As far as I understand, the closest translation to “shut up” in Chinese is 闭嘴 (bìzuǐ). I’m wondering—how rude is this phrase? Is it something you’d say jokingly with friends, or is it more aggressive? I’ve heard angry parents say 闭嘴 to their kids, but in English telling someone to shut up is really quite harsh, so I’m curious about how ‘acceptable’ it is in Chinese to use 闭嘴.
Also, am I right in saying you can’t use 闭嘴 like “shut up” to express shock? E.g. in English if someone says something surprising you can say “Shut up!” like “No way!”, but I’ve never heard 闭嘴 used this way.
In Chinese, 闭嘴 (bìzuǐ) is indeed the closest translation to “shut up,” and its level of rudeness is context-dependent. Here’s a breakdown:
Rudeness Level:
Aggressive: 闭嘴 is generally considered quite direct and can be rude, especially if used in a serious or confrontational tone. It’s something you might hear in arguments or when someone is genuinely angry, like parents scolding their children.
Joking: Among close friends or in a playful context, it can be used lightly, but even then, it depends on the relationship and tone. Not everyone would appreciate it, even as a joke.
Cultural Nuance:
In Chinese culture, direct commands like 闭嘴 can come across as harsh because politeness and indirectness are often valued in communication. Saying 闭嘴 can feel more abrupt than “shut up” in English, which already has a strong connotation.
If you want to be less rude, you might use softer phrases like 别说了 (bié shuō le, “stop talking”) or 安静一下 (ānjìng yīxià, “be quiet for a moment”).
Expressing Shock:
You’re correct that 闭嘴 cannot be used like “shut up” in English to express shock or disbelief (e.g., “Shut up! No way!”). In Chinese, you’d use other expressions for this, such as:
真的吗？(zhēn de ma?, “Really?”)
不会吧！(bù huì ba!, “No way!”)
天啊！(tiān ā!, “Oh my god!”)
In summary, 闭嘴 is more aggressive and less versatile than “shut up” in English. It’s best used cautiously, and there are better alternatives for both telling someone to be quiet and expressing surprise.
P.S. this is ahead of my level, Deepseek answered it for me.
I’ve had good experiences using Chat GPT for doubts like this, and I’m now testing Deepseek. I’m confident it is very useful.
Amazing, thank you Charles! In that case I’m probably going to be sticking to 安静一下 or 不会吧！instead of 闭嘴
^^^ This is so interesting, I sometimes ask ChatGPT Chinese language questions but I never know how accurate it is, but I’d imagine Deepseek (as it’s Chinese after all) is probably a lot more reliable when it comes to Mandarin!
I feel the same! I’m always thinking “how much trust can I put into ChatGPT?”, I like to ask questions but reading the answer I always keep in mind that it might not be 100% accurate
