Monday, October 8, 2007

Weekly Mandarin: 10

10th Edition: Ting Bu Dong

This could just be my most useful phrase yet, and I think it's both expressive in its accents and a little philosophical.

"Ting bu dong" is a phrase I have heard... probably about 100 times so far in my teaching career. It translates to "I hear, but I don't understand." It is not only helpful to know when my students are groaning this at me, but also when the lady at the fruit stand thinks "well, she looks Chinese, she must speak Chinese."