Shan Wu

I have two roommates, an American and a French, and we speak English in the apartment, but both roommates also speak Chinese.

Yesterday, while talking about visiting a construction site, the American asked the French if he had to wear a hard hat. The French didn’t understand the term “hard hat,” which is probably a very American English expression.

As I thought of ways to gesture and describe a hard hat, the American roommate simply said, “You know, an 安全帽.”

Literally, “You know, a safety hat.” What the Chinese would say for a hard hat.

The French immediately knew what he meant, saying “ah ah ah,” and the conversation carried on. That’s pretty cool.