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Describing People You Know pt. 1 (simple terms) Posted by on Dec 31, 2008 in Culture, Vocabulary

There are many ways to describe people using Chinese.  Some ways use 4-character idioms, and in other cases you can simply use 2-word phrases.  Here are a couple of my favorites which I have encountered during my time thus far in China.  A person who doesn’t keep promises very well is referred to as being 不靠谱.  A person who is somewhat restrained in public company is referred to as 收敛.  A conservative person is referred to as being 保守, whereas a more open or liberal person is referred to as being 开放.  However, it is possible to become too open and freewheeling- a person like this is usually referred to as being 随便.  A person who is able to tell how to treat people is said to 有心眼.  Finally, a person who is very closed-off to the world and has very limited social contact is said to be 自闭.  If you know this word, then you can also describe a person with 自闭症(autism).

收敛 shou1lian3 – restrained in public, reserved.
靠谱 kao4pu3 – keeping promises.
保守 bao2shou3 – conservative
开放 kai1fang4 – liberal
随便 sui2bian4 – freewheeling, careless
有心眼 you3xin1yan3 – able to read how to treat people
自闭 zi4bi4 – closed-off, shut off from the world
自闭症 zi4bi4zheng4 – autism

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Comments:

  1. Philippe:

    I like:
    厚脸皮【hòuliǎnpí】 thick-skinned; brazen; cheeky.

    keep up the good blog!


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