Questions on specific points regarding translating chinese to another language
1
vote
2answers
80 views
How to translate “读书好 好读书 读好书”?
A famous Chinese writer whose pen name is Bingxin once remarked, "读书好 好读书 读好书", which is used to encourage Chinese students to read books.
In this sentence, there are altogether 3 "好"s. The first and ...
-1
votes
1answer
59 views
how to translate 大脑迅速转动起来?
When I first came across the phrase "head starts spinning", I thought it meant 大脑迅速转动起来 in Chinese, which means "you start processing a lot info in your head in order to figure out something quickly". ...
3
votes
2answers
86 views
Correct usage of “behind schedule”
What I would like to know is the proper way to say "I am behind schedule" in the general sense similar to "I am running two hours late for the meeting", or "This project is two weeks overdue".
When I ...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
Meaning of these signs
Could someone please tell me what these signs mean, the OCR couldn't read them.
1
vote
3answers
105 views
Relative clause in Chinese
How do you say "there aren't people I can talk to" ? 没有对他们可以说话的人？or else "the person with whom I had a fight last week is now a friend" and all those sentences that require with/to/etc.?
1
vote
1answer
106 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
3answers
115 views
Proper use of “closet”
I apologize if this is very elementary: I've never heard of closet referred to as 壁橱， only as 衣柜， but the direct translation doesn't seem apropriate. I've also heard 衣柜 used to reference cupboard as ...
1
vote
2answers
127 views
How to translate “Muscle Memory” to chinese?
I cannot find a perfect word to describe "记忆".
So any one can help me ?
3
votes
3answers
181 views
How would you translate the word '面子'?
I want to describe that a certain action gives you '面子', or that people do things to try and maintain or protect their '面子' but I can't think of an appropriate English word for it.
1
vote
1answer
60 views
How do you translate the word 'flight' in the context of a golf ball?
I am trying to describe that the design of a golf ball gives it a good flight (not necessarily the same as distance).
This is an article that describes the basics of ball flight in golf. It makes me ...
0
votes
1answer
54 views
What are the characters on this image, and what do they translate to?
Here is the image in question: http://i.imgur.com/e4bPJv6.gif
Thank you for your time!
-2
votes
1answer
88 views
How can we translate this sentence into chinese? [closed]
Can you tell me the structure and grammar of the sentence?
In the main new effort presented inthis paper, an approach is developed for integrating
the PSO algorithm as a driver at both the top ...
1
vote
1answer
84 views
Translation of Chinese word is not an English word?
This is really strange. Dictionary.com says "obdurability" isn't a word in English, but it is the ONLY translation for "强韧" in Pleco (my Chinese-English dictionary). Google.com has tons of results, ...
1
vote
1answer
150 views
Is this a translation of 逍遥游？
I think this is from 逍遥游， but I'm not sure. I just can't locate the following sentence.
Thus, the wise man looks into space, and does not regard the small as
too little, nor the great as too ...
1
vote
4answers
322 views
how to say ”(尤为)难得“ in English?
How would you say "难得“ and ”尤为难得“ in English?
For example,
他在自己生活困难的情况下，资助老弱病残，尤为难得。
Thanks！
3
votes
3answers
222 views
Translating the idiom “thinking outside the box”
I normally hate overused catchphrases in English, like "paradigm shift" and "out of the box thinking". But I was recently chatting (in Chinese) with a friend about an earlier situation in which ...
1
vote
3answers
147 views
Translating the word “feelings” for conversational use
When I look for a dictionary translation of "feelings", I see two translations: 情怀 and 情面.
Which of these two would be better suited to translate the following sentence
The woman rhetorically ...
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 ...
4
votes
4answers
354 views
What is the equivalent of “make sense” in Chinese?
I am trying to explain the phrase "make sense" to my cousin, who is learning English. The dictionary suggests "有意义", but I believe that "有意义" is "meaningful" and that "make sense" should be "讲得通", ...
0
votes
3answers
133 views
Chinese tattoo help [closed]
I want a tattoo saying 時間 (time). However I was told this is not suitable for a tattoo. I wanted to know how to say time in chinese with a deep meaning. Is there a way to add a character so that it ...
6
votes
2answers
334 views
How will translate “谁让你” into English?
How will translate "谁让你" into English? For example,
我不得不服从你的安排。 谁让你是我的老板呢？
3
votes
3answers
236 views
Why is Economic translated to “經濟”?
I know that it's a translation from Japanese, but I do not know why it becomes this. Could someone explain it in detail?
6
votes
5answers
218 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
4answers
123 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 ...
2
votes
2answers
103 views
In “我只喜歡你一個” what does the “一個” do?
If I were to translate "I only like you" I'd say
我只喜歡你
Wǒ zhǐ xǐ huan nǐ
However I have seen the following
我只喜歡你一個
Wǒ zhǐ xǐ huan nǐ yī ge
Translated as
I like you alone
...
2
votes
1answer
104 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 ...
1
vote
4answers
202 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 ...
2
votes
1answer
90 views
What does 'twitter/facebook Town Hall' mean in Chinese?
I watched the video ' Obama's Twitter Town Hall- Full Video ' in Youtube.But I knew the Town Hall means '市政厅',and what does it mean here?
-2
votes
1answer
45 views
Help translating [closed]
Not sure this is the correct forum for this post as I'm not a student, but I need help translating this a error message I keep getting. I'm hoping it's Chinese.
...
2
votes
1answer
124 views
Meaning of “网络驿站”
I've come across the phrase "网络驿站" a couple of times recently, but don't understand precisely what it means (see Hbjjrb.com for an example).
The only translation of 驿站 that I can find refers to a ...
0
votes
2answers
159 views
How to say “用斜杠包围逗号” in english? [closed]
Is this sentence "encircle the comma using slash" right?
Actually, I want to figure out this situation \,\
I doubt the word 'encircle' is not accurate.
1
vote
1answer
130 views
How should I understand 集合?
I looked up the definition for 集合 in Baidu but I'm not sure how to use it. My example is like this:
其博大宽泛的特性集合，～
The context of this sentence is that it's describing PHP, a popular programming ...
2
votes
1answer
88 views
What's the Eye of a Hurricane called in Chinese/Pinyin?
For a role playing game I'm joining, my character is a monk of Chinese origin.
Trying to come up with a name I thought of "Eye of (the) Hurricane/Typhoon" as the monk is a very calm character caught ...
3
votes
2answers
144 views
What is the appropriate translation for 'energy'?
There are many times when I want to tell someone that I don't have enough energy to do something. These are close but not exactly what I want:
我太累。 I'm not too tired, I just don't have as much energy ...
2
votes
6answers
312 views
How can we translate 不是……胜似 into English?
I just saw a friend's profile saying: Not a geek, but like a geek.
Somehow I immediately translated it as 不是geek胜似geek. But it seems not right since
I feel that 不是geek胜似geek is much semantically ...
1
vote
5answers
199 views
如果你不介意 : appropriate translation from English?
I recently heard, 如果你不介意 (literally: "if you do not mind."). Is the literal translation from English also a correct, native one? Or is there a more common way to prefix such a question?
3
votes
2answers
350 views
What are the connotations of the word 拳拳?
I chose 拳拳 as my own Chinese name, having the meaning of my name in mind. I got it from an online dictionary, so I would like to know what native speakers "get" from it, as in what are the ...
3
votes
4answers
127 views
What is the subject in this sentence part 有时间到我家去
there is this sentence in a dialog: 好 , 我走了 , 有时间到我家去 . 再见 ! (from my beginner text book)
I do understand the translation. Well, I'm going, if you have time, come to my home. Goodbye.
However, ...
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; ...
3
votes
1answer
123 views
What is a “Babu cream”?
I am working in a Chinese pharmacy & have a product with the English name "Compound Methylsalicylate cataplasma". This is supposed to be a translation from the Chinese "复方水扬酸甲酯巴布膏".
As far as I ...
6
votes
2answers
176 views
How to explain 讲 in 讲礼貌 and 讲卫生
In my understanding 讲礼貌 translates as 'be polite' and 讲卫生 is something like 'be clean', but how should I explain the 讲 to a new speaker? I take this as a set phrase, but is there a way to translate ...
0
votes
0answers
126 views
Could you please explain more to me about 'of' in my example? [closed]
For example:
1.1
The OSGi Service Platform provides the functions to change the composition dynamically on the device of a variety of networks, without requiring a restarts.
I only know the 'of' ...
2
votes
7answers
310 views
Can I use 我的腿累了 for “My legs are tired”?
I play soccer with a bunch of Chinese friends regularly and I want to say "my legs are tired".
I already know 我跑不动了 and 我的腿很酸, but I'm not sure what is the best fit for the Chinese equivelant of "my ...
7
votes
6answers
584 views
How to translate “你给我滚” properly
In a sentence like:
“你给我那一杯水” You would translate it something like: Get me a glass of water.
How is the "给我" in the sentence “你给我滚” supposed to be translated?
Should it just be "Get lost / P*ss ...
3
votes
2answers
130 views
Translations from TCM (Traditional Chinese medicine)
I have asked Chinese co-workers & checked sites such as Iciba & Google Translate to no avail. I know that this is talking about 2 points used in TCM, but I have no idea how to translate these ...
6
votes
3answers
327 views
爱老虎油 - is it slang?
Seen this phrase written by a Chinese person:
爱老虎油
[ài lǎohǔ yóu]
What does it mean? Failed to find it in dictionaries.
Is it some slang or 白话?
3
votes
6answers
275 views
Is this correct: “一个游戏有四个季度”
I wanted to find out how to say a sports game has four quarters and the translation I received from Google was: "一个游戏有四个季度"
Certain sports games are split into 4 quarters rather than 2 halves and I ...
3
votes
2answers
118 views
How to say “a beneficial insect”?
I want to be able to say to my son that an insect is beneficial.
I know I can use 害虫 for an insect that is harmful, but is there something I can use to say beneficial other than 好虫 which I assume is ...
1
vote
1answer
98 views
Chinese equivalent of the English word candid
I was just reading this news article and I'm interested to know which word or phrase would have been translated from Chinese to English as "candid":
China's foreign ministry described Tuesday's ...
1
vote
3answers
124 views
What's the subject of this sentence?
I found a short sentence on tatoeba.org and I'm not exactly sure what it means.
好像找到了。
My best guess is that it means, "Seems like you found it." Is that right?
