Learn Chinese Idioms

By Author: james toma
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When you are learning Chinese culture, you could find that Chinese have developed a rich culture around the use of idioms. When you learn Chinese, you can meet a lot of idioms. In Chinese lessons， Chinese teachers will talk about the meaning of many Chinese idioms and stories. Today，I learn a Chinese idiom: To touch a soft spot (哪壶不开提哪壶) on my Chinese lesson.
The idiom "哪壶不开提哪壶( nǎ hú bù kāi tí nǎ hú )" literally means "to pick the kettle that is not boiling." It's used to indicate that someone is saying or doing something that shouldn't be mentioned in front of others, or that someone is bringing up a sensitive subject.
Idiom Story:
Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, yǒu fùzǐ liǎ kāile jiān xiǎo cháguǎn.
很久以前，有父子俩开了间小茶馆。
A long time ago there was a father and son who owned a tea-house.
Dāngshí de zhīxiàn ...
... Bái lǎoye tāncái hàolì, jīngcháng lái bái hē chá.
当时的知县白老爷贪财好利，经常来白喝茶。
The local official, Mr. Bai, was of the greedy miser sort and always came for tea and promptly left without paying even a smile.
Yì tiān, Bái lǎoye hēle yì kǒu chá, jiù zhòuzhe méi shuō: "zhè shuǐ méi kāi, chá yě méi wèir."
一天，白老爷喝了一口茶，就皱着眉说：“这水没开，茶也没味儿。”
One day, Mr.Bai took a sip from his cup and grumbled, "This water's not boiled, and the tea itself tastes terrible."
Xiǎo zhǎngguì shuō: "lǎoye, zhè chá hái shì shàngděng de Lóngjǐng; shuǐ yě shì shāo kāide,
小掌柜说：“老爷，这茶还是上等的龙井；水也是烧开的，zěnme néng méi wèir ne?" 怎么能没味儿呢？”
The son replied, "My lord, the tea is our prized Longjing (Dragonwell Tea), and the water is piping hot, how could it taste terrible?"
Guòle jǐ tiān, Bái lǎoye jiànjiàn bù lái le.
过了几天，白老爷渐渐不来了。
A few days later, Mr. Bai stopped coming to their tea-house.
Lǎo zhǎngguì biàn wèn érzi: "Bái lǎoye wèi shénme bù lái le?"
老掌柜便问儿子：“白老爷为什么不来了？”
The Father asked his son, "Why hasn't Mr. Bai been coming?"
Érzi jīling de yí xiào, shuō: "wǒ gěi tā qīchá, shì nǎ hú bù kāi tí nǎ hú!"
儿子机灵地一笑，说:“我给他沏茶，是哪壶不开提哪壶！
The son smiled knowingly and said, "Whenever I make his tea, I always use the water that hasn't been boiled!" From that time on, the Chinese idiom "哪壶不开提哪壶( nǎ hú bù kāi tí nǎ hú )" came into use.
There are many extremely interesting idioms in the Chinese. If you want to learn more about Chinese idioms, you should learn Chinese at once! Are you interested in learning Chinese? Do you want to take Chinese lesson? Are you eager to learn Chinese? Come and join us.

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