Burying the bill (?)
Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 8:25 am
Hi all,
These days i came across an interesting Chinese expression:
maidan, meaning 'to pay the bill', 'i want to pay the bill' (e.g. in a restaurant or something).
Apparantly, it has two ways of writing, and even pronouncing:
mai2dan1 买单: lit. to buy the bill
mai3dan1 埋 单: lit. to bury the bill.
I was told that the origin of the expression was a kind of slang expression which originated in the southern parts of China and which spread to more northern parts and even Beijing, and which indeed was mai3dan1, to bury the bill.
Later it got re-interpreted as mai2dan1, to pay the bill.
The story doesn't strike me as incredibly odd or fanciful, but i'm curious if somebody could comment upon this.
Groetjes,
Frank
These days i came across an interesting Chinese expression:
maidan, meaning 'to pay the bill', 'i want to pay the bill' (e.g. in a restaurant or something).
Apparantly, it has two ways of writing, and even pronouncing:
mai2dan1 买单: lit. to buy the bill
mai3dan1 埋 单: lit. to bury the bill.
I was told that the origin of the expression was a kind of slang expression which originated in the southern parts of China and which spread to more northern parts and even Beijing, and which indeed was mai3dan1, to bury the bill.
Later it got re-interpreted as mai2dan1, to pay the bill.
The story doesn't strike me as incredibly odd or fanciful, but i'm curious if somebody could comment upon this.
Groetjes,
Frank