sunday. we enter the elevator with some kids and their parents. the kids (2 boys of around 7) are giggling and mutter “waiguo ren” (foreigners).
they’re talking about us, so i gently correct him and say “putaoya ren” which means portuguese. (and also that we can understand him :P).
he laughs, a bit shy, and conspires with his friend and parents which urge him to speak to us, and then he says “how do you do?”, in english. i say “fine, thank you, and you?”, “just so-so”, he replies and then they leave the elevator.
“just so-so” is the translation of “mama huhu”, the typical answer for a “nihao ma?” (how are you?). the chinese will not usually say they are good, or very good, or any other extreme feelings, and rather settle for a moderate answer.
they are just so-so. it’s a funny detail.
8 replies on “so-so.”
it is a funny detail, yes. i’ve noticed that it’s different here in nz. nzers make our portuguese ‘bem, obrigada’ sound like the chinese so-so because they always seem so happy about life (either that, or i’ve actually been coming across some truly happy people). you enter a shop and you’re greeted with a big smile and a ‘hi there! how are you today?’. it’s nice.
O portuga também diz ‘vai-se andando’, e a seguir despacha os problemas todos que o atormentam. :)
very cute! :) it is always fun when people around you assume you don’t understand and the subsequent embarrassment when they realise you do.
when i was about 12, a big kid was trying to be a bully and since i could not win in a physical fight, i thought i would use language instead. so i started insulting him in portuguese and he replied, in french and he answered back, in english and he got me as well. brasilian kid, born in the States who then lived in french speaking Africa. i was so annoyed i just walked off! :)
que detalhe tão giro :)
It’s probably just a way of ensuring you won’t ‘lose face’ ;)
Adoro teus relatos sigo sendo tua fiel leitora e é claro postaleira no postcrossing (Genial Paulo) que já possui
convite para uma camaroada nestes mares do sul !
Beijos
Helga
Nothing related to your last post (although I find it very cute as well), but is it true that ‘China has unilaterally blocked all three major search engines in China and is redirecting all requests to Baidu’ ? That’s what they write at http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/10/18/cyberwar-china-declares-war-on-western-search-sites and I’m curious about it…
new yorkers are always GREAT :)