Hot answers tagged word-choice
11
"很多" is not a word, but an adverb "很" and an adjective "多" combined to form a subordinate phrase. "很" as an adverb, is generally placed before an adjective to indicate a high degree of something. Therefore, "很多" has no particular significance. "很 + adjective" when used to modify the noun generally contains "的", such as:
很好的计划 (a very good plan)
很可爱的孩子 ...
9
I would reword the three sentences as follows instead:
她父母来我家与我家人见面。
她父母来我家和我家人见面。
她父母来我家跟我家人见面。
In this case, they can be used interchangeably as each one of them means "and".
Here are the minute differences:
与 [yǔ] is more elegant and formal, and is usually applied to similar items of abstract and contrasting nature. E.g. 天与地 (heaven and earth), 是与非 ...
8
The strict answer is no.
下次 is a shorten form of 下一次 which means next time.
下 carries the meaning of subsequent, the following or the next.
一次 carries the meaning of one time or once.
So, taken together, it means the next time.
But, for the next time to occur, the same or similar situation has to repeat itself (again). Therefore, you are not wrong to ...
8
接受(accept) ≠ 接收(receive)
接受 means agreeing to something
接收 means getting something
I have made some amendments to the six sentences (in brackets) for clearer understanding of the meaning:
我接受(了)邀请。I accepted the invitation.
他将接受口试。He will be (accepting) an oral test.*
他拒绝接受治疗。 He refused (to accept) treatment.
我接收了邀请(函)。I received the invitation ...
8
Overall both translations are fine and fluent, with some small issues below:
Grammatical/Syntactic issues:
I think there is only one issue, in (2) 我们想酒保因为要省钱的. Either use 要省钱 as verb (i.e. remove 的), or use 要省钱的 as adjective (i.e. add 是 before 要).
Semantic issues:
In (1), margarita mix is translated into 玛格丽特混合物. In Chinese, people don't refer food/drink ...
7
跟 is totally oral and informal. The other two can be used in both formal and informal situations although in oral conversation 和 is more common. A person who speaks 与 (together with other formal/"classical" words) too much may be considered fastidious and/or pedantic.
They have the exact same meaning. Other than formality, people picks the one that is easy ...
7
Sorry has many meanings in English while 对不起 doesn't do that in Chinese. Most of the case, you can use 不好意思 - it'd be more easy-going and it's a little like "sorry" in English sometimes.
So for different context you need to say different words. Some examples for you:
不好意思 - It's very general and can fit many situations. I recommend use it when you're not ...
7
只 is more limited in grammatical scope: it can only function as an adverb, preceding the verb. 光 has a larger range of related uses, from being a pre-verbal adverb (also called a restrictive adverb) like 只, to a resultative complement used when a verb 'finishes' an associated noun (e.g. in 吃光了), as well its adjectival/adverbial meaning of 'empty' and ...
7
Part I - OP Usage
To avoid confusion, Part I will stick to the usage OP is asking, and skip the other meaning of 只 and 光.
The following two sentences are the same.
只剩下2毛钱
光剩下2毛钱
They both can be translated to either of the following.
Only 2 cent left
Just 2 cent left
Both 只 and 光 mean(or translate to) only or just, in this case.
In most cases, ...
6
In 繁體字 證 and 証 are two different characters. As stated in 教育部重編國語辭典修訂本 of Taiwan,
證
verb
1 告發。說文解字：「證，告也。」論語˙子路：「其父攘羊，而子證之。」
2 用憑據、事實來表明或斷定。如：「證明」、「證實」。莊子˙秋水：「證曏今故，故遙而不悶﹑掇而不跂，知時無止。」
noun
1 憑據。如：「人證」、「停車證」、「借書證」。
2 病症、症候。如：「三焦辨證」、「血分證」。列子˙周穆王：「遇老聃，因告其子之證。」
and
証
verb
諫正。如：「証諫」。戰國策˙齊策一：「士尉以証靖郭君，靖郭君不聽。」
=>「證」的異體字（07937)
...
6
English is not my mother tongue, but I would translate 外行的想法 as "unprofessional opinion" or "amateurish opinion".
外行 is the opposite of 内行, which means expert, adept, experienced, an expert, a professional, so the emphasis is as you mentioned on the fact that the person is not experienced.
6
俩 means 两个and is typically more colloquial. 俩 is often used for people, but doesn't need to be. Some examples:
买俩馒头: to buy two steamed rolls
兄弟俩
他们俩。
Alternatively you can use "咱俩" in oral language, "咱" means "我". The difference between 我们 and 咱们, is that 咱们 includes the listener. So 我们两个, 我们俩, 咱们俩 and 咱俩 all mean "the two of us".
A side remark: when a ...
6
Yes, "亲爱的" does indeed has a slightly different connotation to the English "Dear". It is not used as liberally in Chinese letters and emails. "亲爱的" expresses a closer relationship than "Dear" does. The following are situations where you may or may not use it:
When is it definitely OK:
you writing to your spouse
you writing to your lover
you writing to your ...
6
You are close. 凭着 expresses the idea of based on, according to or relying on, and when translating into English, prepositions such as on or by can often be used to convey this. You should be able to use it in situations where this concept needs to be expressed. As you suspected, its part of speech is best thought of as prepositional. 凭, when used in this ...
5
From 《商务馆学汉语近义词词典》：
同：
都有“知道”的意思。但意思和用法都有不用，一般不能互换。
异：
用于事物，“了解”指知道得很清楚，强调知道事物的情况和过程，“了解”是一种感性的认识；“理解”强调懂得事物的意义和内容，明白为什么会是这样，是一种理性的认识，比“了解”更深入
这件事我一点儿也不了解，不可能谈出什么意思。
你了解这家公司的基本情况吗？
亨利非常了解中国历史和文化。
你这样说是什么意思，我还不能理解。
这篇文章内容太深，学生们理解不了。
发生这样的事真让人不可理解。
用于人，“了解”表示对此人知道得很清楚，知道此人的情况，性格，爱好，等；“理解”表示懂得此人的心，明白此人为什么要这样做，能谅解，宽容此人
我好久没有跟他谈过了，我真的不了解他有什么想法。
...
5
邀请From 《商务馆学汉语近义词词典》：
同： 都表示受到、得到。当用于具体物品时，经常可以互相。
每天过生日的时候她都等着 接收/接受 朋友的礼物。
我可以帮你做这件事，但不能 接收/接受 你的礼物。
他从来就没想过要 接收/接受 父母的遗产。
异：
“接受”的对象可以是抽象的， 如“意见，建议，教训，考验，挑战，任务”等；“接收”的对象不能是抽象的
他时刻准备着接受考验。
我们要接受上一次的经验教训。
小王说的很有道理，你应该接受他的意思。
这一次他主动接受了任务。
我们都应该虚心地接受批评。
“接收”的对象是具体的除了物品以外，还可以是“信件，稿件，无线电信号”；“接受”没有这样的用法
她在编辑部专门负责接收稿件。
收发室每天接收大量的信件。
天线坏了，接收不到电视信号。
...
5
Would it be appropriate to say any of the following?
我想查询您…
This usage is wrong. 查询 should be followed by the object being asked for, not the person who is being asked. The correct usages are
我想查询[sth]。
我想向[sb]查询[sth]。
Example:
我想（向您）查询从北京到上海的机票价格。
我想询问您…
This one is correct. 询问 can be used in three ways:
我想询问[sth]
我想询问[sb][sth]
...
5
看穿 and 看透 are hardly used in the literal way. They are almost synonymous as I can't think of any instances where they're not interchangeable. 看穿 has a slightly more derogatory tone as it's often used against tricks or lies. 看透 can be used against philosophical subjects such as the meaning of life.
I think the most natural thing to say about an invisible man ...
4
You can try the following sentences which demonstrate humility:
不好意思，我的中文水平尚浅，有待跟您多多学习。
Sorry, my Chinese language skill is still shallow, there is still a lot to learn from you.
我的中文只不过马马虎虎而已，请您多多包涵。
My Chinese is just so-so only, please bear with me.
我的中文说得不好，请别见怪。
I am not good at speaking Mandarin, hope you don't mind.
If someone is praising your ...
4
我的腿累了 is not as good as 我的腿好累
The former one seems to suggest your leg tires on its own accord and sounds unnatural, where the latter one just states that the legs are tired (a condition). As a comparison, 我的手累了 is quite normal, where the hand seems to be a more active body part.
While other alternatives have subtle differences:
我的腿无力 = My legs are weak. ...
4
遗憾/惋惜/难过 all can be used in this context, but IMHO none of them is the Chinese counterpart of "sorry".
Using the example in this reference,
I am sorry to hear that your brother passed away.
听到你兄弟去世的消息，我很难过。
When it's in Chinese, it seems to imply the speaker knows the person who died and personally feels sad for it.
People also say “我*为你*感到难过” ...
4
It will be easier to answer this question if a more specific scenario is given.
Let me try to suggest one:
A: 能不能再加一小时班? 明天绝对不会再让你加班了 (Could you work overtime again for an extra hour? I won't ask you tomorrow, I promise.)
B: 好吧... 既然你已经这么说了, 那我还能说什么呢? (O--k--ay--, If you say so... :-| )
If you simply want to say "O--k--ay--" in Chinese, with ...
4
Complete agreement:
没问题 (no problem)
我赞成 (I agree)
Tentative agreement:
还可以 (still okay)
应该没问题 (should be okay)
我不反对 (I don't object)
Neutral, non-committal:
让我考虑考虑 (let me consider)
让我想一想 (let me think about it)
Tend to disagree:
再看吧 (consider about it another time)
再说吧 (talk about it another time)
这很难 (this is difficult)
Complete disagreement:
不可能 (not ...
4
They are the same, just translated in different ways.
猛犸 is a transliteration. 猛 means robust dog. 《说文解字》: 猛，健犬也。 犸 seems a more modern character, only used here.
长毛象 is more common than 毛象. The literal translation is "elephant with long hair".
4
IMO, the difference is quite subtle, but the way I've used them are:
只: "only, just". I think this is more of an objective description of what you have. You can use it to objectively state your situation.
我只有一块钱 = I just have a dollar
我只是不明白你的意思 = It's just that I don't understand what you mean.
光: "only, empty". I think this has a stronger, more ...
4
Neither; 感情 is the most appropriate for your two examples.
This is a common problem with any language; there are multiple words that seem to mean the same thing but are appropriate for different cases. Using words that mean the same thing but are inappropriate for the situation is a dead give-away for whether someone is a natural or fluent in that language. ...
3
The Chinese equivalent of "candid" is "坦白"(tǎn bái) or more formally "坦率"(tǎn shuài):
中国外交部发言人洪磊表示，河相周夫与中国外交部副部长张志军之间的讨论是坦率和深入的。
(source http://www.voachinese.com/content/china-japan-20120925/1514644.html)
外交部副部长张志军与日本常务副外相河相周夫今早在北京举行钓鱼岛问题磋商，外交部在官方网站上发出新闻稿，以「坦率深入交换了意见」来形容这次会谈。
(source http://en.1688.com.au/site1/news/cn/2012/09/25/369457.shtml)
3
From what I understand, 証 is a variant of 證 which means they essentially mean the same thing (see here or here). However, it seems like the usage of the two characters isn't identical. I can find no cases where 証 is accepted but 證 is not, but there are lots of cases where the opposite is true. All examples in the Ministry of Education dictionary are using 證, ...
3
Different sources seem to have to different opinions.
Most websites (for example http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/84845451.html and http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/219005473.html) say that the 吗 in 干吗 has a neutral tone and "干吗" has the same meaning as 干不干 (or 做不做）. For example: 咱们干吗？ (will we do it?)
According to these websites 干嘛 on the other hand means ...
3
For me:
再看吧 is more like the English "We'll see how it goes". Which is not as strong as indicating certain disagreement, but can be used to mean that. Have a look at the two examples below:
有时间再看吧 - Let's look at it (the situation) again when we have time or I'll think about it later.
This is can be used in English to politely decline something, that is, ...
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