Listen closely to the vocabulary employed in everyday use by many a Nanjinger and you would be forgiven for imagining a preoccupation with Dante’s vision of the afterlife.
I’m starving to death! I’m dying of thirst! I’m freezing to death!
These expressions are about the only examples of hyperbole employed in the English language associated with passing on. But away from any discussion as to their politically incorrectness, here in our Southern Capital, they are literally the tip of the iceberg that floats outside the doors to Hell.
Largely the preserve of more senior members of the fairer sex, the associating of almost every activity as more or less, “death warmed up” is quite unique to Nanjing. People in other cities may use the lexicon, but only once in a blue moon.
In Nanjing it is to be used every time the sun comes out.
And that’s because sometimes, life is just a little too much trouble. Listening to many Nanjingers, however, life would appear to be a lot of trouble.
烦死了!
[Fansile]
Too much bother, too much trouble, so much hassle. From opening a bank account to cleaning up a toddler’s mess, “fansile” is the go-to phrase in Nanjing when put remotely out of your way.
丑死了!
[Chousile]
Your friend has just come out of the hairdressers, or the changing room in a clothes shop. “What do you think, they ask?”. Nanjingers don’t dress up their lingo with nicities and therefore, the correct reply is, “Boy, that’s ugly”.
热死了、冷死了
[Resile; lengsile]
Chances are you’ve heard the former in the past 24 hours. As one of China’s furnaces, you have plenty opportunity these days to exclaim, “It’s boiling!”. As for the latter, in a few months, when the temperature drops from 35 degrees to 30 degrees overnight, that’s the time to say, “It’s freezing”.
吵死了!
[Chaosile]
“What a din!”. To be used in a crowded playground, when passing groups of seniors sitting outside arguing over who won their game of mahjong. Also can be combined with the aforementioned, “烦死了”, in regard to the tantrum the toddler had before making said mess.
饿死了!
[E’sile]
Back to the beginning. Nanjingers are a hungry bunch. For eating, it would appear, is the municipal pastime. Nanjingers also have overly-active digestive tracts. For here, it is perfectly possible to go from “full to brim” to “absolutely ravenous” in just a few short hours. Several times a day.
As for the required usage? Every day, beginning at 11.32.
