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For example, in a dialogue about global warming, this sentence fragment: 这个在中文就特别的直接...

I would translate to, "In Chinese, this is especially relevant". But 直接 translates to immediate/straightforward in mdbg and other dictionaries.

So I...

  • Google/Baidu "直接" and a meaning that I think it is, "直接" and "relevant"
  • Look it up in a Chinese only dictionary.
  • Google Translate

What other steps do you recommend?

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  • 4
    What is the context of the sentence fragment? Is 直接 standing in for 有直接的关系?
    – Stumpy Joe Pete
    Commented Jul 22, 2013 at 16:55
  • 3
    I failed to see why in a dialogue about global warming someone would say '这个在中文就特别的直接'. It seems especially irrelevant...
    – NS.X.
    Commented Jul 22, 2013 at 19:05
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    What's the full context of the sentence? It seems to me, from the limited context, that "direct/straightforward" is the best translation, as in This is especially direct in Chinese. That definition is in Baidu.
    – congusbongus
    Commented Jul 23, 2013 at 0:15
  • Regardless of the relevance of the sentence fragment, it actuallly doesn't appear to be grammatically correct...
    – deutschZuid
    Commented Jul 23, 2013 at 3:00
  • I reread the dialogue that prompted this problem and my bad, the meaning 直接, straightforward applies here. Sorry, I misinterpreted the context. It was more about Chinese, the language, rather than China. On the other hand, I have had this experience in other situations and the question still stands.
    – Steve
    Commented Jul 24, 2013 at 13:41

3 Answers 3

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If dictionaries give various meanings, I always return to breaking down the word/phrase into its components and see if they make sense given your context:

直 Zhí = straight, direct

接 Jiē = meet, connect, join

So, it would seem that 直接 (direct connect) could mean both straightforward and relevant (hence why dictionaries give both as results).

But to remove all ambiguity, I would try searching other better fitting words... In this case, I would use 相关 xiāng guān = interrelated

Again,

相 xiāng = mutually

关 guān ＝　to involve, to concern

Some examples:

  • 这些事情是特别相关 (Zhèxiē shìqíng shì tèbié xiāngguān) - These things are particularly relevant
  • 相关任务间的重叠时间 (Xiāngguān rènwù jiān de chóngdié shíjiān) - Related tasks overlap time

More examples here

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Here are some other options I go for if I don't understand immediately:

  • Go to an online dictionary which includes example sentences in both Chinese and English e.g example1 example2
  • Ask someone I know who is a native Chinese speaker (this is not always satisfying if it is a complex example)
  • Ask on an online site like this one

Sometimes when I am reasonably sure of something, but I want confirmation I still ask on a site like this one because there are people with better combined English/Chinese language skill than anyone I know in person and it is always helpful to verify.

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You'd better read more books, especially poetry in Chinese, if want to understand or use Chinese with no difficulty. But even Chinese would find no proper words to express a phenomenon or his feeling.

The principle of translation into Chinese is 信(correct) 达(clear and coherent) 雅(elegent or polish), sometimes, it is hard to balance this three standards. In Chinese, a writer maybe try to find a proper word or character for many year. You can find this in this sentence in a poetry '吟安一个字，捻断数根须'.

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