Swearing - or how to get the grip of a language :

Can one ever really get the grip of a language without being able to swear in the respective language? Would one ever understand the French or be considered French without knowing "putain" (well, that's a harmless one..)? One's life would definitely be less fun and one's chances to be employed as a waiter somewhere in a Parisian cafe roughly zero.. ;)

Swearing can not only be very helpful (at times) in daily life, increase the fun while- and the speed of learning (I still remember my first night in Colombia when Maria Isabel taught me just about every four letter word there is in Spanish and, therefore, helped me build the perfect foundation to quickly learn this language. Gracias hermanita!! ;)) but is also a good indicator for what exactly people consider naughty, bad or appalling.

Well, I cannot deny that my Chinese is still far from the level I would actually like it to be. I was therefore thinking: how come? why? If I was a bit more honest I would simply admit that I was a lazy ass and did not put enough effort into it, or then that my brain capacity was already at 100% like this.. But hey that sucks..;) I, therefore, decided to blame it on the fact that I haven't actually learned how to properly swear yet.. Why? Chinese are relatively polite in public (or may be I simply did not get it yet if someone was actually swearing at me.. may be even smiled as a reaction..) and very hesistant to teach me how to properly swear. They seem to fear making me socially untenable and spoiling me (once and for all). hmm..

Hence, resolution of the day: let's get the swearing in! I didn't have to digg for long until I found "Beijinger blindly adore reproductive organs" on Danwei. It elaborates on the importance of "bi" [slang for vagina] in the local forms of swearing (and others: 牛逼 Niu bi (cow's vagina) can actually mean "cool" and swaggering... hm, etymologically very "interesting"..;) Now if this is not a good start!! :) Check out the full article here!

Wanna help me learn Chinese quicker: What's the most interesting swearword you know? :)