How would you translate "Chutzpah" into Chinese?

BOTH ROUND -- Correction -- After reading the article, I just wanted to note that my earlier mention of da dan4 大蛋 big egg, was actually my 'error' in writing out the hanzi and guessing the word from what I had heard in real life as "da dan3" 大胆 big balls.

Thanks LostinAsia for the article, cleared up a 'mistake' that probably could have lingered in my lexicon for years!

Resurrecting this thread, a blog linked to below talks about chutzpah in Chinese, using as an example the painting-over of the burnt China Airlines jet in Okinawa. To avoid bad PR (too little too late?), China Airlines has whitewashed the logos on the jet.

http://telstarlogistics.typepad.com/telstarlogistics/2007/08/china-airlines-.html

(Sorry, I have no idea how to do links properly. If the above doesn't work, googling "China Airlines chutzpah" pulls up the item as well.)

if you are in the situation which you described in your post

i could suggest you can say :神经病阿你! shen2jing1bing4a ni3.

or 有病阿你! you3 bing4 a ni3

大胆AND 放肆 often appear at the situation that the boss scold at the clerks. specially for the emperor scold at the ministers at old era

jbradfor: I really like your definition of chutzpah, too. It even has a bonus def: the meaning of hubris is clearer to me by contrasting it with chutzpah. Thanks.

"I don't think is always (often?) valid to assume that because a language / culture doesn't have a word for something, it means they don't have that concept."

I think that's probably true. The question, then, does the Chinese culture have this concept of chutzpah? I would think the concept isn't unique to just Western or Eastern cultures.

RoninDC, what I meant was that I heard that term used by the Jewish people in NYC a lot when I was growing up there. I wasn't specifically referring to behavior of NYC'ers, but your comment is probably true too.

SORRY for the double post. When I clicked "Add Comment", it gave me an error message, so I tried again....

Another def of Chutzpah I like. "When Prometheus stole fire from the gods, that was hubris. Has he tried to sell it back, that would have been chutzpah."

I don't think is always (often?) valid to assume that because a language / culture doesn't have a word for something, it means they don't have that concept. Rather, I think it's often a matter of importance. For example, Chinese has many more words for different relatives that English lumps together, e.g. English's "Uncle" vs Chinese's "father's older brother", "father's younger brother", "mother's older brother", 'mother's younger brother". It's obviously not that English (speakers) can't tell the difference, but rather it's not important enough to us to bother to distinguish.

Another def of Chutzpah I like. "When Prometheus stole fire from the gods, that was hubris. Has he tried to sell it back, that would have been chutzpah."

I don't think is always (often?) valid to assume that because a language / culture doesn't have a word for something, it means they don't have that concept. Rather, I think it's often a matter of importance. For example, Chinese has many more words for different relatives that English lumps together, e.g. English's "Uncle" vs Chinese's "father's older brother", "father's younger brother", "mother's older brother", 'mother's younger brother". It's obviously not that English (speakers) can't tell the difference, but rather it's not important enough to us to bother to distinguish.

AZERdocMom-

'I heard the term used a lot while growing up in New York City. I don't hear it much out here in AZ.'

I think there's a reason for that ;-) Actually, in the last 15 years or so, it seems that term has lessened quite a bit, I think because the culture has become more civil there. We're talking degree, though ;-)

AZERdocMom-

'I heard the term used a lot while growing up in New York City. I don't hear it much out here in AZ.'

I think there's a reason for that ;-) Actually, in the last 15 years or so, it seems that term has lessened quite a bit, I think because the culture has become more civil there. We're talking degree, though ;-)

i love the respectful mutual learning of the community; that respectful tone is set from the top down ("that tone" hehe...mandarin language...get it?)

Fair enough (to both henning and FuDaWei) - I just get wary when I see things that MAY imply people from one culture can't understand things from another culture. (Apologies for misreading you, henning.) I didn't see that happening here, but I've seen it enough in other places that I'm on my guard against it. I'm also enjoying the fun of looking for a non-English word in Chinese... it's just a delightfully unexpected direction. Next I'm expecting questions about elan or Kwanzaa or schaudenfreude (sp?) in Chinese.

Oh, and while it may be impossible to capture the exact meaning and nuance in Chinese (or English), we can have fun and learn a lot by trying.

LiA: No one said that the concept couldn't be conveyed. Merely that there wasn't a simple term that encapsulates it.

LostInAsia,

I did not mean to imply that "Chuzpa" "cannot be thought with a Chinese background. But from what I see the Culture also has no nutricious fertilizer for such a word to grow on its own - you need a loanword (same in English and German).

From above - "But I also believe there is no Mandarin word for that. It is simply a culturally incompatible concept."

Best be careful with ideas like this: language may give implications about a culture, but it doesn't define or limit it. English doesn't have a word for chutzpah either; that's why we stole the Yiddish. (And I very much doubt the English usage precisely matches the Yiddish.) Neither chutzpah nor entrepreneur are from English, yet both are definitely compatible with North American culture. From the other side, English has no word for 前天, but we can most certainly understand the idea of two days earlier/ ago.

I wouldn't say that it's culturally incompatible, just that there's no direct equivalent.

(I say this having been at the receiving end of too many conversations along the lines of "Oh, you're not Chinese, you can't possibly understand.")

This thread has really made me laugh (in a good way!) - doesn't anyone else see the irony and fun futility of trying to capture the *exact* meaning and nuance of chutzpah in Chinese, when we can't even capture the precise meaning in English? (Brazen and ballsy both seem close but not quite right.)

Thanks aaronpan,

learned a lot of vocab & usage here from you!

Actually,Chuzpe have several meanings in Chinese.Like 厚脸皮，无耻 or 胆大妄为 However 无耻and大胆 both are essential meanings. Just like the english word--mean,have many meanings in Chinese

sbw06, Wenlin also has 厚颜无耻 (hòuyánwúchǐ) impudent; shameless

For example

M:他到现在都还没有还我钱。

W:他真是个厚脸皮。

厚脸皮的意思比较广泛，一般在口语中使用，,脸皮厚的人和不知羞耻是同一个意思，但不可以作为放肆理解或胆大妄为理解

hening

How about this phrase--厚脸皮.

厚脸皮is an informal phrase,it usually used in the oral Chinese

at least I now know that Yiddish is 依地语 (Yīdìyǔ)

aaronpan,

thanks for the expanations and the examples.

Although that vocab seems to go in the right direction the sentences show that it is still does not capture "100% chutzpah". It misses the over-the-top and respect element that FuDaWei described above.

But I also believe there is no Mandarin word for that. It is simply a culturally incompatible concept.

Fudawei

That's an awesome explanation of chutzpah! Totally hits it right on the nose, a perfect explanation of its meaning. I heard the term used a lot while growing up in New York City. I don't hear it much out here in AZ.

Hi,I am come from China and am native speaker,so i think I can answer this question. chutzpah means 放肆 but in China we also can use 胆大妄为 or 好大的胆子 to replace 放肆

for example 你竟敢偷我的钱，你好大的胆子！

他今天居然没有去工作，他真是胆大妄为。

你竟敢和你老板（boss)顶嘴（backchat) 你好放肆!

so, accroding to these examples I think u can figure out that 放肆 is more formal

Thanks for all the input, and glad I could even help some to understand German etymology better! I have also found another possible translation: 厚颜 (hòu yán), which Wenlin says means brazen or shameless.

You won't find a good translation.

It's one of those unique words like "Gemütlichkeit", "sisu", or "ἀρετή" (arete) that's wrapped deeply into a culture. You might as well ask how to translate 气 (qì) into Navajo.

"Chutzpah" is not simply audacity, nerve or gall. It's audacity so outrageous ... a repugnant assault on our sensibilities so offensive ... that we (ironically) come back full-circle and start to admire it. It's a guy on trial for murdering his parents with an ax -- then begging mercy from the judge due to the fact that he's an orphan.

敢: to dare, gan3。

在中国我不敢过马路。 你太凶，我不敢！

干: to do, in a very generic sense

你在干什么？ 干不干。 你干吧。

勇气: courage, but in a more noble sense.

There's a pop song, sappy and sentimental, 爱真需要勇气。。。我们都需要勇气

大蛋 when playing sports with other guys

有敢 in context of a situation, 他真有敢。什么都敢做。 他什么都不怕，都敢。

Now I eventually know what the German "Chuzpe" originates from. Very helpful - often thought about what that strange little word comes from.

Regarding the Chinese translation:

dict.cn leads me to

胆大妄为 dǎn dà wàng wéi

or

放肆 fàng sì

But both do not seem to fit very well as they seem to be utterly negative and lack the respect that resonates with Chutzpah/Chuzpe.