The final shirt in the Sinotology collection of Chinese t-shirts is the Aiya! T-Shirt. The design features the word “aiya” in script with its Chinese charaters above.
Aiya! is perhaps the most commonly used phrase in the Chinese language. Walk into any area heavily populated by Chinese people and you’ll no doubt hear it every minute. Aiya doesn’t mean anything. It is an exclamation of surprise, displeasure, or despair, and is used every time a Chinese person is in any bad situation, from trivial to severe. “Aiya! I forgot my keys.” “Aiya! They’re going to amputate my leg.” “Aiya! I didn’t buy this shirt.” Pick up the Aiya! T-Shirt today!