Questions concerned comprehension and understanding the finer aspects of individual words or phrases, with or without a context in which they are expressed.
0
votes
1answer
63 views
Politeness in Mandarin
I like to say please sometimes when I want to be polite to someone when asking them for something. Is this customary in Mandarin?
For example, if I wanted to ask for some water, I might ask my ...
1
vote
1answer
109 views
When is it appropriate to use 先生?
I'm trying to figure out when the title 先生 is used. Is it used for Mr., husband, honorary person, or something else? 谢谢
0
votes
1answer
44 views
Meaning of these signs
Could someone please tell me what these signs mean, the OCR couldn't read them.
2
votes
3answers
243 views
Why do native speakers often say a character has “no meaning”?
Many times I will know all the characters in a name but one & I'll ask what that one character means. 9 times out of 10 the response is, "That character has no meaning".
While it might be true ...
4
votes
3answers
216 views
What's the main difference between 为 and 是?
It seems like both 为 and 是 mean "to be". In which cases is one used but not the other? Is it something like the difference between "estar" and "ser" in Spanish and Portuguese? (In the sense that one ...
6
votes
2answers
206 views
Is there a literal meaning of 对不起?
对不起 is one of the first phrases any student learns.
We learn it as a set phrase, and don't question why it has this meaning.
But we also learn the phrases;
听得懂 - "hear and understand"
听不懂 - ...
5
votes
1answer
131 views
How to say the term “招” and “式” in English?
It's used as a classifier, like this:
"亢龙有悔"是"降龙十八掌"中的*一招*.
and
*一招一式*他都记得清清楚楚.
So how to say it in English?
1
vote
1answer
110 views
What's the difference between 蝦 and 鰕?
I found there are two characters for "xia1" (ghra as in Middle Chinese), 蝦 and 鰕.
Could someone explain what the difference is?
2
votes
1answer
71 views
Is 级 necessary in 优先级
From the dictionary I gather that 优先 by itself means "priority" and so 优先级 means "level of priority".
In a phrase such as 高优先级，or 最高优先级，is the 级 necessary to sound correct, or is it an optional ...
4
votes
2answers
214 views
Who exactly is a 干妈
This dictionary translates 干妈 as "Godmother", and my pocket dictionary also gives "nominal mother".
In English, "Godmother" and "Godfather" are very specific titles - Your Godparents are the people ...
6
votes
5answers
219 views
What is the meaning of 真是的
What is a meaning of 真是的. I heard for many times in context something like 你真是的！ And yet I have doubts about proper meaning of this expression.
1
vote
1answer
89 views
Meaning of 泡
I first encountered this word in the brand of a kid's drink, O泡. When I looked it up I saw that it meant something like "bubble", and was (ironically for the name of a drink) the classifier for ...
1
vote
4answers
125 views
When to use 家 vs 师 vs 员 vs 者
I'm translating my resume into Chinese so I can maybe apply for a Chinese job.
There are a number of items on there where I'm not sure when to use 家, 师, 员, or 者.
Example, I developed a comics ...
4
votes
4answers
148 views
太: Meaning in 灰太狼
灰太狼
灰太狼 (A character in a TV show) is translated in English as "Grey Wolf".
What has happened to the 太, wouldn't 灰狼 be enough to mean "Grey Wolf"?
2
votes
1answer
105 views
Is there a logical explanation why 非得不 and 非得 means must?
I understand that 非 and 不 have negative meanings by themselves, and 得 means "must"
by itself. So with a double negative, which means affirmative positive. So far so good.
But 非得 by itself is also ...
2
votes
2answers
182 views
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 ...
1
vote
4answers
120 views
回去回来 回来回去 来来回回 来来去去 Are they the same?
In this post, Juckele mention two terms completely new to me : 回去回来 and 回来回去.
I know
来来回回 Things keep going in circle, usually use to describe situation in life
来来去去 Same as above
But what about ...
5
votes
2answers
137 views
他在工厂住了半年/living in factories
This was an example sentence in Practical Chinese Reader 31. Do people actually live in factories, or is there some cultural context I'm missing? In previous chapters, people are constantly visiting ...
3
votes
5answers
235 views
Another meaning of 同志
Is it true that 同志 have some different meaning. Like gay (as in homosexual) or something. I know that during the XX century in China and communist Russia it was very common to call people 同志(товарищ). ...
2
votes
2answers
100 views
Does anyone know what is the characters means (丁財貴寿)?
Does anyone know what is written on the image? I tried to find out what is it, and got 丁財貴寿 (丁财贵寿), but not quite sure enough. I tried to find the meaning of the words but seems can't find it or I ...
3
votes
5answers
158 views
2
votes
3answers
113 views
What is the meaning of 报 here?
A chinese friend asked me:
你有报语言培训班吗?
I understand what she means, but I wonder what meaning 报 carries here.
Anyone could help me?
2
votes
1answer
128 views
Does anyone recognize the characters written here?
Does anyone recognize the characters written here? I've tried to figure it out but still can't understand what is written there, since I've just recognized the rightmost character, 天. It's a carving ...
1
vote
2answers
119 views
Difference between 最高领导人 and 主要领导人之一?
I've just been looking at the wikipedia entry for Xi Jinping and the word used for the position he will be taken on Wikipedia is incumbent "paramount leader" with paramount leader pointing to this ...
3
votes
2answers
148 views
How to translate 'hyper-','super-' and 'ultra-' exactly?
The prefixes hyper-, super-, and ultra- seems all has meaning 'transcend' or 'upper class' and can all be translated to '超'. But they have a bit difference, e.g. hypergiant is larger than supergiant; ...
2
votes
4answers
153 views
What is the pronunciation of 行 according to its context?
行 can be pronunced háng or xíng.
As far as I have seen, it means "OK, to go, profession", and many more other meanings.
Could you briefly summarize the usage of it and its corresponding ...
1
vote
3answers
155 views
How to translate/use 一巧
All of a sudden in my course we've started using "一巧" everywhere, and I really do not understand it at all.
example:
尽管我很喜欢这张唱片，可是我一巧也开始喜欢它，想到以后可以跟一巧一起听音乐，我决定把这张唱片给他。
which I understand all of, ...
1
vote
3answers
124 views
problem with 要 - it seems to have several meanings
一看见这些楼房，他心里就想，自己一定要买上一套房子。
This is the sentence that I've come across. I've translated it as:
Once he sees these houses, he thinks that he can definitely buy a house himself.
But I'm always ...
1
vote
2answers
169 views
What does 就算这次做错也只是怕错过 mean?
I found this sentence in a song's lyrics => " 就算这次做错也只是怕错过 ". What does it mean?
2
votes
4answers
185 views
Meaning of 我知道的就这么多了 [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Translation of “this much and no more”
I found this sentence on Tatoeba:
我知道的就這麼多了。 (Simplified Chinese: 我知道的就这么多了。)
Beyond this I know nothing.
I ...
4
votes
3answers
158 views
Why is 土著人 used for Aboriginal people in Australia?
In Australia it is quite common to talk about Aboriginal people as they feature quite often when talking about sports, Olympics or politics.
The word that is used to describe Aboriginal people by ...
4
votes
9answers
477 views
Is 我很对不起你 a unique sentence structure?
I'd never seen or heard this before until I recently watched a TV series and had to ask my wife to explain.
My initial guess was that it meant "I feel sorry for you" when in fact it means something ...
0
votes
1answer
118 views
询问奸雄所见略同的由来 and how does it relate to chinese
The quote"我很想询问奸雄所见略同的由来" seems very interesting to me. And in Google Translate, it translates to "I would like to ask the king's men great minds think alike the origin of." It doesn't seem to make ...
1
vote
2answers
96 views
What is 被 doing in sentence “这种病在三十年前就被根除了”?
I understand that the sentence means something like "This disease was eradicated 30 years ago", but I have no idea what role does 被 have in it?
Is the sentence okay if we remove it? Does it convey ...
2
votes
1answer
162 views
Does 给你 mean “Here you go?”
I found a very short sentence on tatoeba.org. All it says is, "给你。"
That literally means "Give you," but what does it really mean? My best guess is that I could say it as I give something to you, ...
2
votes
1answer
71 views
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 ...
5
votes
1answer
96 views
Correct usage for 跟。。。过不去
This question has two parts:
What's the precise meaning of this expression?
What is the correct usage?
Question (1) I understand it to mean that the person referred to (eg, 跟她过不去) is uncomfortable ...
2
votes
4answers
147 views
How can I translate “精神需要”?
This is an example sentence in my textbook:
"建立良好的人际关系，是每个社会人的精神需要"
精神 is translated in the dictionary into "spirit, mind, consciousness". Here I believe it must be modifying 需要, which is acting ...
1
vote
2answers
158 views
What does the character in this Naruto poster mean?
I dont know how to type that character, otherwise I would try it out through other means.
What does the character mean? It appears in a poster concerning the Japanese manga Naruto.
3
votes
1answer
61 views
Why is 相 pronounced with a fourth tone in some cases?
I notice that 相 is pronounced xiang1 in most cases, but xiang4 in a few, mostly less-common words and phrases. The most commonly-used examples seem to be 照相 zhàoxiàng 'photo'; 照相机 zhàoxiàngjī ...
1
vote
0answers
81 views
What does “吃你的豆腐” mean? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the exact meaning of 吃豆腐, and where does the expression come from?
Someone made a joke with this phrase during dinner.
What does "吃你的豆腐" mean other than the ...
2
votes
6answers
1k views
What shoud I use to say “I love you”: “wa ai lo” or “wo ai ni”?
Some of my chinese friends speak Chinese. I asked them how to say "I love you" in their language, but most of them said "wa ai lo" not "wo ai ni", how can this be?
I look for google translate, it ...
1
vote
2answers
178 views
Why in China do they use k instead of m for the slope of a line?
In china they write y = kx + b
Just wondering if there was a reason.
2
votes
4answers
210 views
清淡 (qing dan) usage: any food, or from a diet?
I ate with a Chinese who mentioned the soup was 清淡 (qing dan): clear, and bland. On Google all I found were acupuncture and "macrobiotic diet" websites.
Is 清淡 (qing dan) an adjective commonly applied ...
2
votes
2answers
189 views
The use of 上 (shàng) “on/above/over” in Mandarin and English
I'm interested in the the differences between English and Mandarin when they are talking about spatial preposition.
Can i assume that in Mandarin, they use the preposition 上 for most of the times ...
3
votes
3answers
114 views
Are 改正 and 纠正 interchangeable?
Both 改正 and 纠正 mean "to correct" or "to make right."
What is the difference between these words? Do they have different connotations? Are both words acceptable in sentences like the following?
...
2
votes
4answers
124 views
What is the difference between 秀才, 进士, 举人, and 甲第?
秀才、进士、举人、甲第那些单词有什么区别？好像它们都是指在中国古代科举制度下成绩特高的考生。准确的区别是什么？哪些至今还在使用？
(麻烦大家帮忙改正中文错误！)
What is the difference between 秀才, 进士, 举人, and 甲第? They all seem to refer to students who did particularly well ...
2
votes
2answers
170 views
What is the difference between 别人 and 别的人?
What is there difference between these two expressions, or are they synonmyous?
11
votes
4answers
692 views
Are 明白 and 懂 synonymous?
Are 明白 and 懂 synonymous? If not, could anyone please elaborate on the difference along with some examples of usage?
1
vote
2answers
144 views
才 in the sense of “only”
What does 才 mean in this sentence?
妈妈说，鼻子长才是漂亮。
(Quote taken from a nursery rhyme.)
After looking in the dictionary my best guess is that it means "just" or "only", so as to make the ...
