EP25 八卦 Gossip
The origin of 八卦 in China
How “八卦”became “Gossip”
Part I Chinese 101
Dialogue:
A:小王多大了?是哪里人?
xiǎo wáng duō dà le ?shì nǎ lǐ rén ?
How old is Miss Wang? Where does she come from?
B:90后,是北京人。
jiǔ líng hòu ,shì běi jīng rén
She is a post 90s’ Beijinger.
A:昨天下班来接她的男生是她男朋友吗?
zuó tiān xià bān lái jiē tā de nán shēng shì tā nán péng yǒu ma ?
Is the guy yesterday who met her after work her boyfriend?
B:哎呀,你太八卦了!
āi ya ,nǐ tài bā guà le !
Ah, you’re so gossip!
Words & Expressions:
【多大了】duō dà le:How old is...
【哪里】nǎ lǐ:where
【90后】jiǔ líng hòu:Post 90s
【北京】běi jīng:Beijing (Capital city of China)
【接】jiē: pick up; receive;
【男生】nán shēng:boy; young male; guy
【男朋友】nán péng yǒu: boyfriend
【哎呀】āi ya :Ah!; Oh, my!; Dear me!; My eye!
【八卦】bā guà:gossip; (Origin: Eight Diagrams)
Part II Language Tips
The origin of 八卦 in China:Eight Diagrams
How “八卦”became “Gossip”
Part III Story of The Day
以讹传讹
yǐ é chuán é
To Relay a Fake Message Based on False Information
以 means " to use" or "through", 讹 means "false information",传 means "spreading the information".
Literal meaning: To relay a fake message based on false information
E.g
以讹传讹造成的悲剧真是太多了。
yǐ é chuán é zào chéng de bēi jù zhēn shì tài duō le。
There are really a great many tragedies caused by spreading false news.
