English Phrases in China that Drive Me Nuts

English Phrases in China that Drive Me Nuts

For better or worse, there are some English phrases that have become common use in China. I wonder if they'd be so common if they knew the stories behind some of them or just how much they annoy native speakers. Here are my top three English phrases that I really hope will die soon.   

Let It Go
Ok, so technically this is a song. But ever since the movie 'Frozen' came out and this song was everywhere, I couldn't use this phrase without someone bursting into song. Actually, just the fact that my mother in law tries to sound hip by singing 'leh ih guh' repeatedly to my son is enough to make it onto my list. The movie also seemed to result in every third female I know calling themselves Elsa, but that's another blog altogether.  

I'm Fine Thank You. And You?
Dear Chinese friends, I'll be brutally honest with you. If you utter this phrase in Australia, you'll be laughed at and then mocked behind your back. Actually, scratch that, they won't even wait until your back is turned. It's the equivalent of "hen gaoxing renshi ni" in China - overly formal and appropriate when meeting Xi Jinping at a state dinner, but definitely not suitable for everyday use.   

There's no need to say this when a simple "Fine, thanks." gets the message across and sounds so much more natural. Still, I see teachers and parents around me insisting on this exact wording, lest it offends the entire Western race. They would actually be doing us a favour by not teaching this useless phrase at all. Just stop it, please.

Oh My Lady Gaga!
So what do you do when 'Oh my god!' becomes overused and boring? Take out god and put Lady Gaga in its place. A brilliant stroke of genius, some kid under 10 thought when he/she uttered this phrase for the first time. I'm not sure why Lady Gaga was chosen for this dubious honour, either; that will probably forever remain a mystery. I only hear it occasionally now, but it was at its peak about 6 years ago when I heard it about 5 times per class. For example:

We have a test today - "Oh my Lady Gaga!"
It's break time - "Oh my Lady Gaga!"
It's raining in Peru - "Oh my Lady Gaga!" 
     
Even though this phrase has pretty much run its course, I still hear it now and again, which is why it makes my list.  

Come On, Baby!
For some reason, this phrase is seen as a cute and innocent in China. In fact, there's a TV ad playing constantly in Guangzhou where a boy sees a girl sitting down eating candy. He then harasses her by shouting "Come on, baby!" repeatedly and yelling, "Oh baby!" when she finally relents and gives him some. Maybe it's just me, but I'm sure there's a sinister leer on his face while he's shouting, which is even more disturbing. In Australia and New Zealand this has a more sinister meaning. It's often associated with sleazy men desperately trying to coerce women into dating or sleeping with them.

I'll give you an example. When I was in Australia a couple of months ago, there was a West Indies cricketer called Chris Gayle who made national headlines by awkwardly chatting up a female reporter. Among the many phrases used, it was the line "Come on baby, smile," that stood out. Women's groups were furious, angry viewers took to social media to vent their disgust and Gayle was briefly banned from playing as a result. 

Meanwhile in China, I see mums around me (it's always mums for some reason) playfully saying that to their sons or daughters when they call them over. This seems wrong on so many levels and is better not said at all.

Honorable Mentions

You're Getting Fat
Regardless of the culture you're in or how well you know someone, this is not a nice thing to say to anyone. Ever.  

Heyyyyyyyy, Sexy Lady!
No need to explain why. I'm especially tired of hearing my four-year-old son singing this.

I'm sure there are plenty of others that I've missed. I'd be interested to know which English phrases in China drive you nuts as well. 

This blog is contributed by user adb2014.  For more blogs of this user please click adb2014.

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Keywords: school China English phrases annoying English phrases

27 Comments

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Lauwrence

"It bad for the healthy"..... Aaarrgghh, look I've been drinking cold water for 43 years and I am still alive, my "healthy" will be fine!

Apr 21, 2016 10:18 Report Abuse

chitown

Almost everything I hear makes me crazy

Apr 15, 2016 11:08 Report Abuse

SenseiSteve

"I very like..." I understand that it's a direct translation from Chinese to English, but seriously it's getting a little old now.

Apr 09, 2016 22:06 Report Abuse

sorrel

and no-one said 'No Why' as the most retarded phrase trotted out.

Apr 08, 2016 18:20 Report Abuse

Guest2152316

"Slip carefully" !!

Apr 08, 2016 16:54 Report Abuse

adb2014

Oh, I've just remembered "How do you think of..." I see this a lot.

Apr 08, 2016 12:49 Report Abuse

kuntmans

"welcome to please", "it's my extreme pleasure", "you want lady massage"?

Apr 08, 2016 12:15 Report Abuse

Kaiwen

"In my daily life ......... " This utterly grinds me. No western person would say "In my daily life, I go shopping, watch TV and so on". Why the feck is this taught?

Apr 07, 2016 20:57 Report Abuse

royceH

"maybe"....."so so". These responses are rarely acceptable in my classes. Well, they are acceptable, but I don't let them go without explaining that they're basically a crap response.

Apr 07, 2016 20:26 Report Abuse

tostada_halex

Maybe is annoying for different reasons. - Do we need to work tomorrow? - Maybe. AGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Apr 08, 2016 12:31 Report Abuse

greenjenkins

how about the great one, when you say thanks, they say 'no thanks' usually when somebody's english is this low, they can't pronounce the 'th' sounds so it usually sounds like 'no sex'

Apr 07, 2016 17:11 Report Abuse

elijahishmael

What about,"Ok,ok,ok!"?

Apr 07, 2016 15:15 Report Abuse

RandomGuy

"I like it very very very much!"

Apr 07, 2016 20:25 Report Abuse

The-Final-Say

How about "When in Rome, do as Romans do!".

Apr 07, 2016 14:16 Report Abuse

RandomGuy

入乡随俗

Apr 07, 2016 20:24 Report Abuse

tostada_halex

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9jaEvjrmlQ

Apr 08, 2016 12:34 Report Abuse

Guest2480492

it's a little hot/expensive/strange etc for things that are in fact very sweet etc

Apr 07, 2016 12:50 Report Abuse

Guest2480492

"wait a moment"

Apr 07, 2016 12:47 Report Abuse

silverbutton1

"take a rest."

Apr 07, 2016 10:29 Report Abuse

JohnathonSteel

"Please, you can have a try!" No. No I don't want any of your disgusting nong soup.

Apr 07, 2016 09:07 Report Abuse

RandomGuy

No "HALUO" and "HAO AREU YOO?", seriously?

Apr 07, 2016 07:43 Report Abuse

adb2014

I didn't include those because I don't hear them often enough to get irritated by them. Keep in mind that this is based only on my personal experience and not meant to be read as a comprehensive A-Z list.

Apr 07, 2016 13:55 Report Abuse

tostada_halex

Random Haluos or people suddenly speaking in English in front of you (when they actually were chatting in Chinese before you appeared)

Apr 08, 2016 12:37 Report Abuse

tostada_halex

Random Haluos or people suddenly speaking in English in front of you (when they actually were chatting in Chinese before you appeared)

Apr 08, 2016 12:37 Report Abuse

icnif77

Chinese don't understand English language same as we (you) do! They understand it per translator conversion to Chinese language. Drive me crazy? I'd say, you must be crazy, since you live in China. I prefer to drive them crazy...in the classroom at some akward student's act...me: 'Do you know 'Big Ben'? (both words pronounced properly); student: 'UK, in London....'; me: 'you are big ben, do you know that?' (2nd word pronounced as Chinese 'ben';

Apr 07, 2016 05:32 Report Abuse