Bù
Bù in Mandarin Chinese mean “no”. It can also be used with a verb to show the negative tense.
It is said in the falling tone – the way you talk if you are really frustrated.
This means no playing Peek-a-Boo. When you say “BOO” the child will think you are saying “NO”. Maybe try playing it as Peep-eye instead and then say the child’s name at the end with a big hug.
I think that new parents should have a half dozen or so words or short phrases that they can use. Even 8 month old babies know what “no” means. You may not need to know it for a 9 month old, but for a 14 month old it will come in handy.
Oddly enough, there is no real word for “yes”, not the way we use it in English. There is a word for correct, dui (pronounced dway, same tone as bu, so say it fast and aggravated). But if someone says, for instance “is that yellow”, you wouldn’t say “yes” you would say “is”. If someone says “can you swim” you would say “can”.
So, while it may be logical for me to teach yes and no together… that’s why I’m not. For now, just remember that “no” is bù
You can hear it pronounced here.
April 19th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
I worried about this since I often said “peek a boo” to our daughter without stopping to think that I was telling her “no”. Then I realized that she didn’t understand Mandarin anyway! She’s a Guangdong baby and only heard Cantonese in her orphanage. Same with daughter #2.
I wonder what other common english words sound the same as words from her past?
:)
Donna
April 19th, 2006 at 4:20 pm
Excellent point Donna – if your child is from an area that speaks primarily Cantonese then Mandarin isn’t going to help you out. Most of China speaks Mandarin though, so for most people this will not be an issue.
April 20th, 2006 at 12:40 am
We were careful with “Boo” usage at first, but it’s tough to do. Turns out our family says “Ah, ah, ah, BOO!” a lot to babies!! By the end of both my adoption journeys, my girls understood the difference between “bu” (falling tone) and “Boo!” (rising tone) without difficulty. DD#2 never questioned the difference – at 22 months, she KNEW on first hearing. DD#1 was only taken aback once.
April 23rd, 2006 at 11:32 pm
Just an interesting point. I took a pre-adoption class which focused on baby talk and they taught us to say “Xiao bao bao Zai Na li”(Where is my little treasure) and Xiao bao bao zai zhe li (My little treasure’s right here).
Xiao – 3rd tone
bao – 3rd tone
zai – 4th tone
na – 3rd tone
li – 3rd tone
zhe – 4th tone
Hope this gives you another option.
April 24th, 2006 at 3:13 am
hmmm….sometimes I think people can be overly sensitive about these things. My daughter was adopted at 16 months old, she is now a few days short of 18 months old, and we play “peek a boo” She has no issues from it that I can see, infact she laughs when we play it. Perhaps she thinks it’s funny when I say Bu to her, out of context. Ill have to watch more closely next time.
However, I wouldn’t get too wrapped up in it. Children are like spunges, once they realize that it no longer has a negative connotation they will move on.
April 24th, 2006 at 3:16 am
Shelby-
Good point.
Just an FYI that we found out from our guide while in china, Bao Bao also is a term of endearment which loosely means, “poor baby” or “Sweet baby” and is often used to comfort a baby or child under 6-7 yrs of age when they are crying.
If only our agencies would tell us these things..life would be so much simpler during transitions.
April 24th, 2006 at 11:27 am
yes, I was told it was a common endearment meaning “treasure” or little treasure when you use the xiao.
We also have a lullabye that uses the language for “little treasure go to sleep because your family loves you.” We sing it to the same tune as rock-a-bye baby. I love it. We learned about 6 songs including a potty song, three love or family songs, a bath song. I loved it!
April 24th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
Yes, bao-bao means “little treasure”. It is a term of endearment.
As for being overly sensitive about saying Boo! to a child – I agree that children can learn it doesn’t mean “NO” when you say it, but why take the chance in that first week? The child has so much to deal with, why make them have to figure out they aren’t being told “NO” when they can’t figure out what they are doing wrong.
I read a travel story a couple of years ago (pre-blogs) of someone who didn’t understand why their child burst into tears every time she tried to play Peek-a-boo with her. I emailed her to let her know, but they were home by then. She really could have used the information while she was in China.
July 25th, 2006 at 4:31 pm
Hmm, I think we actually mostly just said “Peek!” as Peekaboo seemed too long. Sometimes I think we said it longer, but our daughter was from a Hakka speaking area and lived in a Hakka foster family, so it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.
I spoke to her a lot in Mandarin at the beginning (I didn’t speak much, but she was a baby, so it didn’t take much). Sure, she may not have understood, but the sounds were more familiar. And actually a lot of the baby language kind of converges, I think, with simple words a lot more similar between the “dialects” than more complicated ones.
A couple more terms:
Kahn (forth tone, said like a command==look!
Gei Wo (both 3rd, ie falling-rising tone) == give (it to) me
Gei Ni (also both 3rd) == Give (it to) me
You can play a baby game with these last 2, with a small object–develops object permanence, small motor skills, the idea you will give things back, and interaction with the parent–what could be better!
August 2nd, 2006 at 6:41 pm
I’m fluent in Japanese but attempting Chinese intonation based on text just kills me. Best to hear someone say it and imitate the sound exactly. Maybe bring a tape recorder (or flash memory recorder) and record the caretakers as you ask them for simple phrases.
August 2nd, 2006 at 6:41 pm
I’m fluent in Japanese but attempting Chinese intonation based on text just kills me. Best to hear someone say it and imitate the sound exactly. Maybe bring a tape recorder (or flash memory recorder) and record the caretakers as you ask them for simple phrases.