297 Right Away

ShaoLan and Jesse Edbrooke talk about the Chinese phrase for “right away.” Once again the word for “horse” is involved as it denotes an image of speed and immediacy. ShaoLan teaches how the phrase can be used as a question, a response and even a form of procrastination (the opposite of the actual meaning)! Jesse tells the story of Transition being on tour in China and taking an early flight from Beijing when the tour manager arrived late but managed to use this phrase to jump to the front of all the queues. After passing security, the band managed to catch the flight by running through the rest of the terminal to the boarding gate (with all their gear)!

The Chinese word for “right away” is 馬上/马上. The first word 馬/马 means “horse” and the second word 上 means “up.” When you are on the horse then you will arrive quickly, 馬上/马上!