Tagged Questions
0
votes
2answers
104 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 ...
2
votes
3answers
286 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
230 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 ...
2
votes
1answer
73 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
97 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
2answers
198 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 ...
2
votes
2answers
115 views
What is the meaning and proper usage of 凭什么？
I was watching a TV show and heard them using the expression 凭什么 to say 'why' - I hadn't heard it with this exact meaning before, so I'm wondering what the proper meaning is in English, and what the ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the exact meaning of 吃豆腐, and where does the expression come from?
I'm not talking about eating tofu, but the expression that means something more like taking advantage of someone. What exactly does 吃豆腐 mean, and where does this expression come from?
8
votes
3answers
210 views
What is the difference between 通常，经常，and 常常？
What is the difference between 通常，经常，and 常常？
I hear them a lot in conversational Chinese, but I can't pick out the difference in meaning. The dictionaries I've checked don't seem to agree on their ...
4
votes
1answer
117 views
What does 触控 mean in this sentence?
I was busy reading about Apple's new textbook announcement on Engadget China, and I came across the following sentence:
使用者将可轻松地以触控的方式浏览教科书内容.
What is the meaning of 触控 in this sentence? (My ...
2
votes
3answers
738 views
Does 危机 really mean both crisis and opportunity?
A lot of people, mostly those who haven't studied Chinese, like to claim something along the lines of
"In Chinese, the word for crisis 危机, also bears the meaning of opportunity."
This is usually ...
4
votes
4answers
228 views
What does 厉害 mean, and in what context does it mean what?
This has to be one of the more ambiguous words I have struggled with.
厉害 can be:
very well performed = 玩得很厉害;
harsh = 骂得很厉害;
severe = 生病得很厉害;
probably a bunch of other stuff...
Can anyone give a ...
7
votes
2answers
165 views
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 I only recently found out that they mean "organic" when put together. Can anyone explain why this is?
5
votes
2answers
104 views
How did 舆论 come to represent Public Opinion?
How did the word 舆论 come to represent the concept of Public Opinion? I know the meanings of the individual characters but I just don't quite see how the combination of these two meanings leads to the ...
