年轻的时候 有贼心没贼胆
“When young, they have the desire but not the guts”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
知道吗
“you know?”
年轻的时候 有贼心没贼胆
“When young, they have the desire but not the guts”
穷嘛
“because they're poor.”
“I wanted to take risks or chase romance, but I was simply too chicken to do it.”
Using playful self-criticism about past romantic or daring failures is a common way in Chinese culture to build rapport and display humility.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
when I was young
A standard temporal phrase used to introduce a nostalgic reflection.
having the desire but lacking the guts to do something naughty or risky
A highly popular colloquial idiom often used humorously to describe romantic shyness or fear of breaking rules.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“have the guts but not the desire.”
“I was guilty and scared,”
“It may be stolen by the suspect.”
“The way you're acting guilty...”
“-I said you're mistaken. -Feeling guilty? You don't dare admit it, do you?”
“Look at how guilty you're acting.”