I'd like to share this book here, learn to use idiomatic English . I find it very useful for our Chinese, especially for the students studying in school now. It can prevent us making some common mistakes when we speak or write English. Like the article few tips about learning English I posted before, this blog will also be updated many times. I hope everyone can learn from it, and correct your mistakes.

This book mainly focus about how to avoid mistakes that every Chinese English users will be inclined to make. But as the language itself is growing fast, and this book was published in 1998, very long distance from now, I suppose some parts are already deprecated, so anything that is not applicable are welcomed to be pointed out by all of you guys, which is more valuable than a simple "thank you" note for reply.

I decided to separate this to several parts, with each part focus on one topic.

Part I: Culture differences between countries where Chinese and English are spoken

• "Where are you going?" is inappropriate when greeting each other
  

In Chinese, we often say "你干什么去了？", "你吃饭了吗？", "你上哪里去？" when we meet friends on the street, and that is common in Chinese. But in English, it is not appropriate. Because that is the private things of themselves, you don't need to know that. When we say "Have you eaten?", the native speakers will be puzzled, thinking that you will give him/her a treat. But in China, it is only a kind of formula. It doesn't mean that I want to give you for a free meal.

We can simply say "Hello", "Hi", "How are you doing?", "How are things with you?". If you meet him/her after some days again, you can say "How is life treating you?" or "long time no see". Also "How are you" is common (Thanks sedgehead, I am really sorry for recalling your tough times)

Removed according to sedgehead's suggestion:
-- start removing
For "How do you do?" The only correct answer is also "How do you do?". Answer like "I'm fine, thank you." is not correct.
-- end removing


When we are about to leave, we Chinese always say "Good-bye". But for native speakers, they say "Nice meeting you" or "Nice to have met you".

• Don't make yourself a "plainclothes police"   (According to sedgehead, I changed "fly cop" to "plainclothes police")
  

We are recommended to use your initiative to start an English conversation when you meet foreigners on the street, but we must pay attention that it we should not trying to become a plainclothes police. That may scare them. There is a joke. A handsome young man wearing green service dress, who is eagerly want to talk with a American grandma. The grandma is enjoying the beautiful scenery in West Lake, Hang Zhou. The young man started a string questions like: "What's your name? Where are you from? What do you do? Do you go to church? Are you married?",etc. He was asking so fast that there is no time for the grandma to answer. The old grandma was scared so much that she don't have the courage to go outside anymore.

You should start a conversation by some common topics, not personal ones. Like "It's a lovely day, isn't it?" or "pretty difficult to get a taxi at this hour, right?" when you are waiting for a taxi with a foreigner. Also, don't throw all your questions out at a very fast speed, for that is impolite.

• Don't have to use "My English is poor"

We always feel unconfident when someone is praising us like "your English is good". Always "My English is poor" is used in that situation. But as native speakers as concerned, that words are totally unnecessary. If you continue to use it, they will consider you untruthful. So simply a "thank you" or "it's very kind of you to say so" are enough.

• Does “别客气” means "Don't be polite" in Chinese?

When guests are at your home, we always use "别客气" as chinchin. But that doesn't equal to "Don't be polite" in English. You should use "Make yourself at home".

• What is not correct when someone is admiring to your stuff

When someone is admiring to your stuff, like a beautiful painting on the wall, someone will blurt out like "You can keep it as a souvenir". But this is not correct. The guest will feel awkward. He/she may thought that "I don't want to get it when I am talking about it. It is just beautiful. That's all. Why do you say it like that? Did I behavior too eagerly?"  So the correct one is simply "It's very nice of you to say so" or "I'm glad to hear that".

• Only once for "Would you like to have some more"

When we are eating together, we Chinese always like to put more food to the guests' bowls, and keep saying "eat more", "have more",etc.  But in the western countries, the host will only do this once. So the guest won't feel be imposed, and they have to eat them all even if they are full already.

And for eating more food, it's not correct to use "Please eat more". Rather, we can use "Would you like a little more?", "Would you like a second helping?",etc.

• "It's my duty"

Someone likes to use "It's my duty" or "It's what I should do" when received commendation from others. But native speakers will feel unpleasant, because they think that you are doing a formal job. So "It's my pleasure" or "My pleasure" is OK.

• "How much did it cost you?"

We know that we should not be curious about others' age, for that is private information. But we may don't know that it is also not appropriate to be curious about the price they spend on their stuff, like "How much did it cost you?" Still private information. So we can say "It must have cost you a big fortune." or "It might be very expensive."

• "please walk slowly"

We always use "慢走", "慢骑" in Chinese when guests are leaving. But for English speakers, if we translate it directly to "please walk slowly" or "ride slowly", they may wonder that why do you want me to walk slowly or drive slowly as I am not that old enough. So just use "take care". Pay attention that "drive carefully" is used sometimes.

• "Thank you for inviting us" instead of "thank you for the dinner"

"Thank you for the dinner" may have the wrong information which may indicates that "we are here just for the dinner." So just use "thank you for inviting us", followed by some commendation about the food made by the house-wife as well as the delicious dishes.

• Not a good idea when we say "I've got something to do"

"something" in the "I've got something to do" is so vague and not clear. When we say it, native speakers may feel that you are hiding something from them. So either just leaving without any reasons or tell the reasons out are acceptable, like "I got a appointment with my dentist",etc. Don't use "I've got something to do".
According to sedgehead the phrase can be used sometimes when we don't want to talk about the details. So, it depends.

• "What a fat boy!"

The word "fat" is not a good one, just opposite from our Chinese meaning. In China, we may say "这小孩真可爱，真胖", but we cannot say the boy is "fat", instead, we should use "chubby" or just "cute". So we always heard "what a cute boy!"
The phrase "一块肥肉" in Chinese means that "we are eager to get this profit, and that is so alluring to us" But for native speakers, "a piece of fat feat" is something we should avoid, and that is not what we need at all! So It's totally different between western and eastern countries.

• Use "elderly" instead of "old"

The word "old" in English does not only means the long age of a man/woman, but also means "anility". So when we say "You're old, but you're energetic", it is not so good. In western countries, a man who is at his eighties can be called "old". But we Chinese often consider that a man who is at his sixties is called "old". A retired man is called "senior citizens", not "old citizens".
The word "elderly" can be described as "long age", but does not have the meaning of anility. So we can use "who's that elderly gentleman standing there?"

• "can" and "may"

Can you explain the difference between "You may take Bus No.27" and "You can take Bus No.27"? The "can" have the meaning of "selection" while "may" means "permissive". If you use "can", it implies that you have the choice to do it. But if you use "may", it is saying that "I allow you to do it." So native speakers may wonder, "why should I get your permission to do this?" So the "can" is better here than "may".

• What should you say when native speakers are sneezing?(打喷嚏)

In China, when we are sneezing, we can say "Someone is missing you" or "someone is cursing you". But native speakers cannot understand this Chinese culture. We should say "God bless you".
BTW, we cannot say "God blesses you", because it is short for "May God bless you".

• First Person Last Rule

"I've been working in this firm for nearly 20 years. I and my colleagues have been on very good terms". Here you should replace the order of "I" and "my colleagues", that is "my colleagues and I". That is the "First Person Last Rule".
But this is not always the case. When you are being blamed by some mistakes, or you are taking some responsibilities, you should put "I" first. Like "I and my classmates did something wrong, and we're going to have it fixed after school".

• "You bear!" or "You chicken"?

Another classic Qinglish idiom, "你真熊" should not be "You bear" because the word "bear" does not have the meaning of "cowardly". It should be "You chicken". If somebody is saying "Don't be a chicken" to you, he is meaning that "Don't be afraid", which actually a courage to you.

• white elephant, white feather

Some Chinese products are translated directly, like "白象牌，白翎牌" are translated as "white elephant, white feather".  But "white elephant" is describing something unnecessary or useless, while "white feather" is describing someone who is a coward or reluctant to take responsibility.
How can we translate "雄鸡"？ Is that "Cock"? That is totally a ridiculous joke. Please check the word "cock" in dictionary for yourself. The correct one should be "Rooster".
BTW, I'd like to share a story of "Happy hour ". A shop was selling bedding goods, with a flag on the wall saying "Happy hour".  But as native speaker countries as concerned, the "happy hour" is indicating the 1-2 hours between off work and before-dinner. During these 2 hours, all the drinkings will be cheaper than normal hours. So they always prefer to go to bar and have a drink. So when you use "happy hour" with "bed", it may imply that something about sex, or porn.

• Add more details when using traditional Chinese expressions

Look at those ones:
1. Since liberation, great changes have taken place in my home town.
2. My sister is a nurse; my brother is a PLA man.
3. During the 7th Five-Year home-produced cars developed greatly.
Is there any wrong about that? We'd better put more details when the traditional Chinese expressions are used in the sentences even though we Chinese are quite familiar with that. But native speakers who don't quite understand Chinese history maybe puzzled.
For 1, the "liberation" should be replaced by "the founding of the People's Republic of China".
For 2, the "a PLA man" should be replaced by "served in the army/is a solider".
For 3, add durations after 7th Five-Year, that is "7th Five-Year Plan (1986-1990)"

• Is "teacher" really a title?

"Good morning, Teacher!" are so common in the text book of elementary schools. Even "Teacher Zhang"  is used in some sentences. But it is not correct. We should use "Ms, Mrs, Mr" as title. But there is one exception that we can call "Teacher Mary" or "Teacher Jane" in kindergarten sometimes. But "Mary" or "Jane" are first name, not last name.
Titles can be used besides above are as follows:
1. also exist in our China: doctor, professor, major(市长),chairman, governer, prime minister, premier, president
2. All military ranks, like caption, major(少校),lieutenant,etc.
3. not exist in China: senator, reverend
What is wrong: Secretary Wang(王秘书), Director Jin(金局长), Engineer Liu(刘工程师).
The correct ones should be: "This is Mr Wang, an secretary" or "May I introduce Mr Jin, to you, director of our department?"

• Can "Price" be cheap?

Try to find the error in this sentence:
"I found not only the shop assistants had good manners but also the price of goods in that store was much cheaper."
We can only say "价钱便宜" in Chinese, but we can only use "high" or "low" for price. So, the "cheaper" should be "lower" in above sentence.

• Don't abuse the word "aunt/uncle"

In China, we always use "aunt/uncle" even for someone who does not have any relationship with our family. But in English, we cannot say "2 kind aunts" when we translate "2个好心的阿姨". Native speakers may suppose you are saying "maternal aunt", not some strangers. Just use "women" is ok.

• Dancing party?

"Dancing party" is used in our Chinese to describe a party which has many people dancing and singing. When we refer to "party", we always feel that there should be dancing and singing in it. Seems a party must be filled with that. But actually, "party" can be divided into several kinds, whereas "house-warming party", "garden party", "gay party", even "marijuana party". Not all kinds of parties have dancers or singers in it. And for the word "dancing party", it's actually a Chinglish.
We can have another thought that the "party" may describe someone who is taking charge of something , which always exists in formal legal agreement or commercial contract. Like "winning party" (胜诉方) or "unsuccessful party" (败诉方)。

• "宣传" cannot be always as "Propaganda"

When we translate "宣传", we look the word in the dictionary and find the "propaganda". But actually, this is a derogatory word. We can say "This is enemy propaganda" (这是敌人的宣传), "This isn't true at all; it's sheer propaganda" (这根本不是真的，纯属宣传). So be careful about this word.
Sometimes we just want to describe "宣传部门", we are saying "Public Relations" (公共关系), which is more reasonable in China. So "Public Relations Department" is better.

• Can knowledge be learned?

Look at this one:
As we have learned a lot of knowledge from our teachers, we always think of them when we achieve something. (我们从老师那里学到了很多知识，所以每当我们有所成就的时候总是想到他们)
It's typical Chinese thinking, as we always say "学习知识" as "learn knowledge", but "knowledge" cannot be learned, it only can be get, gain, or acquire or broaden.

Also, "knowledge" cannot be taught. So we cannot say "He taught me a lot of knowledge", but we can say "He helped me gain a lot of knowledge" or just simply "He taught me a lot".

• "half a month"? "half a year"?

It is a very common mistake that we use "half a month" for "半个月", "half a year" for "半年". But native speakers won't say neither of them. We can say "half an hour" for "半个小时". But we should use "two weeks" or "a fortnight" for "半个月", "six months" for "半年". Also, we use "fortnightly" for "双周刊" when we order magazines.

• Crowded traffic?

"crowded traffic" is another common mistake. For we translate "拥挤的交通", we cannot literally translate into that. Because "crowded" is describing a place where filled with many staff, or a very tight schedule. We can say "The small room is crowded with broken chairs and desks." or "I had a crowded week last month". But for traffic, we should use "heavy, light, a lot of, little", like "There is little traffic", etc.

• "study English hard" is also Chinese English

Very commonly, we use "study English hard". But unfortunately, this is also not correct. We can say "to study English/Chinese", or "to study hard/well", but we cannot add them both. Instead, we should use "learn", or "work hard at sth."

• Do we have "self-study"?

We have self-reliance (自力更生), self-service (自我服务), self-defence (自卫), self-important (自高自大的), self-sufficient (自给自足的), self-determination (自决),  but "self-study" is not a correct expression. We should say "She learned English on her own/by herself" or "She taught herself English". "培养自学能力" should be said as "We should cultivate our ablity to study independently/on our own". And for "自习课本", we use "teach-yourself textbooks" or "English self-taught". For "自习", we use "individualized study"

• "learn from somebody" and "follow one's example"

"learn from somebody" means that learning some strengths, experiences, skills, knowledge from somebody. But "follow one's example"/"follow suit" only means to imitate someone's behavior.
We can say "Mary decided to help in the housework, and Sherry and Rebecca followed her example." or "when one shop began to prolong its business hours all other shops along the same street followed suit."

• "go back home"?

We Chinese like saying "go back home", like "I'm sorry, but I've got to go back home". Native speakers may consider that the "back" is redundant.
But it does not mean that we cannot use "go back home" at all. For example, you are going to work with your wife, and you suddenly realize that you got to fetch something. In that case, you may say "What a shame! I've got to go back home to fetch it".

• Can we remember ... "firmly"?

Someone translates "我将牢牢记住他的言行" as "I shall remember firmly what he said and done". But "firmly" cannot match with the verb "remember". Instead, we should use "clearly, perfectly, thoroughly, vividly",etc.
"Firmly" means something solidly, steadfastly or resolutely. We can say "We firmly support your struggle for justice".

• "warmly congratulate"?
  

First of all, we should remember the phrase in Chinese "热烈欢迎" cannot be translate directly as "warmly congratulate", for the word "congratulate" is already enough, and don't need another adv to add more feelings.
Second, we should use "congratulate somebody on/for sth." So we should use "I congratulated her for her new discovery" or "My classmates congratulated me on my birthday".
Also, there should be another place to note down. When you are invited to a American wedding, you can say "Congratulations! Your wife is so beautiful..." to the bridegroom, but never to the bride.  Because the bride may consider that "I get my bridegroom by cheating" :)

• "play"

Children play and all children love to play, but adults do not play. When we say "这个周末你愿意来我家玩吗？", it is not "play with us", but should be "spend the weekend with us"
BTW, the phrase "play with myself" has dirty meaning of masturbation. So, don't translate directly sometimes.

• "guess the meaning out"

A: Where did you get the meaning of the phrase?
B: I simply guessed the meaning out.
Another Chinglish example. When we say "猜出来", we cannot simply translate into "guess it out". We can say "guess one's age", "guess the cause", "guess the outcome", "guess someone's thought", but "guess" cannot connect predicative (表语).
We can use "guess the meaning up" (Thanks sedgehead's comments)

• Make friends with somebody

"Make friends with somebody" means "交朋友". But it does not mean that the 2 people will fall in love in the end. It just means that the 2 people are friends. We can say "Whenever he goes he makes friends."

• "Have you married?"

"Have you married" is wrong, whereas the correct one should be "are you married". Maybe you already know it. But if want to say "同某人结婚", we cannot say "marry with somebody". The "marry" here is a vt., not a vi. So we can only say "She married a high school teacher last month".
But if we use the none form of "marry", that is "marriage", then we can use "with" after "marriage", like "His marriage with Joan was much talked out."

• "divorce with somebody"

Like marriage, we can not say "divorce with somebody" when we want to say "同某人离婚". We can say "He divorced her". That means the man wanted to dissolve the marriage with the woman. If we say "She divorced him". That means the woman wanted to dissolve the marriage with the man.
We can also say "divorce from somebody" (Thanks sedgehead)

• How to spell the name?

"How to spell the name" is not a correct way when we are asking the characters of their names. The correct one should be "How do you spell the word/name?" or "How is the word/name spelt?" But it does not mean that we cannot use "how to spell", I am saying that it is not appropriate to lead a question directly. We can say "Could you tell me how to spell the name, sir?"

• In the phone

"In the phone" is not a good idiomatic usage, correct usage is "on the phone", "over the phone", or "by phone"