tèbié 特别 = especially, special, exceptionally
NEWS FLASH: They often just say tè 特
I just got fruit from one of my usual fruit dealers. The competition is so fierce between the fruit ladies that they usually throw in an extra apple or orange to try to secure my business for next time. Here’s how it went:
A = Albert
F = Fruit Lady
(F tries to give a free piece of hāmìguā 哈密瓜)
A: bú yào, xièxie 不要谢谢 = I don’t want it, thanks.
F: sòng gěi nǐ 送给你 = I’ll give it to you for free
A: bú yào, háishì yào xièxie nǐ 不要, 还是要谢谢 你 = I don’t want it, thanks anyway.
(F puts in the the bag)
F: zhège tè tián 这个特甜 = this one is especially sweet
But often they don’t use tèbié 特别 the way we would use “especially.” We say especially to mean, “in comparison to other things (usually just mentioned).” For example, “I saw 3 movies but I the the third one was especially good.”
The way I’m hearing it used is more like the way we say “really” or “SO.” I heard a student describe a lecture (not mine) as:
tè wúliáo 特无聊 = SO boring
Another student celebrated her triumph in killing a mosquito by calling it:
tèbié bèn 特别笨 = especially stupid
If anyone knows any rules for when you can say tè 特 and when you should say tèbié 特别, please leave a comment below.