Translation of 愿你出走多年，归来还是少年 I came across this phrase. I am curious to understand it.

愿你出走多年，归来还是少年

When I translate it using a variety of online tools, I come up with something like

"you would like to run for many years and return as a teenager."

Is that an accurate description/translation of what this phrase means in English? Or is there some other meaning?

Your transition is the literal meaning of the phrase.

It comes from the book 《愿你出走半生，归来仍是少年》

The actual meaning of it is no matter what happens to you and no matter how many places you have been, you should always keep a beginner's heart.


Best way to express a change of subjects in a succession of events I'm trying to say that "she will go eat after playing tennis with her friends" but I want to know if there are better ways of saying this then the ones I'm about to show

她和朋友打了网球，她去吃饭。

or

她跟朋友打网球以后，她去吃饭。

Right now these sentences sound really choppy to me. If it's better to keep a consistent subject, then I'm wondering if there's any way I can put "with friends" after the verb and not with the subject. For example, maybe something like

她先打网球跟朋友，在去吃饭。

Again, any alternative ways of expression would be appreciated.

Actually the second one is quite natural.

她跟朋友打网球以后，她去吃饭。

This is actually the most legit you can get for this case, otherwise you will have to alter the meaning of your sentence a bit. Like:

她在网球场和朋友约好了， 然后再去吃饭。

Which means, she had a plan to go to tennis with her friends, and then dinner.


Why do cat (猫) and dog (狗) share the same 犭 radical? I have noticed that a cat and dog share the same radical, which is 犭dog (quǎn).

So, if we break the words down:

猫 cat (māo) = 犭dog (quǎn) + 艹 cǎo (grass) + 田 tián (field)

狗 dog (gǒu) = 犭dog (quǎn) + 勹 bāo (wrap) + 口 kǒu (mouth)

I have two questions:

1) Why a dog radical has the dog in it with other components?

2) Why a cat has the dog radical it in?

These words are not difficult to remember. For a cat, I use 'meow', which is somehow similar to māo. For a dog, I stick to 'Go, go, dog!', which sounds a bit like gǒu.

However, I am curious about the origin of these words.

The radical in 猫 actually comes from 豸 zhi4 (beast), which you can still see in the traditional character 貓.

Whereas the radical in 狗 is in fact 犭 quan3.

The simplified version of 猫 got the 犭 quan3 radical because of trait reduction and semantic affinity (dog -> beast).

If it sounds easier to you, you can think of 犭 quan3 in simplified Chinese as generically referring to an animal, as in 狼 (wolf), 狮 (lion), 猴 (monkey), 狐 (fox) and words relating to animals as 猎 (hunt).

As for your other question:

  1) Why a dog radical has the dog in it with other components?

The dog radical 犭 comes from 犬 which is a pictogram, still used in some words today, especially dog breeds. No radicals other than the image itself. Here you can see an evolution of the picture. (Source: Wenlin, and possibly 说文解字).

If you are talking about the modern character 狗 gou3, it comes from the semantic/radical 犭 quan3 plus the phonetic part 句 ju4. It was probably a colloquial or popular name for "dog" which has made it into the standard language, whereas 犬 keeps a more classical and scientific flavor.


How do these characters represent the animals in the Chinese Zodiac? I saw the following characters represent the 12 creatures in the zodiac (in order).

子，丑，寅，卯，辰，巳，午，未，申，酉，戍，亥

This was at a Buddhist temple. Obviously it’s not the standard ones a below:

鼠，牛，虎，兔，龙，蛇，马，羊，猴，鸡，狗，猪

So my questions :

1: which series came first?

2: is there any mapping to show howboth sets of characters are related to each other?

3: are the second string of characters based on Classical Chinese?

How do these characters represent the animals in the Chinese Zodiac?

Strictly speaking,「子丑寅卯辰巳午未申酉戌亥」do not represent the Chinese zodiac, but the Earthly Branches. However, there is a one-to-one mapping between the zodiac and the branches.

  Which series came first?

Definitely the earthly branches, which was recorded on Shang Dynasty oracle bones - see, for example, 《甲骨文合集》37986.

There is no confirmation on how the twelve animals originated, but according to different opinions their first reference is either the Han Dynasty  Records of the Grand Historian or a Tang Dynasty Buddhist manuscript 《法苑珠林》.

  Is there any mapping to show how both sets of characters are related to each other?

The order which you've listed in the question is, in fact, their correspondence. To state explicitly:

子鼠
丑牛
寅虎
卯兔
辰龍
巳蛇
午馬
未羊
申猴
酉鷄
戌狗
亥豬

  Are the second string of characters based on Classical Chinese?

No. There are no confirmed origins of the 12 animals, but popular explanations say that they either come from old Chinese folk tales or Buddhist mythical animals.


Taiwanese Mandarin vs Mainland Mandarin A reference request.

Is there any good source  of the differences word choice/meaning between Taiwan and Mainland Chinese?

Not asking about Chinese Characters, but usage.

Spain have different word choice or even different words for the same thing, than in Mexico for example.

According to An article on Chinese Government Official Website

The differences of word usage may be explained like:

  “机车”在大陆一般指“用来牵引列车车厢的动力车，即火车头”，在台湾则指摩托车

To translate in English, "机车" in Mandarin means locomotive, while "机车" in Taiwan means motorcycle.

one can buy a paper-based dictionary at amazon dot cn.

I am not sure I can post urls to a commercial site, so please perform a search by yourself on amazon dot cn with keyword: 两岸常用词典. The search had returned at least 3 results for me on 2012/09/26.

And according to the article:

  据悉，《两岸常用词典》网络版已于２月在两岸共建的“中华语文知识库”网站上开通

one can also access Taiwan-version dictionary online or Mandarin-version dictionary online
now. :)

If you try to look for "硬碟(Taiwan Usage)", it will also show you "硬盘/硬磁盘(Mandarin Usage)".

Please try it for yourself!


When to use 我是 vs 我在 In my Chinese class notes these two sentences appear:

我是南非人
and
我在看节目

Why does the one use 我是 and the other 我在?
Is there a rule/guidelines to help me decide which one to use?

Thanks,
Jaco

Yes.

是 (verb) means "is, am, are, to be, yes" while 在 (verb) means "at, to be in, to exist", or is a short form of 正在 (adverb,) which is used to indicate an action in progress. 是 is the confirmation of a state of being, whereas 在 is a confirmation of a location, or indicates that you are in the middle of/in the process of doing something.

  是 (verb) + noun

So when you want to use "I am [x]" where [x] could be a student/a teacher/an old man/a young girl/a lawyer, that's when you use 是. What comes after it is a noun.

e.g. 我是留学生。你是哪国人？她是我女朋友。

  在 (verb) + place name

Where you want to use "I am at [x]" where [x] is a place like Beijing/America/etc., that's when you use 在. What comes after it is a place name.

e.g. 我在北京学习汉语。你在哪儿？他在美国旅行。

  正在/正/在 (adverb) + verb

When you want to indicate a continuing action "I am currently [x]" where [x] is a verb like reading a book/watching TV/cooking dinner, you use 正在/正/在. What comes after it is a verb.

e.g. 我正在看电视。你在想什么？她正做饭。


List of Chinese characters not used in Mandarin/putonghua Is there any convenient list of all of these characters?

Examples of such characters being:

The Hokkien (Min)  (which is the pronoun 'them/they/theirs')

The Cantonese/Hakka/Gan 佢 (which is the pronoun 'he/him/his').

The Cantonese particle 尐 or 啲 (apparently there is some debate on what the correct character for this should be), which is frequently rendered simply (and rather bizarrely) as 'D'.

The only online dictionary database I can find is 《新华字典》. It is a Microsoft Access database containing 20823 characters. You can run a query on the database and search for "方言" in the "xiangjie"(详解) column. There are shortcomings however, 20823 characters may not be comprehensive enough, and it usually doesn't tell you which dialect the character is used in.

You can download the dictionary database file here.

For Cantonese, there is a convenient list circulating around called 粤语字打法大全. Wikibooks also has a character list but there is no definition of meanings. You can find more if you search 粤语字 online.


Putting 了 in both parts of separable verbs: is it mandatory? My sentence is

  我们八点已经开始上了课。

Can I put 了 at the end of sentence? Or is it mandatory to put between both parts of 上课 (a separable verb)?

开始上了课 is not grammatical. 开始 means 'started', 上了课 means 'have finished class', You cannot "Started to have finished class"

A  grammatical sentence should be 我早上上课 (I attend classes in the morning) --> 我早上上了课 (I have attended classes in the morning)

And yes, you can insert 了 between the verb and noun in any separable verb to indicate it is completed action

Example:

看書 (read book) --> 看了書 (have read book)

吃飯 (eat meal) --> 吃了飯 (have eaten meal)

逃學 (skip classes) --> 逃了學 (have skipped classes)


Are 叫 and 让 actually used in place of the passive marker 被? I have long been familiar (~10 years) with the passive marker 被.

A new textbook that I've purchased introduces 叫 and 让 as alternatives to 被.  It says that for the most part they work the same, but 叫 and 让 are more commonly used and that 被 is more often found in written or formal contexts.

Examples from the book include:

我的车 被/叫/让 他偷走了。

那本词典 被/叫/让 小明给接走了。

I have never ever heard 叫 or 让 being used in place of 被.

Are they really that "commonly" used?  Do you use them or hear them being used?

被 can be followed by a verb or a noun

Example:

他被杀死了 - he was killed (杀死 is a verb)

他被某人杀死 - he was killed by someone (某人 is a noun)

  让 means 'allow; let;' (must be followed by a noun)

Example:

不要让人杀了 (don't let people kill you/ don't be killed by someone)

  叫 means 'make; cause'

Example:

叫人煩惱 - make people upset (it is not a passive marker)


What do these two seal stamps and these three characters on my Chinese painting mean? I got a seemingly Chinese painting from a thrift shop some time ago and would like to know what the seal stamps and characters on it mean. I have to admit that I don't have any prior knowledge of the Chinese language so I'm out of my element concerning the matter at hand. Amateurish research on my behalf proved to be unsuccessful and rather overwhelming so I'm turning to you for answers as my last choice option now.

Here a close-up of the two seal stamps. Sadly the left one is rather unrecognizable for the most part. With bare eyes you can make out more of the lines than visible here on the photo but I guess I would be content with someone just deciphering the right one. I could try to make a better photo of the left side seal stamp if someone sees the need for one, but I doubt it would be much better than that one. I guess these two are just normal name seals of the artist/collector, am I right?

Here you have a good look of the three characters I mentioned earlier. I guess they mean the title of the painting or they stand for some Chinese proverb or phrase. The meaning of these seal stamps and characters shouldn't be anything overly sophisticated though, considering the quality of the painting overall.

The painting itself depicts floral motives (cherry/plum blossom? and something else). I'm pretty confident that this is a Chinese painting because of the four-toed dragons as ornaments on the frame, the style in general and some other clues. It seems to be from the 1890s-1920s I guess, if this information is of any help in that context.

I would be very grateful if someone of you could shed light
upon this matter since it would be very interesting to know what this is all about, regardless of wether these stamps and characters mean something "special" or just something trivial. I already want to thank you for your time, effort and expertise in my case. I hope this proves to be as interesting for you as it is for me.

Many greetings from cnt.

The characters written in black ink is the first name of the painter (寿民 Shoumin). If you Google it, there is a painter named 边寿民(Bian Shoumin) in Chinese Qing Dynasty.

Here is a link to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bian_Shoumin

You can also Google the word “边寿民” by image to see his other paintings.
If this painting is not counterfeit, It would worth around 500,000 in Chinese Yuan ($80,000).

The clearer seal is “志紋墨寶”. In my understanding, 志紋is also a person’s first name. 墨 means ink, 寶 means treasure. Therefore, “志紋墨寶” means 志紋’s treasured painting.


What is 给 doing in 你给宠坏了 and 一个人给丢在家里 (Matilda 玛蒂尔达, p.7)? I bought the Chinese version of Matilda, and I'm confused about this:

Specifically, I'm confused about why 给 (usually meaning "to give") is in these phrases:

你给宠坏了
You're getting spoiled  [original English (ref.)]
You give spoiled  [literal translation]
一个人给丢在家里
left alone in the house  [original English]
a person give lost in the house  [literal translation]

The use of 给 as "to give" makes no sense to me; perhaps 给 has an additional meaning I'm unaware of.
Question: What is 给 doing in 你给宠坏了 and 一个人给丢在家里?

「給」here is a colloquial, alternative way of expressing the same meaning as「被」. It is non-standard in Standard Chinese.


What's the difference between 下巴 and 頷? chin seems to be translated as both 下巴 and 頷. Is there absolutely no difference? Is one more common than the other? I find it strange that there are two translations for so many words in Chinese, especially for specific words like chin that have little ambiguity.

When I look up pictures for the word 頷, I see more medical pictures, for 下巴, more regular pictures. Is 頷 something more concrete than chin? My dictionary says just "chin".

For modern Chinese, 下巴 is more commonly used in the daily life for the meaning of jaw or chin. Whereas 頜 is often used in medical words, like 下頜骨.

In Ancient Chinese, 頜 is more common.

  頷、頤,頜也。南楚謂之頷,秦晉謂之頜。頤,其通語也。――《方言》

ref: http://baike.baidu.com/view/269020.htm


Two "question words" in one sentence One of my teachers asked us the example question:

你有什么安排吗？

I asked her why there would be two "question words", 什么 and 吗, when I believed you should only have one question word (in this case, 吗 should not be there in my opinion.)

Is this some kind of slang? Or just wrong?

Can it safely be disregarded?

The problem is not whether Chinese allows two question words in one sentence, it's that 什么 has multiple meanings.
It can variously mean any, anything, whatever. In the example "你有什么安排吗", 什么 means "any", as in "Do you have any plans?"
This is a very similar question to "do you have plans?", which is what "你有安排吗" is.
By contrast, in the question "你有什么安排?", 什么 is asking what, as in "What plans do you have?"
Here's some examples of when 什么 doesn't mean "what":

只要认真学,什么都能学会 (as long as you study hard, you can learn anything)
他什么也不怕 (he's not afraid of anything)
他们到处放火，把什么都抢得精光。 (they set fires everywhere, and looted everything)


Counterproductive - 起到反作用 - how to parse? I learned that in Chinese counterproductive is 起到反作用 or 起反作用
I'm trying to figure out what the characters or words mean in this phrase.
I know 作用 means result or effect here, 反 means opposite. How does 起 fit in here and what part of speech is it? Is 到 necessary, or is it a completed action marker here?
Many thanks!

I think you can see it nicely here:
作为回应采取了一些措施，
Some measures adopted in response,
比如限制出口，
such as export restrictions,
起到了强烈的反作用。
led to (a) strong counter-effect. = have been highly counterproductive.
起到： give rise to
反作用： opposite, counter-effect


Translating the idiom "thinking outside the box" I normally hate overused catchphrases in English, like "paradigm shift" and "out of the box thinking".  But I was recently chatting (in Chinese) with a friend about an earlier situation in which someone had used "out of the box thinking".  (The phrase was used by my daughter's teacher).  I was at a loss to translate the idiom.  Is there some appropriate 成语?  A 成语 would be especially nice because the idiom in English is anecdotally thought to derive from a story of management consultants.  In addition, like many 成语, the meaning is really non-obvious from the words alone.

I think 天马行空 is the one.

天马行空 tiānmǎ-xíngkōng
[be powerful and unstrained like a heavenly steed soaring across the skies]
天神之马来往疾行于空中。比喻思想行为无拘无束。亦形容文笔超逸流畅

but use it carefully,天马行空 does not always commendatory

The imagination of child has no limits like the god horse flying in the heaven , details all show the creative ideas
孩子的想象力如天马行空，且细节处均见独特之创意。
But the former mayor then delivered a meandering speech that left the audience dispirited
但是前市长讲话却天马行空,让听众失望之极。


Medieval Chinese Pronunciation It's here! The A Student's Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese dictionary is finally out!
Language Log says:

A Student's Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese
All of the people associated with this dictionary are excellent scholars, so I'm sure that it will be reliable and of the highest quality.  Naturally, I am pleased that it is arranged alphabetically by Pinyin and has a radical plus stroke order index.
This is like a dream come true for me, since I myself — starting over a quarter of a century ago — tried to organize the compilation of such a dictionary, and even arranged for the late Gilbert L. Mattos to prepare several hundred entries, and I also enlisted the help of Paul Kroll.  I am so happy that Professor Kroll has gone forward with this project and created this wonderful tool.  Certainly every student and scholar with a serious interest in premodern China will want to own a copy for him/herself.
This is a major event in the history of Western Sinology.  I have not yet seen the dictionary with my own eyes, but from the description on the Brill website and from my familiarity with the work of the contributors over the past fifty years, I am sure that this dictionary will immediately become an essential tool for all Sinologists.
[Hat tip Petya Andreeva]

Where leoboiko in the comments says:

Also, the transcription is… well… the MC for 寵 chŏng is given as trhjowngX. Is it one of those transcriptions where Roman letters are used as digraphs for various sounds, or merely abstract symbols for the various known relationships? While I sympathize with the linguistically sound reasons to do that, I can't help but fear that it will confuse nonlinguists (like the Baxter/Sagart reconstruction, available online, which a lot of random people on the net seem to have mistaken as literally phonetic – and I can't blame them, honestly). Of course, we should be technical and precise and conservative in proposing hypothetical reconstructions; but hey, we live in a typographically rich era; do we really need to represent tones and such as Roman capitals? (Compare Kroll's MC for zhuǎn, trjwenX, with Schuessler's, tjwänᴮ.)
But if I re-read the previous paragraph, I feel like the dictionary I'm looking for is just Schuessler. Since we already have Schuessler (albeit for a limited lexicon), Kroll et al's should work great as a complement. We're focusing on what's missing, but if we look instead to what's present, the sample entries are rich and bountiful in semantics, interpretations, nuances, and specialized meanings (medical, biological, Buddhist etc.). Dated locus classicus and other philological data will be missed, but I know I've wanted something just like Kroll's since forever – especially as a Japanese scholar with no knowledge of modern Chinese languages.

How does the medieval transcriptions of Chinese work?
How would one go about pronouncing something like trhjowngX?
How do, aforementioned, Kroll and Schuessler differ?

Middle Chinese starting from the Sui dynasty (with the Qièyùn, 切韻, published in 601 CE) actually documented its phonology. These are called rime tables, and break down each character pronunciation into groups by tone and by final. These were employed by scholars in both reciting and composing verse. Using the fanqie 反切 spelling would also have aided scholars in pronouncing characters.

However, the compiling of the Qieyun's pronunciations means that it is unlikely to have been one single system of pronunciation from the outset. It was a group of scholars, who appear to have come from both northern and southern dialect backgrounds, who helped compile the Qieyun. Hence some contest that, much like General Chinese would come to be, the Qieyun system was a diasystem across several dialects. Other see it as the general koine of Sui China as spoken among the educated elite across the nation.

Kroll seems to have employed the Baxter transcription of Early Middle Chinese as based on the Qieyun. The monograph that outlines this transcription comes from his "A Handbook of Old Chinese Phonology". He does say that:

  The notation I introduce here is not intended as a reconstruction; rather it is a convenient transcription which adequately represents all the phonological distinctions of Middle Chinese while leaving controversial questions open.

The transcription system itself seems to be fairly pronounceable; whether I would distinguish it from several other finals is another question. That transcription above, trhjowngX is composed of the initial trh-, and the final -jowngX. The initial corresponds to a retroflex aspirate stop (not affricate). The final is an open final of the mixed third division in the Middle Chinese rising tone. I'd personally go for something like [ʈʰjowŋ˩˥] if I had to give some kind of idea of its 'original pronunciation'. But it's not something that is recommended!

The one used in Schuessler's work is the Karlgren-Li reconstruction, although with a different convention for notation of the tones, the glottal stop, the e, i and w medials, and a modification of the "strong palatal medial" in fourth division chongniu. The actual differences between the Baxter and the Karelgren-Li(-Schuessler) are significant, but are structurally similar, based as they are on the Qieyun.


a better translation for the expression "psychology is dead" Expressions such as psychology is dead in

  A cognitive scientist once told me that psychology is dead.

are examples of personification, in this case, to convey the idea that psychology is using an outdated paradigm to study how the brain works.

How should I translate that into Chinese? I once said to a relative of mine who speaks Chinese

  有个认知学家告诉过我，心理学已经死亡。

and he couldn't understand what I meant until I told him about the re-interpration of the Stanford marshmallow experiment.

So what are some better translation for the expression "psychology is dead"? An alternative I can thought of would be "心理学已经过时" but that would mean removing the figure of speech from the original expression, and I'd like to avoid that.

Friedrich Nietzsche: "Gott ist tot."

Well-known translation: 上帝已死。

  Stephen Hawking: "Philosophy is dead."

Well-known translation: 哲学已死。

Thus I believe the best translation for "Psychology is dead" should be 心理学已死。

PS: Of course, without context, one might hardly understand the meaning, but any other translation won't do either. So an idiom-like expression fits.


Why is 人口 in this sentence 多, not 大? 中国是世界上人口最多的国家.

Why is 人口 in this sentence 多, not 大? In English way of thinking (or my English way of thinking), a population is something that can be "huge" rather than "much"/ "many". Is Chinese way of thinking different? Is 人口 really as shape of the characters says - "mouths of people" rather than "population" in the English sense? People are many, but population is huge. Can I say "中国是世界上人口最大的国家"?

I've got one more question about this structure. Countries and cities can be big in two senses: in population or in territory. This sentence says "China is the biggest country in the world, in the sense of population". I guess I could change the category into the other one and say: 俄罗斯是世界上国土最大的国家. I put 大 here. Is it correct? Would 多 be correct?

Interesting question. I never think that 人口多(少) should be said as 人口大(小) in English way. As you said, 人口 seems meaning people more in Chinese sense. So we should say 人口多/人口少.

  Can I say "中国是世界上人口最大的国家"?

No, it's quite weird.

  俄罗斯是世界上国土最大的国家. I put 大 here. Is it correct? Would 多 be correct?

Yes, 大 is correct, 多 is not. 国土 usually refer to the area, i.e. the antional territory area, then we should say 大(小), not 多(少).

As a supplementary, 规模 (scope/scale) could be described with 大/小, so you can say "中国是世界上人口规模最大的国家".

Another supplementary, 人口 belongs to a kind of usage that combines a noun and quantifier to make a 集合名词 (collective noun). E.g. 车辆, 人口, 纸张, 船只, 布匹, 马匹.


Are 明白 and 懂 synonymous? Are 明白 and 懂 synonymous? If not, could anyone please elaborate on the difference along with some examples of usage?

There are differences in meaning between 明白 and 懂, but they are somewhat subtle. Several Chinese-language websites record Chinese speakers asking the same question, so the difference is certainly not obvious. Nevertheless, the long and short of it is that, for practical purposes, they are interchangeable: people use 懂 and 明白 to mean "I understand" in many daily circumstances without considering any deeper implications of their meaning. When they do intend to draw distinctions between the words, as in the last example below, they will so explicitly.

This baidu question asks for the differences between 明白， 理解， 了解， 知道， and 懂. The consensus among the respondents is that 懂 represents a deeper level of understanding than 明白 does, even to the extent that 懂 can indicate a spiritual or essential understanding.

This soso question adds another perspective: 懂 does not need to involve communication. (Again, it can refer to deep, almost spiritual understanding. For example, you would hear songs like "不懂爱" but not "不明白爱") 明白 necessarily involves someone understanding something that someone else has communicated to them. I hadn't seen this rule formulated before, but it matches my experience of using and hearing these words.

This article is intriguingly entitled “越来越明白却越来越不懂” ["I '明白' more and more, but '懂' less and less"]. There's a sense in this article, as there is in the other sources above, that to 懂 something is to understand the principles behind it.

Finally, this English-language article on 懂, 明白, and 了解 dispenses with the first two words quite quickly. It supports my first point above that, in daily life, these two words are more or less interchangeable and don't imply any deep level of comprehension.


Are all these ways of saying 1.59 in Chinese currency correct? There seems to be many combinations for how to say e.g. 1.59 in Chinese currency:

一块五毛九分 (yīkuài wǔmáo jiǔfēn)
一块五毛九 (yīkuài wǔmáo jiǔ)
一块五角九分 (yīkuài wǔjiǎo jiǔfēn)
一块五角九 (yīkuài wǔjiǎo jiǔ)
一块五十九分 (yīkuài wǔshíjiǔfēn)
一块五十九 (yīkuài wǔshíjiǔ)
一元五毛九分 (yīyuán wǔmáo jiǔfēn)
一元五毛九 (yīyuán wǔmáo jiǔ)
一元五角九分 (yīyuán wǔjiǎo jiǔfēn)
一元五角九 (yīyuán wǔjiǎo jiǔ)
一元五十九分 (yīyuán wǔshíjiǔfēn)
一元五十九 (yīyuán wǔshíjiǔ)

I'm not sure if some of these are incorrect, e.g., I recall seeing 快/毛 or 元/角 used together, but not 快/角 nor 元/毛.  This might just be inexperience, or there might be a reason for it.  In any case, I think 一元五角九 seems weird, but I'm not sure why.
I put each of them into Baidu, and for 一块五毛九, someone had written 六块五毛九, so it seems fine, but I didn't find much beyond that.  Personally, I'd probably say 一块五十九.
Question: Are all these ways of saying 1.59 correct?

元、角 are formal and 块、毛 are their colloquial counterparts respectively. Mix and match is much less common but not unheard of.

Omitting the last unit word is also an informal usage.

一块五十九分 is extremely uncommon if not wrong at all, but understandable. 一块五十九 is not understandable to Chinese ears without clarification.

Therefore,

  Formal:
  一元五角九分

  Colloquial:
  一块五毛九分
  一块五毛九

  Colloquial mixed with formal fragments, less common:
  一元五角九
  一块五角九分
  一块五角九
  一元五毛九分
  一元五毛九

  Unnatural but can be understood:
  一块五十九分
  一元五十九分

  Ungrammatical and cannot be understood without clarification:
  一块五十九
  一元五十九


What is the purpose of 是 in "我应该是感冒了"? I came across the following translated example:

我应该是感冒了，耳朵也有点儿疼，不过没发烧。
Wǒ yīnɡɡāi shì ɡǎnmào le，ěrduo yě yǒudiǎnr ténɡ，búɡuò méi fāshāo 。
I think I caught a cold, and my ears are a little painful, but I don’t have a fever.

What is 是 doing here? I understand 我 - 应该 - 是 - 感冒了 literally as I - should - (?) - catch a cold now / caught a cold.

Edit:
I see some confusion between the answers. I will list the different views to see if we can clarify them:

@blackgreen and @AxelTong claim (应该)是 is just connecting the Subject 我 (I) to the Noun 感冒了 (catch a cold). I don't like this view because when connecting noun A to noun B with 是 , we are essentially saying A = B, where both nouns A and B need to be of the same type. But this is not the case with 我 (a person) and 感冒了 (a state of the person).

@DanielCheung (and possibly @TangHo) claim 是 is part of the structure "是 + information to emphasize + verb (+ object) + 的", to emphasize information in the past. However, here we have 了 instead of 的.

I do not agree that 是 is acting as the copula in the sentence. Because even without 是, the following sentences contain the same meaning and only differ in tone:

我应该是感冒了
我应该感冒了

This answer comes after reading
「是」，「的」與動詞名物化 by professor 石定栩 of PolyU in Hong Kong. (The title roughly translate to: 是, 的, and Normalization of Verb)
感冒 should be acting as a verb in the sentence, as 是 can be optionally added to the sentence to add stress to the statement. 我应该是感冒了 conveys the meaning of: "I think I am really having a cold."
TL;DR, Professor Shi proposes that "是" used in a sentence like

他這樣做是合情合理的。 (What he did was very reasonable) VS
他這樣做合情合理。 (What he did was reasonable)

should be treated as a modal verb, before the main verb of the sentence "合情合理", with "是" treated as a modal verb the same way the 2 other referenced papers have had it analyzed.
By the same argument, I believe we can treat 感冒 as the main verb, and 是 as a modal verb, used to intensify the tone of the sentence.
By removing all descriptive words, the sentence simplifies into: "我感冒了", which still carries the essential meaning.

P.S. I believe some Chinese linguists actually prefer treating 应该 and 是 as just verbs (with 是 pointed out in the paper referenced), which would have changed the sentence analysis. However, for some people, it may be more acceptable to allow for modal verbs in Chinese grammar analysis, with the above argument.


Translating an English menu I am getting married in a month's time and my Chinese-speaking father has invited some of his Chinese friends to my wedding. He is and his friends are elderly and their English is almost non-existent. I spent a week compiling Chinese wedding invitations to make it a little bit more personal and I was really proud of myself. However this next challenge has proven a bit too much for me: TRANSLATING THE MENU!!!! Can anyone help me with translating the menu please? I've put it all together the way that I think I would say it however I don't know how it sounds written down and to make things harder, I need the Cantonese phrases! T_T
Thank you!

Starter
開胃菜*(I'm not entirely convinced this is right, 起頭菜 comes to mind but i might have completely fabricated that!)*

Oxtail in Madeira & horseradish broth & herb dumplings (gluten free without dumplings)
牛尾在馬德拉和辣根湯及圓子(免圓子為没麵筋)

Braised onion tart, Blacksticks blue cheese, pecans & dressed rocket (v)
紅燒洋蔥芝士撻及合桃沙律(齋)

Main Course
主菜

Confit duck leg with mustard mash, green beans & Savoy cabbage, with honey & clove sauce (gluten free)
煨鴨腿及芥菜mash*(嘛薯??? haha we call it that but is it right?)*，豆仔和savoy cabbage 及蜜糖丁香醬 (没麵筋)

Fillet of sea bass with pommes Anna, spinach and braised leeks with red wine & star anise sauce (gluten free)
鱸魚及安娜／牛油薯仔(?)，菠菜，燉韭蔥及紅酒和八角汁 (没麵筋)

Butternut squash brulee, black olive crumble, spinach & truffled potato dauphinoise (v)
南瓜布丁，烏欖, 菠菜，松露奶油薯仔 (齋)

Dessert
甜品

Baked lemon cheesecake with ginger & blackcurrant (v)
焗檸檬芝士蛋糕及薑和黑加侖子(齋)

Chocolate and orange parfait with orange compote & praline crunch (v)
朱古力和橙芭菲及橙果盤和果仁糖(齋)

Fruit salad (v) (gluten free)
水果沙律 (齋)(没麵筋)

To translate a menu, you may remember:

Each one course is a noun or a phrase, avoid sentence or very long phrase;
Avoid colloquial language, use formal written language.

For example: use "無" instead of "沒". use "開胃菜" but not "起頭菜".

Here are some my translations:

Oxtail in Madeira & horseradish broth & herb dumplings (gluten free without dumplings): 馬德拉（馬嗲利 in Cantonese）燴牛尾(or紅燴牛尾)配辣根素丸(除素丸外無谷蛋白)

mustard mash: 芥末薯蓉

Savoy cabbage: 高麗菜

It's likely that your language environment of Chinese is Cantonese, so I applied traditional Chinese as much as possible, but a few usage may not be the same since I speak Mandarin.


Difference between 面包 and 列巴 What is the difference between 面包 and 列巴? Dictionaries suggest both mean bread, but Google search seems to indicate that 面包 is any kind of baked flour (buns, bread, baguettes, croissants etc.), while 列巴 just means a regular (in the European sense) bread. Is that correct?

I am aware of this thread: How do I say "a loaf of bread"? but it doesn't fully answer my question.

In short 面包refers to bread(general) and 列巴refers to specifically Russian bread.


Mnemonics for 汉字: examples and resources Where can one find other mnemonics similar to
横戌点戍空心戊 and 已半, 巳满, 不出己 ?

Also, what in your opinion are the most common, useful or interesting such mnemonics? What is the term for such mnemonics in 普通话?

Also related, riddles ( 猜字谜) like 一口咬掉牛尾巴 （打一字）. Which are your favourite such riddles?

Edit (2018-08-31) I would be particularly interested in mnemonics used in Chinese schools. Are these called 口诀 or 字诀? Here's another one I just remembered:

j, q, x
小淘气
遇到ü
把点去

I can only remember other things about the structure of characters.

When someone get name of others, if the surname is Zhang, he may ask 弓长张 or 立早章?

And the most confusing riddle, I think,

一个不出头，两个不出头，三个不出头，不是不出头，就是不出头. (打一字)

When I first know the riddle, I was like, wtf, it doesn't even make sense, what does 不出头 mean? And the most confusing part 不是不出头, 就是不出头.

And when I had got the answer, it became my favorite 汉字 riddle instantly.


Example cases with 了 I'm learning some grammar and there are many rules with 了, to express action completion or change of state. My book examples seem strange for some Chinese people, so I made those small following sentences.

My questions are:
Which sentences are totally incorrect?
Which ones are weird?
For the remaining ones, are they expressing the same meaning? For each meaning, which is the "best" orally and during writting?
Thx

(A1)我学了六年法语了

(A2)我学六年法语了

(A3)我学了六年法语

(A4)我学六年法语

(A5)我学了法语六年了

(A6)我学法语六年了

(A7)我学了法语六年

(A8)我学法语六年

And the small ones:

(B1)我学法语

(B2)我学了法语

(B3)我学法语了

(B4)我学了法语了

(C1)我学六年

(C2)我学了六年

(C3)我学六年了

(C4)我学了六年了

(A1)我学了六年法语了

The first 了 is an aspect marker, indicating completed action. the second 了 is final particle, indicating change of situation. It is not grammatically incorrect, but native Chinese would most likely skip using the final particle to avoid 了 appear in a short sentence twice.

  (A2)我学六年法语了

Without the aspect marker 了 to indicating completed action, 学六年法语 could be confusing... are you going to learn "six years of French?" or you going to learn " Sixth Year French?"

  (A3)我学了六年法语

This one fixes the problem (A2) has. A grammatically correct sentence

  (A4)我学六年法语

Just like (A2) is it "six years of French?" or " Sixth Year French?"

  (A5)我学了法语六年了

This one is similar to (A1) just the object 法语 and the relative phrase 六年 switched place. Again, the final particle can be omitted.

  (A6)我学法语六年了

Similar to (A3) with the object 法语 and the relative phrase 六年 switched place, also a grammatically correct sentence.

  (A7)我学了法语六年

Similar to (A5) with the final particle omitted, Which make it better structured sentence.

  (A8)我学法语六年

Without either the aspect marker 了 or the final particle 了, the sentence is unfinished.

(A3) , (A6) and (A7) are the three grammatically correct and well structured sentences on the list.
(A1) and (A5) are not grammatically wrong, just not sounding smooth with two 了 in the same sentence
(A2) and (A4) are not grammatically wrong, but a little bit ambiguous with 六年法语 could mean either "six years of French" or " Sixth Year French"
(A8) is unfinished sentence

  (B1)我学法语

I learn French

  (B2)我学了法语

I learned French

  (B3)我学法语了

if 了 is treated as a aspect marker, the sentence would mean "I have learned French"

if 了 is treated as a final particle, the sentence would mean "I've started learning French"

  (B4)我学了法语了

I learned French (already)- like in Group A,  final particle 了 could be omitted

*Group C are all incomplete sentences.


Rules for saying numbers I just wondered what are the rules of saying numbers...

For example:

10 = 十
19 = 十九
100 = 一百
1,000 = 一千
10,000 = 一萬

but

119 = 一百一十九

then

110 = 一百一
1,100 = 一千一
11,000 = 一萬一

and then

10,110 = 一萬零一百一十

Is there any rule of thumb??

For reading numbers aloud, the wikipedia page has a section "Reading and transcribing numbers" that you might find useful.

Since I think you know the basics and your problem seems to affect the reading of "zero", let me quote this passage:

"Interior zeroes before the unit position (as in 1002) must be spelt explicitly. The reason for this is that trailing zeroes (as in 1200) are often omitted as shorthand, so ambiguity occurs. One zero is sufficient to resolve the ambiguity. Where the zero is before a digit other than the units digit, the explicit zero is not ambiguous and is therefore optional, but preferred."

Note: I know you didn't ask for the writing part, but if you don't mind, I'd like to keep it. If you think it's misleading, I can delete it.

For writing numbers, I found a nice page, Chinese numbers intro, that summarizes the rules for writing numbers. I summarized it below. If you find mistakes or if I forgot something, please post a comment:

  "Tens" are expressed by writing "numeral + ten".

  70 = 七十
  when adding a single numeral, just add it after those two.

  75 = 七十五
  with hundreds, you add the hundred and then the rest.

  275 = 二百七十五
  with thousands, you do the same.

  1275 ＝ 一千二百七十五
  same with ten thousands.

  31275 = 三万一千二百七十五
  if there's a ZERO, you include it.

  31075 = 三万一千零七十五
  the character 点 is used for "dot"

  16.98 = 十六点九八 (10-6-decimal-9-8)

  You can find more on the wikipedia page for numbers.

I also found a nice number converter that you can use for self-study, I think. You can output Traditional, Simplified Chinese and also Pinyin.


What would a non-binary tā （他／她） look like? He and she in Mandarin looks like this:

Male tā: 他

Female tā: 她

What would a non-binary tā look like? 也?

它 is for animals and inanimate objects, not exactly fitting.

祂 is for gods, not really appropriate.

牠 is the same as 它.

For practicality purposes 你 could work the same:

male nǐ: 你

female nǐ: 妳

non-binary nǐ: 尔?

The best candidate for a non-binary TA is in fact 他. This is particularly obvious in the word 他們 (them), which definitely does not refer to a group of specifically males. 他 did not acquire the specific meaning he until well after 她 was invented, and 他 originally was a generic word meaning other (e.g. 他人 the other person).

她 did not actually exist before the new culture movement; its creation was from the direct influence from European languages. This is commonly seen in older popular novels like Dream of the Red Chamber, where 她 makes no appearances and it is incorrect to assume that 他 means he or him.

Note: In Taiwan, 他 is still sometimes used to refer to both he/him and she/her, although this practice is declining.


Can you 搬东西？ Or do you need to 搬家？ I'm interested in the use of 搬  in the case of moving in. Could I say "我帮了我的室友搬一些东西？“ or does it need to be ”帮了她把他的东西搬到他的宿舍里面“

Can you simply say 搬东西 ？

it seems you can also say： 我帮我（的）室友搬进来了。or 我帮她搬（一些）东西近来了。
have been looking for grammatical rules requiring 把-sentence as proposed below and only found the following: 外国人实用汉语语法，５０２页：the 把-sentence must be used when the verbal predicate takes a compound directional complement and an object of place. For example: 老师把新同学带进教室来了。 大夫把那个病人送回家去了。 我们把这几件东西搬上楼去吧。（however in present case object of place seems to be missing，进宿舍楼来 would have object of place）。There also is the following which may be relevant：实用现代汉语语法（２００１年北京）７４７页：１。当谓语动词有两个宾语，一个是表示事物的名词，另一个表示经过动作后事物所在的处所时，事物名词要与介词＂把＂结合放在谓语动词前，表示处所的词语放在谓语动词后，谓语动词与处所词之间还要用一个结果补语或趋向补语。例如：（１）他们把鸡蛋放在桌子上就走了。（２）他把照片递到我面前叫我看。（３）西门豹又叫人把三老扔进了河里。。。。（again， above there is no表示处所的词语）.另一方面＂在线词典＂一共有５０个为＂搬进来＂提供的例句，而其中有以下三个似乎证实用＂把＂字句是必要的，尽管没有表示处所的宾语：
椅子在花园里,请把它搬进来，请问，要把箱子搬进来吗？，不知道是否可以让孩子们帮我把箱子搬进来.It would seem that if ＊搬东西进来  is changed to 搬进东西来 then it might become acceptable according to Representation of Chinese Grammar with Diagrams 图示汉语语法（ISBN ９７８－７－５６１９－２７９５－３）１１８页 动词 既带复合趋向补语，也带宾语例如：脱下一件衣服来，拿出一个本子来 （当然＊把一件衣服脱下来 及 ＊把一个本子拿出来 很可能违背了 ＂把＂子后面的介引成分应当是说话双方已知的，确有所指的，这个规则。


(麻薯), what kind, if not then what is it? Someone translated this 麻薯 as a "potato" and Google Translate says it's Mochi, If it is a potato, could anyone share what kind?

When I tried some research I came up with what looks like a character website (http://taiwanmochi.com.tw).

In English we have sweet potato, red, white, and other kinds...

Google Translate (which I am learning is not reliable) shows this for potato.

  Translations of potato
  noun:
  马铃薯
  potato
  土豆
  potato, spud
  薯
  potato, yam

麻薯 or 麻糬 is the transcription of Japanese desert "Mochi/もち".

The character 薯 means root vegetables.
Most of time it will be potato.

Some examples:

馬鈴薯 potato
蕃薯 sweet potato
木薯/樹薯 cassava


Is this sentence correct ? 我不知道会发我们的什么照片,所以就选择这个 你们好!
Hi, can you please tell me is this sentence correct?:
我不知道会发我们的什么照片,所以就选择[了]这个。 (I don't know to post which photo of us, so I chose this one).
谢谢 !

I don't know to post which photo of us, so I chose this one

"我不知道（应该）发我们的哪(一)张照片，所以我选(择)了这(一)张"
Use 应该 instead of 会 when the person can decide what to do himself/herself.
Use 张 instead of 个 when referring to paper stuff.
which means 哪一(个/张/..） while what means 什么.
一 can be omitted in Chinese if no ambiguity.
Some examples:
I don't know what to do. 我不知道应该做什么.
I don't know what will happen. 我不知道会发生什么.
I don't know which to choose. 我不知道(应该)选哪一个.
一 张 纸/照片
一 个 东西/箱子
For accurate translation:
post: "发布", post online; "邮寄", post by mail


爱、采 ( A trivalent verb takes 2 objects ) (my 1st post)

Could someone give me a sample sentence containing
爱 taking 2 objects?

I'm guessing it's    <<  I'd love him to [do ...] >>
type of construction?  Thank you.  HH

(from Wikipedia)
一价动词：强制要求与一种性质的名词性词语关联的一类动词。可记为动1。例如“病、醉、休息、游泳”等。这类动词差不多就是一般说的不及物动词。

二价动词：强制要求与两种性质的名词性词语关联的一类动词。可记为动2。例如“爱、采、参观、讨论”等。这类动词差不多就是一般说的及物动词。

三价动词：强制要求与三种性质的名词性词语关联的一类动词。可记为动3。例如“爱、采、参观、讨论”等。这类动词差不多就是一般说的双宾动词。[1]

一价动词(动1):

This is intransitive verbs, which means, verbs that cannot have an object attached to them.

Example: 我病了。 -> I am sick. (No object and cannot have an object)

二价动词(动2):

This is transitive verbs, verbs that can have objects attached to them.

Example: 我爱你。 -> I love you. ("you" is the object)

三价动词(动3):

Also called 双宾动词 and 授与动词，meaning verbs that can have an object and a receiving or benefiting target(i.e. equivalent to "to" in English or 给 in Chinese).

Example: 我送了礼物给我哥哥。 -> I gave presents(object) TO my brother(benefited target).


中东 - "Middle East" or "Eastern China"? The dictionary lists both Middle East and Eastern China for 中东. Is one of these meanings more common? What would be a native speaker's first impression of the word? Does the meaning vary from mainland, Taiwan, S'pore etc?

UPDATE: I have since removed the meaning "Eastern China" from CC-CEDICT

In all the news reports in Mainland China, "中东" refers to Middle East. This can be seen as a convention -- as a native speaker, if I hear "中东", I will definately think of the Middle East. You can take a look at the Wikipedia Page of 中东, and the Baidu Baike Page of 中东. Only one meaning is referred on both pages -- Middle East.
If anyone wants to refer to Eastern China, they will say "中国东部（地区）". The dictionary lists Eastern China for "中东", which looks like a result from translation software... So the dictionary makes a mistake.

I don't know if 中东 has any other meaning in Taiwan, Hong Kong, etc. But when I search for 中东, I also noticed that in Japanese, the combination of these two Characters also refers to Middle East.


What is a Singapore Sling drink known as in the Chinese dialects of Singapore? The drink's inventor was Hainanese, though accounts of the drink's history and contents vary.

The only reference to it in any form of Chinese that I was able to find was apparently written in Mandarin, where it's called 新加坡司令 which clearly is a Mandarin transcription (sīlìng) and clearly not a calque of any concept of "sling".

I can't help but wonder if the name 新加坡司令 is a recent invention from China; Mandarin was not a major dialect in Singapore's early history, and a 新加坡司令 sounds more like a Singaporean citizen's commanding officer during national military service than anything to do with a drink made in Singapore. Attempts to compare the name to other related names don't seem to be of much help; Singapore's ASEAN professional basketball team, the Singapore Slingers, are known as 新加坡騰飛之獅籃球隊 in Chinese, and 騰飛之獅 also has nothing to do with any concept of "sling".

What do Chinese-Singaporeans call it in their local dialects?

Like many words characteristic of Singapore, it is most likely to be said in English/Singlish.

Local Singaporean Chinese, whether Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Hainanese, Hakka, Fuzhounese or Fuqingnese, does have a very large range of loan words related to the circumstances of British rule on the Malayan Peninsula. One of the most salient examples when in Singapore is the use of the English form of address uncle and auntie, which is cross-topolectal and trans-lingual, and by extension, racially neutral. A common example from Malay is mata for the police, which is strongly preferred over most loans/calques of 警察 by Singaporeans of the pioneer generation.

However, sling is even more likely to be an English loanword, as it was originally a "gin sling", a form of specifically Western alcohol served primarily to Western patrons in the colonial era. One reference from 1903 reported in the SCMP makes a comment about "pink slings for pale people".

Though Boon was (likely) a native Hainanese speaker, his position as bartender at the Raffles would have meant he was in an Anglophone environment for work. The sling was already  an established drink in the 1910s in Singapore. Hence it was likely referred to and discussed in English, even in predominantly Chinese topolect conversations.


How to make a recommendation/suggestion to someone I want to translate the following sentence:
The Student Union suggested to the restaurant manager that the restaurant should sell healthy food, less fast food, and no sweets and soft drinks during breaks and lunch.
Which of the following sentences is correct? Do you have to use the word 向?  I have seen it with 借钱 and 道歉 but never with 建议。 With which verbs can you use 向? Not the ones to do with movement; those are clear.
学生会议餐餐厅经理建校餐厅应该卖健康食品，少卖快餐，在课间休息和午饭期间不卖糖果和汽水。
学生会向餐厅经理建议校餐厅应该卖健康食品，少卖快餐，在课间休息和午饭期间不卖糖果和汽水。

Sentence B is correct.
Let's first break down why sentence A is incorrect.
The problem is in '学生会议餐餐厅经理建'
I assume 学生会议餐餐厅经理建 is for 'The Student Union suggested to the restaurant manager'. This part has various problems. First of all, 'Student Union' should be 学生会/学生工会 instead of 学生会议(student meeting). I don't know why 餐 is repeated. 餐厅经理 is ok. 建 is probably here for 'suggest'. Maybe the 议 from before is originally supposed to be in 建议? However, this term is not separatable. If I translate this part literally into English it would be 'Student meeting (学生会议) restaurant manager (餐厅经理) establish (建)' You can see the verb is clearly not correct.
Now let's discuss why 学生会向餐厅经理建议 is correct.
We already discussed why 学生会 is correct and 学生会议 is wrong and why 建议 should stay together instead of being separated. 向 here is for conjunction. Stan's suggestion in the comment of your question is also good. 糖果 indeed only means candy.
You can use 建议 as a verb with or without 向, but the order of the words will differ.
Expression 1
entity 1 + 建议 + entity 2 + the actual advice. This expression is also more casual than the second expression.
Example:
学生会 (entity 1) 建议 餐厅经理 (entity 2) 校餐厅应该卖健康食品 (the actual advice)
我 (entity 1) 建议 你 (entity 2) 不要去 (the actual advice)
Expression 2
entity 1 + 向 + entity 2 + 建议 + the actual advice. This expression is also more formal. Another thing is, it is uncommon to put oneself (我) as entity 1 in this expression as it sounds awkward.
Example:
学生会 (entity 1) 向 餐厅经理 (entity 2) 建议 校餐厅应该卖健康食品 (the actual advice)
他 (entity 1) 向 我 (entity 2) 建议 我应该抛售 (the actual advice)
You can also change out 向 with 对 in this case.
You can use many many verbs with 向, many are interchangeable with 对, but not all (such as you can't say 我对你借钱 or 我向你说啊). You can treat both with the sense of 'direct towards'
examples of 向 without movement:
http://www.ichacha.net/zaoju/%E5%90%91.html (some of these fit what you want)
(1)　我 (I) 向 你 保证 (guarantee) 他们 (they) 胡说八道 (speak non-sense)。
(I guarantee to you that what they (implied: are saying/said/were saying/have said) is/was non-sense)
(2) 他们 (they) 向 他 (him) 道了谢 (thanked)。
(They thanked him)
(3) 目的 (purpose) 是 (is) 向 公司 (company) 的 ('s) 雇员 (employees) 募捐 (raising donation)。
(The purpose is to raise donations from the company's employees)


Are these senteces correct? I tried to correct them but I'm not sure about it. Is there a rule or a scheme to follow in order to correct them properly?

1.这幅画被我做了。 这幅画是我做的

2.我弟弟越来越高一点。 我弟弟越来越高

3.我只要喝茶,不要喝啤酒。 我只要喝茶,就喝啤酒

4.我们比学习的内容不太一样 。 我们跟学习的内容不太一样

5.我最好朋友比我考试得好。the position of 得 is always after the verb or not? 我最好朋友考试考得比我好

6.桌子上有一本想你像买一样的书,你去看一下吧。 桌子上有一本像想你买一样的书,你去看一下吧。

7.一年比一年学中文更难一点。 中文一年比一年学难一点

8.一分钟以后要下雨了,别忘带伞。 一分钟以后就要下雨了,别忘带伞。

9.老师说我现在不会去洗手间。 老师说我现在不用去洗手间。

10.我们都会骑自行车,连骑自行吃也妈妈会。 我们都会骑自行车,妈妈连骑自行吃也会。

The Strong sentence is my revision for yours.

1.这幅画被我做了。 这幅画是我画的

2.我弟弟越来越高一点。 我弟弟越来越高

3.我只要喝茶,不要喝啤酒。 我只想喝茶,不想喝啤酒

4.我们比学习的内容不太一样 。 我们学习的内容不太一样

5.我最好朋友比我考试得好。the position of 得 is always after the verb or not? 我最好朋友考试考得比我好 Ans:Yes

6.桌子上有一本想你像买一样的书,你去看一下吧。 桌子上有一本像你想买的一样书,你去看一下吧。

7.一年比一年学中文更难一点。 中文一年比一年难学

8.一分钟以后要下雨了,别忘带伞。 一分钟以后就要下雨了,别忘带伞。same as一分钟以后要下雨了,别忘了带伞。

9.老师说我现在不会去洗手间。 老师说我现在不能去洗手间。

10.我们都会骑自行车,连骑自行吃也妈妈会。 我们都会骑自行车,连妈妈也会骑自行车。


A Chinese Poetic About Understanding the Universe These are some lines from a verse I was translating:
我傻楞着，不知说的是你
那么要读懂这宇宙，
就只须读懂一个人的眼睛
该是什么样的眼睛
My rough translation:
"Being foolish, I don't get what you're saying,
That those who seek to know the cosmos
only need to understand what's in a person's eyes.
What kind of eyes are you talking about?"
Is my interpretation – that the narrator of the poem is interpreting another person's metaphor way too literally – correct?

My traslation:
I shocked我傻楞着
And don't know it is you不知说的是你
So to understand the universe那么要读懂这宇宙
I just need to understand one's eyes就只须读懂一个人的眼睛
What are these eyes like?该是什么样的眼睛
This poem is really hard to understand. Can you show us the context?


Dialect in Chongqing and Huaihua On a little trip, I picked up these phrases:

in 重庆：

lan gou: seems to be 怎么
lei si: seems to be 这是

In 怀化 (aka Feifa): me xiaodei seems to be 我晓得

Did I hear correctly?

lan gou in Chongqingese should be:

  啷个
  lang3 go4
  [Ĩaŋ⁴¹ ko²¹³]
  (代) 怎么

or with er-hua:

  啷个儿
  lang3 ger4
  [Ĩaŋ⁴¹ kər²¹³]
  (代) 怎么

the second one lei si should be:

  勒是
  le2 si4
  [Ĩe²¹ sɿ²¹³]
  (代) 这是。

Here's Bridge saying 勒是雾都, Chongqingese for 这是重庆:

In Sichuanese and Chongqingese me is more likely to be 没 or 莫, but Hunan might be a whole other tiger all together.

最土、最闷骚的方言：怀化话 does say this though:

  毛晓得------------------- 不知道


Mandarin equivalent of "㗎喇"? Cantonese has the modal particle: 㗎喇

Canto-Mando Dictionary says:

1.表示有把握，认可

2.表示说理，警告

Is there a mandarin equivalent?

㗎喇 is a combination of multiple Cantonese sentence final particles (SFPs):

㗎 gaa3 is a contraction of 嘅呀 ge3 aa3.

嘅 ge3 is directly equivalent to Mandarin's 的 de in meaning and usage.
呀 aa3 is used in Cantonese to soften the tone of a sentence. I don't believe Mandarin has a direct standardized equivalent to it, but some Mandarin speakers do use it in a similar manner.

喇 laa3 is directly equivalent to Mandarin's SFP 了 le. Both of these words are actually cognate to one another, ultimately having been descended from 來 (note that this only applies to Mandarin's sentence-final 了; its post-verb 了 le actually is descended from 了 liǎo). Mandarin chose 了 to represent this word; written Cantonese isn't very standardized, so people have variously represented it using the characters 喇, 嚹, or 啦.

Given this, the Mandarin equivalent could be 的了 de le. While I noted there was no direct standard Mandarin equivalent for Cantonese's 呀, some speakers do use it. In Mandarin though, it would be attached after 了 rather than after 的; like Cantonese, it gets contracted as well, changing 了 le to 啦 la; the final result would be 的啦 de la, as @Stan mentioned in his comment.


How to pronunce "ji" (chicken)? How to pronunce "ji" (chicken) ?
is is like english sound "ti" or like "dj"i ?

The consonant sound written with j- in Pinyin does not exist in English, so using English words to approximate it will always be wrong to some extent.
Pinyin j consists of two sounds, a stop and a fricative. Let's start with the fricative, written [ɕ] in IPA (the International Phonetic Alphabet) and x in Pinyin.
To produce this sound, place the tip of your tongue against your lower teeth ridge (that's the "shelf" you can feel behind your lower teeth), then try to say "sh" as in English "she", without moving the tongue tip. This will result in thicker-sounding s, produced with the blade of the tongue (further back than the tip, which is involved when you say a normal s).
To get to j-, simply add a small stop in front of the fricative we just learnt. That means briefly stopping the airflow, then letting it out while producing the [ɕ] sound. That results in [t͡ɕ], which is how j is written using IPA.
Note that if you release the air forcefully, you get aspiration, which is used to distinguish phonemes in Mandarin, so instead of j-, you'd be pronouncing q- instead. The aspiration is written with a superscript "h", so qi is [t͡ɕʰ] in IPA. j- should not be aspirated. It should not be voiced either.
The -i bit shouldn't cause too much trouble. It's pronounced [i], which is the same sound as in English "free", although a bit further forward and more closed. The difference is not very big.
鸡/雞, jī, "chicken", IPA: [t͡ɕi], with a high, flat tone.
If forced to choose between the alternatives you gave, then "dj" is probably closer because it also combines a stop with a fricative (called an affricate). Note that both the stop itself and the fricative are the wrong ones, though. "dj" in English is voiced, whereas Pinyin j- is not. However, note that initial consonants in English are often not voiced either (or not clearly so at least), so in practice, the pronunciation is rather close); see commend by John Frazer below. The tongue position is also different, as explained above.


Reasons for Chinese changing from monosyllabic to disyllabic? Classical and Middle Chinese are often considered monosyllabic languages - most words are single syllables. Modern Chinese however is considered disyllabic - most words are two syllables.

For example, take this excerpt about the Battle of Red Cliffs, from Records of the Three Kingdoms, a text written in the 3rd century, in Classical Chinese:

  公至赤壁，與備戰，不利。
  (Cao Cao came to Red Cliffs, fought with Liu Bei, and lost.)

If that passage were to be written in modern Chinese, a lot of words might become disyllabic. For example, 公 = 曹操, 至 = 到达, 備 = 劉備, 戰 = 作戰 and so forth.

My question is what are the main reasons for this transition?

The Phonology of Standard Chinese by San Duanmu (端木三) has an entire chapter devoted to this topic (The Word Length Problem):

  In this section I review six previous approaches to the disyllabic phenomenon in Chinese. For convenience, I call them (a) the homophone-avoidance approach, (b) the speech-tempo approach, (c) the grammatical approach, (d) the rhythm approach, (e) the morphologization approach, and (f) the stress-length approach. These approaches are not all proposed by different people. For example, Guo (1938) suggests that both (a) and (b) play a role, Lü (1963) suggests that both (b) and (c) play a role, and N. Li (1990) suggests that both (c) and (d) play a role. I argue that none of the approaches, nor combinations of them, can explain the disyllabic facts adequately.

In my own readings, I found that the homophone-avoidance approach (which @user58955 explained in his first point) to be the most common explanation. It feels true too because phonological changes since Old Chinese have merged the pronunciation of many words that were once distinct, and modern Chinese languages that have been more phonologically conservative tend to retain more monosyllabicity (such as Min and Cantonese). The book points out several issues with the homophone-avoidance explanation though:

  ...as Lü (1963) points out, most increase in disyllabic words took place in the past 100 years or so, during which period there has been little change in the phonology of Chinese.

However, this objection could be partially explained by the rapid incorporation of modern concepts (which @user58955 explained in his second point).

There is another interesting point concerning the homophone-avoidance approach:

  ... many proponents of homophone-avoidance ... assume that classical Chinese mostly consisted of monosyllabic words. However, when Chinese characters were created ... Chinese already had numerous homophones. ... In other words, there must have been many homophones from the beginning. This raises the question of why people did not create disyllabic words to avoid ambiguity then. The answer, as suggested by Guo (1938), must be that classical written texts did not reflect the spoken language, in part because of the scarcity of writing materials, and in part because characters offer more distinctions than speech. ... In any case, there is no clear evidence that classical spoken Chinese mostly consisted of monosyllabic words.

Anyway, the chapter is an interesting read. The conclusion eventually states:

  I have also argued that, unlike a popular belief, homophone-avoidance does not play a clear role in the increase of disyllabic words in Chinese. Instead, the increase is mainly due to an increase in new words...

  Finally, I have argued that word lengths are constrained by metrical structure, in that some positions prefer a disyllabic words and other prefer a monosyllabic word. ...


Enigma of 討厭. Why does it mean "to hate"? As far as I know 寸 is a depiction of

  a finger pointing at a wrist where one’s pulse was taken. The distance
  between a hand and that point is small, so this portion signified a
  little…

So IMHO 寸 has the double meaning of:

to measure
to press

Some say 寸 has the additional meaning of "something small" (I personally doubt that, yet).

So 討 should mean 言(to talk) + 寸(to press) = to ask, to demand.

Examples:
  1.討親  to marry a wife.
  2.討求  ask, beg, demand, (to press on with ones desires)
  3.討情  ask for leniency.
  4.討伐  to suppress rebels, to vindicate authority.
  5.討飯  beg for food.

So here we can see that "to press" and "to ask" are somewhat synonyms under the roof of 寸.

But 討厭? I can't understand how "to press/ask" + "dog eating meat in cave" should form a meaning of "to hate".

Does anyone know the story behind that 討厭 word?

厭(厌) is a phono-semantic character. The "dog" part only indicate its pronunciation.
In Old Chinese, this character means "fulfilled". Then its meaning changed to "become bored, dislike". So 討厭 literally means "ask for + being disliked".


Did the man lock up his 6-year old son at home overnight? (把6岁大的儿子一个人锁在家里整整一夜) This question is about 后来才知道 in the following sentence:

  他为了帮我，把6岁大的儿子一个人锁在家里整整一夜，彻底感动了我，交往不到一年，我们结婚了。
  ... bǎ 6 suì dà de érzi yīgè rén suǒ zài jiālǐ zhěngzhěng yīyè ...
  嫁给离婚带孩子的男人 我的生活只剩下两个字, guaixun.com

I translate this to something like:

  To help me [为了帮我], he took his 6-year old son [6岁大的儿子] and locked [锁] him in the house [在家里] by himself [一个人] for the whole [整整] night [夜], which thoroughly [彻底] touched [感动] me, and being in contact [交往] for less than a year [不到一年], we married [我们结婚了].

This seems like a peculiar sentence: it seems the man locked up his 6-year old son at home overnight, and the woman (who wrote this article) thought this behavior was so great that she felt "touched".

I'm surely misunderstanding it.

Question: Did the man lock up his 6-year old son at home overnight?

Your understanding of the sentence is correct. The man in the story did lock his six years old son alone at home for entire night so that he could help a woman.

The writing of that woman illustrated she is a self centered person. And the man was a horrible father.

Side note:

  Around 1997, I watched in the news in Hong Kong that there were two working parents who kept their two preschool age children locked in at home during their working hours, because they couldn't afford daycare. Unfortunately, a fire broke out in that apartment and the two kids couldn't escape  because the door was locked and were killed in the fire. The parents felt so guilty, they hanged themselves within few days.

That's why I feel so strongly about locking kids at home by themselves-- Nothing worth the risk!


On a HSK6 test, why is 社会稳定，人民生活水平显著提高，这一切都给人留下了深刻的印象 the incorrect sentence? In a YouTube video a native Chinese speaker answers questions on the HSK-6 test.  He gets one wrong: to identify which "has grammatical errors or uses wrong words" below:

A. 每个人都可以有所作为，但前提条件是认定了就要去做，而不是半途而废。
B. 经过艰苦的跋涉，终于到达南天门，然后我又一鼓作气，登上了玉皇顶。
C. 社会稳定，人民生活水平显著提高，这一切都给人留下了深刻的印象。
D. 他坚信母亲的教诲，相信自己一定是一朵花，只是还没等到开花的时节。

He thought they were all correct, so he chose D, but the correct answer is C.
Question: What is wrong with C?
I'm going to guess that 人民 ("the people") should be either 民众 ("the populace") or 老百姓 ("ordinary people").  I also feel it omits grammatical particles (的 地 得), but maybe that's okay.  I don't really know.

In all seriousness, as a college student majoring in Chinese linguistics & a native speaker, all of the above explanations don't make sense to me. I think there’s nothing grammatically wrong with this sentence, which means it is simply a bad question.

  I'm going to guess that 人民 ("the people") should be either 民众 ("the
  populace") or 老百姓 ("ordinary people"). I also feel it omits
  grammatical particles (的 地 得), but maybe that's okay. I don't really
  know.

人民生活水平 is a common expression in Chinese, and the usage of 人民 here is correct. This sentence, however, does not omit any grammatical particles (的) either, since it's feasible to use a sentence to serve as a subject. "國語的推行需要大家的努力"(literally The implementation of the Mandarin language requires the efforts of all) and "在全社會推行國語需要大家的努力" are both grammatically correct.

  In summary, 一切 is an abstract term but this usage is too concrete.

Please pay attention to this: "一切 and 所有 may not have a scope." This means that
it's fine even if it has a scope. E.g. When preparing for a dinner, people often say "可口的蛋糕、浪漫的蠟燭，一切都已準備好了。" Nevertheless, to some extent it's also an abstract usage since the things prepared includes but not limited to the two preparations (cakes and candles) previously mentioned.

  Technically, there's no grammar or spelling mistake, But when the
  sentence only listed two points, using 'both' is better than 'all'.

This is exactly the point. There's no strict regulations on the usage of "both"/"all" in Chinese. Some might say one way is better than the other, but basically it's due to the impact of English grammar. It is grammatically correct to use "一切" to address two things only, though it might not meet everyone's sense of language.

In summary, I see no reason to blame that dude in the video. This is merely a bad question.


Usage of direction and location (destination) complements (衣服都装进箱子里去了 vs. 衣服都装到箱子里了) In some situations, it is not clear to me when to use a direction complement or a location (destination) complement.

For instance, I read from a book that the sentence "衣服都装进箱子里去了" is correct. This sentence has a direction complement. Could one also use a location complement and say "衣服都装到箱子里了". And if yes, what is the difference in meaning?

Another example where one uses a direction complement is "他搬进城里来了"。 Is "他搬到城里来了" with a location complement also correct?

On the other hand, what confuses me is that in the sentence "气球升到天上去了", one uses a location complement. Could one also use a direction complement "气球升上天上去了"

Thanks for your help in advance.

The first example:
“衣服都装进箱子里去了” and “衣服都装到箱子里去了”
has the same meaning and is both OK.
The only difference I think is the former one indicates the action(put in) but the latter one emphasises on the state of the clothes.I am not sure because these two are almost the same in daily use and nobody will notice the difference between them.

For the third example:
You can use a direction complement.
“气球升到天上去了” /“气球升上天了”
However native speakers do not use “气球升上天上去了”.
Because the meaning of “天上” contains both location(天) and direction(上).


What's the meaning of 帖子的顶楼？ I know 帖子 means post or thread on internet forum.

What is 顶楼? Is it the 1st reply?

As I understand it:

一楼 = first post

顶楼 = latest post

We often see post refer the previous posts as 楼下

Take this page for example:

85樓 (2019-10-07 02:23) is the latest post

2樓  (2018-05-29 15:49) is the oldest post (一楼 must had been deleted)


What are some good Chinese short books/novels for beginners? Something a young Chinese kid would read (5-10 years old).

Here's one starting point:
我的第一本日记：二年级的美羊羊

I think it's part of a series of similar books called "我的第一本日记".
It's a schoolgirl's diary but not a real diary, I think an adult actually wrote it. It's got pinyin printed above the 汉字.

I read it myself; didn't understand everything but I still found it to be a rewarding read. Makes a nice change from all the boring textbook material. It's probably suitable for Chinese kids 8 years old or upwards.

I admit this one is probably more for intermediate students than beginners, but perhaps there are others in this series that are easier.


Difference between 问问 and 问 What’s the difference? I saw this sentence and was confused why there’s two 问s：

等他回来的时候问问他。

From my answer to this question: "What is the purpose of verb reduplication?":

  phrases like 笑笑，看看，走走 or 吃吃 are verb reduplication, it serves to indicate the verb is in a slight degree or a casual manner

The fundamental meaning of the sentence is not change by the verb reduplication, but the tone of the sentence is changed by it:

等他回来的时候问他。- "ask him when he comes back" (level or blunt tone; in a assertive, commanding or requesting manner)
等他回来的时候问问他。-  "ask him when he comes back" (softer tone, less assertive, commanding or requesting)

Reduplicate the verb 问 here is like adding filler word like "try" or "let's" in  English sentences to make them sound less assertive. e.g. "(try) ask him when he comes back" ; " (let's) ask him when he comes back "


Is 桌上战争游戏 the term used for "Tabletop Wargaming / Miniwargaming"? Wargame is 战争游戏 and tabletop game is 桌上游戏 so I'm assuming that "Tabletop Wargaming" is 桌上战争游戏? Is this the term used?
This type of game is also called "Miniature Wargaming" or "Miniwargaming," is there another word for this is Chinese?
(I am referring to tabletop strategy war games played with miniature figures and terrain).

At least on the Chinese Wikipedia article about Warhammer 4000, 桌上战棋游戏 is used.


Does "格秀拉康" have an equivalent proper noun in English? 格秀拉康 is most likely a Chinese transliteration of Tibetan.

The English is more likely to reflect the Tibetan pronunciation rather than the Chinese one, e.g.: 甘孜 in English becomes something like: Garzê.

I wouldn't even know how to began to hazard a guess.

Information online is scant.

Ideas?

edit: perhaps 拉康 is something like Lhakhang?

edit 2: is it kartsog lhakhang?

Yes, it is Kartsog Lhakhang.
It means the "Temple of the white [pure] assembly".

  Kartsog Lhakhang (格秀拉康) is the oldest and most important Buddhist temple in Yushu (玉树) town. Its exact origins are unknown, but a small temple on this site dates back to the founding of Jyekundo (Yushu) town by Sakya Pandita (萨迦·班智达, 1182-1251) in the thirteenth century. The present temple took its shape in the eighteenth century. Located in the heart of the historic town, it is the local community's neighborhood temple, the most important place in their daily life. It is also used for fasting practice (Tibetan: nyungney 斋戒), hence the name Kartsog Lhakhang, “temple of the white [pure] assembly.”

康 (khang) means the house or building. For example,
医院 (hospital) 门康
商店 (store or shop) 村康
旅馆 (hotel or inn) 准康
书店 (bookstore) 贝村康
银行 (bank) 威康

拉 (lha) means the heaven or god.

Then, 拉康 (lhakhang) means the temple (神殿, 庙, 寺).

The Chinese name of Kartsog Lakhang (格秀拉康) is 格秀经堂 or 嘎措寺.


Used degree complement I am not sure of 中国的发展速度比美国的快得多

I am not quite sure if this is grammatical or not.

I used 快得多 to describe speed of development is faster.

You are already correct! Some alternatives, you can also use Adj.+多了 or Adj.+很多 to express the degree is high. So, all of these sentences have the same meaning.

  中国的发展速度比美国的快得多。
  中国的发展速度比美国的快多了。
  中国的发展速度比美国的快很多。


Difference between 那 vs 呢 and when to use it What is the difference between 那 vs 呢 and where should I use it?

哪:
1.
Question words. Ex:  Where is he?  他在哪兒？ , How do I know?、我哪兒知道？
2.
After the end of nasal rhyme. Same to 啊 . Ex: 天哪！  (天啊!)
3.
哪吒:A fairy in a Buddhist story. In the novel, there is a story that the broken bones return to the parents and appear as the parents. Or called 哪吒三太子.
呢:
1.Whispering. Metaphor the euphemistic voice. Ex: 細語呢喃
2.Auxiliary word.

2.1 Show the problem. Ex: What should I do? 我該怎麼辦呢?
2.2 Show confirm. Ex: It's still early! 時間還早得很呢！
2.3 The tone of the expression stops. Ex: Although your travel plan is very attractive, but! I don't want to go at all. 雖然你的計畫很吸引人，可是呢！我一點都不想去。

那:
1.Demonstrative pronouns. Ex: 那天、那本書
2.Tone words that express acceptance and transition. Ex: If you have something to do, then I will find someone to go. 如果你有事要忙，那我就找別人去


人摔了出去　人 is my body. Is it common? 不料，一天早晨，我骑自行车，被一个人撞倒，人摔了出去，左手骨折。

"Unexpectedly, One day in the morning, when I rode my bicycle,

I ran into a person and (I or my body) was thrown out of, my left hand was broken."

人 is used instead of "身体".

Why is  this expression used?

In Chinese, is "人"  often used for the meaning of "my body"?

In my feeling, "人" is used for the meaning of "human or person" , academically,

philosophically, historically, literally, and so on.

It is not for the meaning of the particular someone or the particular body.

It is not concrete but abstractive.

So, I think "人摔了出去" should be changed to "我摔了出去" or "身体摔了出去".

"人" is commonly used for the meaning of "my body"?

I have no confidence if I can distinguish this meaning when I listen to "ren".

In this site,  "人" is very questioned but the meaning is "human or person".

According to dictionaries, 人 here means this sense:

  （人的身体或意识） state of
  one's health; how one feels:

  When the patient was taken to hospital, he had already lost
  consciousness.

  送到医院，(他)人已经昏迷过去了。

  I haven't been feeling well for several days.

  这几天我人不大舒服。

In your context, it means the sense of one's body. It could be also referring to one's feelings/consciousness(see the above example).

It is a pretty common usage of 人. Let's say when I say 我人不太舒服, I might mean 我身体不太舒服, feeling vomiting, headache and etc.


How to properly Translate the "在目标为。。。时使用." sentence pattern I just started work on a new translation project for a client –– translating a Chinese document that talks about conflict resolution strategies. The original author really likes to use this particular sentence pattern: "在目标为。。。时使用."

Example:

" 妥协: 在目标为越过矛盾这一障碍并一齐向前看时使用."

I translated the above sentence as "Compromising: used in situations where the goal is to overcome the obstacles created by the conflict and look to the future."

What do people think? Is this an appropriate way to translate this sentence pattern, or is it a bit too loose?

I would render it thusly (like that word!):

妥协:
A compromise:

在目标为越过矛盾这一障碍并一齐向前看时使用。
(a lowering of your demands) with the goal of overcoming conflicting views while at the same time looking forward.


What can we make of the name 九儿? Two questions about the childhood name of the pivotal character in Mo Yan's Red Sorghum Clan:

Her childhood name was 九儿.  Does this suggest she was one of (at least) nine children?  I do not recall any point of the novel talking about any siblings but I may well have forgotten something.  And of course the novel could imply they existed, and just not talk about them.

And should I suppose that Mo Yan intended to use the homophony with
酒 (wine)?  Or does Mandarin just have so many homophones that I should not make anything of this one?  In the story she has no special relation to 高粱酒 when she is young, but it becomes central to her adult life.

Because she born on 9th Sep of Chinese traditional calendar, it's a Chinese traditional festival, which we call it "重九"(double nine).


How do I say "I need some advice about X"? For example if I'm going to a wedding in a few weeks, I might ask my friends "I need some wedding clothing advice" or "I need some advice about what to wear".

I know that I can directly ask 参加婚礼穿什么好？or something along those lines, but is there an indirect way to introduce the question? Like the English sentences I wrote above. How could they be naturally translated?

In Chinese, what we would naturally say is

  你知道参加婚礼应该穿什么好吗？

Or even more indirectly

  你觉得参加婚礼应该穿什么好？


Is there a difference between the use of 暖和 and 温暖？ My dictionary says that they both mean 'warm'. Is there any difference in their usage? Using Google picture search, the only difference I can muster is that 暖和 is used for cats and jumpers, and 温暖 is for the outdoor temperature. But then, I'm not too sure how the meaning of 暖和 transplants itself onto cats lol
What be your thoughts?

温暖- warm; warmth; to warm
暖和- warm; nice and warm; warm and comfortable

Difference between 暖和 and 温暖
暖和 is strictly an adjective; 温暖 can be a noun, adjective or even verb
Example:

室內很暖和; 室內很温暖 (both are adjective 'warm')

送上一份溫暖 (溫暖 is a noun 'warmth')

用熱水溫暖一下雙手 (溫暖 is a verb 'to warm')

Both 温暖 and 暖和 can refer to physical warmth; but 温暖 can also be used metaphorically for emotion of "warm feeling".
Example:

we say: "從未嚐過家庭温暖" (have never felt warmth of a family) not "從未嚐過家庭暖和"

we say:"內心十分温暖" (feel warm inside one's heart)not "內心十分暖和"

温暖 is more general; 暖和 is more specific, if you say 感到温暖, it can either mean you feel 'physical warmth' or feel 'emotionally touched' , while 感到暖和  can only mean you are actually feeling warmth physically


Chinese for "patch" in the sense of "software patch" The dictionary lists many words for "patch" but none that explicitly state they mean patch in the software sense of the word.

EDIT: Dictionary has now been updated

It's 补丁. Like the English word "patch", this word can also mean "a piece of cloth used to cover holes in clothes when they get worn".


What is the difference in pronunciation between saying "jin" and "jing"? I speak Chinese natively (我讲中文，普通话) but my pronunciation is borrowed from Jiangsu parents, so I was wondering what is the difference between "jin" (今) and "jing" (京)? Is there any difference in identifying such? Once, somebody remarked "haha, your southern ignorance voids your ability to understand the differences of jin/jing," and so I hope somebody can help me understand this without saying "it's regional" or "it takes practice". If need be, you can respond in simplified Chinese. Thanks! 多谢!

Update: I pronounce "jin" as "JEEN" and "jing" as "JEENg" but the "g" is so slight I can barely notice it. Is there any way to differentiate them?

Studies have shown that if you grow up in a language environment where speakers do not distinguish between two sounds, your brain will lose the ability to easily perceive the difference between them. A notable example of this phenomenon is the inability for most Japanese speakers to distinguish between r and l.

Jiangsu is an area where the Wu Chinese dialects are traditionally spoken. The Wu dialects, on the whole, do not distinguish between final nasal consonants such as n and ng. In many cases, they are allophonic, with the consonant that is actually produced being determined by the vowel that precedes it. This is likely the reason why you currently don't perceive the difference between jin and jing, because the two syllables have the same vowel when spoken according to the standard. However, it is possible to train yourself to perceive them as separate sounds.

Being able to produce both the n and ng sounds is the first step in helping you recognize the difference between them. It may be helpful for you to think of the relationship between the n and ng sounds as being similar to the relationship between the t and k sounds.

The n sound is an alveolar nasal and the t sound is an alveolar stop, which mean that they are both produced with the tongue touching the alveolar ridge, which is where your teeth meet your gums.
The ng sound is a velar nasal and the k sound is a velar stop. They are both produced with the tongue touching the velum, which is located near the back of the roof of your mouth.

Alveolar sounds require that your top and bottom teeth be touching; therefore, when you say jin, you should end with your top and bottom teeth touching and the tip of your tongue should be against your gum ridge. However, velar sounds are produced with a slightly open mouth, so in order to pronounce jing, try to end the syllable with your mouth slightly open; your top and bottom teeth should not be touching and the back of your tongue should be against the back of the roof of your mouth.

Once you've practice being able to pronounce the two distinctly, keep repeating it to yourself and you should be able to start training your brain to notice the difference when you hear it in speech.


How is non-standard Cantonese spoken by some mainland Chinese speakers different from "standard" pronunciation? As someone who's more or less a native Cantonese speaker, I've noticed that some speakers from mainland China (from Cantonese speaking areas) sound "weird", in that I could clearly notice a difference between them and Hong Kong speakers.

Unfortunately, I can't find a video on YouTube of some examples, but I know of Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong who attribute this to "鄉音". (I have most definitely seen something of the sort on some Hong Kong news channels before, but it's difficult to locate any specific clips.)

Is there anything that generally characterizes these deviations from the sort of Cantonese that might be spoken by Hong Kongers or is the potential "鄉音" influence impossible to generalize? (Some link to another analysis on the internet could also come in handy.)

This would seem relevant, but the difference I'm interested in is more of the difference between a subset of mainland speakers and other Cantonese speakers. For what it's worth, I have not seen the same differences among Chinese American Cantonese speakers with family from mainland China, and I know of mainland Chinese who essentially speak "properly". I am also not sure if this is a non-native speaker problem, particularly in areas like Shenzhen where Mandarin might be more heavily used. But at the very least, note that I am interested in non-standard pronunciation among some mainland Chinese in Cantonese speaking areas, and not, say, a Beijing Mandarin-speaker who knows some Cantonese.

Edit: Sorry that I misunderstood the question.  I thought Maroon was talking about non-native Cantonese speakers.

Most native Mandarin speakers have trouble handling the rising (上聲) and departing tones (去聲) in Cantonese.  It is because Cantonese further differentiates them into high-rising (陰上), low-rising (陽上), high-level (陰去) and low-level (陽去).  (Please refer to http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9B%9B%E8%81%B2#.E7.8E.B0.E4.BB.A3.E6.96.B9.E8.A8.80.E5.A3.B0.E8.B0.83.E5.AF.B9.E7.85.A7 for the exact tone contours.)

They also have difficulties pronouncing checked tones (入聲) as they are also absent from Mandarin.  And, again, there are three levels of checked tones (陰入, 中入 and 陽入), making it even more difficult to manage.


Why “mistreat” is translated as "三顿饭" by Google translate? In Google translate, one of the Chinese translations of “mistreat” is “三顿饭”:

What does “三顿饭” have anything to do with "mistreat"? Is it an idiom?

Mistranslation is the cause of this ridiculous translation.

Don't trust Google translate, especially when it comes to Chinese. Just report this mistranslation to Google.


What are Chinese terms for 'androgynous', 'gender neutral', 'non binary' etc. to imply gender neutrality? I’m currently working on a textiles project for University inspired by Asian streetwear subculture and my main focus is androgyny and gender fluidity with the aim to create a collection of unisex/genderless clothing.

I was wondering if anyone knew the mandarin and the more current colloquial slang (if there is any) for some terms (eg. Androgynous, gender fluid, unisex/genderless, gender neutral). The reason I’d love to know some of these terms is because I’d like to actually use the simplified Chinese within my designs.

My family have recently moved to Shanghai and I live there when I’m not studying in the UK but I have to admit I have an appalling grasp on the language! While I guess I could ask people over there, I would never want to use language in my work that could be deemed offensive or derogatory and don't want to risk this happening, and I haven't found a lot of literature on the topic while searching the internet.

If you have any suggestions for me, I would hugely appreciate the help! Thank you so much in advance

The Wikipedia page for 性别酷儿 mentions:

  性别酷儿（Genderqueer、gender-fluid、non-binary）

and also goes into specific definitions:

  非二元性别（Gender Queer，Gender non-binary）
  精神双性人（Bigender）
  精神三性人（Trigender）
  精神无性人（Agender）
  精神泛性人（Pangender）
  性别流体（Gender fluid）

中性 also works for gender neutral.


Does 的话 in 这句常挂在嘴边上的话，便点点头答应了 create "If~" subclause? In the following sentence:

  小姐见他有点儿犹豫，便有声有色地向他介绍吸粉的妙处。这时，他想起了，“在社会上混，什么都得尝试尝试” 这句常挂在嘴边上的话，便点点头答应了。

Regarding this usage of 的话, the first I came up with is the use of "If ~, then ..." structure. But this lacks the two fundamental points:

It lacks 如果. But I know it has no problem grammatically, and the omission of 如果 is common.
It lacks 就 in the main clause. If subclause is 如果～的话, then the main clause needs 就, 那, or 那么.

So my questions are:

Is my understanding that the usage of 的话 here is "If ~"?
If it is correct, is it acceptable to use 便 in the main clause instead of 就 or 那?

The sentence also sounds a bit awkward, meaning:

  If this sentence always hangs on the mouse, (he) nodded the head.

Which sounds a bit awkward. "As long/far as" or just use "so" sound more natural for me, like:

  This sentence always hangs on the mouse, so he nodded the head.

So how does 的话 work here and what is the correct meaning of the sentence?

No, it's not a if...then... structure here.

话 here is used as its literal meaning， words or sentence.

The main clause is actually 他想起了话. And the 话 he recalled was “在社会上混，什么都得尝试尝试”, which always hangs  on his mouth(implying he often says that sentence.)

  他想起了，<“在社会上混，什么都得尝试尝试”> {这句常挂在嘴边上的}话

So when that sentence came into his mind, 便点点头答应了 he nodded and agree to do it.


Could 恭喜发财 sound inappropriate? I sent new year greetings to my Chinese teacher last week, writing "新年快乐! 恭喜发财!". When I saw her today she thanked me, but said I should never write 恭喜发财 to a teacher, because it's a greeting only people obsessed with money would use.

Is 恭喜发财 generally understood this way? Who could I / should I write or say 恭喜发财 to? Also, if it was indeed inappropriate, how bad was it? Did it just sound awkward, or was it worse?

恭喜发财 may not be the best greeting word from student to teacher, but it's not awkward - the intention is always good.

For example, parents usually wish children with good health, striving and studying. If a parent greets children with wealth, you may find them funny, fashionable or friend-like, but definitely not mammonish or evil.

In old Chinese traditions, there were strict rules about etiquette and word usage. A small misuse can be considered a big issue. But that time has long gone.

It might sound a little sarcastic if you say 恭喜发财 to someone who is obviously in an opposite situation, otherwise it should be fine to say it to anyone.


Why is 这件衣服有点儿深颜色 grammatically wrong? The correct sentence is 这件衣服颜色有点儿深.

I do not understand that why 颜色 is not put right after 深. Please explain to me.

Thank you so much.

有点儿深 is used to modified 这件衣服颜色, it is appropriate to put modifier after somethings you want to modified. For example 這個音樂非常好聽 you will not say  這個非常好聽音樂. So I use bracket parentheses to denote this structure as [Somethings] [description used to modified somethings]. There are tones of example you can find.


which one is a better translation and seems natural in Chinese? For the translation of the sentence:

Let's all press "commit" button!

I have three options:

让我们按下"Commit!"按钮
我们都按''Commit!''按钮
我们所有人都来按''commit遵守''按钮！

Which is better?

If you mean a button that appears on a screen, it is better to say "点击（click）..."

  现在，让我们点击“Commit”。

I would rather omit "键" or "按钮" in the above sentence.

按钮 normally refers to actual buttons that you can press by hand，such as the on/off button on your TV or computer.

键 can be used when you talk about keyboards, remote control and so on.

If you are talking about an actual button, your first translation appears to be the most natural one.


What's the difference between 缺乏 and 缺少? Is there a meaningful difference between these two?
I have seen that 缺少 tends to be used with towns (这个城市缺少一个泳池), while 缺乏 seems to be more on the small-scale (你缺乏合适的经验).
But I'm not sure if this is just a coincidence, or if there is a better way to distinguish the two?

Two criteria to determine whether to used 缺乏 or 缺少:

In the sense of syntax, 缺乏 can only refer to abstract ideas or groups of item (somewhat abstract, I think) and it cannot be used to refer to numbers of items or any specific item. 缺少 can refer to anything which 缺乏 can refer to, plus it can be number specific. For example:

你缺乏合适的经验。 >>> abstract idea
我缺乏信心。 (I lack confidence.) >>> abstract idea
我们缺乏物资。 (We lack supplies.) >>> group of item
我缺乏维生素 C。 (I lack vitamin c.) >>> group of item (one does not have to have "a specific molecule" of vitamin c, thus 缺乏 can be used here.)

All of the above 缺乏s are interchangeable with 缺少.

这个城市缺少一个泳池。 >>> number specific
我缺少几本书。 (I lack a few books.) >>> specific items

However, in daily speech, 缺少 is often shortened to 缺, it sounds more natural.

In the sense of meaning, 缺乏 means "lack" in a more serious or more severe sense. 缺少 (or just 缺) means "lack" in general. For example:

你缺乏勇气。 >>> emphasise the seriousness of "lack". In this case, using the shortened form (你缺勇气) might seem a bit weird since this sentence probably is used in a more serious context.
这个城市缺少一个泳池。 >>> just "lack" in general, not in an urgent or serious way. Using 缺 (这个城市缺一个泳池) is also fine.
我们缺乏物资。 >>> probably want to emphasise the "lack" when one is in a bad scenario.

One only uses 缺乏 or 缺少 when one wants to emphasise the difference in meaning. Otherwise, people just say 缺 when refer to the general idea of "lack". In the written language, the shortened form 缺 is used less often since it is less formal.

In short, 缺少 = 缺, and 缺乏 is a specific and emphasised version of 缺少. It is a bit like 缺 means "lack", and adding 乏 makes it more serious (and can only refer to more abstract ideas :p).

Hope this helps.


What's wrong with 很多同学坐着在草地上? 很多同学坐着在草地上 => My textbook gives me the correct sentence: 很多同学坐在草地上.

But I think the original one is not wrong.

(1) 很多同学坐着在草地上. Many students are sitting on the grass.

(2) 很多同学坐在草地上. Many students sit on the grass.

Is what I think correct? Does anyone have any better explanation?

The particle 着 indicates the continuous aspect, and if we want to use this particle, the appropriate structure is:

  Place + Verb + 着 + [Noun Phrase]
  Alternative existential sentences; Pattern with 着, Chinese Grammar Wiki

So the "place" should come before the verb (as usual), i.e.:

  很多同学在草地上坐着。

It's continuous, so it is happening and will continue to happen.  The context will give the time period in which it occurs.  It means what you said: "Many students are sitting on the grass." (Although, I feel 同学 is better translated to "classmates" than "students", but this depends on context.)

We generally think of 坐 as intransitive, i.e., it doesn't take an object (i.e., "I sit" 我坐着)  For comparison, 吃 can be transitive (e.g., "I eat food" 我吃着饭).  Although we can say:

  很多同学坐着地铁。 (Many classmates are taking the subway.)

but here 坐着 means "take", and 地铁 is the object of the sentence.

The official version:

  很多同学坐在草地上。

uses a different grammar structure with the "special verb" 坐:

  Subj. + [Special Verb] + 在 + Location
  Special cases of "zai" following verbs, Chinese Grammar Wiki

And I believe your translation is correct: "Many students sit on the grass."


Translation of seal script text (Poem identified: 元・譚處端《西江月・作伴修行未是》) I've been trying to translate some seal script on a small piece a friend brought back from Japan.
I've been using http://www.guoxuedashi.com/ and hanziyuan.net to guess them and think I ended up with this:
line 1: 佗伴像水来是XX
line 2: 物叱水XX雲XX
Line 3: 佺東氣何

Can anyone assist with the characters, and with a translation?

Thanks so much,

Dom

This is an incomplete text of the poem 《西江月・作伴修行未是》 by Yuan Dynasty poet 譚處端, produced verbatim from the image, detailed below:

The text is split into columns from right to left as on the image, with pauses inserted at「//」. Characters inside parentheses（）indicate the modern equivalent.

⿰亻（作）伴修行未是 // （飄飄）

物外行持 // 孤雲野鶴

任東㢴（西）// 何有些兒礙

滯 // 淡飯（尋）他兩頓 // 清

The rest of the poem is:
清淨淨無爲 //
寂寥瀟洒最相宜 //
別有一般滋味

My translation (roughly paraphrased):

元・譚處端《西江月・作伴修行未是》
作伴修行未是，飄飄物外行持。
The accompanying disciples' self-cultivating journey is incomplete, walking along the turbulent spiritual passages;
孤雲野鶴任東西。
following the path of mysterious, recluse sages.
何有些兒礙滯。
What is there to stop their journey?
淡飯尋他兩頓，清清淨淨無爲。
Finding scarce meals, plain, simple, and natural,
寂寥瀟洒最相宜。
the balance of tranquillity and aloofness
別有一般滋味。
has a sweetness of its own.


Past 了 used with a simple object I've read in many grammars and have seen in many places that, when we have a verb-了, its object has to be a complex one (taking a number, an attribute, etc.), for example:

  我吃了一个苹果。
  我吃了那个红苹果。

These grammars also state that when the object is a simple one, the only possible and correct 了 would be a sentence 了 or a double 了, as in:

  我吃苹果了。 (ambiguous)
  我吃了苹果了。

But I have heard and seen in many places people saying (and accepting) sencences like:

  我吃了苹果。

Once, a native Chinese friend of mine said that when he heard these two sentences:

  我吃了苹果。
  我吃苹果了。

He felt that in the former he knew what apple was being talked about. After that I started to wonder if it would be possible to accept sentences with a simple object and if the verb-了 in those cases would define the object in the same sense as the 把 structure does.

Any comment would be appreciated.

我吃了苹果。
我吃苹果了。

In practice, both sentences are applicable depending on the context. See these examples:

A: 你吃了什么东西？
B: 我吃了苹果。
A: 你吃什么了？
B: 我吃苹果了。


Is there a difference between 型態 and 形態？ Both appear in my dictionary (CC loaded by pleco). The first definition reads:

“Form, shape, type, style, pattern”. No examples.

The second reads:

“Form, shape, pattern, morphology”. One example:

  社會經濟形態

The native pleco dictionary (PLC) contains only 形態。

Edit:

Evidence for the use of 型態：

Chinese Wikipedia 生活型態

Chinese Wikipedia 意識型態

資料型態

I also found  this question about exactly the same thing in Chinese with a couple of answers I have trouble understanding. The answer I understand best seems to suggest 形態 is applicable to material things，while 型態 is more general. This seems hard to reconcile with my dictionary defining both as shape, but at least agrees with the occurrences of 型態 I provided.

We could firstly define the differences between 形 and 型.  While both defining as shape, I will say 型 is more toward 'shaped' in a sense:

  形 focus on the description of appearance, like a circle (圆形), square (正方形) which are
  mostly tangible, where 型 refers to standardizing of
  form / shape / pattern.

For example, 人的形態 - the form of a man - describe the appearance / gesture of a man.  Same goes for 社會經濟形態 - description of the economic form of a society.

資料型態 - data type - the types of data defined such as integer / float / etc.

Also note that 形 can be used as a verb which has various meaning depends on usage.


Does 刚开始工作的时候... mean "when starting work" (each day) or "when entering the workforce"? This is from HSK4上 (page 49):

  刚开始工作的时候，什么最重要？
  What is most important when I first started working?  (Google Translate)

I'm confused here: I can't tell whether this means:

"when starting work" (perhaps each workday) or
"when entering the workforce" (as in, first day of work, perhaps in my life, or perhaps at a new company).

My impression from context that it has the second meaning (it's related to a passage which begins 年轻人刚开始工作的时候，不要太急着赚钱...), but I don't know how I could figure that out.

Question: Does 刚开始工作的时候... mean "when starting work" (each day) or "when entering the workforce"?

刚开始工作的时候，什么最重要？

I'd interpret it as when entering the workforce, which  is the second meaning you listed.

When someone says 刚开始工作的时候, I'd assume he meant when entering the workforce.  If they try to convey when starting work each workday, I'd expect something like: 每天早上开始工作的时候; 每天开始工作的时候; 每天开始工作时; 每天工作开始时.

One could bend that rule/convention sometimes, but it's not hard to figure out what they really mean in a given context anyway.


Why does 葛藤(갈등) mean 'conflict' or 'troubles'? I am learning Korean, and my dictionary gives an English meaning for 葛藤(갈등) as 'conflict' or 'troubles'. Why do these characters combine do give this meaning? Both characters seem to mean some kind of plant (although in each case, I'm getting varying definitions as to exactly which plant!)

The Wiktionary page for 葛藤 says:

Etymology: From the tendency of the vines of kudzu and rattan to become entangled.

No citation is provided, however.
The Korean Wikipedia page for 갈등 says something similar:

어원: 왼쪽으로 감아 자라나는 칡과 오른쪽으로 감아 자나라는 등나무가 서로 얽히고 설킨 모습에서 유래.
Etymology: It is derived from the shape of the wisteria that is wrapped to the left and the wisteria which is wrapped to the right and entwined to the right. (Google Translate)

Again, no citation is provided, unfortunately.


What is the difference between 嫐 and 嬲? According to mdbg.net, both characters have a meaning of "to tease":

嬲

to tease / to disturb

嫐

to tease / to play around with

Are both of them primarily used as synonyms for "tease"?  Or are they commonly understood to have the connotation difference of "bothersome" vs. "playful" teasing?

If the latter is true, as a comparative Google Image search of the two characters suggests, I'm rather curious about the etymology of "man-woman-man = bothersome" and "woman-man-woman = playful".  But my main question is about current common usage of the two.

I'm afraid there is no "common usage" of these two characters in contemporary Chinese. They are used only in colloquial dialect.

For exapmle:
我嬲都不嬲你 I don't fuck with you

You may hear this sentence, but you can hardly see it in the written Chinese.

To find out their difference, just consider them as pictographic characters, then what is the difference between teasing scenarios "Man-Woman-Man" and "Woman-Man-Woman"? You can imagine it, right?

Edit: Perhaps 嫐 is more sexy(coquettish) than 嬲, according to 《康熙字典》: “娆，嫐也。”


Is this an example of chaining adjectives? I came across this sentence in my reading yesterday and even though I didn't quite understand the grammar being employed I decided to skip over it because I understood the gist of it, but I've now decided to return to the issue because skipping over issues defeats the purpose of my reading. The sentence was, "...， 没来得及避开的很快就被骷髅们蜂拥而上，撕成碎片。" which I understood to mean:

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　⤚--------------------⬎
没来得及　　-　not having enough time to  ____ 　¦
避开　　　　-　evade　----------------------------⬏　　¦
的　　　　　-　[having the property of]　----------↵
很快　　　　-　[also] is quick
就　　　　　-　immediately
被骷髅们　　-　by skeletons
蜂拥　　　　-　swarmed
而上　　　　-　over [a certain point]; excessively
，
撕　　　　　-　torn
成　　　　　-　turned into
碎片　　　　-　pieces

The completed English being, "[those who] were quick but lacked enough time to evade were immediately swarmed by skeletons in excess and torn into pieces."
The part I had difficulty with was "没来得及避开的很快". Is this a simple case of chaining adjectives? Because I can't make sense of this otherwise. And if so, is speaking (writing) like this normal?

It sounds goofy to first declare that they weren't quick enough to get away, and then follow up by calling them quick. I found on this answer that when listing adjectives any adjectives ending in 的 should be placed first. Is this something that I should just get used too?

Additionally,  I could not find an entry for 而上 in any of the readily accessible dictionaries I normally use, I had to make a trip to Baidu to just barely understand what this means, did I use it correctly?

The sentence should be understood as such:
[没来得及避开的] 很快 就[被骷髅们] 蜂拥而上，撕成碎片

没来得及避开的: the ones that don't have enough time to evade.

很快 is an adverb soon, quickly.

就 denotes something happens very soon.

I tweaked your understanding:

  those who didn't have enough time to evade were soon/quickly swarmed by skeletons in excess and torn into pieces.