Text Talk: QQ

With the semester quickly drawing to an end and everyone packing up and preparing to head home (or onto further travels) after a semester in Taiwan, you receive this text from your Taiwanese friend:

"I can't believe you have to go home already! I'm going to miss you! QQ"

QQ? You might be thinking to yourself, what's that? If you have been in Taiwan for a semester and still don't know, or if you're sitting somewhere not in Taiwan reading this and don't know, fret not for you have come to the right place!

Hi and welcome to a special segment of Street Talk! Today, I would like to introduce you to a commonly seen expression used in both texting and on food-related signs/packaging: QQ. And no I am not referring to that little penguin which you may associate with QQ Messenger.

Not this QQ

QQ actually has two usages: the first, which you will commonly see in reference to food (in particular, bubble tea or 珍珠奶茶) and the second, in text messaging as in the example at the beginning of this post.

The first meaning is often seen on food packaging or food stands, such as milk tea (奶茶):

Sweet potato balls (地瓜球):

Even candy:

But what does it mean exactly? In this case, it means soft and chewy (moreso chewy than soft) and I guess Taiwanese people must really like chewy food as many things are often advertised as "QQ" in giant letters. I'm not exactly sure why it means chewy but if you particularly like chewy foods then you can be sure to find an abundance of QQ drinks (or the 珍珠 in the drink rather), food, and sweets.

Now the second meaning of QQ, which you will see in texts (or sometimes spoken), is to cry, or more specifically, the QQ itself represents crying eyes, similar to T^T in English or ㅠㅠ in Korean. Again I am not sure where the origin of this meaning came from but it seems that it might have been from the popular online game World of Warcraft. To many people, the QQ really does resemble teary eyes, Also, similar to how people in the U.S. might casually throw in chatspeak such as "lol" or "omg" into a conversation, people in Taiwan will also casually throw QQ into a conversation, sometimes to mean chewy, but also to represent tears.

So if you ever want to express sadness when texting your Taiwanese friend, just use QQ and they will instantly understand. That's it for today's segment of Street Talk--I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time!

P.S. What are some commonly used chatspeak phrases in your country?

Street Talk: 不好意思

Hi and welcome back to another segment of Street Talk, coming to you from Taipei, this is Lillian N. and I'll be your host for today. Let's get started shall we?

Today's phrase is 不好意思 (bù hǎoyìsi), and it's a very common phrase, useful for many occasions.

As I mentioned, this is a phrase of many facets: it can be used to mean both sorry and excuse me (both when someone is in your way or when you are trying to get someone's attention), but it can also be used as an adjective as in 我對他很不好意思 or sometimes even as a verb: 很不好意思他哦.

Confused? Let's break this phrase down shall we?

1. 不好 (Bùhǎo) - Simple enough--不is a negator while 好means good, so together these two mean (literally), "not good"
2. 意思 (Yì si) - This one is a little more complicated; it can be used to mean fun or interesting: "This book is really interesting" (這本書很有意思) or "Is it fun/interesting?" (有意思嗎？); it can also be used to mean meaning: for example if someone says something which you don't understand and you want to ask what it means: "是什麽意思？" or “你的意思是....."

Altogether however, these four characters have many meanings.

1. Sorry - For example when you bump into someone or almost crash into someone and want to apologize, a simple "不好意思," sometimes with a slight nod of the head, will do.
2. Excuse me (When someone is in your way) - Such as when you're in the back of a crowded elevator and need to get out, you can just say "不好意思,"  and people will be quick to move out of your way. 
3. Excuse me (When you are trying to get someone's attention) - Let's say you're wandering around the Da'an district of Taipei and you get a little lost looking for the famed Din Tai Fung restaurant and you see a nice old couple walking by and would like to ask them for directions. A simple, "不好意思，鼎泰豐怎麽走？" will do, 不好意思 to get their attention and (Location)怎麽走 to ask how to get to your destination. 請問, 鼎泰豐怎麽走？works as well and it's really up to you which one you want to use, so ask away.
4. Embarrassment/Inconveniencing someone - As I mentioned before, you can use this phrase as a verb or adjective; in both cases it is used to show your embarrassment for inconveniencing someone. For example, when a group of friends reschedule their plans so that you can join, you can say to them, "不好意思" which can mean sorry but in this case it's specifically to express your apologies for inconveniencing them. As an adjective, let's say someone asks you why you declined your friend's offer to drive you home, and you explain that he (or she) lives in the direction opposite of where you're going, you could say, "我覺得會對他很不好意思," meaning that you feel it's too much of an inconvenience to him. Perhaps that friend is always driving you places and you feel bad about it, in which case you can say, ”我對他很不好意思“ meaning that you feel bad about inconveniencing him.

That ends our lesson on 不好意思 and I hope that you have found this lesson both helpful and clarifying. Join us next time for another segment of Street Talk; until next time!

Street Talk: 真假的？

Hi and welcome to our first segment of Street Talk, where we will be discussing common phrases and expressions heard off the streets of Taiwan! Coming to you live from Taipei, this is Lillian N. from The ABC Guide to Studying Abroad in Taiwan. I will be your host today, so let's get started shall we?

Today's phrase is 真假的 (Zhēn jiǎ de)?

Now this is a phrase I've heard used a lot: on the streets, in a phone conversation, mostly used by the youths, though adults use this phrase too. It is usually said in a tone of shock, surprise, or disbelief, the way one might exclaim in English, "Really?!?" or "No way!"

But what does this phrase mean exactly? Let us start by deconstructing it, character by character.

1. 真 (Zhēn) - By itself, this character means "real" or "truth" as in, "This is real jade" (這是真玉), or "It's the truth!" (是真的!) It can also be used to mean really, as in very: "He's really (very) impressive" (他真厲害), or as an exclamation: "Really?" (真的嗎?).
2. 假 (Jiǎ) - When said in fourth tone, this character is being used as a noun and means "vacation" or "day off," but when said in third tone, as is the case here, it is a stative verb meaning, "fake" or "artificial;" for example, "She was wearing fake eyelashes" (她戴著假睫毛).
3.  的 (de) - A possessive particle; when used with 真的 or 假的, it means "real" or "fake," respectively.

Altogether, these three characters mean, "Really?" or "Is this for real?" carrying with it a connotation of shock and disbelief. For example, if your friend were to tell you how her boyfriend couldn't make it to her important event because his brother had crashed his car, the public transportation he needed was down for repairs, and he got stuck in traffic taking the taxi, you might respond with a dubious, "真假的?"

Likewise, if you heard the story of an overly dramatic proposal complete with song, dance, stallions, and birds, you might shriek an unbelieving, "真假的?!?"

However, this phrase can also be used to mean, "Is this real or fake?" (這是真假的?), for example if someone asks for your number, which you give after much hemming and hawing, he might ask, a bit suspiciously, "這是真假的?" or just "是真假的?" meaning, "Is this really your number?"

That concludes our lesson on "真假的?" and I hope you have enjoyed our first segment of Street Talk. Join us next time for another lesson on commonly used idioms and phrases!