Questions tagged [meaning]
Questions about understanding the meaning of words, phrases, etc. For in-context meaning, use [meaning-in-context].
1,212
questions
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What is the meaning of 江山入画
Please, can you explain me the exact meaning of 江山入画? It is a name of a novel. However I am not sure of exact meanging. I know that 江山 means country, 画 is painting. Please what it mean all together ?
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2answers
30 views
Is there any different meaning between using 真 and 真的 in a sentence?
I came across some sentences in which 真 or 真的 have been used.
Sentences with 真 only.
你真不知道我是谁
这事真不能怪我
Sentences with 真的 only.
我真的不想去
我真的后悔说过的话
Is there any different meaning between using 真 and 真的 ...
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80 views
What is the difference between 矮 and 短
What is the difference between 矮 and 短. Both seem to mean "short," so how can they be differentiated?
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1answer
48 views
What does this mean in English, please? [duplicate]
[广州市]【广州国际中心】已出口直封 What does this mean in English? I am expecting a parcel to be delivered.
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42 views
What's the difference between盛名and名副其实
I have the sentences 这个学校名副其实的温暖，这学校对外声称自己是暖心的社团，接触他的人也确实感受到暖暖的爱
名副其实 means"reputation"or"not just in name only，but also in reality"
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1answer
102 views
What is the hidden meaning of “mi mi”, the Chinese word for secret?
The English word is "secret"
The Chinese word is "秘密"
I found 禾 means grain, 必 means must.
The second character has 宀 (mián) roof,必 (bì) must and 山 (shān) mountain.
How does it all ...
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1answer
91 views
Why does 身体 mean both “body” and “health”?
I've seen a curious Chinese word 身体. At first, I have discovered that it means 'body' and is a word with a broader meaning in comparison to 身材 or 体格. But I never understood why it means 'body' or, yet ...
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60 views
Need help translating Oriental markings on a lamp
Looking to find out more information on my lamp but I'm unable to translate the symbols that I assume are Chinese dialect
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2answers
69 views
Is 摆有 a word in MSM?
桌上摆有一卷书
(source: example sentence in a publicly available flashcard deck - no other context provided).
None of the 40+ dictionaries I consulted carry this lemma, and google offers precious little too....
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1answer
171 views
Did the ancients really think mangoes were garlic like?
Flipping through Endymion Wilkinson's Chinese History: A New Manual I came across the following excerpt:
36 Food & Drink
36.7 Ming-Qing
Mangoes: fansuan 番蒜, mangguo 芒果 (Malay mangga?)
番蒜 is a ...
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1answer
56 views
What does 大通铺 mean?
I think it means communal bed, but some people are saying it means collective bed, which doesn't make any sense. Also, google translate believes it isn't a word, so is it not used anymore?
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99 views
usage of 'L' in colloquial cantonese utterances
I found this in what I suspect is a very colloquial Cantonese website:
點解觀塘咁L塞
What is this 'L'? I am sure I must have seen this before, but I do not understand in what context.
Thanks
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Why does 我是长头发 mean “I have long hair” and not “I am long hair”?
I was just chatting with a teacher here at LTL Mandarin, and she said:
我是长头发。
I have long hair. (Not: I am long hair.)
This is perplexing for me, since it's inconsistent with e.g.
我是人。
I am human. ...
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3answers
113 views
How does 周到 mean “thoughtful”?
I'm trying to learn the few remaining HSK5 words I haven't fully learned yet. This one I keep forgetting:
周到 (zhōudào / zhōudao)
CC-CEDICT: thoughtful / considerate / attentive / thorough
It ...
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2answers
49 views
How should I understand 延伸开来 within ……并且延伸开来，导致重大而长远的对抗?
The following opinion piece considers a hypothetical scenario in which the USA and China's coronavirus death numbers were reversed:
总之，假如中国今天在一场全球共同灾难中成为应对最差、损失最大的那一个，美国和西方对中国的意识形态攻击一定会是海啸级的，并且延伸开来，...
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5answers
1k views
What's the logic behind the word 从事?
Usually Chinese words are not made up of random characters, but instead have some kind of underlying logic. Moreover, understanding this logic makes it easier to remember and use the word. However, ...
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3answers
89 views
is the sentence 她做练习做的很多 correct?
I've been practicing on my mandarin Chinese grammar workbook about the use of the 得 particle.
One of the last sentences is "她做练习做的很多", but I'm a bit perplexed because if I were to use 的, I ...
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1answer
42 views
Does the word 透露 (“leak”) only refer to something undesirable?
透露 (tòulù)
CC-CEDICT: to leak out / to divulge / to reveal
I see 透露 a lot in newspapers, and I only ever recall seeing it refer to something bad, e.g. leaked information. Moreover, examples such as ...
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3answers
97 views
How should I understand XYZ姑娘?
I saw these two expressions in a book (with fairytales):
春天到了，春姑娘把大地披上了绿衣裳
花姑娘们都热情地欢迎它去家里作客 (in a fairytale about a bee)
I have a feeling it means "Miss Spring" and "Miss Flower"...
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4answers
586 views
开一个生日会 explanation as to why 开 is used here?
My book says that "to host a party" is written as...
开一个生日会
Example:
她想在家里开一个生日会。
The reason I am confused is because everywhere I look, 开 means to open. However, the book translates it as &...
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1answer
62 views
What does 谁教 mean?
围城
苏小姐面有得色道：“她跟方先生吃饭回来害肚子，这时候什么都吃不进。我只担心她别生了痢疾呢！” 那些全无心肝的男学生哈哈大笑，七嘴八舌道：“
谁教她背了我们跟小方两口儿吃饭？”
Does it mean who did teach you?
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1answer
85 views
Unknown painting of a lady
I bought a painting on a French flee-market and and I would very much like to know who the painter is. The text is translate by someone who is very good at translating Chinese text and seals, but she ...
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2answers
77 views
What does 叫 mean in 你家的门真难叫?
From my grade-3 语文 textbook, we find:
每天早晨，敲门的声音总把哥什提亚和娃丽吵醒。这是邮递员送报纸来了。有一次，邮递员对爸爸说：“同志，你家的门真难叫，最好挂一个信箱。”
My translation: Every early morning, a knocking sound noisily awakens Gostia and Wali. This ...
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2answers
59 views
What does 缀 mean in 浆果密密地缀在灌木丛中 (from “Fog Magic” 穿越魔雾)?
From the children's novel 穿越魔雾 ("Fog Magic", page 18), I don't understand the part in bold below:
”我刚刚应该是见到了西米恩老人，而且知道了他住在哪儿。这场大雾可真是有魔法呢。“她一边哼着小曲，一边穿过开阔的牧场。浆果密密地缀在灌木丛中，格丽塔停下脚步采了一会儿。...
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2answers
74 views
What is the meaning and origin of 高人一等?
So I have just started to learn some 成语 but I came across a 成语 that is 高人一等. I was just wondering what it means, and where it could have come from. From context clues, I think it has to do with tall ...
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1answer
193 views
Does anyone know what these letters mean?
I have seen these letters written in a particular way and I would like to know their meaning.
I don't know if they are in the correct position so I sent 2 possible positions.
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3answers
90 views
Is it possible to use 璟 for a boy's given name?
I am trying to choose a name for my boy and am wondering if i can use 璟 as his given name?
I have googled this but it seems not a lot of people have this name. Instead, most of them use this word 景
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2answers
93 views
The Etymology of the word 有的
Im having trouble wrapping my brain around why the characters "有的" are chose to represent the idea of "a smaller amount of a larger group" or more directly in english: the word &...
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2answers
56 views
What does 撒回 mean in 部分领导人撒回祝贺，一些领导人则保持沉默?
I was reading a newspaper article about the US election, and in the context of Trump's early claim of his election success, it describes the time Bush Jr's election was called early:
In particular I'...
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1answer
65 views
How to ask “Can you still speak Chinese?” in Chinese Mandarin?
I think I can say like this 你还能说中文吗 to ask whether someone still can speak Chinese or not. But I doubt about the word can.
It seems like the following words can all mean can:
可
能
会
Which word is the ...
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3answers
96 views
What does 多少 mean in 但是我也相对得到多少的感动?
This sentence is from oral Chinese, but I want to understand what 多少 means.
但是我也相对得到多少的感动。
Is 多少 an adverb here?
Also, is 感动 a noun?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noKbiu-4YiU
1:23
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4answers
122 views
“你睡他那层不就得了吗” what does it mean? “不就得了”
What does this sentence mean?
I understand all the characters, but cannot understand the sentence i saw in a tv series. 不就得了， how to translate this?
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1answer
45 views
How to translate correct these two sentences?
刚来一会儿。 «I came here just for a while». Or in a while?
他刚到十分钟。 he came just for 10 minutes or he will arrive just in ten minutes??
Please correct me,thanks!
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2answers
95 views
What does 大快人心 mean when used as a stand alone exclamation?
I have seen the phrase 大快人心 used in sentences to mean everyone is happy/pleased/satisfied with something but I recently came across it being used as a stand alone exclamation. Would that translate to ...
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1answer
92 views
Can someone translate these lyrics in English?
爱恨廉价 似苍苍蒹葭
苦艾后劲 皆贪共与他
望光亮 两世皆行走潇洒
破万枷 散馀霞 众相皆渡他
Ref 众相渡他·2020肖战生贺原创曲
I used Google Translate and a dictionary to find the meaning, but it doesn't make sense.
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357 views
How did lotus come to mean hold or carry?
Reading a little about 'dark matter': 暗物质是宇宙的重要组成部分，它是一种比电子和光子还要小的物质，不带电荷， ....
I read: 不带电荷：doesn't carry an electric lotus! (Maybe that's why it's dark!!)
电荷： electrical charge, literally probably: ...
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2answers
78 views
How do 用不起 / 用得起 and 吃不起 / 吃得起 mean (un)affordable?
Among potential complements are some ending with 得起. Some examples (from here and here) are:
这家餐厅太贵了，我们吃不起。
This restaurant is too expensive. We can't afford to eat here.
我们吃得起龙虾。
We can afford ...
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2answers
209 views
手臂 vs 胳膊 difference
I know that both words mean "arm", but is there any real difference between 手臂 and 胳膊? When I started to learn Mandarin at university, they taught me to use 手臂, but now I see that 胳膊 is the ...
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2answers
45 views
什么都没有 和 没有什么 difference
Good day everyone, pls help me to confirm that there are quite a difference between these two sentences like
我跟那件事一点关系也没有。
我跟那件事没有什么关系。
Which supposed to be translated as “I have nothing to do with ...
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3answers
95 views
在 in front of the nouns like tomorrow or exact dates and time
Do we need to put 在 before 明天 三点钟 星期五 in such sentences like 早在八月我们就开发了一个愿型，or 我是在1997年喜欢上汉语 or 我在八月到的上海?
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1answer
54 views
difference between 什么也 and 什么都
What is the difference between 什么也 and 什么都 ?
They are very similar. 1, for anything, 2, for all of the things。 1，什么也不喜欢 什么也没意思，2， 什么都要考虑 什么都有意思
BUT! But how do you use them? For example if I want to ...
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1answer
43 views
Meaning of 申诉、申足 in the sentences below
I have two sentences below that contain the aforementioned words：
诗歌后十句写相思之意，申诉现在之思念，措辞前显，寓意深厚。
”行行重行行“ 言行之不止，致有“想去万余里”“个在天一涯”。三、四句表现极其遥远之概念，以申足此意。
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2answers
47 views
Why does 政治核心盘 (lit. “political core plate”) seem to mean “political base”?
《纽约时报》的文章说，他们获得的相关财务文件和法律文件，提供了迄今为止特朗普商业帝国最详细的资料。特朗普凭借在电视真人秀节目《学徒》中的出色表现塑造了自己“亿万富翁”的形象，并从《学徒》中挣得4.27亿美元。这一形象帮助他入主白宫，并巩固了自己的政治核心盘。但是，现在公开的文件对他的财务状况提供了一幅扭曲的画面。例如，2018年特朗普披露自己“至少赚了4.349亿美元”，...
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2answers
110 views
What does oh jongyi lay mean
Need help finding what oh jongyi lay means.I don’t know what it is I searched it up and could find nothing on it.
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1answer
71 views
Please help explain: 精神小伙 & 葬爱家族
I think maybe the 精神小伙 seems like bad luck and the other 葬爱家族 is like emo?
Here are some videos for context on the internet slang:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMJJoZ4i1KI https://www.youtube....
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1answer
88 views
What 莲 means? does it has a “social” meaning, if it's used in everyday life?
I think that '莲' literally means "lotus" but I heard some people saying that it also has a bad meaning, if somebody calls you like that you should be offended. Can someone explain me why? ...
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6answers
77 views
How does this sentence 如果你要是查出是谁的话 mean exactly?
The full sentence is 如果你要是查出是谁的话, 一定告诉我. It means If you find out who it is, make sure to tell me.
I do know 如果, 如果...的话, 要是 and 你要是...的话 they all mean if.
I more would like to understand how Chinese ...
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3answers
78 views
What does the phrase “要衝一波囉” mean?
(Alternatively: 當然要衝一波囉)
It shows up a lot on the web but I can't find the meaning of it anywhere. Thanks!
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1answer
60 views
In 林业、农业、草原、海洋、资源、环境等行业, what industries does 草原 (“grassland”) and 海洋 (“ocean”) refer to, and why not use 农业 (“agriculture”) and 渔业 (“fishing”)?
“一箭九星”包含B站视频星
记者了解到，本次发射的“吉林一号”高分03-1组卫星由长光卫星有限公司自主研发，包括3颗高分03C视频星和6颗高分03B推扫星，视频星中包括将用于科普的哔哩哔哩视频卫星。该组卫星将与在轨的“吉林一号”卫星组网，为林业、农业、草原、海洋、资源、环境等行业用户提供更加丰富的遥感数据和产品服务。
海上飞天！一箭九星！我国首次海上商业化应用发射成功！，2020年09月15日
...
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3answers
72 views
What does 小时级发射 refer to in 该型火箭具有“一箭多星”发射能力、小时级发射等多项优点?
“快响利箭”海上飞天
长征十一号火箭是一枚四级固体运载火箭，全长约20.8米，最大箭体直径2米，总质量约58吨，主要用于发射近地轨道和太阳同步轨道有效载荷，该型火箭具有“一箭多星”发射能力、小时级发射等多项优点，被誉为我国长征系列运载火箭家族中的“快响利箭”。
海上飞天！一箭九星！我国首次海上商业化应用发射成功！，2020年09月15日
In the above I'm unsure what ...
