Tagged Questions
1
vote
1answer
112 views
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 ...
1
vote
4answers
204 views
Expressing “Fair enough”
The English expression "fair enough" can be used to concede a point in an argument, or acknowledge the other person's position, without expressing complete agreement. To take an example from ...
4
votes
2answers
199 views
Errors and Unnatural Language in a Translation Challenge
I was recently challenged to translate the following sentence from English into Chinese:
You should stay away from that bar. A friend of mine went there before, and he ended up in the hospital after ...
3
votes
4answers
223 views
That mystical 就 again
Here is a sentence:
厨房壁炉架上的那面镜子就把哈利吓了一跳
Below are my translation variants. Bold letters should be a 'jiu' english analog here.
The mirror on top of the kitchen's fireplace scared Harry the ...
2
votes
1answer
159 views
How to ask someone to take a photo?
Recently on vacation I wanted to ask a Chinese tourist if they would mind taking a photo of my wife and I - but I didn't know how, so just asked 你可以吗? (nǐ kěyǐ ma?) while pointing to my camera.
How ...
1
vote
1answer
103 views
(Literally) Seeing Through Things
Earlier today, I ended up in a discussion which somehow involved people who were (literally) transparent. I was somewhat at a loss for how to say "Can you see through him?".
After some research, I've ...
3
votes
4answers
76 views
Can 偷工减料 be used to describe the intentional and open purchasing of somewhat inferior product?
I know that 偷工减料 is frequently used to describe intentionally (and perhaps secret) shoddy construction. When I translate it, I usually say "Cut corners". However, I think 偷工减料 has a very negative ...
2
votes
2answers
202 views
What is the English equivalent of 拜托, and what is it's proper usage in Chinese?
I quite like the expression 拜托, but I've never been 100% sure of what exactly it means in English, and I'm not quite sure how to use it properly in Chinese. Little help?
10
votes
3answers
199 views
What is the meaning of 当仁不让?
I was browsing the Chinese internet looking for a bank that supports Mac OS when I came across this site. They list a range of different banks under a range of different headings, the first of which ...
3
votes
1answer
141 views
What is the exact meaning and etymology of 拜年？
Since Chinese New Year is on the way (and thanks to Xiaohouzi's great suggestion), I've been thinking all about the new year. One term the sticks out is 拜年.
I'm very curious to know the exact ...
4
votes
4answers
2k views
How to say “hope you'll have a great day”?
I was writing a card to a friend and wanted to finish with "Hope you'll have a great day" but realised what I could think of wasn't quite the same meaning, or just sounded odd/weird.
What I wrote in ...
7
votes
3answers
153 views
Asking “what's the pinyin/character for X?”
How do we ask someone to "translate" a character or some pinyin into the other one? The expressions I'm referring to are:
What's the pinyin for this/that (character)/... ?
What's the ...
4
votes
2answers
153 views
What is the proper usage of 而已 in Chinese?
I always hear Chinese people making sentences using 而已 - but I've never quite 100% how to use this in sentences myself. What is the correct way to apply it, and what is the English equivalent?
11
votes
5answers
224 views
How do we know what characters correspond to Chinese names?
Recently I've asked "How do we choose the correct characters for a westerner name?", and now, I'm facing a similar, yet kind of different problem, which I think applies to any westerner or Chinese ...
