As important it is to learn proper grammar, speech patters and writing styles in Chinese, lets face facts, that’s just not how people normally talk. Start a conversation with a cabbie and see how far proper sentence construction and tone pronunciation gets you. Or tell someone you like to “eat tofu” and get yourself laughed out of a restaurant. You don’t speak to stuffy professors and scholars of the confucian analects on the streets–you meet real people. People who are subjected to pop-culture just like we are. How we communicate with each other, and how our language evolves is hugely important in understanding not just what you are saying, but who you are saying it to.

This is why it’s important to learn Chinese slang or 俚语 (lǐ yǔ). Why not avoid sticking out (at least more so than you already do)? Plus, just like American English slang, Chinese is an amalgam of diverse languages, ethnicities and pronunciations meaning that it has an extensive list of slang vocab words from even province to province.

So here are some slang phrases to use (or maybe avoid) that I’ve found to be important to keep in the repertoire. Just remember that like English, euphemisms are everywhere so you may not be simply saying what you think you are. Here are ten slang phrases:

喝水 (hē shuǐ) to drink water/A metaphor for those who suffer setbacks(in work or life)or suffer losses(in business).

哎呦 （āiyōu）”hey” “ouch” or an interjection to get attention

牛比 or simply 牛B. Means “awesome” or quite literally “cows [expletive]”.

熬着吃 (āo zhe chī) which means to go crazy  or just plain old “nuts”.

吹牛皮 (chuī niú pí) which means “to brag”

爱谁谁 (ai shéi shéi) which means whoever; whoever you want/like or simply “whatever”

笨蛋 (bèndàn) which means “idiot” or “moron”.

怎么样 (zěnmeyàng) or 怎么了 (zěnmele) which means “what’s up?” or “what’s happening?”

不咋的 (bùzădì) which means “not so great” or “not too hot”. Usually refers to when someone asks you how are you and you reply you don’t feel well or sick.

打屁 (dăpì) which means to shoot the breeze or “have a chat”. Funnily enough it literally translates at “bean fart”.

and who can forget, 拜拜 (bài bài) another Chinglish translation of the english phrase “bye bye”.

拜拜！