Are You Serious This Time?

China has a rich culinary culture featuring numerous styles of cuisine, unique features and exquisite cooking methods. With beautiful colors, rich aromas and intense flavors, it is hard to resist the temptation of Chinese food. However, if you find it hard to say no, eventually you’ll have to pay for it, one way or another.

           wǒ yào jiǎn féi le
Simon: 我要减肥了。
            I am going to lose weight.

               shuí xìn na nǐ dōu shuō guò hǎo duō huí le
Xiao Lin: 谁信呐？你都说过好多回了。
               Who would believe that? You’ve said this many times before.

             zhè cì shì shuō zhēn de wǎn fàn wǒ yào shǎo chī diǎnr
Simon: 这次是说真的，晚饭我要少吃点儿。
            I am serious this time. I will eat less in the evenings.

                 nǎ cì nǐ bú shì chī chēng le hái yào chī wǒ shuō nǐ hái quán dāng ěr páng fēng
Xiao Lin:  哪次你不是吃撑了还要吃？我说你还全当耳旁风。
                When was the last time you didn’t ask for more even though you were already full?
                Criticizing you is like water off a duck's back.

People use rhetorical questions in order to stress a certain point. "谁信呐"emphasizes the fact that "nobody would believe (you)." "哪次你不是......" is not only a rhetorical question, it also utilizes a double negative in order to emphasize the fact that somebody always does a certain thing.

"耳旁风", which literally translates as "wind passing by the ear", is equivalent to the English idiom, "like water off a duck's back". The phrase is used to describe incidents or comments that seem to have no effect on someone or something.

"说" appears three times in the dialogue. It is commonly used with many meanings. In "你都说好多回了", "说" means "say, talk or speak". For example "说话"(speak/talk), "说出来"(speak out).  "说真的" means "I really mean it." The last "说" means "to scold". For example, "老师说了他几句。” (His teacher gave him a dressing-down.) "她被说哭了。"(She was scolded so much so that she cried.)