Today is March 8, which means it’s 国际妇女节 (International Women’s Day).  Don’t forget to send a message to your 女性 (female) friends.  Incidentally, 三八 (literally – “3 8” means gossipy/b*&%^) is a term used for referring to women which has two meanings- neither one is very flattering.  女人手撑半边天 (women hold up half the sky) is the famous saying favored by Mao Zedong.  三个女人一台戏 (essentially – there is drama if there are 3 women in the same place)  is another common Chinese saying.  Let’s take a look at some of the words that have a female character radical in them.  好 (good) is a good one, as it has a mother and child together.  安 (peace) is another good example, as a woman is under a roof.  My next post may have a little more to say about Visas, as it’s about that time again!

Words

国际 guo2ji4 – international
妇女 fu4nv3 – women
节 jie2 – holiday
女性  nv3xing4 – female
三八 san1ba1 – b#$%@ or gossipy
撑 cheng1 – hold up
好 hao3 – good
安 an1 – peace
台 tai2 – stage
戏 xi4 – drama/performance