脸皮薄 吃不着
“while the thin-skinned starve.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
脸皮薄 吃不着
“while the thin-skinned starve.”
你刚才是没吃着啊
“You didn't get any just now, did you?”
“If you are too shy or polite, you will always end up empty-handed.”
A common Chinese folk observation contrasts modesty with assertiveness; while modesty is prized, colloquial culture acknowledges that being overly timid often leads to losing out in communal dining or competition.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
thin-skinned / shy / easily embarrassed
Commonly used to describe someone who lacks the boldness to assert themselves or make requests.
unable to eat / missing out on benefits
A potential complement phrase indicating inability to obtain food or metaphorically missing out on an advantage.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“the thick-skinned get their fill,”
“is just self-conscious. It must be because of that incident that she feels too embarrassed to see me.”
“but I'm definitely thick-skinned.”
“you must be thick-skinned.”
“How can you be so...”
“Why are you so shy?”