All Questions
11,590
questions
2
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3
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149
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How to translate “这帮丫头片子，也不知道都便宜哪帮孙子了”?
I'm adding english subtitles to some mandarin movies, as volunteer and hobby. How to translate the following line better?
The main male character was waiting for his flight at the airport when he saw ...
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
106
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This seal is a name. What are the characters and what do they mean? (Characters identified: 權固守)
This seal is a name awarded to a martial artist.
I think the name means strong and protective. The word for strong might be the same word used for iron mills?
Any help on the Chinese characters and ...
- 78.8k
1
vote
2
answers
56
views
What does 编制 mean?
The following statement made in both Chinese and English, which is confusing, is from a microblogger "英语正强老师" of China's social media platform Weibo.com. I want to know what 编制 means.
...
- 18.3k
0
votes
1
answer
154
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I would like to know what this says. Thanks in advance
Trying to find put what this seal means.
CommunityBot
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votes
0
answers
50
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I need help remembering/knowing my Chinese name
So, when I (American) was in elementary school I went to a bilingual school to study Chinese and English. My Chinese teacher gave me a name, from my memory, that was 小酒 , putting it into Google ...
- 78.8k
5
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Why do Chinese people complicate the matter in choosing the words for translation
For example, Bob is translated as 鲍勃，Biden 拜登，Trump特鲁姆普，John约翰， Tim蒂姆，Roy罗伊，Paul保罗，Bean憨豆，Bingley彬格莱， etc, all of these Chinese words or characters, as you can see, are of too many strokes making the ...
- 488
3
votes
4
answers
53
views
Is 你觉得市场上的几款都不太满意 ungrammatical?
This is from the HSK6 Standard Course textbook (下册, chapter 21, page 4; photo of original; OCR via Yandex):
消费者加入设计队伍，是未来商店着重推荐的服务，譬如，你想买衣服，可是你觉得市场上的几款都不太满意，那就参与设计吧。你登录到虚拟设计室，进入设计过程，对颜色、外观等设计内容进行投票，...
- 12.9k
1
vote
2
answers
119
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I need help translating the inscription on this vase
I need help translating this inscription so I can hopefully date the vase.
CommunityBot
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0
votes
1
answer
41
views
Can anybody tell me who's artist seal this is? (Characters identified: 九峰山人)
I have bought 2 chinese paintings but i can't find who this artist is. Does anybody know who's seal this is and if it is valuable?
Also, any info about the date when these paintings were created is ...
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1
vote
2
answers
142
views
Why is 朝鲜 pronounced as 曹县?
朝鲜 is known as 朝日鲜明的国家, where 朝日 means the sun in the morning so it should be Zhao招 but not Chao潮, and 鲜明 means flashy, clear and bright so it should be Xian先 in first tone but not Xian显 in third tone....
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1
vote
5
answers
100
views
How to translate "frame challenge"?
In this site, it is quite common to see the word "frame challenge" in answers of questions. How to translate "frame challenge"?
- 4,251
2
votes
3
answers
206
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151
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15
answers
51k
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Resources for learning Mandarin Chinese
This is a community-maintained list of resources for learning Mandarin Chinese.
Alphabetical Index
Add-ons (browser)
AI chat bots
Apps
Books
Dictionaries
Language Exchanges
Lists of Resources
News
...
- 16.4k
2
votes
2
answers
231
views
Can someone please translate this, I think it is seal script? (Characters identified: 天神貴者太乙)
I think this is a prayer in seal script but I have not been able to find the characters anywhere.
Can anyone tell me what it says in Chinese and English?
Thanks!
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2
votes
6
answers
252
views
What are the Chinese words which are valid in Scrabble?
I've been playing a bit of Scrabble recently, and it seems there's a few Chinese words which are considered valid:
LI 里 (the unit of distance)
QI 气 ("vital energy")
QIN 琴 (musical ...
- 111
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votes
1
answer
67
views
燦爛輝煌 meaning? Seems duplicative to me
燦爛輝煌 is a chengyu.
From my understanding,
燦爛 means bright and beautiful while
輝煌 means bright and eye-catching. Correct me if I'm wrong.
So then 燦爛輝煌 means bright bright beautiful eye-catching. Or ...
- 78.8k
1
vote
1
answer
67
views
How does Motorola sound like "nothing to take" in Cantonese?
Li (2001) claims that:
Motorola, for example, is pronounced as “me de lou la” in Cantonese, which means “nothing to take”.
Not very good branding, if you're trying to sell phones.
CantoDict, though,...
- 78.8k
1
vote
4
answers
91
views
Why do they use 拜会?
I read the news report that the president of a local chamber of commerce paid a visit to an ambassador of a Southeast Asian nation in Beijing “XX会长在北京拜会了XX驻华大使".
Does that mean the guy was on his ...
- 660
2
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Chinese equivalent of 'Surprise!'
In English culture, when someone is giving other a surprise, he/she can call out with voice 'surprise!'.
Is there an equivalent in Chinese culture?
- 488
1
vote
2
answers
182
views
Need translation of this painting inscription. Looks like Chinese Seal Font/script (Characters identified: 柔豐)
I have an image of a pictures inscription that appears to be in Chinese Seal Script/Font.
Here is the image in black and white. Thank you!
- 453
2
votes
1
answer
103
views
Is 增筋增弹看得见 reasonable, accurate Chinese?
I like making 拉面 at home. To make 拉面 you need 拉面剂. But the effect of 拉面剂 doesn't last too long.
On 淘宝 you can also buy 拉面改良伴侣. 拉面改良伴侣 makes the effect of 拉面剂 last longer and improves the texture and &...
- 453
0
votes
4
answers
108
views
Happy Go Lucky - what was this in Chinese?
This sounds very much like certain well-known Pidgin English phrases of Chinese origin such as Look-See or No-Can-Do, but I'm struggling to think what it could have originally been in Chinese.
Is ...
- 660
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votes
3
answers
53
views
Database of nouns linked to pictures
Are there any large databases of Chinese noun words, each with a corresponding picture of what the thing looks like? The closest resource found so far are 'visual dictionary' books.
- 2,285
2
votes
3
answers
178
views
How can one character ‘相’ can participate in formation of so many words?
How can one character ‘相’ can participate in formation of so many words with a different meaning ?
This list below that I am struggling now with, might be eternally continued =>
真相 - truth，
相处 – ...
- 2,285
0
votes
3
answers
60
views
what's the difference between 再 and 更，一点
i saw phrases 再好也没有了 and 他的打字速度可以再快了一点儿
i know that 再 means "again" or "then", but i take it in these cases that means smth like "more"?
then, what's the difference ...
- 12.9k
2
votes
4
answers
70
views
What is the subject of 有 in "张涵请求提前解除合同是有一定法律依据的"?
What is the subject of 有 in "张涵请求提前解除合同是有一定法律依据的"?
Am I right in interpreting this sentence as having 张涵请求提前解除合同 being the subject for the verb phrase 有一定法律依据? So it directly translates to ...
- 101
1
vote
2
answers
54
views
When to use 对 and 对不对
So firstly I must apologise as I am about two weeks into a Duolingo course - so I would say my understanding of the language is near enough 0.
However, I wanted to ask if someone could clarify some ...
- 101
1
vote
4
answers
2k
views
Beginner learning Cantonese: Start with reading/writing or with speaking?
I'm starting to learn Cantonese and I'm not sure where to start. Is it best to start with learning to write/read or learning to speak?
3
votes
5
answers
1k
views
What is the etymology of "嗨"?
What is the etymology of "嗨"? Is it used because it sounds like the English word "Hi"?
I tried looking it up, but Wiktionary doesn't have any etymology information in either the English or Chinese ...
- 22.7k
2
votes
4
answers
332
views
Meaning of 有无夜间 in 留意树下有无夜间从枝头掉下的芒果?
This phrase occurs in 2nd paragraph of
东南亚民间故事。上，85页（福建人民出版社出版（福州得贵巷２７号）１９８２年５月第一版，１９８２年５月第一次印刷) under the title 蛇王子与三姐妹, the whole paragraph reads as follows:
每天，寡妇到集上去。她必须经过一棵芒果树，树上结满小而甜的芒果。...
- 12.9k
1
vote
2
answers
87
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Meaning of 悠了一把
see 今日说法, legal report, https://tv.cctv.com/2024/03/17/VIDEi0lCKhnIK1fZ0MuQch5J240317.shtml?spm=C31267.PdQGws28DOXv.E25JptH8Kkey.22 9:30
according to web seems to belong to 东北话
悠 HSK 5 English ...
- 16.4k
3
votes
1
answer
86
views
What is a good Chinese Grammar book?
What is a good, comprehensive , learner friendly Chinese Grammar book, with explanations in English or German and Chinese, which also does teach phonetics and the Pinyin spelling rules?
With good and ...
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2
votes
7
answers
1k
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Is there a 成语 that means something like "Little dogs always bark the loudest"?
What are some 成语 that mean something like "little dogs always bark the loudest", or "little dogs are mean"?
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1
vote
1
answer
118
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Please Identify Painting Signature
I have bought these painting years ago but now I am doing some research to find out who is the artist and what is written in chinese calligraphy.
Kindly help me with.
Thanks
Sachin
CommunityBot
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votes
4
answers
86
views
what is the difference between 困惑 and 糊涂
What is the difference between 困惑 and 糊涂 ?
Supposedly both mean "confused" but still is not clear in which situation each is to be used
- 561
1
vote
2
answers
135
views
What are the English equivalents for 民宿, 农家乐 and 网红打卡点？
Searching the info of travel, I have seen the above words many times and known roughly what they meant.
I saw a sign in both English and Chinese put on the wall of the information center of a tourist ...
- 123
7
votes
4
answers
483
views
Has there ever been an English translation of 《輶軒》"Fangyan"?
《輶軒使者絕代語釋別國方言》has a couple of different names including《方言》and《揚子方言》.
In English it mostly just gets called Fangyan.
The entire Chinese text has been put up on ctext.
As
the first Chinese dictionary ...
- 12.9k
1
vote
1
answer
122
views
What does my chop say? And what’s its correct orientation?
This image is a chop stamp that was made for me; I was told it is not a representation of my name but of me somehow. I would love to have an accurate translation. (And to know the correct orientation ...
- 76
0
votes
1
answer
93
views
What is this name/reading?
could someone help with the reading of the text in the photo please. Thanks
CommunityBot
- 1
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votes
1
answer
64
views
Does somebody know what the three characters in the image below mean?
!detail of inscription on blade of Chinese sword
CommunityBot
- 1
1
vote
3
answers
102
views
Dào dé and dàodé. Difference between each word separately? And when combined together as a compound word?
I understand that in Chinese each syllable is a word with its own meaning but that often, two individual words can be put together to form a compound word, which is often rendered in pinyin as one ...
- 2,757
0
votes
0
answers
98
views
Do these two characters in a silver inlay on a small tray have a special meaning? (Characters identified: 大吉)
An inlaid silver tray with what is possibly a Buddhist symbol
- 16.4k
0
votes
2
answers
80
views
Gboard Chinese punctuation voice entry
https://support.google.com/gboard/answer/2781851?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid says we can say "period", "comma" etc. That is for English.
But for Chinese, https://support....
CommunityBot
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1
vote
1
answer
261
views
Python function for splitting pinyin into syllables
The question
I'd like to have a function in Python for splitting a given string containing pinyin into its syllables. The following two code blocks show how the function is intended to work.
Input
...
CommunityBot
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votes
3
answers
124
views
Trying to understand the meaning of 起 in the context of this sentence from the 道德经
The 道 opens
道可以说﹐但不是通常所说的道。名可以起﹐但不是通常所起的名.
What does 起 mean at the end of the sentence, "所起的名" or "suǒ qǐ de míng".
Does qǐ mean "to present"? And does "de" ...
- 2,757
0
votes
2
answers
99
views
Best phrasing vertically
I am practicing Chinese style painting and I would like to integrate Chinese lettering into my art, the goal being to make complete traditional pieces with a poem vertically written included.
My first ...
CommunityBot
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6
votes
2
answers
1k
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Is the right componet of 龍 related to 弱?
The right component of the small seal script 龍 seems to be the mirror image of the components of 弱. I know the older historical forms of 龍 do not share this similarity but I can't help but wonder if ...
- 22.7k
2
votes
7
answers
4k
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English equivalent for 辛苦了 when the speaker is not the person being helped out
Per the answers to this question, it is clear that you can say 辛苦了 to express gratitude for someone else's help.
But suppose you are working or studying, and somebody else (who is not related to the ...
1
vote
2
answers
221
views
What is the meaning of "起風"?
This is one line of the song lyrics:
這個起風的季節說了再見。
When I look up the Chinese dictionary it say the meaning is 颳風 guāfēng means to be windy.
So the phrase 這個起風的季節說了再見。 means "This windy season say ...
0
votes
2
answers
143
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How to translate "雲兒" into English?
In the lyrics of a Chinese translation of the song "Dana Dana (דאַנאַ דאַנאַ)"/"Dos Kelbl (דאָס קעלבל)", we find the line:
藍天高高雲兒飄飄
I presume that "雲" (ㄩㄣˊ / yún) stands for "clouds" in this ...
