---
title: Words that hurt — what they mean, never to be said — how Mova does on the tests · Chinese street
description: Lesson 24 of the chinese street course of Mova's primary school: 9 of 11 tests right, exam 2 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose.
---

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# Words that hurt — what they mean, never to be said

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**Tests:** 9 of 11 right · **Exam:** 2 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★★ · **Understood:** 7 of 15 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 24 of the chinese street course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/).

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Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson's questions in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/).

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### Test 1 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t1}

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my mate says if u learn the rude words u can shout them back, fair's fair. right?

- **1.** No, shout the English ones back instead, louder — no support
- **2.** No: know the meaning, walk away, never say them — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 3
- **3.** Yes, but only at grown-ups — no support
- **4.** Yes, fair's fair, they started it — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 24, line 2: «You can tell a real insult by ear even without knowing it: an angry face, a spat-out word, a "your mother" or "his mother" in a hard voice, or a crowd going qu…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «walk away» (+2); the same property (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/t1/)

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### Test 2 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t2}

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Lín's best friend grins "are you sick?" when Lín puts ketchup on rice. Is it a fight?

- **1.** Probably a light "you're crazy!" between friends, but risky — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Yes, he wants to go and die — no support
- **3.** No, he wants to take Lín to a doctor — no support
- **4.** Yes, it's always the worst insult, whoever says it and however — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/t2/)

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### Test 3 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t3}

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Without knowing a word, how can you tell an insult is happening?

- **1.** Everyone is laughing and hugging each other tight — no support
- **2.** Angry face, spat-out word, crowd going quiet — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 6
- **3.** Grannies smile and offer you more food — no support
- **4.** People bow and say xièxie — score 5

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 2 with score 6, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 24, line 2: «You can tell a real insult by ear even without knowing it: an angry face, a spat-out word, a "your mother" or "his mother" in a hard voice, or a crowd going qu…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «crowd» (+1); the same property (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/t3/)

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### Test 4 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t4}

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A player in an online game types "go and die" to Lín. Lín says "it's just a game, it's a joke". Is it?

- **1.** No, it means "you won", well done — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** No, it's never a joke; tell a grown-up — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** Yes, it means "good game" — no support
- **4.** Yes, gamers always say it, it's normal — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/t4/)

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### Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t5}

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Your English friend wants to learn "the Chinese swear about mothers" to sound cool at Lín's house. What happens if he says it there?

- **1.** Lín's granny laughs and claps for him — no support
- **2.** Lín's mum gives him a red envelope — **← Mova's choice** · score 3
- **3.** Nobody understands it anyway, it's too fast — score 0
- **4.** He shocks the family and offends everyone — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 with score 3, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 9, line 14: «bǎobǎo («BAOW-baow») means baby or sweetie; a friend may go red if his mum calls him that in front of you, so don't tease him with it.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «mum» (+2); the same receiver «friend» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/t5/)

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### Test 6 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t6}

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At the aquarium Lín points and says "kuài kàn!" and the Mandarin word for a turtle. Is that an insult?

- **1.** No, a real turtle is fine; only calling a person it — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** No, but only on Sundays — no support
- **3.** Yes, never say turtle out loud — no support
- **4.** Yes, turtles are unlucky animals in every story — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/t6/)

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### Test 7 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t7}

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Lín's teacher hears a kid call someone "waste matter". The kid says "my dad says it to me". What's true?

- **1.** It's a joke in every family, nobody minds it — no support
- **2.** It's a word for doing well — no support
- **3.** It hurts; some kids hear it from adults, never add to it — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 5
- **4.** It's fine because a dad said it, so it's allowed — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 24, line 9: «Calling someone "waste matter" means useless, a waste of space; it hurts a lot, sometimes in online games, and some kids already hear it from strict adults.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «hear» (+2); the same doer «kids» (+2); the same circumstance (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/t7/)

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### Test 8 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t8}

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In a cartoon a kid pulls his eyes "to look like" the Chinese hero. The audience laughs. What's wrong?

- **1.** It's racist mockery, not a joke — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Nothing, it's only a cartoon — no support
- **3.** It's only wrong in China, not here — no support
- **4.** It's wrong because it's ugly — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/t8/)

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### Test 9 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t9}

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Lín says "lǎowài" about your English mum, smiling. Should you be furious?

- **1.** Yes, it's the very worst slur there is — no support
- **2.** No, it means "kind lady from abroad" — no support
- **3.** No, it's casual "foreigner", usually no harm — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **4.** Yes, it means "ugly lady" — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 24, line 15: «"lǎowài" (LAOW-WIGH) is a casual word for foreigner, literally "old outsider"; people in China mostly use it without harm, but some people dislike the label.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «lǎowài» (+2); the same property (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/t9/)

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### Test 10 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t10}

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Which phrase from this lesson can you safely use, and when?

- **1.** bié shuō le, softly, to stop an argument — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **2.** The "turtle" name, to a friend, as a joke — no support
- **3.** The one-word "get lost", to a granny — score 4
- **4.** The mouth "shut up", to a strict teacher — score 4

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 24, line 14: «The most common Mandarin swear is built on insulting someone's mother and is used like "damn it"; any angry phrase about "your mother" or "his mother" is a swe…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «angry phrase» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/t10/)

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### Test 11 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t11}

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What would happen if a child greeted nobody and talked over a granny at dinner?

- **1.** She might say "méi jiàoyǎng", blaming his family — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 3
- **2.** She'd give him a red envelope — no support
- **3.** She'd say "zhēn guāi!" — score 3
- **4.** She'd say "xīnnián kuàilè" — score 3

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 15, line 5: «lǎoshī («LAOW-shr») means teacher; children say lǎoshī or surname plus lǎoshī, like Wáng lǎoshī, and never a teacher's first name, rather like «Miss» in Britai…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «say» (+2); the same doer «children» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/t11/)

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### Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e1}

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Identify the course of conduct appropriate upon being addressed with a vulgar Mandarin injunction to depart.

- **1.** Repetition of the phrase at greater volume — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Repetition of the phrase to an elder — no support
- **3.** Withdrawal without retaliation — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** Imitation of the phrase in jest — no support

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**Why:** Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/e1/)

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### Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e2}

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It is given that the expression "méi jiàoyǎng" is applied to a child by an elder. Select the statement that accurately characterises its import.

- **1.** It enquires as to the child's appetite — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** It imputes a deficient upbringing, censuring the family — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** It commends the child's diligence and good manners — no support
- **4.** It is a customary New Year blessing — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/e2/)

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### Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓ {#e3}

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Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the term "lǎowài"?

- **1.** A colloquial word for a foreigner, mostly without malice — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** It denotes an elderly relative — no support
- **3.** It is a grave racial slur, invariably intended to wound the hearer — no support
- **4.** It is a formal diplomatic title — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/e3/)

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### Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓ {#e4}

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Ascertain the appropriate response of a bystander to the mimicry of purported "Chinese" speech or the pulling of one's eyes directed at a classmate.

- **1.** To support the classmate and inform a teacher — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** To disregard the matter entirely — no support
- **3.** To retaliate with insults towards the perpetrator's family — no support
- **4.** To join in the merriment — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/chinese-street/24-words-that-hurt/e4/)

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<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [23. Friendly teasing — when it's fun and when it sti…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/chinese-street/23-friendly-teasing/)
- next →: [25. Spring Festival — Chinese New Year](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/chinese-street/25-spring-festival/)
- ↑ back to [Chinese street](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/chinese-street/)