Guest Anonymous Posted July 3, 2003 at 11:21 PM Report Posted July 3, 2003 at 11:21 PM I was born in Taipei, Taiwan and came to the U.S. when I was 10 years old. I was taught that when people sneeze, you're supposed to say "yi bai sui" (one hundred years old) and if they sneeze again, you say "liang bai sui"... and so on. I'm not sure where this tradition came from but I'm assuming it's to wish the person who sneeze good health (and to live for hundreds of years). However, to my disappointment, I haven't found another Chinese person who practices this tradition until my trip to Beijing last summer. I was in the subway and this old lady sneezed and before I could say anything, this pretty girl said with her sweet voice "yi bai sui". Obviously my family isn't the only one who practices this tradition. Has anyone else heard of or practice this tradition? Quote
Guest vinzlim Posted July 5, 2003 at 04:00 PM Report Posted July 5, 2003 at 04:00 PM nope, not in malaysia. never heard of that b4 Quote
roddy Posted July 6, 2003 at 10:45 PM Report Posted July 6, 2003 at 10:45 PM I've heard 'yi bai sui' now and then in Beijing, so it does happen. I'll start counting the ratio of sneezes to 'yi bai sui's. Roddy Quote
LFCLOUDS Posted July 7, 2003 at 12:23 PM Report Posted July 7, 2003 at 12:23 PM Mmmmm, should get some interesting stares. Consider it accuired! Quote
Quest Posted September 13, 2003 at 06:35 AM Report Posted September 13, 2003 at 06:35 AM that's interesting, my father is cantonese, and when he sneezes he says "lei si" ("li shi" in mandarin) which is the same word for new year red pocket money. Quote
Guest yezi Posted November 5, 2003 at 02:32 PM Report Posted November 5, 2003 at 02:32 PM I was born in Taipei' date=' Taiwan and came to the U.S. when I was 10 years old.I was taught that when people sneeze, you're supposed to say "yi bai sui" (one hundred years old) and if they sneeze again, you say "liang bai sui"... and so on. I'm not sure where this tradition came from but I'm assuming it's to wish the person who sneeze good health (and to live for hundreds of years). However, to my disappointment, I haven't found another Chinese person who practices this tradition until my trip to Beijing last summer. I was in the subway and this old lady sneezed and before I could say anything, this pretty girl said with her sweet voice "yi bai sui". Obviously my family isn't the only one who practices this tradition. Has anyone else heard of or practice this tradition?[/quote'] People in China have various responses to someone who sneeze. It is the first time I've heard about "Yi Bai Sui". What I commonly know are two expressions--Either "You ren xiang ni le-- some one is missing you" or "You ren zai ma ni-- some one is cursing/ swearing at you". I prefer the first one because it is quite sweet. ;-) There are also some other similar practice. For example, when people ask you: "Ni ganggang erduo yang ma?-- Did your ear itch just now?" they actually mean: "Some one were missing you just now." If one drops chopsticks to the floor, people will say: "Ni jia you keren ya lai-- Some one will visit you soon". If you were choked during dinner, they will say:"Ni shuo cuo hua le---You've said something wrong." Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted November 5, 2003 at 06:43 PM Report Posted November 5, 2003 at 06:43 PM What I commonly know are two expressions--Either "You ren xiang ni le-- some one is missing you" or "You ren zai ma ni-- some one is cursing/ swearing at you". I prefer the first one because it is quite sweet. ;-) Although interesting, that's kind of different from what I was talking about. :-) Yi bai sui is used like God bless you in the U.S. It's more of a natural response like when someone says thank you, you say you're welcome. However, I've also heard Americans say that when you sneeze it means someone's thinking or talking about you. But now I think about it, I heard that mostly from Asian-Americans but also some Caucasian-Americans. Quote
Jake Perry Posted July 22, 2006 at 02:04 PM Report Posted July 22, 2006 at 02:04 PM [POP=yì bǎi suì]一百岁[/POP] my girlfriend and i always say yì bǎi suì... liǎng bǎi suì... sān bǎi suì... whenever somebody sneezes her parents always say it too. she grew up in Běijīng and moved here with her parents when she was nine. we live in Canada and her dad still mostly only speaks mandarin. Quote
Guest realmayo Posted July 24, 2006 at 09:34 AM Report Posted July 24, 2006 at 09:34 AM First sneeze: someone’s missing you Second sneeze: someone’s cursing you Third sneeze: you’ve got a cold Quote
Lu Posted July 24, 2006 at 01:31 PM Report Posted July 24, 2006 at 01:31 PM I've heard of this saying (from foreigners who learned that that's what Chinese say for Bless you), but I never actually heard a native speaker say it. The most common response to someone sneezing is no response at all. Quote
AlexBrit Posted July 24, 2006 at 10:10 PM Report Posted July 24, 2006 at 10:10 PM The only Chinese I heard following sneezes were things like '感冒啦', '吃药了没' or maybe even '你衣服穿得太少' ha ha Quote
kudra Posted August 5, 2006 at 09:23 PM Report Posted August 5, 2006 at 09:23 PM In 1981, a teacher in my beginning course told us about the 一百岁,两百岁 thing. He said it would be more common to say it to children. I think he was from Taiwan, but his parents were from the Mainland, probably the north, possibly Beijing. That was the last I ever heard of it, and have never heard it used "in the wild." Quote
Kong Junrui Posted August 6, 2006 at 02:16 AM Report Posted August 6, 2006 at 02:16 AM I remember that in my Chinese class a few months ago, I sneezed, and a native speaker that sits in front of me said "bai sui," 百岁 Though that's really the only time I've heard a Chinese way of excusing a sneeze. Quote
Dongpo Jushi Posted August 6, 2006 at 10:57 AM Report Posted August 6, 2006 at 10:57 AM I believe the word "bless you" is somewhat an adaptation from a western tradition. I once asked my friend about the meaning behind bless you in their tradition. He pointed out that it came from a time where black plague was common among english people (if he's not mistaken), around that time, sneezing is one of the symptom for the black plague. "bless you" was a somewhat indicating a hope that the sneezing person wasn't infected with the deadly plague. Quote
Jake Perry Posted August 10, 2006 at 07:01 PM Report Posted August 10, 2006 at 07:01 PM when you sneeze your heart stops so you are dead for just a moment. if anything deserves a quick blessing i think that dying should qualify. i used to say 'Godspeed' as a kid when i found out what it meant i started saying 'get home safe' in chinese you say 'walk slowly' Quote
kudra Posted August 10, 2006 at 07:30 PM Report Posted August 10, 2006 at 07:30 PM Compilation of "Bless You" "explanation" origins http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/blessyou.asp Quote
葛亞輝(美國人) Posted September 18, 2006 at 02:41 PM Report Posted September 18, 2006 at 02:41 PM i heard 一百岁 from my chinese teachers (who are all from the mainland) when someone asked if there was an equivalent expression to "god bless you" in chinese. They told us that, but I've never heard any of them say it when someone sneezes in class, so I don't think it's very common. And I thought the english "god bless you" came from believing that sneezing was caused by demons, or something... Quote
Lugubert Posted September 18, 2006 at 11:30 PM Report Posted September 18, 2006 at 11:30 PM "You ren xiang ni le-- some one is missing you" I've heard this from a Chinese native (Hangzhou person) - but in Sweden, translated into Swedish, and followed by the explanation that that's what you say in China. Quote
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