One Chinese Sentence Everyday(64)

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哪壶不开提哪壶。
Nǎ hú bù kāi tí nǎ hú.
to talk about something that should not be mentioned; touch the tender spot

用法说明

这句俗语源自一个小故事，茶馆里的伙计提了水还没有开的壶给人泡茶，让人喝凉水。因为“提”有“说起”的意思，所以“哪壶不开提哪壶”引申义为说起不该说的事情，或者是说了对方不愿意提起的事情。

This proverb originally comes from a story. The waiter in the teahouse carried the kettle, in which the water had not been boiled, to make tea for the customers. “提” has the meaning of “说起(mention)” in Chinese, so this sentence extendedly means to talk about something that should not be mentioned or touch the tender spot.

例句

1、甲：玛丽，安娜的男朋友没有跟她一起来吗？
Jiǎ: Mǎ Lì, Ān Nà de nánpéngyou méiyǒu gēn tā yìqǐ lái ma?
A: Mary, hasn’t Anna’s boyfriend come together with her?

乙：你别哪壶不开提哪壶了，他们刚刚分手了。
Yǐ: Nǐ bié nǎ hú bù kāi tí nǎ hú le, tāmen gānggāng fēnshǒu le.
B: Don’t talk about him any more. They just broke up.

2、甲：你真是哪壶不开提哪壶。她因为股票损失了那么多钱，你还总说这件事。
Jiǎ: Nǐ zhēn shì nǎ hú bù kāi tí nǎ hú. Tā yīnwèi gǔpiào sǔnshī le nàme duō qián, nǐ hái zǒng shuō zhè jiàn shì.
A: Don’t touch the tender spot. She lost huge of money in the stock market. But you always talk about this.

乙：我只是想知道到底是怎么回事，然后帮她想办法解决。
Yǐ: Wǒ zhǐshì xiǎng zhīdào dàodǐ shì zěnme huí shì, ránhòu bāng tā xiǎng bànfā jiějué.
B: I just want to know the details, so we can help her to solve the problem.

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