Questions tagged [expressions]
Questions about more or less fixed expressions.
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What does 三声无奈 mean?
There is this Min song called 三声无奈, lit. "three sounds helpless". This seems to be an idiomatic expression. I am not totally sure what it means though. It seems to mean "completely helpless". This is ...
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Why is the boss called 老板?
The primary meaning of 板 is 'board'. So why does 老板 or 'old board' mean 'boss, chief'?
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Ordering take-out in Taiwan 带走 vs 外帶?
This may or may not be Taiwan specific, but on all the order cards the option for take-out is "外帶".
Is this a Taiwanese vs Chinese Mandarin difference, or is this just a noun vs verb difference?
ie. ...
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How did 马马虎虎 come to mean so-so?
Why does the above phrase (马马虎虎- lit. Horse horse tiger tiger） mean so-so or moderate?
Curious as to how animals can represent expressions
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What does the phrase '我的妈来' mean when it is used to express shock or surprise?
I know the literal meaning, but could someone please tell me the meaning in english when it was used as an expression (for example, when someone see a huge mansion and he said: "我的妈来! What a huge ...
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What are people saying when I buy something using the exact change?
When I buy something and give the exact change, the cashier will almost always say "[something] hǎo", but I'm not sure what [something] is.
Question: What are people saying when I buy something using ...
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How to say "it is actually something that does something"?
I'm just wondering how to say "it is actually (insert noun) that really (insert verb).
The context is this: 有些人说，梦想点亮未来。我不同意。
Then I want to say: 其实我觉得是注意点亮未来。
Is my use of 是 correct?
Thanks ...
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How to say that you were accepted/rejected from a college in Mandarin?
For example, how would I say something like "Harvard rejected me" or "Harvard accepted me"?
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5
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Difference between 元宵节 and 灯节？
Is there a difference between the expressions 元宵节 and 灯节, or are they exactly the same?
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What is this a mistranlation of?
I ran across this pillow
the other day and thought that the expression was a little odd. According to this one girl on Instagram (a very reliable source, I know) it's a #mistranslation. This, along ...
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一方面...另一方面 Can you use it with a positive and negative idea?
A Chinese teacher once told me that you can only put two positive or two negative adjectives in this construction. Is this correct? So I couldn't say for example:
我哥哥一方面有名，另一方面不帅。
Many thanks!
G
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来不及爱你 Too late to love you
why the phrase 来不及 is translated into too late?
why not use 太迟？ 太迟爱你.
what is the different between them?
and why does 来不及 mean too late in the first place?
来=come
不=no
及=？？
Makes little sense ...
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How do you say 'I hope you got to know a little more about me' [closed]
For a self introduction speech in my chinese class.
P.s. please make it in "easy wording" with pinyin, thank you in advance. (not too complication)
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Which proverb / expression is original? -- 爱及屋乌, 爱乌及屋, 爱屋及乌
In an ealier question (or thread) 爱、采 ( A trivalent verb takes 2 objects ) ...
3 variations/versions of a proverb or expression were mentioned :
爱及屋乌 == he loves her so much that he even loves the ...
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"May you live in interesting times"
I have often heard (and probably repeated) that there is a Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times." Is there really such a saying in Chinese? I can't think of one, and can't even think how ...
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Do native speakers think about compound words as "东西"?
Something that interests me from a linguistic/neurological point of view: Do Chinese native speakers actually thinkg about the parts of compound words that have a completely different meaning from ...
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what's the better translation of "you're out"?
like kids are playing an outdoor game and someone gets out.
How to say "you're out"?
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How to express "have fun!" or "enjoy!" in Chinese?
In English, when a friend is doing some activity, we typically say to him/her:
Have fun!
or
Enjoy!
How can we say this in a idiomatic way in Mandarin Chinese?
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Do people still use 炒冷饭？
I know that 炒冷饭 means to rehash a dead conversation. But is this still used in conversation? For example, could I say
你别再炒冷饭！
I'm scared this expression is a bit old and is not used anymore.
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Is to embrace or think of spring an expression?
I'm writing a paper for my world literature class on the poem "Dead Roe Deer" from the Classic of Poetry. In my research/reading of a direct translation, I read that to embrace/think of spring is a ...
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Homonyms in the context of humor or satire
Because my study of Chinese is mostly based on intermediate videos I think I am missing something. Now that I have a sense of the large number of homophones in Chinese, the potential for double-...
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Is the "shh" expression of silence used in Chinese?
Do Chinese people put a finger on the lips and use the expression "shh" to ask for silence? According to this answer in the English Language Stack Exchange, this expression originated from English ...
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How to say "Oops"; or other exclamation/interjection you might say if you make a mistake
I was making an omelette and I dropped an egg on the floor.
I said "Oops!" because of my mistake.
Is Chinese "哎呀" (Āiyā) the nearest equivalent?
From what I gather, 哎呀 seems like a "sound word" -- ...
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Why the sudden rise in usage of "吓死宝宝了"?
吓死宝宝了
All of a sudden this "phrase" (if we can even call it that) is everywhere. I'm reading it, hearing it and seeing it everywhere.
What gives to the sudden rise in usage of this expression?
Mou某♦
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What does 狸猫换太子 mean?
I came across this in a Chinese television show where someone says: "咱们狸猫换太子的计划".
I can't figure out what "狸猫换太子" could mean. To my knowledge this means: "Leopard exchange for Crown Prince". Which ...
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Something I came across in a movie 你说它真它就真说它假
I came across this in a Chinese television show, which I would like some help to translate.
你说它真它就真，说它假它就假，它是真真假假假假真真谁也弄不明白.
The first part I do understand. It means: "If you say it is real then it ...
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Origin of the term "Sitting the Month"
I've recently learned about the practice of 坐月子 or sitting the month where a woman secludes herself for around a month following a pregnancy. The articles I've read indicate that this practice has ...
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Does Chinese have an adage saying “It is better to hit to kill than to hit and injure”?
In "Driven to Kill - Why drivers in China intentionally kill the pedestrians they hit", it's claimed that there's an adage in Chinese of “It is better to hit to kill than to hit and injure.”
Does ...
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How to say "see you this weekend?"
My Mandarin teacher told us “星期四见” to say "see you on Thursday." How would I say "see you this weekend"?
“这个周末见” or “末见这个周”? Or something else entirely? This is being used to end a letter, so I don't ...
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Why do people say 慢点儿阿("man dianer a") when you leave their shop?
When you leave a shop, you often hear the shopkeeper saying something like "man dianer a", which sounds like 慢点儿阿 (something parents say to their kids to get them to walk more slowly [even if they ...
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Meaning of 所 in "有所..."
As far as I know, 所 has the following meanings:
a place, as in 派出所 (police office).
a counter, as in 一所科學中心 (a science center).
a passive voice indicator that pairs up with 被（為）, as in 被（為）愛所糾纏 (...
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How is the meaning of 不得已 formed?
I am under the impression that Chinese multi-character words form their meaning from that of the characters that form these words. (Let me know if I am mistaken!)
I know that 不得已 means "to have to".
...
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好久不见＋了＝OK or wrong? What does the "le" add?
"Long time no see" is 好久不见 in Mandarin. I would be inclined towards adding a 了 at the end. Would that be all right? And in that case, what does the 了 add?
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Why is 大消费组 used here?
我分管该公司研究部大消费组6个消费类行业。
I'm in charge of 6 consumer industries of the research department in this company. I don't understand 大消费组. It seems to be redundant.
Why is 大消费组 used here? What does it mean ...
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Meaning of "不了" in "忘不了/喝不了/..."
I know that 了 after a verb means a completion or termination of a certain action, such as:
吃飽了
(I am) full.
開始了
(It) has started.
不動了
(It) is not moving anymore.
But what about 了 ...
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Is 得弄 one word or two in 首先得弄清楚我们需要什么?
I have 首先得弄清楚我们需要什么。
I see 得弄清楚 is a fairly common combination of words. Is 得弄 one word or 2 words here? Should I read de nong or dei nong?
Should I translate the sentence to
'First we need to find ...
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What are the common phrases in sports when you win the score?
Sportsmen use some phrases to encourage themselves during the game.
So what do Chinese sportsmen usually say when they win the score?
For example, in this video at 5:40, Ma Lin cried something like: ...
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The slang(?) phrase "乾掉了"
As I remember, the phrase was used in response to a certain scenario. Unfortunately, as I tried to look it up on Google, all I find is drying out, which is certainly not the meaning I am looking for. ...
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Why do people say "吃飽了嗎"
I have heard my Chinese-speaking friends asking each other 吃飽了嗎？ several times when they are done or almost done with their own meal. And I have wondered, "Why would they ask others such question? ...
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What meaning does ** (double asterisk) have in chinese?
I'm reading some web novels, and I noticed that once in a while there's ** double asterisk in the middle of a sentence, but I have no idea what they represent.
For example:
**的挑釁
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Is 你好，北京 grammatical?
Today Victoria Beckham tweeted it. But is this reverse form (as opposed to 北京，你好) correct?
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How and when to use 不见不错 vs. 不见不散?
Could someone please explain me how and when to use these expressions? Is there any difference between the two of them? Is it something like "see you later/see you there/see you soon"?
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What's the different between 不好意思 and 对不起？ [duplicate]
What's the different between 不好意思 and 对不起？ Where should I use which?
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"I got the feeling that..."
How can I express that in Chinese?
Examples:
I got a feeling that your English is better than my Chinese.
I got a feeling that tonight is going to be a good night.
I got a bad feeling about this.
I ...
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Chinese equivalent of expression
In English, if someone explains a simple joke that should be obvious they get the nickname "Captain Obvious", as the Wiktionary and Wikipedia say. Is there an equivalent expression in Chinese? If so, ...
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你好啊？ or 你好吗？ Which is more common?
I have recently come across the phrase 你好啊 and I was curious about its usage. It was in the FSI Chinese course with a meaning of 'How are you?', but I have only heard 你好吗 on other courses and when ...
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How to say "thank you for ..."?
In order to say "thank you", I can say 谢谢 or 谢谢你. What if I want to be more specific and say "thank you for (something)"?
As an example, suppose I was invited for dinner at someone's place, and I ...
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Translation English Expression "You can tell ... by ...."
I'm translating an English song in an exercise to learn Chinese
One of the lyrics is
You can tell he means it by the look on his face
This is English expression. A less expressive lyricist might say:...
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角/毛 (10 cents) for money: why?
from: List of historical Chinese currency terms
角 (litterally a corner / a horn of an animal) = 毛 (litterally "a feather of a bird") = 1/10 the main unit.
Why use 角 and 毛 for, what we might call ...
Mou某♦
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What is the Mandarin equivalent of 對 XXX 嚟講?
In Cantonese, 對我嚟講 more or less means "speaking for myself", for instance, in:
對我嚟講，行政長官選舉唔重要。
Speaking for myself, the chief executive election isn't important.
我 can also be replaced with ...
user5714