Although I'm from the UK, I lived in China for 15 years, teach a large number of Chinese students, and even have a Chinese girlfriend. In this episode, I share some of my thoughts on the main differences I've noticed between the two cultures. These affect the way we approach education, the way we interact with our friends, and even how we eat our food and choose what to wear.
So what do you think? Do you agree with me? Are there any other differences that you've noticed? I'd love to read your comments.

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Cultural Differences between the UK and China

Lily:  Lucy,我每次看见我的男朋友和别的女生聊天聊得很开心，我就很吃醋。
Lucy：醋是很酸的东西呀，为什么你不开心要喝醋？
Lily:  不是，我说的吃醋是那个意思。
Lucy:  哪个意思？
Lily:  就是除了吃真的醋以外，吃醋还比喻嫉妒，多指男女关系方面。有时也称醋意、醋劲儿、醋坛子。比如说：
1：看到你对别的女生好，我就不想理你了。这一次我真的吃醋了。
2：我女朋友醋意大发，我要好好哄哄她。
3：我男朋友吃起醋来，醋劲儿挺大的。
4：我看到你们聊得那么好，我的醋坛子都被打翻了。

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Lily:  Lucy, wǒ měi cì kànjiàn wǒ de nán péngyǒu hé bié de nǚshēng liáotiān liáo de hěn kāixīn, wǒ jiù hěn chīcù.
Lucy: Cù shì hěn suān de dōngxī ya, wèishéme nǐ bù kāixīn yào hē cù?
Lily:  Búshì, wǒ shuō de chīcù shì nàgè yìsi.
Lucy:  Nǎge yìsi?
Lily:  Jiùshì chúle chī zhēn de cù yǐwài, chīcù hái bǐyù jídù, duō zhǐ nánnǚ guānxì fāngmiàn. Yǒushí yě chēng cùyì, cùjìn er, cùtánzi. Bǐrú shuō:
1: Kàn dào nǐ duì bié de nǚshēng hǎo, wǒ jiù bùxiǎng lǐ nǐle. Zhè yí cì wǒ zhēn de chīcùle. 
2: Wǒ nǚ péngyǒu cùyì dà fā, wǒ yào hǎohǎo hǒng hǒng tā.
3: Wǒ nán péngyǒu chī qǐ cù lái, cùjìn er tǐng dà de.
4: Wǒ kàn dào nǐmen liáo de nàme hǎo, wǒ de cùtánzi dōu bèi dǎ fānle.

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Lily: Lucy, I get jealous every time I see my boyfriend chatting happily with other girls.
Lucy: Vinegar is very sour, why are you unhappy to drink vinegar?
Lily: No, that's what I meant when I said jealous.
Lucy: What do you mean?
Lily: In addition to being really jealous, jealousy is also a metaphor for jealousy, mostly referring to the relationship between men and women. Sometimes it is also called醋意, 醋劲儿, and 醋坛子. For example:
1: Seeing that you are nice to other girls, I don't want to care about you anymore. This time I was really jealous. 
2: My girlfriend is jealous, I have to pamper her.
3: My boyfriend is jealous, and he is very jealous.
4: I saw that you guys were chatting so well, my vinegar jar was knocked over.【very jealous】

Lily-趣味中文-【Lily-中国 Italki Id:8877492 Chinese Tutor】

第4集-【你吃醋吗？vinegar or jealous】-with Lily-趣味中文 interesting Chinese

Tom: 嗨，Lily ,马上过节了，我想给我女朋友买个礼物。

  Lily: 哇哦，你也太贴心了，那... 你打算给她买什么礼物呀？

Tom: 嗯... 我打算给她买个好用的坟地。

  Lily:  什么？坟地？嗯...你...怎么...能这样对待你的女朋友啊？

 Tom:  嗯...我希望她的皮肤越来越好，买个好坟地有什么问题吗？

   Lily:  哦... 这样啊，那个叫粉底，不叫坟地。粉底是化妆品，坟地嘛。嗯...坟地...坟地是埋死人的地方。


Tom: Hi,Lily, mǎshàng guòjiéle, wǒ xiǎng gěi wǒ nǚ péngyǒu mǎi gè lǐwù.

  Lily: Wa o, nǐ yě tài tiēxīnle, nà... Nǐ dǎsuàn gěi tā mǎi shénme lǐwù ya?

Tom: en... Wǒ dǎsuàn gěi tā mǎi gè hǎo yòng de féndì.

  Lily:  Shénme? Féndì? Ń... Nǐ... Zěnme... Néng zhèyàng duìdài nǐ de nǚ péngyǒu a?

Tom:  en... Wǒ xīwàng tā de pífū yuè lái yuè hǎo, mǎi gè hǎo féndì yǒu shén me wèntí ma?

  Lily:  o... Zhèyàng a, nàgè jiào fěndǐ, bù jiào féndì. Fěndǐ shì huàzhuāngpǐn, féndì ma. e... Féndì... Féndì shì mái sǐrén de dìfāng.


Tom: Hi Lily, the holidays are coming soon and I want to buy a present for my girlfriend.

   Lily: Wow, you're so sweet, so... what gift are you going to buy her?

 Tom: Hmm... I'm going to buy her a useful cemetery.

   Lily: What? Graveyard? Um... how... how... can you treat your girlfriend like this?

 Tom: Hmm...I hope her skin gets better and better, is there any problem with buying a good cemetery?

   Lily: Oh... Well, that's called a foundation, not a graveyard. Foundation is cosmetic, cemetery. Well... cemetery... cemetery is where the dead are buried.


fén dì→cemetery→坟地
fěn dǐ→Foundation make-up→粉底

第3集-【恐怖的礼物A terrible gift】-with Lily-趣味中文 interesting Chinese

Lily:汤姆，我记得你有个弟弟是吧？

Tom:是的。

Lily:他多大了?

Tom:他9了。

Lily:9了？你是想说他9岁是吗？

Tom:是的，我的一个中国朋友说他35了，所以我弟弟9了。

Lily:其实在口语中，回答年龄时，1到10需要加“岁”，10以上可以不加“岁”。比如“我28”或者“我28了”，又或者“我28岁了”，都正确，所以你弟弟多大了？

Tom:嗯～他9了

Lily:  →_→  →_→ →_→


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Lily:Tom ，wǒ jì dé nǐ yǒu gè dì dì shì ba ？

Tom:shì de 。

Lily:tā duō dà le ?

Tom:tā 9le 。

Lily:9le ？nǐ shì xiǎng shuō tā 9suì shì ma ？

Tom:shì de ，wǒ de yí gè zhōng guó péng yǒu shuō tā 35 le ，suǒ yǐ wǒ dì dì 9 le 。

Lily:qí shí zài kǒu yǔ zhōng ，huí dá nián líng shí ，1 dào 10 xū yào jiā “suì ”，10  yǐ shàng kě yǐ  bù  jiā “suì ”。bǐ rú wǒ 28 huò zhě wǒ 28le ，yòu huò zhě wǒ 28 suì le ，dōu zhèng què ，suǒ yǐ nǐ dì dì duō dà le ？

Tom: ～tā 9 le 

Lily:  →_→  →_→ →_→


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Lily: Tom, I remember you had a brother, right?

Tom: Yes.

Lily: How old is he?

Tom: He's 9了.

Lily: 9了? Are you trying to say he's 9 years old?

Tom: Yes, a Chinese friend of mine said he was 35le, so my brother is 9了.

Lily: Actually, in spoken language, when answering age, 1 to10 need to add "years old", more than 10 can not  add "years old".For example  I'm 28 or I'm 28了, or I'm 28岁了，All right, so how old is your brother?

Tom: Hmm~ he's 9了

Lily: →_→ →_→ →_→