Compliments, insults, and boasts for your next pickup game
Basketball is one of the quickest and cheapest ways for city-dwellers to get exercise and make friends today. And with over 300 million practitioners, China has no lack of friendly hoopers to play with—just head over to the nearest basketball court.
However, if you want to fit in, and not just feign interest in the sport, taking the time to learn a few native expressions is a wise investment. To help, here are 8 Chinese basketball-related phrases that go beyond the literal—from idioms to bizarre metaphors to friendly insults:
Give you hot pot to eat 给你吃火锅
Eduardo Baptista is a former editorial intern at The World of Chinese. He is a fan of rap, basketball, and the TV rom-coms “Yanxi Palace” and “First Half of My Life.” Eduardo studied history at the University of Cambridge.
