Questions tagged [mandarin]
Question specifically about the Mandarin dialect. (Not for arbitrary questions that happen to involve Mandarin.)
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二 Mandarin pronunciation vs. other dialects and Japanese
Since I started learning Japanese a while ago, I always found the onyomi pronunciation of 二, being 'ni', unusual compared to the Mandarin pronunciation of 'èr'. The Old and Middle Chinese ...
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What is the difference between 电视 and 电视上?
In the following two sentences:
电视说今天很晴朗,不过下午下雨了。
电视上说今天的天气会很晴朗,今天一整天都很晴朗。
Why does the first sentence not use 上 but the second sentence does? Is there any difference between 电视 and 电视上?
I think ...
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Does 上嗨 work as a pun for 上海?
While riding the subway in Shanghai last week, I glanced at the TV playing some commercials and saw what looked like a slightly off spelling of the city's name (上海). I could not get a very good look (...
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Does Chinese have idiomatic equivalents of "a regular" and "the usual"?
In English there is an idiomatic noun sense of "regular" for a regular customer. Somebody who regularly dines/drinks/etc at the same café/restaurant/bar/etc:
That guy is a regular, he comes ...
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When you first meet someone, sometimes they say (for example): " 我是小朋...“
。。。 “小时的小,朋友的朋。”
I think Chinese people will say that because you may not know how their name is written, so you get a better description of what their name is.
But... does the word have to be the ...
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Mandarin equivalent to 話事?
In Cantonese, people often say 話事 to indicate someone is "the boss" (e.g., 你話事) or can decide some matter (e.g., what to eat, what to watch).
This page says the Mandarin equivalent is 作主, but 作主 ...
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Mandarin: when to use 面 (mian) or 臉 (lian)?
In Cantonese, you usually use 面 to mean face.
However, it seems like in Mandarin, people use 臉 (e.g., 我的臉很紅) sometimes and other times use 面 (e.g., 面對面).
What are the guidelines around using 面 or 臉?
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Hanzi pronunciation by radicals
I got into learning Chinese recently and since I already speak Japanese I find myself in a weird spot of being fairly familiar with a writing system, yet barely being able to read more than 30 ...
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Why does the `请` take two duplicate words on its verb occasionally (e.g. `请洗洗你的袜子`)
I've read these sentences in my Rosetta Stone courses:
请洗洗你的袜子
请洗一下楼梯
However, why does the first sentence use two 洗 consecutively before taking the object? Also, how can I tell when to use one verb ...
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Does 一个 mean *exactly* one? Or can it mean *at least* one?
If someone (truthfully) says "I have a car" then they have at least one car. If someone says "I have one car" then they have exactly one car.
How does this idea work for "我有一辆汽车" ?
Could someone say ...
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Empathy and Sympathy use same characters in Chinese 同情?
Any alternative characters to clarify the difference, as the English words and their Greek roots have different meaning. Thanks!
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Is 家婆 the term for a woman's "mother in law" in Mandarin too?
In Cantonese, a woman would call her mother in law her "家婆" or her "奶奶", and address her only as "奶奶".
My understanding of the same terms in Mandarin is, a woman would call her mother in law her "婆婆" ...
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Does Taiwanese Mandarin have the neutral tone?
So I'm trying to learn Taiwanese Mandarin, and apparently they don't really use the neutral tone, but if that's the case how do you say things like 子,了, and 的?
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Why is 就 needed in 美國國務院稱華府仍未就卡舒吉案下定論? If it's needed, shouldn't it precede 仍未?
This news article contains the following title: 美國國務院稱華府仍未就卡舒吉案下定論
1) Why is the 就 needed? If it's needed, shouldn't it precede 仍未?
2) Is 仍 the literary version of 還? In other words, if you were to ...
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How to express psychological insecurity (not physical insecurity)?
These two dictionaries seem to offer translations for insecurity that capture the physical sort, not the psychological sort (i.e., insecurity about your looks, weight, smarts, etc.).
http://www....
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How do I join more than one adjective together?
I've seen "敦厚老实", where the two adjectives are simply put together, but I've also seen things like "x而x", "x又x" and "又x又x".
What do these mean, are there any other ways, and which are the most ...
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Taiwanese Mandarin vs Mainland Mandarin [closed]
A reference request.
Is there any good source of the differences word choice/meaning between Taiwan and Mainland Chinese?
Not asking about Chinese Characters, but usage.
Spain have different ...
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What is the difference between 演奏, 弹 and 奏?
There are several words that seem to be related to playing musical instruments (specifically 演奏, 弹 and 奏), and I would appreciate an elaboration on the nuances between them. Are some used in specific ...
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How to say "Hopefully we can treat each other with more X"
Is there a general template for translating, "hopefully we can treat each with more X" where X is some noun.
Examples:
Hopefully we can treat each other with more consideration.
Hopefully we can ...
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Is referring to Mandarin as just "Chinese" problematic?
I am living in Taiwan learning Mandarin Chinese (with traditional characters). When speaking in English I try to refer to the language as Mandarin both for clarity, and because I imagine people who ...
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Translation of 追番
What would 追番" translate to? It was displayed next to a heart icon on bilibili. From consulting a dictionary I believe hui in this context is pursue and fan is a measure word? I assume it means ...
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Why is Húnán pronounced with an F?
I traveled to Hunan province and stumbled across something interesting.
I was speaking to a taxi driver and asked him, 'where are you from'? He responded, 'Funan'. I then realized he actually meant '...
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質: when to pronounce in 2nd tone or 4th (Mandarin)?
In Mandarin, sometimes 質 is pronounced with the 2nd tone (e.g., 質地, 特質) and other times it's pronounced with the 4th tone (e.g., 質疑, 質量, 品質).
Here are two words pronounced with the 2nd tone:
質地 http:...
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How to interpret a sentence with two clauses but no conjunction?
In macOS' Dictionary app, the result of 允许 shows the following example sentence:
不得到领导的允许,你不能走。
You can’t go without the permission of the leaders.
However, I wonder how the sentence can be valid ...
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How to say "here you go" when giving a gift?
I believe you can informally say "gěi" when handing something over like the soy sauce during dinner, right?
But what can you say when you give a gift? Like "Here you go" instead of just "Here". Or ...
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Confusion when words are combined
Hello I have been learning Mandarin for only a few weeks, although an issue has been bugging me.
It concerns combining words together to make a sentence.
For example I have heard that a correct ...
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meaning of "然後三個三個分成小組"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n38D7DCDtbk
http://southworks.com/blog/2009/06/21/the-cookie-experiment/
So,when Liu Anting refers to "然後三個三個分成小組" does she mean something along the lines of "And ...
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Does “些” Work As A Suffix (Ever) In Mandarin Similar To “们”?
些
xiē
【名】
[方言]:们〖-s〗——表示复数的词缀。如:婆娘些;娃儿些;老师些
Although marked as dialect (read: topolect), I'm curious to know if this usage is ever acceptable or found in MSM (Modern Standard Mandarin).
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What is the difference between 日 and 号?
Right now I am taking Mandarin 1 in Brooklyn Tech. From my understanding, 号 and 日 both mean "day." I took it upon myself to check Google Translate and find out what they both mean for confirmation. I ...
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What's the word for 'human quality'?
For example when someone jumps the queue, I might tell them they lack good manners / human quality, what's the word in Chinese (Mandarin)?
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How would you translate 细腻 into English?
My Chinese coworkers were describing Korean drama TV shows & said that the actors faces are "细腻" xi4ni4. When I look this up in my dictionary, I get 2 definitions "fine & smooth" or "exquisite"...
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What Chinese podcasts are available to improve my listening skills? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Resources for learning Mandarin Chinese
I'm a big podcast fan, and I think listening to Chinese podcasts would be a great way to improve my listening skills. I enjoy listening ...
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What is the difference between 没 and 不 when used with 又?
What's the difference between these sentences:
他又没来上课
他又不来上课()
Here: https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22again%22_in_the_past_with_%22you%22#Negative_Form
it says both 没 ...
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Are there any Mandarin dialects with three tones?
有只有三个声调的官话方言吗?东干语有四个音素的声调,但是在没有变调的上下文只有三个不同的声调, 例如在短语的末尾。有没有在每个上下文都用三个声调的方言?
Are there any Mandarin dialects with three tones? Standard Dungan has four phonemic tones, but only has three in contexts ...
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What's the meaning of "刀不长眼"? Is it proverb or something like that?
I was watching the movie "fearless (2006)" starring Jet Li and the character said to his friend "After all these years of friend ship, you still don't know me?" and then he goes with this phrase : "...
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Touch: difference between 碰,碰觸,觸碰, and 觸
There appear to be multiple ways to say touch according to YellowBridge.
1) Is there a difference between 碰,碰觸,觸碰, and 觸, or are they interchangeable?
2) In Cantonese, 點 seems to be the right way to ...
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Difference between 必 and 一定
Both words kinda mean “must, necessarily, certainly”. Can someone explain the differences between the two?
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How do I say "Why not both" in Mandarin?
Specifically, how would I say "Why not (choose) both?" or "Why not (do) both?"
Ex. "Do you want to go to the park or go watch a movie?" "Why not both?"
I tried ...
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Appropriate responses to unexpected gift?
I have been on the receiving end of an unexpected gift. Actually I was in a restaurant and the owner (who knows I am learning Cantonese/Mandarin), just gives me some dong gua tong (soup). I didn't ...
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Correct use of 惹人心烦: is 然而我不要惹人心烦 a suitable way to say you don't want to be a pain in the neck?
I am not sure if I used the idiom 惹人心烦 correctly. This is the sentence I used:
好啊,然而我不要惹人心烦。
Would that be a good use of it or is there a better way of saying you don't want to be a pain in the ...
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Benefits of Learning a Chinese Dialect in Addition to Standardized Mandarin
Edit: This is now cross-posted to linguistics.
Studies have shown that learning more than one language helps people of all ages learn each one of the languages. For a nice mainstream media piece on ...
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Usage of 感动 (active/passive?)
According to mdbg.net 感动 means both 'to move (emotionally)' and 'moving'.
But from what I understand from some texts I have '邻居们都很感动' implying a more passive meaning for 感动.
Can someone shed some ...
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What good resources are available to assist first-time travellers to learn basic Chinese? [closed]
I'm moving back to China again in a few weeks, and I've already got a few friends planning visits - this brings me to my problem: I can't always be around to translate, and I find people have a more ...
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Use of 儿话 in Mandarin
I've noticed recently that the use of 儿 differs depending on the dialect but I'm not too sure why. It is present in 普通话 (Standard Chinese) and some gov docs, as well as taught to L2 learners, but ...
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Please help me change these sentences using 不止
I'm not sure if what I changed below was correct or not.
我看陳太太那麼老,恐怕不會只有70歲吧?
-> 我看陳太太那麼老,恐怕不止70歲吧?
愛闖紅燈的,並不是只有騎摩托車的,開車的也一樣。
-> 愛闖紅燈的,不止是騎摩托車的,開車的也一樣。
王小姐家不但她能幹,她兩個姐姐也是女強人。
-> 王小姐家不止她能幹,...
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What tone for retroflex r?
The retroflex r is not the consonant r in a word (pinyin) like in 人 rén.
The retroflex is added as a suffix in the Beijing area, or as a diminutive suffix.
Would it be pronounced with the second tone,...
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What are the differences between 违犯 and 违反?
Both 违犯 and 违反 share the meaning "to violate".
What are the differences between these two?
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The use of 部 as a classifier in Mandarin
So I’ve read that 部 is used for machines, films and literature. So does that mean I can use 部 for words like 书,词典, etc even though they usually go with 本?
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Do Mandarin people use 補鑊 as slang to represent fence-mending or damage control?
Cantonese people often use 補鑊 to mean fence-mending or damage control.
Do Mandarin people use this phrase as well? If not, what phrase would be the Mandarin equivalent?
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Is there any way to make a Chinese speech transcribed to written format?
Here is my situation: I have learned Mandarin mostly from reading news articles and chatting with friends, as well as reading a grammar book and memorizing vocabulary. That makes only my reading and ...