A to F

A

• Ai1ya1!
• 哎呀！・哎呀！
• "Aiya!" [subtitles: wrongly "Hey, uh--"]
• "Damn!"
• Wash ("Our Mrs. Reynolds"), as notices electrical interference

• ai1ya1: interjection for surprise or regret, Damn!, Oh my!, Ah!; ai1 interjection for surprise or regret; ya1 interjection for surprise

Related Expression(s):

• Ai1ya1! Huai4le5.
• Ai1ya1. Tian1 a5 . . .
• Ai1ya1. Wo3men5 wan2le5.

• Ai1ya1! Huai4le5.
• 哎呀！壞了。・哎呀！坏了。
• "Aiya! Huaile." [Wash sounds like Ai ya, hoo ah lay!]
• "Something's wrong."
• Wash ("Serenity, Part 1"), as Alliance cruiser does scan of them

• ai1ya1: interjection for surprise or regret, Damn!, Oh my!, Ah!; ai1 interjection for surprise or regret; ya1 interjection for surprise
• huai4le5: interjection for bad news, [literally] ruined, spoiled; huai4 to ruin; le5 change-indicating marker

Related Expression(s):

• Ai1ya1!
• Ai1ya1. Tian1 a5 . . .
• Ai1ya1. Wo3men5 wan2le5.

• Ai1ya1. Tian1 a5 . . .
• 哎呀。天啊……・哎呀。天啊……
• "Ai-yah. Tyen-ah..." [subtitles: completely omitted]
• "Merciless hell..."
• Wash (Serenity Movie), on hearing of Reavers [described in novelization, p. 76]

• ai1ya1: interjection for surprise or regret, Damn!, Oh my!, Ah!; ai1 interjection for surprise or regret; ya1 interjection for surprise
• tian1 a5: Oh God!; tian1 heaven, God; a5 ah, marker of direct address or exclamation

Related Expression(s):

• Ai1ya1!
• Ai1ya1! Huai4le5.
• Ai1ya1. Wo3men5 wan2le5.
• Lao3tian1, bu4.
• Lao3tian1ye2.
• Tian1sha1 de5 e4mo2.
• tian1 xiao3de2
• Wo3 de5 tian1, a5.

• Ai1ya1. Wo3men5 wan2le5.
• 哎呀。我們完了。・哎呀。我们完了。
• "Ai ya. Women wanle."
• "We're in big trouble."
• Zoe ("Serenity, Part 2"), as Reaver ship approaches

• ai1ya1: interjection for surprise or regret, Damn!, Oh my!, Ah!; ai1 interjection for surprise or regret; ya1 interjection for surprise
• wo3men5: we; wo3 I; men5 plural suffix
• wan2le5: be hopeless, doomed; wan2 finish, be over; le5 change-indicating marker

Related Expression(s):

• Ai1ya1!
• Ai1ya1! Huai4le5.
• Ai1ya1. Tian1 a5 . . .

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B

• Bai4tuo1, an1jing4 yi1dian3!
• 1. 拜托，安靜一點！・拜托，安静一点！
• "BAI-tuo, AN-jing-eedyen!"
• "We will enjoy your silence now!"
• Teacher (Serenity Movie), to disruptive Boy #2
• 2. 拜托，安靜一點！・拜托，安静一点！
• "Bai duo [sic] , an jing yidian!"
• We will enjoy your silence now! [from Serenity movie script]
• Professor Rao (Serenity Novelization, p. 65), to disruptive student Marvin

• bai4tuo1: [courteous] to request [of someone], [colloquial] please I beg you, [Taiwan fixed expression] Give me a break!; bai4 to bow, show deference; tuo1 request a favor, entrust
• an1jing4: [be] quiet; an1 tranquil, peaceful; jing4 calm, still
• yi1dian3: a little; yi1 [shifts to yi4 before a 3rd-tone syllable] a, one; dian3 [measure word for small amounts], [literally] a spot, dot

• bao [BORROWED CHINESE]
• 包・包
• "bao" [in script as English; subtitles: "bao," as English]
• "bao"
• Wash ("Our Mrs. Reynolds"), on seeing Saffron's cooking

• bao: [short for 包子・包子 bao1zi5] bao, stuffed bun; bao1 bun, a package; zi5 suffix to make noun two syllables

• bao3bei4
• 寶貝・宝贝
• "bao bay." [subtitles: "baobei"]
• "sweetheart."
• Atherton Wing ("Shindig"), addressing Inara on Cortex

• bao3bei4: darling, sweetheart; bao3 precious; bei4 cowrie [shell once used as money]

• Ben4 tian1sheng1 de5 yi1 dui1 rou4.
• 笨天生的一堆肉。・笨天生的一堆肉。
• "BUN tyen-shung duh ee-DWAY-RO."
• Stupid inbred stack of meat.
• Saffron ("Trash"), addressing the departing Monty

• ben4: stupid, clumsy
• tian1sheng1 de5: innate, inbred; tian1 nature-given, God, heaven; sheng1 give birth to, be born; de5 adjective marker
• yi1 dui1 rou4: stack of meat; yi1 dui1 a stack of (yi1 [shifts to yi4 before a 1st-tone syllable] a, one; dui1 stack, pile); rou4 meat, flesh
• Thanks to Firefly Chinese Translator Jenny Lynn for the wording of the English meaning.

Related Expression(s):

• Liu2 kou3shui3 de5 biao3zi5 he2 hou2zi5 de5 ben4 er2zi5.
• yu2ben4 de5

• Bi4zui3.
• 1. 閉嘴。・闭嘴。
• "Bizui." [Mal sounds like Bih-zway.]
• "Shut up."
• Mal ("Serenity, Part 1"), to Zoe and Jayne as they fret about Alliance cruiser
• 2. 閉嘴。・闭嘴。
• "Bizui." [Mal sounds like Bih-zway.]
• "Shut up."
• Mal ("Serenity, Part 1"), to Wash as Wash banters with Jayne

• bi4zui3: [slang] Shut up!; bi4 shut, close; zui3 beak, snout, mouth

Related Expression(s):

• Bi4zui3 nin2 hen3 bu4ti3tie1 de5 nan2sheng1!
• Bi4zui3. Rong2 wo3men5 fa1cai2.
• Ni3men5 dou1 bi4zui3!

• Bi4zui3, nin2 hen3 bu4ti3tie1 de5 nan2sheng1!
• 閉嘴，您很不體貼的男生！・闭嘴，您很不体贴的男生！
• "BEE-jway, neen hen BOO-TEE-TYEH duh NAN-shung!"
• "Shut up, you inconsiderate schoolboys!"
• Inara ("Objects in Space"), as Wash and Jayne bicker during River discussion

• bi4zui3: [slang] Shut up!; bi4 shut, close; zui3 beak, snout, mouth
• nin2 hen3 bu4ti3tie1 de5: you very inconsiderate; nin2 you [polite, singular]; hen3 very; bu4ti3tie1 de5 inconsiderate (bu4 not, negative prefix non-/un-; ti3tie1 considerate [ti3 realize, understand; tie1 to near]; de5 adjective marker)
• nan2sheng1: schoolboy; nan2 male, boy; sheng1 student

Related Expression(s):

• Bi4zui3.
• Bi4zui3. Rong2 wo3men5 fa1cai2.
• Ni3men5 dou1 bi4zui3!

• Bi4zui3. Rong2 wo3men5 fa1cai2. [CUT]
• 閉嘴。容我們發財。・闭嘴。容我们发财。
• "BEE-tzway. Wrong wuomun FAH-TSAI."
• "Shut up and make us wealthy."
• Mal (Serenity Movie), to uncooperative Trade Agent [described in novelization, p. 61]

• bi4zui3: [slang] Shut up!; bi4 shut, close; zui3 beak, snout, mouth
• rong2 wo3men5 fa1cai2: let us get rich; rong2 allow, let; wo3men5 us (wo3 me; men5 plural suffix); fa1cai2 get rich (fa1 to grow, [slang] make a fortune; cai2 wealth)

Related Expression(s):

• Bi4zui3.
• Bi4zui3 nin2 hen3 bu4ti3tie1 de5 nan2sheng1!
• Ni3men5 dou1 bi4zui3!

• Bian1da3 ta1men5 de5 bei4 jiu4 gou4 le5. [DELETED SCENE ON DVD]
• 鞭打她們的背就夠了。・鞭打她们的背就够了。
• "Byen dahTAHmenduhBAY joGOluh."
• "A switch to those girls' backsides is just good enough."
• Inara (Serenity Movie), to Companion Sheydra about gossipy Companion trainees [described in novelization, p. 100]

• bian1da3 ta1men5 de5 bei4: whipping their [female] backs; bian1da3 to whip, flog (bian1 to lash, flog; da3 to hit, strike); ta1men5 de5 their [female] (ta1 she; men5 plural marker; de5 possessive marker); bei4 one's back, back side of something
• jiu4 gou4 le5: be just good enough; jiu4 just, merely; gou4 be enough, be adequate; le5 marker of exclamation

• bu4 hui3hen4 de5 po1fu4
• 不悔恨的潑婦・不悔恨的泼妇
• "BOO hway-HUN duh PUO-foo"
• "remorseless harridan"
• Simon ("Trash"), referring to Saffron

• bu4 hui3hen4 de5: remorseless; bu4 not; hui3hen4 feel remorse, regret deeply (hui3 to regret, show remorse; hen4 to regret); de5 relative clause marker
• po1fu4: shrew; po1 impetuous, detestable; fu4 woman

• bu4tai4 zheng4chang2 de5 [CUT]
• 不太正常的・不太正常的
• "boo-tai jung-tzahng-duh"
• "not entirely sane"
• Simon ("Safe"), referring to River

• bu4tai4 zheng4chang2 de5: not very normal; bu4tai4 not very (bu4 [shifts to bu2 before a 4th-tone syllable] not; tai4 very); zheng4chang2 de5 normal (zheng4 correct, proper; chang2 normal; de5 adjective marker).
• This was replaced by a line referring to Mal: pian1zhi2 de5 jiu1cha2yuan2 stubborn martinet (P).

• bu4yao4 ming4 de5 su4du4
• “不要命的速度”
• boo yao ming duh soo doo
• life-risking speed
• Wash (Serenity #3 Comic, p. 14), to Mal about the ship's speed

• bu4yao4 ming4 de5: life-risking, fearless; bu4yao4 not want (bu4 [shifts to bu2 before a 4th-tone syllable] not; yao4 to want); ming4 life; de5 relative clause marker
• su4du4: speed, velocity; su4 speed, velocity; du4 suffix making abstract nouns, -ness, -ity
• Wash's use of the English word speed after su4du4 seems redundant.

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C (ts), Ch

(Ch: see also Q)

• Cai2 bu4 shi4.
• 纔不是。・才不是。
• "Tsai boo shr."
• "No way."
• Kaylee ("Shindig"), refuting the 80-04's quality

• cai2 bu4 shi4: [literally] actually [it] isn't; cai2 actually; bu4 shi4 not be, No! (bu4 [shifts to bu2 before a 4th-tone syllable] not; shi4 be)

• chou4 ma3-niao4 [THOUGHT]
• 臭馬尿・臭马尿
• "chou ma niao"
• stinking horse-urine
• Jayne (Serenity Novelization, p. 58), about unimpressive Lilac

• chou4: stinking, [slang] inferior
• ma3-niao4: horse urine; ma3 horse; niao4 urine
• This phrase comes from the fandom. Early on, some fans translated the "shiong mao" of "shiong mao niao" ("panda urine," "Jaynestown") as chou4 ma3- (stinking horse-) instead of xiong2mao1 (panda).

Related Expression(s):

• niao4 shi1 de5 du3gui3
• xiong2mao1 niao4

• Chu2fei1 wo3 si3 le5.
• 除非我死了。・除非我死了。
• "[Whispering in Chinese.]" [Gabriel sounds like Joo fay woo suh lah.]
• Over my dead body.
• Gabriel Tam ("Safe"), to Simon about Simon's returning to the blackout zone

• chu2fei1 wo3 si3 le5: [literally] [not] unless I die; chu2fei1 unless, only if (chu2 unless, except; fei1 not); wo3 I; si3 to die; le5 change-indicating marker
• Thanks to Firefly Chinese Translator Jenny Lynn for the pinyin and English meaning.

• chui1niu2 [CUT]
• 吹牛・吹牛
• "tsway-niou"
• "bullcrap"
• Gabriel Tam ("Safe"), after Simon implies he himself has always taken care of River

• chui1niu2: [colloquial] to brag, boast; chui1 [colloquial] to brag, boast, [literally] to blow; niu2 [colloquial] to brag, boast, [literally] ox
• Also 吹牛皮・吹牛皮 chui1 niu2pi2: to brag, boast; chui1 [colloquial] to brag, boast, [literally] to blow; niu2pi2 bragging, great exaggeration, [literally] ox hide, leather (niu2 ox; pi2 hide, leather)

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D

• da4 bian4hua4
• 大變化・大变化
• "da bianhua"
• "big change"
• Young Simon ("Safe"), about getting a dedicated source box

• da4: big, great
• bian4hua4: a change, transformation; bian4 a change, to change, be transformed; hua4 to change, transform

• Da4jia1 zuo4xia5!
• 大家坐下！・大家坐下！
• Da jee-ah tzwo sha!
• Everybody sit down!
• Zoe (Serenity Movie), to fellow hovercraft occupants before U-turn [not in script or novelization]

• da4jia1: everyone; da4 big, great; jia1 family, household
• zuo4xia5: sit down; zuo4 sit; xia4 down
• Translation suggestion from tmhsiao's blog.

• Da4xiang4 bao4zha4shi4 de5 la1 du4zi5
• 大象爆炸式的拉肚子・大象爆炸式的拉肚子
• "Da-shiang bao-tza shr duh lah doo-tze" [Mal sounds like Da-shiang bao tse shr la duh too-tze.]
• "The explosive diarrhea of an elephant"
• Mal ("Our Mrs. Reynolds"), response to Jayne's Vera-for-Saffron offer

• da4xiang4: elephant; da4 big, great; xiang4 elephant
• bao4zha4shi4 de5: exploding-type; bao4zha4 explode (bao4 explode; zha4 explode); shi4 type, style, suffix meaning: -ation; de5 possessive marker
• la1 du4zi5: have diarrhea; la1 excrete, move bowels; du4zi5 belly, bowels (du4 belly; zi5 suffix to make noun two syllables)
• Thanks to Firefly Chinese Translator Jenny Lynn for the shi4 and its English meaning (and for confirming the other pinyin in this entry).

• damp lung [NOT CHINESE]
• [NO CHARACTERS]
• "the Damplung" [Jayne sounds like damp long; subtitles: wrongly say it's Chinese]
• damp lung
• Jayne [off-screen] ("The Message"), reading aloud letter from mother [brother Matty is sick with it]

• [ENGLISH]
• damp lung: name for a lung disease

• Dang1ran2.
• 當然。・当然。
• "Dahng ran." [Simon sounds like Dahng nang.]
• "Of course."
• Simon ("Our Mrs. Reynolds"), about having an encyclopedia

• dang1ran2: of course, certainly; dang1 proper, fit; ran2 adverb suffix, -ly

• Dej jim za to plátek masa. [NOT CHINESE]
• [NO CHARACTERS]
• Day yim zato plahteck mahsah.
• "They have enough for a slice."
• Niska ("War Stories"), to torturer about hostage refund

• [CZECH]
• dej: give [imperative mood/command form of dát]
• jim: them, to them [dative case/indirect object form of oni]
• za to: for it; za for; to it [accusative case/direct object form of to]
• plátek masa: a slice of meat; plátek a slice; masa meat, of meat [genitive case form of maso]
• Thanks to native-Czech-speaking fan kernel32 for the Czech information.

• Deng3 yi1huir4 . . .
• 等一會兒……・等一会儿……
• "Dung ee hwar..." [Wash sounds like Duh-ning mah.]
• "Hold on a second..."
• Wash ("Our Mrs. Reynolds"), to Mal as checks if Saffron signaled anyone

• deng3 yi1huir4: wait a little while; deng3 to wait; yi1hui(r)4 a little while, a short moment (yi1 [shifts to yi2 before a 4th-tone syllable] a, one; hui(r) [colloquial] a while [-r is non-syllabic colloquial suffix])
• Wash might have been saying 等一秒・等一秒 deng3 yi1 miao3: wait a second; deng3 to wait; yi1 miao3 a second (yi1 [shifts to yi4 before a 3rd-tone syllable] a, one; miao3 second).

• dong3 le5 ma5?
• 懂了嗎？・懂了吗？
• "dong le ma?"
• Are we clear here? [from Serenity movie script]
• Mal (Serenity Novelization, p. 52), to Simon to end argument

• dong3 le5 ma5: understood?; dong3 understand; le5 completion marker; ma5 question marker

Related Expression(s):

• Dong3 le5 ma5? Ni3 chou2lian3, you3 mei2you3?
• Dong3 ma5?

• Dong3 le5 ma5? Ni3 chou2lian3, you3 mei2you3?
• 懂了嗎？你愁臉，有沒有？・懂了吗？你愁脸，有没有？
• "DONG-luh-MAH?" Ni cho lyen, yo may yo? [Mal sounds like Dong-luh-mah? Ni chow len, yo may yo?
• "Are we clear here?" Do you have a worried face?
• Mal (Serenity Movie), to Simon to end argument then more to self [novelization, p. 52； second sentence not in script or novelization]

• dong3 le5 ma5: understood?; dong3 understand; le5 completion marker; ma5 question marker
• ni3: you
• chou2lian3: a worried face; chou2 to worry; lian3 a face, a facial expression
• you3 mei2you3: have (or not)?, is there (or not)?; you3 have, there is; mei2you3 not have, there is not (mei2 negative verb-prefix; you3 have, there is)
• The worried-face line would be a callback to Simon's look of fear versus anger at the beginning of their conversation.

Related Expression(s):

• dong3 le5 ma5?
• Dong3 ma5?

• dong3 ma5? / Dong3 ma5?
• 1. 懂嗎・懂吗
• "dong ma" [subtitles: "Dong ma?"]
• "understand"
• Jayne ("The Train Job"), to Simon about his unimportance
• 2. 懂嗎？・懂吗？
• "Dong-ma?" [subtitles: "Dong ma?"]
• "Understand?"
• Mal ("Out of Gas"), to Kaylee about fixing over fretting
• 3. 懂嗎？・懂吗？
• "Dong ma?" [subtitles: "Dong ma?"]
• "understand?"
• Womack ("The Message"), to Amnon about keeping quiet
• 4. 懂嗎？・懂吗？
• "dong MA?" [subtitles: "Dong ma?"]
• "you understand?"
• Jayne [off-screen] ("Heart of Gold"), to prostitutes after revealing penalty for missing the target

• dong3 ma5: understand?; dong3 understand; ma5 question marker

Related Expression(s):

• dong3 le5 ma5?
• Dong3 le5 ma5? Ni3 chou2lian3, you3 mei2you3?

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E

(ee: see yi)

• Eto kuram na smekh! [NOT CHINESE]
• 
• "Eta Kooram Nah Smech!" [subtitles: wrongly say it's Chinese, but say it's a foreign language in deleted-scene version]
• That's ridiculous! [used as safeword]
• Simon (Serenity Movie), used to put River to sleep [novelization, p. 115]

• [RUSSIAN]
• eto: that, this [demonstrative pronoun]
• kuram na smekh: [idiom] ridiculous, [literally] to make the hens laugh; kuram for hens [dative case plural of kuritsa: hen]; na intended for; smekh laughter
• Idiomatic meaning from data on Cornell University's Russian Language Program site; literal meaning from various Serenity fans and Provérbios russos, which gives the English equivalent of: it is enough to make a cat laugh.
• Speaking of the Tams and Russian, (tam) is the Russian word for there.

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F

• Fang4xin1. [CUT]
• 放心。・放心。
• "FAHNG-sheen."
• "Don't worry."
• Zoe ("Trash"), to Inara about keeping Mal safe from Saffron

• fang4xin1: Don't worry, set one's mind at rest; fang4 to ease restraint, to set free; xin1 feelings, mind

• fang4zong4 feng1kuang2 de5 jie2
• 放縱瘋狂的結・放纵疯狂的结
• fahng-tzong fung-kwong duh jeh [Mal sounds like fang-tzang fung-kwong duh jeh.]
• "a knot of self indulgent lunacy"
• Mal ("War Stories"), about Wash and Zoe arguing and Wash going on the job

• fang4zong4 feng1kuang2 de5: insanity-indulging, which/that/who indulge(s) insanity; fang4zong4 indulge (fang4 to ease restraint; zong4 indulge); feng1kuang2 insanity, madness (feng1 crazy, insane; kuang2 crazy, insane); de5 relative clause marker
• jie2: a knot

Related Expression(s):

• feng1le5
• kuang2zhe3 de5
• Wo3 de5 ma1 he2 ta1 de5 feng1kuang2 de5 wai4sheng5 dou1
• xiong1meng3 de5 kuang2ren2

• fei4fei4 de5 pi4yan3
• 狒狒的屁眼・狒狒的屁眼
• "FAY-FAY duh PEE-yen"
• "a babboon's [sic] a**-crack"
• Jayne ("Objects in Space"), about Kaylee's recounting of River's shooting

• fei4fei4 de5: baboon's; fei4fei4 baboon; de5 possessive marker
• pi4yan3: [short for 屁股眼・屁股眼 pi4gu5yan3] anus; pi4gu5 butt, backside (pi4 butt, backside; gu3 thigh); yan3 small hole, [literally] eye

Related Expression(s):

• hou2zi5 de5 pi4gu5!
• pi4gu5
• Tai4kong1 suo3you3 de5 xing1qiu2 sai1jin4 wo3 de5 pi4gu5
• Ti1 wo3 de5 pi4gu5.

• Fei4hua4.
• 廢話。・废话。
• "Fei hua." [subtitles: "Fei hua."]
• "Nonsense."
• Mal ("Safe"), refuting claim that cattle are in poor condition

• fei4hua4: nonsense, Nonsense!; fei4 useless, to abandon; hua4 words, talk

Related Expression(s):

• fei4wu4

• fei4wu4 / Fei4wu4?
• 1. 廢物・废物
• "Fei-oo" [subtitles: "fei-oo"]
• "junk"
• Zoe ("Out of Gas"), referring to Serenity
• 2. 廢物？・废物？
• "Fei-oo?" [subtitles: "Fei-oo?"]
• "Junk?"
• Mal ("Out of Gas"), surprised by Zoe's slur against Serenity

• fei4wu4: useless thing, trash; fei4 useless, to abandon; wu4 thing, object

Related Expression(s):

• Fei4hua4.

• Feng1le5. [CUT]
• 瘋了。・疯了。
• "Fong luh."
• "Loopy in the head."
• Jayne ("Bushwhacked"), about waiting around for Reaver victims' funeral

• feng1le5: be crazy; feng1 crazy, insane; le5 imperative marker

Related Expression(s):

• fang4zong4 feng1kuang2 de5 jie2
• Wo3 de5 ma1 he2 ta1 de5 feng1kuang2 de5 wai4sheng5 dou1

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