I read and listen a lot of people say “给我钱”. I had no problem with that for quite a long time until I learned about 把. I started to wonder why people said 给我钱 and not 把钱给我 when there’s disposal to the the object. Was my understanding wrong? Could someone please explain to me?
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in general, 把钱给我 is just as valid as 给我钱. Depending on the context one may use either one or the other. Googling both phrases in quotes yields a few million results each.– blackgreenCommented Jul 28, 2020 at 21:30
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2You may get better answera if you can provide a context.– danCommented Jul 28, 2020 at 23:52
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They are all the same, depends on your tone of speaking. if you want to make it polite, and "请" as the prefix.– SiweiCommented Jul 29, 2020 at 10:00
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@dan I would like to but I couldn’t think of any 🥺 it’s all because I realized I never heard people say 把钱给我 (as far as I’m learning Chinese)– AgnesCommented Jul 30, 2020 at 10:27
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7 Answers
给我钱 = give me money (indefinite- some money; any money)
把钱给我 = give me the money (definite - the money, that money)
给我一些钱 = give me some money
把那笔钱交给我= give me that money
把 is a disposal marker that marks the object to be disposed of. It emphasizes the object and makes it definite
Because they mean the same, 給我錢 and 把錢給我. In 給我錢, 給 is the action perform on 我. 錢 was the thing given. So 給我錢 means "give me money". In 把錢給我, 把 denotes actions or effects on 錢. 給我 is the action or effect on 錢. So the money was given to me(給我). And 給(give whatever thing) is the action perform on 我. So 把錢給我 means "give me money" too.
Hope the person wasn't holding a gun when he or she said, "给我钱!"
I also think using 把 is more for emphasis. Often, the person doing something is not mentioned. Below, the "giver" would be "现代人“。
有人这样总结现代人的生活方式：把思考交给了电脑，把联系交给了手机，把行走交给了汽车， 把健康交给了医生。
I suppose you could write:
他交给了电脑思考、联系手机、行走汽车、健康医生。
but the other way around seems more emphatic.
给我钱 = (give me money), has the element of a cordial request; one could almost hear the "please" at the beginning, ("please" give me money)
Whereas 把錢給我 = (give me the money), has an element of a less than cordial request, bordering on an aggressive demand.
A robber would not use 给我钱 when pointing a gun at the bank's cash counter staff, but 把錢給我 would easily be the preferred phrase; for me at least :)
However, what about 錢給我把?
Perhaps for another question?
answered Jul 29, 2020 at 4:04
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给我钱 is quite blunt and doesn't have any element of cordiality, while 把钱给我 is more of a request but "tone" plays an important role whether it's cordial, aggressive, or anything.– danCommented Jul 29, 2020 at 5:41
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That’s new to me. But, is 钱给我把 grammatically acceptable? More, is that kind of structure (where 把 is placed at the end) used often?– AgnesCommented Jul 30, 2020 at 10:38
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@Agnes 钱给我把 is ungrammatical in standard Mandarin, but I'm not sure if you could hear it in some dialects. (把)钱给我吧 is valid but that's another topic.– danCommented Jul 30, 2020 at 23:31
it just depends on the emotion. think about english, you have tons of ways to say something, but you only choose the best way to express your emotion, right?
do not over-thinking the difference, this might trap you.
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Quote:- "you have tons of ways to say something....", yes, but certain words, or the particular arrangement thereof by their very nature / meaning would sway the listener towards a particular emotional direction. Think of words / phrases like "I love you", "Get out of my sight" which have intrinsically unmistakable content and intent. And, in my view, there is a definite semantic difference between 把錢給我 and 錢給我把. Commented Jul 30, 2020 at 4:06
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@WayneCheah nice explanation but I’d never seen 把 placed at the end of a sentence before...– AgnesCommented Jul 30, 2020 at 10:33
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Yes I guess so too, I don’t want to think about difference between this and that but sometimes there’s a lot of them and it feels like you gotta know the difference 😭– AgnesCommented Jul 30, 2020 at 10:35
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To me, a native Chinese, 把钱给我，给我钱，钱给我 tells the same action, which is "to give me money". But the emotion behind is slightly different. That's it. But if you really want to know the difference, you need to put the sentence in context and feel the difference, otherwise to discuss them alone to me there is no semantic difference between them. Commented Aug 5, 2020 at 3:44
给我钱 - usually used in casual situation like among youth friends, close relationship, or in a very demanding context. 把钱给我 - used in formal situation, more friendly, will add a "please" 请 to be more polite
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Thank you for answering and helped me clear the confusion ☺️🌸– AgnesCommented Jul 30, 2020 at 10:31
Both 给我钱 and 把钱给我 have the same meaning, you order(ask) somebody to give you the money. But I think 把钱给我 has a more emphasized feeling. Also they do have a little difference in different situations.
For example, if a thief stoled your money, you caught him, and say (还)给我钱, this is a normal order. But if you say 把钱(还)给我, he maybe a little more afraid.This is more shocking to the thief.
