老虎英文分析:Those Interesting Words About Tiger
編者按：在中國有關於老虎的解釋有許多，例如紙老虎，母老虎等詞，是你有聽說過的，我們一起來看看用英語怎麼解釋中國這些文化吧。
When talking about the word about "tiger (老虎lǎohu)" in Chinese, most of foreigners know the idiom on 馬馬虎虎 (mǎ mǎ hu hu), which means “careless” or “so-so”!
The word is one of the easiest and most fundamental idiomatic expressions in all of Chinese. If one asks your opinion on something you weren’t too crazy about, you can reply with 馬馬虎虎(mǎ mǎ hu hu).
Apart from this word, actually, there are more interesting words about "tiger (老虎lǎohu)" in Chinese and they are lots of fun!
1
紙老虎
zhǐ lǎohu
paper tiger
紙老虎, literal English translation of "paper tiger"(zhǐ lǎohu), refers to something that seems threatening but is ineffectual and unable to withstand challenge. The expression became well known in the West as a slogan used by Mao Zedong's Chinese communist state against its opponents, particularly the U.S. government.
2
秋老虎
qiū lǎohu
Autumn tiger
Nooooo....秋老虎(qiū lǎohuAutumn tiger) has nothing to do with the tiger. It simply means the weather is as tough as a tiger (still very hot) after the autumn is known as an Indian summer in English.
3
母老虎
mǔ lǎohu
female tiger
An interesting word! Let's look at the Pleco dictionary first:
Character母老虎
Pin Yinmǔ lǎohu
Pleco Definition1. tigress
2. (fig.) fierce woman
3. vixen;shrew;termagant
When describing a fierce woman in figuratively, this word, 母老虎(mǔ lǎohu female tiger) is used. Usually, this saying refers to those tough wifes .
A: 我得回家了。回去晚了老婆又得說我了!
B: 你老婆肯定是個母老虎，要不你爲什麼這麼怕她?
A: wǒ děi huíjiā le. Huíqù wǎnle lǎopó yòu děi shuō wǒ le!
B: nǐ lǎopo kěndìng shì gè mǔ lǎohu, yàobù nǐ wèishénme zhème pà tā?
A: I must go home. My wife would blame me again if I am back late!
B: Your wife is a "female tiger", otherwise why you are scare of her?
Source: wikipedia; theworldofchinese; weeklychinese
公衆號：HanFan漢風