Today we conclude with three more important slang phrases ...

1. 你吃了嗎 - (ni chi le ma) This phrase translates to "have you eaten?" However, eating is so ingrained in Chinese culture that this question is used almost as a conversation starter like "how are you?" is in English. When Chinese/Taiwanese friends see each other, they will usually say "Ni Hao (hello)" followed by "have you eaten?"... Most likely they will then describe in excruciating detail the last bowl of ramen, gyoza, wontons that they ate.

2。 笨蛋 (ben dan). This phrase, which translates to "stupid egg" means idiot in Chinese... however this phrase does not carry the really bad connotations that some other phrases we talked about do... it is not uncommon to see girlfriends use this term on their boyfriends OR parents use this on their children...

3。 吃醋. (chi cu). This translates to tasting vinegar... imagine tasting raw vinegar... you most likely will squint your eyes, tighten your jaw and have a very unpleasant experience. Chinese people say this is the same feeling you get when you feel girlfriend/boyfriend jealousy.

If your girlfriend gets that "green-eyed look" when she sees you flirting with that hot store clerk, or if your boyfriend gets pissy when that cute guy makes eye-contact with you... they are "tasting vinegar" Also note you only can use this for cases of significant other jealousy. If you are jealous of someone that got a promotion which you wanted, for example, you cannot use this term here...

Finally, another variation of this which you can also use is “打翻醋瓶 (da fan cu ping)” which translates to "The Vinegar Bottle Breaks" ... this can be used when the significant other goes crazy with jealousy ... I'll leave this to your imagination ...

If you're still having trouble understanding this, take a look at the screenshot, which is from the Dick Van Dyke Show: S01E07, titled Jealousy!

In it Laura (played by Mary Tyler Moore) suspects her husband Rob (played by Dick Van Dyke) is having an affair with a movie star.

Her face in this shot ... is ALL 吃醋!!