Daimashin

Other than Phantom of The Opera and Romeo and Juliet I can't think of any other that is memorable. I actually played a part in both of these plays at school last time, haha.

I practice by reading materials and speaking it out loud so that I know how I sound when I speak the language. I also practise it with a friend that's learning the same language, this way we can gauge each other's efficiency.

Only to hit a gull that was flying and fell into an island.

屠龍之技 (Túlóngzhī jì) - a useless skill Literal Meaning - Dragon Slaying Technique Once upon a time there lived a young man named Chu, he was very ambitious with learning martial arts so he set out with all the gold he's got in search of a martial arts master that has the skill to kill even dragons. His determination paid off when he finally found the master he was looking for. The master was initially reluctant to teach Chu but agreed after being offered all the gold that Chu had. After three years of training, Chu finally mastered the Dragon Slaying Technique. Chu set out on his dragon slaying career only to find out in the end that dragons are extinct. 屠龍之技 (Túlóngzhī jì) is used to describe a knowledge that only sounds awesome but has no practical use in reality. Example: "你學的只是「屠龍之技」， 根本就不實用! 現在已經沒有人修理錄像帶了"

I don't keep track of my vocabulary. I'll just use them as they come along as long as they are appropriate and mean what I want to say or write. If the first word that pops up doesn't quite fit, I'll think of another one.

I stopped my car next to her and offered to give her a ride. "It's raining cats and dogs, come, hop on and I'll give you a ride." I said to her on that fateful encounter.

And because of Kanji I'm able to understand a lot of Japanese games and books. I'm glad that Kanji is still an important element in the Japanese language.

紙上談兵 (Zhǐshàngtánbīng) - empty talk without actual experience Literal meaning - Talk battle on paper. During the Warring States, Qin is planning to attack Zhao and this news has gotten the King of Zhao really worried. His general 趙奢(Zhào shē) is too old to do battle with Qin so his son 趙括(Zhào kuò) volunteered to go to battle on his father's behalf. Because Zhào kuò has been studying about strategies since young he can even outwit his father in battle but only theoretically. The King of Zhao agreed and appointed him the supreme general. While on the battlefield Zhao's army was being slaughtered, Zhào kuò was busy scouring his books for ways to retaliate. By the time he had found a plan his army already lost and he got killed in the end. 紙上談兵 (Zhǐshàngtánbīng) is used to describe that someone only knows how to talk but doesn't actually know what to do should the situation arise. Example: "你只是讀過書而已就去下水？ 你這樣只是「紙上談兵」。 我看你連浮起來也不會."

It's fascninating how the Kanji and Chinese writings have so much similarities. If I'm not mistaken Kanji actually means Han's writings so I shouldn't be surprised.

Thanks for further elaborating on this. Sometimes I struggle to convery the meaning of these idioms into English and any help is much appreciated.

But Alberta's dress got in the way of the dolphin's view and headed straight towards a rock!

Isn't English already an international language? Isn't that enough? Wanting English to be a world language where everyone on earth have to use it seems a bit greedy. It's good to be able to understand each other anywhere in the world but we shouldn't neglect what's ours. The languages that made us who we are.

I don't care as long as I got the meaning across but I do try to be as grammatically correct as I can when I talk to people. Not because I care about how people think but I'm more afraid that I will get worse if I don't continue to practise my speaking skill.

葉公好龍 (Yègōnghàolóng) - appears to like something but actually doesn't or despise it Literal meaning - Mr. Yeh likes dragon A folklore from the Spring & Autumn Warring Period about a magistrate called Ye that is obsessed with dragons. Everything about him from the pillars in his house to his bed, from head to toe were filled with portraits of dragons. Soon the celestial dragons in the heaven heard about Yeh and felt deeply touched that someone who has never met a real dragon before can adore them so much. So one of the celestial dragons decided to pay Ye a visit to thank him for his gratitude. While late at night, while Ye was sleeping he got woken up by the dragon. As Ye had never actually seen a real dragon before, he got the shock of his life. "What is this ugly creature? It's a monster!" Ye shouted in fear and fainted. The dragon was confused as the dragon thought that Ye would be delighted to finally meet someone that he has adored for so long. 葉公好龍 (Yègōnghàolóng) is used to describe when someone proclaims that he likes something is in fact a lie. Example: "你不必再「葉公好龍」呢， 我知道你根本就不喜歡Justin Bieber的。妳是怕我不高興才說很喜歡."

瓜田李下 (Guātiánlǐxià) - attract suspicion Literal meaning - melon farm plum tree bottom Once upon a time there was a student walking to visit his friend. The student was tired so he decided to take a rest underneath a plum tree. His hat got caught on the tree's branch so he tried to reach for it. The owner of the tree saw him and thought the student was pillaging his tree so he went over and accused the student of stealing his plums. Despite the student saying otherwise, the owner did not believe him. The student had no choice but to run away. After escaping the owner, the student reached upon a melon farm. He accidentally slipped on a melon skin and tripped causing one of his shoe to slip out. As he was searching for his shoe, the farmer saw him and once again accused him of stealing his melons. Same thing followed suit and the student ran again. 瓜田李下 (Guātiánlǐxià) is used to remind people not to do anything that can arouse suspicion. Example: "在人家的地方不要亂動東西，小心「瓜田李下」呀"

English was actually the easiest to learn compared to the other language I'm forced to learn due to it being a compulsory subject at school. Of all the subjects in school, I always scored the highest in English.

I treat slang as a form of identity for the people using it. Slangs allow us to identify the origins of the people we're talking to. Slang is a part of the culture.

There isn't a limit to how many languages a person should learn. In fact, the more you know the better. Wouldn't it be fantastic to be able to understand every language there is? I know it's impossible but as irrelevant as some languages may be, knowledge learnt is knowledge earned.

Here are a few I could think of: "潮" - hip or trendy "中女"- middle aged ladies "剩女" - women that can't find a partner

After thinking about it, I have finally found the words I was looking for. "自相" means to expose oneself Expose is the keyword here, I knew something doesn't feel right before.

濫竽充數 (Lànyúchōngshù) - To pretend to be good at something they are not. 濫竽 - Fake talent 充數 - fill up numbers During the Warring States, 齊宣王(King Xuan of Qi) enjoyed listening to music and each time he listened to music he'll have an orchestra to perform for him. One day, a musician named 南郭 (Nánguō) claimed that he is a fantastic musician and wished to join the royal orchestra. King Xuan wasn't a very bright person so without first testing Nánguō he hired him and gave him first class wage. The truth was Nánguō was no musician, he was just pretending to be one. Because it was an orchestra no one noticed that Nánguō was only pretending, no music actually came out from him. He managed to slip past everytime until after the death of King Xuan. King Xuan's son who took the reign happened to love music as well but he preferred solo performances. Nánguō had no choice but to run away from the castle realizing that he could no longer bluff. 濫竽充數 (Lànyúchōngshù) is used to describe a person that pretends to be something he clearly is not, it can also be used to say a cheap thing disguised as quality material. Example: "不用裝了， 「濫竽充數」， 根本就不是你在唱."

I just ignore them since there's no wrong in talking about other people. I also do that sometimes but I make sure I'm not talking bad behind their backs. I understand why they choose their native tongue, sometimes people want some privacy when talking in public.

These are the more common ones used right now among the youngsters. I can say that HK influenced Cantonese speakers around the world a lot in terms of slangs with their mass media.

I'm embarrased to say but over all the years of using Chinese, I've never actually seen or heard those slangs you mentioned. I must be really outdated because I insist on using proper language whenever I write or type.

Practice makes perfect so I use them whenever I can. If I learnt a new word, I'll use it more whenever I can so that I can remember the meaning and usage better and help keep it in my memory.