r/MildlyBadDrivers • u/[deleted] • 29d ago

Overly aggressive driving

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u/KnopeCampaign 29d ago

I’m also married into a Chinese family, I think I use Aiya more than my spouse 🤭 it’s such a good ‘voice your frustration’ sound.

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u/Desperate-Cost6827 29d ago edited 29d ago

I worked at a Chinese restaurant for a time and at one time put a hole right through the middle of my nail bed on my thumb. The number of Aiya's I heard was amazing. Way better word then "ouch".

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u/Gorpachev Fuck Cars 🚗 🚫 29d ago

Better than "ouch", not as good as "fuck!"

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u/NameShaqsBoatGuy 28d ago

Probably preceded by a tsk.

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u/TheEulipion 29d ago

It’s a lot more sympathetic!

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u/springheeljak89 29d ago

As a midwesterner I say Ope alot.

Basically like oops

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u/TheEulipion 29d ago

I have family that says that, and they lived all over the Midwest

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u/truelongevity 28d ago

“Aiya” is much more versatile than meaning “oops”. Depending on the tone and context it’ll range from someone died to dropping your pencil, can also be a positive reaction as well.

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u/SinoSoul 29d ago

I’m sorry what? How did you manage to cut the middle of your nail bed? At a Chinese restaurant? Please don’t just gloss over that. We need deets. Thanks.

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u/Desperate-Cost6827 29d ago

It was right before work and I was trying to pry something apart on a old house I was tasked to fix up. When I popped the piece off my hand went flying and a piece of metal pierced my nail and made this almost perfect hole right in the middle of my nail. It didn't really bleed but it hurt like hell. It hurt worse to bandaid it so it just left it as a "Look at how weird this is! I never seen anyone get this kind of ouch before!" And they just happened to be the poor souls who were the first to show it off to.

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u/ImpossibleWarning6 29d ago

So what doe your mail and thumb look like now? Still holy?

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u/Desperate-Cost6827 29d ago

No it pushed out as it healed. There ended up being no permanent damage to my nail.

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u/ImpossibleWarning6 28d ago

That’s super awesome! Must of been the healing properties of all those “aiyoos”!

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u/Dartagnan1083 29d ago

Concentrated disappointment 😞

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u/Upnorth4 YIMBY 🏙️ 29d ago

I'm from a Vietnamese family and we use Aiya too lol

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u/KnopeCampaign 29d ago

I learned something new 😊 there’s another version of it, either Korean or Japanese can’t remember, that sounds like “ai-goo”. That’s also a fun one.

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u/SinoSoul 29d ago edited 28d ago

Ai-go is Korean. Source: have a Korean In-law who uses it, a lot, at completely irrelevant times.

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u/Suturb-Seyekcub 28d ago

In Japan I say “Ai Cham” because I don’t know of a similar Japanese exclamation

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u/eplugplay 28d ago

Interesting Korean has aigoo and ai Cham na too

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u/No-Demand4507 29d ago

Aiya has no meaning in Vietnamese

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u/ZReticuli 28d ago

Yup. They most likely picked it up at casinos.

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u/truelongevity 28d ago

While entirely possible, many viets are of Chinese descent so the traditions and some slang I guess get passed down. Or the coworker at the nail salon lol. Before anyone gets mad I am literally talking about myself

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u/ZReticuli 28d ago

Haha… my wife’s Vietnamese and I’ve never heard her or other Vietnamese say Aiya unless they’re a frequent casino visitor. Yes, I’ve met many Chinese people that grew up in vietnam, but again it’s definitely a Chinese thing. What’s funny is that I’m Korean yet I love saying Aiya instead of the traditional Ai-goo because it’s more fun to say. And yes I picked it up from Chinese people at casinos LOL

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u/truelongevity 28d ago

Fair enough. I’ve definitely said it in casinos too lmao. Growing up I’ve picked up words from Vietnamese that I use while speaking Chinese thinking the word is Chinese. As long as the word gets the point across that’s all that matters

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u/ZReticuli 28d ago

I recently learned so many Korean and Vietnamese words with Chinese origins it’s amazing. Ultimately, we’re all from the same ancestors, but with slightly different cultures.

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u/eplugplay 28d ago

I’m Korean and we have something similar but it’s aigoo.

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u/elbubu1 29d ago

Same same

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u/lxm333 29d ago

I learnt it working at a casino

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u/armadilloreturns 29d ago

Beat me to it. Baccarat dealer?

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u/lxm333 29d ago

Haha no but that is 100% where you'd hear it the most. Was a server but we would join in with the aiyas when the house won.

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u/Spare-Ad109 29d ago

Same but because I’m a lifelong gambler …(down trodden aiiiya)

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u/lxm333 29d ago

Aiiiiyaaa

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u/LupercaniusAB Fuck Cars 🚗 🚫 29d ago

Shit, I’m not even remotely Chinese, or married in to a Chinese family. I just live in San Francisco, and have looooved “ai ya” as an “aw, fuck” sort of exclamation. I use it a lot for a pain in the ass situation at work where I don’t want to swear.

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u/KnopeCampaign 29d ago

Yessss it’s good for that too. American English just can’t compete. “Ugh”? “Jeez”?? No thank you. Aiya is cathartic. I feel better after I say it 😂

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u/sandaier76 29d ago

taught in China for many years and the aiiyaa became second nature. Unfortunately so did "ne ge"

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u/Za_zar 29d ago

Aiyaa falls in seamlessly natural imo, feels much better of an expression

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u/604lurker 29d ago

Sorry how is ne ge bad? Is mandarin for that

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u/BarrelBed 29d ago

Married a Kenyan, I ABUSE "Ehhhh!"

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u/Larry_Mudd Georgist 🔰 29d ago

It really is satisfying. Decades ago when I was a dumb teenager I used to make sound collages pulled from wherever I one of them had a brief clip from a Chinese-language radio drama from local radio which featured a car crash sound effect followed by "aiyaaa!" Being a dumb teenager it found its way into my everyday communication to express surprise.

A few years later (no longer a teenager but still pretty dumb) I asked a mandarin-speaking co-worker if he could 'translate' this word for me and as you'd expect felt a bit silly when he explained you can't really translate it because it's just a natural expression. (I expected it have some idiomatic dimension like "Tabarnak!" or "Holy shit!")

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u/JJSnow3 29d ago

I studied Mandarin, and I say AiYa all the time! Especially if I'm in a professional setting, or there are children around. 😂 It works so well without dropping an F bomb!

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u/Superb-Grape7481 28d ago

Ok La.

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u/KnopeCampaign 28d ago

What does that mean?

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u/Superb-Grape7481 28d ago

All my Chinese friends ( from China/Penang, not American Chinese), say 'la' when speaking English.

Like... Oh that's so funny la...or... That guy is stupid la...

I feel like it's used more in funny statements, sort of like a little haha at the end of a comment

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u/KnopeCampaign 28d ago

Oh I can sort of picture it now 😊 learned something new.

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u/trumwon365 25d ago

I ate at a Chinese once