make a fool of oneself; blunder
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesverb
to make a fool of oneself; to make a laughable mistake due to ignorance or carelessness
Often used self-deprecatingly to describe embarrassing situations caused by inexperience. Can be used with the diminutive suffix '儿' (erhua) as '闹笑话儿'.
Wǒ我
gāng刚
dào到
Guǎng广
zhōu州
de的
shí时
hou候
，
yīn因
wèi为
bù不
dǒng懂
Guǎng广
zhōu州
huà话
，
cháng常
cháng常
nào闹
xiào笑
hua话
。
When I first arrived in Guangzhou, I often made a fool of myself because I didn't understand Cantonese.
Tā他
bù不
dǒng懂
guī规
ju矩
，
zài在
yàn宴
huì会
shang上
nào闹
le了
bù不
shǎo少
xiào笑
hua话
。
He didn't know the rules and made quite a few blunders at the banquet.
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Dì第
yī一
cì次
zuò做
fàn饭
shí时
，
wǒ我
bǎ把
yán盐
dàng当
chéng成
táng糖
fàng放
le了
，
zhēn真
shi是
nào闹
le了
gè个
dà大
xiào笑
hua话
。
The first time I cooked, I mistook salt for sugar—what a ridiculous mistake that was.
Rú如
guǒ果
bù不
tí提
qián前
zuò做
gōng功
kè课
，
dào到
shí时
hou候
kěn肯
dìng定
huì会
nào闹
xiào笑
hua话
。
If you don't prepare in advance, you'll definitely embarrass yourself when the time comes.