6

And how do you translate

他管我借钱,但我没借给他

?

8 Answers 8

5

"他(問/求/向)我借钱,但我没借给他" would make more sense,

'管' has many meanings and it is a shorthand for many terms including 管理(to manage) , 监管 (to supervise), 管制 (to restrict), 掌管 (to control) and 包管(guarantee) etc..

In '他管我借钱,但我没借给他' the most logical meaning for '管' is 'to manage' which implies 'to count on' or 'to rely on'

管 = to manage --> put responsibility on --> counting on --> depend/ rely on

So the translation of '他管我借钱,但我没借给他' should be "He was counting on me to lend him money, but I didn't lend him any"

other example of 管 as different shorthand:

在這處住我管你一日三餐 = 在這處住我(包)管你一日三餐 (you live here and I'll guarantee you three meals a day)

香煙的銷售管得很嚴 = 香煙的銷售(监)管得很嚴 (The sales of cigarettes is supervised very strictly)

我管你去死 = 我(哪)管(得)你去死 (I don't care if you die)

3

This can be viewed as a series of semantic extensions.

In the sense of control,「管」was extended to mean to have jurisdiction over, then further extended to mean to be concerned about, to bother about.

他管我借錢,但我沒借給他

He bothered me about borrowing some money, but I didn't lend the money to him.

Similar examples of「管」used in this sense (taken from Pleco):

  • 你管得着嗎?(What business of this is yours? i.e. This is none of your concern.)
  • 去不去隨你,我不管 (Whether you go or not is up to you; it doesn't bother me.)
2

他管我借钱,但我没借给他: He attempted to borrow some money from me, but I didn't lend him any.

管 just means 向 in this context. 他管我借钱 implies a 想要 or 尝试, 他尝试(/想要)管我借钱.

1

I think 管 in this sentence means 'find sb. for ....'

1

管 here doesn't mean "to be concern about" or "to bother that". 管 is obviously a preposition here because it represents no action. The action is 借. 管 here is a typical Northern dialectal expression. It means 向/从/把, i.e., to/from/as...

Therefore,

他管我借钱 He asks to borrow money from me.

他管她叫奶奶 He addresses her as grandma

他管人家一顿打 He hit somebody hard (no English prep here).

When using 管 in this meaning, it is more oral Chinese than written Chinese. But you can still use it in writing to make your description vivid.

2
  • This is the correct answer mentioning that 管 is actually a preposition here. Have my +1.
    – iBug
    Feb 7, 2019 at 12:41
  • Supplementary material: xh.5156edu.com/html3/17876.html It explains "管" as "把", usually in conjunction with "叫", oral usage.
    – cyfex
    Feb 14, 2019 at 4:54
0

There are many sayings from different dialects with the same meaning in Chinese, we rarely use this form usually. Generally you may speak 他问我借钱, 他从我这借钱, etc.

0

Have a look here.

13.作用跟“向”相近:~他借钱。~我要东西。

他管我借钱,但我没借给他。
He from me (want) borrow money, but I not give him
He wanted to hit me for a loan, but I wasn't having any of it.

0

他管我借钱,但我没借给他

The 管 here means from. He borrowed money from me, but I did not lend him any.

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