Why Your First Chinese Words Should Be 我饱了

你好！The first word that most of us learn in Mandarin is Ni Hao. After all, you’d want to learn how to greet people when travelling, and a simple hi or good morning go a long way in thawing the ice between strangers.

While I don’t claim to be a polyglot, I can communicate in six languages (seven if you count gibberish). By now I figured I knew how to learn a language. So when I started with Mandarin, I covered the usual stock phrases – hi, how are you, thank you, my name is, I don’t eat offal, do you have any medicines for incontinence, and so on.

I landed in China thinking I could at least survive a 20 second conversation with someone. However, tired of hearing me murder their language, the Chinese came up with their own plan – to ensure I keep stuffing my mouth with food so that I would stop talking. 

Just kidding! But honestly, during my stay in Siping, I don’t remember ever being hungry. While I have only been here a short while, I must have tasted every root, tuber, fruit, leaf, meat, poultry and fish there is.  Lunch and dinner consist of at least six different dishes. My host family serves me my own weight in food during breakfast, and twice that during other meals.

Between meals, I get enough fruits, sweets and other snacks to start my own shop. When visiting other homes, before I can so much as finish saying Ni Hao, the hosts rush towards me with baskets of fruits, or a cup of tea, or sit me down to an entire seven-course meal!

The most memorable time was when I visited someone’s home and was served a moon cake. I mentioned to the hostess that it was yummy. She immediately filled a huge bag to the brim with moon cakes and handed it to me, ignoring my feeble protests (feeble because I loved them and definitely wanted more).

But at times, even when you are full to bursting, the good people of Siping insist on feeding you more. And while the food is delicious, you may want to decline their offer to give you a fifth helping of dumplings and braised pork. Which is why wo bao le or I am full should be your first Chinese words.