What does this seal of 宋高宗 say? It is a bookmark sold by the Palace Museum in Taipei, from a seal on a piece titled 宋高宗書七言律詩.

The characters are 御書㞢(之)寶, which means seal of imperial writing/literature. The characters are heavily stylised in a blockish/squarish aesthetic (方篆) seen on many imperial seals.

The explanation of the shape of「㞢」(之) is given here.
「寶」is easy enough to recognise for those familiar with regular script. The shape of the component「宀」is explained here.

御

  「御」was originally written as

  depicting a kneeling person「卩」using a pestle「午」, indicating the meaning to use/operate > to govern > imperial. Later,「彳」was added to the left and「止」was added to the bottom of「午」, leading on to the modern form「御」.

  These motion-related additions may have been semantically influenced by two other words also written as「御」at one stage but now written as「迓」(yà, to welcome; semantic「辶」which is a stylised combination of「彳」and「止」) and 「馭」(also yù, to drive a carriage).

  In the sample,

  「」has been modified into the shape of「走」
  「彳」has also been heavily modified from a style that looked like the left component of

  「御」is thus composed from

  「午」
  「卩」
  「彳」
  「止」

  午

  「午」originally depicted a pestle:

  The word representing this meaning is now written as「杵」. The top later became「入」:

  This leads on to the seal form

  Note the similarity of the top part to「土」. Straightening the stroke out, as required with the 方篆 style, leads onto the form seen in the sample.

  卩

  「卩」originally depicted a kneeling person, which directly leads on to the form seen in the sample:

  彳

  「彳」is reduced from「行」, which is a picture of an intersection:

  「彳」is subject to wild stylising, and the form in the sample is no different.

  止

  「止」was originally a simplified depiction of a foot:

  The word representing this meaning is now written「趾」. The change to seal script looks like

書

  「書」is comprised of

  「聿」, a semantic component;
  「者」, a phonetic component. In the modern form, this has been reduced to「曰」, but seal scripts and earlier still retain「者」, as with the sample posted in the question. The appearance of「者」in seals is briefly alluded to here.

  Note that the character is not「畫」.「畫」(originally to draw boundaries between fields > draw) definitely needs to contain「田」(fields) as a component, unless the character sample egregiously demonstrates corruption.

  「聿」originally depicted a hand「⺕」(variant of「又」) holding a brush:

  Merging the two together leads on to seal forms which look like


How does 一个， 一位，一名 change the meaning of a sentence? I saw two versions of a sentence "He is a teacher":

  他是老师。 VS 他是一个老师。

After googling I've become even more confused by versions:

  他是一位老师。 AND 他是一名老师。

Are they actually different? What is the difference? Is it possible to use these ‘一什么什么’ in questions?

Update:

Found one more version:

  他是个老师。

Which is said to be informal at this link.

In English, an article such as "a", "an", "the" is essential element before a countable noun. In Chinese it is optional.

Comparing "He is a teacher" with "他是老師". 他/He implies there is one person. "a" is redundant.

In "他是一位老師" and "他是一名老師",  "一位" and "一名" is a kind of respect to a teacher. 位 means position and rank. 名 means famed.  In the old days, Chinese showed their high respect to teachers.

"一個" is a common measuring word. Saying "他是一個老師" is like treating a teacher as a common object or a common person.

In practical, 一 is redundant and people often say "他是位老師" and "他是名老師". So do "他是個老師".

In Classical Chinese, we can writing "他是一老師" if we emphasize it it "one".


Why do you use 说明称, not either 说明 or 称? According to this news over 中国新闻网:

中新网10月4日电 据日本媒体报道，日本新党“希望之党”党首、东京都知事小池百合子3日再次否定自身会参加众院选举，称“百分之百不会，从一开始就这么说”。
小池说明称，前首相小泉纯一郎对她说“作为都知事加油”。她断言道：“虽然(小泉)进次郎叫着(要我参选)，但我向他父亲承诺不会出马。我将作为都知事继续切实努力。”

What is the meaning of 说明称? 说明 means "explain" while 称 means "call" or "say". So I feel that the words are duplicated.
What I don't understand is why it duplicates the words as 说明称. Why not use just one, which I think enough...?
BTW what is the meaning of 从一开始...? Why is it not 从开始? Well I might pose a separate question...

说明 is used as a noun word here, meaning 'illustration or explanation'.

So, 说明称 means 'say in her/his illustration/explanation'.

从一开始 means 'from the very beginning', while 从开始 means 'from the beginning'.


Is 天的数月 the correct way to say "days of the month"? Is Tiān de shù yuè (天的数月) the correct way to state "days of the month"? I am looking for a term that will encompass all of the days of the month. This will be the heading for a paragraph that lists each day of the month. In English, the words "these are the" is implied in this phrase, so I suppose "(these are the) days of the month" is the term I am looking for. This will then be followed by Chūyī (初一) 1st, Chūèr (初二) 2nd, etc... listing them as the days of the month. I am looking for an expression similar to "Days of the week" are Monday, Tuesday, etc through Sunday. "Days of the month" are 1st through 28th, 30th or 31st depending on the month. I am looking for the Chinese term for "days of the month"

"一個月中的幾天" might be the right translation

update
Now I understand your question!
If you want to list every days of the month, the answer might be

這個月有 (這些日子), 初一, 初二, 初三 ...
這個月有 (這些日子), 一日, 二日, 三日 ...
這個月有 (這些日子), 一號, 二號, 三號 ...

They are all right, but I prefer the second one or the third one
For example, if you want to list every days in February, it can be "二月有, 一號, 二號, 三號 ... 二十八號"


What is the meaning of this calligraphy? This slogan or motto is written in Chinese, though it comes from Korea. I have wondered many years what does it mean. Thank you for your help to understand it.

EDIT:
Thanks to the answers so far, I have found more information. Here is the University where this motto is promoted in the very old days. It remains displayed there on a small building, which maybe was at the entrance to the university in the old days.

SunKyunKwan University "Tang Pyung Be"

There is a Korean translation there in the article, however even that is obscure to a modern Korean speaker. I think I will try a Korean translation section too.

  周而弗比 乃君子之公心 比而不周 寔小人之私心 / 두루 사귀되 가리지 않음은 곧 군자의 공심(公心)이고, 가려 사귀되 두루치 않음은 바로 소인의 사심(私心)이다.

EDIT 2: The reply in the comment below is reasonably meaningful and thoughtful attempt of translation to English.

"All-inclusive but not narrow-minded, this is the selflessness of the gentleman; narrow-minded but not all-inclusive, this is truly the selfishness of the petty man."

Thank you.

As far as I am concerned ,this motto is related from Lunyu which from China not from Korea . It is written by Chinese Confusius and his disciples. It's original motto is '君子周而不比，小人比而不周'. I think it is exactly similar to the motto you provide.

List item

'周'means : coordinate;harmonize
[That is to say the person who can in charge or  organize his members perfectly , and he can lead the team on a good way,do the good things.]
'比'means:  collude;gang with somebody

That is to say,the motto want to tell us, the difference between 君子 and 小人 is whether he has the quality of benevolence. A person of noble character emphasize morality and justice,while 小人 only pay attention to benefit.


Why don't people use 專名號 to avoid ambiguity? For example, consider the following sentence:
大多數真核細胞有高爾基體。
For those who are unfamiliar with biology, he/she may not know if 高爾基體 should be understood as (高爾)(基體) or (高爾基)(體)。Two avoid confusion, it makes perfect sense to use 專名號 and write the sentence as
大多數真核細胞有高爾基體。(With 高爾基 underlined, I am not sure how to type the underline here.)
Will this not be a good practice?

Proper name marks have largely fallen into disuse. That is because typesetting is difficult (as evidenced by your question) and that the text marked is usually understood by context.

我們有時看見一些書籍、文章中，已不使用專名號。這是因為印刷時比較困難，在約定俗成的情況下，現在已多不使用，並非錯誤所致。(古今標點趣聞)

Your concern for clarity is valid. But using proper name marks may cause further confusion in the case of eponyms. A Golgi apparatus does not carry any material attribute of its discoverer. Logically, it is just an organelle that just so happens to be discovered by Golgi. We all have Golgi apparatuses – what does Golgi (the person) have to do materially with our Golgi apparatuses? That is also probably why certain eponyms are no longer capitalised in English: e.g., abelian, newtonian, quixotic etc. Therefore, if you indiscriminately underline 高爾基, it may appear to some people that you are implying the apparatus belongs to Golgi (linguistically, attributive instead of genitive), much like 高爾基的帽子 (Golgi's hat).

I believe using parentheses also achieves clarity and is much more convenient (and commonplace) than using proper name marks.

大多數真核細胞有高爾基體（Golgi apparatus）。
范德華力（van der Waals force）是一種電性引力，但它比化學鍵或共價鍵弱得多。

I however agree that proper name marks may be useful in the context of classical Chinese, especially when annotating names of people and states. We may not have enough historical knowledge to parse the sentence correctly. For example, you need to be very familiar with the given name of Confucius (丘) to parse the following without the help of proper name marks:

孔子曰：「大道之行也，與三代之英，丘未之逮也，而有志焉。」《禮記》


How are versions and dates formatted? I'm writing a program and need to know how dates, versions, time, and numbers are formatted in Chinese.

Example (in English):

Version 1.0.0 (Build 0)

How would that look in Chinese?

Sounds like you should investigate the localization features of your language.

Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentUICulture = CultureInfo.GetCultureInfo("zh-CN");
string version = strings.Version.replace('%version%', '1.0.0');
version = version.replace('%build%', '0');
Console.WriteLine(version);

With the information given in James Jiao's answer & comments, your Chinese version string and its English equivalent could be:

版本%version%（编译版本号:%build%）
Version %version% (Build %build%)

For more information on localization in C#, refer to:

https://stackoverflow.com/a/1142840/187954
http://www.c-sharpcorner.com/UploadFile/brijrajsingh/glbal_110012005021049AM/glbal_1.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/1021kkz0(v=vs.71)


What does "相兼岂" mean in this sentence from a Taiji Quan manual? The following sentence is from a short passage about "体用“ （utilizing/controlling the body) in the context of the 13 Forms of Taiji Quan:
"体用相兼岂有他浩然气能行乎手。掤捋按採挒肘靠進退顾盼定."
My current translation is as follows: "How else besides through control of the body can one have his vast amount of while being able to use the proper push-hands technique (Warding off, shifting, pressing, pushing, plucking, splitting, leaning, advancing and retreating, left, right, center)?"
I feel like I don't fully understand "相兼岂" in the sentence: could anyone confirm their meaning?

the chopping of the verse is, . . . incorrect lah
the “體用歌”

太極拳。十三式。妙在二氣分陰陽。化生千億歸抱一。歸抱一。太極拳。兩儀四象渾無邊。禦風何似頂頭懸。我有一轉語。今為知者吐。湧泉無根腰無主。力學垂死終無補。體用相兼豈有他。浩然氣能行乎手。掤捋擠按採捩肘靠。進退顧盼定。不化自化走自走。足欲向前先挫後。身似行雲。打手安用手。渾身是手手非手。但須方寸隨時守所守。

roughly, “體” means “noumenon“ (本體); “用” means “usage” (使用)
so, the verse “體用相兼豈有他” should be interpreted as:
the noumenon (體) & usage (用), both (相) [should be] taken care of (兼 -> 兼顧); there’s no other way (豈有他)
have fun :)


开 and 给 as Result Complement My textbook introduces 开 and 给 as Result Complements which are placed after verbs to indicate the result of actions. However, the book doesn’t provide any examples.

Can you guys teach me how to use the Result Complements, and provide some examples too?

非常感谢你们！

Result complement follow a single character verb to provide 'result' of the verb

Example of 开 as result complement:

跑 = run

跑(开) = run (and get away)

~

放 = release

放(开) = release (let out)

~

拆 = break

拆(开) = break (open)

Example of 给 as result complement:

供 = provide

供(给) = provide (and give)

~

補 = replenish

補(给) = replenish (and give)


Meaning of 来锻炼 in the conversation What is the meaning of 来锻炼 in this conversation?

A: 老师，您每天都来锻炼吗？

B： 对，我每天都坚持锻炼。

I think the question means “Do you exercise daily?” But I do not know why “来” turns up and its meaning. Please make it clear.

In the sentence, 来 means "come". 来锻炼 means "come and do exercise"

So the question actually means: Do you come (here) and do exercise everyday?


Could somebody explain the meaning of the sentence to me? In my textbook there's an exercise where you're supposed to fill in the gaps:

今天的菜____________________到明天就没有人买了。

I'm a bit confused with it. What is meant here by "到明天就没有人买了"?

P.S. The task is to fill in the gaps with 非......不可 construction.

I think you are meant to fill something like this：

  今天的菜非卖掉不可， （否则）到明天就没有人买了。

到明天就没有人买了 here implies that the vegetables might go stale and no body wouldn't buy it. That's why you have to make sure you sell them all out today -- 今天的菜非卖掉不可.


What does ...原来档案都要统统装进铁皮柜，从头干起... mean? I can't really catch the meaning of this sentence. It was only given as an example of the use of 统统， I have no more context.

无论是谁，到新公司后，原来档案都要统统装进铁皮柜，从头干起。

No matter who, after arriving at a new firm, (your ) original files all (will) all be stored in a steel locker, you (can/must/should) start anew.

Or is '铁皮柜‘ some kind of slang for '计算机‘？？

What are '原来档案‘？？

'铁皮柜‘ is a metal filing cabinet.

'统统' is for emphasis. In this case, it is ALL the files, with no exception.

Compare these two sentences, which are identical except for '统统'. Their meanings are basically the same, but the first one is more emphatic.

无论是谁，到新公司后，原来档案都要统统装进铁皮柜，从头干起。

无论是谁，到新公司后，原来档案都要装进铁皮柜，从头干起。

No matter who it is, when one enters the new company, one starts anew, with one's original files (hinting past history) stored away.

There is only one subject in this sentence, it's the one who enters the new company, the one whose files are put away, and the one who has to start anew.


Does 都 refers to the 天天 or to the 晚上 in the following sentence? Does 都 refers to the 天天 or to the 晚上 in the following sentence:

  天天晚上都很忙

天天晚上 is a single set phrase meaning every night.

都 refers to it [each evening].

Thus we have: [I'm] very busy every night.


Meaning of 点 in 你现在好点了吗？ In the following sentence, what is the meaning of 点?

你现在好点了吗？
Are you a bit better now?

I've only seen 点 used to note the hour. If I had to translate from the English, I would probably have guessed "你现在好了吗?".

First of all, 好点了吗 is same with 好一点了吗.
Yes, the word 一点 means "one o'clock", but also means "a little bit".  Sometimes, we say 一点点 for emphasis, means "liiiiittle bit".

Well, to explain the objective of the question.
It is NOT asking if your health (or 100 HP) recovered from 50 to 51, which is really "little"
It is supposed to ask for any progress of recovery, which can be positive news.

Some relative sample sentences here:
好一些了吗 "一些": some, few, a little.
好多了 : much better, but normally for replying not asking others.
好了吗 : 100% recovery of your health (or HP).
过去一点 or 过去点 : move a little bit.


How to say 'protect x from y'? In my routine HSK vocab study, I recently came upon the word 保护； to protect. Obviously, it works easily like any other verb in statements simply of protection, but I have no idea how to translate the concept of protecting one party from another. For example, "Our house protects us from cold weather", etc
Is there an other word to be used for this purpose, or is there a grammatical construction that uses 保护 for this purpose? Thanks heaps for any help!

look up nciku or iciba, in fact iciba 翻译 seems to give a correct translation 我们的房子保护我们免受寒冷的天气， indicating that instead of using a preposition （from） Chinese uses a verb 免受，for more examples just look up iciba， nciku，one more example sentence showing same construction 这样的法规可以保护消费者免受有害或者危险药品的威胁。

Talking about HSK，HSK dictionary （汉语水平考试词典）has following entry for 保护：［义１］（动）保卫护理，不使！！受到！！损害 。。。。 indicating use of 不受到 (similar 免受) to translate ＂from＂ in this context


What is the meaning of "吃这一声"? For context the entire sentence is, "吃这一声，周昂忽然一下子睁开了眼睛。" Is it supposed to be something allong the lines of, "[the sound of] eating, this single sound"? This sentence isn't making much sense to me.

The verb 吃(eat) has the extended meaning of 受(take) and the object has to be a physical contact or impact

Example:

吃一發子彈 (eat a bullet) = (take a bullet/ take a gun shot)

吃一拳 (eat a punch) = 受一拳 (take a punch)

吃一記耳光 (eat a slap on the face) =  (take a slap on the face)

吃这一声 is not grammatical. because a sound doesn't make physical contact with the subject. The phrase should be written as  聽了这一声 (heard this sound)


Is there a formal way to describe three word color adjectives? Is there a way/word to describe three letter color adjectives in Chinese? For example, I know that 绿油油  is one that is used often - is there a way to describe these? Are they a certain type of adjective?

They are called 叠词(Reduplication). Many 叠词 work as adjectives or adverbs, but you may well see them in other places. There are many forms of 叠词, yours is just one of them:

ABB: 绿油油, 红彤彤, 美滋滋(Not a color)
AAB: 飘飘然, 呱呱叫
ABA: 越来越, 看一看
AABB: 白白净净, 欢欢喜喜
AABC: 鼎鼎大名, 苦苦相逼
ABAB: 考虑考虑, 研究研究
ABAC: 美轮美奂, 载歌载舞

There may be other forms but I can't think of them by now.
So for ABB and color only, there are no specific terms, but you can describe it as ABB结构的描述颜色的叠词.


How would you interpret: "你的美如日; 你的智若猫头鹰"? How do you interpret the phrase: "你的美如日; 你的智若猫头鹰" (Nǐ dì měi rú rì; nǐ de zhì ruò māotóuyīng in Mandarin)?

I'm trying to say something like: "Your beauty is like the sun; your wisdom is like an owl's".

i would suggest:

其妍也﹒如冬之日﹒和煦可人

其智也﹒若夜之鴞﹒慎默覃思

here's a brief explanation:

his/her's beauty (妍), is like (如) the winter sun (冬之日), warm (和煦) & pleasant (可人)

his/her's wisdom (智), is like (若) an owl (夜鴞), think (覃思) carefully (慎) and silently (默)

如冬之日 do not indicate the sun itself, it implied the sunshine in winter.

then, 鴞 is one of the name used in ancient time for owl.

have fun :)


In what circumstances can 呢 be interchangeable with 吗？ I a new to the Chinese language and something that really confused me is that in some circumstances 呢 and 吗 could be used interchangeably, but in others they cannot.  For example you cannot say 你吗？ but you could say 你呢？  You can say 你是同学吗？ and 你是同学呢?. Why are the two character interchangeable in one scenario but not the other? An explanation would be great, thank you!

(please tell me if I using the question feature wrong for the site and I will improve my question)

吗 and 呢 are not interchangeable.

你是同学 means: "you are a classmate"
你是同学吗？ means: "are you a classmate? "
你同学 means: "your classmate"
你同学吗？ means: "is (he/she) your classmate?"
the final particle 吗 here denote 'interrogative' or 'inquisitive'. It short, it always turns a sentence into question form

~

你同学(呢)? depend on context, it can mean: 1. "(where) is your classmate?" or 2. "(how about) your classmate?"
the final particle 呢 here denote "alternative questions, affirmative negative questions (as stated in  user60651's comment).

你是同学呢! is a different thing. The final particle 呢 in this sentence serve no interrogative function. Which mean it doesn't turn  "你是同学" into a question. It serves to emphasize the sentence itself and/or the speaker's emotion (e.g. annoyed, determine) with the tone itself


Why does 有机 as in 有机食品 mean organic? 有 and 机 are some of the first characters we learn in Chinese, but only recently did I find out that they mean "organic" when put together. Can anyone explain why this is?

As you may know, "Organic" in your case is originally a chemical term and its noun-"Organ" means "a collection of tissues joined in structural unit to serve a common function" from Wikipedia. Once the chemists incorrectly believed that "organic compound" could only be produced by lifes. I think this is how "organic" comes from "organ". I don't find the exact origin of the word "有机" in Chinese, but I believe it originates as "organic" originates in English, from chemistry.
机 originally means

主发谓之机。—《说文》The thing that controls shoot is called 机. 《说文》is an old dictionary.
trigger on a bow. A structure used to shoot the arrow.

Some other meanings extend from the original one.

critical part(point) in a system
organ.  organ is a critical part in the body
mechanical structure. The critical part that controls the movement of a machine.

In recent times, after Chinese came in touch with sciences from the west, some pioneering scientists translated the terms in sciences. In general, they translated them in a liberal way. I think this is why “有机" means "organic", as you have "organic" from "organ" in English.


What word should be used to describe anyone who is counter-revolutionary, that is, one who opposes a revolution? Literally translating, can one who opposes a revolutionary be called a "反革命" in Chinese?

In mainland China, "反革命" used be a serious crime which may be lead to death penalty. So people are not allowed to oppose any revolutionary; that is, everyone is supposed to support any revolutionary, whether this revolutionary is against his/her will or not (??). The logic seems to be confusing here.

I suppose to understand the meaning of   “反革命” ,you have to know how’s this word came out .

After OCT 1st 1949,the People Republic of China was founded,leading by Communist Party of China(CPC),and base on the situation,the civil war between CPC and Kuomintang (a major political party in the Republic of China on Taiwan) isn’t ended ,that means China still needs  revolution to unify the whole country and  CPC as legal party,anyone against CPC or revolution must be illegal

反革命 isn’t only mean to oppose revolutionary,this , but more like describe the people who betrayed the CPC and distub the way of unity China ,which means illegal at all.


How do you translate "if she had not helped her, they both would be dead now" ? How do you express in Chinese a conditional set in the past that did not actually happened? Like for instance:

if she had not helped her, they both would be dead now

要是她没帮她，她们两个现在早都死了。 please notice the now in your phrase,.


What is the right spelling, 乌兹别克 or 乌孜别克? China is a country of multiple ethnicities, some of which can also be found in its neighboring countries, like Russia and Koreas. So the same ethnic groups are named the same as that in such other countries, like 俄罗斯族 and 朝鲜族.

But in the case of a minority ethnic group which is also found in a central Asian country, it is named 乌兹别克 for the country, but 乌孜别克 for the race living in China, why is there the different spelling for the same thing?

P.S.: 壮族in China is named 京族in Vietnam， but there are also 京族 living in Hainan and Guangxi of China.

1934年，盛世才召開新疆第二次民眾大會，確定烏孜別克族為正式族名，把國外的烏孜別克族依然寫作烏茲別克。
In 1934, 盛世才 held the second public meeting in Xinjiang, determining 乌孜别克 (wū zī bié kè) as the official ethnic name, and the foreign Uzbek still writing as 乌兹别克.

Therefore, 乌孜别克 usually refers to the race in China.
But, many people still use 乌兹别克 interchangeably, as shown in the government web page.

However, 乌兹别克 mostly refers to the foreign country or race. 乌孜别克 is seldom used in this case.

I think 孜 is more popular than 兹 in Xinjiang, and that's why 盛世才 chose it. For example,
seasoning : 孜然 (cumin)
festival : 肉孜节, 诺鲁孜节
place : 克孜尔千佛洞, 克孜尔尕哈, 柏孜克里克, 克孜尔魔鬼城, 克孜勒山, 克孜利亚, 克孜库尔干, 克孜勒苏, 牙通古孜
language : 柯尔克孜语

盛世才 (Shèng Shì-cái) (1897/1/8 - 1970/7/13)
1933年至1944年间新疆军事、政治首长，有“新疆王”之称。
Sheng ruled the Xinjiang province from 1933 to 1944, and had the name of "King of Xinjiang".


Is it okay to say 我下一下 when e.g. getting off a bus? Once I saw a woman get off a bus and I thought she said 我下一下 to inform the driver that she was getting off.  However, I mentioned that to a Chinese friend, and he seemed to think it's weird, so it's possible I misheard.

It's normal to say things like 我坐一下 or 我百度一下, where 一下 emphasizes that it would be quick; there are other examples in the Chinese Grammar Wiki article Verbing briefly with "yixia" (see also the question When to use "一下儿").  So I don't see any reason why 我下一下 would be improper.

Question: Is it okay to say 我下一下 when e.g. getting off a bus?

I think it's ("60%" OK, "40%" wired ) to say "我下一下" to driver when you are getting off from a bus. Chinese people know what you mean, but few people would say like this.

In most cases, people would say "您好，我想下车".  it's quit nature.

your examples of "我坐一下", "我百度一下",  that's very OK, here "一下" means "try once"


What grammar structure does ...在这份评估单上打分... use? There's this line in the story I read :

  “如果你能帮我们一个忙，试用我们的产品，并且，在这份评估单上打分，我们会再送你一瓶，以示感谢。”

How is :

在 + 这 + 份 + 评估 + 单 + 上 + 打分

Translated as : "fill the test report" / "rate this evaluation form" ???

Which part of the sentence shows "test report/evaluation form"?

Ok, I know that 评估 means "to assess" (I mean, it has something to do with evaluating), but that's a verb not a noun ㅠㅠ

Moreover, what are the functions of 份, 单, and 上 in the sentence?

I read in the dictionary that if 份 comes after 这 or 那, it refers to "nonphysical things" but I just have no idea what this "nonphysical things" mean... could you please explain?

How is  在 + 这 + 份 + 评估 + 单 + 上 + 打分 translated as : "fill the test report" / "rate this evaluation form" ?

"在 ~ 上"  is  a preposition: (on top/ on above)

  [在 (object) 上] = [on top of (object)]

The object here is "这(this) 份(classifier) 评估(adjectival phrase) 单(noun)" = "This assessment form"

  Now we know the 'object' in [在 (object) 上] is 'This assessment form', we get: [在 (这份评估单) 上]

Since we have the object, now we need a verb to make it a complete sentence. And "打分" (give marks) is the verb in this sentence.

"[在 (这份评估单) 上] [打分]" = "[preposition] + (object) + [verb]" = " on this assessment form give mark"

You can place the verb before the noun and the sentence still make sense

"[打分] [在 (这份评估单) 上]" = "[verb]+[preposition]+ (object)" = "give marks on this assessment form"

However, "在这份评估单上打分"(object before verb) emphasize the object, therefore it is preferred over "打分在这份评估单上" (verb before object), which emphasize the verb.

In this context, the writer wants to emphasize the object because it is more important that you know where to apply your action (evaluation) than what to do with the object

份 as a classifier means "a portion of'; 'a set of';  which can apply to 评估单, as in "一份评估单" ---> "a (set of) assessment form"

We don't actually need a classifier for "form" if we are not counting or indicating the number of it. You can omit the classifier and write "在这评估单上打分" or even "在评估单上打分" here


What was the relationship between 诸葛亮和周瑜？ Why does 周瑜 not help 诸葛亮？

现在在读‘草船借箭’的故事。

诸葛亮和周瑜的关系怎样？

周瑜说：“我得吩咐下属，造箭用的材料，不要给他准备齐全，也不能供应充足，故意给他拖延时间。”

周瑜和诸葛亮不是敌人，战在同样的军队。为什么周瑜不帮诸葛亮？

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

They may be "friends", but they are still enemies.

They are the minister of two different kingdoms, 蜀 and 吴, they just happen to have a stronger common enemy 魏 so they have to work together to keep each other alive for a while before they get stronger and can defend on their own.

You must have seen that 周瑜 keeps trying to kill 诸葛亮, because he sees 诸葛亮 as a threat in the future when 蜀 and 吴 goes against each other. Obviously when two Kingdoms work together, you can't just kill, that's why he keeps assigning impossible missions to 诸葛亮 so he can use that as an excuse to kill him, but 诸葛亮 never failed and it makes 周瑜 angrier and frustrated. In the end, 周瑜 just ordered his men to kill 诸葛亮 anyways but forseeing that, 诸葛亮 escaped before 周瑜 can catch him.

But on a personal level, 周瑜 just can't stand the fact that there are someone as smart as him and this is what killed him, i think this is the biggest difference between the two, both are equally smart, but 周瑜 died because of "Sickness"(more like Jealousy), he is young after all, if the two have met at a different time, they could have become great friends.

Much like The Republic of China and The People's Republic of China when they were fighting Japan, they have to put their disagreement aside for a while and fight together. After Japan surrendered, they started fighting against each other again.


"I thought this would look good" in Chinese? How would I say "I thought this would look good" in Chinese?

I am specifically looking for the word corresponding to "I thought".

Edit: I overlooked the simplified Chinese tag. Now adding simplified chinese version back

I assume your sentence have a [hidden context]:

I thought it would look good [but it turns out to be awful]

In this case I would translate it as:
我以為那會好看(Trad.)/我以为那会好看(Simp.)

To divide it word by word then reverse translate:

(我)(以為)(那)(會)(好)(看)

(I)(thought)(that)(would)(good)(look)

Google translate suggested the translation 我認為這會好看(Trad.)/我认为这会好看(Simp.)

But if I reverse translate this back to Eng I would say it is:

(我)(認為)(這)(會)(好)(看)

(I)(think)(this)(would)(good)(look)

The difference between 认为 and 以为 is not focused on tense, but in tone and assertiveness.

认为 : think, with a sense of confidence in oneself (a.k.a. belief, assert)

以为 : wrongly thinks (a.k.a. thought)


Difference between 剧本 and 脚本？ Is there a clear difference between 剧本 and  脚本？  I know that   剧本 can also be the more formal “screenplay”。 But beyond that I'm not sure if there is a difference

剧本 and 脚本 are different.

剧本 is just like a novel, telling the actors and directors what the story is.

脚本 includes more detailed and technical information of every section or frame such as shot lengths, scene lens, mapping, background music and so on. When you get 脚本, you'll feel like watching an edited film. 脚本 are mostly for directors and camera operators during the film shooting and the film cutters in later period edit.

In animated movies, 剧本 and 脚本 are nearly the same. And mostly we use 脚本.

As Wang Dingwei mentioned， 脚本 means SCRIPT in computer programming. BASH, Python, Ruby,  Nuva are all scripting languages.


In 虽然练习做 ( ) 很多，但是我还是不懂, should we use 的 or 得？ In the following sentence:

  虽然练习做 ( ) 很多，但是我还是不懂。

We have a small discussion with our teacher. Which one should be used in the bracket and why?

In this context 得 should be used. It works as a degree complement, and takes as a form of "verb + 得 + adjective". The phrase after 得 expresses the degree of the adjective.

So in this case,

  虽然练习做得很多，但是我还是不懂。

, where 得 expresses the degree of "做" is "很多".

You shall also refer to this question, which explain the difference betwen 的, 得, and 地.


What semantic notions underlie 駁 (to rebut) with 馬 (horses) and/or 爻 (I Ching's hexagrams)? I'm trying to understand the etymology for definition 3 (to rebut) below in 駁 - Wiktionary. Yellowbridge:

Han character
駁 (radical 187, 馬+4, 14 strokes, cangjie input 尸火大大 (SFKK), four-corner 74340, composition ⿰馬爻)
豹 (OC *preːwɢs, “leopard”) is its exopassive derivative, literally meaning, "the spotted one".
Definitions

(of a horse's fur) variegated
mixed; heterogenous
to refute; to rebut
to transport by barge
barge
suddenly

I don't understand how 馬 or definition 1 (variegated horse's fur) relates to definition 3. So I looked up 爻 - Wiktionary, but I also don't understand how the I Ching's hexagram relates. I'm too addled to continue!

a figure composed of six stacked horizontal lines; a hexagram of the I Ching

Two notes:

The original meaning of 「爻」 is criss-cross patterns, rather than I-Ching hexagrams;
「爻」 provides a phonetic hint to 「駁」.

「駁」 (Baxter-Sagart OC: /*pˤrawk/, patterend/variegated horse fur) is composed of semantic 「馬」 (horse) and phonetic 「爻」 (/*N-kˤraw/). 「爻」 (criss-cross patterns) simultaneously provides a meaning hint.

The semantic extension is as follows:

Variegated horse fur
Impure/mixed colours and patterns (looking like a jumbled mess)
To distinguish, rectify (e.g. in the process of sorting out a jumbled mess, correcting what is chaotic/wrong)
To rebut (e.g. to refute falsehoods, denounce wrongdoing)

References:

漢語多功能字庫
《漢語大詞典》


Difference between 學識 and 知識？ According to these dictionary links, both 學識 and 知識 mean knowledge:

學識 - CantoDict

知識 (zi1 sik1 | zhi1 shi5) : knowledge; learning - CantoDict

What's the difference between 學識 and 知識?

Which one would be used to translate this sentence: "He is a very knowledgeable person."

知识 is:

  knowledge

in general.

学识 is more like:

  scholarly/academic knowledge

You see how the emphasis is on 学, perhaps you could think of it like book smarts.

To translate your sentence, on the other hand, I’d opt for something like:

  见多识广

Which is to say that someone has seen a lot of stuff and knows lots of things.

“He is a knowledgeable person” could just simply be written: 他见多识广。.


What does 要不不留学要留学就要留出个性 mean? In the following sentence:

  俗话说的好，要不不留学要留学就要留出个性。。。。。。这是我编的。。
   我们来看看我们社会主义坚实伙伴的古巴。古巴是西班牙语国家，抽雪茄，晒太阳都是家常便饭。

The whole sentence would be something like:

  ... This is what I wrote. We see Cuba, our socialism's solid mate. Cuba is a country where Spanish is spoken, and a cigarette and sunlight are all in everyday meal.

However, I don't understand the start of the sentence. Specifically,

How should it be divided grammatically?
Why does it use 不 consecutively?
What is the meaning of the whole sentence?

要不 / 不留学 / 要留学就要留出个性

"otherwise / don't study abroad / if you study abroad you should do it with personality"

or more idiomatically:

"if you're going to study abroad you should do it with personality, or not at all"

Note that 要...就要... is a common grammar pattern.


Is there a word to indicate incorrectness? In English we have the prefix mis- that conveys this. I misread, I misspoke, I made a mistake, etc. A misrepresentation, a mistranslation, a misuse, etc.

For a verb with the prefix mis- you can use 错 (incorrectly, wrongly) to express the same thing.

Examples:
I misread - 我看错了（Literally: I read wrongly)

I misspoke - 我说错了（Lit.: I spoke incorrectly)

I made a mistake - 我做错了/我搞错了（Literally: I did it incorrectly)

And for a noun with prefix mis-, one usually use 误 to replace it. While 错 is sometimes also acceptable for nouns, as in the few examples that you gave, I believe that 误 sounds more natural, and in words such as 误解，you cannot replace 误 by 错 at all (错解 is not a word). Note that this is quite subtle, since 错误 as a whole word also simply means "mistake", and 错 and 误 have very similar meanings, but their respective usages are not entirely interchangeable.

Examples:

A mistranslation - 一个误译（“译”=“翻译”=translation）

A misunderstanding - 一个误解（“解”=“理解”=understanding）

A misuse - 一个误用（“用”=“使用”=use）

However, some words cannot be translated this way. For example, "misrepresentation" can only be translated as "歪曲" (which is an entirely figurative translation), but never as "误+something", because Chinese does not have a single character which means "representation“ on its own. （The two-character word ”反映“ means "representation", so one may consider translating "a misrepresentation" as "一个错误的反映". This is acceptable, but not as concise as “歪曲".)


What is the difference between 我像太阳 and 我像陽光燦爛著? Below both statements supposedly translate to "I am like the sun".

我像陽光燦爛著
Wǒ xiàng yángguāng cànlànzhe

我像太阳
Wǒ xiàng tàiyáng

The first one comes from a song, the second one is more straightforward.

I'm trying to understand how to correctly translate the first one to I am like the sun. Why isn't it I am like the brilliant sunshine? Should I just remember that yángguāng cànlànzhe is another word for The Sun ?

我像陽光燦爛著 means "I'm shinning like sunshine."

我像太阳 means "I'm like the Sun."

"I am like the brilliant sunshine." would be 我像燦爛的陽光

陽光燦爛著(yángguāng cànlànzhe) means "The Sun is shining."

著 is used for Present Progressive Tense or Present Participle. To put it simply, -ing.

The "brilliant" in the "I am like the brilliant sunshine." is a Adjective, so it should use 的(de)


How to say, “In Chinese" in Chinese If I want to tell someone they can speak to me in Chinese, how can I say it?

My guess is:

  你可以给我说用中文

Is this correct, and is there any other way to say it, for example using the 把 structure (i.e. 你可以把中文给我说)。 Is this correct???

你可以给我说用中文 is a little weird, you can change the order to 你可以用中文给我说. And you could just say 你可以说中文 or 你可以用中文说.

你可以把中文给我说 is wrong, it means You could say Chinese to me, not You could say sth in Chinese, Chinese become the object of say here, not the method. You could say 你可以用中文把xxx事情说给我.


Is 跟他交朋友 ambiguous: can it mean both "become friends with him" and "with him, make [other] friends"? We have the phrase

  跟他交朋友
  Make friends with him

However, I'm wondering if it's ambiguous:

You go from a state of non-friendship with him, to a state of friendship.

  A: 你想成为我的朋友吗？
  B: 好的！

You both go out looking for friends.

  A: 你想出去交新朋友吗？
  B: 好的！

Perhaps there's some subtlety here I'm missing, but it seems like it's ambiguous.

Question: Can 跟他交朋友 mean both "become friends with him" and "with him, make [other] friends"?

To add a simple perspective to the other elaborated answer given, just think about the connotation to the English expression: "I made friends with him".

In 99.9% of the time, you would know that the meaning is only two people, you and another person, who become friends. If otherwise, the context would indicate this. The same logic applies in Chinese, in this case as well as in many other semantically ambiguous situations.


What is the meaning of [你说什么是什么]? A Chinese friend sent me this sentence with a smiley emoji.
I feel like it means ''Whatever you say.'' or ''Sure'', sort of agreeing with someone in jest.
But I could be completely wrong.
What does it actually mean?


Correction of 我在饭店里把晚饭吃了 我在饭店里把晚饭吃了吗 =》 My textbook gives me the correct one: 我在饭店里吃晚饭了。

My questions are

(1) Why do this sentence not use 把 structure?

(2) If I rewrite as below, which is grammatically correct?

我在饭店里把三碗米饭吃了。
我在饭店里把三碗米饭吃完了。
我在饭店里把晚饭吃过三次。(In the restaurant I have had the dinner three times)

Usually when you use 把 you are using passive mode. That was not needed here. You're basically saying "at the restaurant, the rice was consumed by me." It is understandable, but it is also rather awkward.

I would have to say all three of your alternate versions have the same problem.

a) I, at the restaurant, 3 bowls of rice were consumed

b) I, at the restaurant, 3 bowls of rice were fully consumed

c) I, at the restaurant, 3 dinners were consumed.

It would be far more natural to use active vice:

d) 我在飯店裏吃了三碗飯

e) no need to say 吃完了, it is implied

f) I would have said 我去過那家飯店三次了 without specifying dinner. But that's just me.


How can I know a similar or related word in Chinese? One of the problems I face these days is that while my reading is getting better, my writing skill is still quite limited. When I draft out a sentence, I could not come up with any word that should fit better in a context, and tend to rely on a simple, common word.
Example:

今天我找到了一家很好的咖啡馆。

I could not come up with any word to mean "good" that might fit better in this context. At least in English, it sounds childish to only use a simple word. Example:

I want to get it.
I would like to obtain permission.

But in Chinese, I could not come up with a word that might fit better in a given context, and thus end up with using many 很好，有，很多，喜欢，etc...
Another situation is when I don't know if a given word is correct in a given context in the first place. Example:

老婆怎么可能一个人养护孩子们呢？

In this case, the first word I came up with to express "raise children" is 养护. But looking at several example sentences in Chinese, I started to feel it is not a proper word to "raise children". Then I changed it to 培育, but still feel it is not a proper word. According to my search on jukuu, the most examples consist of bugs, trees, or abstract things such as 精神 or 关系.
Then I don't get to know which is the correct word to "raise children". I rather want such service as Thesaurus, which gets me a list of synonyms for a given word. But as far as I check it, no such service seems available in Chinese.
So in these cases, how can I know which word is the correct in a given context, or at least get to know a list of similar or related words and check it out one-by-one (which is still daunting but there seems no other way)?

One answer is use a Chinese dictionary 网易有道词典. Example on 培育 (on iOS app):

Since it shows 幼小生物, the word seems to be inappropriate in this context.

However, sometimes, the entry for a given word lists related words (近反义词). In this specific case it got me to jump over to 养育.

At least this seems more reasonable, although this could never ensure the most appropriate, and there is possibly a better word.


Difference between 同一 and 一样 I would like to know when to use 同一 and when to use 一样 when describing items or people as similar?  What is the difference in usage between these two phrases?

Generally,

同一 means identical and is usually used on identities.

一样 means equivalent and is usually used on properties or results.

Examples:

我们去过同一个商店。We've been to the same store.
这两个商店卖的东西是一样的。These two stores sell the same stuffs.
同一首歌，不同的人唱，感觉是不一样的。The same song doesn't sound the same when it's sung by different singers.

Note there are some (idiomatic) exceptions to these rules, which can be another topic.

Since you've mentioned 'similar', neither of these two words means 'similar'. You may want to use 类似, 相似, 差不多 for similar.
For example:

我有过类似的遭遇。I've had a similar experience.
我们的性格很相似. We're much alike in character.
几个目击者的说法都差不多. What the witnesses said are pretty much the same thing.


How does 脖 differ from 頸 for "neck"? https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/1547907 doesn't answer this. I don't think https://hinative.com/zh-CN/questions/51384 is relevant?

Same thing.
There are some regional usage distinctions and that's about it. 脖子 seems to be used more in Northern China and in Taiwan. 颈项 and 颈子 seems to be more prevalent in use in Southern China. Each region may consider the other term overly formal.
They both can refer to the neck of things, i.e.: the neck of a bottle - 酒瓶脖子 | 瓶颈


How to say "head" and "tails" when flipping a coin? While talking about probability with mainland Chinese students I asked what they say for heads and tails of a Chinese coin. I was tossing a one Yuan coin, and they decided I could say in English "flower" and "number".
I did not want to go on talking about language so I did not ask what they actually say in Chinese. But when I search on line I do not find anything like this. I mostly found 正面 and 反面, which are also what Google Translate offers.
I wonder if 正面 and 反面 are just the technically correct terms, like "obverse" and "reverse" in English, which most people never say.
Are there more common mainland expressions for the sides of a coin?

Chinese use 正反 more than US people use obverse/reverse.

Other words are  花/字, but the side is controversial.

The side of 中华人民共和国 is 正面, but many many people think 1元 is 正面, this would be more confused if you use 字/花. Which side is 字, is it 正面?

China bank realized this problem, the new coin:

Now 中国人民银行and 1 元 are on the same side, that is 正面, in this case 字 is 正面, 花 is 反面.

In some dialect, people use 字/背.


Why does the word 萌 mean "cute"? A friend of mine said in a photo of me, my eyes looked very 萌(meng2).

  你的眼睛很萌

My dictionary defines 萌 as;

  萌 méng （动）

  sprout;
  bud;
  germinate

But apparently in this context it means "cute", "kawaii".

How is this so?

From the wikipedia article:

關於「萌」這個字現今用法的來源，至今依舊眾說紛紜，以下為部份幾種的說法：

有種說法認為，原本所用的詞語應該是「燃え」(もえ)，但是因為「萌え」和「燃え」的日語發音相同，且動漫喜好者認為「萌え」更能形容他們對事物喜好的狀態，因此後來都用「萌え」了。

亦有說法認為，這個詞語原本來自較為常用的「燃えている」（燃燒），但由於日文電腦輸入平假名時會智能判斷漢字，而萌え排序在前面，變成現在的寫法。

目前「萌」大多使用在二次元裡，如果遇到刻意將現實世界（三次元）的人套用到二次元的審美的情況，也有可能用到「萌」。 不過這種狀況十分稀少，因為三次元的人通常難以構成萌屬性。 現在「燃え」在中文界解作萌的相對詞，是對熱血的喜愛。

Abbreviated translation:

There are two main theories of the origin:

One is that 「燃え」(to burn, describing a reaction to something attractive) is a homophone in Japanese with「萌え」(to sprout), so Japanese Anime enthusiasts decided the latter was a better (perhaps more poetic?) way to describe this kind of reaction.

One is that「燃え」and「萌え」got switched because the IME would put「萌え」 first.

In any event, it seems clear that this use of 萌 comes from Japanese anime, and it originally described a reaction to a beautiful woman. Now, it can refer to anything loveable.


Meaning of 那就一样来一个吧 in the conversation A: 这儿的辣子鸡丁和糖醋鱼都不错。

B: 那就一样来一个吧。

（1） How can 那就一样来一个吧 be translated into English?
（2） What is the meaning of 来? I think it means "bring to (us)".

那就一样来一个吧 is a shortened sentence. In day to day speech, it is a common practice to omit some elements that are presumed to be understood or strongly implied.
You can understand the sentence as "那就(每)一样(种类)(都給我)(各)来一个吧 " --> "Then bring me one each from each kind"

"每一样" (each kind ) refers to 辣子鸡丁 and 糖醋鱼 which are the two kinds of dishes mentioned in the previous sentence, therefore, no need to repeat them in the next sentence. If three kinds of dishes were mentioned, then 每一样 (each kind) would refer to all three

"給我来一个XX" = "bring me a XX"

A detailed sentence would be: "那就給我辣子鸡丁和糖醋鱼各一个吧" (Then give me spicy chicken and sweet and sour fish one dish each)
Similarly:
"那就每样給我来两个吧" would mean "Then give me spicy chicken and sweet and sour fish two dishes each"
Note: Shorten 那就(每一样)来一个吧  to 那就(每样)来一个吧 is more clear than 那就(一样)来一个吧 because '一样' might be interpreted as "the same"
The above answer is based on Standaed Written Chinese (SWC)


What does 的 do in "现在的Paul已经63岁了“? I was reading a text from The Chairman's Bao titled "Australian Boy Finds 56-year-old Message in a Bottle" and I came across the following sentence:

  现在的Paul已经63岁了

What does 的 do here? Could it be omitted? How's this construction called and where I could read more about it?

I remember when I first saw things like 小小的我， 年轻的他 it seemed strange. In English you can say:

poor little me

but normally, in English, we need a relative clause to describe Paul 'Paul, who ... '.

Paul put the message in a bottle as a boy. Now he is 63.

现年63岁的保罗对那一天记忆犹新。
Paul, who is now 63, remembers that day well.


Does "坊" also mean "square", "plaza", "piazza" like "广场"? Where I am in Kunming there is a square that seems to go by two names:

金碧广场, Jīn bì guǎngchǎng, "Golden Square"
金马碧鸡坊, Jīnmǎ bì jī fang, "Golden Horse and Green Rooster Square"

When I look up "square" or "plaza" in English-Chinese dictionaries I only see 广场 (guǎngchǎng).
When I look up "坊" I only find senses such as "city subdivision" and "neighbourhood".
Wiktionary does not list "坊" and "广场" as synonyms.
Google Translate does translate "坊" to "square" but it can't always be trusted.
Are "square", "plaza", "piazza" valid senses for "坊"?

The 坊 in 金马碧鸡坊 refers to 牌坊. There is a 金马牌坊 and a 碧鸡牌坊 as mentioned in the Wikipedia article.

In the olden days, an arch known as 牌坊 is used to mark the entrance to a city subdivision. From Wikipedia:

  The largest division within a city in ancient China was a fang (坊),
  equivalent to current day precinct. Each fang was enclosed by walls or
  fences, and the gates of these enclosure were shut and guarded every
  night. Each fang was further divided into several pai (牌; literally
  "placard"), which is equivalent to current day (unincorporated)
  community. Each pai in turn, contained an area including several
  hutongs (alleyways).

The most busy part of a town is usually at the gateway where the thoroughfare is. In modern times, 牌坊 only serves as a monumental structure.

The word 坊 has several other meanings. Including:

街市 (street market) and
里巷 (lane, e.g. 兰桂坊)

Nowadays, the usage has been extended to represent a place filled with activities, including a square, a plaza or even a shopping mall e.g. 朗豪坊.


What's the difference between 蓓 (bèi) and 萌 (méng), both nouns that mean "bud"? 蓓 n. bud (part of 蓓蕾 (bèilěi))
  萌 n. bud; vt. sprout, germinate (part of 萌芽 (méngyá))

I asked a student (who happens to have the name 萌) if 蓓 and 萌 are the same, but she said they're different.  I'm not sure why though.

My guess from the above is that 蓓 is bud that will turn into a flower, whereas 萌 is more general, and refers to anything that sprouts.

Question: What's the difference between 蓓 and 萌?

Generally:

萌 is a verb meaning to bud.
蓓 is a noun meaning bud.

蓓 is usually just a compound character only found in the word 蓓蕾.


What common words in MSM actually come from taboo? A lot of dialectical words are actually just taboo renditions of common words.
For instance:
旺子 [wang zi] in Sichuanese comes from taboo on saying the ominous, inauspicious word blood 血 and probably morphed from the actual character 衁.
Obviously blood 血 could have been used and could have been said but out of taboo a new "word" was created.

I found one in 汉语大词典:

倒头
谓人死。旧俗忌讳“死”字，讳称死为“倒头”。

I would imagine that 死 isn't as taboo as it used to be though.

What common MSM words now are the result of taboo?

One of the more common one in Cantonese is substitute 空 with 吉.

'空' sounded like '凶', to avoid saying 空屋 (凶屋) , people would call an available house '吉屋' instead. As in "吉屋招租"

吉 is also used as a verb for 'leave blank' . For example: "唔識嘅題目就吉咗佢" instead of "唔識嘅題目就空咗佢"

Also:

  https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%81%BF%E8%AE%B3

  改字法：遇到要避諱的字時使用其他別字代替。例如：

  2 避漢高祖劉邦諱，“相邦”改“相國” (I only knew, in ancient time,  there's an government official title 相國 . Never heard of 相邦)

  6 避漢昭帝劉弗陵諱，否定詞“弗”改“不” (不 replaced 弗. Now, no one use 弗 anymore )

  20 孔子之名丘曾經是金朝的聖人諱，所以有些丘姓人士改为邱姓。( All because of 孔子's first name was 丘, now we have the 邱 family name co-exist with the 丘 family name )

  21 避明太祖朱元璋諱，「元年」改為「始年」、「原年」，「元來」改為「原來」。(I didn't even know the term 元來 existed)


What is the meaning of 心理 in this context? In this sentence from an article on 人民网:

  收费方面，近距离的心理在15千克以下收入2000日元（约合人民币118元），15-25千克收费2500日元（约合人民币147元）。

However, what is the meaning of 心理 here? It means "psychology", but I don't understand what the "psychology" here mean in this context...

The rough translation would be likely something like the follows (excluding the 近距离的心理):

  Regarding the price, any baggage under 25kg is 2,000 JPY and 15-25kg is 2,500 JPY.

According to many comments here, 心理 is just a typo for 行李. If you replace it with 行李, the sentence makes sense.

  收费方面，近距离的行李在15千克以下收入2000日元（约合人民币118元），15-25千克收费2500日元（约合人民币147元）。


How do we describe 九九 in english In Chinese lunar calendar, starting from 冬至, which was yesterday, you can count 9 days as the first 9 days, and subsequently second, third,...,until ninth nine days, a total of 81 days. After you count 81 days, the weather starts getting warm. My question is, are there specific english translations associated with this? I tried to describe it to other people, but find it too difficult to explain. How would you describe it to other people?

This Beijing Tourism page has an English article about the 9 nine-day periods:

Nines of Winter in China
People in China talk about winter coming in nine periods and each period is 9 days long, which begins from the Winter Solstice. After 9 nine-day periods the weather becomes warmer and spring will be on its way.
The 3rd nine-day period is called ‘Sanjiu’ in Chinese, which refers to the 19th-27th days after the day of the Winter Solstice. There is an old saying in China that goes, "The days of the Sanjiu period are the coldest days."
There is a famous folk song about the Nines of Winter (called ‘Shujiu’) recording changes in the weather:
1st nine days, 2nd nine days, don’t take hands out of your pockets;
3rd nine days, 4th nine days, you can walk on ice;
5th nine days, 6th nine days, willows at the river’s edge start to sprout;
7th nine days, ice dissolves and water flows in the river;
8th nine days, wild geese fly back to northern areas;
9th nine days and the following days, farm cattle start to work in the field.


Use 的 to make a connection 你要靠你自己的能力来学习中文。
你要靠你自己的能力来努力的学习中文。
The first one seemed to be correct.  But not sure about the second one if the 努力 was added correctly.
Any comments?

The '的' in '自己的' is a possessive marker. "自己" = "oneself"; "自己的" = "onself's"
Some people use 的 and 地 interchangeably in the adverb role. The second 的 in the second sentence functions the same as 地 as an adverb marker
你要靠你自己的能力来学习中文。
你要靠你自己的能力来努力(的/ 地)学习中文。
The term '努力' itself can function as an adverb. "你要靠你自己的能力去努力学习中文。" would be a cleaner sentence
努力地 is also an adverb, but it emphasizes the manner of the action.
I personally never use 的 instead of 地 to mark an adverb.
Side note: I changed 来努力 to 去努力. Both are grammatical but '靠你自己的能力来' emphasizes 'with (自己的能力)' and '力去努力学习中文' emphasizes 'to (学习中文)'


Does “Lock shat hoo-la ma sho gong um hom tak ti-wak yet gee sam see baa gow!!” mean anything? The book The Chinese Typewriter by Thomas Mullaney has the following Cartoon from the San Francisco Examiner (1900)

and explanation:

  The first mass-produced Chinese typewriter was a figment of popular imagination. It was first sighted in January 1900, when the San Francisco Examiner spread word of a strange new contraption housed in the city’s Chinatown neighborhood, in the back room of a newspaper office on Dupont Street. The machine boasted a twelve-foot keyboard complete with 5,000 keys. “Two rooms knocked into one apartment afford shelter for this remarkable contrivance,” the author explained, describing a machine so large that the “typist” was something akin to a general commanding forces over a vast terrain (figure 1.1). The piece was accompanied by a cartoon in which the caricatured inventor sat atop a stool and shouted Cantonese-esque gibberish at “four muscular key-thumpers through a large tin megaphone.” Lock shat hoo-la ma sho gong um hom tak ti-wak yet gee sam see baa gow!!

I realize he calls it gibberish but does Lock shat hoo-la ma sho gong um hom tak ti-wak yet gee sam see baa gow!! Actually mean anything?

My mother-tongue is Cantonese. As far as I understand, this is not anything in Cantonese (at least modern Cantonese). Although some of the words sound like Cantonese, for example “Lock shat” sounds like 落實 (lok6 sat9), I can’t think of any meaningful content when they are put together with the words after that.


Can someone please help me translate the writing on this dizi? I was looking at this dizi and was just wondering if someone could help me translate the writing :)

《村晚》 雷震

草滿池塘水滿陂，山銜落日浸寒漪。

牧童歸去橫牛背，短笛無腔信口吹。

Rural Scene at Dusk
By Lei Zhen

Green grass overgrows the shore of the brimming pool;

The sun pecked by hills sinks into ripples cool.

A cowherd comes back astride on a buffalo;

He blows on his short flute a tune he may not know.

Please refer to:詩歌

The English translation has already explain the meaning. I just skip for the explanation part. :) hope you enjoy this.


What is the origin of the word 猫 (cat)? I keep on thinking that the way it is pronounced (māo) seemed to mimic the  noises a cat makes (meow!). The character seems identical to the one for the same word in Japanese. Was this the original character that the Japanese language piggybacked off of?

The Japanese character you're referring to is 貓. Currently, in China they use 猫. Although 猫 is considered the simplified character of 貓, 猫 is already mentioned as a variant form in the 廣韻 dictionary, which is now a millennium old (although of course, 豸 is used for felines and 犭for canines...)

The question about the sound is interesting, and you could note that the sound cats make, meow, is written with the character 喵, pronounced miāo. Looking at the Kangxi dictionary, we can see that the pronunciation of 貓 also used to be some sort of "miao".

Interestingly, dictionaries don't seem to comment on the fact that they named the animal after its sound. The only explanation of the name I see is: 鼠善害苗。貓能捕鼠，故字从苗。, i.e. "Mice damage crops (lit. "苗" miao, sprouts), cats can catch them, hence the character deriving from 苗", which of course seems a bit bullshit. :)


What is the connotation for gay蜜 and 闺蜜? What is the connotation for gay蜜? Is the connotation literally that the two guys that it refers to are gay, or is it like the english 'man-date' where it is just two close friends going to do something together.

Same question for 闺蜜.

Is this usually used for young adults (18-30 years old)?

gay蜜 is not a formal word, usually used on Internet or in oral languages by the young.

When a girl has a gay male close friend, she will call him "gay蜜".

e.g. "他是我的gay蜜。" means he's my close friend and he's gay.

Is "gay蜜""闺蜜" usually used for young adults (18-30 years old)? Yes.


How is this sentence translated into Chinese "The man, who kissed the woman, who betrayed him with the man, who loved the one, whom nobody knew"? I do not know the technical term for this kind of sentences, but obviously there is some fractal vibe to it.

The words 'who' in this sentence is called 'relative pronoun', the clause introduced by which is called 'relative clause'.

A sentence with more than one relative clause is said to contain 'nested relative clauses'. The nesting structure in your sentence is:

  The man, who kissed (the woman, who betrayed him with (the man, who loved (the one, whom nobody knew))).

There is no relative pronoun or relative clauses in mandarin Chinese. There are three common methods to translate such sentences:

Turn each relative clause into a sentence. There will be no more nesting. The sentences will be longer but very clear.
Turn each relative clause into an adjective phrase. There will still be a nesting structure. The sentence is shorter but the nested adjective phrases may be ambiguous.
A combination of #1 and #2 - use #2 for clear and short fragments for brevity and #1 for the rest of the sentence for clarity.

Translation using method 1:

  男人亲吻了女人，女人却为了另外的男人背叛了他。那另外的男人也爱上了别的人，是谁却无人知晓。

Translation using method 2:

  男人亲吻了那为了一个爱上了无人知道是谁的人的男人而背叛了他的女人。

(This sentence is practically unreadable but looks fun.)

Translation using method 3 (combination of method 1 & 2):

  男人亲吻了那为了别的男人而背叛了他的女人。那个另外的男人却也爱上了别的人，是谁却无人知晓。


將以求吾所大欲也 meaning of 將 What meaning of 將 applies?
Origin
In 孟子there is a sentence where he describes various failings to the king (such as war preparations) and goes on to ask, whether his majesty delights in such. And then the king denies it and says:

將以求吾所大欲也

將 has an incredibly long list of meanings. Is the meaning here 做、施行 (as in 草率將事)?
in other words, would the following be a straight forward translation?

I do (those things) to seek what I greatly desire!

The passage on ctext:

i would interpret 將 in that sentence as "in near future" (即將).

抑王興甲兵．危士臣．構怨於諸侯．然後快於心與
王曰．否．吾何快於是．將以求吾所大欲也

mencius challenged 齊宣王, said "or (抑), your majestic (王) increases (興) armours (甲) and soldier (兵), [puts] your officials (士臣) in risk (危), makes up (構) enmities (怨) amongst (於) dukes (諸侯). and then (然後) [you'll be] cheerful (快) in (於) [your] heart (心)?"
his majestic (王) said (曰) "no (否). how come (何) i (吾) [would be] cheerful (快) for (於) these (是)? in near future (將), [these policies are] for (以) seeking (求) my (吾) greatest desire (大欲)"
your translation:

I do (those things) to seek what I greatly desire!

quite good, as a shortcut :)
info added.
well, 齊宣王's greatest desire is in the following text:
https://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=gb&id=12913

. . . 欲辟土地．朝秦楚．莅中國而撫四夷也

[your] desire (欲) [is]: open up (辟 --> 開闢) [more] land (土地), [have representatives] in the court (朝 --> 朝廷), from the nation of 秦 and 楚, administrated (莅 --> 蒞) the china (中國), and (而) soothe (撫) all surrounding barbarians (四夷).
at that time (bc 319-301), 齊 is a small nation in 山東半島. then, "中國" is "關中平原".


What is the meaning of 会 in 你们太会了 and the sentence's connotation? Context:
There was a photo of a Chinese celebrity sitting down and some fans cropped and pasted that photo on different photos, so it looked the person was sitting on a horse or bicycle etc. The celebrity then posted these edited photos, with the comment "你们太会了".
From my meagre knowledge of Chinese, 会 is functioning as an adjective in this sentence. However, I thought that 会 could only be a noun (e.g. meeting; gathering) or a verb (e.g. be able to; expressing future tense).
My conclusions were:

the sentence is grammatically incorrect
the sentence is possibly slang
based on context, the translation might be “You know how to do it too much."

Are these conclusions correct and is the sentence's connotation positive or negative?
多谢！

会 denotes the sense of good at; skillful;etc..  In Chinese grammar, 会 is a verb here.
the celebrity is saying: 你们太会玩了 or 你们太会搞了.  In English, it could be something like you guys are good at making this.
Apparently, there is a verb implied in 你们太会了. The listeners would understand the action based on the context.  In your case, it could be 玩, 搞, etc.


Is Sunday 星期天 or 星期日? I am using the ChineseSkill app to learn Chinese and I learned that 'Sunday' in Chinese is 星期天 (xīngqītiān). However, sometimes on the internet I see 星期日 (xīngqīrì).

Are both correct? Why is there such a variation in usage?

In theory, 星期日 should be correct.

The concept of a week was introduced from the west, the name of days came from the Sun, the Moon and the stars. When they were introduced to China, only Sunday was preserved, the other days were renamed from 1 to 6, so they became 星期日 (Sun -> 日), 星期一 ... 星期六.

But in Chinese, 天 and 日 could be used for the meaning of day both. So the people started to say 星期天 instead of 星期日, and the original meaning (i.e. Sun) was lost, which would be a "misuse".

Nowadays 星期日 and 星期天 are both correct. Basically in a formal context, such as in news, 星期日 is used more than 星期天.

话说“星期日”与“星期天”


Difference between 傍晚 and 晚上 and their etymology As in the title. Are there any cases when these two are interchangeable? If yes, when? What are the nuances that distinguish them? It would be great if one can tackle the etymology of the two.

傍

　1. 靠：依山～水。
　2. 临近：～晚。～黑。～亮。
汉英互译
◎ 傍
be close to　　　draw near
English
by side of, beside, near, close

傍晚

[evening;at dusk (nightfall);toward evening] 靠近晚上的时候。亦称“黄昏”

傍晚 basically is compromised of 傍 "close (to)" + 晚上 "nighttime"
晚上

[evening;night] 从日落或晚饭至寝宴的一段时间

The Chinese literally says night is beginning at nightfall or dinner time.
晚

太阳落了的时候

time after sunset

as to whether they are interchangeable or not, well this really depends on the cognitive abilities of each person - my dusk might be your nighttime - it's hard to say for sure.

as for the entomology of 晚 Outlier says:

COMPONENTS
日 In 晚, 日 is a semantic component.
免 In 晚 wǎn, 免 miǎn is a sound component, though this is not obvious in modern Mandarin.


How often is 羊肉 Goat in chinese? I've always translated 羊肉 as mutton.

Mutton is not really a protein eaten in the west. Lamb is eaten a lot but that is 小羊.

Goat is said to be the most widely consumed protein in the world.

How often is 羊肉 goat in Chinese and not mutton?

In English, 'lamb' is meat from young sheep and 'mutton' is meat from adult sheep.

Young goat meat in Chinese is '小羊肉'  (a goat under a year old).
Adult goat meat in Chinese is  '山羊肉' or simply '羊肉'.

Goat meat is commonly consumed by Chinese, but far less than pork and beef.

How often is 羊肉 goat in Chinese and not mutton?

The term '羊肉' always refers to 'goat meat' in China. 'Mutton' is translated as 绵羊肉 and 'lamb' is translated as 羔羊肉. Almost no one eats them in China.
Since most of China has no sheep, the terms 'lamb' and 'mutton' in China are  adopted to describe 'young goat meat' and 'goat meat' respectively.
Simply put, 'lamb' and 'mutton' in Chinese should be 羔羊肉 and 绵羊肉, but most Chinese think 'lamb' and 'mutton' mean '小羊肉(young goat meat)' and '山羊肉(goat meat)'.
Edit:

History of the_domestic sheep https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_domestic_sheep
Sheep are not an important part of China's agricultural economy, since the majority of China does not have the large open pastures required for sheep-rearing.[20] Sheep farming is more common in the northwestern provinces of the country, where such tracts of land exist.[21] China does have a native sheep breed, the zhan. The population of the breed has been in decline since 1985, despite government promotion of the breed.[22]

Since China is quite hilly, sheep farming mostly confined to the minorities tribes in northern edge of the country. A typical Han Chinese might not had seen a sheep in his entire life.

China’s Goat Industry: http://www.ccagr.com/content/view/115/179/
China is home to more than 100 million meat goats. Farmers produce a total output of more than 1.5 million tons annually. Most of the meat produced is consumed by the nation while little is exported on the world market.

Considering the huge number of goats in China, we can safely presume almost everyone in China who say he had eaten 羊肉 before, meant he had eaten 'goat meat' (not sheep meat).


What does “格” mean in "爾國臨格"? Matthew 6:10 of the Bible is translated as the following in the Delegates Version:

爾國臨格、爾旨得成、在地若天、

The context was Jesus was teaching how to pray and gave an example of a prayer.

I fail to understand the meaning of 格 here. It seems to me "爾國臨" is a complete sentence. Why "爾國臨格" and what does "格" mean here?

Edit: The expected English translation is “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”.

the verse is chopped wrongly lah, i would read it as "爾" + "國" + "臨格".
"臨格" ought to be read together as a verb, with the meaning of "come / arrive".
the entry of "格" in 國語辭典 explained (the sixth, as verb):

至、來。《書經．堯典》：「光被四表，格於上下。」宋．蘇軾〈賀時宰啟〉：「歡聲格於九天，乖氣消於萬彙。」

http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&searchid=W00000003946
for comparison, consider the word "蒞臨", which means ~ "come / arrive / be present"; while the character "蒞" means "to reach / arrive", and "臨" means "come to / arrive / be present".
the main prayer text is translated by mr 王韜, imo, excellent one.
http://www.rhenish.org/Common/Reader/News/ShowNews.jsp?Nid=3782&Pid=5&Version=80&Cid=151&Charset=big5_hkscs
usages of "臨格" in literatures of yore:
in 文忠集　卷八十六

皇帝親詣啓聖禪院告遷明徳元徳章穆皇后赴普安院奉安祝文
嚮者因霖災之為沴・飭殿構以増新・㳙榖旦之惟良・奉神遊而還止・載深感慕・躬薦芬馨・式慰孝思・冀茲臨格

in 廬山太平興動宮採訪真君事實, the 滿散詞:

惟廬嶽之名峰，實天仙之奧宅。夢符晝現，雖自開元之傳；邇遠名彰，邈想真王之始。應世則帝王之佐，在天惟耳目之司。千齡昔紀於元豐，四字首加於徽號。備玆褥禮，屬在休期。鏤玉填金，煥成章於雲漢；臨軒發冊，增偉觀於江山。顧熙事之嘉成，涓良辰而祝告。伏願威神臨格，昭鑒居飲。薰燎揭虔，共仰九霄之邃；厲鴻嘖祉，永言萬壽之期。併敷錫於庶民，俾交欣於百樂。

http://www.ctcwri.idv.tw/CTCW-CMTS/CMT07正乙部/CMT07ALL/CH07094盧山太平興國宮採訪真君事實/CH07094-2卷二宋朝崇奉類.htm
have fun :)


What does "有蛋黄的迎春花" mean? 走进公园，我们感到春天真的来了。柳条迎着暖风轻轻地摆动，绿茵茵的草坪相扑了柔软的地毯。花都开了，有蛋黄的迎春花，粉红的桃花，白色的玉兰花，还有紫色的丁香花。

I'm reading this story above about these students going into a park. The part in bold I don't understand- as far as I know, it means "there were egg yolk winter jasmine flowers", but I'm sure that's not right.

迎春（学名：Jasminum nudiflorum），又称金腰带，香港俗称串串金，是木犀科素馨属的植物。早春先于叶子开放出黄色鲜艳的小花(bright yellow flowers)，给人们带来春意，所以花名曰迎春。

Winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) is a slender, deciduous shrub native to China. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental and is reportedly naturalized in France and in scattered locations in the United States.

Let's inspect the structure of the phrases.

蛋黄的迎春花
粉红的桃花
白色的玉兰花
紫色的丁香花

These are appositives.
They have the same pattern, color + flower name.

The author uses two words (+ 的) to describe a color.
Thus, 蛋黄色 is simplified to 蛋黄, and 粉红色 to 粉红.

蛋黄(色)的花 egg yellow flowers


Air quality meter name I have an air quality detector meter.
It has the name of the manufactures written on the bottom.
What's the english translation?
Does this manufacturer have a web page?
Thanks
EDIT:
In the web page https://www.chinahao.com/product/538115265141/, clicking the "DETAILS" tab, there's this pic a the end. Is this the manufacturer?

阿格瑞斯 is seemingly a transliteration of "Aceras"
'Aceras' is a genus of orchid
This 阿格瑞斯 company in Shenzhen specialized in air quality detection and solution since 2003


How do you say "do a plank" in Chinese? Here is a person doing a "plank". What would you say in Chinese?

The position is called:

平板撑
ping2 ban3 cheng1

平板 meaning literally "plank", or "slab", and 撑 standing for 支撑 "to prop up".
The longer form 平板支撑 is also common.

About the verb "how to do" a plank, that would be simply 做 but also 完成 might be fine.

如何完成平板支撑 How to do/complete planks


Is there a "better" translation for "你我还没完呢"? Why is it "你我" without a possible "和"? And please can anyone confirm the function of "呢" in this one? I was watching an American TV show with Chinese subtitles on. There was a scene where a character said, "You haven't seen the last of me, Ms.Ellison.", and the Chinese subtitle for it was,"你我还没完呢 Ellison小姐.". For better context, the character who is speaking, "still believes" that Ms. Ellison committed some murders despite no one believing this.

I was wondering if there is any "better" translation for "你我还没完呢 Ellison小姐."? Because I translated it as "You and I are still not over, Ms. Ellison."

Assuming that my translation is close to correct, why isn't there "和", making it as "你和我还没完呢 Ellison小姐."?

Also can anyone please confirm that "呢" in this sentence indicates that something is still continuing? Which in this case I guess, indicates his situation/relationship (trying to send her to jail) with her will continue.

Thanks, if anything is confusing about what I have written, please let me know.

update
I think I shouldn't have said "better" translation, I meant if it could have been another possible translation. But thanks to everyone's input, I was able to come to an understanding. It was hard to choose the best answer.

The translation is accurate. 没完 means that there will be a continuation, and 呢 adds to this.

Translations are not and should not ever be word for word, but adapted to the linguistic context. Chinese is not as wordy as, say, American English, and there is simply no need to sprinkle the text with repeated instances of pronouns (like 我) or words that can be inferred by context.

你我 is very common.


How to say "I thought you are..." to a response? Let's start with an example:

A: 你是学生吗？
B: 不是，我是老师。
C: I thought you are student!

Note that C is a different person from A.
In this case, how can I say "I thought..."?
I know in Mandarin, you usually use an adverb or an adverbial phrase to express the past tense (e.g. 以前), but in this case, I don't know how I should express the past tense. At least I feel it is awkward to say 以前我认为你是学生.
Or maybe I should add 过 to say 我认为过你是学生, but I'm not sure and still feel a bit awkward...
If I say 我认为你是学生, I feel like the person C thinks the person B is lying and is actually a student. This may lead to the misunderstanding, I think.
So how should I express the past tense in these cases?

It is "我还以为你是学生"

认为 (consider; think) can be in any tense

but 以为 already mean "(previously) thought"

还 is a common adverb with many meanings. In this case, it means 'even'

还以为 = '(even) thought'


What is 了 doing in 这个表快了+time？ I am confused about the 了 in the sentence:

这个表快了五分钟。
Zhèɡe biǎo kuàile wǔ fēnzhōnɡ.
This watch is running five minutes faster.

Clearly there is no change of state. Is it for completion? I don't understand what is completed...

Grammatically, the completion is not only for verbs but also for adjectives.  In your example 快了, 快 is an adj. Another example might be easier to understand.  苹果红了,  apples turned red.  苹果熟了 is a similar example.
Here is the dictionary definition about this usage of 了.

了 / le /
助词
1
（用在动词或形容词后， 表示动作或变化已经完成）:
read twice;
读了两遍
Apples got red.

苹果红了。

And the official 新华字典 has the similar definition:

了

助词

放在动词或形容词后，表示动作变化已经完成: 买~一本书 | 水位低~一米。


How to say "Say hi to someone" as a description? So, I've been trying to figure out what is the best way to describe the sentence "I went to the store to say hi to the owner". (Imagine in this context I haven't seen him for a certain amount of time, so I'd like to go in and just quickly say "hi" and then leave)
Do people say  “跟他说你好？”
比如 “我最后决定去跟那个老板说你好。”

“Say hi to someone” in Chinese is just a simple 打招呼 (unless you mean "please say hi to so-and-so for me - then it's 问好).

so what you want to say here is: 我跟老板打了个招呼....


What is the English original of 精致的平庸? A Chinese scholar living in the US tells in her article that for some disciplines in the west, especially those of humanity and social sciences, researchers are simply doing something not worth the efforts, that is, their conclusion of the study is bullshit if you read it carefully, or that they have spent a lot of time and efforts and money for something which is not unusual, like "if you do not eat, you will die." Such is known as 精致的平庸, a phrase she translated from the original of English. So what is the English original?

I agree with  user3306356.

  Liu (2010) characterises as ‘exquisite mediocrity’(精致的平庸) the kind of
  research that is centred on determining the accuracy and elegance of
  norms and procedures rather than on creating something of functional
  value to society.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14708477.2017.1261642#aHR0cDovL3d3dy50YW5kZm9ubGluZS5jb20vZG9pL3BkZi8xMC4xMDgwLzE0NzA4NDc3LjIwMTcuMTI2MTY0Mj9uZWVkQWNjZXNzPXRydWVAQEAw


Why do people often say 最多 in Cantonese when they mean "at the very least"? I often hear on TVB shows that people say 最多 in a context when they mean to say, "at the very least?" For instance, something like, "At the very least, I'll take you to dinner tomorrow for being late."

Why is this?

Consider it this way: If your offer and his expectation from you are at two opposite ends, then the most you can offer only meets the least he has expected, or even less.

So the perspective(point of view) affects the use of "most" and "least" -- quite subtle. To make a specific case clear, we need the vivid context.


Does the use of 就 and 便 vary by region? 就 and 便 are synonymous in many sentences:

  这儿（就、便）是我们的学校。
  我看了报纸（就、便）扔了。
  如果你去，我（就、便）不去了。

I believe that 便 is more formal than 就; I've seen it in writing but never heard it in speech. However, my Chinese experience is mostly limited to the south, and
perhaps it's common in other regions.

Is 便 a common subsitute for 就 in certain parts of China? In places where 便 is common, can it be used everywhere that 就 is used? Are there sentences where 就 is appropriate but 便 is not?

As a native speaker, I certainly never encounter anyone from any part of the mainland who uses "便" in colloquial language frequently, if ever. I'd say "便" is basically a written equivalent of "就".


Is 就玛丽很快不哭了 grammatically wrong? The full sentence is

  听了我的话，就玛丽很快不哭了。

I get confused with the position of 就: 就玛丽很快不哭了 => Only Mary will not cry soon. Is that correct?

Please help me out with this.

When the conjunction 就 means "just" or "then", it doesn't go before noun

玛丽 is a noun

The sentence should be

听了我的话，玛丽很快(就)不哭了。 --> Mary quickly (just) stop crying

or

听了我的话，玛丽(就)很快不哭了 --> Mary (then) quickly stop crying

Edition:

Notice: When 就 means "ONLY", it does go before noun

Example: 他们都哭了，(就)玛丽不哭 --> They all cried, (only) Mary didn't


Is there a comprehensive list of 语气词 or 语气助词? Or a place I can research more about them? Is there a comprehensive list of 语气词 or 语气助词? Or a place I can research more about them?

Had an idea to do my dissertation on them but having trouble finding a list of them.

Modern Chinese / Mandarin:

啊 a
噢 ao
哎 ai
唉 ai
吧 ba
呗 bei
哦 o
喔 o
哈 ha
嚯 huo
啦 la
嘞 lei
哩 li
啰 luo
咯 lo
喽 lou
咧 lie
吗 ma
嘛 ma
哪 na
呐 na
哇 wa
呦 you
哟 yo
唷 yo
吁 yu

Classic Chinese:

呔 dai
呵 he
乎 hu
兮 xi
矣 yi
也 ye (means: too, also, in modern Chinese)
哉 zai


What does " backtick escapes " mean in chinese? I learn Mathematica on the site StackExchange Mathematica,I encountered a problem?(on the picture)

backtick escapes

The result that the dictionary gives is "那些逃离",Obviously,it is wrong.
So my question is how to understand it in Chinese or English?

A "backtick", also known as a "backquote", is a punctuation mark that appears to be translated as 反引号 and refers to this symbol:

`

In the programming context, "escape" often refers to an "escape sequence", which is translated as 转义序列. I'm guessing that "backtick escapes" is used to mean 反引号转义字符.

[edited per user58955's comment]


Why is the 会 in 会计 pronounced kuài? The character 会 has two different pronunciations; usually it is huì but in 会计 it is pronounced kuài. It seems that the latter pronunciation is exclusively used in the "accounting" meaning.

How did this one character take on two different pronunciations and meanings? Was it a merger of two different characters?

In Old Chinese, it is generally thought that some words followed regular morphological alternations (which are preserved in a few places in MSM, but "frozen", i.e., no longer productive). For instance:

Verb/Noun
处 chu3 "to dwell" / chu4 "a place"
数 shu3 "to count" / shu4 "a number"
知 zhi1 "to know" / (also 智) zhi4 "knowledge"

Similarly:

Active/Inactive Verb
好 hao4 "to like" / hao3 "to be good"
系 ji4 "to tie" / xi4 "to be connected"
会 kuai4 "to bring together" / hui4 "to come together"

Phonetic reconstructions for these alternations generally follow a regular pattern (e.g., voiced/voiceless, 去声/other tone), although specific reconstructions differ.
会 is a somewhat odd example, in that the hui4 reading has displaced the kuai4 reading in almost all places except proper nouns and 会计 = accounting. Branner gives the example from Confucius:

君子以文会友，以友辅仁

The customary reading of 会 in this passage is hui4, but etymologically, it really should be kuai4.
My references are taken from Branner's excellent essay, "On Early Chinese Morphology and its
Intellectual History"
EDIT:
The Middle Chinese readings corresponding to "hui4" and "kuai4" are "hwajH" and "kwajH" in Baxter's notation; the initials being 匣 and 見. Based on this, one would expect the MSM pronunciation of the latter to be "gui4" rather than "kuai4". The common Japanese On reading of かい "kai" (attested earlier as くわい "kwai") is actually a kan-on reading. According to wikipedia, the k- initial in a kan-on reading could correspond to either a 匣 or a 見 MC initial. In any event, the "kai" reading is used in both the 'meeting' and 'accounting' meanings, regardless of which MC reading it corresponds to. Some speculate (e.g., Victor Mair, p31) that the MSM "kuai4" may have been influenced by the Japanese "kai" (i.e., that the etymologically expected "gui4" was displaced by "kuai4" when 会计 was re-borrowed from Japanese to mean "accounting"). It is not the case, however, that the hui4/kuai4 distinction is an artifact of Japanese borrowing--a meaning of "settling accounts" is attested dating back well before the Japanese neologism for accounting (see halfway down random blogpost quoting from dictionary).


Was 我 pronounced 'è' at some time in the past? If I look up 饿 in http://zhongwen.com/ I find 饿 = 食 + 我。 Further it says, '我 is phonetic'.

Does this mean that at some time in the past, 我 was pronounced 'è'?

Taken literally, 饿 should then be pronounced 'wǒ', which is not the case.

The nearest part to 'è' is in 我， 戈 ‘gē’. Is that where the 'è' comes from?

Your observation is brilliant. However, there's no easy conclusion.

People summarize the formation of Chinese characters into six categories, namely 象形, 指事, 会意, 形声, 转注, and 假借. For the case of "饿", it's a phono-semantic compound (形声字) made up of "食" -- the semantic part, and "我" --- the phonetic part. Therefore, you may find the prononciations of 我 and 饿 are similar. However, a phono-semantic compound does not neccessarily follow exactly the same prononciation. "我" is a ideograph (指事字), which has a more vague origin for its pronounciation.

The prononciation of Chinese characters can date back to more than two thousand of years ago. At that time, most researcher now believing, there was no tone system and the words use suffices to identify its speech, etc, like Latin does. It also uses suffices to distinguish between different phono-semantic compound words. For example in Old Chinese, the prononciation for 我 and 饿 are /ŋaːlʔ/ and /ŋaːls/ respectively(from this). It differs so much from modern days, and it developed a long way and changing from time to time. A thousand years later in Tang Dynasty, when we called the language Middle Chinese, the prononciations of 我 and 饿 changes to /ŋɑ/ but with different tones (上声 and 去声 respectively).

For 我 and 戈, they have some relationship in terms of origin. In the old days, "我" means one's own country. And country always has armies. "戈" is the arms made up long wooden stick and a metalic blade (see 说文解字). Today, we can only know that 我 and 戈 shares the same vowel in Middle Chinese, and this is related to the similar syllable coda in Old Chinese. But the root reason of the similarity is still unclear. We still lacking convinceable evidences to claim anything. Digging out the pronounciation of two thousand years without any audio documentation is a difficult thing, not to mention the prononciation system and rules.


Why does 减弱 (lit. "reduce weak") mean "to weaken"? 减弱 (jiǎnruò)
CC-CEDICT: to weaken / to fall off

I find this counter-intuitive, since we have:

减
CC-CEDICT: to lower / to decrease / to reduce / to subtract / to diminish
弱
CC-CEDICT: weak / feeble / young / inferior / (following a decimal or fraction) slightly less than

It seems like 减弱 should mean "reduce weakness" and therefore "strengthen", but it means the opposite.  For comparison, 减肥 means "lose weight".
Question: Why does 减弱 (lit. "reduce weak") mean "to weaken"?

肥 in 减肥 is a noun; 弱 in 减弱 is an adjective
减肥 = 减(少)肥(胖) = reduce obesity
减弱 = 减(低)(變)弱  decrease and weaken
Example:
"颱風减弱" = "颱風(威力)减(低)(變)弱" = "Typhoon (power) decreases and weakens"
The power decreased and the typhoon became weaker


Help deciphering a young Chinese student's writing! Can you tell what this young student wrote during my VIP Kid class? I wrote NiHao in red and he wrote the blue that follows. Keep in mind, there is an awry game of tic tac toe on the right in blue and some large and small smiley faces throughout. I think I made out this much...

Zhe shi wo de (ke zi?) ... ?

I'm looking for the Chinese characters as the student wrote them (probably traditional), pinyin, and a full translation, that would be great!

这是我的名字阚鸿博
zhe shi wo de ming zi kan hong bo

This is my name Kan Hongbo


What is the purpose of the 賣 (卖) component in the character 讀 (读)? Most sources I can find say that 讀 (读) is a phonosemantic compound (形聲), where 言 is the semantic component and 賣 is the phonetic component.

However, the pronunciation of 賣 (mài) does not resemble 讀 (dú) at all, even in Middle Chinese (賣 /mai/; 讀 /duk/) or Old Chinese (賣 /mreːs/; 讀 /l'oːɡ/).

What is the purpose of the 賣 component in the character 讀?

well, 賣(u+8ce3) is sell; while (u+27da0) is pronounced as "育".

left is 賣(u+8ce3), right is (u+27da0), note the difference of the middle component:

well, in the past, 賣(u+8ce3) is for 買賣 (buy & sell) only. other characters e.g., 讀, 贖, 覿, 續 are using (u+27da0).

so, 讀 as a phonosemantic compound character is, combined "言" & (u+27da0); that's why it's 屋韻﹒徒谷切

somewhere in time, the (u+27da0) is less used, and 賣 is more "popular"; which causes confusing.


How does the particle word "呢" work? My teacher said that a particle word in Chinese is a function word, but don't quite understand what is means. How does the particle word such as "呢" work?

Also, are there any other Chinese particle words out there? Thanks in advance!

As others have pointed out, 呢 is a sentence-final particle that nowadays mostly has an interrogative function, namely to form a question regarding a topic that has already been brought up.

The normal interrogative particle is 吗, as in 你是中国人吗？ Or more rhetorically using 吧: 你是中国人吧？ But if you first introduce your own nationality, the question would instead involve the particle 呢: 我是丹麦人，你呢？

If you read older literature like 红楼梦, you will also find 呢 as a sentence-final particle that is not interrogative, but rather emphatic. It may indicate softening or suggestion, like in the sentences 尤氏的母亲已先在这里呢 and 太太们都在楼上坐着呢，请奶奶就从这边上去罢。

Other such particles are 吧 (softening of statements) and 啊 (affirmation).

Then there is a whole range of exclamative particles and interjections used in spoken Chinese, such as 呗 (when stating something obvious or with authority), 嗯 (acknowlegding), 哦 (surprise), and 哇 (awe).

Functional particles that are essential to Chinese grammar include 着 (durative aspect particle for continuous action, 我穿着衣服 = I am getting dressed), 了 (completion, 我回来了 = I am back, or 我不抽烟了 = I am not smoking anymore), and 的 (possessive particle: 我的车子).

Particles are thus used to modify words and sentences. They are not words per se, but add structure to sentences.


Are there any fora for conversing in Classical Chinese? This is not to say my Classical Chinese has progressed anywhere near a level such that I could converse. But I have found such fora amazingly useful in Ancient Greek. You start wondering how to express the common things, instead of sticking to a few topics.

新文言
辞赋论坛
Hummm, I cannot find a forum where people converse In 文言文, but the two fora above are mainly for writing In 文言文.
I must say, 文言文 doesn't quite fit into modern environment. The main reason is words for modern things and ideas
are formed in such a different way from the morphology of 文言文 that it looks awkward for a pure 文言文 to contain modern words like 電話/牙刷/激光照排打印機.

Whereas it is possible to elaborate your speech or writing with 文言文, including using 文言句式/文言詞彙/典故/文風 and In many cases it reads really like so called 文言文 （of course it isn't）.

——————EDIT——————

I think the essence of good writing and speech is concision and accuracy. The more words at your command, the nearer you are from that goal. In daily life and on the Internet, people are inclined to use basic and simple words. If you are not a beginner, you will feel this a hindrance to your improvement. It is, even for native speakers. It might be the reason why you are looking for fora discussing Classical Chinese. But it is not necessaryԅ(¯ㅂ¯ԅ). My advice is simple but proved by many: read books writing in formal and literary language and （my personal practice） buy a hefty dictionary, often leaf through it, take down notes of good words you meet.
|･ω･｀)


Where can I find recordings of old Chinese pronunciation? Old Chinese phonology and Reconstructions of Old Chinese seem to be two things that keep cropping up every now and again.

Baxter–Sagart seems to be the big one these days.

Are there any recordings of Old Chinese pronunciations available?

I doubt it.  Baxter and Sagart themselves mention, in their recent book on Old Chinese, that the reconstruction is at least partly schematic: The symbols are meant to be phonemic, not phonetic.  Roughly speaking, that means that their main function is to trace the etymology of the spoken language, not to reflect how the sounds were actually realized.  In many cases, they know no more about a particular sound than that it was a consonant of some sort, or sometimes that it was a velar consonant, or a guttural consonant, or some kind of lower vowel, or whatever.  However, they have decided to use a convention that makes sense, that whenever a sound has so-and-so kind of reflex in the modern languages, or in Middle Chinese, then it will be represented with such-and-such a symbol in their Old Chinese transcription.

In reality, in most cases, the sound probably was something like what they transcribe, but not reliably so.  At one point, a few years ago, Baxter and Sagart produced a "simplified" version of their reconstruction, which filtered out some of the uncertainties and made various specific decisions about which sounds went where.  They decided in the end to scrap that version, because they felt it conveyed an unrealistic level of assuredness about the sounds of Old Chinese.

At any rate, even if one were to pick a particular realization of the phonemes of Old Chinese, it would probably take a lot of effort to learn to speak it fluently enough to read, say, Confucius, and no one is going to put in that much effort if there's a good chance a large percentage is just plain wrong.


这就是台湾，这才是台湾. Cracking the 就 again Many moons of my struggle with 就 and 就是 maybe finally over. But still I need help from natives and others.

There is a book out there with a title: "这就是台湾，这才是台湾"
Once I saw that phrase I thought that I have a key for cracking the 就 thing.

I, certantly, have an opinion about the proper translation of that sentence but I would rather hear an uncontaminated (by my ideas) reasoning of others. Thanks.

To help the explanation of the title of that book, I provide some more examples for 就 and 才 interplay. Translation of those will be appreciated too.

你怎么想我就不在乎呢。vs 你怎么想我才不在乎呢。
两个人就能办好。 vs 两个人才能办好。
就是他。 vs 才是他。
就是够了。 vs 才是够了。

A lot of people are trying to explain 就 vs 才 with english equivalent terms, but that makes it very confusing when it can be explained with simple logic statements, and it is crucial to understand the reasoning behind all these cases:

  X就Y -> Y if X

  X才Y -> Y if and only if X

The difference is that when using 就, X is not the only condition that Y can happen, while with 才 Y happens [if and only if] X happens. Basic example:

  下雨的話(X)地就會濕(Y)

  The floor will get wet (Y) [if] it rains (X)

  下雨的話(X)地才會濕(Y)

  The floor will get wet (Y) [if and only] if it rains (X)

Mutated form of 就 vs 才:

  你怎么想我(X)就不在乎呢(Y)。

  I wouldn't care (Y) [if] however you think of me (X)

  你怎么想我(X)才不在乎呢(Y)。

  I wouldn't care (Y) [if and only if] however you think of me (X)

But wait a second, how does that make any sense?

You see, "I wouldn't care" is the result of "however you think of me", the action. By using 就 you are simply stating that you wouldn't care how he thinks of you. But in some cases that's not powerful enough, and only in chinese that you can deliver that kind of tone: you want to tell the other person you don't care so much that "however you think of me" is the ONLY thing that you don't care about, and you care about everything else.

  两个人(X)就能办好(Y)。

  It can be done (Y) [with] two people (X).

  两个人(X)才能办好(Y)。

  It can be done (Y) [with and only with] two people (X).

  (Note that this can imply strictly 2 persons, or 2 or more people)

The following is harder to explain:

  就是他。

  That is (simply) him

  才是他。

  That is (the real) him

You would use 就是他 when you see someone doing something that he normally does.

  那就是菲尔普斯(Y)，又贏獎牌了(X)

  That is Michael Phelps (Y), winning yet another medal (X)

  ([Because] of winning another swimming medal, he has to be Michael Phelps)

But then let's say Michael Phelps had been on a losing streak for the past few of games, and he has finally gotten another medal.

  那才是我知道的菲尔普斯！

  Oh yeah that is the true Michael Phelps that I know of!

  (This signifies that it is the real Michael Phelps [because and ONLY because] he has won again and he is known for winning. It wasn't him when he wasn't winning. You would use this form when you want to confirm that something is finally back in shape or back to where it used to be.)

Finally, quite straight forward:

  就是够了

  That is enough.

  才是够了。

  That is just enough.


use of 在 with verbs that imply position or location Location: I've learned that some verbs use zai after the verb eg. 住。 我住在北京 and that most verbs take 在 before the verb eg. 我在花园吃饭. My first question is - how can you tell which verbs take zai before the verb and those which take zai after the verb?
Then with duration, the use of zai appears to go back to how it is used with most other verbs: eg.  我在北京住了三年
Therefore, why has this word order changed?

I'll address your last statement first since it is the quickest. when 在 comes directly before the verb it is known as the durative aspect marker (durative as in "duration"). In this case its function is identical to the role of "-ing" in English, it shows that the action is undergoing and has yet to be completed.
As for the other use case; when 在 isn't functioning as the durative aspect marker its function is that of a coverb (see my description of a coverb here), the direct English equivalent in this case would be "in" or "at". When used in this way 在 must be followed by  a noun, the combination of 在 + the noun forms an adverbial phrase (for instance, 在北京 from your first example). Whether this adverbial phrase is placed before the verb or after the verb is dependent on what type of verb it is.
One type of verb is a "displacement" verb, meaning a verb that results in something being displaced. 跳 (to jump) is an example of this, the action of jumping results in you being displaced. In the case of displacement verbs, the adverbial phrase containing 在 can come before or after the verb. The caveat is that placing it before the verb means that is the location prior to being displaced while placing it after the verb means that is the location after being displaced. Take for example, "我跳在桌子上" and "我在桌子上跳". The first implies that you jumped onto the surface of the table while the latter implies that you were on the surface of the table prior to jumping.
Another type of verb is a "stative" verb, a verb that describes a state. This includes 坐 (to sit), 睡觉 (to sleep), and also 住 (to live) from your example. These are all verbs (action words) by definition but ironically aren't done actively. You do not actively sit, or actively live. You do it passively, with no effort or thought on your part. In cases such as these the adverbial phrase containing 在 can come before or after the verb without altering the sentence in any meaningful way. Where you chose to sit your bum and where you are as a result of sitting down are one in the same, no meaningful difference.
I can't think of a name for the rest of the verbs, but in all other cases the adverbial phrase containing 在 should come before the verb. Such is true for 学 (to learn)， 教 (to teach), 吃 (to eat), etc. You can only say where you were when you began doing these actions, you cannot say where you are as a result of doing the action, so always place the locative phrase before.
One thing of note is that verbs such as 去 (to go), 飞 (to fly), etc. all belong to the last category. You might be duped into believing that they belong to the first (the displacement verbs), but that category is reserved for movement within your immediate area. You can jump to a position relative to your self, be shoved to a position relative to yourself, etc. and these are all acceptable uses of 在, but when you are talking about flying to a distant place or other such actions you cannot use 在 for connecting the destination with the verb, you must use 到 (to) instead


When do I use the state complement? Recently I have been confused about when I am to use the state complement. For example, if I want to say "In general I read the messages quickly", which sentence should I write?

我一般很快地看留言
我一般看留言看得很快

Maybe both are right? But somehow the two sentences don't sound the same to me.

In chinese the basic syntactic structure is:

  主语, Subject + (状语, Adverb) + 动词, Verb + (补语, Complements)

So, from this structure we can see that the adverb comes before the verb and the complement slot follows the verb.

Whatever precedes the verb modifies its meaning. So, since the adverb comes before the predicate, it behaves like a determinant. 很快(地) in your first sentence adds more information to the main action, 看.

On the other hand, whatever follows the verb represents the results of the predicate, it completes the meaning of the verb and that's why this place is reserved for complements. The degree complement, or 程度补语, it's a very special complement that specifies the qualities of the action. You could think about it as picture of the predicate.

Thus, both your sentences are correct from a grammatical point of view. They also mean the exactly same thing. The difference between the two consist in the focus.
In the first sentence the predicate (看) is the most important element. In the second instead the degree of the action (得很快) receives the focus.

  我一般很快地看留言。
  In general I read messages. How do I read them? Quickly.

  我一般看留言看得很快。
  In general I read messages and my action has the result to be quick.