#021 obstinate /鐵齒( tiěchǐ )
照片攝於台中大甲鎮瀾宮/The photo was taken at the Dajia Zhenlan Temple in Taichung ©Chillneez.
Obstinate
The word, “tiěchǐ (鐵齒)”, when used to describe a person, such as “Do not be too obstinate (Taiwanese: thih-khí), “I tsit ê lâng tsiok thih-khí (伊這個人足鐵齒）”, has the connotations of “unwilling to admit mistakes”, or “unwilling to be taken in for fallacies”. “Fallacy (邪,xié)” in this context refers to phenomenon that are strange or unusual. This may be associated with two circumstances, one concerning superstition or one’s world view. Embedded in daily life context, the concept of “xié (邪)” means “crooked path” or “crooked means”.
鐵齒( tiěchǐ )
「鐵齒」一次用來形容人時，如做人不能太「thih-khí」(台語發音),「伊這個人足鐵齒 （I tsit ê lâng tsiok thih-khí）」，「他這個人很鐵齒」，意思就是這個人嘴很硬，不信邪。鐵齒的人通常不信邪，而「邪」本來意指奇怪的、跟正常不一樣的事情。一般與兩種情況有關，一種跟迷信有關係的，或是一個人的世界觀有關。「邪」的概念延伸到日常生活中，指的就是邪門歪道。
A dead duck's mouth is hard (in complete denial)
Apart from “tiěchǐ (鐵齒)”, the word “hard mouth (嘴硬, zuǐ yìng)” can also be used to describe those who are in complete denial of their mistakes. The idiom, “A dead duck's mouth is hard (literal transition)”, meaning "unwilling to, stubborn and opinionated to admit one's mistakes or defeats”. The antonym of this expression is “to admit a mistake (服軟)" or “to be tender-hearted (心軟)”. There seems to be someone like this around us, who “a foul mouth hiding a soft heart (the translation is taken from here ). They are sharp in speeches to the extent of appearing overbearing, but they are, deep down inside, a kind-hearted soul.
死鴨子嘴硬
除了鐵齒，也可用「嘴硬」來形容明明做錯了，但無論如何都不願意認輸或認錯。「死鴨子嘴硬」就是做錯了但是否認到底的意思，其反義詞是「服軟」或是「心軟」。我們身邊好像都有那麼一個「嘴硬心軟」的人，就是表面上言詞犀利、咄咄逼人，但是其實心地善良，骨子裡是個好人。
Tsundere
Compared to the previous two words, tsundere (Japanese: ツンデレ; Mandarin:傲嬌) sounds more adorable. Stemmed from Japanese pop culture, this word depicts characters in manga, who hide their bashfulness with a harsh-personality facade.
This inquiry into the word “obstinate /鐵齒( tiěchǐ )” took an unexpected turn when I am working on this episode. I thought I have known enough about it, but I shouldn’t be too “ 鐵齒( tiěchǐ )” about it. :)
傲嬌
與前兩個詞相比，「傲嬌」好像聽起來更討人喜歡，這個詞是從日本大眾文化流行過來的，用來描繪漫畫裡的角色設定，這些角色用表面上的高傲來掩飾自己的嬌羞。
製作這集節目時，深入探究鐵齒，我以為我懂這個詞，但我不應該太鐵齒。：）