懒得出去了: saying you’d rather stay home in Chinese

Two friends, a few days before the National Day holiday.

The conversation

What makes it sound real

懒得: can’t be bothered

懒 is “lazy”, and 懒得 + verb means “can’t be bothered to”. The textbook answer would be 我不想出去, “I don’t want to go out”. 懒得出去 is more honest: nothing is stopping you, you just don’t feel like it. The 了 at the end says you’ve reached that point. Between friends it can be teasing too: 懒得理你, “can’t be bothered with you”, usually said with a grin.

• 今天懒得做饭，点外卖吧。 (Can’t be bothered to cook today, let’s order in.)

出去玩 isn’t just for kids

玩 is taught as “to play”, so 出去玩 can sound childish to learners. For adults it simply means going out and having a good time, anything from a day trip to a week abroad. 你打算出去玩吗？ is the normal way to ask whether someone is travelling.

好不容易: finally, and it wasn’t easy

好不容易 means you got something after a lot of waiting or effort. 好不容易有个假期 is “we finally get a holiday”. Here’s the strange part: 好容易, without the 不, means exactly the same thing in this position. Learners find that confusing, native speakers never think about it.

多浪费啊: 多 as “how”

多 usually means “many” or “more”. With 啊 at the end it turns into an exclamation: 多浪费啊, “what a waste!”, 多好啊, “how nice!”. It’s a soft way of pushing back on someone’s plan. B’s answer, 你说得对，可是…, agrees first and saves the real reason for last: no money.