Takeaway Chinese, where you can take some Chinese away and experience progress day by day.
Takeaway Chinese, we will promise you a difference.
你好,欢迎收听随行汉语。 Welcome to Takeaway Chinese.
I'm Niu Honglin with Steve Hathorley in the studio.
Hello, Steve.
Hello, hello.
How are you doing?
Doing very well.
Thanks for having me again.
Thanks for always asking how am I doing.
I like that when people care and, you know.
Sometimes, when I learn things here on the show, I go home to my wife, whose Chinese is pretty decent.
I practice these expressions that I learned and I want to know, because I test, like what she knows and what she doesn't know, and she didn't know that one.
That's the thing, because sometimes there are phrases we share on Takeaway Chinese that are very common, very useful in your daily life.
You almost use it all the time like 好久不见, haven't seen you for a while, or 今天吃点什么, what are you going to have today?
And these are quite useful, of course, practical, but they're not as fun.
And the fun ones are not usually used that, that much, like everyday kind of much.
Sometimes, language is more than just communicating, it's more than sharing ideas.
It can sometimes be You know, fun.
It can have a background story.
It can have a context that makes people want to remember it, want to use it no matter what.
Yes.
Well, words can make people feel a lot of things, but words can make people smile, too.
And I guess that's why, at the end of each year, they always come out with a list of words that were somehow someway important to people.
Sometimes those lists include positive things.
And sometimes they include negative things as well because that's just life, I guess.
And sometimes they involve silly things.
On the surface you find it a little bit silly and then you realize it reflects a little bit of how people view today's society.
Yes, how they view themselves, how they are looking for and probably have already found new ways of practice of doing things.
And they're happy about their new ways.
For example, one of the key words of 2025.
Yes, that is going to be the theme of today's Takeaway Chinese episode.
We've already done one episode of key words.
Now we're doing a bit more, giving you a bit more fun words of the year.
And one of the words is 学习 perfect.
So xie means not straight, so zheng is straight, it's orthodox, it's something that are common, that are mainstream, whereas xie is something a little bit different unorthodox, something that you do not expect, you do not think of from the very first moment you see this thing.
So it's xie and xiu is A little bit like cultivate.
So in the martial art world or in Chinese kind of martial art novels or the kind of novel that involves a lot of, if you continue doing something, your ability would improve and in
And that is called Xiu Lian.
So Xiu is cultivating.
So Xiu Lian is cultivating yourself or your school of thoughts or your group of people to do something in the future that are almost seem implausible?
And I'm saying this because Xiu is not something that you can do overnight.
It's something you have to practice. you know, continue doing for a really, really long time.
And Xie Xiu refers to the kind of way of cultivating that is not common to see.
So for what would be an example of this?
This is fun because in the stories we see the cultivator strive for already talked about the supernatural powers or even immortality.
And the Xie Xiu kind of people are often seen as not that mainstream and sometimes even evil.
But it's not because that they're evil or bad people.
It's not always like that.
It's more about their way of doing things are a bit more unexpected.
And this year, people are using this to talk about the kind of action or the behavior or the method that are uncommonly seen.
For example, when we talk about cooking.
Yes, people think about cooking, as you put all the ingredient in and you have a process.
But they also talk about, for example, using a certain type of yogurt, kind of milk or drink to make, So you pour that in the pot so that you do not need all of the traditional kind of seasonings.
So they find unexpected, unusual ways.
Oh, so anytime you post something on social media and you've achieved... Unexpected.
Some sort of goal in a different way than is typically done, then you say It's kind of like if you look at the method it shouldn't work, but somehow it does.
Do you use that in your cooking at home?
A little bit, sometimes.
Yeah, yeah.
Something is xie xiu for the very first time, but after so many people tried it they realized it's a good way to do things like ke le ji chi.
I'm pretty sure the first person, the first genius, who thought of using coke to cook chicken wings.
It's definitely an unorthodox way, but now it's very common in China.
I've never heard of that before.
Really?
You should try it.
It's really good.
Yes, cola wings.
Yes, chicken wings.
So what do you do then?
You pour the cola into the pot and just boil them?
Almost.
Yes, there are some other ingredients, but cola is vital.
I've never heard this before.
Is it good?
It definitely is.
I should invite you to my home and, you know, make you something that I can.
I'm not a really good chef, but I can do that.
Oh, that sounds cool.
Yeah, that is kind of an unorthodox.
I'll give that a shot.
That's a very unorthodox way of cooking chicken wings.
Yes.
Yes.
It kind of carries the spirit of whatever works.
We make it work.
Yeah, spread that method and we don't care if it's invented by an original chef or it's something that frowned upon by a chef, because chef might find it a bit too easy and too straightforward and being lazy, even because you're using one type of ingredient.
Oh, for example, in Chinese, some young people say if you want the really good fried tomato and eggs, you should add in some ketchup.
Okay, that one's not so surprising to me.
It's not surprising, but it is kinda like cheating, because you're using the flavor in the ketchup to make the flavor of your dish a bit richer.
Okay.
So that's the idea.
Something that is not that commonly seen.
Understood.
So people spent 2025 figuring out other ways of doing things.
Funny ways of doing things.
And you can be a xie xiu in any scenarios.
Cooking for sure.
Jian shen.
Exercising.
Because when people are exercising, they usually follow a certain kind of process.
You do your cardio, you lift things, and you have a process.
But...
Now people in the world of jian shen are finding out xie xiu jian shen, different ways to do things.
What I realized is a really effective workout at home.
Do you order water to your house like those 18 liter water bottles, like those huge, huge ones, and then you put a pump on them?
Well before you put the pump on and start like drinking the water from the inside.
You can use that as a very heavy weight.
It is a very heavy weight.
It's extremely heavy, but you can bear, hug it like, hug it very tightly and then do squats with that.
But honestly I don't know if you could pick it up or not.
Not trying to diminish your exercise skills, but it's a lot heavier than you think it might be.
And also it's huggable.
I mean, the size and the shape, it's easy to hug.
Just don't drop it on your foot.
Don't, don't.
That is a xie xiu jian shen.
Definitely.
Yes.
And young people in China are figuring out new ways of doing things.
They are innovative.
They're trying things out.
Kind of like a life hack.
Yes.
Kind of.
Oh, yes.
Totally.
Life hack.
I think that is also a good way of understanding it.
And besides that, we're also looking at the situation of the fact that If you want to do something good, or if you want a good match, or if you want to describe a situation, you sometimes or somehow find that if one part of the thing is basic, then some other parts must surprise you.
So it's kind of like, for example, in fashion.
I think one rule in fashion is that you have to have a wow factor in your entire match.
So sometimes people say 上身基础,下身就不基础。 上身 would be your upper body, meaning that your top.
And 下身 is... your dress or trousers or anything.
So they're saying if you are in the fashion world looking for a simple, classic top, then you have to pair it up with a bald eye catching or highly designed bottom.
Or if you're going to wear something basic on the bottom, then you'd have to pair it with something bold on the top.
Yeah, same idea.
So something something 基础, the other thing 就不基础, 基础 means basic.
Okay.
基础, 基础.
So A 基础, B 就不基础.
Yes, and sometimes people mock a situation or make fun of the situation with this as well.
They say is the questions on, for example, a paper test and uh, 分数 is the score.
So they're saying, if you find the questions easy and ordinary, then definitely the scores would say otherwise, because maybe the teacher would score you extra strict and something like that.
So 基础, something 基础.
The other thing would be 不基础 is another way.
I understand.
That's always a bad sign on a test, by the way.
If you finish it and you think, oh, wow, that was super easy.
Maybe something to worry about there.
Something is wrong.
Yeah, right.
And that's the thing.
We are looking at the world in different ways, trying to find out the nature of the world, find out different rules and different
It's a little bit kind of Understanding it better so we can work it out better.
Yeah, you see the world a little bit differently because of things that appear in life that were different from before the number of technological advances, the things that are available to us.
It kind of forces us to adjust in a way, and hopefully it's adjust for the better or it allows our lives to be easier.
And that's what causes us to come up with these kinds of expressions, like doing things in an unorthodox way, in a way that wasn't possible before.
Yeah.
Fashion changes.
Always.
People are always looking for new ways to reinvent their fashion self, and So yeah, that's why these fun new terms always exist.
Yes, and this one is also a pretty good one.
I find it very funny.
It's called 来财.
Lai Cai.
Perfect.
Lai means come.
Cai means fortune.
So money come.
It's very direct.
Always at the end of the year.
Very, very direct.
This idea is very interesting.
And it went viral thanks to the rap song Ba Fang Lai Cai.
It's kind of like money, money come from all directions.
Ba is eight.
But we're talking about Dong Xi Nan Bei.
That is east, west, south.
North and south, that's four already.
And north and east, so the in-between ones would be another direction.
So 八方 would be all the eight directions.
So 八方來財, it's like all money comes, all come, please, from different directions.
At the end of the year, it's kind of part of the New Year's message, isn't it?
People say 新年快樂, 恭喜發財.
恭喜發財.
So 恭喜发财 is more like I wish you a good fortune.
That's not specific to money.
A little, well, I think it is definitely referred to something related to money and fortune.
But for this one, because this is a rap song, 八方来财, And it ranked up over 117 million streams on Spotify, driven by its simple, catchy rhythm that's easy to remember and hard to get out of your head kind of vibe.
An earworm.
Yes.
This is a little similar, like the English song, Money Loves Me.
Okay.
It's a good vibe.
Yeah, exactly.
And it's good to repeat over and over and over and over again.
And then you can manifest that.
And one thing about this is that In Chinese there are many expressions about money.
Come about, congratulations on gaining a lot of money.
But people don't say it like they really, really mean it, like it's religion in their life.
It's not about that.
It's more like...
A greeting?
A greeting and also joking a little bit, especially lice hides, half joking, half serious.
Because it comes from a rap song.
Yeah, it's just something fun.
And we say it because we believe in the power of language.
We believe that we want to say nice things to each other.
And don't you find that please have more money is the kind of good wish you can have for anybody.
It doesn't matter whether they are.
You know, they want to be in a couple, or if they want a family or they want a career.
It doesn't really matter.
Everybody wants more money.
No matter who you are, you want more money.
It's just an easy way to bring good, positive energy to other people.
I like it.
What's that expression again?
来财。 来财。 Yes, money, money come.
I'm going to go say that to my wife too.
You can try that.
And another really good one is 深度求索。 深度。 求索。 求索。 深度求索。
Yes, and that is deep seek.
深 carries the meaning of deep.
度 is a degree.
So 深度 is a high degree of deepness.
So really deep level of deep is to seek or to pursue also carries the meaning of pursue and chasing after.
So that was one of the words of this year, but is that only in reference to the ai assistant or does it apply?
Are people using it to apply it to like other aspects of their own lives?
Okay, so because deep seek itself translates to 深度求索 directly, the word 深度 and 求索 themselves can be used in different scenarios.
For sure.
But putting together, it's kind of deep seek itself.
And for those of you who are not familiar with this, it is an AI model developed by a Chinese company that has drawn global attention this year.
It stands out for its lower training costs and higher resource efficiency compared with many, many other AI systems.
And another key feature is that DeepSeek is open source, which means researchers and developers around the world.
They can access, study and build on the model more freely, unlike many other AI systems.
Yes, exactly.
And it was huge news when DeepSeek came out.
Other AI developers around the world were kind of like how'd they do that at that price?
Wow, that's amazing.
Yeah, and also 深度求索 carries the meaning of search deeply, go deeper.
When you're doing something, when you're especially working in a science-related area, you should always always dig deeper and try to do a bit more, go the extra mile, and people like this, not only because it's a quite successful and, to be honest, very good AI model.
I use it every day.
Right?
But also because the spirit it has, it's kind of motivating.
Yeah.
It makes you think, oh, I should try harder.
It's a great name.
Yes.
Does that name have anything to do with Chinese history, like that concept of looking deep inside yourself, deep seek yourself, almost.
Well...
I'm just wondering why they chose that, if there was any connection for the reason they chose that name.
I feel like they definitely are thinking about search deep, because the word 求索 has been existing in Chinese culture and even traditional Chinese literature for a really long time.
So it carries the meaning of no matter what happens in my road ahead, I would definitely pursue it, try to find it, chase after it from or to all the directions.
As long as there's something that I can do, I will do it.
That is the spirit that has been praised by Chinese people for thousands of years.
Yeah, I figured that was a concept, kind of looking, self-searching kind of thing.
Yes, searching inwards and also outwards.
Just you know, look deeper, look higher, look from afar, just look from every possible perspective until you find the answers.
Yeah, DeepSeek's an amazing tool.
I do.
I use it every day.
But you know how every AI kind of hallucinates sometimes?
Yeah, so I always talk to it in English, obviously, but sometimes it'll answer me in Chinese.
I'm just like, dude, I'm from Canada.
It's like, oh, sorry, right, English.
That is a funny way to hallucinate.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Lovely.
And at the end of the year people would always reflect and think about the new year, which is why, when we're doing a little bit, annual summary, annual journal.
Oh, I used to do that.
I've been doing it for several years, actually.
Journaling?
Annually journaling.
So it's just I try to wrap up my year, see what I have done, what are the things that I enjoy.
Like an end of year report?
Yes, a little bit, but it's some somehow a bit semi-personal, semi-professional.
It's not always about work, it's more about a bit feeling and soul searching, thinking about what i've done right and wrong sure, taking stock of your life.
Yeah yeah, a little bit.
Things you did well, the things that could use a little improvement.
Yes Previously, I do it in the form of a article.
And recent years, I started to do it in the form of an article plus several photos.
And I put it on my WeChat moment.
That's cool.
And now I know a lot of young people would do it in the form of a video because over the course of a past year they would have a lot of footage.
No matter if they're professional, if they do it in the scenarios of traveling or working or anything.
It's people's way of documenting their life.
So they have a lot of things they can use for their yearly video report.
And another catchy phrase or key expressions of the year is 敬自己一杯。 敬自己。
一杯 So 敬一杯 means to propose a toast.
自己 is yourself.
敬自己一杯 Perfect.
Toasting yourself.
Yes, propose a toast.
Cheers to me.
Cheers to me.
Yes.
Sometimes they would use it at the beginning of the video, or they can use it in different ways, because sometimes catchy phrases have different versions.
For example, in some videos, you can see people say 第一杯敬自己, so the first glass of wine I toast to myself, and then 第二杯敬自己, second glass I also toast to myself.
And then the rest of the bottle I toast to myself.
That is a different thing.
Eventually, I will get to you.
But the idea is to think about what I have done right and what I have done wrong.
Probably I have swallowed something that I should speak out.
Perhaps I shouldn't step back when I should step forward.
These are also the things that I want to avoid in the future.
So what I did right, what I did wrong.
Have you done your journal yet?
Not quite, not quite.
We still have, you know, a little more time until it's officially the end of the year.
Do you usually do it like at the oh yeah yeah yeah, the very last day?
Gosh, i've never thought about doing that before.
I mean turning it into a project type of thing, like an arts and crafts type of thing in a way, because you include photos and you make an article out of it and stuff like that.
Maybe I'll give that a shot this year.
I do sit and usually I just sit.
Do you know what I mean?
Like I'll sit and think, but I won't actually like write anything down.
I'm not much of a journaler, but I do reflect on the year, of course.
But the funny thing is when you do that and after a certain period of time one year, two years later You got a chance to read what you wrote and you feel like huh at that moment.
I had that epiphany.
I should hold on to it.
I shouldn't forget about it and repeat my mistake again and again over the past two years.
I know what should be done two years ago.
Yeah, it's a good way to remember the things that were important to you in that moment, because those things
Might be important to you in the future too.
Yes.
And it's sometimes hard to change, isn't it?
Well, it is.
But if you take stock and you evaluate the things that you really want to change, then putting it on a piece of paper or even digitally can help you to achieve that goal.
Because thoughts, they just come and go so quickly, right?
And wants and needs and desires, they tend to be fleeting.
And that's why we're always trying to search the easiest path for ourselves, I feel.
The path of least resistance, as we say.
And that could be dieting or exercise or if you're trying to quit a bad habit that you have.
It could apply to anything.
But yeah, if you are honest with yourself, too. then that might help you achieve those goals.
But yeah, change is hard.
I mean, we're human beings.
We like our habits.
That's what our brain has designed our lives for us with the things that we enjoy doing.
Yes.
And if we take a look at all of the keywords or the words of the year, expressions of the year, it's not hard to see that some of the words are about the kind of major issues that happened this year.
It's our collective memory.
We toast to them like deep sea.
It's one example here.
We toast to the major issue that happened this year, something that we celebrate or we remember.
And then there are the kind of words that are fun.
They're just you.
They provide you with a different perspective to understand yourself, understand your surroundings.
And also, you know, life hack.
No one hates life hack.
I always, always stop scrolling when I see a life hack collection kind of video.
It can be as long as five minutes, but I'll still finish it, looking at each and every one and know this one?
Oh, don't know this one.
And this looks useless.
Oh, this one's good, it's just like you.
You continuously, you know, finding the fun in the kind of trick that you might never use.
Do you know this one?
I, i bet you know this one.
Okay, so you have your ramyeon cup right and you tear open the top and you put in the ingredients, you put the hot water in and now you close the top.
But it's like a foil top yes, But you have to close it so that the steam doesn't get out, so that the noodles will cook.
How do you ensure that the top will stay closed while you're waiting?
There are so many ways.
I stick my fork on it.
Okay.
That's one way.
But that's not perfect, though, because the edges will still kind of be open a little bit.
I put my kingdow on it.
What's a kingdow?
A kingdow is an e-paper reader.
Oh, okay.
Okay, that's effective.
That's effective.
And it's very, very common, because sometimes people would say the whole reason that I bought my iPad or my Kindle or any kind of e-gadget is to press on a Ryan cup, because people do not.
They mock themselves for not reading enough.
Do you know the chopstick method?
What is the chopstick method?
Maybe you don't know.
So this is more effective if you're eating in a corner store or out in public somewhere.
They'll give you the chopsticks, but chopsticks they give you, those are the wooden ones, and you have to break them apart, right?
Before you break them apart, just pull them apart a little bit and snap it closed on the lid.
Yeah.
And it'll keep it closed for you.
See, everybody, everybody likes a life hack.
Indeed.
Especially when it's a xie xiu life hack.
And especially when it's related to ramen.
Yes.
And there's that.
And the last kind would be the kind we talked about.
That is the ones that... is related to the end of year time point.
That is makes you reflect, it makes you think about your entire year, makes you want to propose a toast to yourself for hanging up there, for making an effort for the past year and for promising yourself that you want to do better.
Not only do better in the sense of doing a good job in your work or in your home, but also love yourself a bit more and be better to yourself.
That might be my favorite expression you've ever taught me toast to yourself, cheers to you yes, and let's all 敬自己一杯 and wish ourselves all of us listening and recording Takeaway Chinese a good 2026 as well, sounds great to me.
And that brings us to the end of today's show.
I'm here with Steve in the studio.
Thank you so much for listening.
Don't forget to leave your questions, comments and ratings.
感谢收听,我们下次再见!
Thank you, see you next time!
