Fuhgettaboutit

Now through September, Ted and I have a houseguest staying with us (now considered a friend) from Taiwan. Tai-wei is working in the US on an exchange visa, and already speaks Chinese, English and Spanish. He has been sharing with us about his languages and we’ve been sharing ours. The one thing we’re all learning, is how often we use phrases that don’t make any sense at all.

Tai-wei has heard us say, “This will be great for getting some experience under your belt.” Or, “Well, it’s hump day.” Or, “Take a load off.” There is no way for someone new to the language to understand that these phrases mean he’s building a resumé, suffering through Wednesday, and sitting down. So we’ve had to explain some of them, and we’ve had to quit speaking in phrases and movie quotes.

Tai-wei has a really good English vocabulary already, so the most fun we’ve had language-wise is sharing phrases that we think are really funny, and are used casually. So we’ve been teaching him, “Fugettaboutit,” “Yeah, right. Yeah, sure,” “Don’t bust my chops,” and even the much more crass, “Don’t bust my balls,” and “Eat my shorts.” We’re certain his parents will be thrilled with this education.

In exchange Tai-wei’s teaching us some very important Chinese phrases (some of which I will not repeat here). My favorite is, “Mei quan xi” (pronounced may kwan shi). It’s kind of like saying, “fugettaboutit.” So next time someone insults you, or leaves you high-and-dry (stranded), just say, “Mei quan xi.” It’s no problem.

What other phrases do you think we should share with Tai-wei, eh?