Why Some Women Dream of a Gold Turtle "金龟婿 (jīnguīxù)"

In Chinese, a rich son-in-law, or a rich husband, is often referred to as a "Gold Turtle Husband", or 金龟婿 (jīnguīxù). Are you looking for your golden turtle? Does this phrase make any sense to you? Probably not. There is, however, an interesting story as to how this phrase began. Let's learn more:

During ancient China's Tang Dynasty (618-907AD) an official whose titles were equal to, or above, three ranks would adorn themselves with a fish emblem. Officials with five or more rankings would receive a turtle emblem instead of a fish. Princes, or those officials with a very high ranking, would wear golden tallies of their rankings and ordinary officials would wear copper tallies for theirs. Hence, a gold turtle would be the highest-ranking, and most likely wealthiest, men available. Women who are considering a husband might dream of one day finding their man with the golden turtle to marry and living a life of luxury. Therefore, she would be looking for her "金龟婿 (jīnguīxù) Gold Turtle Husband".

Let's break down "金龟婿 (jīnguīxù)":

金 (jīn) means "gold."
龟 (guī) represents "turtle."
婿 (xù) is "husband" or "son-in-law."

When using the word "金龟婿" in daily communication, Chinese speakers generally choose this structure...Read more

When we combine being a 金龟婿 (jīnguīxù) with also having good looks, we get a 高富帅 (gāofùshuài). Read more about it in the full lesson here.

One of the first things you probably learned when studying Mandarin is how to count to 10. But did you know that the number "1" actually has another, special pronunciation?

In most cases you will just pronounce the number "1" as "一 (yī)" when wanting to say "one." There is just one exception, when you are telling a phone number. So why do phone numbers get a special sound? The reason is very much the same as in the US military, who created another way of pronouncing the letters in the alphabet to avoid miscommunication. The word "一 (yī) one" sounds very much like the number "7 七 (qī)" because they both end in "i." So, it can be very hard to distinguish between these two words, especially if you are in high stakes such as a battle.

The reason the sound "yāo" was chosen was because...Read more

Example:

Jenny: Nǐ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì shénme?
Jenny: 你 的 电话 号码 是 什么？
Jenny: What is your phone number?

Lisa: Yāo, wǔ, bā, jiǔ, líng, jiǔ, jiǔ, wǔ, liù, yāo, yāo
Lisa: 1 - 5 - 8 - 9 - 0 - 9 - 9 - 5 - 6 - 1 - 1
Lisa: 158-9099-5611

The number 2 in Chinese also has a special usage. That is to say, there are two words for saying 2 in Chinese. Do you know them?

Check this related post for the 2 different 2's in Chinese:

The Two Two's of Chinese : "二 (èr)" and "两 (liǎng)"