Battle cries and threats
Fights are where donghua talk fastest. The lines are short, loud and repeated from show to show, so they are easy to catch once you know them. Some are everyday Chinese at volume; others you would only say to a demon.
Shouted in every fight
Short commands that work anywhere.
Chinese verbs can stand alone as orders, so fight lines are short. Tone and volume do the rest. 小心 and 快走 are as useful in a street as in a battle.
Villain, hero, real life
One idea at three temperatures.
对手 is an opponent, in sport as much as war.
账 is an account. Keeping a grudge as a debt to be repaid is a stock image.
The real-life line changes the idea: a friend tells you not to overdo it.
不自量力 is a chengyu, a four-character idiom: not measuring your own strength. Villains love chengyu because they sound educated and final. Heroes answer in plain modern Chinese, a small tell about whose side the story is on.
A fight in four lines
Every line is a formula.
Once you know 就凭你, 不自量力 and 休想, you can follow the shape of a fight before you know every word in it.
Chinese has thousands of 成语 chéngyǔ, fixed four-character phrases, most from classical texts. Fantasy scripts use them densely because they fit a whole judgement into four syllables. Learn each one as a single word; day 6 of this course is nothing but them.
8 questions. Get 5 right to finish the day.
What do you shout to warn someone?
- 休想！ xiūxiǎng!
- 就凭你？ jiù píng nǐ?
- 小心！ xiǎoxīn!
- 住手！ zhùshǒu!
Show the answer
小心！ Look out. It is also on real warning signs.
你休想离开 means…
- please do not leave
- you can forget about leaving
- you have left
- you should leave
Show the answer
you can forget about leaving 休想, rest the thought: it is not going to happen.
不自量力 describes someone who…
- is a teacher
- is tired
- is very strong
- overestimates their own strength
Show the answer
overestimates their own strength Not measuring your own power.
对手 is…
- a teacher
- an opponent
- a hand
- a friend
Show the answer
an opponent In a game or a fight.
Type the pinyin for 住手.
Show the answer
zhùshǒu Stop the hand.
Which is the plain, real-life way to say you are angry?
- 你会后悔的。 nǐ huì hòuhuǐ de.
- 这笔账我记下了。 zhè bǐ zhàng wǒ jì xià le.
- 不自量力！ bú zì liàng lì!
- 我很生气。 wǒ hěn shēngqì.
Show the answer
我很生气。 The others are threats from a script.
快走 means…
- walk slowly
- stop
- come back
- go, quickly
Show the answer
go, quickly 快 hurries the verb after it.
Type the Chinese or pinyin for Don't underestimate me.
Show the answer
bié xiǎokàn wǒ 小看, look at as small.
Question 1 of 8