# Deconstructing chinglish "rude and unreasonable chicken" **URL:** \ **Category:** Learning Chinese\ **Created:** [February 13, 2020, 5:08am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/deconstructing-chinglish-rude-and-unreasonable-chicken/188548 "2020-02-13T05:08:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Seeker](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@The\_Seeker](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/The_Seeker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 5:08am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/deconstructing-chinglish-rude-and-unreasonable-chicken/188548/1 "2020-02-13T05:08:05Z")
![FB_IMG_1581526303388](https://forumosauploads-12829.kxcdn.com/original/3X/7/5/75d9cd8766cf6cb7e4f7ccde7ee9e5ac1e5e5c67.jpeg) This is an entertaining meme circulating on English Teaching Facebook Groups. The real definition of 川水泼辣鸡 (Chuān shuǐ pōlà jī) is Sichuan Spicy Chicken. The “rude and unreasonable” comes from the word “潑辣(pōla).” According to Pleco, this word has many definitions, the first being “rude and unreasonable”, and the second being “pungent,” a synonym for spicy. My question is about “Sichuan, 四川 (Sìchuān). According to Pleco, 川 is the abbreviation for Sichuan Province. But where does the “水(shuǐ)” or water fit in? There is no term “川水” as far as I can tell. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Milker](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/dr_milker/32/181996_2.png) [@Dr\_Milker](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Dr_Milker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 5:21am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/deconstructing-chinglish-rude-and-unreasonable-chicken/188548/2 "2020-02-13T05:21:31Z")
It looks to me like 水潑 refers to the method of preparation, so it would be 四川 水潑 辣雞. ---
**Author:** ![hansioux](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/hansioux/32/253648_2.png) [@hansioux](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/hansioux)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 5:25am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/deconstructing-chinglish-rude-and-unreasonable-chicken/188548/3 "2020-02-13T05:25:47Z")
I think 潑辣 雞 is where the rude chicken part comes from. ---
**Author:** ![tando](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/6f9a4e/32.png) [@tando](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/tando)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 5:30am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/deconstructing-chinglish-rude-and-unreasonable-chicken/188548/4 "2020-02-13T05:30:11Z")
四川長江潑辣雞? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Seeker](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@The\_Seeker](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/The_Seeker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 6:37am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/deconstructing-chinglish-rude-and-unreasonable-chicken/188548/5 "2020-02-13T06:37:14Z")
川水泼辣鸡(川水潑辣雞) as it appears on the menu is an accepted name for this dish according to Google Translate.Though I don’t think it is the most popular name for it. > [@Dr\_Milker](#): > > It looks to me like 水潑 refers to the method of preparation I can’t find any reference to this cooking method “水泼” Could you link me to a reference if possible. Pleco is usually good at obscure terms and methods. When I searched the original term on Google for this dish, I didn’t get any recipes but got links to entertaining stories about this meme. > **[中国餐馆菜单的奇葩翻译](https://www-epochtimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.epochtimes.com/gb/16/7/18/n8113257.htm/amp?amp_js_v=a3&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQCKAE%3D#aoh=15815752258245&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.epochtimes.com%2Fgb%2F16%2F7%2F18%2Fn8113257.htm)** > > 老外到中国餐馆，点餐时如果有图文并茂的菜单，可能会松一口气，但有时看英译的菜名，可能还是会丈二金刚摸不着头绪，搞不清楚到底是什么。 ---
**Author:** ![rooftopclown](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/rooftopclown/32/58063_2.png) [@rooftopclown](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/rooftopclown)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 6:38am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/deconstructing-chinglish-rude-and-unreasonable-chicken/188548/6 "2020-02-13T06:38:38Z")
This dish describes my mother in law perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Milker](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/dr_milker/32/181996_2.png) [@Dr\_Milker](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Dr_Milker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 6:39am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/deconstructing-chinglish-rude-and-unreasonable-chicken/188548/7 "2020-02-13T06:39:18Z")
> [@The\_Seeker](#): > > I can’t find any reference to this cooking method “水泼” 水潑蛋 is the name of a common dish… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Seeker](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@The\_Seeker](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/The_Seeker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 6:55am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/deconstructing-chinglish-rude-and-unreasonable-chicken/188548/8 "2020-02-13T06:55:47Z")
> [@Dr\_Milker](#): > > 水潑蛋 is the name of a common dish… Kind of like poached eggs? Nothing is simple with Chinese. > **[國外吃早餐，必學的9種蛋料理英文！三分鐘搞懂美式Brunch早午餐的蛋料理英文 | 全英遊學 – 菲律賓遊學推薦代辦 – 分享快樂學英文的方法](http://iabroad.com.tw/learn-english-eggs-breakfast/)** ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Milker](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/dr_milker/32/181996_2.png) [@Dr\_Milker](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Dr_Milker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 6:58am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/deconstructing-chinglish-rude-and-unreasonable-chicken/188548/9 "2020-02-13T06:58:31Z")
> [@The\_Seeker](#): > > Kind of like poached eggs? Nothing is simple with Chinese. Yeah, pretty much. But sometimes they leave it in the water and it turns out like a cross between a poached egg and egg drop soup. ---
**Author:** ![hansioux](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/hansioux/32/253648_2.png) [@hansioux](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/hansioux)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 8:39am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/deconstructing-chinglish-rude-and-unreasonable-chicken/188548/10 "2020-02-13T08:39:07Z")
Though in Taiwan, a pouched egg is usually written as 水波蛋 ---
**Author:** ![Explant](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/explant/32/130551_2.png) [@Explant](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Explant)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2020, 9:17am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/deconstructing-chinglish-rude-and-unreasonable-chicken/188548/11 "2020-02-13T09:17:30Z")
> [@rooftopclown](#): > > This dish describes my mother in law perfectly. 她很辣嗎？ got pics? ---
**Author:** ![Ian-C](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/i/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ian-C](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Ian-C)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2020, 3:19pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/deconstructing-chinglish-rude-and-unreasonable-chicken/188548/12 "2020-07-30T15:19:05Z")
Dr. Miller’s translation is right on! His partitioning of the name is the one that makes sense in describing the dish. However, … The name is a pun. The cooking method is 水潑 but the pun is 潑辣. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Milker](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/dr_milker/32/181996_2.png) [@Dr\_Milker](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Dr_Milker)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/deconstructing-chinglish-rude-and-unreasonable-chicken/188548/13 "2020-07-30T15:25:08Z")
> [@Ian-C](#): > > Dr. **Miller** ’s translation is right on! ![image](https://forumosauploads-12829.kxcdn.com/original/3X/d/6/d6d5a94233984a54a985e437d6321ad8c93a6a1f.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Ian-C](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/i/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ian-C](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Ian-C)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/deconstructing-chinglish-rude-and-unreasonable-chicken/188548/14 "2020-07-30T16:05:28Z")
Sorry Dr. Milker. I see you are well prepared for this scenario. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Milker](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/dr_milker/32/181996_2.png) [@Dr\_Milker](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Dr_Milker)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/deconstructing-chinglish-rude-and-unreasonable-chicken/188548/15 "2020-07-30T16:07:44Z")
> [@Ian-C](#): > > Sorry Dr. Milker. I see you are well prepared for this scenario. No need to apologize. Here, have a bottle on me. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HlgytNfCp_o/maxresdefault.jpg "最好是 Dr. Milker 完整版") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlgytNfCp_o)