5

For example:

  • "He is too attached to his money and wealth".

  • "He is very attached to his house"

Note: the meaning of "attached to" is closer to the feeling of very hard to letting go of something.

I would like to know chinese colloquial translation for "attached to" ?

Checking from google translate, here are some possibilities of the translation:

  1. 重视
  2. 贴着 / 贴在
  3. 附着
  4. 执着
  5. 依恋
  6. 爱惜

I'm not sure which one is more common used for daily conversation, I guess it is either 1 or 5.

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5
  • The positive emotion: 执着于…
    – user6617
    Nov 24, 2014 at 23:27
  • @PENGUINLIONG: in my question context, it's rather negative feeling. Can I add 很 to 执着 so it becomes 很执着 ?
    – null
    Nov 30, 2014 at 11:00
  • 1
    (过分/太/过于)执着 is better. 很 cannot show your emotion clearly. It just expresses sth in a higher level of modal.
    – user6617
    Nov 30, 2014 at 14:17
  • how about 爱惜? Like "他很爱惜他的家"
    – null
    Dec 2, 2014 at 11:15
  • 1
    We use 爱惜 to describe some detailed things. It usually means to use something carefully and keep it from broken. But the 家 here is abstract. It means 家庭(A home, idk how to explain) but not only somewhere you live in. So 珍惜 could be accurate. In addition, 爱 is good as well. We use it more often. (If you just want to express that he is very careful to his house, 爱惜 is better.)
    – user6617
    Dec 2, 2014 at 14:22

6 Answers 6

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3

My best guess would be: 迷恋 (mí liàn). There are some other ways to translate attachment (as an emotional affection, not a physical one), but in many cases this attachment is related to a person, not objects, and those translations would be inadequate.

他十分迷恋财富与货币.

Probably not a perfect translation, I hope others will improve it.

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2
  • how about 依恋 or 重视 ?
    – null
    Nov 22, 2014 at 21:21
  • I think 依恋 would also fit, although most example sentences I have seen, show that is most likely use to describe attachment to persons, or to lesser degree, places. 重视 rather means 'to think highly of something', 'to pay attention to something'. I would go for 迷恋, because I have found some examples where 迷恋 and 钱币 are used together, e.g. 不要迷恋钱币 blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_a51f05d6010188d5.html and 迷恋钱币 tintinning.wordpress.com/2008/01/12/…
    – imrek
    Nov 22, 2014 at 21:34
1

他以财为天. Maybe a bit too literary to qualify as colloquial but as a play on a familiar saying, would be understood by most.

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2
  • Intelligible yes, idiomatic no. Playing with some sayings may make you look flippant.
    – Wang Dingwei
    Nov 26, 2014 at 11:33
  • I'm looking for colloquial translation.
    – null
    Nov 28, 2014 at 4:27
1

4.

他执着于金钱。/ 在钱的事上，他简直着了魔。(here I think "be possessed with" is more like the word.)/ 他是个财迷。(See how the Chinese language prefers nouns?)

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3
  • how about 爱惜? Like "他很爱惜他的家"
    – null
    Dec 2, 2014 at 11:14
  • 1
    @suud You usually 爱惜 something rather than someone. 家 is right at the borderline and looks a bit strange. 爱惜 implies loving, treasuring, and cherishing. To get pejorative you could say 过分爱惜.
    – Wang Dingwei
    Dec 2, 2014 at 13:30
  • 1
    @suud 他很顾家....I don't know why here we have to use this obsolete verb...
    – Joseph S WU
    Dec 4, 2014 at 1:18
1

It really depends on the whole context and scenarios. If the "X" you are attached to is a positive and good thing like "reading books" or "good, happy moments", then i would prefer "yi lian" ,"zhong shi", otherwise, if what you are attached to is bad or negative, i would choose "mi lian""zhi zhuo". hope this helps.

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1
  1. 重视 - see somthing/somebody as important (neutral).
  2. 贴着 / 贴在 - physically attached to a object, usually deliberate.
  3. 附着 - physicaly attached to an object, may or may not be deliberate.
  4. 执着 - obsessed with something/somebodyz often with negative connotation.
  5. 依恋 - emotionally dependent on something/somebody
  6. 爱惜 - see something/somebody as important (with affection)

For your examples, without context, I'd use 3 and 6 respectively.

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0

The best choice of word for "attached to X" really depends on the context, but a general one would be 牵绊, though to my understanding it is most often used on intangible or non-specific things and may come off as sounding a bit literary. The meaning of 牵绊 is more towards "being chained or detained" and usually has the connotation of X being a burden to the person as viewed objectively.

我们出家人，并无闲事缠扰，又无儿女牵绊，终日诵经念佛。

We monks are not bothered by frivolous matters, nor are we bound by our children, we just chant the Buddhist mantras all day.

因此，亲爱的孩子们，要使自己脱离一切事物的牵绊，只将你们的时间奉献给天主。

Therefore, dear children, devoid yourselves of all attachments and devote your times only to the Lord.

你不要成为他事业上的牵绊。

Don't you become a drag to his career.

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1
  • it sounds too religious...
    – null
    Dec 4, 2014 at 8:00

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