EP25 八卦 Gossip

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.