1/3     I'm trying to find an english equivalent of the chinese word (mandarin)
        "sa chiao".  Roughly it means to cuddle up with somebody.  Usually
        describes a woman or a young daughter.  What's a good english word
        that captures that meaning?  Thanks.
        \_ snuggle?  I don't know mandarin.  Just going by your description.
           I can't think of any age/gender specific terms for this.
           \_ you have to know mandarin to translate it.  The word doesn't
              just describe the physical act but also the relationship between
              the two.
                \_ Sorry, just a white boy doing his best to help.
        \_ There are a couple of Chinese-English dictionary online if u do
           a google search.  I tried 3 and only manage to find "sa3 jiao1"
           (to use mainland's pinyin romanization) on 1 of them.  It says
           "fawn, coquetry".  Doesn't seem exactly right.  Using dict on
           soda for coquetry yields:

           Coquetry \Co*quet"ry\, n.; pl. {Coquetries}. [F. coquetterie.]
           Attempts to attract admiration, notice, or love, for the mere
           gratification of vanity; trifling in love. ``Little
           affectations of coquetry.'' --Addison.
           coquetry
           n : playful behavior intended to arouse sexual interest [syn:
               {flirt}, {flirting}, {flirtation}, {dalliance}, {toying}]

           No single word feels exactly right.
           \_ Thanks.  I think this is one of the thousands of words that
              can't be translated well.  The connotation of "sa chiao"
              means more than the physical act of "sa chiao".
              \_ Yes, from seeing it being actually used, it usually
                 involves speaking in an amorous manner, for lack of
                 a better description.
        \_ "sa chiao"?  i thought that's bbq pork.
                                         \_ cha siu, you troll.
        \_ You mean sa jiao(and the j is much better than ch- in this case),
           and the word has more connotation than just to cuddle/snuggle:
           It's commonly used to describe a playful acting type behaviour
           intended to be cute or innocent, not necessarily amorous.  The
           above poster's mention of coquetry seems to be the best fit, but
           not quite.  I would go with playful coquetry, and specify in usage
           whether the intentions are amorous or not.  Btw, I normally hear
           it pronounced sa1 jiao1, not sa3 jiao1.  Not sure which is right,
           esp. if dictionaries list sa3 jiao.
           \_ The problem is there can be playful acting behaviour that is
              cute and innocent that cannot be considered as sa jiao.
              sa jiao seems to always involve a woman, girl or young boy, and
           \_ Yes, this is getting close.
              Sa jiao seems to always involve a woman, girl or young boy, and
              the intended target has to be one of the following: boyfriend,
              husband, or an elder (mom, dad, grandparents, teacher, etc.).
              A woman/girl who sa jiao is playfully acting in a cute child-
              like manner, and is asking for and expecting that she would
              be loved and pampered in return.