ChinesePod
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@ 50888 成語俗語
A 你的論文寫得怎麼樣了？
nǐ de lùnwén xiě de zěnmeyàng le?
How's your thesis coming along?
B 哎，別提了，八字還沒一撇呢！
ai, bié tí le , bāzì hái méi yīpiě ne!
Agh, don't bring it up. I haven't even started! It's like the Chinese character for ``eight" without the left curving stroke.
A 八字沒一撇？什麼意思？
bāzì méi yīpiě? shénme yìsi?
What's that mean? The character for eight without a curving stroke?
B 八字不是一撇一捺嗎？八字沒一撇，就是沒頭緒，沒辦法！是一句俗語。
bāzì bùshì yī piě yī nà ma? bāzì méi yīpiě, jiùshì méi tóuxù , méi bànfǎ! shì yī jù súyǔ.
Doesn't the Chinese character for ``eight" have a curving stroke and a falling stroke? The expression I used means that I haven't even started to write. It's an idiom.
A 哦，沒事兒，你這麼聰明，想寫的時候很快就寫好了。哎，中文怎麼這麼麻煩，有俗語，還有成語。
o, méishìr, nǐ zhè me cōngming, xiǎng xiě de shíhou hěn kuài jiù xiě hǎo le . āi, Zhōngwén zěnme zhè me máfan, yǒu súyǔ, háiyǒu chéngyǔ.
Oh. Well it's no problem, you're so smart, when you feel like writing you'll be able to write it in no time. Ah, Chinese is such a hassle. There are folk sayings and idioms.
B 俗語大多數是老百姓總結出來的經驗什麼的，通俗形象，好理解。成語呢一般都有出處。有的來自故事，有的出自古文。
súyǔ dàduōshù shì lǎobǎixìng zǒngjié chūlai de jīngyàn shénme de, tōngsú xíngxiàng, hǎo lǐjiě. chéngyǔ ne yībān dōu yǒu chūchù. yǒude láizì gùshi, yǒude chūzì gǔwén.
Most folk sayings are summaries of common people's experience. They're common and vivid, and easy to understand. Idioms usually come from a source-- some are from stories, some are from classical Chinese.
A 那俗語是口語，成語是書面語嗎？
nà súyǔ shì kǒuyǔ, chéngyǔ shì shūmiànyǔ ma?
So folk sayings should be used orally, and idioms in writing?
B 成語常常當書面語用，如果平常說話的時候用很多成語，別人會覺得你文縐縐的。但簡單的成語口語中也常說，比如“因小失大”。
chéngyǔ chángcháng dàng shūmiànyǔ yòng, rúguǒ píngcháng shuōhuà de shíhou yòng hěn duō chéngyǔ, biérén huì juéde nǐ Wén zhōuzhōu de. dàn jiǎndān de chéngyǔ kǒuyǔ zhōng yě cháng shuō, bǐrú `` yīnxiǎoshīdà" .
Idioms are often used in writing. If you use too many idioms in your daily speech, people will think you're pretentious. But certain simple idioms are often used, for instance ``to lose something big on account of something small."
A 嗯，我經常聽說“亂七八糟”。很多成語光從字上看不出意思來。
ng4, wǒ jīngcháng tīngshuō `` luànqībāzāo" . hěn duō chéngyǔ guāng cóng zì shang kàn bù chū yìsi lái.
Ah, I often hear people say ``Chaotic seven, messy eight." It's impossible to tell the meaning of many idioms just by looking at the characters.
B 是啊。成語典故太多了，我們知道的也沒多少。小時候學成語，老師讓我們背解釋。不明白意思的話，很容易用錯。有時候報紙上還會用錯成語呢！
shì a. chéngyǔ diǎngù tài duō le, wǒ men zhīdào de yě méi duōshǎo. xiǎo shíhou xué chéngyǔ, lǎoshī ràng wǒ men bèi jiěshì. bù míngbái yìsi dehuà, hěn róngyì yòng cuò. yǒushíhou bàozhǐ shàng hái huì yòng cuò chéngyǔ ne!
True. There are tons of classical allusions in idioms, and we only know a few of them. When we studied idioms when we were young, the teacher would make us recite the explanations. If you don't understand the meaning of an idiom, it's easy to use it incorrectly. Sometimes, the newspapers will use idioms incorrectly!
A 啊，原來成語對你們來說也不容易。成語一般都是四個字，那俗語呢？
ǎ, yuánlái chéngyǔ duì nǐ men láishuō yě bù róngyì. chéngyǔ yībān dōu shì sì ge zì, nà súyǔ ne?
Oh...So idioms are not easy for you either. Usually idioms have four characters. What about folk sayings?
B 俗語長短不一定，有三四個字的，也有七八個字的。
súyǔ chángduǎn bù yīdìng, yǒu sānsì ge zì de, yě yǒu qī bā ge zì de.
Their length is not fixed. Some have three or four characters, others have seven or eight.
A 那四個字的成語和四個字的俗語怎麼區別啊？
nà sì ge zì de chéngyǔ hé sì ge zì de súyǔ zěnme qūbié a?
How can you tell the difference between a four-character idiom and a four-character folk saying?
B 其實你不用管它是成語還是俗語，會用就行了。有的成語就是從俗語來的。還有人說簡單的成語應該算俗語。
qíshí nǐ bùyòng guǎn tā shì chéngyǔ hái shì súyǔ, huì yòng jiù xíngle . yǒude chéngyǔ jiùshì cóng súyǔ lái de. hái yǒurén shuō jiǎndān de chéngyǔ yīnggāi suàn súyǔ.
Actually, you don't need to worry about whether it's an idiom or a saying. It's enough to use it correctly. Some idioms come from folk sayings. And some people say that simple idioms should be considered folk sayings.
A 哦。我聽說成語都是固定的，不能隨便改。俗語能改嗎？
ò. wǒ tīngshuō chéngyǔ dōu shì gùdìng de, bùnéng suíbiàn gǎi. súyǔ néng gǎi ma?
Ah. I've heard that idioms are fixed. You can't casually change them. Can you change sayings?
B 俗語的說法也是固定的，不過可以有一些變通。成語和俗語都是經過很長時間才傳下來的，得一個一個學，慢慢積累。
súyǔ de shuōfa yě shì gùdìng de, bùguò kěyǐ yǒu yīxiē biàntōng. chéngyǔ hé súyǔ dōu shì jīngguò hěncháng shíjiān cái chuán xiàlái de, děi yīgeyīge xué, mànmàn jīlěi.
Folk sayings are also fixed, but there can be a little flexibility. Idioms and sayings have been passed down for a long time. You need to learn them character by character, and accumulate them slowly.
A 嗯。我一定好好學，你們要多幫幫我呀！
ng4. wǒ yīdìng hǎohāo xué, nǐ men yào duō bāngbang wǒ yā!
Oh. I will definitely study diligently. You will need to help me out!
B 好，俗話說得好，一個好漢還需要三個人幫忙嘛。
hǎo, súhuà shuō de hǎo, yī ge hǎohàn hái xūyào sān gè rén bāngmáng ma.
Sure. There is a saying, a hero still needs three people to help him.
A 哦，你說的就是那句“一個好漢三個幫”！
ō, nǐ shuō de jiùshì nà jù `` yīge hǎohàn sān ge bāng" !
Ah, you're talking about the phrase ``A hero needs three helpers!"
Key Vocabulary
八字沒一撇 bāzì méi yīpiě up in the air, uncertain
頭緒 tóuxù clue
俗語 súyǔ common saying
通俗 tōngsú popular
形象 xíngxiàng image
出自 chūzì to originate from
書面語 shūmiànyǔ written expression
文縐縐 wén zhōuzhōu bookish
因小失大 yīnxiǎoshīdà small gains at the cost of big gains
典故 diǎngù historic link
變通 biàntōng flexible
一個好漢三個幫 yīge hǎohàn sān ge bāng team effort
Supplementary Vocabulary
丟了西瓜，揀了芝麻 diūlexīgua, jiǎnlezhīma small gains at the cost of big gains
三個臭皮匠，頂個諸葛亮 sāngechòupíjiàng, dǐnggeZhūgě liàng collective wisdom is greater than a brilliant individual
井底之蛙 jǐngdǐzhīwā self-satisfied person with limited perspective
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