The rules of etiquette in Chinese culture state that compliments must be rejected. Therefore, if someone tells you that you speak Mandarin well, a good way of responding would be, “Not at all, my Mandarin is very poor.” One way of saying this is with the Mandarin Chinese phrase马马虎虎 (mǎmǎhūhū). This could be prefaced with 哪里哪里 (nǎli nǎli), which means “where?”—as in, “Where is my good Mandarin? I don’t see it.” Mǎmǎhūhū is made up of four Chinese characters: 马马虎虎. The first two characters mean “horse” and the second two characters mean “tiger.” This makes the phrase very easy to remember, but why does “horse horse tiger tiger” mean “mediocre?” It’s neither one nor the other—it’s so-so, mediocre. Example: 你的汉语说得很好｡ (nǐ de hànyǔ shuō de hěn hǎo) = Your Mandarin is very good. 哪里哪里 马马虎虎｡ (nǎli nǎli - mǎmǎ hǔhǔ) = Not at all—it’s very bad. It should be noted that this phrase is very common in many beginner textbooks, but that few native speakers actually use it and it might come across as a bit strange or out-dated. It's a little bit similar to textbooks in English as a second language having "it's raining cats and dogs" because it's a cute expression that students like, but very few people actually say that. It's fine to use, of course, but don't be surprised if you don't hear other people saying it all the time. # Our teachers # More than 10 years teaching experience Master Degree Certificate for teaching chinese as a foreign language   # About us # Founded in 2007 Chinese test and training center 200+ Chinese teachers 5000+ students  # Contact us# Name:fiona Phone number:021-52287809,13918358891 E-mail:info@mandarinmorning.com www.mandarinmorning.com If you are interested to join Mandarin Morning school or want more details about our services, scan the following QR code. ☟   Mandarin Morning Chinese test center attached to Confucius institute headquarters Authorized Test Center and Training Center for International Chinese Language Teacher Certificater 10 years+ ，200 teachers ，more 10000 students，200+companies  |
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