How to learn how to pronounce and remember names of Chinese students? This question was originally asked on Academia.Stackexchange.com. I would normally not cross-post, however, I think this question might be an exception, where both sites may provide complementary perspectives. I think cross-posting is a better option than migration in this particular case.

Most Australian universities have a large number of international students. Common countries of origin include China, Singapore, and Malaysia. When interacting with students, it's much nicer if you can learn their name and pronounce it correctly. To reduce the scope of this question, I thought I'd limit it to Chinese names, but it could be broadened to include other Asian countries.

Several challenges emerge with Chinese names for an Australian (and presumably others from North America, Europe, etc.):

challenges of pronunciation
challenges when reading a Chinese name of knowing which of name is the name to address the student by
challenges in remember the name. In particular, I find it difficult to remember a name that I can't pronounce. Furthermore, the less familiar I am with a name and the fewer associations I have with a name, the harder I find it is to remember.

Questions

How can I learn how to pronounce names of Chinese students?
How can I better recall names of Chinese students? e.g., get acquainted with common names, build some semantic knowledge around Chinese names.

I'd be particularly interested in any good online resources for this purpose.

How can I learn how to pronounce names of Chinese students?

Short of learning Chinese? Avery suggested learning how to read pinyin. However, this ignores the problem that there are sounds in Chinese that do not exist in English. For instance, following some consonants, pinyin "u" is pronounced like the German "ü". Pinyin "sh" and "x" are both pronounced differently from English "sh". Oh yeah, and every syllable has a tone. So, are you prepared to learn all of that and more? If so, then Avery's answer is spot on. Go learn pinyin.

I suspect your question was more along the lines "As an English speaker in an English-speaking classroom, how can I pronounce Chinese students' names in an acceptable way?"

If that's the case, then here's my advice:

Ask the student how they would like you to say their name. This is just a basic respect thing. Of course, there are a couple caveats:

Presumably you'd like to have an idea of how to pronounce their name before you ask them.
Some students (especially the stereotypical asian students) will not correct you even if you ask them to. In high school, a substitute teacher asked one of my friends--whose name is "Jie Luo"--if his name was pronounced "J.Lo". He mumbled "Yeah sure", and it was only because some other students corrected the teacher that he wasn't known as "J.Lo" for the whole week.

Learn to recognize pinyin syllables and come up with English approximations to them. I'd especially focus on the syllables where the pinyin spelling is not suggestive of the English approximation. For instance:

The "j", "q", "x", "c", and "zh" initials
The "ang", "e", "en", "eng", "ui", "un", and "iu" finals
The syllables "zi", "ci", "si" and "zhi", "chi", "shi"

How can I better recall names of Chinese students? e.g., get acquainted with common names, build some semantic knowledge around Chinese names.

For Chinese surnames, I'd familiarize yourself with the top few names in this list, as well as their various romanizations. For instance, the names "Zhang" and "Chang" are both transliterations of the surname "张" (one in pinyin, one in the wade-giles system formerly used in Taiwan). For given names, you're pretty well out of luck. There aren't very many "common" given names. Many people's given names are unique.


When did the words 麻醉 and 麻药 first appear? I want to know how long 麻醉 and 麻药 have been compounded to mean anesthesia and anesthetic respectively.  What is the approximate date of the origin of those two Chinese words?  Are their origins relatively recent or relatively remote?  Is there a reference site online that has this information or a reference in book form?

I assume you're looking for how Chinese translated the technical terms, which according to the OED were invented by Oliver Wendell Holmes in 1846.

Chinese has early claims for anesthetic compounds a couple of thousand years before this, going back to the hoary Hua Tuo.  Wikipedia's article on the history of general anesthesia has a few things about him. There is more in the article on the Japanese doctor Hanaoka Seishū, reputedly the first person to perform an operation using general anesthesia.

Both of these articles represent Wikipedia at its least reliable (look at the references), and in any case are not about the medical practices which Holmes christened in the 19th century.

As the comment from 倪阔乐 above mentions, the word ma-yao appears in Shui-hu-chuan (late 16th cent.) as a name for a general type of drug that is probably something like knock-out drops.

Shui-hu-chuan calls the ma-yao in question 蒙汗藥 meng-han-yao, a drug which also appears in plays from the Yuan dynasty (13th cent). People who get dosed with 蒙汗藥 usually wind up as steamed meat buns in shops run by people you would not like to meet in a dark alley. Despite the claims of various dictionaries, I would not call this an anesthetic.

I would say that this is a difficult question, not an easy one. You will have to hunt around in early accounts for yourself, and this could be tough. The book Anesthesia: Essays on its history has a chapter by S. Yong called "History of Modern Anesthesia in China". Alas, it's only 3 pages long.  Clearly there's a lot to be done.


What should a beginner be looking for when selecting a movie in Chinese? To enhance my Chinese language skills I am looking for some Chinese movies or series that fit a beginner's level. Currently I know around 1000 Hanzi.

Is watching movies or series too early with this amount of known characters?

If not, how do you recommend going about selecting an appropriate movie or TV series?

The important thing for understanding Chinese in spoken form is not how many characters you recognize (though this is the traditional measure of "how good" someone's Chinese is -- which makes no sense at all!). The acid test is how many words you know. Words are often composed of more than one character in written form, so the character/word correspondence isn't a good one in terms of "calculating" one's Chinese level.

Also, it's entirely possible to know thousands of characters and have very little ability to understand spoken Chinese. This is particularly true with students who have been taught using traditional drill-and-kill methods or popular textbooks that believe that the more vocabulary someone memorizes the better.

So in my mind, technically yes, it's kind of early if your level of spoken Mandarin is what I'm imagining (based on the "average" student at the 1,000 character level).

BUT — big "but" here — that's theoretically speaking.

You will benefit from any exposure to Chinese. You will benefit a LOT more if that exposure is comprehensible, because input has to be understood before the brain can deal with it and use it to enlarge the brain's model of the language. But even if the input is not 100% comprehensible, anything you can comprehend will help.

Don't ignore other factors either&nbwp;— if you enjoy watching movies or series, that's a good and motivating thing. Enjoy picking out what you can understand, even while you recognize that the time spent may not be as effective as getting 100% comprehensible input in Chinese in terms of actually expanding your Chinese. There are other benefits as well -- social (you can watch with others, and discuss the films or series with other people), general knowledge (keep an eye on the backgrounds, body language, and other non-linguistic features that are shown in the film).

For most learners, it's very difficult to get 100% comprehensible input, because most teachers do not teach this way, and don't worry about readers, textbooks or AV materials being 100% comprehensible. There's even a new textbook out that deliberately gives students materials that are way too hard with the rationale that "they'll pick up whatever they can". Given what we know about how people acquire languages, I feel that teachers in general and textbook publishers specifically owe students a lot more than that, but since that's what's available, go for it.

So the answer is, don't worry about which one you watch. It doesn't really matter! Pick something that looks interesting or intriguing to you, or is popular, or that people are talking about. Any native speaking video or series will be difficult at that level. Just don't expect too much. Relax, sit back and try not to look up every word. Use the grade school strategy of "skip until you see it three times", maybe.


When can 叫 be used saying that someone is calling someone and when for asking a name? From The HSK acadamy site, it seems that 叫 can be used in two contexts.
First, it can be used to say someone called someone else:

妈妈和爸爸叫我

There is no translation given, but I think it means mum and dad call me.
In the second and third examples on this page,

我的名字叫李明

小姐，你叫什么名字？

I think 叫 is here used for giving or asking someones name. I would translate the second sentence as My name is 李明, and the third as Lady, what is your name? However, this is always used together with 名字, which means name. However, I've also seen simply

我叫 Wythagoras

for simply my name is Wythagoras (not my real name, by the way).
I am a bit confused by all the different usages of 叫, so the question is: In what context can 叫 be used for saying that someone is calling someone (as in the first sentence) and when for asking a name, when should 名字 be used with 叫 and when can it be left out?

Your intuition is correct. 叫 can be used in both ways (and even more). Here are the most frequent ones.

1) to call, to summon (using someone's voice). Verb is transitive:

  我爸爸妈妈叫我
  Mom and dad call me (they are calling my name)

2) stating one's name. Verb + proper noun or definition:

  你叫什么名字？我叫张三！
  What's your name? My name is John Doe!

3) to yell, to shout, or more specific verbs when referring to animals, e.g. to bark. This is a colloquial usage. Verb is intransitive:

  我狗在叫！
  My dog is barking

4) giving orders, asking to do something. Colloquial usage. Accepts a verb phrase:

  我的驾照过期了，我要叫他开车！
  My driver's license has expired. I'll ask him to drive!

Specifically, how to decide between the usage 1 and 2. It is often made clear by the context of the whole sentence, as customary with the Chinese language.
As a rule of thumb, you'll have 叫 (to call) when it is followed by a regular object phrase, and you'll have 叫 (asking names) when it is followed by a proper noun or generically by a definition.


Why is 的 mandatory in the sentence 坐四十五分钟的二百七路 I have troubles trying to figure out why 的 should be present (and its position) in the following sentence:

...,然后坐四十五分钟的二百七路

As far as I know, 的 is used to modify nouns. What is that particle modifying?

二百七路 sounds like  a bus route number. That would make it a noun
的 is acting as the preposition 'of' in this context.  It connects the quantity complement "四十五分钟" to the noun 二百七路 (45 minutes of route 207)

[坐] [四十五分钟] [的] [二百七路]
[ride] [45 minutes] [of] [route 207 (bus)]

Example of quantity complement complements verb:

坐 (v) 四十五分钟 (quantity complement)
坐 (v) 二百七路 (n) 四十五分钟 (quantity complement)

坐四十五分钟的公共汽車 can be reduced to 坐四十五分钟公共汽車 by omitting 的. Which mean 坐四十五分钟的二百七路 can also be reduced to 坐四十五分钟二百七路


Identify this radical or character Thank you in advance or your help.  I am working on a small word puzzle in which the puzzle's creator uses some Mandarin characters.  There is one that I have not been able to identify.  It might be a character with a meaning on its own, or it might be a radical.  It might be flipped in reverse.  There are no other strokes near this character or radical.
I think there are 3 likely options:

This character has no meaning and is simply meant to look like a Chinese character by imitating the strokes.
This character does have a meaning on its own, without any other strokes or characters added.
This is a radical that is part of a character, and that character has a meaning.  My guess is that this will be the correct option, but that is just a guess.

In trying to identify this character, I do not know whether it matters that the vertical stroke peeks out above the horizontal stroke.  I do not know if it matters that the left side of the horizontal stroke is longer than the right side.
Thank you so much in advance for your help.  As you can see, with my level of knowledge, it would be difficult for me to identify the correct character or radical.  If it is a radical, it would then be tough for me to determine whether there are many characters that use this radical.

is not a Chinese radical. None of the two-strokes radical looks like it

You can see it as the combination of two strokes/ radicals

Radical #1 一
Radical #6 亅

You can see it as the character 寸 (also the radical #41 itself) missing a dot 丶 (丶 is also the radical #3)

Notice: It is not the character 丁 (the radical of 丁 is 一 )
Side note: If it is offered as a riddle, my answer would be 一寸少一点 (one inch minus a dot) = slightly less than an inch; 一点 (a dot) can also mean 'a little'


How did 客气 come to mean "polite"? The literal meaning of 客气 would seem to be something like "air guest." How did that transform into "polite"? And is there a resource I can turn to to find out such things?

客 - guest
氣 - air. spirit ...
客氣 - in the spirit of a guest
When you're a guest in someone's house, you behave like a guest should, that is, be polite.
When you're a guest, your host might say “不要客氣” （don't behave like a guest). This is not to say you shouldn't be polite. It is rather their way of saying "make yourself at home".
Another way to translate 不要客氣 is "don't stand on ceremony". 客氣 encompasses both of these ideas - politeness and formality. Both are positive attributes, but too much of either tends to create distance. Being the right degree of 客氣 is truly an art.


What does the following phrase mean “扈江离与辟芷兮，纫秋兰以为佩.”? I think its a line written by the poet Qu Yuan that maybe symbolizes a persons nobility?

From 屈原《离骚》( 'Lisao' by Qu Yuan)

扈(to wear/to carry) | 江篱(a kind of fragrant plant) | 与(and) | 辟芷(a kind of fragrant plant) | 兮(exclamatory particle)

纫(to sew) | 秋兰 (a kind of fragrant plant) | 以为 (to make) | 佩 (sachet)

扈江篱与辟芷兮，纫秋兰以为佩

"Wear verrucosa and angelica dahurica , sew a sachet with autumn orchid inside"

maybe symbolizes a persons nobility?

This line symbolizes Qu Yuan's high moral standards, and his unwillingness of associate with immoral people.

(bad guys stink)


Difference between 两个都 and 我们俩 Pimsleur's Mandarin course teaches 'both of us' as 我们两个都 (wǒ men liăng ge dōu), but in another question I asked here I recently found that 我们俩 (wǒ men liă).

Are these always interchangeable, or are there any rules concerning when to use one over the other? Are there any more ways to say 'both of us'?

俩 means 两个and is typically more colloquial. 俩 is often used for people, but doesn't need to be. Some examples:

买俩馒头: to buy two steamed rolls
兄弟俩
他们俩。

Alternatively you can use "咱俩" in oral language, "咱" means "我". The difference between 我们 and 咱们, is that 咱们 includes the listener. So 我们两个, 我们俩, 咱们俩 and 咱俩 all mean "the two of us".

A side remark: when a father talks with his son he can use 咱爷俩 referring to himself  and his son.


Pairs which are of the form AB / BA I need help with 实现 v.s. 现实 and 罪犯 v.s. 犯罪.

I find it hard to remember the distinction between these pairs which are of the form AB / BA. Can anyone help me grasp the underlying ideas/logic/feeling?

Also, I'd be interested in other similar pairs.

There're no underlying logic on those pairs you've mention.  It's just a coincidence that the 2 words can be used in form of AB/BA where both AB and BA is a word.  Note that in the examples, AB and BA have different meaning while there are some example that has the same meaning, such as:

油漆 / 漆油 (paint)
色彩 / 彩色 (arguable as 色彩=color while 彩色=color(ful))

I believe there are similar situation in English such as breakout / outbreak or overlay / layover.  It'll be easier for you to just forget the AB/BA format and remember them as separate words.


Who translated "deductive reasoning" into 演绎推理? The word 演绎 had been used by Chinese literati long before it acquired the precise modern meaning.

I wonder exactly who made the link between 演绎 and deduction?

The definition on baidu makes you want to puke. It gives ancient use cases followed by modern definitions. Did ancients understand 演绎 as modern Chinese do? What was the ancients' definition of 演绎?

For Deduction

  Definition of Deduction: (From Webster's Dict)

  a :  an act of taking away
  b :  something that is or may be subtracted
  a :  the deriving of a conclusion by reasoning
  b :  a conclusion reached by logical deduction

Let check the 演绎

  Definition of 演绎:(I don't have official Chinese dictionary on hand so I used my common sense)

  verb. Acting, Show
  noun. the process of getting a conclusion by logical reasoning.(as poopsed to 'sum up')

Let be aware of the history of word'演绎'. For the English-Chinese translation experts(around the 1900s), using the '演绎' was the reasonable choice at that time.

And since it's like more than 100 years. I believe nobody would remember who firstly use this word. It's naturally used because its meaning of so close(or even the same) to "deduction".

The same logic could be applied to "米国"(Japanese) and "USA"(English). No one ever remembers who created "米国"

There's a detailed blog regarding ancient usage of 演绎 and演译.


Cannot recognise a chinese chracter handwriting Can anyone else tell me what the last character is please?

Chinese handwriting and calligraphy tradition allow for huge variability in appearance of characters.

With these three characters, first two are easily identified as 右 and 同. (Though the writer smooshes together the strokes of the mouth 口 part and the result resembles cursive letter n, yet his strokes clearly follow the right order.) For comparison, here are possible appearances of these characters from the Compilation of Cursive Characters《草字彙》:

As for the third character, the right part quite clearly identifies as 匕, which got transformed into S-like or b-like stroke crossed by a checkmark-like stroke. According to the cursive character compilation《草字彙》, this transformation is a typical one for this radical:

That leaves us with only a few characters that have 匕 on the right, like 比 (compare)，北 (north)，此 (this)，化 (chemistry), as well as more rare characters like 牝 (female animal), 叱 (shout), 吡，妣，秕，舭。Only 此 seems to make sense with the preceding characters.

Moreover, I checked database of old cursive characters, and variants of 此 resemble what you have here most closely:

So, in conclusion, I think this is most likely 右同此.


What grammatical elements are contained in the sentence 你不听不就得了? A book on function words contains the example sentence:

管他说什么呢， 你不听不就得了。

The first part is simple: 管他说什么呢 = "no matter what" s.o. says (管 as conjunction). The second part however is unclear to me. Is there some special pattern, complement or whatever contained?

The components are:

你不听: "you don't listen", of course.
不就 ... (吗): colloquial element, "isn't just that...?", "nothing other than..."
(analyzed into 就 + rhetorical question)
得了: colloquial element, "fine with it", "enough"

Put all together:

  你不听不就得了(吗)
  lit. You don't listen to him, then isn't it just fine?
  "Why don't you just ignore him!" or "Is there any problem with ignoring him?"


Where can I find audio recordings of every word? Where can I find audio recordings (i.e. individual MP3s or WAVs) for every Chinese word? I have found some recordings of Chinese, but these only contain individual phonemes, not entire words. I am looking for something to download or as something to buy (e.g. as part of a dictionary).

For example, you can go to Forvo.com. (You can find the Chinese section at this address; on the right you see the top users that provided most audios.)

It's a huge database of words, characters, expressions in any language provided by users. The good thing is there's a lot of stuff, but the down-side is that although some users provided many audios (so you have a sort of consistency), you'll have to switch between different audios not recorded professionally, although they usually are not low quality.


What are the advantages of 人类将如何演变 over 人性会怎么改变? I'm analyzing Writing critique request: Zhou Ziwang and the revolutionary new technology and in particular these two sentences:

  Intended English meaning:  How will mankind change?
  My writing: 人性会怎么改变？
  Toosky Hierot: 人类将如何演变？

The context is that a revolutionary new technology has been discovered, and people are worried about its implications for the future.  Thus, out of concern, they ask rhetorical questions like: How will mankind change?

Question: What are the advantages of 人类将如何演变 over 人性会怎么改变?

This seems to be my impression:

人性 = "humanity" whereas 人类 = "mankind", so 人类 is accurate.
I'm not seeing a major benefit to 将 = "will" over 会 = "would" (relevant question: Talking future tense: 将，要，将要， 会， 将会).
I believe 怎么 and 如何 are interchangeable in this case (relevant question: What is the difference between 怎么 and 如何？)
演变 = "evolve" whereas 改变 = "change".  I'm not clear about which is better here, but perhaps 改变 is closer to "edit" (?).

Please let me know what I understand correctly/incorrectly.

人性会怎么改变  vs. 人类将如何演变

人性 mainly refers to " human morality". 人性会怎么改变 means "how will humankind's morality be changed by this technology?  We see many examples of technology changes human's behavior and moral value. If it is your main concern, you should choose 人性 over 人类
人类 mainly refers to "the human kind" in a broad sense. That includes biological and mental aspects. If this technology changes not only human's mind, but also body, then you should use 人类 over 人性
会(would) and 将(will) are both valid in this sentence.
怎么 and 如何 means the same, just 怎么 is more colloquial and 如何 is more literary
改变 = change; 演变 = evolve. A technology no matter how advance, it is not likely to change humankind  biologically. 改变 should be the right choice.

Base on your main concern (human morality vs. biological and mental change) you can choose to write:

人性会怎么改变?/ 人性将怎么改变?/ 人性会如何改变?
人类将如何改变?/ 人类会如何改变?

You can replace 将 or 会 with 将会


Pronunciation of 对 and 水 对 (duì) sounds to my ears more like /duei/. Similarly with 水 (shuǐ) /ʂuei/. Am I mishearing, or am I misunderstanding how Pinyin is supposed to be pronounced? Or is this a dialectal variant?

After [...] a consonant, iou, uei, and uen are simplified as iu, ui, and un, which do not represent the actual pronunciation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin#Letters

This spelling seems to have been inherited from the earlier Latinxua Sin Wenz, itself following the use in Wade-Giles. Such simplifications were likely used since [wi] is an allophone of [wei]:

In SC [wi] is a variant of [wəi]... SC does not make use of such contrasts as [wi] vs. [wəi], or [ji] vs. [i], which English does (consider we vs. way, and yeast vs. east).

A Phonology of Standard Chinese

Related questions:

Then we also have sounds that are there but simply left out, such as -ui actually being pronounced -uei (水, 对, 贵) and -iu actually being pronounced -iou (六，休，牛).

Is pinyin an accurate pronunciation guide?
Why is it written LIU in Pinyin, when there's clearly an O sound?
Are there rules about the differences between pinyin spelling and pronunciation?


Is there any way to detect dialect automatically? For current task I need to create a solution how to detect if some video or audio of Chinese speech is  Mandarin or Cantonese (for now I do not need others dialects).

For example, there is almost 100% solution to search for radio/TV in USA/Honk Kong or others locations where Cantonese is main dialect. Canada doesn't work due it has 50/50 for Mandarin/Cantonese. For Mandarin is simpler, just search sources from Mainland China.

But there is also another part - YouTube videos. I didn't find a way to detect dialect of speech in video. Auto-subtitles shows only text version which is in Simplified Chinese (written).

Also, there was an idea about searching for -p, -t or -k endings in speech (due Mandarin does not have them any more). I think it is quite good solution but not the best - others dialects have them too.

So my question is - Do you know or maybe have an idea how to detect Cantonese/Mandarin dialect in speech video automatically or using subtitles?
Maybe there is a list of Mandarin/Cantonese only characters?

I can think of a few ways for this to work, each could have varying degrees of difficulty in implementation.

Word Choice

As @Marko mentioned in comments, Cantonese usually has a very different choice of word for common expressions. For example:

點(trad.)/点(simp.) in Cantonese vs. 怎 in Mandarin
邊/边 vs. 哪
係/系 vs. 是
唔 vs. 不
嘅 vs. 的
喺 vs. 在
咁 vs. 这么

sentence-final particles:

咯 (Cantonese only)
咩 (Cantonese only)
啫 (Cantonese only)
㗎 (Cantonese only)
吗 (Mandarin only)

This will be easier to implement if the subtitle is an exact transcription of what's being said (I say this because sometimes they are not, instead, they are in written/more-Mandarin form). Frequency analysis of the appearance of these syllables could also be possible, I guess? Note: they work better on casual conversations than formal speeches or readings of written material.

This Wiktionary category page could be a gem if you decide to use this approach, but not every entry in this category is Cantonese-specific.

Tones

I'm thinking of a pitch analysis. And Cantonese has more tones - 9 in total - than their Mandarin counterpart - 5. If you can devise a way to count the total tones used in the audio, or to match each syllable to a tone and see which model fits best, it could be possible to tell the two apart.

Other phonetic features

Other distinctions exist, to name a few:

儿化(Erhua) in Mandarin (actually I'd not call them standard Mandarin, but northern Chinese dialect)
the -p, -t, -k, -m sound in Cantonese

However, I'm not sure if/how you can detect them automatically.


啰 vs. 囉 in Old Texts 啰 seems to be the simplified version of 囉 these days, but....these are two examples from 《四川方言词典》circa '87 that I found:

  要飞啰

  我是乌梢蛇打店——长客囉!

Most the entries I've seen in these 八零后 books have all been written 囉 and I just assumed it was a later simplification but obviously 啰 as a character also existed at the same time!

What's The Difference Between 啰 And 囉 In Old(er) Texts?

...seems like there is no difference between the two nowadays...

edit:

  “～囉”

  拐啰

and the most crazy of them all:

at the top:

  涮啰

in the def:

  涮囉

This may be a failure of editing. 啰 is actually discussed in the 1986 Jianhuazi zong biao. According to the 1986 zong biao, 罗 was included in the first list of simplified characters, but 囉 was not. The 1986 zong biao deletes 囉, and makes 啰 its official replacement "by analogy". Your dictionary seems to fall right in this period. Could be the entry you cite with 囉 was written before the 1986 list came out, and the entry with 啰 was done after. Or perhaps both were originally 囉 and in the editing they did after completing the dictionary, they missed the one entry.


Brass & Marble Chinese Bring Money Tea Pot (Characters identified: 大明宣德) Hello,
What do the Chinese makers mark tell?  Thank you.

The characters are

大朙宣德
Emperor Xuāndé of the Míng Dynasty


Is 一 not omitted in Mandarin when it comes to measurement classifiers followed by '半'? The other day I went to a Chinese supermarket in Toronto to buy one and a half pound of minced meat. I told the meat department operator that I want "磅半碎肉" in Cantonese. That guy gave me half a pound instead. I repeated my request in English, but he didn't seem to understand it. Then I said "磅半" in Mandarin. He still thought I was asking for 'half a pound' instead of 'one and a half pound'.

Until a Mandarin speaking lady beside me said to him: "他想要一磅半的碎肉", then he gave me the correct amount of minced meat.

I am wondering, in Cantonese, omitting the counting word '一' before a measurement classifier followed by '半' is a common practice. We usually say "寸半, 尺半, 磅半, 噸半" instead of "一寸半, 一尺半, 一磅半, 一噸半"

My question : 'Is 一 not omitted in Mandarin when it comes to measurement classifiers followed by '半'?

(I don't think I pronounced my order so badly that he didn't know what I wanted, because he did give me half a pound of minced meat at first)

No. It is not omitted.

In Mandarin, "一寸半, 一尺半, 一磅半, 一噸半" cannot be said as "寸半, 尺半, 磅半, 噸半".


方便: a "skillful means" of translating upāya or not? In Chinese Buddhism, 方便 is used to translate the word/concept Upāya. Was 方便 an existing Chinese word that already meant "convenient" (or something else) and then given this technical meaning for translations? Or was it created as a technical Buddhist term and later took on the common everyday meaning it now has? Please cite sources (preferably that quote from ancient texts) in your answer, or I'm not likely to accept it.
If it was a borrowing, could it be described as a calque? Or would it just be a translation without any particular parallel morphological structure?

The meaning of 方便 (In the viewpoint of Buddhism)

明代《三藏法數》
方便
方即方法，便即便宜，猶善巧也。

or

清末民初《丁福保 佛學大辭典》
方便
方者方法，便者便用，便用契於一切眾生之機之方法也。又方為方正之理，便為巧妙之言辭。對種種之機，用方正之理與巧妙之言也，又方者眾生之方域，便者教化之便法，應諸機之方域，而用適化之便法，謂之方便。

The above content is translated in 《Soothill-Hodous Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms》 as follows.

方便 upāya
Convenient to the place, or situation, suited to the condition, opportune, appropriate; but 方 is interpreted as 方法 method, mode, plan, and 便 as 便用 convenient for use, i. e. a convenient or expedient method; also 方 as 方正 and 便 as 巧妙, which implies strategically correct.
……
The meaning is-- teaching according to the capacity of the hearer, by any suitable method, including that of device or stratagem, but expedience beneficial to the recipient is understood.

Who came first?
One argument is shown below.
“方便”一詞的來源，你知道嗎？
第二段第一行 The first line of the second paragraph:

“方便”源於佛經。它的本義指佛普渡眾生時所採用的各種方法、手段。

"方便" is derived from Buddhist sutras. Its original meaning refers to the various methods and means used during the Buddha's salvation.
最後一段第一行 The first line of the last paragraph:

施行方法、手段、見機行事，其目的、結果就是與人便利，使人舒適。所以“方便”又引伸有便利、舒適、適宜之義。

The purpose and the result of the method, the means and the action are to give convenience to people or to make people comfortable. Therefore, 方便 is extended to convenient, comfortable or appropriate.


What is the difference between "面对" and "应对"? I would love a quick overview of the difference btween 面对 and 应对! In particular, I would love to know what you say if you want to use
以...的太对来应对/面对 这个问题? Is 应对 or 面对 used
in this instance?

To answer your question, "以。。。的太对(态度)来应对／面对 这个问题 ？". If you want to stress on the attitude (positive, negative, responsible, etc), you should use 面对. But if you want focus on the action strategy, then it's 应对.

以积极的态度来 应对 这个问题 -> to handle the issue with positive attitude (we should not wait here, it's not the end, let's do something!)

以积极的态度来 面对 这个问题 -> thinking of the issue with positive attitude (it's not so bad, we still have chance, let's more focus on the bright side)

面对 is usually used to describe a situation. Here 面 means "facing -> regarding to".

Meanwhile 应对 is more focus on taking action. 应 means 响应 (respond), 应付(deal with).

One example can be found here: http://jingyan.baidu.com/article/6b97984d9dadef1ca2b0bfe0.html

面对 危机我们该如何有效 应对

How should we respond effectively (regarding) to the crisis

You can find more similar cases by searching both words: http://bit.ly/1nRji4a


How to make analogies? How are analogies made in Chinese? Maybe the best way to understand would be by the translation of some examples. So, how would these examples be translated?

Strong like a bull
Smart like a fox
Dumb like a rock
Funny like a clown
Fat like a balloon
Brave like a soldier
Kind like a mother
Calm like a monk
Tall like a lamp post
Small like an ant
Ugly like a bat

Is it possible to use 像 in all of the examples? Is it possible to use 像 and 如 interchangeably?

You can translate them as:

力大如牛/像牛一样强壮
像狐狸一样聪明
像石头一样木讷
像小丑一样好玩
胖得像个气球
像军人一样勇敢
像母亲一样善良
像僧人一样冷静
像路灯一样高
像蚂蚁一样

11.像蝙蝠一样丑陋

In most cases, you can use "像". "如" is more literal and formal than "像".
But be careful. Some of the analogies do not make sense in the Chinese cultural context. For example, "bat" is neutral in the Chinese cultural background and does not carry a cultural implication of ugliness so that it does not make sense to say something is ugly like a bat.


Difference between 而, 但 and 和 和 means 'and', and so does 而. What is the difference between the two. I also know that 而 means 'but', and the second question is what is the difference between 而 and 但. Give me an example sentence, please.

When you use 而, you are always expressing some kind of adversative meaning weaker than 但. Most of the time they can substitute each other but not 100% certain.

Example 1:  both are fine

  这件事很难，而那件事很容易。 => This thing is difficult while that one is easy.
  这件事很难，但那件事很容易。 => This thing is difficult but that one is easy.

Example 2: 而 is better here

  他没有出国，而是留在了国内。 => He stayed in home country instead of going abroad.

Example 3: 但 is better

  这杯水不甜，但富含营养。 => This cup of water is not sweet but full of nutrition.

The differencies are subtle, taste them in more practice.

It's clearer to distinguish 而 from 和. Remember 和 has no adversative meaning, and in most cases it connects objects:

  Tom and Jerry are good friends.
  Correct: 汤姆和杰瑞是好朋友。
  Wrong: 汤姆而杰瑞是好朋友。


Is there a difference between 回转 and 掉头? Is there a difference between 回转 and 掉头? I have heard them both used to describe a U-turn, so are there any subtle differences between the two words?

回转 = "rotate" e.g. "1000rpm" means "rotate 1000 times per minute" = "每分鐘回转1000 次"

  回转 (至相反方向) = "rotate to opposite direction" = "turn 180°/ turn around"

~

  调头 = "turn around" (to the opposite direction)

  掉头 = "turn one's head; turn around"

调头 and 掉头 are interchangeable when it means "turn around" But 掉头 can mean "turn one's head" in different context


What does 之下 mean in 加上本来就对空心怀反感的贵族们煽动之下，发生了示威游行? 加上本来就对空心怀反感的贵族们煽动之下，发生了示威游行。

It's from a translation

My translation would be: Moreover originally the nobles that felt disgusted by Kong were stirring up under the situation, so they made a march.

What is the meaning of 之下? Is it something like "under the situation"?

Answering in context of this edit:
In short
Yes, 之下 means "under (the situation of) ...". A more common form is "在...之下". For example:
在群众压力之下，他最後正式向公众道歉。
Under (the situation of) the pressure of the masses, he eventually made an official public apology.
Additional info
Since some comments have doubt with the grammatical aspect of the sentence, I would like to explain more.
The word 加上 indicates that something happened(有些事情发生了) in previous sentences alongside with the 贵族们煽动. To aid understanding the sentence easier let's try to omit the part 本来就对空心怀反感的 and add 有些事情发生了 at the start. The sentence becomes:
有些事情发生了。加上贵族们煽动之下，发生了示威游行。
Which can be translated to:
Under the situation of (something happened) and the stir-up of the nobles, a march ensued.
A comment suggested that the sentence should be rewritten to either:
加上 (本来就对 空 心怀反感的) 贵族们煽动
(This rewrite removed the cause-effect relationship of the stir-up and the march, which diluted the meaning of the original sentence a bit.) or;
在 (本来就对 空 心怀反感的) 贵族们煽动 之下
This rewrite broken the concurrent relationship of the "something happened" part.
I think the two rewrites can actually be combined together to:
加上 在(本来就对 空 心怀反感的) 贵族们煽动 之下
Which retains both the meaning of 加上 and 之下.
Finally, frankly speaking the grammar of this sentence is not very good, especially the ending part . For me, I would rewrite the whole sentence as:
加上在本来就对空心怀反感的贵族们的煽动之下, 結果示威游行就爆发了。
And by reading more of the original text, it seems that the author is just doing "literal" translations, without much care about the relationship between sentences.


sentence structure: location of object after action applied to it Which of these sentences is correct? Or are both acceptable? Which sounds more natural to a native Mandarin speaker?

他把书放在桌子上。
他在桌子上放书。
他把书在桌子上放。
他放书在桌子上。

I guess 在桌子上 is not where the 放 is occurring, so maybe the #2 & #3 don't make sense? I can't find a specific sentence structure rule, but is it generally:

#4 seems to follow a pattern:

(subject) + (verb) + (object) + (location of object after verb action)

That seems to make sense to me.

#1 seems to follow a pattern:

(subject) + 把 + (object) + (verb) + (location of object after verb action)

This makes sense to me if it is acceptable to put (location of object after verb action) at the end of the sentence.

So the primary questions summarize to:

1) Is there a general sentence structure for actions on objects which change the location/state of the object?

2) Or is this case unique to "putting an object in a place"?

1 and 2 are correct, but 2 is weird.
You can find a nice explanation here.

The grammatical role of 在桌子上 is sightly different though.
In:

  他把书放在桌子上。

The phrase 在桌子上 is a result complement. The verb 在 acts as a result of 放：the result of 放 "putting" the book is that it now 在 "stays" on the table.
Now the result verb must occur right after the main verb, therefore the object of the action gets pulled in front of it by 把， thus achieving a SOV structure.

In example 2:

  他在桌子上放书。

The phrase 在桌子上 acts as a location complement, and therefore locates the action 放。The sentence is weird because it's not clear if being on the table is the result of the action or where the action is taking place.

Examples 3 and 4 are not grammatical.

So to answer your question, anticipation of the object with Subj. + 把 + Obj. + Verb Phrase. happens mainly in two cases:

when the main verb is followed by a result verb or a result complement

  你把苹果吃掉吧。 Eat the apple. (result is 掉 = object has disappeared)
  你把钱包拿出来。Take out the purse. (result is the purse comes out)

when the main verb is ditransitive (direct and indirect object)

  我准备把这件礼物 (direct obj.) 给 他 (indirect obj.) I'm going to give this present to him


How to use 主持 in composition I know the basic meaning of 主持， which is "taking charge of". But I don't know how and on what occasion I can use this word.

Can I just use this for all the things which someone is responsible for?

Like:

主持会议，
主持单位，
主持家务，
主持工作，
主持推销

Actually there's a site written by Chinese explained the meaning of "主持". And here it is: http://baike.baidu.com/subview/77617/14131395.htm

Then, there are some points I think I should explain for you:

1. When it comes to Ancient Chinese, the "主持" always means someone handles or deal with things. And at this time, it's a verb. But when we visit a temple, we would call the head-hander "主持" -- now it's a noun.

2. When it comes to Modern Chinese, this word means someone in charge of some things, especially something matters or grand to cater for the solemn atmosphere there. In those occasions you can use it, and others will not feel you choose your words unexpected.

Hope can help :)


Please help me translate this message Please help me translate this message. What does it mean in English?

  得了考前放弃症 可能无药可救了。

So here is the situation. I have been seeing this girl for about almost a year now and today we went out and she bought me a medicine. I told her I'm sick because I think I smoke too much. Night time comes and I saw her post a message on social media saying “”得了考前放弃症 可能无药可救了“”. My translation was stop it before the test sickness, maybe next time there is no medicine for it anymore. My question is, is she telling me to stop smoking or telling me to stop courting her?

Wrong 证, should be 症

得了考前放弃症可能无药可救了
get 'before-exam-give-up-sickness' possible no medicine can help

I always get pre-exam nerves and want to give up, it's possible there is no medicine which can help that.

I think your love life is not in danger!


Why can objects be placed at the beginning of the sentence? Often, I come across sentences like below, where the subject is missing and the object is placed instead.

证件带了吗？ （Instead of 你带了证件吗？)

I am wondering if there is a name to such grammatical structure, and if there are any conditions to be aware of when I want to use such structure. Thank you!

It's called topic-comment structure and it's ubiquitous in Chinese. It's one of its distinctive grammatical traits.
What is called topic, or theme, is the focus of the sentence and is extracted at the beginning of the sentence, regardless of its grammatical function. This last remark is especially important. The topic isn't necessarily also the grammatical subject of the sentence.
What is called comment, is  usually what contains the predicate and provides the additional information about the topic that you want to convey. In wikipedia's words "it's what is being said about the topic".
When the topic is a complex structure, it's often separated from the rest by a comma in writing, and by a brief pause in speech. In writing the comma may disappear for simple topics. But you can add it again to test this:

证件，带了吗？

证件 is the topic, and the grammatical object of the sentence. The two are not mutually exclusive.
（你）带了吗 is the comment, and the grammatical predicate. The actual subject 你 is omitted, as it's understood from the context (supposedly this sentence is being addressed at you).

Other examples where the topic is the object (with and without comma):

饭吃了吗 = Have you eaten already?
别人的中文名字，你一定要记住啊 = Make sure to remember other people's Chinese names!


Explain the phrase "都不嫌多" Could you please explain how to make sense of "都不嫌多". How is the meaning composed from the characters. I cannot make the connection between the literal translation of "all not suspicion many" and actual translation "never too much".

Or maybe I should not even try?

The entire sentence:

怎么爱你都不嫌多
= I can't love you more
= However I love you, it’s never too much
= I can never love you too much

from the song 小苹果.

I cannot make the connection between the literal translation of "all not suspicion many" and actual translation "never too much".

The literal translation of 都 and 嫌 seems not exact, especially 嫌 doesn't mean suspicion here.

都

  3.（表示强调） even:

He didn't even look at it.
他连看都不看它一眼。

Even a child knows all this.
这种事连小孩都知道。

嫌

  动词
   （厌恶; 不满意） dislike; mind; complain of:

get oneself disliked;
讨人嫌

not want to take the trouble; think it troublesome;
嫌麻烦

Everybody disliked him because of his hot temper.
大家都嫌他脾气太急。

You don't mind us smoking here, do you?
你不嫌我们在这里抽烟吧?

She always complains of the food.
她常常嫌菜不好吃。

The article is good in content, only it's a bit wordy.
这篇文章内容不错， 只是文字略嫌罗唆。

Then 怎么爱你都不嫌多 could be literally translated as However I love you (I) won't even mind (it's) much.

Could you make the connection now?


Are the "h" in pinyin always pronounced as "[x]" in IPA? Chinese (Mandarin) use [x] to pronounce h sound. It does not have any sounds such as [h] and [ɸ].

However, I'm not sure if it is fine to assume that all the h in pinyin are pronounced as [x]. According to this question and the answer, [x] is the standard sound, but is there any case to use a different sound on the h in pinyin? If so, how can I know if it is pronounced as such, given that it is generally impossible to know which IPA sound is used in Chinese words?

Yes, h = [x] (also ㄏ in bopomofo).

Wikipedia has an entire chart entitled Help:IPA/Mandarin that lists consonants:

and vowels

Many old dictionaries, especially topolectical dictionaries, used IPA or a simplified version of IPA.

Consider Li Rong's (李荣) edited Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects (现代汉语方言大词典). Here's an example from《哈尔滨方言词典》:

Here you can clearly see 火 is:

  xuo

You can also see that the other terms are also written using IPA, albeit slightly simplified.


How do I say "The story has to have a moral"? Is there any way to say that when you write a story, it has to "have a moral"? (i.e. it has to teach you something). Is there a clear translation for that in Chinese?

You can translate 'moral' as 寓意 and thus 'have a moral' as '有寓意' (故事要有寓意). Alternatively, you could say 故事要有教育意义 (the story has to be educational).


Dialects/Topolects: Tone Marks? Mandarin, as everyone probably knows, has four tones: 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th tone.

Each tone has its own tone mark that represents that tone:

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

But these are all just representations of each tones actual 调值 (tone value), i.e.:

1st tone = 55
2nd tone = 35
3rd tone = 214
4th tone = 51

Each tone mark is a visual representation of each tones value. Good? Good.

Now the question:
Do any dialects have tone marks?

Cantonese, at least the works that I have seen, is written with pinyin and tone numbers, i.e: gwong2 dung1 waa2...

Other topolects are simply written with IPA + tone contour marks.

You could look at Tianjin, as close as 120 km from Beijing. The local Tianjin dialect is still exhibiting rather drastic changes to tones and tone changes.

Drawing from your example, mandarin in Beijing and Tianjin differ in tones according to the following, with TJ accent being much more low-pitched:

1st tone = 55 (BJ), 21 (TJ)
2nd tone = 35
3rd tone = 214 (BJ), 113 (TJ)
4th tone = 51 (BJ), 53 (TJ)

You also have different sandhi rules for tonal changes. Tianjin itself is pronounced Tian3jin1 in TJ. Tone marks, however, would still be identical (just as "pen" is not rendered "pin" in Texas).

This pattern repeats itself wherever you go in China. For example, the standard Wu topolect as spoken in Shanghai has differences already within the city suburbs, such as Jiading, and much more so in neighboring cities like Jiaxing, and further more in relatively remote locations such as Hangzhou and Suzhou.

From this we conclude that the standard mandarin (普通话) is merely an ideal, a common framework for speakers of countless topolects and dialects.


What is the correct simplified character for Macau’s Taipa and Cotai? Both Taipa and Cotai contain the character 氹/凼 in their names, with some saying that 凼 is the simplified version of 氹. However, I’ve seen 氹 being used in simplified scripts as well. So, which character is the correct simplified name of Taipa and Cotai

There are no "Simplified" and "Traditional" versions of this character.
From Wikipedia:

澳門本地的「氹」（現代字）為異體字，古作「凼」、「窞」，數碼時代，由於內地字型中缺氹字，產生中國內地部份出版物顯示古字凼仔
The local character used in Macao,「氹」, is the modern version; in older times, it was written as「凼」and「窞」. In the digital age, due to Mainland China initially lacking support for the character「氹」, various publications substituted the character「氹」with the character「凼」instead.

The modern way to write it is「氹」.「凼」was used in the past, when the Mainland didn't encode the character in their digital standards.


How to translate "transparent communication" to Mandarin? I was writing an email for work and was trying to translate the term "transparent communication" to Chinese, but realized I didn't know the term at all.  I'm pretty sure 透明的 isn't correct, but closest term I can find or think of was 明晰的.  I'd like to know if there's another phrase that fits better?

EDIT: Usage example in the form of a sentence...

  The administration is committed to fostering a new paradigm of transparent and accountable communications, and will be developing the necessary internal training and SOP's as guidance to achieve this culture.

Nowadays 透明 can also mean transparent in the sense of openness as a calque from English.

Though 透明沟通 or 透明的沟通 indeed sounds a bit weird to me. But 开放透明的沟通 (open and transparent communication) is okay. 透明的沟通机制 (transparent communication mechanism) and 透明的沟通平台 (transparent communication platform) are fine too.

Edit: I would translate "a new paradigm of transparent and accountable communications" as 透明且负责任的沟通新范式.


Use of 放 in 放学 to mean school? I am trying to revive my knowledge of Chinese, having learned it some years ago. I was flicking through my old text book and came across the phrase "放学回家以后，。。。"

I remember reciting this (thinking back, we did a lot of phrase learning without understanding the characters involved and the sentence structure :/) but now when I am trying to pick apart the sentence, I don't understand what the 放 is doing. According to Google translate and line dictionary etc, 放 means to 'put/put in'. However 放学 is 'school'. But what about 学校, which is also 'school'?

In a nutshell, what does 放 mean in the sentence?

放 has many meanings

放 http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/862/
[1] let go; release; set free
[2] let out; dismiss; take leave
....

学 in 放学 short for 学校 (school)
放学(school out) simply means  'be let out of school' or 'be released from school '
Examples for 放 as 'release ; let out':

放监 = be released from jail

放工 = be released from work

放假 = be released for day off; take leave for holiday


Translation of a slang for 'mutual flattering' circle jerk

(vulgar, slang) Any group or group activity indulging in excessive mutual praise.

When I try to translate this term in this context, I come up with 互相吹捧 and 互相奉承 (mutual flattering). It gets closer if I reduce 互相吹捧 to 互捧. But it doesn't contain any vulgarness or even derogatory sense like the English original does.
Question: Is there a counterpart in Chinese that matches this particular vulgar slang?
My impression is it is unlikely because excessively praising each other is not considered unseemly behavior in Chinese culture in general

Depending on the context and situation you can consider some of these:
自嗨
Douban

因为难以忍受这种circle-jerk话题的自嗨臭屁。

I originally wrote this as a joke but I think it's quite apt:
互相捧场，共同成长(cháng)
I won't explain it here though.


Measure word for 中药 and 西药 My question is simple...

The correct measure word for

中药
西药

Appreciate your time!

a single package of a prescription of Chinese Medicine is called 一服（FU）， because you would normally boil the whole package in a pot and drink the produced liquid at once. so one of 服's meaning is taking medicine for both western and chinese medicines.  The units of each ingredient in the prescription normally are tael(两) and mace(钱）。

For western medicine, we use 片(pian) for pill, 粒(li) for capsule，and 支（zhi) for bottled liquids, 袋（dai) for pouch, and 板（ban) for foiled pills

this link is about ancient Chinese weighing metrics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_units_of_measurement


The connection of multiple adjectives In the following sentence:

  “现在大家坐上‘复兴号’，不仅更宽敞明亮舒服、速度更快，在车上打电话的信号也更好了，这些都是能感受到的变化。” 丁荣军说，“我们正在研究怎么接入媒体，让视频也能到车上去。”

The relevant part means:

  Not only it is more spacious, lighter, and more comfortable, and faster, but the signal of the phone is also better. All of them are the changes you can sense.

Usually, the adjectives are concatenated with a conjunction, such as 和 or 并. But in this case the adjectives are not concatenated with any conjunction, and it is in the form of "ABC", not "A、B和C".

Why does it use no conjunction, and how can I know in which situations it is required to use a conjunction to concatenate adjectives.

Also, does the meaning get different if I add 和 in this case?

You do not always need 和 between adjectives.
You could use 宽敞明亮、舒服.
宽敞明亮 usually works together.

"现在大家坐上‘复兴号’，
Now (for) everyone sitting on the 'D train'

不仅更宽敞明亮舒服、速度更快，
it is not only bigger, brighter, more comfortable, faster,

在车上打电话的信号也更好了，
the phone signal in the train is also better,

这些都是能感受到的变化。”
these are all perceptible changes

丁荣军说，
Ding Rong Jun said

“我们正在研究怎么接入媒体，让视频也能到车上去。
We are researching how integrate media

让视频也能到车上去。
(and) also make video work on (the train).


When your computer freezes/hangs/stalls, stays on same screen, input devices don't work - how do you say that? 我的电脑。。。

冻结

失速

卡住

？

Also got - 死机了 and 当机 from another board. Any others?

The most common one should be 死机了, you can also say:

死了
不动了
没反应了
黑屏了 (got a black screen)
蓝屏了 (got a MS Windows blue error screen)


Grammar for "You flew such a long distance for such a short visit'? What's the right grammar to translate, "You flew such a long distance for such a short visit."

你飛那麼遠為了那麼短的探訪 feels quite wrong, pretty much like English grammar crammed poorly into Mandarin. :)

In general, are there any guidelines for breaking up long English phrases like this? Prepositional phrases (e.g., for this, for such, during the trip) seem to cause the most trouble.

The preferred order of elements in Chinese grammar is often reverse of the English grammar.

"you flew such a long distance for such a short visit" is an example of placing the comment before the topic is common in English.

  "you flew such a long distance for such a short visit" (common English grammar)

"you flew such a long distance" (你飛這麼長的距離) is the comment.
"for such a short visit" (為了這麼短的探訪) is the topic

However, it is more common to place the topic before the comment in Chinese grammar

  "為了這麼短的訪問, 你飛這麼長的距離" (common Chinese grammar)

"為了這麼短的探訪" (for such a short visit)-  topic first
"你飛這麼長的距離" (you flew such a long distance) comment follows

Of course, the order of comment and topic in both English and Chinese can be reversed with some modification

you can write "For such a short visit, you flew such a long distance" in English (which break the sentence in two) or "你飛這麼長的距離就為了這麼短的探訪" (you need a conjunction to connect the two phrases. In this case, you can use '就'(merely)

Note:

"Long distance" can be translated as "長的距離" , "長途" or "遠"

"你飛這麼長的距離' can be rephrased as "你飛這麼長途" or "你飛這麼遠"


How do I use a pattern like in 一年有春夏秋冬四季? I understand the meaning of the sentence, but I have difficulties grasping the pattern and how I could extend it to other phrases. Could you please come up with other example sentences with similar patterns?

I suppose this is a pattern that is to describe a subject, which can be interpreted by different terms, but you can combine them together as a whole, so as to explain it more dramatically.

For the sentence you give, you can say a year has 4 seasons, and a year has spring/summer/autumn/winter. Then you can combine them together a year has spring/summer/autumn/winter 4 seasons.

Another example is

"空间有上下左右前后六个方位" - The space has up/down/let/right/front/back 6 directions.


What is the difference between 山顶and 山巅? What is the difference between these two words?  Is there any difference? Are they used in different regions?

Yes, they are both peak.
For me, 山顶 is more general word for peak. But 山巅 is more powerful, usually is used in  the literature.
You can say 山顶 for a hill or a mountain, but you don't know if there are other higher 山顶s around. But 山巅 is supposed to be the highest among the nearby region.


What is the equivalent in Chinese for the phrase "get laid"? After my effort, I haven't found the equivalent yet, and it should not be too vulgar, if you have any idea you might share with us.

The only term I could think of is "上床”, which literally means "on the bed". It is used as a metaphor for "get laid" or sex.


Placement of duration complement 很长时间 before a negated verb 没看? I found the following sentence:

我很长时间没看电影了。
Wǒ hěn cháng shíjiān méi kàn diànyǐngle.
I haven't watched a movie in a very long time.

I believe 很长时间 (very long time) is the duration of the action 没看 (haven't watched).
Q1: Why is it located before the verb when duration should go after the verb?
Q2: Does the final 了 indicate a change of status suggesting the speaker wants to watch a movie soon?

Q1: Why is it located before the verb when duration should go after the verb?

The explanation you posted in your comment is correct. Reposting it here for clarity: when expressing the duration of an inaction, the duration complement goes before the verb, following the pattern:
Duration + 没 + Verb + 了

Q2: Does the final 了 indicate a change of status suggesting the speaker wants to watch a movie soon?

No, it indicates the change of status that occurred when you started not doing something.
In your example, it's the change from watching movies to not watching movies.


In the context of a video lecture/vodcast/... how to translate "I would like to talk to you about ..." In the context of a video lecture/vodcast/... how to translate the English sentence "(In this video) I would like to talk to you about ..." this or that topic ... into Mandarin?

Please use traditional Chinese characters in your answer.

I think the audience you would target is important.

To the people from mainland, I suggest putting this like "在這裡，我要和大家聊一下（關於）..." or "在這裡，我們要聊的話題是...". Using 我們 is a good choice because the audience may feel you were with them. 大家 and 聊 can pull you closer to your audience on the topic, as if you were chatting, instead of teaching. If you want to talk about 牛肉麵, you could say "在這裡，我要和大家聊的話題是'牛肉麵'" or "在這裡，我們要聊的話題是'牛肉麵'" .


Why is a measure word not required in 一年有三百六十五天? Consider the following two sentences:

A year has twelve months
一年有十二個月
yī nián yǒu shí’èr gè yuè
A year has three hundred and sixty-five days
一年有三百六十五天
yī nián yǒu sānbǎi liùshíwǔ tiān

Why is the measureword 個 left out in the second sentence? What is the general grammar rule for cases like this?

Some nouns need a classifier, some don't; 月(month) needs one but 天(day) doesn't.

一年有十二個月 - 月(month) needs a classifier

一年有十二個月份 - 月份(month) needs a classifier

一年有五十二週 - 週(week) doesn't need a classifier

一年有五十二個星期 - 星期(week) needs a classifier

一年有三百六十五天 - 天(day) doesn't need a classifier

一年有四季 - 季(season) doesn't need a classifier

一年有四個季節 - 季節 (season) needs a classifier

一小時有六十分鐘 - 分鐘(minute) doesn't need a classifier

一分鐘有六十秒 - 秒(second) doesn't need a classifier

Generally, if a noun can be a classifier itself, it usually doesn't need a classifier. 週, 天, 季,  分鐘 and 秒 can all be classifier

Example: 三週工資, 兩天比賽, 一季收成, 幾分鐘路程, 幾秒時間


Why are there multiple ways to express "Wait a second" such as 等、等下、等一下？ I'm confused about some words in Chinese, it seems like most of the time there are multiple ways to say the same word by adding some "basic particles"  around it.
Like: 等, 等下, 等一下
To an online translator, it seems to mean the same. Is there any difference? Why is it like this?
As a new learner this makes listening and reading very complicated, because I never know where to cut the words in my head.

Why not?

English has the similar phenomenon. For example, the following phrases have the same meaning:
wait a bit
wait a mo
wait a moment
wait a second
wait a minute
wait a jiffy
wait a jiff

The following phrases have the same meaning:
等一下
稍等一下
稍等一等
稍等一會兒

等下 is not so common.

Usually, 等 means "to wait", not "to wait a second".
For example, 等人 means to wait for somebody.
It is different from "to wait a second".

"Wait" can mean "wait a second" in English.
等 is not the same as 等一下 in Chinese.


How to describe something as a 'work in progress' What's a good idiomatic way to tell a Chinese speaker that something is a 'work in progress' - as for example, "my Chinese language skills are still a work in progress'. Would it be similar to ‘还在进行的努力’ or is there a more idiomatic way to express the idea that I still need to do more work to complete my language skills? Thanks


What does 就算这次做错也只是怕错过 mean? I found this sentence in a song's lyrics => " 就算这次做错也只是怕错过 ". What does it mean?

To translate directly:

  Even if making a mistake this time, it is still preferred for the fear of
  missing the moment.

In other words, it means one would rather take this opportunity (perhaps once in a lifetime opportunity) to do something even if it means making a mistake.

For the full lyrics of this song 给我一首歌的时间 by Jay Chou, please refer to this link.


Beginning of the week / end of the week It is possible to say:

三月初 (the beginning of March)
三月底 (the end of March)

Example：

我三月底要回国

You can also refer to:

年初 and 年底

But is there something you can use to convey the beginning or end of the week, for example "I am going to my parents house at the end of next week"?

周末 zhōu mò : The weekend
周初 zhōu chū : The beginning of a week

Note:

In general, 周末 refers to Saturday and/or Sunday clearly, while 周初 is a little ambiguous. 初 means "the beginning", and 周初 could refer to Monday or Tuesday or even Wednesday. You could say “星期三左右" to mean "days around Wednesday". ”左右"(zuǒ  yòu) means "approximate,around, about".
You could say “月末(=月底),年末(=年底=岁末),周末,期末(qī mò,= the last few days of a semester in school)",but don't say "期底" or "周底" or"岁底". That sounds wierd.


What is the meaning of 赶上 in ...完全是赶上了好时代? Can't quite get the meaning of 赶上 here. Any suggestions please?

  像她这样一个铁路工人家庭出身、没上过大学、貌不出众的文工团演员，一步步地走到今天，成为一个集制片人、导演、演员于一身的大明星，完全是赶上了好时代。

完全是赶上了好时代。 totally (赶上)in time for?? the (好时代）golden era??

赶上：to keep up with， to catch up with， to overtake， to chance upon， in time for

"In time for" is the right interpretation in this context. 好时代(an era when living was great) is like a party. It has a beginning and an end. People who died before it or born after it missed out. "她赶上了好时代" means she was born at the right time, during a great era.

赶上 means " (rushed in or hurriedly arrive) just in time."


Where to put location words in a sentence I recently started learning Chinese and was reading up on the structure of sentences here:

https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Chinese_word_order#Placement_of_place_words_in_a_sentence

Then I cam across this sentence, "她去了中国很多地方", but according to the above site, wouldn't this, "她在中国去了很多地方", sound better?

I asked my dad who's fluent in Mandarin, and he says both are fine, but the first sentence is more commonly used. Why is that?

In "她去了中国很多地方", 地方 (place) is the object, 中国(的) (China's) is an adjectival phrase, along with 很多 (many), modify the object 地方

The break down:
"她去了很多地方" -  "She went to many places"
"她去了(中国的)很多地方" - "She went to many (China's) places"
the possessive  的 is omitted in your original quote
"她" is the subject "去了" is the verb;  "中国的" and "很多 are the adjectival phrases; "地方" is the object

Since "中国(的)" and "很多" are both in adjectival roles, you can change their order and write "她去了很多中国(的)地方"

In "她在中国去了很多地方" , "在中国" is the 'relative phrase' that provides additional information to the 'main clause'

The break down:
"她去了很多地方" -  "She went to many places"
"她(在中国)去了很多地方" -  "She went to many places (in China)"
"她去了很多地方" is the main clause; "在中国" is the relative phrase

Question in your post title:

Where to put location words in a sentence?

In English, location usually precede time, e.g "See me in Central Park tomorrow"
In Chinese,  time usually precede location, e.g  "明天在中央公園見我"

I asked my dad who's fluent in Mandarin, and he says both are find, but the first sentence is more commonly used. Why is that?

Neither one is more common than the other. The two sentences have different emphasis. "她去了中国很多地方" emphasizes on her 'achievement' of visited many places in China; "她在中国去了很多地方" emphasizes on her 'actions' in China, which included visiting many places.


Please explain the meaning of the sentence I am trying to understand the following excerpt:

  有时候灭掉不如引导。

What does this sentence mean anyway?

You should supply more context.

有时候 Sometimes 灭掉 eliminate/destroy 不如 not as good as 引导 lead/guide。

In a political context maybe:

It is better not to seek to destroy your adversaries but to guide them.

Or if the context is bad habits:

It is better to seek guidance rather than try (yourself) to eradicate a bad habit.


Is to embrace or think of spring an expression? I'm writing a paper for my world literature class on the poem "Dead Roe Deer" from the Classic of Poetry. In my research/reading of a direct translation, I read that to embrace/think of spring is a Chinese expression with sexual connotations, but I can't find evidence of this expression anywhere else.
If anyone is familiar with this expression and can verify its existence or meaning, that would be extremely appreciated.

Here's link to blog post where I read this.

有女懷春、吉士誘之: A girl in love, enticing lucky men.

有女怀春 is actually a proverb. Embracing spring is thus a euphemism for being ready for love.


How to use "considering [that]" as a conjunction? How do I use the conjunction "considering [that]" in Chinese? See example below.

  "The companies process is sub-optimal, considering the complexity of their business model."

考虑到，as has been pointed in another answer. If you want to sound a bit more bookish, perhaps 鉴于，eg.

  鉴于他已改正错误, 你就原谅他吧。  Considering he has already corrected his mistake,
  you really should forgive him.


Does the distinction between speak and say have any equivalent in Mandarin? In English "to speak" and "to say" typically cannot be used interchangeably. You can speak a language but you cannot say a language. Similarly, you can speak with someone but you cannot say with someone (or rather, it wouldn't carry the same meaning). So speak is usually used to describe the nature of speech (what language is being spoken, who it's being spoken to) while say is describing the message being transmitted.
As far as I can tell, 说(话) seems to serve both of these purposes in Mandarin. My question is, are there any other words in Mandarin that can fulfill one role but not the other?

说 can mean 'speak' or 'say' e.g. 我說不用了(I said there's no need); 我会说英语 (I can speak English)
'道' (to say) is a literary/classical term for '说'(say). e.g. 某某道：「如此这般」= XX said: "So and so", but you cannot use '道' for 'speak', as in "speak Chinese"
'操' (to use; to speak) is another literary term for '说'(speak). e.g. 本人能操流利粤语 (I can speak fluent Cantonese), but you cannot use '操' for 'say', as in "please say something"
'讲' Cantonese dialectical word: say; speak e.g. 讲英文 (speak English); 我讲过 (I had said)
'讲' Mandarin: V: to emphasize, to speak; to talk. e.g. 讲佛经 (talk Buddhist scriptures)


Where does "⿲米米産" come from? In this crazy English to Chinese/Kanji tattoo translation font we have the following character notated with the letter "Y" underneath.

Hanzismatter notes:

  The character for "Y" is a mystery, looking something like 米米産 as one character.

There must be a method to the madness. Where does "⿲米米産" come from?

It looked more like 林產 (from forest; forest related product: e.g. lumber). The 'y' under it is a selection code for that tattoo. Meaning you can just say "I want to have tattoo y" if you don't know how to read the  actual tattoo. Just like you can tell the waiter "I want to order number 23 on the menu" instead of stating the full name of the dish


What’s the function of 還, 了, and 呢 in the sentence, “我還以為他不走了呢”? After many attempts to understand how the sentence is grammatically structured, I think I'll just ask here.

The sentence "我還以為他不走了呢" is from a children's book that was originally in English. I'm confused as to what the function of 還, 了, and 呢 is in this sentence. Is there some kind of sentence pattern?

The English translation of it is :I thought he'd never leave."

I found there's a "以為...呢" sentence pattern, which is used for denoting a past action that one believed to be true, but turns out to be false. Is there any other function to 呢 in this sentence?

Is 了 in this sentence acting as a sentence-end 了 (modal particle) or as a perfective aspect particle?

Does 還 indicate 'unexpectedness' or does it means 'really'? Or does it indicate/mean something else?

I found another sentence pattern, "還...呢", which is for an action that's still continuing and persisting. It could be translated as "still" added to the sentence. But that doesn't make sense to me for this particular sentence, so I don't think it's relevant in this case.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

I am  a native speaker, but keep in mind that some native speakers suck at grammar.

呢 just adds to the tone and doesn't really mean much, but if left out in some sentences, the sentences would not sound natural. I guess you're right about the “以為‧‧‧呢” sentence pattern.

了 here indicates an action done, like the past participle tense. 不走了 means "(decided) not to leave". Interestingly, 了 can sometimes also function like the present progressive tense, too. For example, 我走了 means "I'm leaving". Therefore, I think that sentence may also be translated as "And I thought he's not leaving / decided not to leave." Note that even though 決定 (decided) isn't in the original sentence, I feel that it is not a bad translation because an action done is a decision made anyways, whether or not that decision was made consciously. Anyhow, I can probably explain it better if I know the context well.

還, as you said, indicates 'unexpectedness' in that sentence when paired with “以為‧‧‧呢”.

An example of the “還‧‧‧呢” sentence pattern used for an action that’s still continuing and persisting would be 我還在吃飯呢！ "I'm still eating!"


Selecting resources to improve reading for upper-intermediate level? There is a great question on 'how to practice reading for beginners' at the moment that's got a lot of really useful answers, and so I figured I'd ask for some useful things closer to my level. Does anyone have good resources for improving reading for upper-intermediate level?

I probably understand 70-80% of what I read in the newspaper, but generally the news is pretty dry. What types of materials (not specific titles) would people recommend to help with improving my reading skills?

I would recommend

思想与社会 (can't find a link, sold in Taiwan)
博雅汉语 （upper levels）

and I would also recommend preteen/teen books like Harry Potter and Twilight. The story isn't too complicated, and you get a chance to enhance your reading speed and smoothness level. I read Percy Jackson and Twilight. The story of Twilight was a little too cheesy for me, but I did learn a lot of new expressions and could read page after page without stopping.


How to start the sentence with "or" in Chinese? I assume a sentence that starts with or in Mandarin, something like the follows:

M: Where are you from?
F: Chicago.
M: No, I meant which city you are from in China?
M: Or did you grew up in US?

In these sentences, is it correct to just use 或 to start the sentence? I haven't seen the kind of usage of 或; I only saw it is used within the sentence, combining multiple related items.

M: 你是从哪里来的？
F: 芝加哥
M: 我的意思是你是从哪个中国城市来的？
M: 或，你在美国出生和长大了吗？

Or if it is not correct, how should I start the sentence with or?

the translation is fine, but if you speak it, that's pretty weird.
colloquially, we use 還是說 or 或是說 or 或者說
So, the sentences are better to be spoken like this:

M:你從哪來的?
F:芝加哥
M:我的意思是你是從中國的哪個城市來的?
M:或者說,你是在美國土生土長的?

for the most part, we add few redundancies to sentence to make it fluent.


How do you emphasize unformatted Chinese text? In English, one can write, "I am mad at you!" as "I AM MAD AT YOU!" for greater emphasis; on the internet, it's seen as "yelling". Absent the ability to format text (say, bold or italics), what is done / can be done to emphasize a statement in Chinese other than simply adding more exclamation marks or some kind of emoticon?

Emphasis mark (underneath dots) is the Chinese counterpart of italics.

In printing, besides emphasis mark, fonts are used for distinguishing purposes. Bold (黑体) is also considered as a different font (rather than a variation of the same font).

In handwriting, people use straight underline and tilde underline.


Sogou IME (on Ubuntu): How to output pinyin with tone marks? I have Sogou Pinyin on Ubuntu and things work fine, but I haven't been able to figure out how to type Pinyin with tone marks, e.g. 'mǎ', etc.

I've looked into the settings but found no option like that. I've searched online (in Chinese) but results I get show that Windows Sogou has a very different, more comprehensive menu structure with more options. The Ubuntu version seems like a dumbed down version of that, nothing close.

I've tried typing U + Unicode, e.g. U+0101 for 'ā' but that's a hassle. Copying from an online tool is also cumbersome, I have to type a lot of tone marked pinyin.

Has anyone run into this issue?

Edit: Screenshot of Sogou Settings menu on Ubuntu.

I struggled for many months to work out how produce Pinyin with the tone marks.  Eventually I managed it by installing the Ubuntu ibus (Intelligent Input Bus - core) currently using version 1.5.11.  I also have ibus-pinyin installed but to get the Latin alphabet with the tone marks including ǖ ǘ ǚ ǜ as well as the normal ū ú ǔ ù and of course all the other vowels just by typing the tone number you also need to install ibus-m17n .  This has the input method Chinese Hanyu Pinyin(m17n) as just described and also tonepy(m17n) which gives you a nice trimmed down list of the simplified Chinese characters filtered by the tone number you type when you want to type the characters instead of the Pinyin.  Probably too late for the original questioner but this information is so difficult to find on-line I thought it was worth adding for future reference.


Need help with this phrase I am doing research on martial arts, about a technique called Guī Bèi Gōng (龟背功), "Turtle back Work". There are few english descriptions of the exercises in this technique, so I have tried using google translates to decipher Chinese language sites about it. This phrase 扣畢復摩 Kòu bì fù mó, comes out as "deduction is complete". Breaking it down by word, it is closer to "Press completely again Rub". Any help in refining this translation would be greatly appreciated

龜背功為硬功外壯，屬陽剛之勁。此功專練背部，使之堅實，與腹部之布袋功、鐵牛功等法，效用相同，用以禦敵，非用以制敵也。

practising this art, would strengthen one’s back, make it harder, like a carapace / tortoise shell

扣畢復摩

i would shortcut it to “massage [one’s back] after knocking”
in details, “扣” is

以拇指，扣住中、食二指之第一節，使其第二節骨突出，即用突出之處，向腰部軟當上環扣之

use one thumb hold the first joint of index finger & middle finger, let the second knuckles protruding, use these knuckles to “knock” one’s back
畢: finished (完畢)
復: again, and then
摩: massage (按摩)

以兩手緊按後腰，先向內揉摩三十六次，復向外揉摩三十六次，如此為一轉

seriously, do you believe it?
龜背功:此功專練背部，使之堅實(圖文)
be cautious


Does 与 change the meaning of 用中文与我联系不是一个好主意? I ended up writing such a sentence, with some help of Google Translate:

  用中文与我联系不是一个好主意。

I tried to say:

  Contacting me in Chinese is not a good idea.

Since my Chinese is pretty basic, I was wondering if that 与 here is needed for this sentence to be grammatically correct? Or can I skip it altogether?

与 means together or with.

用中文与我联系不是一个好主意 = use + Chinese + with + me + contact + not + good + idea

The 与 here is not necessary.

In fact, 用中文与我联系 can be better written as 用中文联系我 which means contacting me in Chinese.

In English you probably wouldn't write contacting with me in Chinese and it's the same here in Chinese.

Sidenote: the only reference I found to "用中文与我联系" online is from a Japanese guy Dr Taku Fujiyama

  如果您对我的研究有兴趣， 欢迎您用中文与我联系。


Which characters typically occur only within names? Does anyone know where I can find a list of characters that are, at least in common usage, found only as a component of names (especially of persons) in modern Chinese?  I have in mind characters such as 璋, which I have encountered only in names (although my dictionary does contain 圭璋 and 弄璋).

Chih-Hao Tsai's Technology Page is an excellent resource (with the caveat that the corpuses it uses are Taiwanese). On this page you can find frequencies of the most common characters used in surnames and given names.

Most common surnames (2012):

陳
林
黃
李
張
王
吳
劉
蔡
楊
許
鄭
謝
郭
洪
邱
曾
賴
廖
徐
周
葉
蘇
莊
呂

It's clear that this is from a Taiwanese source since 陳 is most common; if this were the mainland you'd expect 王 to be the most common.

Here's the list of most common characters in given names (2012); if you cross reference this with the list of most common characters, you get this:

庭 (rank 1447)
婷 (rank 2410)
宇 (rank 1159)
文 (rank 33)
佳 (rank 739)
雅 (rank 1112)
怡 (rank 1651)
家 (rank 66)
柏 (rank 1585)
冠 (rank 1023)
子 (rank 66)
廷 (rank 1834)
安 (rank 360)
翔 (rank 1503)
嘉 (rank 1056)
彥 (rank 1677)
宜 (rank 719)
瑋 (rank 2246)
軒 (rank 1698)
瑜 (rank 1854)
欣 (rank 943)
凱 (rank 1413)
君 (rank 767)
育 (rank 585)
萱 (rank 3029)

So you can see that apart from a few very common characters (like 文, 家 and 子), most of these characters are relatively uncommon outside of names. Keep in mind that characters that are common in given names also obviously show up in the list of most common characters, so anything above say rank 2000 may qualify as "name" characters. I'd say it's very hard to encounter the characters 婷, 瑋 or 萱 outside of names.

You can download the entire corpus and run your own analysis if you wish.

And here's the list of most common given names (note that most of these are two-characters long):

雅婷
雅筑
冠宇
冠廷
怡君
宗翰
佳穎
彥廷
家豪
柏翰
宜庭
郁婷
承翰
詩涵
宇軒
佳蓉
鈺婷
家瑜
怡婷
怡萱
詩婷
怡安
家瑋
郁雯
冠霖

So I wonder how many (thousands) of 陳雅婷 are in the world? :)


上帝也哭泣, Cantonese version, is this bit of lyrics correct? The song in the title is by Wang Jie. The lyrics can be found here. However, ever since I first met this song, I was puzzled by this bit:

  谁飘涌这里未能别去？

This should transliterate to:

  Seoi4 piu1 cung1/zung2 ze5-leoi5 mei6 nang4 bit6 heoi3?

What I hear in the video linked above, 00:50-00:54, is:

  Seoi piu-hyup ze-leoi mei nam pið heoi?

Now the nam could be explained away by assimilation, the pið has the weird /ð/ instead of /t/ at sytllable end which may be just a quirk of the singer's pronunciation, and the p which is probably just the root voiceless value of Jyutping b surfacing as sometimes happens - and similar things happen in Wang Jie's mandarin singing too. But the hyup is puzzling. Is there any explanation besides "Wang Jie made a weird mistake in his native tongue and this should actually be cung or zung"? Perhaps another word with similar meaning in Cantonese starting with the same piu and ending in hyup or something close to it?

He pounced it correctly and match with lyrics.

Multiple pronunciation of 涌. "yung2"
http://ykyi.net/dict/index.php?char=涌

E.g. 暗涌


How to translate 动感强？ Talking about 滑雪： I think maybe they mean 'nerve-tingling' for '动感强‘ but I am far from certain. 动感强 might mean 'very dynamic'. Skiing down a mountain, you can reach very high speeds, you need fast reactions. Because of the risk involved, it is very thrilling and exciting, aka 'nerve-tingling'.

zdic.net has this for 动感， but this text is talking about skiing, not people：

动感： 形容人活潑熱烈、魅力十足

高山滑雪由于具有惊险、优美、动感强、可参与面广的特点，因此被人们视为滑雪运动的象征，是旅游滑雪的首先。

高山滑雪由于具有惊险、优美、动感强、可参与面广的特点，
High altitude skiing, because there are many different aspects to take part in, is thrilling, graceful, and nerve-tingling （??动感强）,

Sometimes, when I have been stuck for a translation, people have said 'this is not good Chinese.' How about this sentence, is it ok?

动感 means 动态感觉 =  'dynamic feel'

Examples:

这幅画有强烈的动感- This painting has a strong dynamic feel to it
此照片色彩鲜艳, 动感强烈 - His photo has vivid color and strong dynamic feel
她一身紧身赛车服, 散发出强烈动感- She in a tight car-racing suit, exudes a strong dynamic feel.

Using 动感强 (dynamic feel is strong)  to describe 'high altitude skiing' is kind of inappropriate.

Skiing is a motion . Saying an actual motion make people feel it is moving is an oxymoron.

It is better to say "高山滑雪由于动态强" (Because high altitude skiing is highly dynamic)


Difference between "蝈蝈", "蟋蟀" and "蛐蛐" (Also: 纺织娘)? I keep seeing "蝈蝈", "蟋蟀" and "蛐蛐" being used interchangeably in Mandarin for some topolectical words.

蝈蝈 seems to refer to a:

  katydid

蟋蟀 seems to be a:

  cricket

and 蛐蛐 also seems to be a:

  cricket

But how can they be used interchangeably? Is it a mistake? Are there some differences? If so, what are they?

I did find this on zhihu:

  蛐蛐和蟋蟀指蟋蟀总科，蝈蝈指螽斯科人们喜欢养的种类

So, no difference between 蛐蛐 and 蟋蟀 then?

Why would 蝈蝈 be confused with 蛐蛐 and 蟋蟀 then?

Also: how does 纺织娘 play in here?

according to wikipedia(and my understanding as a native speaker):
蝈蝈,纺织娘 should be two sub species belong to the family: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tettigoniidae

蛐蛐,蟋蟀 is the same thing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_(insect)


Do native speakers think about compound words as "东西"? Something that interests me from a linguistic/neurological point of view: Do Chinese native speakers actually thinkg about the parts of compound words that have a completely different meaning from just the sum of the compounds when using them? Like 东西 ("East-West"), or 西红柿 ("Western red persimmon")? Or are they just like standalone words on their own?

When I saw a tomato first in my life time, I was told its name was fanqie(番茄) by my mom or dad in the dialect. I was not able to recognize or write any character then. All I knew about the tomato was that it was a red, green, or yellow, and delicious vegetable and sounded fan qie. I thought it was another kind of 茄子(eggplant).

Later, after I went to school and learned to speak Putonghua and write characters, I got to know that fan qie is written as 番茄 and it has another name 西红柿. As my teacher explained, 番 refers to foreign. 番茄 is a kind of eggplant-like thing from a foreign land. The name makes sense. So does 西红柿, western land's red persimmon. But now when it comes to 西红柿 or 番茄, I don't think about what each character means. It's just a name of an object.

In some cases, I may not really care about each character's meaning from the very beginning. For example, 深圳. It's a city of Guangdong province. If 圳 alone is seen, I may not recognize it at all. Seldom can I see it elsewhere. It's always part of 深圳. So I don't know its meaning till now without referring to a dictionary, and I'm sure it won't take long before I totally forget it even if I look it up.

Another example is a transliterated word like 咖啡. I didn't figure out what 咖 or 啡 means until I learned the English word coffee. And all of a sudden, I got to know there are many such words in Chinese, like 坦克(tank), 沙发(sofa). A single character in such word has no specific meaning but just indicates the pronunciation. Of course there are some translated words that concern about both the meaning and pronounciation like 迷你(mini), 可口可乐(Coco Cola), 露华浓(Revlon) and etc, some of which are really beautiful and elegant master pieces of translation.

A third example is a word like 麒麟, kirin. I thought it was just a creature in myth, and didn't try to find out what 麒 or 麟 means until I watched an anime， the Twelve Kingdoms, in which there are kirins that can transform to humans. The female kirins are named X麟 and the male X麒, where X is a character that has similar pronounciation with the name of the kingdom the kirin belongs to. After some research I leaned that 麒 refers to a male kirin and 麟 a female kirin. So does 凤凰, phoenix, 凤 as male and 凰 as female. But in the word 龙凤, 凤 represents a girl or woman.

There are some characters in my dialect I have been expecting to find out how to write. Some have been clear, but the others have not. There is a dirty character that means the f word. It sounded exactly the same with 十(ten) in the dialect. Since it's a dirty word, I just didn't dare and felt embarrassed to ask my parents or teachers how to write it correctly. My little fellows and I just wrote it as 十. In the circumstances, we all knew it meant the f word. About one year ago, I happened to read someone's post and get to know the right character should be 入(go into, penetrate). A 20-year-old question was finally made clear. However some of the unclear may stay mysterious till my last day.

I believe every character in a compound word makes sense, indicating either the meaning or the pronounciation or both. Now I always tend to find out what each character means when I see a new word . And I would do the same to the old words, expecting to find some interesting stories. It helps to get a deeper understanding and also bring benefits especially when learning ancient Chinese.


How do I word a polite notice about toilets in Mandarin? My friend has asked me how to translate a sign asking people using a bathroom (toilet) at the tourist attraction where she works. She wants to ask that they do not to throw toilet paper in the wastebin/basket but instead to put it in the toilet bowl (and flush).

I'm not good at formal Chinese, but I've done a little research and have come up with this as a suggestion. Could you let me know if it's OK?

请勿将卫生纸入篓

卫生纸应扔进马桶

Thanks!

Written pretty well, I would just suggest switching the order...first sentence last, last sentence first


How to determine the end of words? Chinese does not use a word separator. How a novice learner can detect the word's boundaries?

Today over at LanguageLog, I came across this sentence:

台灣經驗不僅是對其他開發中國家的一種啟發，更是台灣免於赤化的最佳保障。

Inadvertently, when scanning that phrase I ran down a gardenpath (yes, that's what linguists call it: a fruitless attempt that turns out to be the wrong choice, so you have to back up). Turns out it's not 開發　中國(家) *"develop China's (state)??", but, rather, 開發中　國家 "in-development states" (i.e. "developing countries").

Such things will happen and happen again to the reader, and if you care to know more, head over to said site and google it for 'gardenpaths', there's lots of examples for a number of languages. Just the other day I realized German "Maisturm" is ambiguous: is it "Mais-Turm" (maize/corn tower) or "Mai-Sturm" (May tempest)? Probably the latter in most cases, but only context can tell.

I remember some of the beginner's textbooks for Chinese using spaces between words, so I guess you'll still be able to find some. As for why spaces are not normally used in Chinese and Japanese (but in Korean), one can only guess that people find them too unsightly, not really needed and maybe too big a change from what they're used to.

Also, while extra spaces might benefit the reader, they do put a burden on the writer (try to add them while staying consistent—it's not easy!).


What is the meaning of 一草一木 here? 宝钗说：“这么说，我也是和你一样的。”

林黛玉 did not agree. Part of what she said is:

我是一无所有，吃穿用度，一草一木，都和他们家的姑娘一样，那些小人岂有不多嫌的。

What does she mean with “一草一木”？

一草一木 is an idiom, originating from Book of the later Han:

《後漢書・應劭傳》：「春一草枯則為災，秋一木華亦為異。」
In spring, a single blade of grass that withers heralds disaster; in autumn, a single tree that flourishes is unnatural.
That is, every small detail or single thing out of place suggests unnatural occurrences.

This was later shortened to 一草一木, meaning every small/single thing.

我是一無所有，吃穿用度，一草一木，皆是和他們家的姑娘一樣...
I have nothing at all; everything I use - what I'm eating or wearing, every single thing - are the same as the girls of that family...


Which non-sinitic languages contributed to the wordstock of common chinese words before 1800? I am not interested in modern words like telephone, aeroplane, but words that were incorporated into the more frequent used part of the vocabulary from languages different than sinitic.

You have the entire stock of Sanskrit buddhist terms that have been incorporated to Chinese, like 菩萨, 佛, 涅盘 and similar terms. 苹果 is also Sankrit in origin, while 葡萄 and other fruits have been picked up along the Silk road.

Mongolian words such as 达赖 (as in 达赖喇嘛, where 喇嘛 is Tibetan), have also crept into the langauge through religion.

Cantonese and Vietnamese have had a lot of exchange throughout the years, but are mostly local.

Although Japan has greatly been influenced by Chinese from Tang and onwards, there has also been a large import from Japan to China. Words like 经济 and 社会 do not really make sense in Chinese (component-wise), but are Japanese in origin. A more modern example would be the redefinition of 萌 as a cute young person, like in 萌妹纸.

Refer to Marc's answer for Manchu and Russian influences; there are quite many loanwords from northern tribes, like 哥哥.


Are there any phonetic pangrams for Mandarin and other Chinese languages? A phonetic pangram is a bit of text which uses all the sounds, or phonemes, in a language (as opposed to the letters of characters). Very useful for practising pronunciation. This is one in English:

  “The beige hue on the waters of the loch impressed all, including the
  French queen, before she heard that symphony again, just as young
  Arthur wanted.”

Does such a thing exist for Mandarin or other Chinese languages? In English, there are around 44 phonemes ( https://www.dyslexia-reading-well.com/44-phonemes-in-english.html ), but Chinese languages would presumably have much more.

but chinese languages would presumably have much more

well, the cantonese has 1800+ syllables. the short answer to your question is: no.

the long answer:

cantonese has 19 initial, 56 final and 9 tone. though 19 * 56 * 9 = 9576, fortunately, there’re limited combinations of initial, final and tone. nowadays, only 1800+ syllables exist, for 8000 - 50,000 chinese characters.

an example: the initial “s” combined with the final “e”, it become “se”, this “sound” has 6 tones. that, each syllable represent several characters:

se1 | 些奓奢畬賒

se2 | 寫捨瀉灺舍

se3 | 赦卌卸厙庫涻瀉灺猞舍騇

se4 | 蛇佘畬輋闍

se5 | 社舍

se6 | 射社麝

cantonese syllable, sound: e

tone is very important in cantonese, without the proper tone, one cannot get the correct character from hearing.

a text with 1800+ characters is extremely long, for the purpose of practising pronunciation, that i don’t think such thing would exist.


Ways to say "I love you" other than 我爱你 Are there any other ways to say "I love you" other than 我爱你?
It can't be that people say "I love you" only to their lovers. How do you say you love your friends or family that you love them?
Also synonyms will be appreciated.

People often say 我喜歡你(I like you) instead of 我愛你(I love you) to avoid being too direct. Chinese tends to be more subtle when expressing romantic love (愛情).
Cantonese almost never say 我愛你(I love you). We say 我鐘意你 (I like you) instead

How do you say you love your friends or family that you love them?

It is perfectly normal to say 我愛我的朋友 (I love my friends) or 我愛我的家人 (I love my family) because we know 愛我的朋友 refers to 友情 (friendship love); 愛我的家人 refers to 親情 (kinship love)
However, we almost never say 我愛你 to a friend or a family member face to face. The most we would say is 我很關心你 (I care about you very much) or 你對我很重要 (you are very important to me)
If I and a friend are about to die together, the most I would say is '好兄弟!'


What do you term when swapping same characters [1] spawns and [2] doesn't spawn new meaning? I just saw on Wiktionary that verbs 澄清 and 清澄 don't mean exact same. What are linguistic terms when swapping same Chinese characters

spawn new meanings?

keeps meaning same?

If you swap the two characters in a compound word, and the meaning changes, then it is just a different word that happens to use the same two characters, e.g. 中心 (center) and 心中 (in the heart) are two different words;
If you can swap the two characters in a compound word and the meaning remain the same, it indicates the compound word itself is made up of two characters that have the same or extremely similar meaning, e.g. 打擊 --> 擊打 (both 打 and 擊 contain the meaning of 'hit'); 拯救 -->救拯 (both 拯 and 救 contain the meaning of 'rescue'

擊打(v) is a (not commonly used) variant of 打擊(v)

救拯(v) is a (not commonly used) variant of 拯救(v)

識見(n) is a (not commonly used) variant of 見識(n)

見識(v) and 識見 (n) are two different words

澄清(v) and 清澄 (adj) are two different words

In olden time, people often use this kind of variant to showcase their literary knowledge and sound more classical. You have to know what compound words are made up of two characters that contain the same meaning to be able to do so. In modern time, you can often find them in song lyrics when the writer needs to make it rhythm


What are these characters on old brass stamps? These brass stamps were found by a relative in China ~1917.
I'm wondering what the inscriptions mean.
The smaller one in the likeness of an elephant is worn and discolored.

These characters are engraved in seal script. The first stamp says 知(智)者樂, a line from the Analects meaning those who have wisdom are happy. The second one has degraded too much to be identified, with character components missing from the bottom character in the stamp, although the top character or character component is 竹 (bamboo).

知

「知」is comprised of

「矢」a phonetic component;
「口」(mouth), a semantic component.

「矢」originally depicted an arrow like that used in archery. The seal script version comes from a transformation of the loop-shape at the fletching into a horizontal line.

The last sample is directly linked to the seal script form:

「口」originally depicted a mouth:

This shape is directly inherited by seal script:

Oracle bone, bamboo slip, bronze, and seal script forms of「口」will all look something like the above, with the corners of the mouth clearly drawn. The current form「口」is a clerical script innovation, so do not get this confused with other things written like「口」now, but were clearly distinguished in seal script and earlier:

者

The basic shape of「者」in seal script remains the same at the bottom as regular script, with most samples using「曰」. The top is subject to wildly varying shapes, and in this stamp the relation is most easily demonstrated by a Qin script sample:

(Top) Stamp image, horizontally flipped to imitate its real appearance on a writing medium; (Bottom) Qin script sample.

樂

「樂」depicts a musical instrument made from silk threads and a wooden structure. It is comprised of

「幺」(a small amount of silk), a semantic component;
「木」(wood), a semantic component;
「白」a non-obvious phonetic component.

「木」and「白」in seal script are relatively similar to their appearance in regular script.
「幺」is the top of「糸」, which depicts several loops of silk threads ending in some frayed thread ends, and the identification is explained in another SE answer.
Note that in this stamp,「白」is moved to the top of the character, presumably to fit the character into the thin rectangular frame. This is a relatively drastic change.

竹

「竹」originally depicted branches and leaves off a bamboo plant:

Later on, the branches were separated, leading on to the seal script form


Can I use 的 between the name and 他们 I had this sentence which was a bit difficult for me to understand at first because of the name + 他们. I understand it now.

郭高林他们决心用实际行动证明自己。

My questions is, can I write it like this:

郭高林 的 他们决心用实际行动证明自己。

No; in this context 的 is acting as a possessive, e.g. "我的心" means "my heart", and "郭高林的心" means "Guo Gaolin's heart".

他们 means "they" or "them", so it makes no sense to possess this.

The phrase 郭高林他们 means something like "Guo Gaolin et al." or "Guo Gaolin and co." Note no possessives.

Instead, if you want to use 的 you would have to transform the phrase into a possessive, for example 郭高林的小组 (Guo Gaolin's group) or 郭高林的团伙 (Guo Gaolin's team).


Is a Preposition Needed in the Sentence: 我只认识一个人有新冠状病毒 If 我只认识一个人 is a complete sentence, and I want to express the information that this is the one person that I know who has COVID, would I need a preposition between 人 and 有? If a preposition is needed then why. If otherwise, then why not?

Did you mean "relative pronoun" rather than "preposition"?
It's better this way:
我只认识一个有新冠状病毒的人


How do you ask "How old is it?" When commenting on a used article for sale, how do you simply ask how old the item is?
Is "它多大了?" Correct?

Is "它多大了?" Correct?

No. This can be used to ask the age of a pet, but not a used item.
You can use, “这个东西用了多少年了？” “这个东西买了多长时间了？”


In Chinese, how can I describe someone as being cynical? cynical as in "believing the worst of human nature and motives; having a sneering disbelief in e.g. selflessness of others."

There are several words with close meaning: 愤世嫉俗、犬儒主义。

犬儒主义 is most close to the word as Cynic has the meaning of 犬 in ancient Greek and Chinese. And one of the representative Greek philosophers is Diogenēs o Sinopeus who proposed the philosophy which is very similar to "老庄哲学" in ancient China.

However, "犬儒主义" is not a negative emotional word -- not so discouraging -- it describes someone who lives and satisfies to his own life style which is different from the rest part of the "incorrigible" world.


Use of “是不, ...” to introduce sentence In a video I recently watched, the narrator introduced an idea by saying

是不, ...

Can someone tell me what the best way is to understand this for an English speaker?

Thanks.

Edit: here is one instance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsFGZ1dyJnc

At 35 seconds, in accord with the subtitles, the narrator says:

是不，一下車我們就..., which is translated, "That's why, as soon as we got out of the car,..."

So in this case I take it to mean, "for this reason,..." "that's why...," or the like.

Edit 2: Correction, it is 这.

I checked the video at 35", it's 这不, not 是不. I don't think there is 是不 to start sentences with.
Basically, you can understand 这不 as a shortened version of 这不是嘛(isn't it [so]) which is rhetorical and means 是这样的(it is [so]).
In speaking, I think its function is just something to get listeners attention by marking the start of a point or narration. I don't know any expression in English that is quite the same as 这不. But I think there are some possible flexible translations:

这不, 一下车我们就直奔XXX
So, we went straight to XXX after getting off our cars.

Here it can be translated to ‘so‘, or 'that's why' (like they did in the subtitle of the video) because the content before that was saying the city had a long history, considering which so they went to the museum first. However, 这不 doesn't really indicate causality in general, it's just a casual piece of word to connect sentences which can be interpreted in many ways. Some times it would be better translated as 'now' or 'here'. Examples:

A: 他怎么还没到?
Where is he (literal: Why hasn't he arrived?)
B: 他这不来了么
(Now/look) Here he comes.

P.S:
I don't think it's standard Mandarine, it feels more a northern (Beijing/Hebei at least) dialect to me. The whole video is narrated in such style to be more approachable, I guess.


What's the difference between 开放 (kāi fàng) and 开门 (kāi mén) which both mean "open"? From dict.cn:

开放 (kāi fàng) = open
开门 (kāi mén) = open (the) door

I use 开门 in phrases such as 还没开门了吗 (háiméi kāiménle ma?), when I want to know if a shop hasn't opened yet, and 你几点开门 (nǐ jīdiǎn kāimén?), which can be used to ask when a shop opens.

I recently encountered 西门开放时间 (xīmén kāifàng shíjiān) on signage, which translates to west gate opening hours, but I don't recall seeing 开放 before this.

Question: What's the difference between 开放 and 开门?

开门 = open the door

开放 = open to public

开放 means if something is open to public and 开门 means if the DOOR is open, this is the key difference.

For example:

公园开放了吗？Park's open to public yet?

公园开门了吗？Park's open yet?

The first sentence will only be used if the park isn't officially open yet and you won't use it to check park's opening time everyday.

Example when you can use 开放 and not 开门:

经济开放。Open economy.

Obviously you can't use 经济开门 which means Economy open the door