Pronunciation of word-initial glides (pinyin 'y' and 'w') As a non-native speaker, I read pinyin and want to pronounce 'yi' as /ji:/
and 'wu' as /wu:/.
But sometimes I think I hear  just /i:/ and /u:/.
Is that really the case or am I just (not) hearing things? I don't ever hear 'yang' or 'wang' as /jaŋ/ and /waŋ/. Are there (other) contexts where the word initial glide does not occur?

This is probably a better question for linguistics stack exchange; however, I will say that you are not hearing things incorrectly. My background is in linguistics, though not specifically in phonetics and phonology, so don't consider this an expert opinion. However, given some searching, I've found a helpful Wikipedia (Glides section) note  on this:

The glides may occur in initial position in a syllable. This occurs with [ɥ] in the syllables written yu, yuan, yue, and yun in pinyin; with [j] in other syllables written with initial y in pinyin (ya, yi, etc.); and with [w] in syllables written with initial w in pinyin (wa, wu, etc.). When a glide is followed by the vowel of which that glide is considered an allophone, the glide may be regarded as epenthetic (automatically inserted), and not as a separate realization of the phoneme. Hence the syllable yi, pronounced [ji], may be analyzed as consisting of the single phoneme /i/, and similarly yin may be analyzed as /in/, yu as /y/, and wu as /u/.1:274ff It is also possible to hear both from the same speaker, even in the same conversation.1:274ff For example, one may hear the number "one" 一; yī as either [jí] or [í].

What this seems to be saying is that the glides [j] and [w] can be inserted in front of certain vowels of which the glide is considered an allophone and that the insertion of such glides depends on the speaker. From my own experience, this very much seems to be the case. I often speak with Taiwanese/Southern Chinese speakers and will almost always hear [u] to represent the pinyin "wu" and [i] to represent the pinyin "yi". For what it's worth, this is also considered "standard" in terms of the sources (1,2) I've found.
I am avoiding / / notation since usually this is used to denote phonemes (something used to distinguish minimal pairs), whereas [ ] is used to denote surface realizations of the phoneme (allophones). By the way, if someone more familiar with phonetics/phonology finds something wrong here, please do correct me.
To sum up, you are not wrong in hearing it this way. Just be mindful that you may hear some variations. If you want to be safe and certain that you will be understood, then pronounce them as [u] and [i]. Though, given some more listening practice, you may start to mimic some other accents. Try out this website to test out words like "五" and ”一“. You can filter by region to try to hear differences. Personally, I hear the glides inserted more often when using the CN filter, and find them less so when using the TW filter.
PS: You might also find it interesting to look at "Bopomofo" or "Zhuyin", the phonetic symbols used in Taiwan as opposed to Pinyin. In the case of "一" and "五”, both use symbols that correspond simply to [i] and [u] respectively.
EDIT: To answer your question "Are there (other) contexts where the word initial glide does not occur?". To my knowledge, this is the only context where [w] and [j] are omitted in pronunciation but still have "w" and "y" written explicitly in Pinyin. Someone can correct me if I'm mistaken here.


English slang translation Is there a Chinese equivalent of the colloquial English term, "like a boss?" Not an  literal translation but an equivalent thereof.

The closest I can think of is:

霸氣外露 (bà qì wài lù)

Or

霸气侧露 Bàqì cè lù

It is a proverb but nowadays commonly used as a slang


How is 青 and 苍 used in classical Chinese to denote colors? Here is what the dictionary says about 青:

　1. 深绿色或浅蓝色：～草。～苔。 Dark Blue or light green.
　2. 靛蓝色：靛～。～紫。 Indigo blue.
　3. 黑色：～布。～衣。 Black.

Similar case is 苍:

　1. 深青色，深绿色：～翠。～天。 Dark blue or green.
　2. 灰白色：～白。 Pale

It looks like you have to get into the writer's head to know what he means. Are there any rules for these words?
For example, if I see a word 青鸟, how do I know if it's blue or black?

As a native Chinese speaker, I can tell the color of the word with 青 almost at once.

As 青 is a word of a certain color name between green and blue, most of the word with 青 is described as this color.

For the word like 青草 or 青苔, it's often means the plant as 草 and 苔. The color of these plant can be determined by last character.

In terms of other words like 青 for black in 青布 and 青衣, they are the old usage of word maybe just used in poems. At least in the daily life of mine, I don't used it in that way.

For 青鳥 in your example, it mostly used like the color of 青 itself.
As the ref of 青鳥, you can take a look at this link http://baike.baidu.com/subview/5674/5502935.htm . And I think the hummingbird is just a kind of 青鳥.


How to translate the famous saying "欲成大器，必先退之"？ The famous saying "欲成大器， 必先退之" is first said by Han Yu's wife, which is the origin of his courtesy name. How to translate this sentense into English though?

My first try is:

One should first learn self-effacement before he can achieve something great.

The idea here is the same as the set phrase: 以退為進, literally, "To advance by retreating." So a literal translation is "To become a great person, one must first learn to back down / be flexible / compromise / back off / retreat".

Personally, I'd suggest something like "True greatness comes after learning when to let go / compromise" which might be better flowing English.

See also the below:

  懼足下以吾退歸，因謂我不復能自強不息，故因書奉曉，冀足下知吾之退，未始不為進；而眾人之進，未始不為退也。

   - 唐·韓愈《答侯繼書》


What's the difference between 许多 and 很多？ What's the difference between 许多 and 很多？

I have learned that 许多 can't be used as predicate yet in this sentence it seems to have a predicative function

  他觉得妻子虽然老了许多 但仍很美丽

it's almost the same. both means a lot, very much..


Can “相” ever be translated as “elephant”? I heard that in Xiangqi (Chinese chess or 中国象棋), 相 is translated as "Elephant". Is it a correct translation? Should "bishop" or "minister" be better translations for 相 here?

Are there any other circumstances that 相 is translated as elephant?

The Wikipedia about Xiangqi has a part about these pieces:

Elephant

Elephants (or bishops) are labeled 象 xiàng ("elephant") for Black and 相 xiàng ("minister") for Red. They are located next to the advisors. These pieces move and capture exactly two points diagonally and may not jump over intervening pieces; the move is described as being like the character 田 Tián ("field"). If an elephant cannot move due to a diagonally adjacent piece, it is known as "blocking the elephant's eye" (塞象眼).
Elephants may not cross the river, and serve as defensive pieces. Because an elephant's movement is restricted to just seven board positions, it can be easily trapped or threatened. The two elephants are often used to defend each other.
The Chinese characters for "minister" and "elephant" are homophones in Mandarin and both have alternative meanings as "appearance" or "image". However, in English, both are referred to as elephants.

So, while 相 is "minister," it is often referred to as an "elephant" along with 象. 相 is never translated as "elephant" outside of xiangqi.


Conventions for indicating a surname When I write to other Americans about Chinese colleagues the name order is often confusing.  As a made up example, (so as not to use a real person's name) if someone's name is Chiao Chien then even for someone who knows some Chinese family names it is impossible to tell from the spelling whether that has surname first, or given name first.  Somewhere I learned a convention that you can write CHIAO Chien or Chien CHIAO to show the surname is CHIAO, no matter which order it is written.

But I do not know if this is a good convention.

Is this a good way to show which is the surname?  Is there a better way (without simply saying explicitly each time which is the surname and which name order I am using)?,

Yes，using capital letters is adopted in China journals now.
I sometime use this comma style, like my name "Chen, Kui Fu".The word Chen before the comma is my surname, and what follows the comma is my give name, "Kui Fu". I think this style is very efficient in publishing papers


What are the common words for "clean" and "dirty", "tidy" and "untidy"? For example, how do Chinese speakers normally say:

Your room is so clean!
Your room is so dirty!
Your room is so tidy!
Your room is so untidy!

脏 Is this the most common way to say dirty?

I agree with @Tang Ho's answer but I'd like to add something here.

Orally, people tend to skip the word "的" and may use "好" instead of "真".

1. Your room is so clean! 你房间好干净啊。
2. Your room is so dirty! 你房间好脏啊。
3. Your room is so tidy! 你房间好整洁啊。
4. Your room is so untidy! 你房间好乱啊。

Note that I added a modal word "啊" at the end of each sentence. This is because there is a slight difference between "好" and "真".

"好" is a milder tone and the speaker is trying to address their feeling about the cleanness or tidiness of your room. If the speaker uses "真", the speaker emphasises more on the fact that the room is dirty.

And "脏" is the most common way to say dirty.


how to translate cyberbullying into Chinese? cyberbully is someone who uses the internet to harm or frighten another person, especially by sending them unpleasant messages

How to translate cyberbullying into Chinese?

在网上发表具有攻击性、煽动性和侮辱性的言论，造成当事人名誉损害，人们习惯称之为“网络暴力”。
In the online publication of aggressive, provocative and insulting remarks, honorary damage caused by parties, people used to call it "the network of violence".it,s from www.baidu.com


What is the best way to learn tones? I still have difficulty to identify tones when I listen to Chinese. Moreover I have difficulty in saying second tone.

Could you guys advice me some way to improve my tone?

All the 5 tones in Mandarin exist in English already, but not used in the same way.

1st tone:  I am a STUUUUU-dent.

When you read this sentence in the normal way, the syllable STUUUUU carries the first tone.

2nd tone:  Are you a stu-DENT?

When we ask a yes-no question in English, we need to raise the last syllable of the sentence. The syllable of DENT? carries the 2nd tone.

3rd tone:

Your friend tells you an unusual story, and you are surprised, and you ask in surprise: REA-ly? in the way that the syllable of REA goes down, and the syllable of ly goes up. In this case, the syllable of REA carries the 3rd tone, and ly carries the 2nd tone.

4th tone: pay lay day lie pie tie buy my high (Those words, when read alone, carry the 4th tone.)

Another example: you accidently hit yourself on a corner of a table, it really hurts, right? So what do you say? You say: Ouch!, which carries the 4th tone.

5th tone (the neutral tone): Go A-head.

The schwa A carries the 5th tone.

See this video for the tones: Mandarin Made Easy

From my Mandarin teaching experience, I think mastering the 4 tones individually is easy for English speakers, but consciously applying the tones on each syllable in Mandarin is very challenging for English speakers, because tones are not used in English in this way.

You can practise tones by reading the following sentences aloud. You may have already noticed that all characters in each sentence have the same tone.

1st tone:  今天三家三星分公司开张。

2nd tone:  德国游人年年来长城游玩。

3rd tone:  祖母总给予我理解与鼓舞。

4th tone:  第二次世界大战正在迫近。

If you can read aloud those sentences correctly without any hesitation, then you know you have won the battle with tones.


Ancient meaning of the the character 思 The Analect 2.2 quotes from the Book of Odes, and Arthur Waley claims there is a difference between how Confucius there reads the character 思 (sī, think) and how it was used in the Ode.  Waley claims that in the Ode "ssu does not mean 'thoughts', but is an exclamation, 'oh', 'ah', or the like."  I looked at the various old dictionary definitions, and textual examples on the Chinese Text Project https://ctext.org/ and I did not find any evidence there that 思 was ever used the way Waley says. It always seems to mean "thought(s)" or "think."  Other searches got me nothing relevant.
Is there evidence supporting Waley's claim?

Arthur Waley is indeed reflecting Chinese scholarship with this statement. In the Book of Odes 《詩經》, when 「思」 appears at the end of a line, it may be interpreted as a  modal particle (語气詞), equivalent to modern Mandarin 「啊」. For example,

《國風・漢廣》
漢之廣矣、不可泳思。
江之永矣、不可方（汸、舫）*思。
How broad, the Waters of the Hàn - they cannot be swum!
How long, the Waters of the Jiāng - they cannot be rafted across!*
*《說文・方部》：「方，併船也。象兩舟省緫頭形。汸，方或从水。」

《小雅・鹿鳴之什・采薇》
昔我往矣、楊柳依依。
今我來思、雨雪霏霏。
Long ago, when I departed, the willows were fresh and tender;
Now, as I've returned, the rain and snow fall in torrents.

Please note that this use of 「思」 is not its earliest or original meaning. Apart from being a proper noun for a geographical region or person, 「思」's earliest usage is the same as its modern usage, meaning thoughts, contemplation, deliberation. From Guōdiàn Chǔ Slips: The Five Conducts, Slip #9:

《郭店楚墓竹簡・五行》09
……（不）（仁），恖（思）能清（精）。（智），恖能倀（長）……
...Without benevolence, one's thoughts cannot be refined; without wisdom, one's thoughts do not have foresight...

References:

《漢語大詞典》
黃德寬《古文字譜系疏證》
何琳儀《戰國古文字典：戰國文字聲系》


Chinese word order assistance I'm struggling with where some time phrases go? I understand that 'when' comes before the verb and 'how long for' goes after. However I have found sentences using 很久 and 整天 that seemingly break this rule (sometimes).

我很久没看到你（了）
我整天打网球

I'll be fine as soon as I understand why.

Any ideas?

中文常会有倒装句(inverted sentence)，建议不要执着文法，谁先谁后。

Both sentences in the Question can be reversed with a little modification.

我很久没看到你了。
我没看到你已经很久了。

我整天打网球。
我打网球一整天。


The interpretation of a sentence in the Qieyun (切韵) preface The Qieyun is a rhyme book written by the scholar Lu Fayan 陆法言 in 601 CE, during the Sui dynasty. In my degree thesis I'm trying to analyse some aspects of this particular work.

Recently, I managed to translate the preface of the Qieyun by myself. Here you can find an online version of it. However, there are some obscure points. For the purpose of my thesis the most serious doubt I'm facing has to do with the following sentence:

  [...] 先（苏前反）仙（相然反）、尤（于求反）、侯（胡沟反）俱论是切。

Now, in the page I've just linked there is an explanation in modern Chinese of the contents of Lu Fayan's preface. If I scroll down I read that the previous sentence means:

  [...] 还有把先、仙、尤、侯共用一个上字来切的。

The problem is: how should I interpret the phrase 共用一个上字来切的? The world 上字 has a specific meaning, it represents the first character used as an initial speller in a fanqie spelling. Nevertheless, as I've just said, 上字 refers to the initial consonant of a syllable or 声母, not to the rhyme or 韵母. It seems strange to me because in the previous sentences Lu Fayan was talking exactly about rhymes:

  秦陇则去声为入，梁益则平声似去。又支（章移反）、脂（旨夷反）、鱼（语居反）、虞（语俱反）共为一韵，[...] (next comes the first sentece I gave you)

Which means

  In Qin-Long region (North-West China) the departing tone (去声) becomes the entering tone (入声), while in Liang-Yi region (South-West) the level tone (平声) is pronounced in the same way as the departing tone. Moreover, the rhymes 支, 脂, 鱼 and 虞 are considered identical.

I asked my chinese friend who studied Linguistics and Historical Chinese Phonology. She looked the explanation proposed by Baidu Baike and concluded that 上字 here simply means "the character 上". According to her, the sentence means that the character 上 could be used to write the fanqie spelling of the characters 先, 仙, 尤 and 侯 in some southern dialect of the time. In other words, they all rhyme with 上 (MC dzyangH) which has the final -jangH in Baxter's notation of Middle Chinese. However, I think she deduced it only based upon the explanation of Baidu because in the original text the character 上 is not mentioned.

So, after all the above considerations, it seems to me that the foundamental question lies in the true interpretation of the phrase in the explanation. By only looking at Lu Fayan's original text I'm not able to give a meaningful translation of that sentence.

In your opinion, is my friend's view correct? If not, how should I interpret the sentence? What could an proper translantion be?

Thank you.

There are many errors in the 百度百科's article you gave, so I show my punctuation of the preface first.
The content comes from the 水巷孑蠻's answer.

  1) 昔，開皇初，有儀同劉臻等八人，同詣法言門宿。
  2) 夜永酒闌，論及音韻。
  3) 以今聲調，既自有別，諸家取捨，亦復不同。
  4) 吳楚，則時傷輕淺；燕趙，則多傷重濁；秦隴，則去聲為入；梁益，則平聲似去。
  5) 又，支（章移切）脂（旨夷切）、魚（語居切）虞（遇俱切），共為一韻；先（蘇前切）仙（相然切）、尤（于求切）侯（胡溝切），俱論是切。
  6) 欲廣文路，自可清、濁皆通；若賞知音，即須輕、重有異。
  7) 呂靜《韻集》、夏侯該《韻略》、陽休之《韻略》、周思言《音韻》、李季節《音譜》、杜臺卿《韻略》等，各有乖互。
  8) 江東取韻與河北復殊。
  9) 因論南北是非，古今通塞。
  10) 欲更捃選精切，除削疏緩，蕭、顏多所決定。

  11) 魏著作謂法言曰：「向來論難，疑處悉盡，何不隨口記之？我輩數人定，則定矣！」
  12) 法言即燭下握筆，略記綱紀；博問英辯，殆得精華。
  13) 於是，更涉餘學，兼從薄宦，十數年間，不遑修集。

  14) 今反初服，私訓諸弟子：「凡有文藻，即須明聲韻。」
  15) 屏居山野，交游阻絕，疑惑之所，質問無從。
  16) 亡者，則生死路殊，空懷可作之歎；存者，則貴賤禮隔，以報絕交之旨。
  17) 遂取諸家音韻、古今字書，以前所記者，定之為《切韻》五卷，剖析毫氂，分別黍累。

  18) 何煩泣玉，未得縣金。
  19) 藏之名山，昔怪馬遷之言大；持以蓋醬，今歎楊雄之口吃。
  20) 非是小子專輒，乃述羣賢遺意。
  21) 寧敢施行人世？直欲不出戶庭。

  22) 于時，歲次辛酉，大隋仁壽元年。

Here, 陸法言 stated the reason that he wrote this book.
1) and 2) were the story why the subject was raised. (The eight guests actually visited 陸法言's father, 陸爽.)
3) to 8) were the phenomenons they found.
9) and 10) were what they did after finding those phenomenons.
11) and 12) were the reason that 陸法言 started to write. (Because he was the youngest one among them, I think.)
13) was the reason that the book was delayed about 18 years.
14) to 16) were the situations 陸法言 faced after he was fired.
17) was the way he wrote the book.
18) and 21) were what he felt after finishing the writing.
22) was the date.

The punctuation of the sentence in question should be as follows.

  支脂、魚虞，共為一韻；先仙、尤侯，俱論是切。

This sentence has nothing to do with the previous and the next ones.
Its meaning is as follows.

支、脂混用一韻。
魚、虞混用一韻。
先、仙混用一韻。
尤、侯混用一韻。

There are four groups here, not just two.
俱論是切 is the same as 共為一韻 in this case.
They all mean that the rhyme of each pair was mixed up.
The author used different expressions to avoid the repetition.
This 切 means the 下字 of the 反切, i.e. the 韻母.
This sentence states that the rhyme of each pair should be different in their opinions, but it was mixed up in some areas or books.
俱, 論, 是 and 切 are equivalent to 共, 為, 一 and 韻 respectively.
論為 means 被當成, that is to be treated as.
是 here means 此 or 這個, i.e. this.
Since it is singular, 是 means 此一 or 這一個, which implies 同一個, the same one.

There are many errors in the 百度百科's interpretation you gave.
北京 首都师范大学 文学院 冯蒸教授 has a much better interpretation, 《切韻˙序》今譯與新注.
He is an expert in this field.

Although he is a native Chinese in China, this article was still written in Traditional Chinese.
It is a copyrighted article.
Open 大江東去, and search 切韻序今譯與新注.


Confused about 们 in this particular sentence "你们家有几口人" I understand that 你们 is plural as in you're talking to more than 1 person; however, this question is said to one person so how come we do not say

"你家有几口人"

Why do we add a 们 to it or am I misunderstanding something here?

"你家有几口人?" is asking the singular 'your family' (one single family as a unit)

“你们家有几口人?” is asking the plural 'you' (everyone in the family can answer this question. You as a member of the family, can answer this question on everyone's behalf)

"你的家中有几口人?" is asking the singular 'you' (how many people are in your family)

All sentences above are valid


Chinese equivalent of expression In English, if someone explains a simple joke that should be obvious they get the nickname "Captain Obvious", as the Wiktionary and Wikipedia say. Is there an equivalent expression in Chinese? If so, what is it?

I couldn't think of any generally accepted expression in Chinese.

Usually, people would just exchange eyes or say something like
"原来是这样啊，我还没明白呢" in sarcasm. "I didn't get the joke at first place, THANK YOU!"

"为了解释清楚，你也是蛮拼的" in sarcasm as well, "You really try hard on explaining to us."


Prononciation of Suzhou What is the pronunciation of the city Suzhou?
Here, it looks like she says "Shu dshjo". Here it's more "Shu djo". Here it sounds more like "Su djo".

If your language is English, try 'sue joe' both first tone.


How well is pinyin known in Taiwan? I've been using pinyin in my study, but a Taiwanese co-worker recently arrived.  I see that Taiwan only made pinyin official in 2009, so I wonder how likely she is to have mastered pinyin, having finished college before 2009.  I do know that at least one university there uses pinyin.

Of course I can ask, but I don't know how reliable her self-assessment will be.  I wouldn't mind learning bopomofo, but I don't want it to slow down my learning to actually speak.

Not very well known. I lived in Taiwan for a year in 2015, and there were times where I had asked a few Taiwan natives to type words I couldn't understand on my phone. When they saw my phone keyboard input, which was pinyin, they couldn't understand it. Almost all Taiwanese still use bopomofo to type Chinese on their phones. Honestly you don't have to learn bopomofo. Pinyin is easier to learn and the majority of Chinese speakers use it. Just focus on using pinyin, memorizing characters, and speaking to Chinese speakers.


How to translate 脑袋短路 into English? I would ask this on ELL but I honestly have no idea how to express this in English. Online translation give "brain short circuit", which sounds more like terminology than self-mockery. I am looking for a translation that fits here:

A: 你刚刚要说什么? (= what were you gonna say?)
B: 没什么, 我脑袋短路了. (= nothing, I just ____.)

Another imaginary situation:

Some guy solves a math problem using a very complex method, and some other person shows him that it can be done very simply, and he says: "Oh! Right! I ___(脑袋短路了)."

脑袋-短路, based on what I understand, just means literally that the brain short-circuited or malfunctioned as an electrical circuit would. The expression that comes to mind in English is:

  I blanked out for a second.

Or

  My mind went blank.

Or perhaps

  I spaced out for a second.


Could you give annotated examples regarding the grammar of a sentence in classical Chinese where 爾 is used as an adverbial suffix? 爾 here used as an adverbial suffix of classical Chinese.

爾/尔 in Classical Chinese can be used similarly to 然, roughly meaning "thus/so/in such a manner", changing the word to which it's suffixed into an adverb. Here's an example from Mencius 孟子 we can analyze:

  一簞食，一豆羹：得之則生，弗得則死。嘑爾而與之，行道之人弗受；蹴爾而與之，乞人不屑也。

My attempt at a faithful English translation:

  A basket of rice, a platter of soup: with them one survives; without them one dies. When offered insultingly, a vagabond would not accept them; when offered trampled, even a beggar would reject them.

Here we see 爾 modify the verbs 嘑 (to insult) and 蹴 (to trample) to convert them into adverbs that indicate how the food is offered.


Meaning of the kanji 目娱乐节今日? I am also trying to figure out the meaning of the kanji on one of my T-shirts:

Here is what I got in pleco:

From this I could only make out "I'm looking forward to an entertaining festival today", but I'm sure that's wrong.

Thank you.

今日娱乐节目in plain English means 'Today's entertainment programmes' '节目'usually means TV Programmes.


Why in Chinese Bible (和合本), "you" was translated as "你" instead of "您"? For example, in 詩 篇 Psalms:
102:1       〔 困 苦 人 發 昏 的 時 候 、 在 耶 和 華 面 前 吐 露 苦 情 的 禱 告 。 〕 耶 和 華 阿 、 求 你 聽 我 的 禱 告 、 容 我 的 呼 求 達 到 你 面 前 。
102:2       我 在 急 難 的 日 子 、 求 你 向 我 側 耳 、 不 要 向 我 掩 面 ． 我 呼 求 的 日 子 、 求 你 快 快 應 允 我 。
I thought 您 is more polite and honorific and thus should be used when address Jehovah. Why was "you" translated as "你" instead of "您"?

"I thought 您 is more polite and honorific and thus should be used when address Jehovah. Why was "you" translated as "你" instead of "您"?"

你 is, in fact, the correct translation, not only linguistically; but theologically as well. Because God is Father, the familiar form of the second person is appropriate.
A little diversion on the English terms, "thou" is the singular form in Early Modern English, and "you" the plural. The plural form came to be used as a polite form of address later, and "thou" the singular and familiar form. Over time, "you" took over and now Modern English uses "you" as both singular and plural and that distinction between formal (polite) and informal (familiar) is lost.
The translation of the Bible into English has maintained the difference between formal and informal; and it is also correct to maintain the same when translating into Chinese, "Thou/ thee" (informal and familiar) as "你" and "thy" as "你的". It is linguistically faithful. Theologically it is also the correct form since we are talking about a father-child relationship, and it is definitely not formal.


What does this tattoo mean in English? (Character identified: 真) Its upside down I think in the pic.

As an adjective, it means something that is true, real, very.

For example,

真好!： Really good!

真的吗？ ：Is that true?

真理： The truth

真舒服： Very comfortable!

真实情况： The actual situation.

Here are some helpful link:
http://www.trainchinese.com/v2/wordDetails.php?rAp=0&wordId=3619
https://chinese.yabla.com/chinese-english-pinyin-dictionary.php?define=%E7%9C%9F
http://dictionary.pinpinchinese.com/definitions/s/真-zhen


What is the origin of the word 雪茄 (cigar)? I assume 雪茄 (cigar) is a loanword. Who can tell me what language this word was loaned from and, if appropriate, how it was transcribed?

My own guess is that the word was transcribed from English and entered the Chinese lexicon via Cantonese - in which case the pronunciation of the characters may actually be similar to the English pronunciation of the word "cigar". This is just my guess though and I have no idea whether it's on the mark of completely off.

From Chinese wikipedia:

  “雪茄”这中文译名为徐志摩所译，音译之余，也取其灰白如雪，因以为名。

(Loose!) Translation:

  The Chinese translation 雪茄 was created by Xu Zhimo. In addition to the similarity of the sounds, the name also comes from the fact that its ash is white like snow.

My dictionary confirms that it is a loanword from English. If wikipedia is to believed, it probably didn't come through Cantonese since Xu Zhimo is from Zhejiang.


Learning Traditional first with the goal of learning both I found this in the Mandarin wikibook:

"It is considered easier for people who learn Traditional to read both sets than people who learn Simplified only, but Simplified characters are less intimidating for beginners. In this wikibook, all examples and vocabulary are given in both systems, and you are encouraged to choose one system and stick with it throughout".

I found it to be potentially very valuable knowledge, so I started prodding around with a search engine only to find mass loads of Traditional vs Simplified web pages, which don't make me any more enlightened. What I'm interested in are facts that can help resolve the problem of which writing system I should learn first (or if I should learn both in parallel?), such as: What portion of people use each system? What portion of literature uses each system? How much easier is it if one learns Traditional first. I have learned which parts of china use each system, but cannot find these numbers and facts.

I have started learning Mandarin by myself and my goal is currently as vague as "wanting to speak Chinese". Being restricted to the last 6 decades of literature motivates me to know Traditional, but at first, Simplified seemed like the obvious choice. Of course, I don't know what weight to give these facts in my decision making, hence asking here.

I understand that I haven't asked a clear, single question, but I think it's clear what I'm trying to figure out.

谢谢

This is a difficult questions, since most people are quite religious about this topic. For some reason they prefer one over the other and say this one is the best one to learn first.

Learning Chinese characters takes a huge effort and most need many years for that, however once you know one set learning the other one is relatively easy.

  Wiki says that the Jianhuazi zong biao lists 350 individually
  simplified characters, 132 generalisable simplified characters and 14
  simplified radicals. All other simplifications are simply variation of
  the latter two simplifications (thousands of them, but applied in a
  standard and predictable way), or standardising on a more simple
  variant in place of a more complex variant of the same character.

  This means that there are 500 characters that are significantly
  different between the two sets, and the rest appear to me to be easy
  (e.g. 説 = 说, 錢 = 钱, etc.)

  So the extra effort one needs to invest into learning traditional
  characters after knowing the simplified set (or the other way around)
  amounts to learning about 500 characters. Since one should aspire to
  knowing about 3000 as some sort of arbitrary standard of literacy,
  this doesn't strike me as a huge deal.

Source: http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/14713-learning-hanzi-the-eternal-dilemma-of-simple-or-traditional/page_st_20_p_150151&#entry150151

Also take a look on this page: http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/25651-learning-traditional-characters-after-studying-simplified-for-4-years/#entry214033

The 10 hours mentioned on the last page is a bit optimistic, but it is certainly quite manageable once you already know that many characters.

Also more or less all educated Chinese from the mainland can read traditional characters, and more or less all educated Chinese from Hongkong and Taiwanese people can read simplified characters. Not because they explicitly learned them, but due to exposure for example as subtitles from movies, songs or the internet. Once you have reached a certain level it's not that difficult.

What to choose first depends on your personal situation. I would first study what you think you will encounter most. For example if you often plan to go to Taiwan or Hongkong or especially want to view Taiwanese or Hongkong soap operas or movies (while learning Chinese most people are better at reading than listening, so the subtitles are of huge help) or have friends from Taiwan or Hongkong, start with traditional characters. If you on the other hand think you'll more often encounter simplified characters, choose simplified characters.


What is the difference between 探望 and 看? Both the expressions 探望 and 看 are, in an appropriate context, translated as "to visit". I haven't been able to figure out the difference between the two. When does one use 探望, when does one use 看?

「探望」has a tendency to describe visits which "aims to make somebody happy or feel better", like visiting a relative/close friend whom you haven't visited for quite a while (not required), or visiting somebody in a bad situation (e.g. injured/ill). In this case, both「探望」and「看」can be used.

In most other cases, using「看」may be more appropriate, for example: to visit a doctor (due to sickness) (as mentioned by @user58955) (note, it can be correct to say「探望醫生」when you are visiting a doctor to thank one for healing you, for example), to visit an exhibition. There might be exceptions but I can't think of any now.


What kinds of things can be described as 丰富多彩 (richly colorful), and how do I describe them? A while back, my teacher asked me to use 丰富多彩 ("richly colorful") in a sentence, but it wasn't received particularly well.  The relevant part in my writing was

  ...丰富多彩地环境

and she said 各种颜色 was more appropriate here.  (And it should be 的 instead of 地.)  I'm still quite uncomfortable with this term, particularly since it's an idiom.  I'm confused about both when it's suitable to use, and the surrounding grammar patterns.

Question: What kinds of things can be described as 丰富多彩, and how do I describe them?

My impression from examples online is this it's not to be used to literally mean colorful:

  世界文明丰富多彩，...
  ... 让我的生活丰富多彩。
  ... 我会设计丰富多彩，形式多样的活动 ...

丰富多彩 is a combination of "丰富" (rich) and "多姿多彩" (colorful)

丰富 is mainly used for describing something with rich substance or contents;  多姿多彩 is mainly used for describing something "colorful: entertaining; enjoyable"

Things that you can describe as 丰富多彩 (rich and colorful) including:

文笔，画功，剧情，生活，节目，故事 (Writing, drawing, plot, life, show, story) -- All these terms involve substance and enjoyment

文笔丰富多彩 (rich and colorful writing) - your writings is rich in substance and have a lot of flair

画功丰富多彩 (rich and colorful drawing) - your drawings have a lot of contents and vibrant

剧情丰富多彩 (rich and colorful movies plot)- the plot of the movies is full of substance and entertaining

To be honest, I rather say 剧情丰富,多姿多彩 to make  the whole sentence idiomatic

丰富 (rich) can be used literally (abundant) or figuratively (rich)

多姿多彩 (colorful) is mostly used figuratively


What's the difference between 了解 and 理解？ I've asked some of my Chinese friends what the difference was. Most couldn't explain. Some said that you 了解 people but you 理解 things. What's the difference?

From 《商务馆学汉语近义词词典》：

同：
都有“知道”的意思。但意思和用法都有不用，一般不能互换。

异：

用于事物，“了解”指知道得很清楚，强调知道事物的情况和过程，“了解”是一种感性的认识；“理解”强调懂得事物的意义和内容，明白为什么会是这样，是一种理性的认识，比“了解”更深入

这件事我一点儿也不了解，不可能谈出什么意思。
你了解这家公司的基本情况吗？
亨利非常了解中国历史和文化。
你这样说是什么意思，我还不能理解。
这篇文章内容太深，学生们理解不了。
发生这样的事真让人不可理解。

用于人，“了解”表示对此人知道得很清楚，知道此人的情况，性格，爱好，等；“理解”表示懂得此人的心，明白此人为什么要这样做，能谅解，宽容此人

我好久没有跟他谈过了，我真的不了解他有什么想法。
你们刚认识，应该互相了解。
我和刘芳是好朋友，所以我很了解她。
虽然我跟李立是好朋友，但我真的不理解他为什么要这样做。
夫妻之间最重要的是互相理解。
这件事我不能帮你，希望你能理解。

“了解”还有“打听，调查”的意思，还可以重叠；“理解”没有这样的用法

这次去中国农村，我们了解到喝多情况。
火灾很严重，市长亲自到现场了解情况。
他的情况我已经了解过了。
你去了解了解这个人的情况。

“了解”，“理解”在使用中有一些习惯搭配，不能互换

了解到 - 进行了解 - 深入了解 - 向人了解 - 了解得很清楚
得到理解 - 深刻理解 - 表示理解 - 理解能力 - 理解得很正确
我想向老师了解一下这里的招生情况。
校长深入到师生之中，了解到了事情的真实情况。
通过调查，我们对事情的经过已经了解得很清楚了。
我对你的这种心情表示理解。
这句话的意思你理解得很正确。


Question words at the end or beginning? (e.g. "Nide baba shi shei?") So far, question words in Chinese have always appeared at the end.  But with "shei" I saw sentences like

Shei shi nide baba?

So can it be used at the start or end of a sentence? Can we say

Nide baba shi shei?

as well? And also "Shei shi nage ren?" or "Nage ren shi shei?" (Who is that person?)
Is this restricted to shei or can it be extended to other question words like shenme, zenme, duoshao and nali/nar though  words like ma and ne I know are always placed at the end?
Edit: I'm confused by this:

Translate this sentence
谁是你的爸爸
[your] [Wang] [individuals] [how] [mornings] [is] [dad] [Who]
(screenshot)
Translate this sentence
Who is this person?
谁是这个人？
Oops!  That's not correct.
这个人是谁？
(screenshot)

Chinese is one of the group languages in which question words remain exactly in place of the "questioned" word they replace.

那个人是谁 - 那个人是我妈妈

In English and some other European languages question words always move to the head of the utterance.

Who is this person? This person is my mother.

I highly suspect your examples from Memrise (or whatever that app is) are simply a result of an English speaker (not very fluent in Chinese) translating them to Chinese.

One other explanation:

谁是你爸爸 ~ “which one is your dad"

while

你爸爸是谁 ~ “and who [exactly] is your dad?"

So, at the beginner level, stick to placing question words in the same position the answer would occupy.


娘炮 - how do you pronounce this word/phrase? 娘 is clearly niang2, but 炮 is a multiple pronunciation character; it can be bao1 or pao2 or pao4 according to the dictionaries I consulted. I tried searching Baidu for "娘炮拼音" but didn't find anything. Thanks for any help!

Oh, get you a Taiwanese news (at 0:18 by the anchor, 0:58 by a student and 1:24, 1:56 by himself) about that, where it's pronounced as "niáng pào". I can tell that we use this word in mainland China too, here is the proof.

It refers to a sissy (a boy that other boys dislike because he prefers doing things that girls enjoy).


Meaning of 莫逮 in Classical texts? Some examples of 莫逮 found in Classical texts:

三國志．卷二十一．魏書．王粲傳：「昔伯牙絕絃於鍾期，仲尼覆醢于子路，痛知音之難遇，傷門人之莫逮也。」

《南齐书·周盘龙传》
形甚羸訥, 而臨軍勇果, 諸將莫逮。

《宋史•朱弁传》:“叹马角之未生,魂销雪窖;攀龙髯而莫逮,泪洒冰天。”

《荀子·尧问》
楚莊王 謀事而當羣臣莫逮, 退朝而有憂色。

I'm assuming here 莫 is of the whole 没、不，勿 nature.
逮 as a classical text can only be dài (or dì) but definitely not dǎi.
If we go with dài we have:
Gu Hanyu Da Cidian

①及;到。
②逮捕。

Students Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese

1 come to, reach a point in place or time; extend to, up to.
a measure up (to standard), be equally matched; catch up to
b when, by the time of; until; keep on till.
2 nab, seize; apprehend, arrest; attain, acquire, obtain.
a seize the moment for, catch the chance of; take advantage of.

If we go with the (very unlikely) pronunciation of dì then it would mean something like
Gu Hanyu Da Cidian

娴雅貌。

莫 has a ton of other meanings.
逮 has other meanings, not mentioned here, aswell.
What's the best way to interpret 莫逮 in these classical texts?
What's the best translation?

昔伯牙絕絃於鍾期，仲尼覆醢于子路，痛知音之難遇，傷門人之莫逮也。 Means a person lost his(her) bosom friend, he (she) is so sad, and not one can acquaintance him(her) like the past friend.So the 莫逮 here is can not be comparable to something(someone), 莫 means can not, 逮 means can be comparable to something(someone).


what is the difference between 條 and 匹? In the context of "classifier for long thing objects" how do 條 and 匹
differ?

When used as measure word, 匹 always has very specific and narrow matches with it

  一匹马、一匹骡子、一匹狼、一匹布、一匹绸子

Above is pretty much all you would see with 匹 as a measure word.

For 条，except for dog, it always refer to animals that are long, thin and with no legs, like

  一条蛇、一条鱼

Also, it refers to general long objects like

  一条绳子、一条河、一条腿、一条烟（lots of boxes of ciggrets purchased together）

Moreover, 条 could refer to human body related concepts

  我们几个是一条心、一条人命


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Translation of a painting's signature, ink + gold (Characters identified: 日本製略曆) I am very grateful for helping me with signature on lovely Chinese painting, I have one more in my collection, judging by the back of it it has at least 100 years. It is painted with ink and gold, the signature is next to it but again, I would be very grateful if you could help me with the translation of signature.
Once again thank you!!!!
pictures below

The characters are:

  日本製 (Japan made) 略(brief/ rough) 曆 (Calendar)

I am not quite sure what '略曆' (brief Calendar) means. I have never heard of this term. My guess is, it is an old term (may be Japanese only) for '月曆' (monthly calendar) which is brief in details, unlike '日曆' (daily calendar) which list much more detailed information about each day on the Calendar

This painting might be the original art work for reproduction on a calendar


Which one is correct, "有名" or "受欢迎" for translating "comics are so popular in Japan"? I want to say

  comics are so popular in Japan.

According to Google Translate, the word "popular" doesn't translate to Chinese as "有名". It translates as "受欢迎" I am confused about which one is correct.

  漫画在日本很有名。

OR

  漫画在日本如此受欢迎

Here it should be "受欢迎".

"有名" means famous, well-known.


What would you call "lizard people" in authentic Chinese? Many may know the conspiracy theory about the world being secretly run by lizard people. In English I also hear the phrase "reptilian shape shifter" associated with the topic, but what would a native Chinese speaker call them? Is it just 蜥蜴人？

I think that 蜥蜴人 is acceptable. I found this entry on Baidu which is usually written in Chinese for Chinese people so if that's how it appears there then at least it makes sense to a significant number of people: https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E8%9C%A5%E8%9C%B4%E4%BA%BA/8815302

I would say that a "reptilian shape shifter" isn't the same as a lizard person because there needs to be some distinction between someone who is a 'hyrid' form between a reptile and a human versus someone who can shape shift into that form.


How to say, "Let's test your sense of direction. How do we get to the car from here?" Would the following be the appropriate translation for "Let's test your sense of direction. How do we get to the car from here?"

It feels awkward, like English grammar forced into Chinese grammar. :)

我考妳的方向的。離這裡走我車怎麼樣？

“Let's(Google: 让我们) = "让我" but you can use "来"

test = 考, but it is better to use reduplication "考考"

your = 妳的 (it is easy)

sense of direction. = 方向感 (it is a common term )

吧 (optional final particle)

  [How do we] [get to the car] [from here?]

Google translates "get to the car" as "到达汽车", but the native way is "走到汽车那边"

  [我们如何] [到达汽车] [从这里？]

English place the location "from here" after the verb clause "get to the car" but Chinese would put the location before it, so the correct order is

  [我们如何] [从这里] [走到汽车那边?]

“Let's test your sense of direction. How do we get to the car from here?”

Translation:

"让我考考妳的方向感吧, 我们如何从这里走到汽车那边?"


Did I use 的 correctly for 少的孩子？ '因为父母不用花钱给很多小孩，他们可以花多一点钱给少的孩子。"
The sentence does not sound correct. I want to say "spend more money on fewer children," but I don't know how to do it?

因为父母不用花钱给很多小孩，他们可以花多一点钱给少的孩子

The ideal sentence:

因为家中孩子不多，父母可以花多一点钱在各个孩子身上 (Because there are few children in the family, parents can spend more money on each child)

If I must minimally edit the original sentence:

因为父母不用花钱在很多小孩身上，他们可以花多一点钱在各个孩子身上 (Because parents don’t have to spend money on many children, they can spend more money on each child)

花钱给小孩 (spend money to the children) is incorrect. It is 花钱在小孩身上 or 在小孩身上花钱 (spend money on the children)

"spend more money on fewer children"

花較多的钱在少些孩子身上


沒 simplified to 没: What is the origin of the change? I've just discovered that the simplified form of the character 没 is different from the traditional form (沒). With them both being nearly identical with exception of a single stroke, why was there a need to alter it at all? Does anyone here know the origin of the change?

"Simplification" is a process. If it's not reduced in stroke count, it's not actually "Simplified" - the mix-up in language is due to PRC's standard of Chinese being popularly known as "Simplified Chinese", even though PRC Chinese may have the same number of or even more strokes.
「没」 came from a popular variant of 「沒」, because the right hand side of 「没」, 「殳」, occurs more frequently among characters, while the right hand side of 「沒」, 「」, occurs in...「沒」.

It is important to look at a character's earliest traceable meaning before further analysing its components.

Some of the earliest traceable meanings of 「沒」 is to be underwater / be submerged (cf. 「沉沒」). This is the reason for its 「氵・水」.

「殳」, if it's a semantic component, is usually used as an active verb marker, cf. 「發」 (to shoot arrows > emit), 「擊」 (to attack), 「殺」 (to kill), etc. 「殳」 is therefore not a semantic match for the meaning submerge (and is not a phonetic match for the sound of the word either).

So, what exactly is 「沒」?

秦簡秦103睡虎地秦簡隸定
「沒」 was originally a compound of a hand 「又」 under deep waters (represented by a whirlpool 「洄」). 「回」 was later gradually corrupted into the shape of 「勹」 or 「刀」.
西漢隸602銀雀山簡編三國・魏隸孔羨碑　今楷
Note: as a consequence of this development, we can be certain that 「」 was not really a character before, but was made up to decompose 「沒」 into 「氵・水」 and something else.

References:

季旭昇《說文新證》
《王力古漢語字典》
小學堂
漢字源流


Is there some other meaning in 微笑是一种真实的、热诚的、发自内心的快乐的情绪。? 微笑是一种真实的、热诚的、发自内心的快乐的情绪。

Take away the descriptive elements and it says:

微笑是情绪。 （A) smile is (a) mood.

Maybe if they said: ‘一个微笑表示着一种真实的、热诚的、发自内心的快乐的情绪。’ Would that be acceptable??

A smile is an expression of a mood, but not a mood in itself. I have to think of these lines from a song: 'I smile when I'm angry, I cheat and I lie, I do what I have to do to get by.'

Am I missing some meaning here?

You are correct, "微笑" (smile) is an "expression" (表情) not a "mood"(情绪)

"happy" (愉快/快乐) is a mood.

一个微笑 (A smile)
代表 (represents)
一个愉快的心情 (a happy mood)

  "微笑是一种真实的、热诚的、发自内心的快乐的情绪。"

should be

"微笑(代表着)一种真实、热诚、发自内心的快乐情绪。"

(you can omit most of the '的' to make it less wordy)


How am I meant to interpret 毛主席是我们心中的红太阳 I'll gloss these words one by one

毛主席 (Chairman Mao)
是 (is)
我们 (our)
心中 (in our heart)
的 (no need to translate this one)
红 (red)
太阳 (the Sun)

I am not sure how 太阳 got rendered as "Fucker", so here's a translation I came up with:

Chairman Mao is, in our minds, a red sun

Still, I cannot make much more sense of the sentence; I'd appreciate some input.

There's a theory that goes something like: 紅太陽 = 紅日 = red fuck. But, that seems a bit preposterous to me.

reddit

This is on purpose, the translator is a troll


What's this "O<" (capital O and subscript less-than sign) Sinological IPA transcription? So I'm seeing this capital o (O) + subscript less-than sign (<) combination in my list of finals in this book I just got:

O<5
iO<5

The book also has fake Chinese IPA to real IPA translation:

O<5
[ʊ]

What does [ʊ] have to do with O<?

I think that [ʊ] is associated with "latter part" of the vowel (diphthong) trascribed as -ou or -iu in pinyin.

  What does [ʊ] have to do with O

[ʊ] is usually used to represent a sound like the vowel in "good" or "hood"
 (American English). This sound is also used to describe the second part of the diphthong in words like "so" and "bow", something like [soʊ] and [boʊ], respectively.

O<5 and iO<5 correspond to -ou and -i(o)u in pinyin, I think. By this sort of analysis, as the [ʊ] comes together with an [o] in like in the English example above, it looks like it got abbreviated with a weird symbol.

While I think that this is probably just be a typographical error as pointed out in the comments, it is important to remember that even a phonetic transcription system like IPA is a practical tool, not an airtight system for describing speech sounds. Relatively narrow IPA transcriptions might describe two languages as having an [a] vowel, for example, but the actual sounds realized in these languages (or even saying the same word in different contexts) necessarily will differ, as sound is not digital. What is essential with any transcripiton system is to capture meaningful contrasts, which pinyin seems to do an adequate job at.


What is the concept behind 人不坏，没后代? I've come across a few variations of the phrase:

人不坏，没后代

including:

猪不坏，没猪卖，人不坏，没后代！
男不坏女不爱，人不坏没后代
人不坏没后代鸡不坏没蛋卖

Perhaps it is the act of copulating itself that is considered bad? I'm not totally sure. What is the concept behind 人不坏，没后代?

I asked a few of my students about this, and they mentioned something about sex being bad, too.

In a nutshell, there's nothing that doesn't have some bad aspect to it, even the best things.

One student specifically mentioned the second variation, 男人不坏，女人不爱，没有后代: "if there weren't bad boys in the world, women wouldn't fall in love, and that would be the end of it, wouldn't it?".

As for the variations about the animals, maybe it's just for the rhyme. But the one about bad men/boys, you seem to have the right idea.


What is the difference between 可是, 但是, 但, 而, 不过, and 然而? What is the difference between 可是, 但是, 但, 而, 不过, and 然而?

All of these mean "but" and I can't find any information in my dictionary on what differentiates them.

可是, 但是 and  但 (但 is the shortened form of 但是) can all be translated as 'but'

Example: "You can drink, but you can't smoke"

"喝酒可以，可是不能抽煙" (可是 is more literary)
"喝酒可以，但是不能抽煙" / "喝酒可以，但不能抽煙"  (但是 and 但 are more colloquial)

  不过, and 然而 can both be translated as 'however' or 'but'

Example: "You can drink, however, you can't smoke"

"喝酒可以，不过不能抽煙" (不过 is more colloquial)
"喝酒可以，然而不能抽煙" (然而 is more literary)

  When '而' is acting as a short form  of '而且', it means 'and also'

Examples:

快而凖 = 快速而且準確 (fast and (also) accurate)
簡而清 = 簡潔而且清楚 (brief and (also) clear)

  而 functions as "but" or 'however' when it is in the following structures:

[能(A) 而 不能(B)] = [can (A) but can't (B)]
[可(A) 而 不可(B)] = [allowed to (A) but not allowed to (B)]

Examples:

[能喝酒 而 不能抽煙]

[可喝酒 而 不可抽煙]

  而 also functions as "but" or 'however' when it is in the following structure [(verb) (A) 而 (不 verb) (B)] = [(verb) (A) but (not verb) (B)]

Examples:

[擅攻 而 不擅守] (good at attack but not good at defend)

[愛酒 而 不愛煙] (like wine but not like cigarette)


What's "that" and "which" in Chinese I know that for sentences such as "this is a port that has been closed for 20 years" I could use 的 or start another phrase.  Is it this way for "which" as well?

Yes, it is.
In Chinese, dependent sentences are not so common, and most phrases could be used as adj. with '的'.

e.g. "这是一个已经关闭了20年的港口"

Otherwise, you could also start another sentence to describe the meaning in 'which' clause, which could be separated by comma.

另外，你也可以用另外一句话来表述'which'从句中的意思，这一句跟前一句可以用逗号分开。


What does 再不起床太阳就要晒屁股啦 say? I saw on the internet that someone's trying to wake up someone by saying:

  再不起床太阳就要晒屁股啦。

But when I translate in the internet, it turns out to be a bit vulgar  I just want to know how you understand this slang or how you translate it in English.

再不起床太阳就要晒屁股啦。
  If you don't wake up, the sun will shine on your bottom.

It directly breaks down:

再不 = "if not"
起床 = "wake up"
太阳 = "the Sun"
就要 = "be about to"
晒 = "to shine one" (e.g. used for sunbaking)
屁股 = "bottom" (i.e., the body part)
啦 has no real meaning; it makes it sound cute

So that's its literal meaning, but why is this important?

  In ancient times, people paid attention to sleeping [while] facing south.  So when the Sun rises from the east, the Sun won't shine on your bottom.  When we reach noon, in the environmental timetable of the Central Plains, the Sun will only then shine on your bottom.
  古代人讲究睡觉坐北朝南。那么日出东方时太阳是晒不到屁股的，只有正午时，在中原地带的时间表环境下，太阳才可能晒到屁股啦。
  iTalki

So the sun shining on your bottom literally implies it's noon.  However, it's metaphorically used to refer to someone who is sleeping in; perhaps they're being a bit lazy, and perhaps they're a bit cute.


A strange short sentence with 就 What is 就 doing here? And why is the sentence 然后特朗普就赢得了选举。 so short? What is the proper translation here?

  那位在场人士说，会议之后，许多人都认为班农的策略是在发疯。然后特朗普就赢得了选举。现在我们可以说，特朗普在许多方面都堪称第一位真正的硅谷初创公司候选人和总统。

漢典 就〈副〉(6)

  用在动词前面，表示在某种条件或情况下自然怎么样。
  [without…there can be no]
  如：不斗争，就不能前进。

《现代汉语词典》Page 697 ❼ 副 d)
also shows some examples.

There is not problem about the Chinese explanation above.
就 is an adverb here.
However, I would say, "after...then..." or "because...then..." for the English translation.
After A happened, then B happened.
Because A ..., B then ....

会议之后，许多人都认为班农的策略是在发疯。然后特朗普就赢得了选举。

After 许多人都认为班农的策略是在发疯. And, 特朗普 then 赢得了选举.
After many people thought that the strategy of Bannon was crazy, (and) Trump then won the election.

Because 许多人都认为班农的策略是在发疯, 特朗普 then 赢得了选举.
Because many people thought that the strategy of Bannon was crazy, Trump then won the election.


What is the subject in 有时间到我家去 There is this sentence in a dialog from my beginner text book:

  好，我走了，有时间到我家去。再见！

I understand the translation:

  Well, I'm going, if you have time, come to my home. Goodbye.

However, though I know all the words, I couldn't understand the sentence before reading the translation. And even now, I'm left puzzled wondering: 你 doesn't appear anywhere in the sentence.

At first, I had translated for myself something like

  Well, I'm going, it's time going home / it's long going back home

(with the 有 referring to 我 as the subject).

What are the elements to guess the 有 is referring to 你 implicitly?

Also, would it be possible to say: 如果有时间 , 到我家去.

Why need subject? It's a imperative. "有时间“ just modifies the sentence as a condition. Comparing with some English sentences:

Well, I'm going. Call me later.
Well, I'm going. Don't forget closing the door.

You don't need subject as well.

For you second question,

would it be possible to say: 如果有时间 , 到我家去.

It's rare to say like that. Firstly "如果” is unnecessary for short condition. Secondly saying that would sound very formal. The whole sentence itself is not formal. Actually it's not an invitation at all. It just express willing of friendship.

For real invitation, normally he will ask for your availability at first. For example, 下个星期有空吗？到我家去喝茶/吃饭


Searching for characters by parts Are there any online or computer dictionaries that allow searching for characters by any sub-part of the character?  Occasionally it I see a character the parts of which I can already type.  But I can't type the full character itself, and it's a lot of work to look it up using radical search.

Example: Let's take 楼.  When I saw this for the first time, I could already type 木米女, but not 楼.  Is there a dictionary that gives me 楼 for the search 木米女 (and any other characters which might contain the same)?

There is something similar on this site, kanji.sljfaq.org, but it is for Japanese only, and it's for radicals only (not arbitrary typeable character parts).

I have a semi-usable implementation of such a search, which I wrote in the Mathematica language, and uses this decomposition database.  This has shown to me that such an approach can be valuable and usable for a beginner learner.  But making it complete and usable enough is a lot of work, and Mathematica is not designed for this, so I am really hoping to find a working implementation somewhere.

Tatoeba.org is a great resource of translated sentences, and it also includes exactly what you're looking for in its tools section. It has a sinogram search page that lets you search by subglyph. When I searched for 木米女, it returned these options:

  偻 喽 娄 婅 嫾 嬏 屡 屦 嵝 搂 擞 数 楼 溇 瘘 窭 篓 籹 缕 耧 蒌 薮 蝼 褛 镂 髅

The one you're looking for is number 13.


「批烂斗臭」这个四字词语，除了「批评」强调什么？ 为了练习阅读，我有时候看小报新闻因为内容比较简单。在下面关于“逆向种族主义”的文章中我遇到了一个四字词语：「批烂斗臭」。

当然，并不是所有西方人都认同这场文化层面的“革命”。很多保守派的白人就认为这场“革命”是偏激和粗暴的，是在通过树立种种“政治正确”的言论牢笼，逼迫人们去接受“革命者”的观念。而倘若拒不服从，就遭到网络暴力的攻击，被“批烂斗臭”，甚至会失去工作和前途。
美国白人终于喊出这个词，2020年07月18日

我意识到这个四字词语形容一种严厉的批评，在文章的语境里，网友的批评能够影响对象的职业等。「批烂斗臭」显然跟「批斗」有关。
问题：「批烂斗臭」这个四字词语，除了「批评」强调什么？
有道和百度百科没有这个词语。我猜：

「批」指的是「批评」，
「斗」指的是「决斗」或许「争斗」，强调这种批评有具体的后果，
「烂」和「臭」表示批评负面的后果（比如失业等）。

「批烂斗臭」 就是(把某人)「批判」，(并与他)「斗争」而使他「又烂又臭」的意思。

「批斗」就是「批判斗争」 简化合拼而成的单一动词，用此一词就可表达两种有关连的行为。
「烂」指「腐烂」，用以形容名声 ，说某人的名声烂，就是说某人的名声极坏，像是东西腐烂了而崩溃一般。
「烂」除了指「腐烂」，也含有「破烂」之意，用以形容(某人或某势力)，遭受重击而破烂，亦即彻厎失败。
「臭」指「发臭」，用以形容名声，说某人的名声臭，就是说某人的名声极差，去到会令人像嗅到臭味而作呕一般的地步。
「烂臭」 就是 「腐烂」，「发臭」简化合拼而成的单一形容词，用此一词就可表达两种有关连的性质。

问题：「批烂斗臭」这个四字词语，除了「批评」强调什么？

「批烂斗臭」强调 「批判和斗争」，而「斗争」在此也是「打击」的代用詞，如你所想一般，是一个十分严厉的词句。
~
「批烂斗臭」是将「批斗」及「烂臭」结合而成的惯用語式句語， 类似的结合手法十分常见，例如：
斩杀 + 尽绝 --> 斩尽杀绝
明暗 + 争斗 --> 明争暗斗
强硬 + 攻打 --> 强攻硬打
注：本人在此只凭字面上的意义去解释这一个词句，对其政治含意不予置评。


What "斗" refers to in "正斗" The Cantonese term "正斗" means "great" or "of high quality"

正斗
an exclamation that sth is "great!"

~

正斗
好，美，正牌，正規，地道，純正，漂亮，質量好

I can understand why 正(authentic) is used in  "正斗" which mean "high quality" (people believe in authentic goods is of high quality) But I don't get the role of "斗" in this phrase. I tried to search the web but most of the results are related to a restaurant called "正斗".
I hate it when a common term is used as a movies title, restaurant name etc. Make it difficult to search the original meaning on the web
Examples of "正斗" in a sentence
呢啲係正斗貨嚟架 (This is high quality goods)
有冇正斗野介紹 (Any suggestion of great stuffs?)
佢女朋友好正斗架 (Her girlfriend is very pretty)
One thing I noticed is 正斗 and 正 basically are interchangeable when it is referring "great" or "high quality"
正斗貨 = 正貨 (high quality goods)
正斗野 = 正野 (great stuff)
My question is, what "斗" refers to in "正斗"?

The following may be folk etymology. More research is needed - specifically, textual evidence of when「正斗」started being in use among the general public.

「正斗」originated as a term in initiation rituals of Chinese secret societies or criminal underworld groups. The details of the ritual vary from source to source, but the ritual is said to involve a wooden ladle (斗).

The term「正」in「正斗」refers to the meaning orthodoxy, that is, orthodoxy of the rites or the members/leader involved in the rites of the secret society.「正斗」then refers to those who have successfully entered the society through the orthodox initiation ritual, also indicating the meaning proper, dignified. This stands in contrast to non-members or pretenders who did not know the rites (非正斗 or 假斗).

Later on, the term「正斗」permeated general society, and「正斗」gained the meaning of high quality, awesome, etc.

References:

廣東話中 -- 好正-- 一詞 - hk.answers.yahoo.com
香港黑社會用語舉隅 - mypaper.pchome.com.tw


What does 就那样吧 mean? This is a conversation with my friend and she started to live in Moscow recently.

I: 你莫斯科生活怎么样？
She: 就那样吧

Pleco showed 那样 means "like" or "that kind", but in this case that doesn't make sense. I feel this is an idiom, but what does 就那样吧 mean in this context?

就那样吧 is the same as 也就那样吧 in this case, which is a colloquial phrase, not an idiom.
It means: "just so-so", "it's just ok", "things going just like that".
It conveys her life in Moscow is not that good, or not as good as she — or someone else — expected.
You can take it as a shortened form of 生活就那样吧 or 生活也就那样吧.


What is the rule behind 一带一路? I know that 一带一路 sounds exactly right in Mandarin for Belt and Road.  But is there a general grammatical rule for why this uses 一?

It really does not mean "one belt, one road," and if you wanted to say that you would use classifiers for 带 and 路.

It is a title of a project, not a sentence.

「一带一路」」refers to "The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road"

「一带」(the one belt) refers to 「丝绸之路经济带」

「一路」(the one road) refers to 「21世纪海上丝绸之路」

Both are specific object, therefore the title cannot be just 「带和路」(belts and roads)

Using 「一个地带和一条通路」would be too wordy for a title. Not to mention 「丝绸之路经济带和21世纪海上丝绸之路」


What is the difference between 妥善 and 妥当? As with the case on many words in Mandarin, 妥善 and 妥当 both mean "appropriate" or "proper" in English.

However, what is the difference between these two words, and how can I use it properly?

Both '妥善' and '妥当' means  "appropriate" or "proper" .

There are minor difference:

'妥善' implies  "(satisfactorily) appropriate"

'妥当' implies "(correctly) appropriate"

Example:

對員工遣散有妥善安排 = There is a proper arrangement for severance. (everyone should be satisfied)
對員工遣散有妥当安排 = There is a proper arrangement for severance. (everything by the book without mistake)
妥善地佈防 = properly set up defensive positions (satisfactory on all accounts)
妥当地佈防 = properly set up defensive positions (follow all protocols correctly)

If someone said he will give you a 妥善的補償, he is trying to assure you that the compensation will be fair and satisfactory; If he said he will give you a 妥当的補償, it means you will get whatever you are entitled to. No more, no less.


What is the meaning of 看在 and 分上? 看在孩子的分上，夫妇二人没有离婚。

In the phrase above, what do they mean?
Neither is found in a dictionary.

The sentence is said to translate to "The pair would not divorce because of the children".

看在
ABC

2 be for the sake of ...
看在你爸的面子上, 我原谅你。
Kànzài nǐ bà de miànzi shàng, wǒ yuánliàng nǐ.
For the sake of your father's face, I forgive you.

份上
Guifan

2 名 情分; 情面
看在老人的份上, 我不再跟他计较。
(口语中也说份儿上。)

Which basically translates to feelings, sensibilities, affections.
for the sake of, for sb.'s/sth.'s sake
ABC ENGLISH

wèile ( ... de lìyì) 为了(…的利益) ; kànzài ... de fèn shang 看在…的份上
We must do this for the sake of the children.
为了孩子,我们必须做这件事。
Wèile háizi, wǒmen bìxū zuò zhè jiàn shì.

So now we have our 看在…的份上 construct meaning roughly the equivalent of "for the sake of, for sb.'s/sth.'s sake" where 看在 means "for the sake" and "份上" means feelings or sensibilities.
You can stick anything in the middle for the "who's" sake/sensibilities/feelings/etc.
Some examples: (from Oxford)

for God's sake
看在上帝的分上

for Pete's sake!
看在老天的份上！

for heaven's sake
看在上帝的份上


What does 'chee' mean in the following quote? I read a very interesting book called 'China in War and Revolution' about the period from 1900-1949 in China. I am curious about the meaning of the word 'chee' in the passage below. I don't speak Chinese (at all) and the author doesn't give the character in any case, sorry.

  After the Japanese were defeated and the civil war was under way the
  CCP faced the possibility of counter-revolution. At least in some
  areas, in spite of all attempts to soften rural elite opposition over
  the preceding years, landlords greeted early discussions of coalition
  government and a return of the Guomindang with glee. One landlord told
  one of his workers. “Heh! Still pressing us to pay grain tax. Fuck
  you. Chee! The Guomindang armies will be here in a minute. Gonna cut
  your little prick off! Chee!"

Edit: the quote is cited to ... where it appears exactly as Zarrow rendered it, still saying 'Chee'. In Esherick's article, it's cited to Guanyu Yangjiagou de tudi wenti, 1946.

I googled this title and it comes up with Yangjiagou de tudi wcnti” (On the land problem in Yangjiagou, 9 August 1946, Mizhi Archives, permanent juan 4.
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ib-sEZzxkb4C&pg=PA84&lpg=PA84&dq=Guanyu+Yangjiagou+de+tudi+wenti,+1946&source=bl&ots=9EQWEzteqt&sig=sS0e_s--cl8xXyzMDaTIZ3-Wvck&hl=en&sa=X&ei=201KVfj5EuPR7QaVrYG4Cg&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Guanyu Yangjiagou de tudi wenti%2C 1946&f=false

So, can't go much further really. Chee! I mean, Ciao!

I would guess that may have simply been chi4 "赤" (red), since 赤匪 (red bandit) was an derogatory term used by the KMT for the communists.


what does this symbol mean in chinese? I saw a random image of Chinese character. Can someone tell me what letter it is. I had often seen it as a mysterious symbol. So where does one use this symbol? Is it spiritual or zen kind of symbol?

「美」

This character is written as "mei3" in pinyin and is pronounced similarly to the English word "May" (like the month).

It generally means "beautiful".


please translate this text from My Mother-In-Law from China. I don't speak any Chinese I am having health problems and received a text from my mother-in-law from China, who I have never met.  I would really love to know what she said.  Can you please translate this text for me?  Thank you!!  =)

Use this link to see the photo I took of the text:
http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/tnlizzy316/media/Screen%20Shot%202017-02-08%20at%201.13.03%20PM.png.html?sort=3&o=0

The first word 加油 is hard to be directly translated to English. I here translate it as "Keep calm and hold on".

Translation:

Keep calm and hold on. I'm praying for you and may God bless you. May everything goes well and all wishes come true.


Is the phrase "that guy so inch" related to Putonghua? I came across the phrase "that guy so inch" in this Twitter thread, which starts with:

  ... slang based on literal translations of words ("that guy so inch") or phrases

I don't get how "that guy so inch" could be related to Putonghua. Is it something to do with 村/英村?

It is Cantonese

串 /cyun3 /
[7] [粵] [adj] arrogant; cocky | [Var] 寸

"that guy so inch" is literal translations of "嗰條友咁寸(串)" in Cantonese.
The 'arrogant; cocky' definition of 串 is not used in Mandarin.
"嗰條友咁串" in Mandarin would be "那傢伙太囂張了" meaning "that guy is so arrogant"

咁串
太嚣张了。


The origin of the word chopstick Looking up chopstick and chop-chop (meaning 'quickly' in English), I find: the original word for 筷子 is 著 pronounced the same as 住, which has a meaning of stop. This was considered unlucky, so 著 was, at some stage, changed to 快 and later 竹 was added.

Cantonese for 急 is gap1, I believe. Maybe in Cantonese it sounds a bit like chop. Foreigner traders and sailors took 筷子 and made the partial translation chopstick in English.

Do people say 急急 gapgap in Cantonese? Is 急, gap1,  really the origin of chopstick and chop-chop?

The original character is actually 箸, not 著. The latter is a derivative character of the former, and the former is not used anymore in Mandarin Chinese as a word for 'chopsticks', but is still used in some other Chinese languages.

According to this, chop-chop comes from 速速 (Cantonese cuk1 cuk1), but it's been too long since that word was invented, and since its earliest usage was probably among pidgin communities in Southeast Asia, which is a melting pot of cultures and languages, its true origin is very unlikely to be convincingly determined.


Why is "marshmallow" and "cotton candy" both 棉花糖? I just noticed in Google Translate, "marshmallow" becomes 棉花糖. But I thought 棉花糖 was cotton candy. Does 棉花糖 refer to both? That seems strange. How can two different things be called by the same name? Can anyone explain?

Is there another word for "marshmallow"? Another translation I saw is 棉花軟糖.

Yes, 棉花糖 refers to both marshmallow and cotton candy.

Marshmallow is like a cotton boll or a cotton pad while cotton candy is like a loosen cotton boll. Both are cotton-like candies.

It is nothing new that a name refers to two things. People name novelties with their first impression.

It is a very common phenomenon. Look up the definitions of "recorder" in a dictionary. It refers to an recording apparatus, a wind music instrument, and a person who keep record.

棉花軟糖 is a name seldomly used. People use 棉花糖 exclusively in daily life. So do marketers. Marshmallow is a kind of very common commodity while cotton candy not. In daily conversation, if you mention 棉花糖 with no particular scenes or hints, people will recall marshmallow first.


Are these two having the same meaning: 遥远的地方 vs. 远方 遥远的地方 vs. 远方
Are these two having the same meaning?
Like these sentences:
我住在一个遥远的地方。
我住在远方。

远方 is more literary/ classical

遥远的地方 is more colloquial/ modern

我住在一个遥远的地方。= 'I live in a faraway place'
我住在远方。= 'I live in some faraway place'. We don't need the classifier 一个 for 远方, it is a term for 'far away place(s)' in general.


Why is the 了 here after 错 not after 投? The agent says the customer should insure all risks, he wants normal insurance.

Agent: 万一货物出了问题，就有可能因为投错了险而无法得到赔偿，那麻烦就大了。

I imagine '投了险' is short for '投保了保险' and I thought '错‘ is an adjective for ‘险’ (= take out 了 (the wrong) insurance), such that I really have '投保了错的保险’. But 外语教学与研究出版社, FLTRP, in their wisdom have written '投错了险'.

Can I push the 了 back a space and write '投了错的险‘, or is 投错 somehow a word??

“投错了险” is an informal expression.
It is generated from the phrase: "买保险“.
the evolution chain: "买保险” →“买错保险”（negative form，“错”here is a "verbal complimentary", which showing the result of an action "买”。）→“买错了保险”加上了tense particle “了”→“买” can be accepted when to be replaced by "投” in a context of a casual email. "保” of “保险” can be omitted too in this context.
"le" has to be put after "complimentary". So, 投了错的险 is wrong.
why people use ＂投” instead of "买”？ In recent years, more and more people changed idea of buying insurance for accidents to a type of investment. And "investment" in Chinese is “投资”。 So some people say "投保险“。—— I personally don't like it. This just shows how people become careless about the use of words instead of using innovative new words.


What is the purpose of the 中 in 在新标签页中打开? So, I recently started using my android phone in simplified Chinese mode, to help myself internalize Chinese characters. In my browser window, when I press down on a URL, the "在新标签页中打开" button allows me to open a new tab.

So I tried to translate the sentence literally by dictionary definitions, and I came up with this:

  在新标签页中打开: In new tab page, middle open.

So why is the 中 (middle) necessary? Without it, the sentence makes sense to me. Could it be functioning as a preposition? If so, then why would I need both 中 and 在 in this sentence?

在 and 中 are serving two different functions here.

The preposition 在 at the start of the sentence indicates where something happens. Meanwhile, the 中 here is technically a noun meaning "the inside", not "middle". It signifies that the link is opened on a new tab page, i.e. *the inside of a tab page".

Taken as a whole, then, the Chinese sentence is actually saying: Open link (打开) at [the position of] (在) a new tab page's (新标签页) insides (中) .

Without the 中 the sentence would still make enough sense to be understood, but it would sound weird. Generally speaking, when the target of 在 is not a location, it is standard to add 中 or 裡 etc. For example, 住在美國 and 住在公寓裡 .


Are there relative pronouns in Chinese Are there words for relative pronouns, for example:

The man, who was walking to the shop, was tall.

Is there a Chinese word for the bolded "who"?

In English, when you say "something/someone, who/which has some characters, is abc/is doing xyz.", after translated to Chinese, usually it will be "some characters的something/someone is abc/is doing xyzor separate to two sentence, "something/someone has some character, (optional: 而且/and) is abc/is doing xyz."

In your sample, in addition to @user3919509's answer, you can also say "那个正往店铺走的男子很高". Since "The man" could be anyone, in this case you want to add "該名/那个". In another case, if everybody knows the man, say, we have his name, it will be little different. For example, "Tom, who is working in a big company, has two kids", you can say "汤姆在一个大公司工作，有两个小孩。“

Hope this helps.


How might 'pidgin' have represented a Chinese pronunciation of 'business'? [Etymonline:] pidgin (n.)
      1876, from pigeon English (1859), the reduced form of the language used in China for communication with Europeans, from pigeon (1826), itself a pidgin word, representing a Chinese pronunciation of business. Meaning extended 1891 to "any simplified language."

I cannot even conjecture how Chinese phonology might transform 'business' into 'pidgin'.

I'm a native speaker. This is my speculation, but I believe more or less it's the truth.

First, "business" was a little difficult (as it had three syllables) for most Chinese people at that time, so they would like to miss the third syllable, only pronounced it like "busin".

Second, both Mandarin and Cantonese (no matter now and then) did not have the exact /z/ sound, so we would transliterate it into the /tɕ/ sound (aka j in pinyin) – similar situation for Japanese, they say ビ(bi)ジ(ji)ネ(ne)ス(su) for "business" – Unfortunately, the /dʒ/ sound followed the same way because there's no /dʒ/ in Mandarin and Cantonese either. So, even today, when I hear "the letter /tɕiː/" from a Chinese native speaker, I have to ask whether it's a G, Z, or even J.

Finally, the Chinese people at that time would pronounce "business" like /ˈbɪtɕɪn/, and then Europeans could not distinguish it from "pigeon" with a similar Chinese accent (the reason for /b/ to /p/ might also be the influence of the "Wade–Giles system", which transliterated the b sound in pinyin back to "p". Peking vs. Beijing is a perfect example): as a consequence, "pigeon" and later "pidgin" was used for that pidgin word.


What does 荠麦之茂，荠麦之有 in 《猗兰操》 mean? 韩愈《猗兰操》“荠麦之茂，荠麦之有”一句作何解释？ This question is about understanding a verse in a poem by Han Yu of the Tang dynasty.

请问韩愈《猗兰操》里“荠麦之茂，荠麦之有”一句作何解释？

此句下一句，即全诗末句，“君子之伤，君子之守”，“言君子居可伤之时，故君子有可见之操守”；那么“荠麦”的比喻，是否是说荠麦茂于雪霜之时，方见其坚强之节操？

《详注韩昌黎诗集》中解释“荠麦之有”，曰：“谓荠麦之因有也。”这个“因有”又是什么意思呢？

薺麥之茂，薺麥之有。
薺麥之茂生，薺麥之因有。
薺麥之茂生，因薺麥之有。
薺麥茂於雪霜之時，乃因薺麥之內有。
薺麥能茂生於雪霜之時，乃因薺麥之內在本有。
The buckwheat(?) can grow well in the snow because of its inherent ability.

君子之傷，君子之守。
君子之傷厄，君子之見守。
君子之傷厄，見君子之守。
君子居於艱難之境，方見君子之內守。
君子能安居於艱難之境，方見君子之內在操守。
A gentleman can live well in the predicaments, then people can see his inner integrity.


怎么不 VERB (why didn't/haven't VERB) I have been facing a lot of examples of "why didn't/haven't VERB" in English translated as 怎么不 VERB. Why don't they use 没 VERB?

已经九点了，你怎么还不起床？（你怎么还没起床？）
你怎么不选一个更好的作文题？（你怎么没选一个更好的作文题？）

Thanks!

According to the book "Modern Chinese Grammar" (http://m.sanmin.com.tw/product/index/000225652), we can roughly distinguish:

不: this word is a negation that comes with the speaker's subjective feeling, which means that the speaker might think the other should have done something (for example in the first sentence, you should have already got up)
没: this word, however, is a negation which is more or less objective. That is to say, the fact that the other person did not wake up is noted.

To sum up, in both sentences, the contexts show very strong meanings that both speakers did not agree with what the others have not done, and therefore the negation word "不" was used.

As a native speaker, I feel that using the negation word "不" is usually more powerful and that implies the relation with the other is more close. Hope this answer can give you some clues.


To what does 身体的反应能力 refer here? I have this text. I do not understand to what 身体的反应能力is referring. I must be missing something. What is it? Is there a clue in this text?

If you argue with you partner, you may be angry, but what has that got to do with a 'bodily reaction'? Is  the woman referring, in a subtle Chinese way, to: 'No sex after an argument'？

生活中，夫妻之间免不了因为一些事情而争吵。但有研究表明，和爱人争吵半个小时，起码要花一天的时间来恢复身体的反应能力。对于那些经常争吵一个半小时的夫妻来说，恢复的时间还要加倍。有些社会学家做过实验，实验结果表明：需要用五件积极的事情，才能消除掉一件负面事情产生的阴影。

Edit: I changed this a bit for clarity:

和爱人争吵半个小时（的人），（这些人）起码要花一天的时间来恢复（他们）身体的反应能力。
People who quarrel for half an hour with their loved ones need at least a whole day to restore/recover [不知道] 身体的反应能力 ??normal relations??

I think it's better translated as neural response than literally 'bodily reaction' since the neural system controls the reaction of the body.

I'm not a neurologist, but I do have that feeling that if I had a quarrel with someone, I would need some time to restore my spirits, In that period, my reaction to outside circumstance slows down a lot, I'm distressed, distracted and thus can't focus, perhaps some nervous substances not working as usual?

You can imagine that if you quarrel with you GF, even someone throw something at you you wouldn't care that much or you couldn't even feel that.


Can “未” modify descriptive adjectives? Can “未” modify descriptive adjectives (in either classical or modern Chinese)?

I've previously asked about the correctness of the phrase "未長未短", but I think 長 and 短 are used as verbs (instead of adjectives) in this case.

Is 未長未短 grammatically correct (in classical Chinese)?

Thank you!

Yes, definitely.

Disclaimer
I am not nearly as proficient in classical Chinese, so my answer is limited to modern Chinese.

IMHO, 未 is more commonly seen in formal context and is often used with 曾 or 從, as in 未曾 or 從未.

For example,

  單純的你，未曾憂鬱過。

You're such a simple person; you've never been depressed.

  人生自古以來，從未順利。

Since the ancient times, life (of a human) has never been smooth.

Note that the adjectives act similarly to a verb, as suggested by WangYudong above. I don't think 長 and 短 are verbs per se.

EDIT:
FYI, as FortCpp explained below, adjectives in such construct may actually be verbs.


How to translate the famous saying "路漫漫其修远兮，吾将上下而求索" in Li Sao? "路漫漫其修远兮，吾将上下而求索" is a verse in Qu Yuan's classic Li Sao. My translation is:

  My journey is so hard and nearly endless, I will keep going forward until I get to the end in someday.

The Wiki link you provided had the following reference:

  Stephen Owen (1996). An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911 (New York: W.W. Norton): 162–75.

Page 169 of the book contains the following section:

  I bade sun-driver Xi-he, to pause in her pace,
  to stand off from Yan-zi and not to draw night.
  On and on stretched my road, long it was and far,
  I would go high and go low in this search that I made

Here 路曼曼其修远兮，吾将上下而求索 matches up with:

  On and on stretched my road, long it was and far,
  I would go high and go low in this search that I made

That at least makes one published translation, that you can use. According to the Translations into Western languages on the Wikipedia page, this is, also, the most recent translation.

Other translations include:

James Legge's:

  The way was long, and distant far was my goal; I would ascend and descend, pursuing my search.

David Hawkes':

  Long, long had been my road and far, far was the journey; I would go up and down to seek my heart's desire.

Yang Hsien-yi's:

  The way was long, and wrapped in gloom did seem, As I urged on to seek my vanished dream.

and Monica Eileen Mclellan Zikpi's

  The road long, long, such vast distance —— I will go above and below in pursuit

David Hawkes' translation is also cited in Pleco's PLC dictionary:

  路漫漫其修远兮, 吾将上下而求索。(屈原《离骚》)
  lù mànmàn qí xiū yuǎn xī, wú jiāng shàng-xià ér qiú suǒ.
  Long, long had been my road and far, far was the journey; | I would go up and down to seek my heart’s desire.


Flexibility of word classes in Chinese I have just started learning Chinese and I know that 姓 can be both a verb and a noun. I wondered whether there are a lot of other Chinese verbs that can also be used as nouns.
For example, is a sentence like 我要吃 a grammatically correct sentence in Chinese? Or better (since in this example 吃 cannot be interpreted as a verb): 这个 吃很好.

There are lots of words that can be both verb and noun. As you said， 姓 is one of them. I don't have a full list for all of them.

As for 吃， most of time it's a verb.

In 我要吃, 吃 is a verb. To be more clear, you can put a target for it, like 我要吃饭；我要吃水果； etc.

这个吃很好 is unnatural. It should be 这个很好吃. 很好 is an adverb modifying the verb 吃.

One case in which 吃 is used as a noun is 口吃，meaning stutter.


What is the meaning of 放 fàng in this idiom? The meaning of 放 fàng from dictionary is “put, release”.
“Put or place” is an entirely opposite word / antonym of “release, free, liberate”
Then what does 放 mean in the following idiom:

放在心上 fàngzàixīnshàng “to take to heart”?

'To put; to place' and 'to release' are not entirely antonymous. The original logic in the character 放 is that you release something from your hand such that it is placed on a receptacle.

It can be literal, as in 他放下錢便走了 ('He left after putting down some money'); or figurative, as in 別放在心上.

To be precise, you are advised 'not to put something on your heart'. Let us hypothesise and say 她的死 (her death) is the object, as in 'don't take her death to heart'. We can say 別放她的死在心上, but it sounds better if we use the 把-construction, as in 別把她的死放在心上. The object is thus usually fronted in the sentence, which may be a source of your confusion.


What's the difference in use of 女, 女人 and 女子? Are those roughly equivalent? Do they belong to the same register of language?

According to mdbg.net:

女 (nǚ) – female / woman / daughter
女人 (nǚrén) – woman
女子 (nǚzǐ) – woman / female

There are detailed answer from the following thread at CantoDict forums on the difference between 女人 and 女子

女子 Female - Used in the most formal situations, such as news reporting, e.g., 一名女子 (a female), or 女子組 (the female group as in Olympic sports events), or 小女子 (how a woman addresses herself in historical drama)
女人 Woman - Used in casual situations, such as daily conversation, e.g., 一個女人 (a woman) or 三個女人一個墟 (three women [make as much noise as] a farmer's market)

As for the character 女, it can be a noun or an adjective for "female".
The only example of 女 as a noun, is with a pronoun, for example 此 (this) as in 此女 (this woman) - a simplified form of 此女子 (this woman).
It is only used in classical writing style.


What is the idea behind creation of a compound word - 处决? I wonder what the idea (etymology) is behind formation of this word 处决.

Is it something like this:

to place + to decide = to decide a place for the convict?

'处' in '处决' means "to sentence/ to put to"

The basic meaning of the verb '处' is 'to place', and 'to sentence' is an extended meaning.

"处以極刑" = "to place someone in the situation of receive capital punishment"= "to sentence someone to capital punishment"

  '决' in '处决' means "to execute"

The basic meaning of the verb '决' is 'to determine' and 'to execute' is an extended meaning.

to determine-->  to put an end to--> to put to death

  处决 as a compound word is a verb means 1.to decide a matter 2. to execute/ to put to death

Examples:

公司上下事情由他全權處決-  He alone decides matters on all affairs of the company
處決某人 - Execute someone.


Please help me fix the grammar in a birthday letter 祝你生日快乐!!! 对不起, 让你久等了 Where do I need to fix grammar? I know for a fact something must be wrong...

于一文:
你好!
祝你生日快乐!!! 对不起, 让你久等了。祝你年年有今日，岁岁有今朝。祝万事如意。谢谢你的万事。有机会的话，大家见个面。
他不但是我的老师还是我的哥哥。
我爱你♡

于一文: 你好!

If 于一文 is your friend, you should just use the first name 一文, and write: "一文, 你好!"
If you like to keep English favor in your letter, you can add 'dear' like in English letter and write: "亲爱的一文, 你好!"

祝你生日快乐!!! 对不起, 让你久等了。

If you need to apologize for lateness, better put it in first, and write  "对不起, 让你久等了, 祝你生日快乐!!!"

祝你年年有今日，岁岁有今朝。

This phrase is kind of dated, and only suitable for blessing a person in advanced age or at least in late middle age. If you must use it, put it in a separate paragraph to emphasize your blessing

祝万事如意。

No problem with this phrase

谢谢你的万事。

It is an attempt to translate "thanks for everything" but we don't use 万事 this way (the correct usage is another topic). The literal translation is "一切都多得你" ; However, "thanks for everything" imply "thanks for everything you have done for me" which shouldn't be omitted in Chinese, so the correct translation is "谢谢你为我所做的一切"

有机会的话，

It sounds like you and this person rarely have chance to meet. If it is not the case, you should add "next time" and write: "下次有机会的话，"

大家见个面。

It sounds too blunt, I suggest "(希望)大家(能再)见面。"

他不但是我的老师还是我的哥哥。

Do you mean: "你不但是我的老师, 也是我的哥哥。"?

我爱你♡

Chinese don't use to say "I love you" but you are not Chinese, so it is ok.
Here is my edition:

亲爱的一文, 你好!
对不起, 让你久等了, 祝你生日快乐, 万事如意!!!
谢谢你为我所做的一切! 下次有机会的话， 希望大家能再见面。
你不但是我的老师, 也是我的哥哥。
我爱你♡

Note 1:
In Chinese, we only use 万事 at the beginning of a phrase. It acts like an exclamation.
Example:
"万事有我" (I would deal with everything!)
"万事都有例外" (There's exception in everything!)
Note 2:
见个面 (meet once) --> 能再见面 (can see each other again)
zyy wrote:

I would say 兄长 is better than 哥哥。

Consider replacing '哥哥' with '兄长' and write: "你不但是我的老师, 也是我的兄长" if you want to be more formal.
However, using '哥哥' is also acceptable, and it shows more passion-- consider the next phrase is "我爱你"


Is 羞辱 a kind of verb after which you put two objects? 他于是决定羞辱猫一番

Is 羞辱 a kind of verb after which you put two objects (I think we call it "object and complement")? I mean, a verb like 给, where you can for example say 我给你(o1)我的书(o2).
I don't quite understand if I should take 一番 from this sentence as a noun meaning "a word/ a sentence" or what. This is my main concern, in fact.
I'm sorry for asking two questions instead of one, but I think they're connected and the answer to the first one influences the answer to the second one.

In "這一番羞辱" (this one humiliation), 一番 is the counting word and classifier for the noun 羞辱

In "羞辱他一番" (to humiliate him once)  一番 is the counting word and verb classifier for the verb 羞辱

A verb classifier is for counting the number of a verb occurred, for example, 走兩回 (go two times); 斬一刀 (hack once)
As a verb, 羞辱 does take objects
Example:
當眾羞辱他 - Humiliate him in public
這番蠢話羞辱了他自己 - These foolish words humiliated himself


What does 不 at the end of a sentence (e.g. 更新速度可以快点不) mean? What does 不 at the end of a sentence mean?
For example,
更新速度可以快点不
The context is somebody complaining about updating site content so slow.
Does it mean "Can update speed be quicker" ?

yes, your translation is right.

可以…不 ～=  可不可以…

Usually used to form an alternative question.

可以快点不～=可不可以快点?
这个可以吃不～=这个可不可以吃? Is this eatable?


Why was 幸 simplified to 扌in 報(⿰幸) to 报(⿰扌)? The simplification of 報(⿰幸) to 报(⿰扌) is slightly peculiar. The particularly intriguing area is in the simplification of the left-hand side, with 幸 being simplified into 扌.

There is another similar instance with 執 being simplified to 执. Another 幸 to 扌simplification.

There must be a method to this madness but it isn't immediately evident in the characters themselves.

Ideas?

As with many simplified characters, cursive scripts (Caoshu) can be informative.

In "Chuyue tie" by the famous calligrapher Wang Xizhi, 報 is written as follows:

As @dROOOze mentioned in the comment, the radical 幸 came from the character for handcuffs, which could indicate that the use of 扌(手) might related; but I can't find any source for this so far.


Pronunciation of 壹 / 一 in Mandarin The pronunciation of 壹 / 一 in Mandarin, when I was in school, is:

yī

It's been a while that it is also pronounced as:

yao (or similar, I'm not very good with pinyin)

and seems common among native speakers. Is it a slang or official and is there a reason?

「壹」or「一」is not pronounced yāo; this is an alternative word for the number one in certain circumstances, and is the most common spoken representation of one when talking about phone numbers.

The character for yāo is「幺」, which is the top part of the silk「糸」component. It originally represented a small amount of silk thread, extended to mean a small amount (cf. 幺麼 tiny/minute and 老幺 youngest child of a family), and further extended to be an alternative representation of the number one.


How do you express intention (for + gerund English structure) in Chinese? As I've said before I'm completely illiterate in Chinese but I'm struggling to do some vital translations for my job. I am trying to make the following noun phrase in chinese:

  a proposal for creating a website

I know a little about Chinese articles. So those as before proposal and website are not necessary.
also from Cambridge dictionary we'll have:

proposal == 建議
for == 為了
create == 創造
website == 網站

But how should I express intention in Chinese grammatically?
Are there any structure equivalent to preposition+gerund English structure in Chinese?
Or should I use the noun form of the verb (Creation == 創造)?
The translation suggested by Cambridge dictionary is as follows:

  a proposal for creating a website == 用於創建網站的建議
  Is it exactly true?

Since there's no indication of you actually studying Chinese, I could just give you the answer by providing the correct Chinese phrase .

However, other users who are actually studying Chinese can benefit from a more detailed answer.  I would make here.

In English, the grammar structure of "a proposal for creating a website" is:
"A" (classifier) + " proposal" (noun) + "for creating a website" (adjective phrase)

A word for word translation in Chinese would be 「一個建議，有關創立一個網站的」

The problem is, the  (classifier)+ (noun)+( adjective phrase) structure  is rarely used in Chinese grammar;

We use (classifier) + (adjective phrase) +(noun) structure in Chinese instead. So the sentence should be 「一個(有關創立一個網站的)建議」

「的」 in 「有關創立一個網站的」is needed to indicate「有關創立一個網站」 is a adjective phrase, (the same rule apply to adjective clause, relative phrase and relative clause)


What does 苦 mean here? 初，安肅州苦徐水之害，訴於大司農司，大司農司欲奪水故道，導水使東。東則清苑境也，地勢不利，果導之，則清苑被其害，而水亦必反故道為災。

from: https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=415731&remap=gb
My translation thus far:
At first, Ansu City (???) some sort of bad thing, so [he] went to the Grand Minister of Agriculture. The grand minister wished to change the direction of the river to direct it East. To the east was Qingyuan, and because of the uneven terrain, if it were to be directed there, it would harm Qingyuan, and the water would also return to the old direction, causing a disaster.

The whole sentence may be translated to 'The Ansu Prefecture was troubled by (the damages of) the waters of Xu'.

In classical Chinese, parts of speech are easily mutable (詞類活用). Here is a typical case of 意動用法. You can consider 苦 being equivalent to 以⋯⋯為苦 (lit. 'to consider ... as bitter/unpleasant'; 'to be troubled by').

In terms of grammar, 苦 in this instance is not an adjective but a verb.

In terms of meaning, the verb is supposed to indicate the feelings or thoughts (意) of the doer. That is also to say, there is personification of the Ansu Prefecture.

Another example is 異, as in 漁人甚異之 (meaning 漁人甚以之為異 'the fisherman thinks that as odd very much'). Originally an adjective meaning 'different; odd', here 異 as a verb indicates the (dis)belief of the fisherman.

The rest of the sentence is parsed into 徐水 and 害 (n., damage), both translated in 1. 徐 in 徐水 is obviously not the adjective 'slow; gentle'. 徐水 as a whole is currently the name of a district in the Hubei province (which matches with the text), but I think it is better to parse it literally here, given the context of flood.

Excellent observation on monalisa's part. Just to supplement: the classical Chinese for a terrain that is even is 夷. Here 利 as mentioned refers to conduciveness.


I'm writing a self-introduction and need help with some translation I need to write a brief self-introduction to find a well-fitting host family for a trip to China, but my language ability is very limited (I'm in my second year of learning Mandarin).

What is a simple way to write "I would like to look around/it would be fun to explore", "I enjoy people watching and am looking forward to learning more about Chinese culture", "I'm shy but I enjoy getting to know people/but I want to make friends", and "I'm half Chinese"?

I tried looking it up first but didn't have much success. It seems like my own (or google translate's) word-for-word English to Chinese translation might be very awkward and there are some words I just haven't learned yet. I would appreciate any other recommendations for writing a self introduction because I know mine is very awkward.

你好！【我姓___，我叫____。】/ 【我姓名_____。】
我十六岁，和我现在在十年级学生。我的家在美国，我是_____高中的学生。现在我的中文不好，但是我要我的中文在进步中。
    我是中美混血。我有妈妈，爸爸，一个姐姐，和一个妹妹。我的家人也有一只狗叫
Sophie。我都非常爱家人。
    我害羞，但是我乐于与不同的人接触，而且我想要交到更多的朋友。我乐于观察人们做事，并且期待学到更多的中国文化。

我的爱好是听音乐，画画，和看书。我很喜欢写故事和诗歌。我成立了我的学校的kpop社团。

I would like to look around China.
我想到中国四处转转。

It would be fun to explore China.
探索中国肯定会很好玩。

I enjoy people-watching and am looking forward to learning more about Chinese culture.
我乐于观察人们做事，并且期待学到更多的中国文化。

I'm shy but I enjoy getting to know people and I want to make friends.
我害羞，但是我乐于与不同的人接触，而且我想要交到更多的朋友。

I'm half Chinese.
我有一半中国血统。

为什么你的父母不帮你写？他们当中应该有一个人会讲中文吧！


和 or 或? When to use "and"s and "or"s A very short, isolated question:

  No hopes or dreams

In English, it's very clear that this is "neither hopes nor dreams" i.e. there are no hopes, and also no dreams. In Chinese, which word, 和 or 或 (or some other options) can be used to express this mutual inclusiveness?

  没有梦和希望

or

  没有梦或希望

Neither. 没有梦也没有希望 is the correct form for nor/neither.

和 in 没有梦和X means "having no dreams" and "another full statement" (X).

或 in 没有梦或X means "having no dreams" or "another full statement" (X)


How to translate this usage of "afford" How does one translate the following sentences?

I can't afford to lose any more time.
I can't afford to lose any more sleep.

I've tried looking this up, but nothing quite matches the meaning I want to convey.

"I can't afford to" can translate directly to " 我（已（经））无法承受……"
I can't afford to lose any more time. 我无法承受损失任何更多的时间。
I can't afford to lose any more sleep. 我无法承受损失任何更多的睡眠。

adding 已 or 已经 enhances the negative tone.


When do we use "廿", "卅" and "卌"? I am aware of a related question and I know that

"廿" means 20.
"卅" means 30.
"卌" means 40.

But I am wondering how to use them correctly. When and how do we use "廿", "卅" and "卌"? For example, are the following sentences gramatically correct?

这里距离机场有卌八千米。
我今年卅岁。
今天是四月廿七日。

As far as I know, in Mainland China:

廿 is only used in written lunar calendar. It is very rarely used in spoken Chinese. However, it may be used in some dialects such as Cantonese.
卅 is not used in spoken Chinese, except for representing the 30th day of a month in naming a few historical events and telegraph (popular in early 1900s but rarely used today).
卌 is nearly extinct and should be considered obsolete.

In conclusion: 二十 ("two tens"), 三十 ("three tens") and 四十 ("four tens") are enough.


What's the meaning of the hat like character on top of 尔 According to https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%B0%94#Chinese

It is

this character https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E2%BA%88

It simply means knife but the wiktionary entry is very short.

Google translate says that it's meaning is indeed knife and it's read Dao.

However,

According to http://zhongwen.com/bushou.htm

The hat character is ru that means enter. So which one is right?

Don't think it's a knife. Maybe a handle??

尔 variant of 爾｜尔

warping-wheel-er 尔爾 ěr (weaving not my strong point, not really sure what that is)

尔 seems to be the top part of 爾

Original meaning 本义: Meaning (orig) a rolled up spindle (now) meaning you.

你
Character decomposition 字形分解 [?]:
Compound 你 older 儞

from person-left-ren 亻人 rén and

related phonetic warping-wheel-er 尔爾 ěr.


Meaning of a Fan Inscription In a trip to Hangzhou, almost 2 years ago, I participated in one (the biggest if I'm not mistaken) of the Chinese National Amateur Weiqi Championship as a (Brazilian) foreigner.

During one of the subevents, the organization wanted the foreign participants to play a team game against monks from a monastery. Kind as they almost always (not on the Weiqi board lol) are, the monks brought us some souvenirs, the main one being a fan.

On the fan, there is an inscription that, according to the event official translator is difficult to translate. I don't recall the meaning she gave me back then, but it was something related to the Japanese Shu Ha Ri (she didn't mention Shu Ha Ri, that's my perception actually). Here is a picture of the fan (now with Kim Jiseok 9p's autograph also):

Shu Ha Ri would be a succinct description of the cycle of mastery of a craft, usually referring to Aikido. On the Wikipedia page:

  It is known that, when we learn or train in something, we pass through the stages of shu, ha, and ri. These stages are explained as follows. In shu, we repeat the forms and discipline ourselves so that our bodies absorb the forms that our forebears created. We remain faithful to these forms with no deviation. Next, in the stage of ha, once we have disciplined ourselves to acquire the forms and movements, we make innovations. In this process the forms may be broken and discarded. Finally, in ri, we completely depart from the forms, open the door to creative technique, and arrive in a place where we act in accordance with what our heart/mind desires, unhindered while not overstepping laws.

What I remember is the official translator telling me that it was something like (I really don't remember her words accurately) "first you see; then you don't; then you don't need to". Contextualizing: first (Shu), you would think that everything is simple, you simply follow rules; then (Ha) you realize that things are much bigger then they seem, you can innovate with your knowledge, but you're just scratching the surface, you're overwhelmed; then (Ri), finally, you don't need to see anything, you represent the craft, you are it.

I think this should be some sort of somewhat famous chengyu, but I'm not sure, it didn't seem that familiar to the translator.

So... could someone please give me the meaning of the inscription and some references on the topic?

It is a 棋諺 (Go saying/ common wise words for Go playing).

見棋不是棋 would mean the hand that's obvious to you is not the hand --- meaning you need to look beyond the obvious and decide your move with more in-depth analysis.

Simply put: If a move is obvious to you, it would also be obvious to your opponent, therefore, it wouldn't be as effective as a surprise move.

Shu Ha Ri 守破離 is a martial art saying. The only commonality between 守破離 and 見棋不是棋 is they are both "saying/ common wise word" (口訣).

Other 棋諺 I remember:

左右同形中間有棋 : refers to "the middle point is the key to connecting two weak groups with the same shape".
七死八活 : "seven dead, eight alive", referring to the minimum number of stones in a row on the side that you need in order to live.
白鶴守巢 : "white crane guarding nest" or, as usually translated into English: the crane's nest, a specific famous instance of a snapback.

I play Go too, but I am only at SDK level.


Is it common to refer to cousins as "cousin-brothers"? Most Chinese people I know don't have siblings. They refer to their cousin as "cousin brother / sister".

Is this common?

If so, is this a modern change, perhaps reflecting the one-child policy?

It's not really clear to me what you mean with "cousin brother / sister". Do you mean for example 表姐姐姐 or a 表姐 simply called 姐姐.

To be complete:
表哥 or 表兄 is the older male cousin via female line. 表弟 is the younger male cousin via female line. Similar you have 表姐 and 表妹. Via the male line you similarly have 堂哥 or 堂兄, 堂弟, 堂姐 and 堂妹.

These words are not new.

Nowadays a lot of only children want a 哥哥 of a 姐姐 to "look after them" or to have somebody to whom to can go to when one has some questions or problems and they search for them (for example in the family or a good friend), and afterwards always call them 哥哥/姐姐. Also cousins are often considered as brothers and sisters and are often simply called 哥哥, 弟弟, 姐姐 and 妹妹.


When can a classifier be omitted? E.g. in 一女子跟着自己的包进了安检机 I know in Ancient Chinese there often was no classifier. But sometimes I notice the same phenomenon in modern Chinese. Today I heard the sentence:

  一女子跟着自己的包进了安检机

For which words is such a usage idiomatic? What decides when to omit the classifier?

IMO, 一女子 can mean "there's one woman"， 有一名女子 or 某女子. The measure word can be omitted only when the number is one 一. We don't usually say 两女子，三女子， and we say 两名女子，三名女子 instead.

More examples: 一小孩 == 一个小孩; 一老人 == 一个老人; 买一玩具 == 买一个玩具;

However, I wouldn't suggest such omissions since the rule might not work very well for all the noun words. We'd better add the measure word and it will work all the time.