男人不醉: A new mould-breaking TV drama

[StChris]

Ok, so maybe I'm over-selling this slightly by saying mould-breaking, but let me explain. Although I've been focusing on improving my reading of late, I always like to keep a TV show on the go to improve my 口语. Looking at the list of top-rated shows on youku led me to watching 敢爱 (which haｄ an average score of 9.5 at the time of writing). Unfortunately, after watching just a few episodes it became clear that it was just your usual bog-standard, run of the mill Chinese family drama.

 

I'll briefly summarize the plot (stop me if you've heard it before): young, freshly graduated couple, full of hope and dreams, go to the big city to begin they're adult lives. It's made clear that the young man is a great guy: handsome, intelligent, ambitious, honest, loyal and great to his girlfriend, just the kind of man that anyone would be delighted for their daughter to marry, right? Wrong! When the girl's parents find out there follows the usual awkward meeting where the mother (who is an absolute harpy of course) brutally interrogates the man about his financial and family background. After some resistance from the girlfriend (just to show the audience that she's a nice girl and worth fighting for), the young man pathetically agrees to spend every waking moment saving to buy a house and a car to prove his worth. What's even more ridiculous about this one is that the harpy mother gives him a 1 year time limit, which means that the unemployed, newly graduated lad with zero experience has to save enough money in one year to buy an car and apartment in Shanghai, or else break up with her daughter. Luckily our hero has a 富二代 best friend (don't they all!), who might just have the connections to help him achieve this mission impossible. I don't think I need to watch all 30 45 minute episodes to know how this story is going to pan out.

 

Ok, rant over ;-) . So why do I like 男人不醉?

1) No harpy mothers. Instead it focuses on the lives of a handful of young people living a modern life in the big city.

2) Just 20 episodes lasting 20-30 minutes each, so no huge time commitment necessary

3) Higher than usual production values and better acting

4) The slightly cinematic "short-movie" feel to each episode. Each one usually just focuses on a single storyline and features just two or three characters.  For example episode 8 is pretty much just 3 characters chatting in a coffee shop (it's more interesting than it sounds).

5) Intelligent writing. As each episode is short and tends to stick to a single storyline, so not every single development in the story is acted out on screen. Instead the writers expect the viewers to fill in the gaps themselves. Also the way plot lines develop is a bit different from your usual Chinese show. Take episode 3 for example (one of my favourites so far). It's the story of a married man, his wife and his 小三. Although a common theme in Chinese dramas, the way it's handled here is a bit more clever and sophisticated.

6) Good for beginners. I know that one thing that tripped me up when I first started watching TV shows was when the action suddenly moved from an everyday scene to a business meeting or hospital. Suddenly you'd be inundated with technical or business vocab which you couldn't follow. Most of the scenes here take place in bars, coffee shops, KTV, so the language used is very 口语．

 

I'll be providing a vocab list for each episode.

 

http://www.youku.com/show_page/id_zbb0fc2de810e11e4abda.html

 

 

[StChris]

Episode 1: 老板，你好

 

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XOTA4MzY0NDI0.html?from=s1.8-1-1.1

 

In the first episode, shy and timid 混血 安东尼 has to accompany his female boss Ling to meet a client in a bar. As the evening goes on it becomes clear that his boss's interest in him goes beyond the strictly professional.  　

 

Vocab:

 

人头马        ren2tou2ma3      a brand of cognac that sponsors the show, so expect to see LOTS of product placement.

小鲜肉        xiao3xian1rou4   handsome young man (a relatively new slang word, which was recently a topic on 锵锵三人行）

总监 　　　zong3jian1   　　director, head

蜘蛛            zhi1zhu1             spider   

富豪榜         fu4hao2bang3    rich list (list of richest people)

向来            xiang4lai2           always, all along

放倒            fang4dao3          this seems to mean "get (someone) drunk" here

耍宝            shua3bao3         show off

掩饰            yan3shi4             cover up, conceal

瞅                chou3                 look at (I've heard this in Harbin and always thought it was 东北话. Is this used in Beijing too?)

抢活            qiang3huo2         to compete (in the same industry/job market)

卡座                                       ???

沪剧            hu4ju4                Shanghai opera

一贴药                                    obedient  (上海话,sounds like "yi ti ye")

0开头                                      ???

爽翻            shuang3fan1       satisfying, enjoyable, similar meaning to 过瘾 (hopefully someone can come up with a better English translation)

洋盘            yang2pan2          naive and easy to cheat (上海话)

敬业            jing4ye4               dedicated to one's work

包养            bao1yang3          to keep and provide for (eg a mistress)

身体是革命的本钱　　　　　 I'm sure someone else can translate this saying of Chairman Mao better, but it's something like "Good health is the foundation of the revolution". If the people are sick then they can't be good workers for the revolution. You can check out this baidu page for more info  http://baike.baidu.com/view/3009210.htm (but it might be a bit too pro-Mao for some people)

细水长流     xi4shui3chang2liu2  ???

卖相            mai4xiang4          looks, appearance

干邑            gan1yi4                Cognac

白兰地        bai2lan2di4           brandy

冒充           mao4chong1         pass (sb. or sth.) off as

执照           zhi2zhao4              license

拎               lin1                        maybe this is 上海话 too, as here the meaning doesn't seem to match with the dictionary

犀利           xi1li4                      sharp, trenchant

能屈能伸    neng2qu1neng2shen1  able to stoop or stand, be adaptable to circumstances

[StChris]

细水长流

 

This one's a bit tricky to translate by itself, but is a bit easier to understand as part of the telephone conversation where it is said (22:00 - 23:04).

 

"不是我跟你说安东尼，身体是革命的本钱，细水得长流" 

 

There's obviously a playful and sarcastic tone to 安东尼's friend's advice. He thinks 安东尼 has got a good thing going with his rich and attractive older boss and is telling him "hey don't tire yourself out. Take things slowly and this good thing is going to last longer.", or at least that's my interpretation. I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has any different opinions on this.

 

This is the baidu entry for 细水长流

 

 http://baike.baidu.com/subview/168926/11143323.htm

 

比喻节约使用财物，使经常不缺用。也比喻一点一滴不间断地做某件事，精细安排，长远打算。现在也多指爱情或友情长长久久。

 

In this case I think the section in bold is the most likely meaning in this context.

[StChris]

Episode 2: 碉堡了

 

This episode opens with a young hoodlum called 胡超 trying to chat up his old classmate 梅婷 (who's now a policewoman). His direct approach ("我要跟你上床") doesn't yield much in the way of results, and he soon has more important things to worry about when he goes to the hospital about an itch he's been having "down there".

 

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XOTA4MzcxOTI4.html?from=y1.6-97.3.1.bb0fc2de810e11e4abda

 

Vocab

 

内敛               nei4lian3                       introverted, reserved

酝酿               yun4niang4                   mull over (something)

零件               ling2jian4                      part, component

打着x旗号y    da3zhe0...qi2hao4...     use x as an excuse/cover to do y. In this case the snooker hall manager says 那些打着你小学同学旗号来干违法乱纪事的人 (those people who take advantage of the fact they were your primary school classmate to do dodgy and illegal stuff)

地堡               di1bao3                        social welfare

下流               xia4liu2                         low class

供应商`          gong1ying4shang1       supplier, but here it's slang for mistress/小三

奉劝               feng4quan4                  offer advice

搏                  bo2                                struggle, fight

畜生               chu4sheng0                 swine

切片化验       qie1pian4hua4yan4      some kind of lab test examining small slices of tissue

临床              lin2chuang2                  clinical

头一回          tou2yi1hui2                   first time

骨子里          gu3zi0li3                       deep in their bones, beneath the surface (used when pointing out someone's true nature - derogatory)

往事如风      wang3shi4ru2feng1       vanish like the wind

有一腿           you3yi1tui3                   have an affair

晶莹剔透      jing1ying2ti1tou4            bright and clear

吹捧             chui1peng3                    flatter

不切实际      bu2qie4shi2ji4                unrealistic

级别             ji2bie2                            rank

嫌疑犯         xian2yi2fan4                   suspect

两小无猜     liang3xiao3wu2cai1        innocent playmates (said of a little boy and girl)

来路不明     lai2lu4bu4ming2             of dubious origin (said of money)

弄堂            long4tang2                     alley, lane

[StChris]

Today's difficult to translate word is 碉堡. Here's the baidu link: http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/426679360.html . I guess in the context of this episode it would mean "go crazy", in the sense that 胡超 thinks he doesn't have long to live, so wants to ,live to time he has left to the full.

[陳德聰]

This show had me within the first three minutes. The exchange with the old lady and the kid re: mixed folks had me in stitches. I think I'm going to like this show a lot.

 

And no offense to Anthonys everywhere, but why the name Anthony Claire gets to be "Claire" but 安東尼 is 安東尼. Not fair.

[msittig]

Watched an episode with my wife last night, and we both enjoyed it (I'll probably keep going, she's enjoying 虎妈猫爸 right now). I agree with your definition for 细水长流 "take it slow". Actually, that was the phrase my wife used for me when I first asked her out, which I didn't realize at the time meant she already had a boyfriend! So we took it slow and were just friends, until she broke up with boyfriend and I quickly made my move. Best move I ever made...

 

Anyhow, for 拎, I don't remember the context from the show but if this is Shanghainese then it might mean "cool, good, neat" and is used as a sign of approval of something or someone. My wife is not from Shanghai but when we lived there even she would use it with her local friends.

 

And I agree with 陳先生, the show had me hooked from the opening scene. People should give those first few minutes a 瞅 and I bet they'll be in stitches like I was. While most people on this board are probably not hunxuer, I bet a lot of us have caught Chinese people talking commenting on us and our strange words/appearance.

[StChris]

Episode 3: 完蛋了吗

 

The title of this episode pretty accurately describes the situation. 叶军, the slick character we met in the last episode, is in a hotel room with his 小三 when he receives a phone call from his wife Claire. The classic "I'm in a meeting darling" answer backfires when his wife says she's downstairs right now, having just so happened to see his car parked outside while she was walking by. So, is 叶军really 完蛋了? Watch to find out.

 

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XOTEzNTIwNDcy.html?from=y1.6-97.3.1.bb0fc2de810e11e4abda

 

花花世界          hua1hua1shi4jie4          the world of sensual pleasures

票子                 piao4zi0                         just this just refer to money? maybe stocks 股票?

直白                 zhi2bai2                         open, frank

崔                    cui1                                to hurry, to urge

心有灵犀          xin1you3ling2xi1            two hearts beat as one

秀气                 xiu4qi0                           delicate, refined

三天两头          san1tian1liang3tou2      almost every day

I don't quite get the sentence 工商三天两头来，先配合配合, maybe someone can chip in

顶风作案         ding3feng1zuo4an4       operate illegally

作案                zuo4an4                         commit a crime

偶遇                ou3yu4                           meet by chance

吃饭又有了上顿没有下顿的 (10:20)        I think this means eating haphazardly, missing meals etc, but I'm not sure. 

兰蔻                lan2kou4                        Lancome (French cosmetics brand)

灰太狼            hui1tai4lang2                  the wolf from the 喜洋洋 cartoon (who's always being beaten up by his wife 红太狼)

繁育                fan2yu4                           breed

倒流                dao4liu2                          flow backwards

挡                   dang3                            keep off, ward off

头版头条        tou2ban3tou2tiao2        headline, lead story

尾款               wei3kuan3                     balance (money due)

同僚               tong2liao2                     colleague

鹰                  ying1                              hawk, eagle

雪藏               xue3cang2                    to keep stored (not let out the secret)

阉                  yan1                               castrate

橱子              chu2zi0                           cabinet 

[StChris]

I think that the differing motivations of the characters explains the name thing. 安东尼 is always saying that he's a 当地的上海人 so  "sinofies" his name to sound more Chinese, whereas the Chinese characters want to emphasize how cool and international they are, so use their English names. The big mystery for me is Ling, which is obviously a Chinese name, but is written in English/pinyin rather than Chinese characters.

 

Thanks for the help with the vocab msittig. Nice story about you and your wife. Love and relationships are complicated enough without throwing obscure chengyu into the mix, haha.

[StChris]

Oh, and as well as Shanghainese, you might hear the occasional sentence in other non-Mandarin dialects too in this series. Does anyone hnow, when 胡超 says 厉害 near the beginning of episode 2 is he using Shanghainese or Sichuanese?

[Bigdumogre]

http://youtu.be/rZHhehi1l3w

Edited posted wrong link

[StChris]

Bigdumogre, that's the other one, 敢爱, the one that I criticized.  

[StChris]

Episode 4: 良心

 

With the other two boys otherwise occupied, 郑佳皓 and 胡超 go out for some lunch. 郑佳皓 is a pretty cynical guy, but you might be too if you had just paid out 300万 in a divorce settlement for a marriage which lasted just 12 days (171.61RMB per minute of marriage, as 郑佳皓 bitterly calculates). They meet a couple of girls in the queue for the restaurant and the episode leads on from there.

 

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XOTE1Mzk0NzMy.html?from=y1.6-97.3.1.bb0fc2de810e11e4abda

 

้衡量            heng2liang2                    measure, judge

定罪            ding4zui4                       convict sb. of a crime, declare a person guilty

02:24 红旗 here refers to the wife and 彩旗 refers to the lover/mistress. The meaning of the next few sentences are that while 叶军 has lost his wife 红旗倒了 he still has at least one lover to fool around with 彩旗飘啊飘

拉皮条        la1pi2tiao2                      act as a pimp

绰号            chuo4hao4                     nickname

宰               zai3                                 rip off (lit. to slaughter)

冤大头        yuan1da4tou2                a person who foolishly squanders money

炮仗           pao4zhang0                   firecracker

携带           xie2dai4                          carry, take along

即兴           ji2xing4                           impromptu

长江后浪推前浪                                each new generation excels the previous one

[tooironic]

Finished watching the whole series last night. Not a bad show. I enjoyed every episode, except those that centred on 安東尼 as I found his character (or the actor?) less convincing. (If you didn't like the first episode much, hang on, it gets better in the episodes that follow.) Wish they focused more on 葉君. I liked the policewoman, 梅婷, a lot in the beginning, but the way she acted as the show went on... well I won't give any spoilers, but suffice to say I didn't really get her motivations for what she did. BTW, one random thing, is there a word to describe the way 小年糕 speaks? I've heard Northern Chinese girls speak like that before, it's a very specific girly/childish, high-pitched voice like can be as cute as it is annoying/pretentious. I wonder if the accent has a particular name.

[Lu]

I haven't watched the series yet, but do you mean diǎ 嗲? Girly to the point of childishness?

[StChris]

安东尼 is probably my least favourite too. Apart from being overly 婆婆妈妈的, the slow and deliberate way he speaks Chinese is a bit annoying too. I don't know if it's just the way the actor naturally speaks, or whether he is intentionally dumbing down his Chinese for the role (like the actor who plays 关谷 in 爱情公寓).

 

I haven't seen the whole series yet, so I'm disappointed to hear about 梅婷. One of the things I like about the show is how the characters maintain some resemblance of being real people despite their individual foibles. There's not so much of that "WTF" factor you have get when incredulously watching characters in other dramas do something complete stupid and out of character. 

[StChris]

Episode 5: 一条毛巾

 

Ling and 安东尼's relationship has settled into a nice routine. 安东尼 plays his role as a 典型的上海小男人 to a tee, and Ling is, well, Ling the 老板. But Ling and Claire begin to wonder whether behind this facade lurks some dark side to 安东尼's character. Is 安东尼 really as he seems, or is he a 连环杀人狂?

 

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XOTIwODUxNTAw.html?from=y1.6-97.3.1.bb0fc2de810e11e4abda

 

无非               wu2fei1                     simply, nothing more than

财大气粗        cai2da4qi4cu1          the more wealth someone has the more bullying and overbearing they become

抬杠               tai2gang4                 argue for the sake of arguing

钟点工           zhong1dian3gong1   paid by the hour laborer

面面俱到        mian4mian4ju4dao4 take care of everything, handle everything

索性               suo3xing4                 might as well

图案               tu2an4                      pattern, design

袖珍               xiu4zhen1                 small, pocket sized

作                  zuo4                          pretend, affect

光彩               guang1cai3              honourable, glorious

罪名               zui4ming2                charge, accusation

枪毙               qiang1bi4                 execute by shooting

凳子               deng4zi0                  stool

修道院            xiu1dao4yuan4       convent

囫囵吞枣        hu2lun2tun1zao3    to swallow in one gulp

把关               ba3guan1                to check on something

刺探               ci4tan4                    to spy on, to pry

有的没的        you3de0mei2de0    trivial matters, nonsense

轴                  zhou2                      describes someone who is overly serious and earnest, someone who loves to 钻牛角尖. A pretty accurate description of 安东尼 I'd say. It's 北方方言, so don't know if it would be considered 普通话 yet.

[StChris]

This episode losses marks for featuring a bit too much of the nice but dim 安东尼, but earns bonus points for the classic Macy Gray song at the end (haven't heard it in a while).

[Charles 宇查思]

 

Just one word: neat.  I have yet to look at an episode, but it is on my list.

Thanks

 

[StChris]

Episode 6: 唇膏

 

In this episode 胡超 and 郑佳皓 go the KTV to meet their new KTV girl friends 小年糕 and 小辣椒, providing plenty of opportunities for shameless 人头马CLUB product placement (reminds me of all the empty Bicardi Breezer bottles whenever the 爱情公寓 crew met in the bar).

 

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XOTI1ODk5Nzgw.html?from=y1.6-97.3.1.bb0fc2de810e11e4abda

 

拯救                      zheng3jiu4                save, rescue

唇膏                      chun2gao1                lipstick

胳肢窝                   ga1zhi0wo1              armpit

撑腰                      cheng1yao1              support, prop up

捏                          nie1                          pinch

软柿子                   ruan3shi4zi0             a soft touch, a pushover

蹬鼻子上脸            deng1bi2zi0shang4lian3    take advantage of somebody's weakness, walk all over someone

水桶                      shui3tong3                bucket

砸锅卖铁               za2guo1mai4tie3      be willing to sacrifice everything one has

比划                      bi3hua0                     gesture, gesticulate

捞                         lao1                            dredge up, fish for, get by improper means

道具                      dao4ju4                     stage prop

磨磨蹭蹭              mo2mo2ceng4ceng4  dillydally

灌酒                     guan4jiu3                   force somebody to drink alcohol

浮夸                     fu2kua1                      exaggerating

一气之下              yi1qi4zhi1xia4             in a fit of anger

坎                        kan3                            ridge, pit

拽    (18:48)  there are a lot of definitions for this word, but none of them seem to fit the situation here

扛                        kang2                          carry on the shoulder

扣                        kou1                            dig out with finger

喉咙                     hou2long2                  throat

索性                    suo3xing4                    simply

李安                    Li3an1                         Taiwanese-American director

饲养                    si4yang3                      to raise, rear

坳段                    ao4duan4                    break by twisting, break up

讹                       e2                                 extort, blackmail