New answers tagged word-choice
1
Colloquial:
我什么事情都不确定 Wǒ shénme dōu bù quèdìng
I'm not sure of anything...
3
1) (对)任何事情我都没有绝对的把握.
There is nothing wrong in this sentence, but it focuses on personal belief, a little bit inclining to the speaker's subjectiveness.
If we want to state something that describes a general belief, which focuses more on objectiveness, then we can say:
2) (对)任何事情 我们 都没有绝对的把握.
3) (对)什么事 我们 都 不可能有 绝对的把握.
Sentence 2 generalizes ...
3
Politeness in Mandarin is expressed by using different politeness elements, which include politeness characters, wording or manner of speaking. Usualy one element is enough in one sentence, because using 2+ elements in the same sentence may sound too polite, causing a feeling of distance.
Would you please pour me some water? 请给我倒些水好吗？
Note: it is ...
0
In ancient Chinese, 以上 and 以下 are inclusive without a doubt. Why? Just because everyone use them in the same way and exceptions are few to none. Example:
三品以下用金宝，二品以上用玉宝。（元史•选举志三）
七月，定进马迁赏格，每甲马一匹或二匹以上，迁赏有差。（金史•列传
第五十七）
In modern Chinese, they are supposed to inherit the ancient usage, however sometimes people try to be accurate by adding ...
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Figuring things out
There is a very similar metaphor in English, but usage is much more restricted:
When I told John the money was gone, I could see the wheels turning (in his head).
Very often the use is:
A person learns some new or surprising information.
This information causes the person to think, and they slowly start figuring out the ...
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