卫生间(Restrooms)

　　 现在中国的公共厕所已经比以前有了很大的改善，记得在我小的时候公共厕所都很脏很臭，而且只是简简单单的一排坑没有任何遮挡，在人多时相当尴尬。现 在街边大部分的厕所是蹲式的，也有些采用西方的坐式马桶。可能像日本、韩国的人有跪的能力一样，中国人具有特殊的蹲的能力。对于我而言，西方坐式马桶自然非常舒服，是家里的必备，可在公共场合，我 还是更喜欢排队去等着用蹲式厕所，因为它相对来说比较卫生。在中国蹲式厕所较多的另外一个原因可能是因为它与西式马桶相比更加节省空间，中国的人口实在太多了，自然需要上厕所的亦是如此。中 国对卫生间的形容方法有很多，例如“厕所，洗手间，茅房”，其中厕所原来比较常用，到后来受西方文化影响，又给了它比较文雅的叫法：“卫生间”、“洗手间”，“茅房”在城市里很少听到，原 来在农村的厕所只是用茅草做顶的一个简陋棚子，所以叫“茅房”。

Currently, China's public restrooms have improved tremendously from earlier models. These public toilets used to be extremely dirty and smelly. It also used to just be one long pit, with no shelter or separation barriers, which could cause many to be embarrassed. Most of the public toilets one finds on the side of the road are "squat toilets," though there are a few that have the Western style "sitting" commodes. In the same way that the Japanese and the Koreans have great ability to kneel, the Chinese possess an ability to squat. The Western style toilets are more comfortable, and are a necessity in the home, but for public restrooms, the squat toilets are better. They tend to be more hygienic (as there is no seat to touch or handle to flush) and they are also more economical (as there are many, many Chinese and it would be a great waste of resources, such as water).

There are many ways to express the word restroom in Chinese, for example: "cè suǒ" (toilet), "xǐ shǒu jiān" (washroom), "máo fang" (latrine). Among these, "cè suǒ” was originally the most commonly used. After the impact of modern Western culture, however, the toilet was given a more refined name: "wèi shēng jiān" (restroom), or "xǐ shǒu jiān" (washroom). "Máo fang" (latrine) is a name you will seldom hear said in Beijing, as it usually refers to a shed used as a toilet out in the rural areas of China.

 

卫生间wèi shēng jiān          卫生wèi shēng          卫wèi          生shēng          间jiān     
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