In this episode of “Bite the word”, we are going to learn a new word which is related to an animal - 牛. 吹牛。 “吹”，the first tone, blow； “牛”，the second tone, cattle. “Blow a cow”? Can you blow a cow and let it move? Definitely NO! So, don’t brag! 不要吹牛！
You may ask: Horses or sheep are heavy too. Why don’t you say ‘blow a horse or a sheep’? Well. Actually，“吹牛” is the abbreviation of “吹牛皮”. “牛皮”means cowhide. In ancient China, people thought cowhide cannot be blown into a round shape, because cowhide is too firm and too big. So if someone say: I can blow a cowhide, he must be bragging. In Chinese, we use “吹牛” or “吹牛皮” to describe a man who always talks big regardless of reality.
Dialogue 1
wǒ yǒu shì jiè shànɡ zuì hǎo de qì chē. A: 我有世界上最好的汽车。 I have the best car in the world. |
bié chuī niú le ， kuài qù xiū chē bɑ ！ B: 别吹牛了，快去修车吧！ Don’t brag. Your car is waiting for you to repair! |
Dialogue 2
Linda shuō tā de nán pénɡ you hěn shuài. A: Linda说她的男朋友很帅。 Linda said her boyfriend is very handsome. |
tā jiù ài chuī niú ， tā ɡēn běn méi yǒu nán pénɡ you ！ B: 她就爱吹牛，她根本没有男朋友！ She is very good at bragging. She doesn’t even have a boyfriend! |