How did 無 originate from "a dancer holding something in each hand"? If someone, dancer or not, is holding something in each hand, how can 無 possibly describe him? His hands are not 無! I also screenshot Yellowbridge.

There might be some confusion as to what the word "borrowed" means. The usage of 「無」 to mean without is a rebus borrowing. From Wikipedia:

An example that illustrates the Rebus principle is the representation of the sentence "I can see you" by using the pictographs of "eye—can—sea—ewe".

That is, to ask how the sentence

I can see you

originated from the pictures

is an incorrect question.

If it is difficult to see how the glyph evolved into its current form 「無」 (Baxter-Sagart OC: /*ma/, without), that is a more tangible query.
Start from a rather vivid picture of a person 「大」 holding a bunch of adornments in each hand, doing a rain dance*.
商甲鐵120.3合集16000
Complexify the adornments, maybe into something highly resembling a sound hint 「某」 (/*məʔ/).
西周金毛伯簋集成4009春秋金寬兒鼎集成2722秦簡10.8睡虎地秦簡隸定
Omit the shape of the person 「大」.
西漢隸老子・甲馬王堆帛書隸定
Then finally, abbreviate the bottom of the character into a few dots.
西漢隸25定縣竹簡楷
Dance is written with the derivative character 「舞」, by adding semantic 「舛」 (picture of two feet).
西周金匽侯銅泡集成11860西漢隸158縱橫家書東漢隸華山廟碑　楷

*The nature of the dance being linked with rain is from the extensive number of fragments where the character 「無」 is found with the character 「雨」. E.g. 《甲骨文合集》12828:

戊（申）卜今日（奏）（舞）㞢（有）从雨
Divination (卜) on the day of wùshēn (戊申): Today (今日), perform (奏) a dance ritual (舞). Rain appears (有从雨).

References:

漢語多功能字庫
小學堂
國學大師

郭沫若《甲骨文合集》
中國社會科學院考古研究所《殷周金文集成》


Does 一个 mean *exactly* one? Or can it mean *at least* one? If someone (truthfully) says "I have a car" then they have at least one car. If someone says "I have one car" then they have exactly one car.

How does this idea work for "我有一辆汽车" ?

Could someone say this just to indicate that they are a car-owner-- i.e. they have at least one car? If so then how would one instead specify that  they have exactly one car?
Or would saying this indicate that they have exactly one car? If so, then how would one instead make the more general assertion that they are a car-owner?

As I understand, 我有一辆汽车, if it comes on its own, would mean "I have one car".

Adding 而已 (i.e. 我有一辆汽车而已) would make it something like: "I have one car and that's it".

Adding 只 （i.e. 我只有一辆汽车) would make it: "I only have one car". The difference here would be similar to the difference between "I have one car" and "I only have one car". In both cases the speaker has a single car, but in the latter version - the speaker stresses the "only".

If I'm in a group of people, and someone asks: "Who has a car?" (谁有车？) - then I would respond: 我有车 (literally: "I have car(s)"; it would be understood as "I have one or more cars". It cannot be determined from that sentence whether it's one car or more).

If I'm then asked, "How many cars do you have?" (你有多少辆车？) - then I would respond: 我有一辆车 ("I have one car").

If, then, the other person says: "Really? I thought you had three cars" (真的吗？我以为你有三辆车) - then I would respond: 不。我只有一辆车 ("No. I only have one car").


Can someone translate this charm? We found this charm in a box of buttons, and I'm curious what it means... For all I know it may not be Chinese, but it looks like it.

I tried translating it using the Google Translate app... While it saw the shape of the charm, it was unable to come up with any matching translation. I tried to draw it in manually as well, but it did not recognize my pictogram.

I'm not really sure how else to go about trying to figure out the translation myself. (The little roundish thing at the top is just the hanger to put a chain through).

Alternatively, if anyone knows this character from a different language, feel free to point that out too.

Looks like the character for laughter in Chinese 笑'xiao'


Are there large discrepancies between what Chinese consider to be words? Looking into the Chinese dictionary I have on my phone, I noticed that 我是 (I am) is listed as a word, while I as a non native speaker would consider this to be two separate words. Whether or not 我是 is listed as a word in dictionaries seems to be rather random since a few other dictionaries don't have it, but it got me thinking about the general state of words in Chinese. This is of course a heated debate even in languages with explicit spaces between their tokens, but I want to believe this is even a larger problem in languages such as Chinese.

I guess a few of my questions are:

Do Chinese people generally agree upon how a sentence should be segmented into its compounds?
Is a 词 different from a word in any sense?
Do even native Chinese generally split characters into words (词), or is the concept of words something we have forced into Chinese because it makes sense in western languages?

"Q: Are there large discrepancies between what Chinese consider to be words?"

No. It is very clear what is a word and what not. A word can consist of one or more characters. Thus, a single character can be either a word by itself or is part of a polysyllabic word. Like in every other existing language, a word does officially either exist or not.

Q: Do even native Chinese generally split characters into words (词), or is the
concept of words something we have forced into Chinese because it makes
sense in western languages?

You can split a word into a character, but not a character into a word. If your question is, if Chinese was influenced by western languages to have polysyllabic words then the answer is "no". The reason why they do, is because there is not enough monosyllabic words to accurately describe every possible meaning. Nowadays words often consist of two or three characters (or even more).

As an example:
While “书馆” can be a "teashop with performance by story tellers", "private school (in former times)" , or also "library (of classic texts)" it is clear that “图书馆” is a "library". Obviously, the more characters, the more accurate the word.

Q: Is a 词 different from a word in any sense?

“词” means word and can, as mentionned above, consist of one character or more.

Q: Do Chinese people generally agree upon how a sentence should be
segmented into its compounds?

Yes. As mentionned above, there is clear grammar rules on how to construct a sentence. Nevertheless, people might have a different sense of choosing words to express their meanings. The result will be one less and one more beautiful sentence. But if a linguist checks both sentences, either of them can be grammatically correct or not.


Why must 到 be chosen in the following sentence? I just took an EasyMandarin test, and one of the questions is:

飞机票买得___吗？

The possible candidates to fill in the blank is: 了，去，过，and 到.
I picked up 了 but the correct answer was 到.
Now, according to this answer, the difference between 到 and 了 is:

了 and 到/著(着) (zháo) serve different functions in sentences.
了 used after verbs implies a sense of "stopped, finished,completed, or done" on the action.
到 and 著(着) used after verbs indicate the result of the action.

But then why is 到 correct here? It seems to me that the sentence is "Did you purchase a flight ticket?", which is a completed action, so it seems 了 is correct.
Why is 到 the correct answer and what is the meaning of the sentence?

UPDATE
Hmmm... I still don't get it. It seems that 买得到 as a phrase functions as a verb (but 买得了 not). So in this sentence is 得 not considered a degree complement?

"飞机票买得到吗"  means "Do I have any chance to get the ticket?" (usually ask when you are not very sure whether if there is any ticket left)

"飞机票买得了吗"  means "Can I AFFORD a ticket?" or "Is ticket for sale?" (this sentence is correct in grammar but it is meaningless to ask such a question)


How to say “to light a candle" I'm trying to figure out the most appropriate way to say "light a candle" would it be 点蜡烛  or would 点燃蜡烛 be more commonly heard?

I think 点蜡烛 is more common as it is more used in daily speaking. 点燃蜡烛 is more formal to me and sounds like written Chinese.

I come from HK so I am not sure the usage in other places.


How to write characters containing the ǚ pinyin symbol in most common Chinese Input Methods? I am using four different input methods for typing 汉字. Most of them share the same principles for translating what you type in pinyin to Chinese characters. But I am unable to figure out how to type in pinyin words with an U with Umlaut like ǚ, for example 女.

I am using: Google Pinyin Input in Android, and Chinese Sun Pinyin, ibus m17n and ibus-pinyin in Ubuntu

Is there some common way used to type it?

As pinyin doesn't use the letter v, then words containing the u with umlaut can be written with v key, then combined with the number keys to get different tones.

For example:

v+1 = ǖ
v+2 = ǘ
v+3 = ǚ
v+4 = ǜ
v+5 = ü


How to write "Everyone" in Chinese？ Can anyone tell me how to write to "everyone" in Chinese. The symbol to write "everyone ". In a video they showed it to write people symbol 2 times. But when I am searching on Google it is not correct.

我们＝we, us

everyone＝每人，人人，每个
"every" means 每 in Chinese.
"one" indicates people or thing.

So, the correct translation would be 每人 or 每个; and, in Chinese, 每人 is the same as 人人.


Does Chinese have any structure similar with this Japanese term? I would like to say beforehand that my question requires someone who knows Japanese language to answer it, because the sentence that I need an answer to is a Japanese one.
Let me explain first what I’m asking for. I’m examining a relative clause in Japanese where the writer deletes some element form the sentence, not only the subject but some critical element and expected it to be understood by the reader,  I wonder if Chinese writers will do the same.

The sentence in Japanese
頭がよくなる本
Atama ga yoku naru honn
The transaltion in English is
The book (by reading which) (  ) head gets better (i.e become smarter)

The only information that provided in the Japanese sentence is “heads gets better” and, “the book”. It does not mention anything related to “reading the book” but this can be understood through connecting the semantic meanings for both become smarter and the book. Do Chinese people do the same? Do they omit elements and let the reader find semantic and pragmatic connections?

This very important question to me, beacuse I’m working in my graduation thesis and I need to confirm if there is connection between Japanese and Chinese, since Japanese influenced by Chinese in many ways.

for classical chinese, it's a yes. one must read between the lines (actually, amongst characters), to grasp the meaning.

here's an example:

"三", "五", "二", "八" are the chinese the characters of 3, 5, 2, 8; but, putting them together, does not mean "3528", it depends on the context:

  三五二八佳年少﹒百萬千金買歌笑

"三五" here means 15 years old (3 x 5) = 15, while "二八" means 16 years old (2 x 8) = 16

  三五二八光如練﹒海上天涯人共見

"三五" here means full moon, the 15th day of lunar calendar, while "二八" means the moon of the 16th day of lunar calendar.

hope this answer helps :)


Is 马克又会汉语又会日语 an error in my Chinese book? Isn't 会汉语 incorrect? This is an example from my Chinese textbook:

I transcribe it below:

  例如：
  Lìrú:
  丁波的姐姐又高又漂亮
  Dīngbō de jiějiě yòu gāo yòu piàoliang
  马克又会汉语又会日语
  Mǎkè yòu huì hànyǔ yòu huì rìyǔ

The second sentence takes me by surprise; it looks like an error to me.  I think 会汉语 (huì hànyǔ; "can Chinese") should be 会说汉语 (huì shuō hànyǔ; "can speak Chinese") or a variant like 会讲汉语.

Question: Is 马克又会汉语又会日语 an error in my Chinese book?

会 here is a verb meaning to know.
Here are two sample sentences from A Chinese-English Dictionary:

他还会两出京戏。
Tā hái huì liǎng chū Jīngxì.
He knows a few airs of Beijing opera.

我会英语, 不会日语。
Wǒ huì Yīngyǔ, bù huì Rìyǔ.
I know English but not Japanese.

ABC dictionary defines it as to understand or to grasp

你会吗?
Nǐ huì ma?
Do you know how?


Why use 交货 in 我们可不可以把有些数量提前到三月交货？ 我们可不可以把有些数量提前到三月交货

Why do we use 交货 here? Can we do without it?

Consider this part of your sentence with 交货 (t: 交貨) omitted, its spot represented by the ___ below, this would be what it looks like, loosely translated:

subject:           predicate:
... some amounts   be rescheduled earlier for March ___

There are some terms or concepts in language that, although are not verbs themselves, have a commonly associated course of action understood by everybody. Only in such cases, it is possible a further specific verb, course of action ___ can be omitted. However,

Amounts:

is not normally understood as some kind of verb or some kind of action, for which you can then associate with a schedule clause
in this case, with no further context, there is no single "obvious" course of action to relate to amounts. For example amounts if talking about some physical goods or material resource, depending on what kind of goods or material resource, can have associated actions such as extraction, refinement, disposal, audit, inventory (taking), and yes, also delivery. Without further context there is no evidence that "delivery" is the correct interpretation

Example, omit action:

subject:               predicate
... the belly dancer   be rescheduled earlier for 7PM ___

As in Can the belly dancer be rescheduled earlier for 7PM ?
it is commonly understood that a belly dancer belly dances, that is a commonly associated course of action understood by everybody
thus you do not need the additional ___ to clarify for 7PM belly dancing
you would normally only specify the ___ action clarification, if the belly dancer were to do something other than the expected belly dancing

However in your posted example, without further context, since amounts does not necessarily have a commonly associated course of action delivery, of course you need to clarify and specify which of the possible action of amounts you intend to reschedule.

Image credit: http://www.picgifs.com/graphics/belly-dancing/graphics-belly-dancing-471150-794732/


What is the translation express (adjective meaning fast) in Chinese? I want to know the translation of the word "express" (both characters and pinyin) as you would describe an express courier service?
Also, is there a new-invented word (maybe by the youth) that is used today to convey the meaning of express?

'Express courier service' in Chinese is

速遞服務  or 快遞服務

速遞/快遞 is shortened from '快速遞送/ 快速傳遞' (express delivery) . It can functions as an adjectival noun as in   速遞服務(express delivery service); 速遞文件(express delivery document)


Etymology of 制 zhì = make, manufacture What is the etymology of 制? how the meaning is evolved to Make, manufacture?
Ox + hand kerchief + knife becomes Make or Manufacture?

制 has no ox/bull or cloth. That left component is a corrupted version of 未. 未 is a tree with many branches, ready to be chopped down. There is  as a variant form. Original meaning is "cut" hence the knife component 刀 on the right. After cutting down a tree, the wood obtained can be made into many different objects, thus "make" became an extended meaning. 制 furthermore had more extended meaning.
Over time, 制 became the definition for non-tangible things that can be "made" such as "regulation", "system", and "formula". "Control" 控制 was an extended meaning for the "system" definition. Another component 衣 was added at the bottom becoming 製. This took on the meaning of "make" or "manufacture" for tangible objects such as clothes and furniture.
製 is still the standard in areas that use traditional script such as Hong Kong. In PRC, 製 was removed and 制 is reused as the meaning for make and manufacture.
https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E5%88%B6


Is "topic-comment structure" only used for teaching second language learners Chinese? I personally only knew Topic-comment structure on this site, since it's been used to explain many questions.  I also used it in my answers in the past. Recently, I realized that I wasn't taught this structure in my own school years.  I asked my 中学语文老师 (literature teacher of middle school), who has a bachelor degree of Chinese literature and has been teaching 语文 over 30 years, and she is unaware of the structure too.
A quick Baidu search suggests it's relevant to 对外汉语.
So, is it a newly evolved structure in Chinese literature or used only for 对外汉语?
The reason I ask this is that none of people around me notice this structure except those (like me) who has some experience on teaching/explaining Chinese to second language learners.
A typical example of the topic comment structure: 水果，我最爱吃草莓。In this case, we'd analyze it as : 在水果中，我最爱吃草莓.  So we take 在水果中 or 水果 as adverbial. Well, using topic comment theory, 水果 is topic and 我最爱吃草莓 is comment.  Look like they're different ways to see the grammar per se.

The topic-comment structure 主题述语句式 is a linguistics concept. Also referred to as 主题句 and 主题述题句式.
It appears it has been popularized — in the West — by Thompson and Li, Subject and Topic: A new Typology of Language in the '70s. With that paper, the authors introduce the concept of topic-prominent languages 主题突出语言 (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, etc.) vs. subject-prominent language 主语突出语言 (English, neo-latin languages, etc.).
But there are also Chinese scholars who investigated this around the same time. One of them is Zhao Yuanren 赵元任,《汉语口语语法》（A Grammar of Spoken Chinese):

汉语句子里主语和谓语的语法意义是主题 (topic) 和述语 (comment), 而不是施动者 (actor) 和动作 (action)

So it's definitely not a new idea.
Now, it makes sense that grammar is not taught to natives using linguistics concepts.
The notion is however useful to foreigners, and I would say especially speakers of subject-prominent languages, because it pinpoints immediately the most distinctive trait of Chinese. And it does so in a way that can be understood rather easily, as topic-comment structures exist in English and neolatin languages as well, despite not being very common.
Below, some examples I can come up with, which convey that the topic is especially stressed in the sentence (topics in bold):

[English] it was me who called Anna (= I called Anna)
[Portuguese] à estação, esse autocarro não chega (= esse autocarro não chega à estação)
[Italian] il libro, gliel'ho già restituito (= gli ho già restituito il libro)

(I was also not aware of topic-comment in any of the three above, until when I started studying Chinese)


Why is 十面埋伏 related to the number 10? How does that count?

As we know, Chinese directions can be categorized as 六合八方, but none of them is related to the number 10?

KEY defines:
十面
as:
(on) all sides, (from) all sides

Also from a Baidu Zhidao question:
十面指的东,南,西,北，东北，东南，西北，西南,上，下

Ten sides: east, south, west, north, north-east, south-east, north-west, south-west, above, below


Why is the 部首 of 詈 "言" instead of "四"？ Both "言" and "四" are radicals (部首). For "詈", the radical is 言, not 四. Why? In general, when there is more than one part which can be a radical, which one will be the radical for the character?

部首 is typically (but not in all cases) used to illustrate a character's fundamental feature.
詈 means to curse, so it is related with 言(speak, remark, words etc.).


How to translate "march wearing in one uniform: leadership" Looking back at my two weeks at NYMA, I've learned many valuable lessons, but the most important lesson I will remember is that people from different background all over the world, can create unforgettable experiences together when they march wearing one uniform: leadership.

上面这个句子的最后一部分该怎么翻译呢？直翻感觉很別扭。

I may have understood the text wrong, but here is my trial

  回顾我在 NYMA 训练的两周时，我感觉自学到了许多宝贵的知识。这其中最重要的，就是当这世界上来自不同文化、不同背景的人们都为了一个目标训练（行军）时，能创造出这么多令人难忘的回忆瞬间。而这个目标，就是领导能力。


Radical repetition in MTR station names Why do several mtr stations' chinese names (traditional chinese) contain characters with repeated radicals? These characters do not really form an english word but individually have a meaning, so I wonder the reason. My question may become clearer when  I provide the examples below:

銅鑼

金鐘

葵芳

筲箕(灣)

石硤(尾)

Because radicals indicate the meaning of the character. For example, 銅鑼 literally means bronze (銅) gong (鑼). Both are phono-semantic compounds and metal-related – the 金 radical on the left side, and their pronunciation on the right side. The name 銅鑼灣 came from the shape of the bay, which is like a gong. You cannot remove any radicals, otherwise the entire meaning of the word would be unclear.


Ways to determine whether a noun phrase is plural So in a recent answer someone told me:

预言 here most likely is not plural - hence the whole 的大

Which brings to mind a question about other ways of determining plurality. Certainly I've heard of using 們 as in 他們 and I know that 的 acts as a possessive and plurality is then based on the subject (n.)的...

Are there other common plurality indicators?

I figured this deserved more than a comment.

Another big indicator of plurality would be 都 - 都 means: all - so obviously it can't be all of one.

...孩子都... all the kids

...老虎都... all the tigers

...啤酒都... all the beers


交流，交际，沟通: whats the difference? I can't quite distinguish them, because "communication" is always social?
I guess 交际 is like my social skills and 沟通 is used with "dispute" but is that it and what about 交流？

I am sure all three terms can be found in dictionaries, but some of the definitions might overlap and cause new learners confusion, I think it is better to just list their main difference in my answer:

交流 = interact / exchange

交際 = socialize

溝通 = communicate

Examples:

文化交流 (cultural exchange) ; 互相交流 ( interact with each other)
交際應酬 ( socialize and partying) ；與上流社會交際 (socialize with the upper class )
無法溝通 (unable to communicate); 以眼神溝通 ( communicate with looks in the eyes)


Why are there two 我们 in 我们在等船来渡我们过河? 我们在等船来渡我们过河。

Supposedly this translates to “We are waiting for the boat to cross the river.” But what does the second 我们 mean? Is there maybe more nuance than this English translation shows?

Maybe this translation would be more understandable:

  We are waiting for the boat to take us to cross the river.


Do '不很 + adj' and '很不 + adj' have the same meaning? I have two sentences. Does 不 preceding or following 很 affect the sentence meaning?

她不很聪明，但很努力。
她很不聪明，但很努力。

很不 reinforces the (negated) adjective. 不很 indicates that the subject is "not really" as the adjectives says.

很不聪明 - very unintelligent.
不很聪明 - not too intelligent, not really intelligent.


Do tones change at the end of an interrogative sentence? At 0:57 in the link below, the woman says "餐" in what sounds to be the second tone, which is rising (Edit: on second thought, it sounds more like a toneless tone, like "么" in "什么." The girl says "餐" there in the same manner as she says "欢" immediately before that in the same sentence, which has a toneless tone. The guy immediately after that also says the first "欢," in the same manner.) But when I looked up the pronunciation of the kanji, it had the first tone mark, which was flat.

Is this happening because this is an interrogative sentence? Does this always happen?

At 0:42 in the same video (second link probably plays from that point) on the other hand, the final kanji doesn't put on the rising second tone. Instead it seems to maintain its original third tone (Or it doesn't?).  It seems to be a similar interrogative sentence but why doesn't the same phenomenon happen on this one?

https://youtu.be/mC5qFpBNxZM?t=55

https://youtu.be/mC5qFpBNxZM?t=43

It's not a question of being an interrogative sentence.  The problem is that Chinese tones in connected speech often sound different from their textbook forms.  This is something most native speakers are unaware of, and even in the specialized literature it's hard to find detailed information about it.  (The third tone rules below are well-known in the literature.)

I'm going to use Yuen Ren Chao's notation for tones: the scale goes from 1 (low) to 5 (high).  So 55 is a high level tone, 51 is a falling tone, etc.

The third tone (textbook 214 or 215) undergoes two well-known changes (search for "third tone sandhi" or "half third tone").  First, if two third tones happen in a row (你好、我想、友好), the first of the words changes to second tone: ni35 hao214, wo35 xiang214, you35 hao214.

Second, all other third tones are pronounced as 21, not 214, in connected speech: low dipping, with no rise after.  Only very rarely will you hear the full falling-rising contour -- usually for emphasis on the last word in a phrase.

Now we get into tones which are less talked about:

The first tone (textbook 55) is always level, but how high it is depends on the level of emphasis.  It will be exceptionally high if you want to stress the word: 你喜不喜欢吃..中..餐 "Do you like Chinese food" -- instead of some other option.  It will often sound quite low as the second syllable in a two-syllable word (亚洲 "Asia" ya51 zhou22) and in other contexts where it doesn't need emphasis.

The second tone (textbook 25 or 35) often comes out sounding mid-level (33) or dipping-rising (434) -- this seems to be especially common at the end of a sentence.  (I struggled with this for a long time: I would hear second tones as third tones all over the place.)

I've discussed the third tone above; the fourth tone (51) is pretty straightforward.

Now, to answer your question: 你喜不喜欢吃中餐？  I clearly hear 欢 as a first tone -- it's medium level (33) because it's "light" or "lessed stressed" but it's quite clearly a first tone.  As for 中餐, I hear it as 中 being emphasized, as if the guy had just suggested pizza, and she was saying "how about something Chinese"?  There's a natural tendency for pitch to fall over the course of the sentence, so in principle it's not surprising to hear 餐 be lower than 吃.  But this voice does sound unnatural to me, probably because it's machine-generated speech.


What does it mean to end a sentence in 没? In the following example:

你找到你爸爸了没

Does the 没 make it a question? And if so, how is it different from “你找不找到你爸爸了”

"你找到你爸爸了没"

It's short for "你找到你爸爸了没有?" or "你找到你爸爸了还是没有找到?". The complete sentence should be "do you find your father, or not?". "没" here is similar as "or not" in English.

BTW. The "你" before "爸爸" is redundant in Chinese. "你找到爸爸了没" is correct. It is impacted by translation from western language. Even many Chinese make this kind of mistake too.


How to write 400,002,000 in Chinese properly? I got a number, 400,002,000, I wonder how to read it?

Should it be one of these two? Or something else?

  四亿零二千
  四亿二千

你的第一种读法是正确的：

四亿零二千

此外，之前已经有人讨论过相关内容了，请看这个问题：
Rules for saying numbers


I dont know answer the question, could anybody help me? I dont know answer the question, could anybody help me?

This means you need to set a security question to protect your QQ account. QQ is a social media and it's easy to be hacked, set a security question can help you find your account back.


The difference between 左右 and 大概 房子大概九十平方米。
房子九十平方米左右。
I believe, 大概，左右 both mean: roughly, approximately.
Why should/must 大概 precede and 左右 follow?

Yes, both are meant approximation, but 大概 is a gross estimation - the house is approximately 900 sf; 左右 implies a calculated estimation - the house is 900 sf plus or minus.
大概 also can be used to express perceived uncertainty - 大概不好吧. 大概快到了. It is used in both measurable and non-measurable matters/objects.
左右 is used on the measurable matters/objects, like area, volume, dollar, distance...etc.
They can be used together, 這房子的面積大概在九十平方米左右 - The house's floor area is approximately 90 square meter, plus or minus. Note, in here, 大概 can be replaced by "大約", which is another term for approximation.


What is the etymology of Chinese tense words? So according to Wikipedia and other sources, Chinese was a tenseless language. It has aspects and moods that refer to time frames, but not tense itself.
This suggests to me that the nouns expressing concept of tense — past (过去), present (现在), future (未来) — are words imported from English and other European languages, and hence are new words.
Most likely, per the history of modernization, the Japanese first used those words to refer to specific tenses, which the Chinese imported in the 1900s.
Is this true? Or did the Chinese have words referring to specific tenses while not explicitly having a tense concept played out in their language?

According to Wikipedia, the first Chinese's grammar《馬氏文通》is written by 馬建忠 in 1898, meaning that most likely, there was no use at all of 過去式、現在式 and 未來式 before that. Now, if we investigate a bit by searching the tenses we are interested in, we can quote:

記時之式有四：一，事成之時；二，既往之時；三，幾時之久；四，未來之時。凡此四時，類無介字為先，故亦列於賓次。

In my understanding, this states the existence of three tenses corresponding to the perfect, the past and the future.


What does "须发皆张" mean? 须发皆张

须 - Beard

发 - Hair

皆 - All

张 - Spread/Open up

If it was directly translated, it would be something like "[someone's] beard and hair all spread open", but what does that even mean?

I can't really imagine how the person would look, so would the person have hair and a beard that stood up, like how someone would after their hair was affected by static electricity?

言未訖，只見關公口開目動，鬚髮皆張，操驚倒

Before he had finished speaking, he looked at Lord Guan and saw:
His mouth was open, his eyes were starting,
His beard and hair were all bristling and crackling!

Cao Cao was petrified with fear.


What is the correct usage of 犯險? To improve my extremely bad listening ability, I am watching 蘭陵王。 I am currently at a point where the protagonist is pursued and his friend joins him, instead of fleeing. The friend comments:

I understand, that 豈有此理的豈 is written in new characters and that it is a rhetorical question. I think I understand the question:

  As a brother, how could I let fourth Prince brave the danger alone?

In so doing, I have assumed 犯險 to be 冒險。But none of my dictionaries contain it. When is 犯險 used? Does it differ from 冒險？

http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/2546/

  犯

  [1] [v] offend; violate; go against

  [2] [v] invade; attack; encroach on

「犯險」go against danger

「犯天威」go against  the wrath of Heaven (emperor)

「冒險犯難」take risk and go against disaster

It is not in that dictionary, but I would suggest "go and face" is also a good interpretation of 「犯」in this sense.

The main point is: "to 「犯」something formidable"  is to actively go against it, facing it, so your interpretation of " to brave" is quite direct and accurate.

  I have assumed 「犯險 to be 「冒險。But none of my dictionaries contain it. When is 犯險 used? Does it differ from 冒險？

*「冒險」 and 「犯險」 are basically the same, differ only in degree of activeness. You can move forward to 「冒險」,  or you can 「冒險」 by not taking action; but you have to move forward to 「犯險」.

*「以身犯險/以身冒險」(personally go against danger/personally taking risk)is a common four characters phrase, it mentions 以身 (with one's own body) to emphasize the  seriousness of the stake.

  http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/1428/

  冒

  [2] risk; brave; jeopardize


Query about tone and stress in Mandarin foreign transcriptions/loanwords Chinese transcription of foreign names and countries often results in long words that (in my opinion) stick out from the native lexicon significantly.
There is general agreement that Mainland Mandarin is a stress-timed language, which means that some syllables are shorter than others. This is made most clear by the use of neutral tone in polysyllabic words such as 朋友.
I would like to know if, from your experience, whether the neutral tone or shorter syllables occur in longer loanwords and transliterations such as 布拉德・彼特 (Brad Pitt), 斯洛伐克 (Slovakia), 阿司匹林 (Aspirin).
Thank you for your input

I don't agree that "Mainland Mandarin" is a stress-timed language. Where did you get the "general agreement"? In addition, I think that Mandarin is Mandarin. The difference between "Mainland Mandarin" and "Taiwan Mandarin" is smaller than British English and US English.

Back to your question. Even the words/names are translated from other stress-timed language, one reads them character by character in a steady pace (so called syllable-timed). 布拉德・皮特 reads as 布/拉/德・/皮/特, not 布/拉德・/皮特 or something else. But since many educated Chinese know English very well, they may mix English words in directly when they speak. Nowadays, when one use a standard way to say, for example, 布拉德・皮特, it sounds OK but a bit out of fashion. So people, especially young people prefer to use Brad Pitt instead of 布拉德・皮特. Here the words are already English, not Mandarin or Chinese any more. 朋友 reads as 朋/友. Both characters take the same time to pronounce.

Don't trust websites, such as this. In the comment you already see it's full of mistakes.


Pinyinated 'm' with four tone marks? I know 'm' is a pinyin pronunciation. Looking through my dictionaries I've seen it listed in first, second and fourth tones. I can't seem to find the correct accented lower-case 'm's anywhere though...

Tone marks are as follows:

1st tone = ˉ (macron)
2nd tone = ˊ (acute accent)
3rd tone = ˇ (caron/háček)
4th tone = ˋ (grave accent)

So basically what I'm asking is where can I find:

lower case m with macron
lower case m with acute
lower case m with caron/háček
lower case m with grave

anyone?

Tones are only applied to wovels. There are no tones associated with consonant "m", so you have to assume a prefix wovel like "e" before the "m". Unicode-wise, you can get an accented ḿ but no other variants.

Yes, you see accented "m" in dictionaries, but they are outside pinyin, and also outside unicode.


Is there a breakdown of the simplification scheme into methods? For the second round of simplification (actually, its second part), there is a scheme dividing the processes into classes by the method used, such as:

leaving only part of the character that leaves the main impression;
retain the form and smoothen fine details;
replacing character altogether with a simpler one read similar;
replacing only a phonetic with simpler one;
use the hand-written form;
replace altogether by a new ideographic composition;
etc.

Is there a similar breakdown of how the simplifications were achieved for each particular one in the current list?

The second round is just a continuation of the first, so the methods involved are quite similar. For a break down of each simplified character and their corresponding method, you can check the Simplified Character Table 《簡化字總表》.
There are three sub-tables, the first one contains simplifications that can not be used as rules to simplify radicals in other characters; the second one contains characters that can be applied to others; and the third one shows the result of such application of rules.
The first table is most relavent to your question: see the Simplification Method column (簡化方法). For example 改換聲旁 means "replacing phonetic radicals", 刪減偏旁 means "deleting radicals" (corresponding to the method "leaving only part of the character" in your list), and so on.


Glyph origins of the character 岁/歲? I teach a basic class in Mandarin to kids.

They enjoy seeing where characters came from.

I will be teaching them how to express their ages soon and hence the character 岁.

Is there an interesting etymology or story behind this character ?

There's obviously a mountain in the simplified character. Something about harvesting crops annually on the mountainside ???

I can't find anything online.

Another question, is there a good research somewhere for studying the origins of characters ?

商甲餘1.1合集13475西周金曶鼎集成2838春秋金為甫人盨集成4406秦簡效律20睡虎地秦簡篆步部說文解字今楷

「歲」 (Baxter-Sagart OC:  /*s-qʷʰat-s/, motion of Jupiter > year > years old) was originally comprised of semantic 「步」 (steps, referring to motion) and phonetic 「戉」 (/*[ɢ]ʷat/). Jupiter appeared brightest to ancient astronomers approximately once a year in the night sky.

  「步」 is comprised of two mirrored feet 「止」, indicating the meaning steps, walking.

As a component of 「歲」, 「戉」 was sometimes variously corrupted into 「戈」, 「戊」, or 「戌」. The modern form is from a corruption into 「戌」.

  All four of 「戉」, 「戈」, 「戊」, and 「戌」 depict different types of bladed weapons, so they're quite easily confused with each other graphically in older writings.


Correct grammar? 她对待客人很友好。 In an Anki deck I downloaded, the Chinese translation of "Her treatment of the guests is very friendly." is given as "她对待客人很友好。" Shouldn't it be "她对待客人得很友好。"?

The first sentence is correct. You don't need a "得" in this sentence.

Here I want to show you a way to maintain your express correct and beautiful.

The key point you can check your gramma in an easy way is detecting the main branch of a sentence and then do some extensions.

For instance:

  The main branch of "Her treatment of the guests is very
  friendly." is "Her treatment is friendly.(她的招待是友好的。)".

After clarify the main branch of a sentence, you can now add the details into your sentence, it's always a best way.

The sentence now looks like:

  "Her treatment of the guests is very
  friendly.(她对客人的 招待是 很 友好的)"

At last, change and delete some words, which makes your expression more fluent and direct.

  "她对客人的 招待是 很 友好的" -> "她招待客人很友好"

Step by step, a correct and beautiful Chinese sentence is created by yourself.Is it interesting?

Hope my answer helps you.


When to use 住在 and when to use just 住? I have encountered the following sentences:

以前人们住这样的房子
现在人们住这样的房子

Why do these sentences NOT use 住在? I have learned that 住 takes 在 in order to take the location noun after that.
Or maybe is it a chance that 住 carries completely different meanings from  住在, and the both are grammatically correct?

I am a native Chinese speaker. We say "住这样的房子" or "住在这样的房子里". These two are both correct, and they mean the same thing.

"住在这样的房子" sounds wrong to me."住这样的房子里" may be correct but sounds weird.

As you may have already known, the time "以前" or "现在" do not affect the form of the verb.

Hope this helps!


How do I overcome my inability to think in Chinese? I instead translate what I read into English I am not sure why, but whenever I read something in Chinese...I don't know how to say this, it just doesn't click, Every word I read is instantly translated to English, If I try to force my self to not do so, I tend to get confused. I am not too sure if some one who faced a similar problem could tell me if I am maybe learning the wrong way.

How do I overcome my inability to think in Chinese?

Everyone learn differently, everyone progress in different speed.
I would say this question will not has a definite answer.

In my opinion, it is not a bad thing that you automatically translate foreign language into your native language in your mind at the beginning of your study. Eventually, you will get familiar with that second language enough and able to think in that second language. It will take years and you need to listen, speak and write that second language day in and day out to get better.

I learned English by watching a lot of T.V, read news paper everyday and talk to a lot of people.  Nowadays I often encounter some English words that I understand their meanings but can't translate it into Chinese. At this point, I think my English is quite o.k.


What is the meaning of 附件 here? What do they mean by '铅笔附件‘ and '配套件‘？

'铅笔附件‘ maybe: the box that the pencils come in? Or the lead in the pencil, in case it contains harmful chemicals?

宁波检验检疫人员提醒文具出口企业，要重视铅笔附件和配套件的安全性能。

It just means that some widgets or accessories for pencil. "附近" and "配套件" make a general reference. More time they won't be indicate what certain things they are. So don't think too much.


What is the difference between 举行 and 举办? What is the difference between "举行" and "举办"? Both of them have the meaning of 'holding / organizing an event", but do they have any difference?

An answer I found on Baidu Zhidao says this:

  二者的区别在字面上，“行”注重过程，“办”强调事情，进行（集会、比赛等）

The difference between the two words can be seen from the words themselves, “行” focuses on the process of events, while “办” emphases the thing things and the carrying out of such things themselves (meetings, competitions, etc).

The following all use "举行"

～会谈
～球赛
展览会在文化宫～。

Hold talks
to hold a sporting event
the exhibit will be held at the cultural palace

The following, here, would all use "举办"

～展览会
～学术讲座
～训练班

To hold an exhibition
The hold an academic speech
To hold a training class

So basically
行 = just doing it
办 = includes setting it up and doing it (edit: or organizing like you said in your original post)


What's the difference between 老公 (lǎo gōng) and 丈夫 (zhàng fu)? I understand that they both mean "husband" in some capacity; are there any differences in formality or connotation between the two? Thanks!

What is the difference between 老公 (lǎo gōng) and 丈夫 (zhàng fu)?

老公 is a 昵稱 (pet name/ nickname) for husband; 丈夫 is the formal term of husband.

In any official document, you will only see 丈夫 and never 老公 as the term of 'husband'

It is similar to "dad vs. father" ; "mom vs. mother" in English

Since 老公 is a pet name, it is often used to address to the male half of a couple, doesn't matter if they are actually married or not


How do I parse the Zhou Enlai quote 为了中华之崛起而读书? This was listed as a Zhou Enlai (周恩来) quote in my 3-rd grade Chinese book:

  为了中华之崛起而读书
  Wèile Zhōnghuá zhī juéqǐ ér dúshū
  Reading for the rise of China [Google Translate]

Question: How do I parse this quote?

Breaking it apart:

为了 = "for"
中华 = formal abbreviated term meaning "China"
之 = (?)
崛起 = "rise sharply"
而 = "and" or "also" (?)
读书 = read books

I think I get the general meaning: reading books will lead to China's steep rise.  But it's not clear how it pieces together, and thus I may have totally misinterpreted it.

You parsed the sentence correctly, and got the correct meaning for most of them.

之 means 的 (of). And 而 is a conjunction, to connect the two subsentences. It's not necessary but if you want you can take its meaning as and / and then / and yet ... to help understanding.

PS: The google translation is quite straightforward and correct.


演 ＝ 氵+ 寅 but what's it got to do with water!? How did it get its modern meanings? 氵+ 寅 = 演
zisea

拼音:yan3
①根据事理推广发挥：推～。讲～（亦作“演讲”）。～义（以史书及传说的材料为基础，增添一些细节，用章回体写成的小说）。～绎（一种推理方法，由一般原理推出关于特殊情况下的结论）。
②依照程式练习：～练。～示。～算。～武。～习。～兵场。
③不断变化：～变。～化。
④把技艺当众表现出来：表～。～出。～播。～奏。主～。义～。

I can't really see any reason water would be needed in this character from its above meanings.
Chinese Etymology

From water 氵水 and phonetic 寅. Original meaning to flow.
ShuoWen: (說文解字):
長流也一曰水名從水寅聲

If Chinese Etymology is not wrong - and I wouldn't be surprised if it is wrong - then how did it go from meaning water to what it means today?

http://dict.shufaji.com/word-2326.html

甲骨文（水，喻流程）（矢，代军事操练），造字本义：古代军事模拟实战的流程式操练。篆文将甲骨文的“矢”写成“寅”，明确了军事操练的含义。隶书将篆文的成。

the 氵also got another meaning of flow (process flow), so it does mean that process flor for traditional battle(war) training.


What does 蕉 mean in Cantonese? I've seen 蕉 translated into Mandarin (and dubbed into Mandarin) as 肏.

CC-CANTO doesn't really give anything much for 蕉 in Cantonese.

words.hk doesn't give any results, either.

I'm guessing 蕉 just fits the pronunciation ziu1 but is not the actual character for whatever it is supposed to mean, but I have no way of knowing for sure.

What does 蕉 mean in Cantonese?

it means bananas (香蕉)! But if people say "食蕉" to you in a foul way, it means "eat shit", because a banana and shit are similar in shape i guess...

i am from HK and i speak Cantonese
.


list of traditional Chinese sorted/grouped by number of strokes I'm looking for a list of traditional Chinese sorted/grouped by number of strokes.
I have found some lists which contain around 500 characters. I'd like to have more, at least 2,000. Also, some lists are obviously a simple conversion from lists of simplified Chinese. Hence, the number of strokes are incorrect.
This is for sorting purpose. I found that Chinese version of Excel can sort by number of strokes. Unfortunately, I don't have it.
[It is strange to me that this question is closed because "questions asking for learning resources are off-topic." I'm asking for a resource, not a learning resource, and the answer given, which is in a dictionary, won't be obsolete for quite a long time. Anyway, just different definitions, I guess.]

lists which contain around 500 characters

you must be kidding  500 only?
try the 國語辭典, maintained by the ministry of education, taiwan; it’s under cc 3.0. you may download the excel file here:
https://language.moe.gov.tw/001/Upload/Files/site_content/M0001/respub/dict_reviseddict_download.html
the first excel file should suit your need, it contain 8000+ characters, with colume indicated the stroke number, and radical.
have fun :)


What does 背着 mean in the novel 活着 (pp.10-12), e.g., ...让她背着我回家...? I encountered 背着 thrice in quick succession in the novel 活着 (pages 10 through 12):

我年轻时吃喝嫖赌，什么浪荡的事都干过。我常去的那家妓院是单名，叫青楼。里面有个胖胖的妓女很招我喜爱，她走路时两片大屁股就像挂在楼前的两只灯笼，晃来晃去。她躺到床上一动一动时，压在上面的我就像睡在船上，在河水里摇呀摇呀。我经常让她背着我去逛街，我骑在她身上像是骑在一匹马上。...
... 我就把那个胖大妓女从床上拖起来，让她背着我回家，叫了抬轿子跟在后面，我到了家好让她坐轿子回青楼。 ...
... 那妓女嘟嘟哝哝背着我往城门走，说什么雷公不打睡觉人 ...
... 在两旁人群的哄笑里，妓女呼哧呼哧背着我小跑起来，嘴里骂道： ...

In each case, the 妓女 (sex worker) is doing 背着 to the main character "我" ("me").
None of the verb definitions of 背 seem to fit these sentences: to be burdened, to carry on one's back, to turn one's back, to hide something from, to learn by heart, to recite from memory.  Perhaps it's grammatically possible she's physically carrying him or her back (?), which seems implausible.
Question: What does 背着 mean above?

我年轻时吃喝嫖赌，什么浪荡的事都干过。我常去的那家妓院是单名，叫青楼。里面有个胖胖的妓女很招我喜爱，她走路时两片大屁股就像挂在楼前的两只灯笼，晃来晃去。她躺到床上一动一动时，压在上面的我就像睡在船上，在河水里摇呀摇呀。我经常让她背着我去逛街，我骑在她身上像是骑在一匹马上。...

The first section of text already makes it clear that 背着 refers to the 妓女 carrying the narrator on her back. (because she was fat enough and the narrator felt like he was riding a horse)


Can I use "我知道“ to say I know some kind of food? There are kinds of foods, such as malaxiangguo, that people often suspect a foreigner will not know and will not like. I can say "我吃麻辣香锅" (wo chi malaxiangguo).  Is that the best thing to say?  And I have used both 知道 (zhidao) and 认识 (renshi) to say I know various foods.  I think I have heard both used, but I may be wrong about that.

Anyway, all have worked, but what is the best way to say this?

This was not clear enough.  The common case is that I am trying to buy some kind of food and the seller is concerned that as a foreigner I do not know what I am doing and cannot like that kind of food.  Seven years ago in Beijing this could happen if I just started to use the red pepper paste at the table, and 我吃辣 worked as reassurance.  Spicy is a lot more common in Beijing now.  But it happens a lot with 羊杂 of any kind.

If the seller asked me a question about whether I knew or wanted the food, of course I would use the same vocabulary to answer. The Chinese grammar of questions and answers is a very good system.

My problem is what to say when the seller is just visibly uncomfortable.  Seven years ago some would rush over to my table as I opened the pepper paste, warning "辣！辣！“  Now if I order, say 肚 (du3, tripe, a normal ingredient in pepper pot soup and hog's maw in Pennsylvania when I was a child, though many Chinese and Americans today do not know it was ever eaten in the US) shop owners often look dubious.  I did not intend that pun.

I am sure the advice against using 认识 is correct, and 知道  is not perfect.  But even those poor choices have worked to reassure, which is my goal. I'd just like to say it better.

Usually don't use 我认识 on food, if someone ask you whether you know of some kind of food, if you have eat it once or more, you can say 我吃过那个. or if you ever heard of it, you can say 我听说过，但是没吃过. If you want to eat, you can say 我们可以吃吃, if you don't, just say 我不想吃 or 我不喜欢吃那个.
If you are on table, and someone show you a kind of food, and ask you do you know it, he may ask you 你知道这道菜是什么吗？Then you can say 我知道 or 我不知道，and 我认识 or 我不认识 can also use here. But, this is not a polite action, man usually don't ask others not close enough for this sentence. Ask for 吃过这道菜没有 is a more common question.


Mandarin chinese: syllable pronunciation training Is there free mp3 resources of all combinations of syllables (1consonnant + 1vowel) in different tones?

Here an example of syllables:
All Possible Syllables in Mandarin Chinese

Looks like the answer to my question:

The audio from the second link is better that the first

http://lost-theory.org/chinese/phonetics/
http://www.uvm.edu/~chinese/pinyin.htm

And this one is of better quality:

https://chinese.yabla.com/chinese-pinyin-chart.php


Does anyone know what is the characters means (丁財貴寿)? Does anyone know what is written on the image? I tried to find out what is it, and got 丁財貴寿 (丁财贵寿), but not quite sure enough. I tried to find the meaning of the words but seems can't find it or I don't understand what is being written there. When I tried to search with the traditional hanzi, there is a lot of information provided in Japanese, but when use the simplified one, there is a lot of information provided in Chinese, but I can't get the meaning.

If the characters is read: 丁财贵寿 (dīngcáiguìshòu), what does it means? And, does somebody knows why it is read orderly from top, bottom, right and finally left? Thanks.

丁: Male child
財: Riches
貴: Honor
寿: Longevity

It's a good fortune sentence. The order (which appears normally on coins, the shape of which this reproduces), is North South East West.


What is the Chinese equivalent of "time to [A]"? In English, we have a "time to [A]" phrase that indicates something like "now is the appropriate moment to [A]" or "now is the moment at which [A] will happen".
Examples include, "Time to go", "Time to sleep", "Time to shower", "Time to set this project aside", "Time to die", "Time to live", etc.
Given that “的” can be used to form adjectival phrases and that “时候” seems to represent a point in time, my first notion would be to use “[A]的时候”, but that is the same construction to mean "when [A]". I could see that context could be used to distinguish the two notions, but from my experience "[A]的时候" is taken to mean "when" rather than "time to [A]". (I can see why "[A]的时候" means "when" as it appears to more literally mean "[at] [A]'s point in time")
I have also thought of "[A]的时间", but then "时间" is more of a continuous time period, rather than a point in time. Though, it can be used to refer to a definite "clock time", which has a point-like quality to it (as in "什么时间？"）.
When using Google translate (which I don't trust for something that is this idiomatic), it seems to suggest a few patterns:

【该[A]了】： 该走了, 该洗澡了 (which I understand to more literally mean "[I/you/we] should do [A] now")
【是时候[A]了】： 是时候睡觉了, 是时候将该项目搁置一旁了 (which I understand to more literally mean "now is the point in time to do [A]")
【[A]时间】： 死亡时间， 生存时间 (which I understand to more literally mean "time period to [A]", rather than "now is the moment at which we [A]")

Assuming that I am interpreting the literal meanings correctly (please correct me if I am wrong), I can see that the different patterns do seem to approximate the nuances encoded in the various "time to [A]" expressions in English, to various degrees of accuracy. However, given the idiomatic nature of this expression I need more guidance to know which Chinese expression(s) to use (if any).
My question: is there a single Chinese equivalent to "time to [A]", are there multiple situation-dependent equivalents (like the different patterns from Google translate), or is such a set expression not used/common in Chinese for this purpose?

I don't think there's a fixed expression to reliably translate "time to X".
According to the context, there's a few ways to go about it, that I can think of right now.
Broader actions
When X is broad in scope, and the "time" period you are talking about doesn't mean necessarily right now, you can use 时刻. It often translates to "the time to X":

this is the time to invest in renewable energy
这是投资可再生能源的时刻

Actionable right now
When X is an action narrower in scope, and "time to X" means that right now is the time to do it, you can use “X的时间到了”:

It's time to go eat something
去吃饭的时间到了

Suggestion
When X is something that you are suggesting to do, you can use “X了吧” (no "time" word necessary; modal 了 is enough):

it's time I go take a shower
我去洗澡了(吧)

it's time to leave this place
我们离开这里了吧


Mandarin: 去 + xxx + 去了? Where we live I often here the construct 去 + 某某某 + 去了, for instance:

去打牌去了

去上厕所去了

去做饭去了

Can this kind of construct be used in Mandarin aswell?

It can be used that way, but nobody does that. Most people use one 去. Either before or after is fine.


What's a precise definition of 人家 I've gathered from context, that “人家” can be used like “我” with the following differences:

"人家" seems more immature/cute. I often hear it in cartoons or children's shows or said by children in movies or shows.
"人家" seems more colloquial. I often hear it, but rarely see it in print.
"人家" seems to be kind of like passive voice in English somehow. For example, if someone wanted to defend an opposing viewpoint without directly challenging the other side, they might be more likely to say something like “人家只是擔心。。。” or "人家沒有煩心工作的話就不會。。。“

Since I haven't found a dictionary with a detailed (or any, really) definition of this often heard expression, I was curious if anyone has any advice on usage.

人家 has many different meanings. Regarding the meaning in question,

The literal meaning is "that person" or "someone", indirectly referring to oneself like "guess who" in English. This might be the reason you find something passive about it.
It's used by young girls/ladies to address themselves in a cute, innocent or flirtatious tone.
It is informal and only used in colloquial language.
It's inappropriate for a male to use it in any occasion, even not for little boys, otherwise it's considered extremely feminine in a bad way.
Even among young girls/ladies, not everyone is comfortable with using them. Some only use it in front of their lovers; some find this usage skittish (not in a bad way but uncomfortable to say it herself) and almost never use it.
There is also regional difference. In Southern China it's more common to see usage between normal friends. In Northern China it's mainly within family (like daughter to parents) or between lovers.
In #3 in your question, the purpose is not to avoid direct conflict, but to play innocent/show weakness in order to gain advantage (in this case, excuse).


What is the difference between 连续， 陆续， 接连， and 一连？ 连续
successive;
continuous;
consecutive

陆续
in turn;
successively;
one after the other

接连
on end;
in a row;
in succession

一连
in a row;
in succession;
running

From what I've read, 连续 is the most widespread term and would be the most accurate word for 'continuous', especially in science, as I have a book called 连续时间金融

From examples, 陆续 is closer to 'one after the other' or consecutively

I can't see what's unique about 接连 and 一连 but they seem different from the other two

As all four words have very similar meanings, here's an attempt to explain the slight differences:

连续 emphasize on the consecutive-ness - there're no breaks in between.
陆续 emphasize on counting - in a sense of 'keep it coming'.
接连 emphasize on succession / connection.  'one after the other' fits here.
一连 is the same as 连续 but in a sense of shorter range in terms of usage.


What's the difference between盛名and名副其实 I have the sentences 这个学校名副其实的温暖，这学校对外声称自己是暖心的社团，接触他的人也确实感受到暖暖的爱
名副其实 means"reputation"or"not just in name only，but also in reality"

名副其实 is similar to "live up to one's name" in English.
And below is the mapping character by character.
名：fame
副：matches
其：its
实：reality

Alternatively, you could say 名不符实 to say the exact the opposite.


「公然站到占世界五分之一人口的中国人民的对立面」里的「站到占」是什么意思？ 我今天看的文章讨论美国最新泄露的消息和中方发言人华春莹的反应。据报道，美国政府正在考虑禁止共产党员和家人入境美国。不过下面的「站到占」我完全不了解。

华春莹称，现在美国官方还没有人出来澄清这是不是fake news（假新闻），但是如果这个报道属实，那么美方无疑是公然地选择与十四亿中国人民作对，公然站到占世界五分之一人口的中国人民的对立面。这是完全违背中美两国人民的意愿和二十一世纪的潮流的。
美要限制中共党员旅美？中方：如属实，是与十四亿中国人作对,2020年07月17

据我了解，华春莹还不确定泄露的消息是不是准确，不过准确的话，她认为美国公然反对中国人。
问题：在上面的片段中「站到占」是什么意思？

问题：在上面的片段中「站到占」是什么意思？

不是 「站到占」而是 「站到 占世界五分之一人口的 ....」

[公然] [站到] [占世界五分之一人口的] [中国人民的] [对立面]

「公然站到 占世界五分之一人口的 中国人民的 对立面」

"Openly stand on the opposite side of the Chinese people, which account for one-fifth of the world's population"


生气 -> 生我的气 . 的 in a certain grammatical structure I came across the following sentence: 如果不是这样的话，那你为什么生我的气

I haven't seen 生气 as a verb before and was confused by the grammar of 生我的气 but didn't know how to google it as I don't even have the language to describe the situation well. Can someone point me in the right direction to this aspect of Chinese grammar? Thanks!

生气 is a verb for "get angry; take offence"

'的' in  生我的气 is an 'adjectival particle' that turns the noun '我'(I) into  '对我的'(toward me)

'生气' (get angry) --> '生(对)我的(怒)气' = ( 生气 *at me**) = (get angry at me)

'生气' is a two characters verb, but '气' in '生我的气', is treated as a noun '怒气'

more example:

'发火' (get mad) -->'发不必要的火' = (发 unnecessary 火) = (get mad unnecessarily )

'发火' is a two characters verb, but '火' in '发不必要的火' is treated as a noun '怒火'

A more telling example:

  问话 [ask word] = questioning

  问你的话 [ask your word] = questioning you

  '话' here is treated as a noun 'words' instead of part of the two characters word 问话 (questioning)


What's the difference between 差異 and 差別? Do both of them mean "difference?" Not sure if they are the same part of speech or if they are interchangeable.

Both 差異 and 差別 mean "difference"

差異 = (physical) difference
差別 = (physical or metaphorical) difference

Example:

这两张牌全无差異/这两张牌全无差別  (these two cards have no difference)

the two cards are physically the same

对我而言，有机食品和普通食品之间並无差别  (to me, there's no difference between organic foods and common foods)

the two products have the same food value to me

  you cannot replace 差别 with 差異 here because the difference between them is not physical but of value in your opinion.

One more example for 差别 used to describe metaphorical difference:

输给彼得或输给保罗是一样的，没有什么差别 (lose to Peter or lose to Paul are the same, there's no difference)

the main point is you lose

  Again, you cannot use 差異 instead of 差别 here because the focus is not on the physical difference between 'lose to Peter' and 'lose to Paul' . The focus is on the win or lose result)


Do people still use 炒冷饭？ I know that 炒冷饭 means to rehash a dead conversation. But is this still used in conversation? For example, could I say

你别再炒冷饭！

I'm scared this expression is a bit old and is not used anymore.

Yes, it's still used and a common phrase, which is used to express that an event or object does not contain something new/creative (a bit more than just rehash a dead conversation).

You can search using the keyword "炒冷饭 没有新意" to find the use of this phrase.


What does 解压密码233（19个3）mean? I couldn't get the whole signification out of Google Traduction.
I know it begins like "Password for extraction :" but I am not able to translate 个 so I can't find what the actual password is.

解压密码 is the password for a zipped file when you need to extract the files.
23333333333 is not a typical chinese word, you can use it as a slang which means LOL. You dont say 23333333333 in your real life just like you dont say LOL in a conversion. It's only intended to express "that's funny" in your social network.
Putting them together, 解压密码233（19个3), it doesnt look like a sentence to me.


Does anyone know of a good prescriptive mandarin writing style guide I am trying to find an excellent book on how to write mandarin well, something analogous to (in the English-speaking world) The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White, or On Writing Well by William Zinnser.

Please understand that what I'm asking is not the same as the question asked in this post, which is seeking mandarin equivalents to style guides such as The Chicago Manual of Style and MLA Style Manual. These two books are reference books that provide very specific rules for writing in one particular style. The Elements of Style and On Writing Well, in contrast, are about the craft of writing more generally, providing a deeper kind of insight and instruction that helps you discover and develop a personal writing style.

I've also posted this question on Quora but haven't received many responses. Perhaps such a book simply doesn't exist for Chinese writing?

About the usage of punctuations, choice of words, basic principles of writing, my best recommendation is 语文/国文 serial textbooks for primary and middle school students.

On developing an elegant style of writing, there is no simple rules such as "use advanced words", "construct concise sentences", etc. A very important criteria is “文气通达”, which is, roughly speaking, sticking to invariant impact of your writing on the reader, instead of vacillating among styles thus making your writing inconsistent. There is a book I konw, however, discussing the craft of writing, in a more precise way, enriching the knowlege of Chinese language and literature. The title is 《文心》. written by famous educationist 夏丏尊 and 叶圣陶, the book targets on middle school students and teachers, so, it consists of lively stories about two middle schoolboys learning literature, devoid of boredom of listing rules. And the passages the mentions are worth reading as well.(/ω＼)

May it helps.


Do 形声 words have an approximate or historical phonetic part? There are many examples of 形声 compounds that have a phonetic component that does not match the pronunciation of the word. Some examples are the 鬼 in 愧, the 其 in 基, or the 白 in 泊. Are these incongruences the result of a change in pronunciation but invariance in writing? I think this is the case for 泊, because I read somewhere that 百 used to be pronounced bo, and maybe that's the same for 白 as well.
Is that the case, or are some of these approximations where the pronunciation compromises for a hint at meaning? For example, maybe the rationale is that 愧 means shame and 鬼 scare people, and shame and fear are somewhat similar.
What about 形声 compounds that have an accurate (in regards to the modern pronunciation) sound but different tone? One example is the 尤 in 优. If the answer is that they're historical, does that mean 优 used to be pronounced yóu?

Most characters in use today were created by the Qín Dynasty (over 2,000 years ago!), so the modern mismatch between the phonetic component and the sound is indeed due to a change in pronunciation but invariance in writing.

are some of these approximations where the pronunciation compromises for a hint at meaning?

If sound components were selected for their meaning, we should be seeing examples of variant characters where similar sound components were interchangeable, but with one of the variants surviving because the sound component's meaning matches the character better. AFAIK, we're not seeing examples like this.
Most of the time, when you see explanations where a phonetic component is said to impart meaning, that is because the phonetic component was either the original character or at least was an essential pictorial or ideographical part of the character.
For phonetic components which were the original form of the word they represented, these were often later complexified through the addition of a semantic component, because the original character's uses had broadened or has been lost. For example,

「益」 picture of water 「水」 overflowing in a vessel 「皿」 > overflow/spill. This is now written as 「溢」.

「益」 itself has been semantically extended to mean abundant.

「申」 picture of a bolt of lightning. This is now written as 「電」 (Baxter-Sagart OC: /*lˤi[n]-s/).

「申」 itself is now a phonetic loan for ninth earthly branch (/*l̥i[n]/).

「然」 to burn/immolate, from semantic 「灬・火」 (fire) and phonetic 「肰」. This is now written as 「燃」.

「然」 itself is now purely a phonetic loan, taking on a bunch of unrelated auxiliary meanings.

「原」 water source, from a picture of a mountain cliff 「厂」 hanging over a simultaneously semantic and phonetic 「泉」 (water spring). This is now written as 「源」.

「原」 itself has now been extended to mean source/origin in a more abstract manner.

For phonetic components which were essential pictorial or ideographical parts of the character, their phonetic contribution was likely of secondary importance; substituting these components for just any similar-sounding component would likely break the character entirely. For example,

「有」 (/*[ɢ]ʷəʔ/, to have), picture of a hand 「又」 (also /*[ɢ]ʷəʔ/) holding a piece of meat 「肉」.
「員」 picture of a cauldron 「鼎」 with the shape of a circle 「〇」 near the opening > round, now written 「圓」.
「字」 (/*mə-dzə(ʔ)-s/), a picture of a child 「子」 (/*tsəʔ/) being born > newly-created Chinese character from existing characters > Chinese character;
「青」 (/*[s.r̥]ˤeŋ/, colour of green plants), from picture of a sprouting plant 「生」 (/*sreŋ/) and phonetic 「井」 (/*C.tseŋʔ/).

For example, maybe the rationale is that 愧 means shame and 鬼 scare people, and shame and fear are somewhat similar.

Generally, if meaning connections are too vague, they cannot be practically used to refer to a concrete word, otherwise anything can mean anything. If you find an explanation that is stretching the meaning of a component to fit the character, it'll be better to discard that component's meaning and to take it on a sound-hint face value.


What does the Kanji on this t-shirt say? I received this t-shirt as a gift, but I have no idea what the text says. I would appreciate any help.

it's the manga "one-piece", with illustration of "luffy".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Piece

the three characters is "霸王色" ( はおうしょくのはき ), the highest form of ability (or awareness)?

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ONE_PIECEの用語一覧


Is there a significant difference in meaning between "欢迎你到中国来" and "欢迎你来到中国"? I've asked quite a lot of native speakers about this and the general consensus seems to be that there is no significant difference in meaning between "欢迎你到中国来" and "欢迎你来到中国" (and similar sentences), but "欢迎你到中国来" seems to be the more common and natural version.

There definitely is an important point that many people seem to be unaware of, which is that "欢迎你到中国来" can be used to make invitations ("you're welcome to come to China"), although Chinese native speakers nearly always mis-translate this into "welcome to China" when speaking English. "欢迎你来到中国" is definitely only for when they've already arrived in China.

The tricky point here is that one or two native speakers I've asked believe that strictly speaking, "欢迎你到中国来" should only be used for invitations, and cannot be used if the person is already in China. But textbooks and many other native speakers routinely use it for "welcome to China".

So my question is: which is it?

A: "欢迎你到中国来" and "欢迎你来到中国" can both mean "welcome to China". "欢迎你来到中国" is only for this, whilst "欢迎你到中国来" can also be used for invitations.
B: "欢迎你到中国来" is only for invitations, and "欢迎你来到中国" is only for welcoming.

I'm looking for answers focused on these two options (even if neither is the correct explanation).

UPDATE BASED ON ANSWERS:
It seems there is no definitive answer to this. The summary seems to be that A is mostly correct: these are pretty much the same. However, some native speakers believe that strictly speaking B is correct, even if people don't generally care about the difference.

I am a native speaker but not language specialist, thanks for @Earth Engine awared that.

In my opinion (not from authoritative textbook), strictly speaking, B. "欢迎你到..." means you are not in the place... we welcome you to there; "欢迎你来到" means you are already there, we welcome you.

However, except very formal situation or someone who is extremely sensitive with language, most people in China will not care about the difference. In fact, I thought these two expressions are essentially the same in the beginning. It took me one minute to figure out there is a sutble difference.


Strategies to discourage uptalk in Chinese language learners? In my beginning Chinese class, many students consistently pronounce tones incorrectly when answering questions aloud.  I realize this is expected of beginners, but I've noticed that it happens most frequently with the fourth tone, and even when the answer is a single syllable.  My teacher has noticed it too, and said this is surprising - he expects us to have more trouble with 2 and 3.

To me (native English speaker), it sounds like my classmates are uptalking: They are not sure of the answer or the pronunciation, so they are answering with "question intonation" to solicit confirmation.  It stands to reason that the effect of this would be negligible on the first three tones, where high or rising intonation is actually correct.  But on the fourth tone, the error is clear.

For anyone unfamiliar, here is what Wikipedia has to say about "uptalk" or "high rising terminal".  A Google search also returns plenty of media coverage and some research references.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_rising_terminal

So my question is, does anyone have experience with this problem?  If you agree with my suspicions about the cause, can you suggest some strategies to address it?  Better yet, some examples or references that I might share with my teacher to help explain what's going on?

I would really like to help my classmates overcome this, as we've wasted a lot of class time on it already.  (Each time it happens, I desperately want to interject, "are you asking me or telling me?", as my elementary school teachers used to do.)  My teacher's approach when a student makes this error is to have the class repeat various syllables in the fourth tone after him, over and over.  I haven't noticed that having much effect.  Uptalk is so pervasive now - my classmates also answer in English like this? - so I'm hoping to hear that this is a common problem with some established solutions.

In class, I can see that as a problem. I agree the best approach is the teacher asking them to repeat themselves again and again, particularly while doing reading. I could really feel the pressure so I knew I had to know exactly which tone it was, and then be definitive in what I said. There was a lot of 再說一次.

However, once people are outside of class, I think it will be impossible to get around. In Taiwan, people just wouldn't understand me at all when I said a word like a question because I wasn't sure. And typically if I was definitive, the conversation would continue on normally with full (hopefully) understanding.


Can "秀气" be used to describe objects that aren't people? So there are 3 main translations for 秀气:

Delicate
Elegant
Graceful

Which makes it seem like it could be used to describe really anything--
However I have a friend who is saying that it is normally used only to describe people.

Is it not an adjective I could use to describe non-people-- like an elegant wristwatch?

秀气
基本解释:

样子清秀 (elegant appearance)

言谈文雅,举止优美 (elegant demeanor)

(器物）小巧灵便 (elegant, exquisite object)

灵秀之气 (elegant feel)；秀美(elegant)。小巧而清秀 (delicate)

(1) and (2) definition are mostly used to describe people
(3) definition said it can be used to describe 器物 (object)
Example:
秀气的刺繡  (delicate embroidery)
秀气的雕塑  (delicate sculpture)
(4) definition said it describes something that emit delicate, elegant or graceful feel
Example:
秀氣的山水 = 山明水秀 (exquisite landscape)
秀气的文章 (elegantly written article)
寫得一手秀氣的字 (able to write elegant hand written words)


How to say 'to keep' in Chinese? Seems like an easy question, but there doesn't seem to be an easy answer!
If I have three apples in my hands and I give you two, I could say 'I'll give you these two apples, but I will keep this one'.
What is the verb for 'to keep' in this scenario? 拥有? 保持? 留下?
All thoughts much appreciated!
Hashamyim

留(下) is your best bet.

Here's an example from Oxford C-E:

  我留下20块钱，下剩的给你。
  I'll keep 20 yuan and the rest is for you.


What response is expected to Chinese people's "Have you eaten?"? "Have you eaten?" (你吃了/吃了吗/吃饭没有 etc) sounds like a Chinese equivalent of "how are you?". However, I don't know what is the correct way to respond to the question.

What do Chinese people expect me to answer when they ask it? Should I just answer it literally?

I first thought they ask me to go in lunch together. But it is definitely not true... So if they want to ask me out, do they use a different approach or do I have to discern if they ask me out or just use the phrase as a greeting?

You can just answer it literally. Usually, I will response: 吃过了（or 还没有），你呢？

If people want to ask you out, they will go further with additional questions/requests: 我们一起去吃饭吧？


What's the correct translation for 1.5 months? Is it "一个月半" or "一个半月“? What's the correct translation for 1.5 months?

Is it "一个月半" or "一个半月“?

Technically 一个半月 is better and more common in written scripts. Although I don't understand why 一个半月 returns few results in Google, but those mentioning 一个月半 seem to be mostly related to infant raising. I'd say both is okay if you want to use in informal speeches.


Why is there 弄了 in the sentence 婶婶找来几片叶子，给雪弄了一双耳环? I never understood the usage of 弄 for example in this sentence 婶婶找来几片叶子，给雪弄了一双耳环 why is there a 弄了?  The sentence makes sense without it.

I assume the object in your question is actually a snowman 雪人 not just 雪. So I think it should be "婶婶找来几片叶子，给雪人弄了一双耳环".

So we have in English: "Shen Shen found some leaves and made a pair of earrings for the snowman."

If you check the dictionary meaning of 弄 you will see it is quite similar to the English make. In the Chinese sentence you have 弄了 so that changes "make" into "made".

Without this, if the sentence was "婶婶找来几片叶子，给雪人一双耳环" the sentence would be: "Shen Shen found some leaves and gave them to the snowman." Now this could technically still be correct based on the context of what's going on, maybe it's a magical snowman who is getting earrings as a gift, but you should be able to see how removing 弄了 changes the meaning of the sentence completely.

"婶婶找来几片叶子，给雪人*弄了*一双耳环"

"Shen Shen found some leaves and made a pair of earrings for the snowman."


Characters for Taiwanese As far as I know, Cantonese has its associated characters. But as I searched for Taiwanese characters, I only find the pinyin system to indicate the pronunciation of words, such as:

  遮雨 jia-hōo/lia-hōo

Are there characters for Taiwanese?

I'm not sure how well it's implemented but you can check this out:

台湾闽南语推荐用字

  台湾闽南语推荐用字

  台湾闽南语推荐用字为台湾闽南语书写系统的汉字建议用字表，实施单位为中华民国教育部。

  简介

  台湾闽南语推荐用字于2009年9月中发布完700个字，并发布于教育部国语推行委员会（国语会）1的网站，免费供一般社会人士与学生等下载运用。

  台湾官方以4年时间整理的用字，第一批闽南语推荐用字于2007年5月30日颁布，共有300字2， 2008年5月1日公布第2批100字3， 2009年10月2日公布最后一批300字4。这700个字基本上已经标准化了台湾闽南语用字。未来如果有需要再增加推荐用字的话，国语会会再补。
  国语会选字标准

  选用字之时，国语会的标准如下6：

  使用本字：台湾传统闽南语文所用汉字多为传统用字，例如“山”、“水””、“天”。偶尔，台湾闽南语用字与古汉语一致，例如“箸”（筷子）、“沃”（浇）、“行”（走）、“走”（跑）、“倩”（雇用）、“晏”（晚）、“青盲”（失明）、“才调”（本事）等。
      训用字（训读字）：若是台湾闽南语本字不清楚，而现代标准汉语用字接近台湾闽南语字音与字意，则采用训用字，例如“戆”（gōng）、“挖”（óo/ué）、“会”（ē）等。
      借音字：若是台湾闽南语本字不清楚，再加上现代标准汉语用字不接近闽南语字意，而民间习惯使用音接近之字，则采用借音字，例如“嘛”（mā，也）、“佳哉”（ka-tsài，幸亏）、“磅空”（pōng-khang，隧道）等。

  现况上也配合台湾每县市1到3位乡土语言指导员，来帮助台湾闽南语的语言政策并藉以研发乡土语言等课程发展。
  台湾闽南语常用词辞典

  2008年10月17日公布《台湾闽南语常用词辞典》（试用版），收录一万六千个常用闽南语词汇及单音字7。2009年10月国语会有计划出版《台湾闽南语常用词辞典》。

  用字举例

  问题与建议

  2011年在教育部召开公听会检讨首部官方版闽南语辞典时，桃园社区大学刘志鸿表示，发布的七百个推荐字当中的四百多字有待商榷，有争议的用字不宜贸然推行到学校教学及编成辞典。例如：

  意为贫穷人的“散凶（散乡）人”、“散赤（散食）人”、“瘦呷（瘦吃）人”。

  而台中市海洋台语文研究学会理事长林绍良则认为，至少有一成要检讨修订，举例：

  蚂蚁非哺乳类动物，“狗蚁”建议应作“蚼蚁”；
     “公公、婆婆”依传统古汉字应写成“唐官、唐家”。9

you can download the following pdfs:

台湾闽南语推荐用字（第1批）

台湾闽南语推荐用字（第2批）

台湾闽南语推荐用字（第3批）

MoE's department of lifelong education also has a bunch of downloadable pdfs:

  臺灣閩南語推薦用字

  臺灣閩南語卡拉OK正字字表及內容說明
  臺灣閩南語推薦用字700字詞
  臺灣閩南語推薦用字隨手冊(1) (2)、字卡(3) (4) 及製作說明(5)

  (1) 手冊單面列印

  (2) 手冊雙面列印

  (3) 字卡單面列印

  (4) 字卡雙面列印

  (5) 製作說明


When does 秋分后遇壬/逢壬 refer to? I'm working on the, topolectical, word 出沾.

《四川方言词语续考》explains it as:

  秋分後遇壬叫入霑，十日滿叫出霑。

李實's《蜀語》defines it as;

  秋分後逢壬謂之入霑，十日滿謂之出霑○霑謂雨多也。逢壬十日內謂之霑天。諺云： ‘入霑有雨 出霑晴。’

Which is pretty much the same.

The part I don't get is the whole 遇壬/逢壬 part.

壬 could be talking about 壬年, but in the same manner it could also refer to 壬日 and I suppose 壬月 as well.

When exactly is 秋分后遇壬 or 秋分后逢壬?

It refers to 壬日.

So 秋分后遇壬 means after 秋分, from the 1st 壬日 霑 starts (i.e. 入霑), after 10 days 霑 ends (i.e. 出霑). In other words, the period of 霑 is 10 days lasting from the 1st 壬日 after 秋分 to the next 壬日, which is called 霑天.

For example, the 入霑 of this year (2017) is 10/2(壬戌日).

BTW: In traditional calendar, 干支地支 is also used for days, from 甲子 to 癸亥, circulate with the cycle of 60 days.


Why 了 in 走+time+就到了？ I came across the following sentence:

她的家很近，走五分钟就到了。
Tā de jiā hěn jìn, zǒu wǔ fēnzhōnɡ jiù dào le.
Her house is very close, only need to walk for five minutes to arrive.

Question: Why is there a particle 了 at the end?

First, I thought this 了 could mean completion (see Expressing completion with le in resources.allsetlearning.com ) of the action walk for five minutes and arrive. But then I also saw this sentence:

我的公司很远，走路要一个小时。
Wǒ de ɡōnɡsī hěn yuǎn, zǒulù yào yí ɡè xiǎo shí.
My company is far away, it takes me an hour to walk there.

Which is quite similar in meaning (I could understand also the action of it takes me an hour to walk there is completed), but doesn't have the particle 了.

了 at the end of a sentence is (most often) a modal particle that indicates change of state.

In your example sentence:

  ... 走五分钟就到了

it marks the change of state that occurs when, after walking for five minutes (original state, walking), you arrive at your destination (change of state, arrived).

This use of 了 is common in:

expressions involving time, because the passing of time often involves state changes: 我等了一个小时的车了, "I waited (original state) the bus one hour (change of state, not waiting anymore)"
commands, as they imply a change of state as soon as the command is executed: 你闭嘴了, "Shut up!" (talking, original state, to not talking, change)
'going to' forms with 要～了 or 快～了, as they imply an imminent change in the future: 今天要下雨了 "It's going to rain, today" (not raining, original state, to raining, change)

You can also find a nice explanation of different flavors of 了 here.


What's the most accurate translation for "copping a feel"? Absolutely the best first question I've ever asked on any site, ever.

I've considered:

吃豆腐 (but I don't think this is limited to physical actions)
偷偷亂摸
猴子偷桃 (but I think this is too specific?)

Is there a colloquial phrase or saying that approaches the English meaning and feel?

I would like to use 动手动脚 for 'cop a feel', or 'paw someone'.

他一接近女人就忍不住动手动脚. He can't be near a woman without pawing her.

揩油 and 吃豆腐 are also good options for 'cop a feel'.


Why is my translation different from theirs? So, I was was reading something and they provided me a translation. Here's the first one:

  我不想要你因为我变得消极
  I won't want you to become pessimistic because of me.

Why didn't it translate to "I don't want you because I'll become pessimistic"?

Here's the second one:

  从早安后的早餐,到晚餐后的晚安
  From the Breakfast after good morning till after the dinner's good night

Why didn't it translate to "From morning after breakfast, till dinner after good night"?

我不想要你因为我变得消极。
I don't want you to become demoralized because of me.

If you want the meaning 'because you make me depressed' try 2.

我不想要你因为你让我变得消极 。
I don't want you because you demoralize me.

In 3. I think you are just trying to apply the type of syntax you know to Chinese.

从早安后的早餐,到晚餐后的晚安。
From breakfast after Good Morning till Good Night after dinner.

If you take out the adjectives from 3., you have:
4. 从早餐到晚安
from breakfast till Good Evening

从早安后的早餐,到晚餐后的晚安。

  Why didn't it translate to: From morning after breakfast, till dinner
  after Good Night.

after breakfast is : 早餐后 but you have 'after Good Morning' = 早安后
after dinner is 晚餐后，after Good Evening is 晚安后


how to search words / clauses in classical / literary chinese? this question is made, and answer provided; in lieu of a long comment. though info might be controversial (from that area's view), i sincerely hope that it's helpful to anyone interested in chinese language.

the original question is here:

What's the difference between 停车 (tíngchē) and 泊车 (bóchē), which both seem to mean "park car"?

let's start: how to find particular words / clauses in literatures of yore (texts in classical / literary chinese)?

are there any databases, sites that's suitable for this task?

to search words / clauses (combinations of 2-9 characters) in classical / literary chinese, it's straightforward; if you know the methods, and able to visit the recommended sites {some of them are blocked in that "area" :( }

in short:

1   using traditional chinese is a must, no simplified chinese

2   knowledge of variant (異體字)

3   search by google

4   using reliable, trustable databases

5   able to read classical / literary chinese

6   knowledge of cantonese is a plus, a big one

in details:

using traditional chinese is a must, no simplified chinese

as i know, databases containing texts of classical /  literary chinese are all in traditional chinese. and, the imperial collection of four (四庫全書) are written in traditional chinese. meanwhile, simplified chinese was introduce in 1950s, in that area.

occasionally, some modern chinese words has a long history, way back to thousand of years old. so, if one want to know "did" any particular words appear in literatures of yore, the search must be in traditional chinese.

eg  "泊车" ---> "泊車"

knowledge of variant (異體字)

i would recommend these two sites, for checking variant character:

教育部異體字字典

國際電腦漢字及異體字知識庫

sometime, particular character would be used in ancient time, that, another one is used nowadays. so, if search cannot trigger desirable results, use the variant.

eg  並 (u+4e26) --->　竝 (u+7add)

based on my reading experience of numerous books of 四庫全書, 竝 (u+7add) was "trendy" in ancient time, that 並 (u+4e26) is rarely used. so, if "並" do not trigger any result, use "竝"

eg  "沙上並禽池上暝" ---> "沙上竝禽池上暝"

search by google

there're significant differences in searching, by google or bing (no noticeable difference in mac or windows)

sometime, there're hundreds, or thousands of results, my trick is:

  "searchword" -china -.cn -baidu -baike

only using reliable, trustable database

now, this's the core of this answer. remember "garbage in, garbage out"

as at june 2017, recommended sites for searching in literatures of yore are:

Kanseki Repository

this database was opened to public in march 2016, the best in current time. there're minor caveats, for average usage, it scores 90 out of 100.

漢文大藏經

buddhism has a large influence in chinese culture, this one is important.

internet archive

the internet archive has full-text-search function now, searching words in traditional chinese would trigger interesting results :)

chinese text project

this one is, 50 of 100; worth a try before "surrender" (rant: certain ocr scannings are "full of errors")

the only two "dictionaries" that i trust:

國語辭典

粵語審音配詞字庫

personally, i do not believe any sources in simplified chinese; i might read, but, i always counter-check with other reliable sources.

reminder: garbage in, garbage out

able to read classical / literary chinese

though chinese texts are punctuated nowadays, text in literatures of yore are not. so any search results must be read carefully. do the 句讀 independently.

sometime, combination of characters might had other meaning, or, these characters are put together "by chance".

knowledge of cantonese is a plus, a big one

well, cantonese is highly correlated to middle chinese, some terms in ancient time is still used in cantonese today. further, if phonology is touched, cantonese has significant advantages over . . .

stop here now, have fun


Can anyone explain what this symbol means? Please translate this Chinese character symbol found on Chinese food bowl.

食 - Direct translation is “food.” (Aka 食物)
In context (on a food bowl) can mean “eat.” (食用)


Can Chinese readers scan large amounts of text faster/more accurately than their alphabet-using counterparts? I was browsing one day and came across this comment in this discussion(italics mine):

  I feel English is a reading language, if you are reading an English book, you watch the word and make sound in your brain. But Chinese can be a watching language, take a Chinese book, I can watch over a paragraph and get the meaning of most part. Well, you may not believe, but it's true. Compare Yahoo.com and Sina.com for example, you can see that Yahoo.com is simple and clear, but Sina.com like a mess. You maybe surprise how can Chinese find the information in this mess. Well, native Chinese will get the most part easy by scrolling down and take a glance. – Xiè Jìléi Apr 4 at 9:45

Is there any science behind this? Or does the commenter just refer to scanning text.

I checked out a number of other search engines(eg naver.com(Korean); the-search.jp(Japanese)) and found no correlations myself.

Can Chinese readers scan large amounts of text faster/more accurately than their alphabet-using counterparts?
So if we placed a native Chinese speaker next to a native English speaker having the same education and literacy levels and gave them both a text of the same length and complexity in their respective languages, would one of them a) finish faster? b)comprehend more accurately? c)better retain read information?

This research seems to be relevant.

Your question seems to be closely related to rapid reading techniques. Looking on those techniques, you may notice that many of them don't apply to Chinese, simply because logographic writing systems naturally allow rapid reading with no extra training.
There is even an idiom, 一目十行 -- "reading ten lines at the same time"; literally, "one eye ten lines`.

Sub-vocalization, a process of associating a text with its phonetic representation. It slows down reading in any language, but Chinese symbols are always monosyllabic, and the majority of dictionary words consist of only two syllables.
Replacing a sequential word-by-word reading to seeing a whole page at once (or, actually, square blocks of text). Chinese text is naturally a grid by itself.
Related to above, but different, avoiding linear reading. Alphabetic writing systems imply the words aligned horizontally. Your eyes follow a word and it's difficult to follow several lines at once.
Seenig the shape of the wrods, not redaing them in detial. (how many typos did you see here?). In Chinese, you don't look at each stroke or radical, you just get the entire character at once.
Look here: someone can recognize 300-800 characters, but admits that he/she still needs 5-10 seconds to recall a single one.


Where does 馬上 originate from? 馬上 can be used as an adverb that roughly means "at once" or "immediately", for instance in: 我馬上來幫你. It can also mean "on horseback". Where does the usage with the sense of "at once" originate from, and does it have anything to do with the other meaning of the adverb?

According to "互动百科", it's said that during China's ancient times, a general on horseback was on its way to perform an important task, but he was interrupted midtrip when a messenger caught up to him bringing him a message, which stated that the emperor was deathly ill. He immediately turned around and rode back to see the emperor without alighting from his horse (note: riding in the Forbidden City was strictly forbidden), hence the word "马上" to mean "immediately".


How many syllables does Chinese have? I'm just reading a book about China and Chinese customs from Heike Barai. She says that Chinese only has around 300 different syllables, whereas modern German has about 10 000 and I suppose English is about the same.

Does Chinese really only have 300 syllables?

I took the CEDICT file and wrote a script on it. The file has 113k dictionary entries, so it covers a very large portion of the Chinese vocabulary.

There are 1522 different pinyin syllables in CEDICT, when you distinguish tone numbers (like, ma1, ma2, ma3, ma4, ma).

If you do not care about tone numbers, you'll get 413 syllables (ma, mo, mi, etc.) Here's a full list alphabetically sorted.

These results include m2 and m4 (呒, 呣 [interjections]).

UPDATE: Of course, you can argue whether 'ging' and 'fiao' are Mandarin pinyin syllables or not, but they are in the CEDICT file and my answered is based on that.


Is the sentence 昨天把我吃得站不起来了 correct? I came across this example use of 把 in the sentence structure "把 + Object + Verb + 得 complement":

  昨天把我吃得站不起来了

I've gotten some feedback that this sentence is not correct. It's used as an example sentence in a book I'm using to learn Chinese. What's wrong with it?

If the sentence above is indeed wrong, how can we correctly add a 把 structure to 我昨天吃得站不起来了?

You need a subject before the disposal marker "把" and 昨天 is not a subject

If you add a subject in your sentence and write 昨天他把我吃得站不起来 (yesterday, he ate me to the point of I couldn't stand up) The verb (eat) would not match the result (I couldn't stand up)

What would make sense, is something like: "昨天他把我打得站不起来" (yesterday, he beat me to the point of I couldn't stand up)
The correct usage of [(subject) + (把) + (object) + (verb)  + (result /degree complement) + (result/ degree)]:

"昨天他把我煮的飯吃得乾乾淨淨"
昨天 (time reference phrase)
他(subject)
把(disposal marker)
我煮的飯 (object)
吃得 (verb + result/ degree complement)
乾乾淨淨 (result/ degree)

The correct sentences without using 把:
昨天我吃得站不起来了
昨天那頓飯讓我吃得站不起来了


How does 在 function in 男女结合在一起? In 男女结合在一起, how does the 在 work grammatically?

I'm sure it does not mean "~ing", which should be before the 结婚 (and the meaning gets awkward then).

The sentence should mean:

  A man and woman got married together.

However, I don't understand for what purpose the 在 exists here.

If I omit the 在, what difference does it make?

This is the best explanation I think.
 In this case, prep. 在 can't be omitted.

Updates:

In this case, you have to differentiate with the meaning, instead of grammar.

In Chinese, 一起 can mean

in the same place
at the same time or in company.
in all; altogether;

When it refers to in the same place, it has to be preceded by 在. While it refers to at the same time or in company, it will be used alone without 在. For example, 我们一起去的。When it refers to in all or altogether, it's just 一起, like 一共. For example, 这些商品一起多少钱？== 这些商品一共多少钱？


Do I use “扔掉” or “倒掉” to expressing getting rid of 死水？ I know this is very specific, but I was looking for a translation for standing/stagnant water (context: mosquitoes), but found out it `死水｀(if that's incorrect though, someone please kindly notify me). However, a new question popped up. What is the verb used for handing 死水？ In English, I would say something such as "get rid of".

死水 usually refers to the water size of a pond or lake. You probably want to use 积水 instead. Then you can say 清除积水, for example 清除房屋和院子里各处的积水.


Is the measure word optional in 这件毛衣? I've heard the sentence 这毛衣, (so without measure word), but my chinese manual always use a measure word after 这:

  这件毛衣

  这件苹果

Is the measure word optionnal in after 这 ?

In Mandarin, especially Northern China dialects, measure words can be omitted when

It is following a demonstrative pronoun (e.g. 这, 那), AND
The numeral is 1 (one), AND
It is not a collective measure word （e.g. 些, 群).

The grammatical role of the phrase does not change. E.g.

这一件毛衣 = 这件毛衣 = 这毛衣
这一些毛衣 = 这些毛衣 collective measure word 些 cannot be omitted.


What does 这一 mean in 在追求这一目标的过程中? In the following sentence:

  在追求这一目标的过程中，赛事转播和媒体是基本要素，国际足联与央视的合作伙伴关系发挥着至关重要的作用。

What does the 这一 here mean? I understand it modifies 目标, but does that mean 一 here works as a measure word for 目标？If that is true, what is the difference between 这一 and 这个, and why does it use 这一 here?

PS: Is the 着 in 发挥着 a continuous aspect particle...?

The '一' here is for emphasis

在追求这目标的过程中 = In the process of pursuing this goal
在追求这(一)目标的过程中 = In the process of pursuing this (one/ single) goal

The two sentence basically have the same meaning, but the "一" in the second sentence emphasizes the singularity of the object 目标. Affirm it is the 'one' goal stated earlier and stress its importance.

More example:

此理想 = this goal

此一理想 = this one goal (affirm it is the 'one' goal stated earlier and stress its importance.  )

此人 = this person

此一人 =  this one person (stress the importance of this person in the context, for example, "this one person holds all the keys to your future success")


Is 金口难开 an idiom, and if so what would be a suitable CC-CEDICT definition? I stumbled upon 金口难开, and I think it's a 成语.  I think it describes people who are pretentious (金口 = gold mouth), which makes it hard for them to speak (难开 = difficult to open).

Examples:

  家长怎么教宝宝都是金口难开，多半是少做了这些事[src]
  微信聊天，金口难开的女人无非有三个心理,摸准后她对你念念不忘 [src]
  金口难开，绝不会认错的星座! [src]

Question: Is 金口难开 an idiom, and if so what would be a suitable CC-CEDICT definition?

Here's my partial CC-CEDICT definition (which I'm not very confident about):

金口难开 金口難開 [jin1 kou3 nan2 kai1] /lit. a gold mouth is hard to open (idiom)/fig. to be too pretentious for words/

which is modified from a related definition:

羞口難開 羞口难开 [xiu1 kou3 nan2 kai1] /to be too embarrassed for words (idiom)/

PS: CC-CEDICT definitions need to be high-quality (they're used in dictionaries all over the world).  The whole dictionary is free to download.  Submissions are reviewed prior to modifying the database.  They have a specific syntax, e.g.: 中國 中国 [Zhong1 guo2] /China/Middle Kingdom/

金口難開
..... 後來，便有了「金口難開」這個成語，表示：嘴巴像金子一樣珍貴，不輕易張口用來說話；形容一個人沉默寡言、不愛說話。

Base on the story, 金口難開  originally describe "someone value his own words like gold, do not open his mouth to speak unless it is necessary" ; Now it is used to describe "someone being reticent; a man of few words"

金口 = golden mouth (valuable speech)

難開 = 難得打開 (rarely open)


What's the difference between 眼熟 and 面熟? I've always assumed that you use 面熟 for people because they have a face (面). However, I recently heard a native speaker use 眼熟 about a person.

Are the two phrases fully interchangeable?

If not, what are the subtle differences (which I'm apparently missing)?

They are not fully interchangeable.

In 面熟/脸熟, 面/脸 are nouns for 'familiar what'. 面熟/脸熟 means 'familiar face'.

In 眼熟/耳熟, 眼/耳 are functioning as adverbs for 'how is it familiar'. 眼熟 means 'looks familiar', 耳熟 means 'sounds familiar'.

As a result, 面熟/脸熟 are mostly used for people, 眼熟/耳熟 can be used on anything that you can look at or listen to. For a familiar face, either one is fine.


What is the difference between 几乎 and 差点儿? Recently I've studied these two words: 几乎 and 差点儿. My book says that they have different meanings and they are used in different contexts, however I don't quite grasp in what way they are different, even if I've been provided with loads of examples.

My teacher mainly focused on the meaning of 差点儿. According to her, this word have a slightly negative connotation, it indicates lack of something.

Maybe 差点儿 is more colloquial (口语)?

What do you think? Is there a clear difference between these two words?

Thank you!

差点儿 is more emotional.

我差点儿迟到了。 implies that I feel lucky I was not late and I would feel bad if I were late.
我几乎迟到了。  states a fact and sounds like it's not a big deal even if I was late.

Visualize such a scenario. I run across the road and a car nearly hits me. My girlfriend says 你差点儿就被撞了！ It's a blame but I can feel she's really worried and feels grateful I was not hit by the car. I would be really sad if she says 你几乎就被撞了。


What does this pattern (由 … 而) mean, exactly? My book says that this structure is used to express the change of something, and it gives me this example:

  他脸色由白而红

But I think I didn't understand this structure really well. When should/shouldn't  I use it? For example, can I say 由星期日而星期一有一天? If so, what's the difference between this sentence and this-> 从星期日到星期一有一天?

Can you please give me more example and more information about this structure?
Thank you!

由 is "from"/而 is "and then". 由X而Y is used to described a continuous evolution (verb Y) from one state (noun X) to another.  Per your own example it is an evolution from being white to turning red (红 is being used as a verb here).

Notice how you inserted the verb 到 in your second sentence: you would need to add “至" in the first sentence to make it roughly comparable (though it seems weird to say 而至 here, though perhaps only because the register is too formal).  In that case, X is 星期一 and Y is 至: 星期二 can't be repurposed as a verb like 红 can.


Word order question. Describing a rabbit's eyes Forgive me for the newbie question. I've just begun learning about proper word order in Chinese sentences, and I was lead to believe that the "How" of the main verb in the sentence should always come before the verb itself.

I was looking at the translation of "The Beautiful Rabbit": http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2015/03/05/the-beautiful-rabbit/

It says the word order in chinese for the correct translation of "His eyes were red, like a pair of rubies." is "It's eyes were red, like a pair of rubies." (它的眼睛红红的，像一对红宝石)

Shouldn't the word order in Chinese be "His eyes, like a pair of rubies, were red."?

... the "How" of the main verb in the sentence should always come before the verb itself.

This is correct if "how" is referring to the adverbs. In Chinese, adverbs are placed before verbs, unlike in English they can be either before or after.

  It's eyes were red, like a pair of rubies." (它的眼睛红红的，像一对红宝石)

The thing with this sentence that makes it easily mistaken is there are two verb clauses:

were red. (是)红红的
like a pair of rubies. 像一对红宝石

The structure is quite obvious in its English version. But in the Chinese version, copula 是 is omitted before adjective 红红的, making it ambiguous to learners or even native speakers.

Hence, #2 is not "how" or adverbial for #1, but another verb clause. The order of the two verb clauses should be dictated by the semantics, not syntax or grammar. Since one clause is direct description and the other is analogy, there is no right or wrong on the order.


Why's 氵(“water”) 澀's semantic component? I don't understand how 氵 (“water”) relates to any of 澀's 2021 meanings below.
Definition 1 : How's water "rough"?
Definition 2 : Potable water doesn't taste "astringent; acerbic; tart"! This is chemically wrong too, as water has a pH of 7!
Definition 3 : Unquestionably, water isn't "obscure" to humans. Or else we would've gone extinct!

Above is Yellowbridge. Below is Oxford Chinese Dictionary (2010) p 633.

涩 means more of "not slippery" rather than "rough". 涩/澀 has many variant characters, such as 歮, 歰, and 澁. 刃 here is an upside down 止 which is a foot.
Opposite of 涩 is 滑 meaning slippery.
When a surface is not slippery, it becomes easier for many feet to walk through. You could also say many feet treading on soil can make it rough.
But it also becomes difficult for water to flow through thus some variants of this character added on an additional water semantic component to emphasize on the fact that the water is stuck. Over time, 涩/澀 became the standard form for this character while 歮, 歰, and 澁 fell into disuse.
涩 has a more commonly used meaning of "astringent", which relates back to the part where water is difficult to flow through in the previous definition. When you eat unripe fruit you can sort of feel like your throat is going to close up (astringent effect). Most unripe fruit tastes tart.
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