Teacher Liu, my Chinese classmates often say 'You're really 牛' to compliment someone, and also call themselves '菜鸟'. Why do they use animals to describe people?

That's a big feature of Chinese! Using animals as metaphors makes expressions more vivid. In Chinese culture, '牛' (ox) represents hard work and strength, so '你真牛' means 'You're amazing!'

Then what about '菜鸟'? '菜' means vegetable, and '鸟' means bird—what does it mean together?

'菜鸟' refers to a beginner or a newbie. Imagine a newly hatched little bird, soft-feathered and inexperienced—just like someone new to learning. It’s a vivid and cute expression.

Interesting! I’ve also heard of '纸老虎'—what does that mean?

'纸老虎' describes something or someone that looks strong and scary on the outside but actually lacks real strength. Like a tiger made of paper—fierce-looking but fragile.

These metaphors are really expressive! It seems Chinese people are great at observing animals to describe human traits.

Exactly! Animal metaphors are an essence of Chinese expression—they give the language strong imagery. Mastering them will make your Chinese more lively and help you understand the wisdom of Chinese culture better.