One of the joys of learning a language is discovering words or phrases that have no direct translation. You can spot these multi-faceted gems because they take a bit of extra care to explain. Each connotation chips away at the word in an attempt to lay bare the essence, but the essence can only be shown or felt, not told. Living in Spain I came across a few: A simple one to understand is the translation of the word "corner". Depending on whether it protrudes or is recessed, it is either an "esquina" or a "rincon". More difficult is the Spanish verb "enganar", meaning "to wrong", but it has so much more depth and use in Spanish. An English word with no clear Spanish meaning is "random", a catch-all term with an array of Spanish equivalents.

Chinese, rich in its content and arcane in its acquisition, is rife with the untranslatable. Here are three of my favorites, and how they played out in the operations of the Tennis Masters Tournament.

Guanxi. Characters are close + system. Denotes relation, relationship. Connotes: connection, contact, or hook-up.

Guanxi means smiling at each security guard and every laborer, so next time I walk through the gate accompanying someone without a pass I won't be hassled, and every time I need to drill another hole in the wall I won't have to play ring around the red tape, and I can keep the 42 inch flat screen TV covertly moved from the hallway to my office. Guanxi means recognizing the importance of the niceties and pleasantries by remembering the names of people I might meet again, and recalling something from the previous meeting. Guanxi means drinking just enough beer to show I can hang with the boys, putting on the air of haughtiness at times, and knowing when to just shut up and listen.

Mafan. Characters are coarse + vexed. Denotes troublesome. Connotes a difficulty, a bother, a pain in the ass.

Mafan is when I return empty handed after spending hours being driven from store to store in rush hour traffic only to discover that a hefty-sized soft-bristled push broom cannot be found in Shanghai. Mafan is when I give a frame that needs a new plastic cover and roll of tape to my ops team and ask them to fix it, only to return a few minutes later and find that I haven't given them precise instructions and they have spoiled the image by taping the outside of the frame rather then between the cover and the matting. Mafan is when I receive five phone calls from Brazilian musicians lost at the bus departure point looking for directions I am incapable of giving, and upon their arrival asking me to reimburse them for their troubles.

Mei banfa. Characters are no + manage + law. Denotes no way. Connotes that nothing can be done, it's out of our hands, that's life, it's all good.

When the black and whites still appear wrinkled even after I have replaced them with better quality photo paper and the government bigwigs still visit a pub with shoddy framing, that's mei banfa. When the volunteers haven't been fed, the medical personnel need more food coupons, and the linesmen don't know whether they should eat with the media, the public, or in their lounge, that's mei banfa. When the closing ceremonies come to a climax with Federer hoisting the trophy, and the notorious confetti machines fire as the unforeseen night air flows in from the retractable roof in the process of retracting, blowing all the confetti right back into the ground instead of up in the air, that's mei banfa.