InterCultural Word of the Week! Chui Niu  吹牛 

Dom Tidey EuRA C.O.O.

This Mandarin phrase literarily translates as “To Blow Cow”  吹 is the character for blow and 牛 is the character for cow.  An equivalent in English would be someone who is full of hot air, a person who likes to talk, too much and not necessarily talk the truth!  However the phrase Chui Niu is more defined, referring to someone who brags or boasts in an attempt to inflate their own importance or achievements.  “Ni tai chuiniu”, “You’re bragging!”.   The phrase is thought to come from northwest China where people would use inflated cow hides as flotation devices for rafts.  Anyone who took sole credit for inflating the device was clearly “all talk”!

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Dominic Tidey is the C.O.O. of EuRA, the European Relocation Association.  EuRA is the professional industry body for relocation providers and affiliated services. As a non-profit organisation EuRA aims to promote the benefits of a professionally managed relocation to companies with globally mobile employees.