[General] You are so lame

[Silverobama]

Hi.

I wonder if “You are so lame” is a natural expression. I watched a video about native speakers interviewing people on the streets in China. In one video, a Chinese woman who had studied in the US said it. What does it mean and how can I use it?

 

[emsr2d2]

Have you looked up definitions of "lame" in a dictionary? Have you tried putting the word "lame" into fraze.it?

 

[Glizdka]

Not a teacher
------
Lame literally means their leg is hurt and they can't walk properly. It was most commonly used for lame horses - those that have suffered an injury serious enough to permanently hinder their ability to walk/run. The main reason why you might want to buy a horse is because you want it to transport you, and buying a lame horse is like buying a broken car - not worth it.

Now it's usually just a pejorative term used to express a similar meaning - something's so bad and faulty it's not worth bothering with it. However, the word is also used as the opposite of 'cool'. I'd need to see the video, but I think I'm safe to assume that the person who said "you are so lame" used it in relation to what the lame person said or did, which turned out to be the opposite of 'cool'.

 

[Silverobama]

Have you looked up definitions of "lame" in a dictionary? Have you tried putting the word "lame" into fraze.it?

Yes to your first question and no to the second. I wonder if "You're so lame" is used and in what situation will native speakers use it?

 

[Silverobama]

Not a teacher
------
Lame literally means their leg is hurt and they can't walk properly. It was most commonly used for lame horses - those that have suffered an injury serious enough to permanently hinder their ability to walk/run. The main reason why you might want to buy a horse is because you want it to transport you, and buying a lame horse is like buying a broken car - not worth it.

Now it's usually just a pejorative term used to express a similar meaning - something's so bad and faulty it's not worth bothering with it. However, the word is also used as the opposite of 'cool'. I'd need to see the video, but I think I'm safe to assume that the person who said "you are so lame" used it in relation to what the lame person said or did, which turned out to be the opposite of 'cool'.

I watched the video on my phone, therefore I can't post the link here. It's on an APP. The video is about a woman who speaks fluent English and was interviewed by a native speaker. The native speaker asked her "How do you say XXX in English", XXX refers to some Chinese words, and she said "You're so lame". If "You're so lame" is not natural at all, please tell me and I'll leave it out.

 

[emsr2d2]

We didn't say it wasn't natural. It's common enough in the right context. It's unclear to me why the Chinese woman would accuse the questioner of being lame if all she did was ask her to translate something into English.

If you put "lame" into fraze.it you'll find it gives you lots of example sentences.

(What's an APP?)

 

[Silverobama]

We didn't say it wasn't natural. It's common enough in the right context. It's unclear to me why the Chinese woman would accuse the questioner of being lame if all she did was ask her to translate something into English.

If you put "lame" into fraze.it you'll find it gives you lots of example sentences.

(What's an APP?)

Ems, I do use Frazeit. Rover told me I can learn how to use a word there. Just now, I asked a question from that source.

I'm not learning how to use the word "lame", but the translation is interesting enough to attract me. Because that translation of "You're so lame" in Chinese is what I usually say. Now, let me give you a context to see if it fits:

A conversation between Silver and his friend Kris:

Kris-Hey, Silver. Do you know there's a woman next to our company who's hot. I saw her this morning when I went to the public toilet.
Silver-I don't know. So what?
Kris-She's so hot. I'm jealous of her boyfriend.
Silver-You're so lame.

Is it natural?

 

[Tdol]

IIf "You're so lame" is not natural at all, please tell me and I'll leave it out.

It's natural.

 

[GoesStation]

Kris-She's so hot. I'm jealous of her boyfriend.
Silver-You're so lame.

Is it natural?

That's possible, as the opposite of cool.

Silver, you should find another way to indicate who's speaking. Hyphens don't work well.

 

[Rover_KE]

What does it mean and how can I use it?

A word of advice: if you're not sure what an expression means or how you can use it — don't.

 

[SoothingDave]

Calling people or things "lame" is common enough, but I would advise you to avoid it. It can be considered offensive to people with actual handicaps.

 

[emsr2d2]

I'm certain we've told you that before about hyphens. You can use a dash but you need to put a space on each side of it. It's better to use a colon with a space after it.

With dashes:

Kris - Hey Silver, did you know ...?
Silver - No, I didn't know that.

With colons:

Kris: Hey Silver, did you know ...?
Silver: No, I didn't know that.

 

[Silverobama]

Got it!

Silver: Thank you so much, everyone, for your advice!

 

[Rover_KE]

Rover: If you get it wrong again I'll delete the thread.;-)

 

[Silverobama]

Rover: If you get it wrong again I'll delete the thread.;-)

Please don't, Rover. I actually check what I've wrote before starting my threads. You might notice that I'm still making the mistakes of comma splices, but it happens occasionally. I'll be more careful in the future. Comma splice is something new to me. As you might have known, on WR, no one tells you this. The will JUST delete threads.

As for the new problem, I admitted my mistake; I typed too fast. I wasn't doing it on purpose. Please give me a chance if I make this mistake again. But I promise you I will not.

 

[Rover_KE]

We'll see.

 

[jutfrank]

Please give me a chance if I make this mistake again. But I promise you I will not.

Didn't you promise that before?

 

[Silverobama]

Didn't you promise that before?

Again, Jutfrank. I am not doing it ON PURPOSE. And I think the deleting of my threads is a shame for me. I'm trying my best not to make those mistakes. But if you insist on being very strict with me. I'm okay with that.

 

[Rover_KE]

Again, Jutfrank, I am not doing it ON PURPOSE.
... if you insist on being very strict with me, I'm okay with that.

:-|