Questions tagged [meaning]
Questions concerned comprehension and understanding the finer aspects of individual words or phrases, with or without a context in which they are expressed.
974
questions
3
votes
1answer
31 views
Are there Escher sentences in Chinese? [kinda technical]
I'm a linguist with an extremely superficial knowledge of Chinese, so I'd like to query some native speakers about a grammatical phenomenon I've been thinking about for some time.
In Indoeuropean ...
1
vote
3answers
52 views
Does 慢一点 mean “be careful” even in a general context?
I've been told by a native speaker that 慢一点 is functionally the same as 小心一点, which in english is essentially "be careful". Can someone else confirm?
I find it a little odd and would consider this a ...
1
vote
1answer
42 views
What does “和尚撞了道士” mean?
In the song《掐死大象的蚂蚁》by Bridge and 二毛 there's a bar by twenty-cents(?) that goes:
咋个回事咋个回事
十点半还不晓得回家
问起咋子问起咋子
也不晓得打个电话
有事有事安啥子事嘛啥子事嘛
和尚撞了道士上房揭瓦你要造次
The part that is tripping me up is: ...
0
votes
2answers
69 views
Why does 兴奋 (excitement) not mean what I think it means?
I wrote this:
我觉得小夏后悔过去的比赛，小夏回忆没进球也也许让一个好机会错过。所以小夏在房间里老坐着。马克想帮助小夏带他去足球比赛再体验足球的兴奋，让小夏高兴点儿。
My teacher made the following corrections (my question relates to the 5-th item below):
she deleted the ...
0
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1answer
53 views
0
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3answers
65 views
Does 听说你去丽江玩儿了 imply they are still in 丽江?
From 标准教程HSK4上 (page 88):
A:听说你去丽江玩儿了？那儿怎么样？
B:那里特别美，空气也很新鲜。
If I'm not mistaken, the 了 is the change-of-state 了. But this gives two possibilities:
The change of state is B going from B's ...
0
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3answers
68 views
Why is Little Lin's nose bleeding? 还不习惯北方的气候，估计是天气太干。
This snippet is from 标准教程HSK4上 chapter 7 (my translation):
小李：你的鼻子怎么流血了？快用纸擦擦。
Little Li: Your nose is [how] bleeding? Quickly get a tissue and wipe [it].
小林：我还不习惯北方的气候，估计是天气太干。今天天气不是很冷，...
0
votes
3answers
53 views
Does 刚开始工作的时候… mean “when starting work” (each day) or “when entering the workforce”?
This is from HSK4上 (page 49):
刚开始工作的时候，什么最重要？
What is most important when I first started working? (Google Translate)
I'm confused here: I can't tell whether this means:
"when starting work"...
0
votes
3answers
65 views
What does this mean 什么时候我也会看到你们受这份罪的，你们两个?
I don't understand this sentence:
什么时候我也会看到你们受这份罪的，你们两个。
I'll be seeing you some time, you two.
(玛帝尔达 (Matilda), page 127; English version pdf page 111)
It doesn't seem too well matched ...
0
votes
1answer
55 views
Usage of the word 用
So I was watching a show and they say,
你不用留爸爸
And I got confused as to why they used 用 in it.
Is it the same when you don't use 用 in that sentence? Like,
你不留爸爸
2
votes
2answers
77 views
What's the meaning of “刀不长眼”? Is it proverb or something like that?
I was watching the movie "fearless (2006)" starring Jet Li and the character said to his friend "After all these years of friend ship, you still don't know me?" and then he goes with this phrase : "...
1
vote
2answers
68 views
What is the exact meaning of '能虐到我的只有没钱'?
I found this meme (?) on a group, and I'm not sure what is the exact meaning of this. Can someone help me ?
3
votes
1answer
78 views
What does 中 (zhōng) mean in 我哥哥是我认识的人中最沉着的一个?
我哥哥是我认识的人中最沉着的一个. I can understand the phrase but I don't see the meaning of 中 in the example. I have consulted in several places without success. Thanks
0
votes
2answers
51 views
What is the difference between 全部作品 and 完本?
I began learning Mandarin so that I could read Chinese fantasy novels (I've read several translated ones already). I'm a little confused because on Qidian's website I see several tabs at the top, one ...
1
vote
3answers
58 views
The difference and usage of 刚才 and 刚刚
What is the difference between 刚才 and 刚刚?
For example, 我刚才起床 and 我刚刚起床? Don't the both accomplish the same thing? 刚刚 means now and 刚才 means just now, right? Or does 刚刚 just less formal than 刚才?
1
vote
2answers
67 views
The usage of 该 in sentences
I still do not get how to use 该 in a sentence. For example,
就该吃饭了, you can just say 就吃饭了, can't you?
How do you use 该 properly in a sentence because I don't get its purpose.
4
votes
2answers
160 views
到 vs 至, what is the key difference?
As if them sharing a common appearance isn't enough, yabla shows that they can for the most part be used interchangeably. Since they mean nearly the same exact thing with a few caveats, what is the ...
0
votes
2answers
76 views
What is the meaning of “吃这一声”?
For context the entire sentence is, "吃这一声，周昂忽然一下子睁开了眼睛。" Is it supposed to be something allong the lines of, "[the sound of] eating, this single sound"? This sentence isn't making much sense to me.
1
vote
1answer
78 views
Is it ever ambiguous if 几 means “how many?” or “a few”?
I'm confused about hao to know if 几 is asking a question (how many) or making a statement (a few). If I heard the following sentence (not read), is there a way to hear the difference?
从上海到东京坐飞机要几个小时
0
votes
5answers
115 views
What does 足有 mean?
I found this in Matilda (p.13):
这本书的这一版本足有四百一十一页。
that edition contained four hundred and eleven pages. [original English (ref.)]
the book's [这本书的] edition [这一版本] has (?) [足有] 411 pages [...
1
vote
0answers
59 views
Translating seal stamp
I have recently been given some artwork and was looking for some help in translating the seal found on the art
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
1
vote
3answers
99 views
Difference between 的 and 个
Does it make sense to say 我个心? I suppose its meant to be 我的心. I still cannot distinguish when to use it. Maybe it to do with the fact that I am a Cantonese speaker?
3
votes
3answers
125 views
What is the meaning of 后 in ~分钟后?
What is the meaning of 后?
For example,
我二十分钟后应该就到了。
I believe 后 means behind? I still don't get how 后 should be placed in the sentence. I thought it made more sense when it was,
我二十分钟应该就到。
How ...
0
votes
1answer
42 views
Lost Postcard Shop
I travelled to Shanghai a long time ago and recently got to come back for CPhI. I returned to Tianzifang, where I bought these beautiful poscards, and though I can speak and read some Chinese, I ...
2
votes
1answer
142 views
Where did 𨷶 originate from?
I was looking up the Vietnamese word cửa hàng. Hàng Seems fairly straight forward as it used to be written with the Chinese character 行 and pronunciation is quite similar also. Cửa is not as simple; ...
3
votes
2answers
90 views
What is the concept behind 人不坏，没后代?
I've come across a few variations of the phrase:
人不坏，没后代
including:
猪不坏，没猪卖，人不坏，没后代！
男不坏女不爱，人不坏没后代
人不坏没后代鸡不坏没蛋卖
Perhaps it is the act of copulating itself that is considered bad? I'm not totally ...
0
votes
2answers
53 views
Words for acronym, initialism and abbreviation
Looking up these three words it's not clear which is which and often 缩写 seems to be used in most cases I've come across, which doesn't seem to be correct.
Can someone confirm what are the ...
0
votes
3answers
147 views
What does “起” mean in “饮食起居”
饮食起居: 饮(drink), 食(food), 起(?), 居(house).
What does "起" mean?
百度百科:
饮食起居，拼音是yǐn shí qǐ jū，出自《祭杜祁公文》，解释为指人的日常生活。
8
votes
11answers
2k views
What is the difference between 王 and 皇?
If I understand correctly, 王 means "king", "monarch" or "sovereign." I also see that 皇 means "emperor", "sovereign" or "ruler."
So is 皇 higher than 王?
Also, in the case of female monarchs (...
1
vote
3answers
135 views
How does do (做) mean become (成)?
In the sentence ‘I want to be[come] a policeman’, why is the verb for ‘become’, ‘do’?
我想做一个警察。
Wǒ xiǎng zuò yīgè jǐngchá.
I have seen one of the dictionary definitions of 做 to mean become, ...
4
votes
1answer
107 views
Why is there a village called “Cat Cat Bamboo” (猫猫箐)?
I was scrolling through the map when I stumbled across a village called:
猫猫箐
Baidu Baike has an entry on the place but it doesn't talk about where they got their name from. It seems quite ...
1
vote
3answers
94 views
What exactly does 拆开 mean and is it commonly used?
I've been trying to figure out how exactly to use 拆开 and what it means since I saw it in a song: Mine, Mine by 周杰伦.
In the song, the translation i got was disassembling which i would think to be like ...
3
votes
1answer
52 views
What denomination does 穆斯满教依祥派 refer to?
I found a Rénmín Rìbào article from May 14th 1950, called 《南疆妇女开始揭下面纱》, which requires login to read. It describes some abusive imam:
喀什城内的大地主、穆斯满教依祥派阿訇苏皮禾加，利用他的特权和巫术，压迫和欺骗人民，尤其是百般地蹂躏妇女
From the ...
3
votes
2answers
201 views
Cannot recognise a chinese chracter handwriting
Can anyone else tell me what the last character is please?
0
votes
3answers
58 views
遮 versus 捂 versus 盖 in terms of usage
Let's say I want to cover my ears. Is it 捂住耳朵, 遮住耳朵 or 盖住耳朵? And then if I want to say cover up a situation, is it 遮住事情 or 遮盖事情?
2
votes
8answers
284 views
Meaning of repeated “什么”
I'm genuinely confused about this. Does repeated "什么" have special meaning? Or are they just wordplay?
I've read something like this "那什么什么" but I can't comprehend it at all. I tried looking for ...
3
votes
1answer
78 views
Artist Seal Meaning
I am trying to identify these artist seal meaning, if anyone can help it would be much appreciated.I have tried researching this myself but to no avail
0
votes
2answers
47 views
敢于 vs 勇于 difference in usage
may I ask if 敢于 and 勇于 are interchangeable words? In English, both of them mean dare to, have the courage to do something. I looked up some sentences involving both words and it seems to be used in a ...
2
votes
5answers
165 views
What does 暴走 mean?
What does 暴走 mean? I tried searching and it said something about running away.
This is the full sentence:
这就是让卡罗琳听到，估计也会暴走。
2
votes
2answers
126 views
孤单 vs 孤独 vs 寂寞 usage
so far I went through a few forums to look at existing questions on 孤单 vs. 孤独 vs. 寂寞 usage. The answers from each person have a bit of difference so I would like to check if what I understood so far ...
1
vote
1answer
29 views
How does 遥望却间隔 translate to "Look at the distance?
A lyric from this song:
https://mojim.com/cny111282x11x2.htm
https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=translate&sl=auto&tl=en&text=%E9%81%A5%E6%9C%9B%E5%8D%B4%E9%97%B4%E9%9A%94
遥望 ...
3
votes
3answers
144 views
无聊 vs 闷 differences in usage
I have been trying to figure out if 无聊 and 闷 have some difference in terms of usages. So I have thought of some scenarios below.
"Decribing an activity". If I want to say this activity is very ...
2
votes
2answers
116 views
“Please hold the handrail during the whole journey” in Chinese/Cantonese? (As heard in Hong Kong airport trains)
I have rode this automated people mover inside Hong Kong airport and the voice always says "Please hold the handrail during the whole journey" everytime when the train starts to move and after ...
1
vote
1answer
80 views
Can 宁和 be used as a real name
I'm creating a half Japanese half Chinese character and I'm trying to figure out whether or not 宁和 can be used as a name. I'm also wondering if it means to aspire to peace and is read a "ninghe".
1
vote
1answer
74 views
Is 来自 a 口语 or 书面语?
Is 来自 used in daily conversations? For example, if I want to say "I come from Malaysia." Should the sentence be 我来自马来西亚。or 我是从马来西亚来的。?
2
votes
3answers
139 views
Does “免费” mean “free” in terms of price?
Does "免费" mean "free" when we are talking about price? Or is it like "freedom"?
1
vote
2answers
133 views
What is the difference between 怕，害怕 and 恐怕
Is 害怕 only used in the literal sense of "be afraid of, be scared", meaning "to be afraid of snakes", etc. and 恐怕, on the other Hand, for abstract worries? and can 怕 be used in both senses?
1
vote
3answers
371 views
What do Chinese write on a condolence card?
I was wondering what Chinese people would write when they write a condolence card. Is it just a translation from the English or are there specific sentences?
0
votes
3answers
98 views
忍耐 vs 忍受 usage/difference
Based on the dictionary, 忍耐 = endure, bear with, restraint oneself while 忍受 = bear, endure. But when I look at sample sentences, the usage of both words sort of overlap each other. So how do I use ...
1
vote
2answers
54 views
之后 vs 过后 usage & differences
Based on the dictionary, 之后 = after, afterwards while 过后 = afterwards, after. I wanted to find the difference in usage between those two words, so I analysed some sample sentences. I feel like 过后 is ...
