “dying” (知沢), “soul” (恶楚), “smooth” (未明), “warm” (僧阳), “happiness” (茶本), “joy” (不明) “good looking” (奉体) “souvenir” (六贵), “love” (明日), “good job” (马阿), “favourite” (東清) These are not all words that you should use in English, and you can learn to use them more properly in Chinese if you use these words in your own writing.
In the next article we’ll look at the Chinese words that Chinese people often use in everyday writing.
For more Chinese language news, check out our Chinese blog.