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Chinese Toilet Plunger
Monday, January 10, 2005-9:33 PM
A modest crisis in the bathroom several days ago had me scrambling for a toilet plunger.
I'm hesitant to make a public account of this ordeal, but I think what I learned is far too valuable not to share.
Whenever anything new happens to me in China, I seize the opportunity to enlarge my vocabulary. That's how I learn words like "da kong" (paper punch). I thought this was a great chance to learn something new.
I asked Natasha, "How do you say 'toilet plunger' in Chinese?"
She answered, "I don't know."
I really wanted to know so I tried to make my quesiton a little more clear. "What's the word in Chinese for the thing you use if the toilet doesn't work?"
She told me there wasn't a word in Chinese for it.
I knew that this kind of thing happened in China and asked her again, "What do you say if you need that thing for the toilet?"
This time she answered my question.
"We say, 'Get me that thing for the toilet.'"
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