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Soy sauce is a traditional Chinese condiment which is used almost every day by Chinese people. Before supermarkets appeared in China, Chinese people brought their empty soy sauce bottles to shops in order to refill them. We call this traditional activity 打酱油 (dǎ jiàngyóu), or, "buying soy sauce.” Currently in China, this old expressi0n has taken on a new meaning. Here’s the story of how the new definition came into being.
A TV station was conducting a street interview, asking ordinary people their opinions on celebrity scandals. In one particularly memorable interview, the interviewee said calmly to a journalist ab0ut a recent scandal, “It’s none of my business. I just went out for some soy sauce.” This video was uploaded to the internet and ever since, 打酱油 (dǎ jiàngyóu) has been the popular way netizens say that something is none of one’s business.
Example:
Nǐ yě cānjiā hànyǔ bǐsài ma?
A：你 也 参加 汉语 比赛 吗？
Are you taking part in the Chinese contest, too?
Wǒ shì lái dǎ jiàngyóu de.
B：我 是 来 打 酱油 的。
I'm just doing it for fun.
In the above conversation, person B is actually taking part in the contest; however, he uses the self-deprecating comment of “打酱油 (dǎ jiàngyóu).” In this situation, the phrase means that he is taking part in the contest for fun only.
You will also hear people say 打酱油 (dǎ jiàngyóu) in other situations. For example, look at the following conversation:
Nǐ jiéhūn le ma？
Jane：你 结婚 了 吗？
Are you married?
Wǒ háizi dōu huì dǎ jiàngyóu le.
Lily：我 孩子 都 会 打 酱油 了。
My kids can help me buy soy sauce.
Jane is asking Lily whether she is married or not, but Lily responds with a new usage of our phrase. The logic here is that if a kid can help his mother buy soy sauce, then he’s obviously not a young child. Lily is actually saying that she not only is married, but that she has been married for quite a long time.
To conclude, 打酱油 (dǎ jiàngyóu) in Chinese has three meanings:
1. To buy soy sauce.
2. Having nothing to do with the matter or being a passerby.
3. To say that a man or woman has been married for a while.
Exercises:
1. What does the woman mean in answer to the journalist? ___
Journalist：您觉得怎么样？(Nín juéde zěnmeyàng?)
Woman：我不知道，我只是打酱油的。(Wǒ bù zhīdao, wǒ zhǐshì dǎ jiàngyóu de.)
A. I can’t find the road.
B. It’s good.
C. I don’t know. I’m just a passerby.
2. Which of the following means "It’s none of my business?"______
A. 我去商店打酱油。(Wǒ qù shāngdiàn dǎ jiàngyóu.)
B. 别问我，我只是打酱油的。(Bié wèn wǒ , wǒ zhǐshì dǎ jiàngyóu de.)
C. 我的孩子会打酱油。(Wǒ de háizi huì dǎ jiàngyóu.)
Answers:
1. C
Journalist：您觉得怎么样？(Nín juéde zěnmeyàng? What’s your opinion ab0ut that?)
Woman：我不知道，我只是打酱油的。(Wǒ bù zhīdao, wǒ zhǐshì dǎ jiàngyóu de. I don’t know. I’m just a passerby.)
2. B
A. 我去商店打酱油。(Wǒ qù shāngdiàn dǎ jiàngyóu. I’m going out for soy sauce.)
B. 别问我，我只是打酱油的。(Bié wèn wǒ, wǒ zhǐshì dǎ jiàngyóu de. Don’t ask me. It’s none of my business.)
C. 我的孩子会打酱油。(Wǒ de háizi huì dǎ jiàngyóu. My child can go out for soy sauce.)
<<Back to “Buying Soy Sauce in China.”
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3 Responses to “Answers to buy soy sauce or be a passerby”
1. 1. ali says:
April 20th, 2013 at 12:48 am
谢谢您告诉我们，我总是认为怎么能说i am just a passerby,现在就明白了。祝你们的网站越来越进展。
2. 2. Admin says:
April 22nd, 2013 at 5:06 pm
Hello ali,
你的中文真的很不错。但是在你的评论中有几处错误，请允许我给你指出来。
“我总是认为…” 我想你是要表达 “我总是在想…” 虽然“think” 可以翻译成“想” 和 “认为”， 但是“认为”跟“想”的用法并不一样。
1. 在表达一个人的看法或问别人的看法的时候用“认为”。例如：What do you think? 你怎么认为？(Ni3 zen3me ren4wei2?)
2. 在表达 “想” 或者 “思考” 的意思的时候。例如：I have often thought ab0ut this problem. 可以翻译成： 我经常思考这个问题。(Wo3 jing1chang2 si1kao3 zhe4ge wen4ti2.)，但是不能说“我经常认为这个问题。”
另外，“怎么能说”的用法也不正确。应该是“我总是想怎么说…”
最后一个问题，“进展”这个词使用不当。我想你是想说“进步”。“进展”用于表示事情往前发展，是一个中性词。而“进步”是指事物不仅有了进展，而且是往好的方向发展。
例如：祝你学习进步。May you make progress in your studies.
这个项目进展得怎么样了？What ab0ut the progress of the project?
希望能够帮到你。如果你什么问题，请随时跟我联系。
3. 3. Allen says:
February 1st, 2014 at 8:54 pm
I like this weblog so much, saved to my bookmarks.