真的å‡çš„？For real?
[Ferret is getting his beard trimmed at a local barbershop. It’s a quaint affair run by a Husband and Wife team. An Old Woman walks in with a strange request.]
Old Woman
ä½ ä»¬æ˜¯çƒ«å¤´å‘的，对å§ï¼Ÿ
You all do perms, right?
Husband
[while maneuvering a buzzer around Ferret‘s face:]
是，烫头å‘å¯ä»¥çš„。
Yeah, we do ’em.
Old Woman
å‡å‘呢？å‡å‘是真å‘çš„å‡å‘，ä¸æ˜¯å‡å‘çš„å‡å‘。
How about wigs? It’s a real-hair wig, not a fake-hair wig.
[The Husband is confused. Ferret is even more confused. Note: The word in Mandarin for “wig” å‡å‘, jiÇŽfà literally means “fake hair.” All well and good unless you’re talking about wigs made out of fake hair. “Fake hair fake hair?” It’s enough to confuse anyone, including a native speaker.]
Husband
什么å‡å‘çš„å‡å‘？
What are you talking about? Wig what?
Old Woman
那个å‡å‘是用真头å‘åšçš„，是上海最有åä¹°å‡å‘的店的。质é‡å¾ˆå¥½ã€‚头å‘是真的。
The wig uses real-hair. It’s from one of Shanghai’s most famous wig shops. The quality is really good. The hair is real.
Husband
å“¦ï¼Œä½ è¦çƒ«çœŸå¤´å‘çš„å‡å‘。真头å‘çš„è¯ï¼Œ å¯ä»¥çš„。
Oh, you want to perm a real-hair wig. If the hair’s real, no problem.
[The problem is solved. As to why the Old Woman felt the need to assert the quality and source of said wig is anyone’s guess. The Wife walks in.]
Wife
ä½ å¥½ã€‚
Hello.
Old Woman
[to the Wife]
我è¦çƒ«çœŸå‘çš„å‡å‘。å¯ä»¥äº†å—？
I wanna perm a real-hair wig. Can I?
Wife
什么æ„æ€ï¼Ÿ
What?
Husband
真头å‘çš„å‡å‘，真头å‘çš„å‡å‘。
Real-hair wig, real-hair wig.
Wife
哦，好的。真头å‘的，没问题。
Oh. Sure. If it’s real, no problem.
Old Woman
好的，我去拿å‡å‘å§ã€‚
Okay. I’ll go grab the wig.
[The Husband finishes trimming Ferret‘s beard. Ferret pays and leaves. He ponders the oddities of the Chinese language and one important question: why in the world the Old Woman was so keen on perming her wig?]