主播：Wendi（中国）+ Erin（美国）

歌曲： HOT TO GO

现在，在国外TikTok上，有一个很火的Chinese challenge（中文挑战），已经成为了一个new trend，今天我们就来聊一聊这个话题。

01.“说中文挑战”是怎么一回事？

在TikTok上，现在有一个“Mandarin Fruit Voices”（用中文说水果名）的挑战，游戏玩法是say the names of fruits in Mandarin to pass levels（说对了水果的中文名就可以过关）。大家都在努力地模仿翻译软件里的中文发音来闯关，真的很搞笑。

It sounds easy, but if you don’t know Mandarin, it can get pretty wild. TikTok’s been full of foreigners trying to say “mango” or “banana”, and some of the mispronunciations (错误的发音) are hilarious. 因为英文和中文拼音的拼读很多是不一样的，比如芒果的“果”好像在英文里没有完全对应的发音。Also, 芒果and mango sound so similar, people can get really confused.

People are accidentally calling mango “man gou”, and banana sometimes becomes “shang zhao”. “猕猴桃”也是非常有挑战的一个词。It has three characters, probably the most challenging one.

Mandarin is tough for almost anyone who didn’t grow up speaking it. There are four main tones (四个声调), and mixing them up changes the meaning. 声调不仅对外国人来说很难，哪怕是中国刚学习拼音的小孩子也会被音调难哭。

另一个比较难的点是pronunciation（发音）。It’s different from anything they’re used to in English.有些中文的发音也是其他语言里没有的，比如“香蕉”这两个字的声母“x”和“j”，在英文里是没有这两个音的。

Trying to say even basic phrases can lead to funny moments, which makes for great TikTok content. It’s fascinating, challenging, and often hilarious (很搞笑). 对于中文母语者而言，it’s so funny to watch people trying so hard to speak your language。

Chinese challenge is more than just a language trend. People are genuinely interested in Chinese culture, and they want to learn through these challenges. Also, TikTok makes it so easy to share successes and struggles, so people really get into it. TikTok这种社交媒体氛围非常轻松，经常就会带起这种“中文热”甚至是“中国文化热”。

It’s great because even when they struggle, they just laugh it off or try again. And for Mandarin speakers, it’s super entertaining! 中文母语者在看这些视频的时候会觉得很搞笑。Even some Chinese-speaking users are joining in to give pronunciation tips to help others beat the game. 有些会说中文的人也参与挑战录制了视频，来给其他人做参考。That’s better because the translator may not be so helpful sometimes.

其实通过挑战不是最重要的，重要的是give it a go (尝试), and just have fun with it。Perfection isn’t the point—it’s about trying something new. 让参与者对其他文化好奇，以及愿意去了解其他文化也是这个游戏的意义之一。

02. TikTok上还有哪些和中国有关的元素很流行？

Besides the language challenge, there are other Chinese-inspired trends on TikTok, too.

# Get Ready With Me

One of Erin’s favorites is the Get Ready With Me in Chinese trend. 就是用视频记录自己出门前的准备。There are some influencers that speak a limited amount of Chinese (说着有限的中文) whether they learned in school or they are Chinese Americans (美籍亚裔), and they make the popular GRWM videos, but they speak Chinese the whole time (视频全程都在说中文).

It’s really fun to watch and often surprising how good they are at getting their point across (使自己的观点得到理解). Even if they don’t know the word for something, they figure out a way to describe it in Chinese using words they do know. 其实这对我们学习其他语言的人也是一个很好的建议，有时候在进行口语表达的时候会担心有不会说的单词，但其实没关系，我们也可以用别的方式把它描述出来。这样能让我们更大胆地开口说。

#Chinese food trends

中国的美食实在是太多了，特别像boba tea（奶茶），hot pot（火锅）这些在国外都比较火。

#Chinese-style makeup

People in the west call it “Douyin Makeup” and it is pretty popular to recreate it right now. 中式妆容在TikTok上也非常火。

It’s a style that typically involves the use of shimmery eyeshadows (闪闪发光的眼影), really really pink blush (粉嫩的腮红), and lips with a soft, blurred (模糊的) finish. It puts a lot of emphasis on the eye make-up, and netizens are often stunned (被惊艳到) by how beautiful and ethereal the people look. It’s very different from makeup popular in other Asian countries, because it’s very bold and bright (很大胆夸张、明亮).

It’s great seeing people get inspired and bring a bit of Chinese culture into their own style. That’s the fun of living in such a globalized and diverse world where you can expose yourself to so many different culture (置身于不同的文化之中).

请留言告诉我们：

你还知道哪些在外网上比较火的Chinese-inspired trends？

TikTok“说中文挑战”，老外把“芒果”说成“man gou”...太搞笑了！

一席英语·脱口秀：老外来了