I was invited as a guest to speak to a group of business professionals this past Monday. Yesterday, one of the female attendants told me that a guy in the audience (I'm pretty sure he is gay) said I spoke very 'shuai'.

My spoken Chinese isn't that bad, but as far as I know 'shuai' means 'handsome'. The phrase the woman said to me (she was speaking Chinese) is 'ta jue de ni jiao hao shuai' (or something like that, she spoke very fast). Can 'shuai' be used to describe someone who speaks well?

I doubt "shuai" would ever be used to describe the speech of a female, no matter how incisive her oratory.

Flattery is part of Chinese culture (as is its denial by the recipient). If you're a guy - especially if you're a Western guy - girls will tell you that everything about you is "shuai", including your clothes, your hair, your speech delivery, your BO, your spinal deformity, and so on.

The correct response is always to prοtest "nali? nali?" and then ask for their mobile number.

I never prοtest.

I always go - 'dui. wo qi dao.'

They just say it all the time, don't they? It's annoying, it's not flattering in any way.

Guru Pitka wrote:I was invited as a guest to speak to a group of business professionals this past Monday. Yesterday, one of the female attendants told me that a guy in the audience (I'm pretty sure he is gay) said I spoke very 'shuai'.

My spoken Chinese isn't that bad, but as far as I know 'shuai' means 'handsome'. The phrase the woman said to me (she was speaking Chinese) is 'ta jue de ni jiao hao shuai' (or something like that, she spoke very fast). Can 'shuai' be used to describe someone who speaks well?

Generally speaking, we do not use 'shuai' to describe someone who speaks well. But if you can speak Chinese very well, I think you are cool,because you can speak Chinese well but I can't speak English well.
haha........
But he use 'shuai' to describe you who speak well, I think he love you. hahahha...............

I am Chinese. I agree with Coxaca.

"Shuai" is a modern oral word meaning literaly " handsome". It is used (mostly by women) to describe a good-looking man . ( We dont use this word untill lately in the 1990s)

As an oral word, it is used very flexibly according to the speakers habit or situation. Beside "handsome", "Shuai" could also means "cool". It could be one's way of dressing, speaking; or even a situation, a sugesstion. e.g.
A : After the movie, we can go to eat some icecream, and then go shopping. What do you think ?
B: Its cool. ( Tài shuài le )

Hope this can help you understand it.

My wife says "Shuai" means "beautiful", but as she does not know "handsome", perhaps that also.

monalisalee wrote:My wife says "Shuai" means "beautiful", but as she does not know "handsome", perhaps that also.

is it not this?

你长得很帅
ni zhang de hen shuai - what was said

'你讲得很帅'
ni jiang de hen shuai - what was heard

?

yes agreed as above, in that meaning: he meant you spoke well

Hi guys,

I'm pretty sure it was 'Ni jiao de hen shuai'. I guess it could have been 'Ni zhang de hen shuai' apart from the fact that I am completely hideous. lol

Thanks for the explanations. If I could ask another question: Does the calling of your wife 'lao po' have any connection to the circles you spin in? For example, I used to see wai di ren YELLING it at their wives on the subway after they successfully nabbed a couple of seats. But I never see people of more privileged backgrounds using the same word (in any context or at any volume). Is this more of a slang or country way of referring to your SO?

My wife says it is quite O.K. to call your wife "Lao po". Totally acceptable, and no bad connotation.

^ Yeah, my laopo says the same... Although she gets a bit wrinkle-faced if there's too many lao's added...

One more: In what order are these words polite ways to refer to foreigners? My thinking is the totem pole looks like this:
Wai Gong ('foreign guest', right?)
Wai Guo Ren ('foreign country person')
Lao Wai ('foreigner', but in use it is a little derogatory, right?)
Wai Guo Zhu ('foreign pig')
Bai Guai (or whatever color)

If you have other terms, please let me know.

^ Guei Lao... Cantonese...

Guei Lao? What's that an old ghost or something?

^Something along those lines yeah...



Rocco, me and the Mrs's went hot springing once... In one of the pools two Chinese fellas asked our Mrs's: Ta men shi shen me ren?

We nearly shat ourselves... hahaha

haha, that's hilarious

One time a Chinese kid asked me why my nose was big. I told him because I am from a far away place. He then asked me if having a face like mine was painful.

Guru Pitka wrote:haha, that's hilarious

One time a Chinese kid asked me why my nose was big. I told him because I am from a far away place. He then asked me if having a face like mine was painful.

Oh, man, I'm laughing so hard I got tears in my eyes...

Guru Pitka wrote:One more: In what order are these words polite ways to refer to foreigners? My thinking is the totem pole looks like this:
Wai Gong ('foreign guest', right?)
Wai Guo Ren ('foreign country person')
Lao Wai ('foreigner', but in use it is a little derogatory, right?)
Wai Guo Zhu ('foreign pig')
Bai Guai (or whatever color)

If you have other terms, please let me know.

yang guizi - foreign devil

yang gui zi. Hmm, nobody has called me that yet (that I can remember). Does 'yang' mean 'foreign'? I thought it meant 'itchy'. lol

Or 'raise', like those HK real estate lads 'yang' mainland girls.

If she saied 'ni zhang de hen shuai (你长得很帅)' it means that you're handsome; but if she said 'ni jiang de hen shuai (你讲得很帅)' I think she was trying to say that what you presented was awesome, brilliant, wonderful.....

Yang (洋), 2nd tone, means foreign; yang (痒), 3rd tone, means itchy.

What about this fella?

"shuai" is SO over used these days that it has lost its meaning, almost every male teenage douche in the streets is called a "shuai ge" - handsome boy ( the female version is "mei nü" - pretty girl) doesn't matter how fugly he is as long as he's considered cool and hip.

This sentence "ni jiang de hen shuai" is seldom seen in moden Chinese, I think her orginail meaning means that you do a good job but its still an informal and random sentence. however, you will never find it in formal or written Chinese.

One more: what's the exact translation of 'li hai'? Is it something similar to 'awesome'? I was going to use it today during a meeting but bit my tongue as I thought it would make me sound juvenile.