不好说 喝汤吧 喝汤
“Hard to say. Just drink the soup.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
不过什么
“But what?”
不好说 喝汤吧 喝汤
“Hard to say. Just drink the soup.”
田老板
“Boss Tian.”
“Drop the topic, it's not safe or polite to talk about it here.”
Urging guests or companions to eat or drink ('喝汤', '吃菜') is a conventional Chinese conversational strategy to smoothly defuse tension or sidestep sensitive inquiries.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
hard to say; complicated to explain
A prime Chinese conversational hedge used to dodge giving a direct answer or commenting on sensitive matters.
Softens the imperative suggestion, nudging the interlocutor to divert attention away from the awkward topic.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“What's wrong with the soup? It tastes fine to me.”
“Hard to say. No one is counting on him.”
“Is it hard to say, or are you not allowed to say?”
“Hard to say. I might be home”
“I'll get you some soup. Okay. Drink it while it's hot.”
“Take it easy. Alright.”