Pizza in Beijing? Gotta Find the “Original Juice!”
Looking to find an authentic slice of NY style pizza in Beijing?
How about some spicy Sichuan hot pot in London?
When travelling internationally, there will always be foods, styles, art, and cultural experiences you can only find in one specific place.
Lets look at two similar ways in Chinese to describe these authentic experiences, and some examples from the wild.
原汁原味 vs. 地道
原汁原味 (yuán zhī yuán wèi)- Original essense, preserving the core spirit of the original.
原 (yuán): original
汁 (zhī): juice
原 (yuán): original
味 (wèi): flavor
By preserving the "original juice, original flavor" of something; be it food, music, dance, art, or fashion, you are getting the original experience. Similar to the use of "old school" in English, if you are getting 原汁原味 in China, you know it hasn't been spoiled by anything extra or superfluous. The way it was intended to be originally…the original juice!
Example A
NBA篮球国度是一项全新的球迷互动巡游活动，该活动集篮球和娱乐元素于一身，旨在为球迷带来最原汁原味的NBA体验
NBA lán qiú guó dù shì yí xiàng quán xīn de qiú mí hù dòng xún yóu huó dòng ， gāi huó dòng jí lán qiú hé yú lè yuán sù yú yì shēn ， zhǐ zài wèi qiú mí dài lái zuì yuán zhī yuán wèi de NBA tǐyàn
"NBA Basketball Nation" is an entirely new type of interactive tour for basketball fans. This activity combines elements of basketball and entertainment, designed to bring fans the most authentic NBA experience. \
Example B
中国内蒙古歌舞团在维也纳演出两场，为奥地利民众带来了原汁原味的蒙古草原歌舞风情。
Zhōng guó nèi měng gǔ gē wǔ tuán zài wéi yěn à yǎn chū liǎng chǎng ， wèi ào dì lì mín zhòng dài lái le yuán zhī yuánwèi de měng gǔ cǎo yuán gē wǔ fēng qíng
A song and dance ensemble from Inner Mongolia, China gave two performances in Vienna, bringing authentic Mongolian grassland song and dance to the Austrian people.
地道 (dìdào)： Pure, authentic, true, typical of a specific place or region
地 (dì): ground, land
道 (dào): way, path
Where 原汁原味 stresses the unchanged, original, "old school" nature of something, 地道 stresses its pure authenticity. It can typically be used to describe food native to a specific region. The two expressions are very similar, and both are adjectives.
Example A
你以为街头那家小店做的是地道中国菜,但其实不是,我这么说是因为我在中国生活过。
nǐ yǐwéi jiē tóu nà jiā xiǎo diàn zuò de shì dì dào zhōng guó cài , dàn qí shí bú shì , wǒ zhè me shuō shì yīn wèi wǒ zài Zhōng guó shēng huó guò
You think that corner store's Chinese food is authentic, but it's actually not. I say this because I've lived in China.
Example B
IPO gǎi biàn bù liǎo zhā bó gé tā shì yí gè dì dào hēikè
The IPO won't change Zuckerberg. He is a true hacker
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