Hello everyone, this is Angela from BLCU. We also have our Chinese teacher Caroline here!
大家好！
Hi Caroline, what are we going to talk about today?
最近学生问了我一个问题，我觉得我们今天可以说一说。
What question?
我们学了方向词“东、西、南、北”，但是汉语里还有一个词是“东西”，就是“买东西”的“东西”，他们问我为什么要买东和西。

哈哈！That’s a good question. In Chinese, to buy some things or stuff，we’ll say 买东西(mǎidōngxi). The thing or stuff is 东西(dōngxi). But 东(dōng) and 西(xī) are also direction words in Chinese. 东(dōng) itself means east, 西(xī) means west. 
对，比如你可以说，学校的西边有个地铁站。
There is a subway station to the west of our school.
超市在学校的东边。
The supermarket is to the east of our school.
但是“东西”的意思不是“东边”和“西边”.
But 东西(dōngxi) doesn’t mean east and west. 
是啊，我们说买东西(mǎi dōngxi) ，吃东西(chī dōngxi)。
东西(dōngxi) here means things, 买东西(mǎidōngxi), to buy some things, 吃东西(chīdōngxi), to eat something.

对，不过有学生问为什么说买东西，不是买南北？
Why do we say buy in east and west, why not buy in south and north? Actually, I heard a story about this. 
It is said the word "东西 (dōng xi)" dates from Tang Dynasty, whose capital was "长安 (cháng ān)" which is 西安(xī’ān) now. Back to that time, residential areas and commercial areas were strictly separated, and there were walls between blocks. You can only buy things in the 2 markets located in the east and west of the city.The two markets are called 东市(dōngshì) the east market and 西市(xīshì) the west market.

啊，所以“买东西”其实是在东市和西市买的意思啊。
I don’t know if it is true. But sounds reasonable. So now the word east and west or 东西(dōngxi) have the meaning of things. And in this word, 西(xī) should be neutral tone. 
对，东西(dōngxi)，不是东(dōng)西(xī)。
但是有的学生知道东西是things以后也会用错，他们会说我们今天有很多东西要做。或者，你在想什么东西？
Ah, they should say 事情(shìqing) instead of 东西(dōngxi) in this cases. 东西(dōngxi) usually used for real objects or things. But 事情(shìqing) abstracts things, or matters. 
你可以说，我去买东西，你帮我看一下我的东西。
I am going to buy some things. Can you watch my things for a second?
我家里东西太多了，搬家很麻烦。
I have too many things in my house. It’s hard to move houses.
我今天很忙，有很多事情要做。
I am very busy today, I have a lot of things to do.
昨天晚上我睡不着，一直在想事情。 
I couldn't sleep last night. I've been thinking about many things.

Alright! So now do you know how to use 东西(dōngxi) in Chinese? 
你知道怎么用“东西”这个词了吗？
Leave a message and let us know what other topics you want to learn. And if you are interested in learning Chinese systematically, please click read more for more information on our website. Thanks for listening. By guys!
大家再见！