Skip to main content

Chinese Using the Word "Dead" or "Die" for Exasperrating Situations


As a Chinese of Hokkien descent, I'm really not going to deny how often the word "si" or "death" was used in connection to exasperation. I hear the expression "ya si yo" to express how one is sick and tired. I remember saying "Ya si yo" when meeting people I knew I couldn't get anything out of them except useless gossip. 

The meme I got from Bahay Tsinoy also made me think of using "death" to overemphasize. I don't think it's just limited to Fujian Chinese. I got into Chinese Grammar Wiki and found this interesting note:
In English, you might use the expression "you scared me to death!" In Chinese, 死了 (sǐ le) is used similarly to intensify an adjective with an unpleasant connotation.

It's pretty much a hyperbole. A good example would be like:

  • 我 饿 死了. (Wǒ è sǐ le) which means "Hungry to death". 
This would be another important tool in studying the Chinese language and culture. More often, the Chinese people tend to connect the word death (either in Mandarin or Amoy) to exaggerate the situation, to the point that they feel like they're going to die. 

I decided to use Google Lens and get the Chinese words. So far, they're legitimate translations. I guess it's not just among the Hokkiens but as a huge part of Chinese culture. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ghosts or Money: the Witnesses of the Chiong Sisters' Case

As it's July and it's been raining hard , it's hard for me not to think of the Chiong Sisters case. It's because the two sisters disappeared during a rainy evening . Sure, it's already been more than 20 years. However, an injustice for one is an injustice for all. In this case, it's not just injustice for the #Chiong7, the families of the #Chiong7--but also for the Chiong family. There's really no real justice when the wrong people are convicted.  As I watched Jacqueline Comes Home --I can't help but comment where God supposedly spoke to Thelma Jimenea-Chiong, where Mrs. Chiong went to a group of seances (which may have never happened and Mrs. Chiong stormed out of the theater, crying, during the rape scenes), and a scene where Marijoy's ghost was at the ravine at Tan-awan, Carcar. Now, it's time to look at another angle of the witnesses that came forward to incriminate Paco. Were there ghosts or money? This would be an interesting question to as...
Post a Comment
Read more

Today in History: The Body of a Woman in Tan-awan, Carcar, Found and Believed to be Marijoy Jimenea Chiong

Pinoy History Facebook Page CORRECTION/UPDATE: As of September 27, 2025 , I decided to put new information concerning body decay. I realized that decomposition may not alter skeletal height . I decided to update this post because I made some factual errors. I would like to share my opinion that the body found in Carcar, Cebu , was indeed the body of Marijoy Jimenea Chiong . As I watched Give Up Tomorrow , I was infuriated to realize that the late Judge Martin Ocampo didn't even bother to have the body analyzed. Even worse, the Supreme Court of the Philippines under the leadership of Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr., (a relative by affinity of the victims) said no to the request for a DNA test . Even worse, the alleged remains of Marijoy were later cremated, leaving no more room to verify them. Where are the tissue samples? It's no wonder that it's become effortless for rumors to spread that the Chiong sisters are supposedly alive (but the photos found belong to the sisters-in-...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is an Impeachment Just as Effective as a Vote of No Confidence?

Talks about impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio are on. However, I'd like to show the problem with the impeachment trial. Who can remember when former president Joseph Marcelo Ejercito aka Joseph Estrada was under impeachment trial? One can say that when Estrada resigned,  that proved that it doesn't matter if the country is presidential or parliamentary (since some economic powerhouses are still under the  presidential system, like South Korea and Taiwan). However, we need to look at the political aspect of the parliamentary system. Is impeachment just as effective as a vote of no confidence? Let's find out! What is impeachment? Impeachment is defined by the Britannica as follows: Impeachment, in common law, a proceeding instituted by a legislative body to address serious misconduct by a public official . In Great Britain the House of Commons serves as prosecutor and the House of Lords as judge in an impeachment proceeding. In the federal government of ...
Post a Comment
Read more