mao bing

[Crivens200]

Just wondered if anyone had any idea on how offensive it is to say to a chinese person： “你的脑子有毛病”?

I tend to use this quite a lot towards chinese people who come out with something really dumbass. Like today when I wanted to go to the bank at the end of my street about 300m away I couldn't be bothered walking so hailed a san lun che. On enquiring the price I was told 10rmb. Now this is really dumbass as everyone knows max price for that distance is 2-3 rmb and in this town a taxi costs 7rmb so to come out with a price of 10 really is just plain stupid . . . . . and in my eyes worthy of a "ni nao zi you mao bing".

After walking away I noticed he gathered a large crowd who were all exclaiming mao bin mao bing as if he had been wronged or I had punched him in the eye or something . . . . is this really offensive? I mean he's lucky I didn't call him his mothers cu . . . . .

[anonymoose]

In such a situation, would you respond to an English speaker by saying "There's something wrong in your head"? I doubt it, so why feel the need to say it to a Chinese person?

[Crivens200]

If I was looking for a taxi in London and instead of being quoted a price of GBP10 was quoted a price of GBP50 I can assure you my response would be somewhat stronger than "your brain has a defect".

[roddy]

Yeah, it's pushing it a bit - the one time I've got into a stand-up argument was with a taxi driver who didn't want to take me due to traffic. I pointed out that it wasn't normally a problem and a few hundred meters down the road you turn off and it's fine, the guy . . .well actually, it doesn't matter, but ultimately he claimed his car had a 毛病 and I told him his car was fine, it was him that had the 毛病 and things went downhill from there.

It's not a term to use lightly. You either need to be very clear that you are joking, which is difficult with strangers, or be aware that you are escalating to point where the other party would be justified in taking offence ('course, you might have been justified in offending him, but that's another story.)

[geek_frappa]

please tell me you didn't do this in china.

I tend to use this quite a lot towards chinese people who come out with something really dumbass.

as an ambassador of goodwill, you should start riding the bicycle to get in better shape. this way, in the unlikely event you get into a fight or scuffle, you will have some endurance.

After walking away I noticed he gathered a large crowd who were all exclaiming mao bin mao bing as if he had been wronged or I had punched him in the eye or something . . . . is this really offensive? I mean he's lucky I didn't call him his mothers cu . . . . .

some unsolicited advice (long version): in Asian some countries, local police has conducted a cost-benefit analysis. the conclusion is that amount of revenue from a taxi driver is much larger than from a foul-mouth tourists, year over year.

so it makes sense in those countries for the police to maintain the peace by letting you get beaten with an inch of your life. it's not personal. it's just economics.

some unsolicited advice (short version): refrain. refrain. refrain.

refrain.

[geek_frappa]

You either need to be very clear that you are joking, which is difficult with strangers, or be aware that you are escalating to point where the other party would be justified in taking offence ('course, you might have been justified in offending him, but that's another story.)

... and even if you are clear that you are joking, the feeling may not be mutual.

btw, did i mention that in china your passport can be taken away and visa frozen if the situation truly got out of hand?

[roddy]

btw, did i mention that in china your passport can be taken away and visa frozen if the situation truly got out of hand?

You didn't, because that would have been a massive over-reaction and left you open to charges of willful melodrama. Congratulations on your self-restraint.

[geek_frappa]

You didn't, because that would have been a massive over-reaction and left you open to charges of willful melodrama. Congratulations on your self-restraint.

always rising to occasion. i wanted to be sensitive and all instead of saying "piss off"

[Lu]

A better reaction in the OP's case might be '你开玩笑', 'you've got to be kidding'. Said in the right tone of voice, this might actually get you a decent price; said in an angry tone, the meaning comes across ('what you're saying is ridiculous') but there's less chance you'll get beaten up.

[randall_flagg]

so that's where foreigners in china get a reputation for being troublemakers!

[jbiesnecker]

你有毛病 is my wife's favorite thing to say to people riding their mopeds down crowded sidewalks, drivers almost hitting people in crosswalks, etc. She's a 东北人 and a touch feisty, but she doesn't seem to get in much trouble for it. I think the harshest response she's gotten is an angry 谁有毛病.

That said, you're going to get cut a lot less slack than a small Chinese woman. A lot less.

Remember taxi driver/三轮车 driver reasoning: Foreigners have money. The more lazy the foreigner is, the more likely he is to have cushy jobs and lots of money. You didn't want to walk 300 meters! You must be loaded.

[Crivens200]

Ha. OK. Looks like 你开玩笑吗 is a better option

[rhymes with]

Ugh! Sorry, accidentally posted before I was through

CP: Your baby is too small to be outside! Your baby isn't wearing enough clothing! Why isn't your baby wearing socks? How can you be allowing your baby to drink such a cold drink? It's windy outside......

Me: I've noticed that every Chinese person has a 毛病. For example, most Chinese immediately 拉肚子if they have something cold to drink. I don't want my baby to have this kind of 毛病 in the future, so I'm going to follow western recommendations in this case.

I asked my Ayi about this after the first time that I said it [spontaneously, after about the twentieth time someone had scolded me for taking the baby out during one outing], and she didn't seem to think that it was particularly rude... Maybe it is just suggesting that one's brain has the illness that is rude?

[shanghaikai]

If you're not Chinese or Chinese-looking, you'll never get cut much slack for saying what you did. I'm trying to imagine what you sounded like when you said what you did and I cannot help but imagine it being rather awkward. I personally would've preferred the shorter "ni you mao bing!"

That said, "ni zai kai wan xiao!" would be even better.

Actually, "kai wan xiao!" is enough. Such silly situations typically involve a short expression of disdain, verbally expressed as aforementioned and physically expressed with a roll of the eyes and a swift departure from the scene to the next service-provider looking to make some easy money.

[cdn_in_bj]

If you're not Chinese or Chinese-looking, you'll never get cut much slack for saying what you did. I'm trying to imagine what you sounded like when you said what you did and I cannot help but imagine it being rather awkward. I personally would've preferred the shorter "ni you mao bing!"

That said, "ni zai kai wan xiao!" would be even better.

Agreed, but I would also like to add that foreigners should be more careful here. What is acceptable amongst locals may be viewed a lot more negatively if it came from a foreigner.

Also, try not to get into any physical altercations, I have heard that as a foreigner you will be at a disadvantage when the police come.