From the Book - First U.S. edition.
Wŏ ài nĭ! = I love you! : the grammar of romance
Bú yào! = Don't want, don't need! : when rude is polite
Shī, Shí, Shĭ, Shì = Lion, ten, to make, to be : language play as a national sport
Dăbāo = Do you do takeout? : why the Chinese hear tones, and we don't
Lăobăixìng = Common folk : China's Ordinary Joe
Nĭ hăo, Wŏ jiào Mínyì = Hello, my name is Public Opinion : a brief introduction to Chinese names
Dōngbĕi = Eastnorth : finding your way in China
the semantics of time and place
Wŏ, Nĭ, Tā, Tā, Tā = I, you, he, she, it : disappearing pronouns and the sense of self
Rènao = Hot-and-noisy : think like the Chinese think
Tīng bù dŏng = I don't understand : a billion people, countless dialects
Hànzì = Characters ; the essence of being Chinese
Bù kĕyĭ = Not allowed : rules to follow and rules to break
Dìzhèn = Earthquake : out of calamity, tenderness
Nĭ de Zhōngwĕn hĕn hăo! = Your Chinese is really good! : a little goes a long way.
