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My Chinese colleague wrote to me on WeChat:

我刚刚拔了三颗门牙
I just had three teeth pulled out

I attempted to reply, but I think I totally botched it:

从来每一次我听到“拔”我会想你在牙医时。

I was trying to say

From now on, every time I hear 拔, I will think of you going to the dentist.

I realize now that 从来 should be 从此 (cóngcǐ; henceforth), but the rest of the sentence feels rather uncomfortable to me.

Question: How do I say "from now on, every time I hear 拔, I will think of you going to the dentist"?

Being a bit more careful, I came up with this attempt:

从此我一听到“拔”那个字就记起你在牙医时拔出牙齿。

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  • "From now on, every time I hear 拔, I will think of you going to the dentist." I'm not sure what's the point you are trying to make. The sentence is quite 'English'. It seems a bit awkward when it becomes Chinese.
    – dan
    Oct 18, 2019 at 12:44
  • It’s a new character for me, so whenever I see 拔 in the future and think about what it’s associated with, I’ll only have one memory, namely my colleague going to the dentist.
    – Becky 李蓓
    Oct 18, 2019 at 12:47
  • Then try: 我今后再碰到“拔”这个字,可能就会想到你拔牙这事。
    – dan
    Oct 18, 2019 at 15:21

1 Answer 1

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"从此我一听到“拔”那个字就记起你"

"from now on" is translated as "從今以後", not just "从此" (since this moment/ since that moment)

"记起" means "remember", you should use "会想起" (will think of) instead

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在牙医时

"牙医" means "dentist", which is a person, you should either write "在牙医診所时" (when you were at the dentist's office) or "去看牙医时" (when you went to see the dentist)

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拔出牙齿 should be reduced to "拔牙"

"拔牙" is a common verb

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從今以後,我一听到“拔”这个字,就会想起你在牙医診所拔牙

From now on, whenever I hear the word "pull", I will think of when you were at the dentist's office getting your teeth pulled

It is a good enough sentence, however "你在牙医診所拔牙" is an "image/ scene" in your mind, which is the object for the verb "想起". Therefore, a better sentence should be:

從今以後,我一听到“拔”这个字,就会想起你在牙医診所拔牙这件事

Use 这件事 (this event) instead of 那件事 (that event) because it is an immediate respond to the event you just heard of.

Use “拔”这个字 (the word "pull") instead of “拔”那个字 (that word "pull")

從今以後我一听到“拔”这个字就会想起你在牙医診所拔牙的情況/情景

Replace 情況 (situation) or 情景(scene) with 慘況 (horrible scene) would sound much more dramatic

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