Questions tagged [phrase]
A phrase is a group of words that form a single unit in the syntax of a sentence.
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What is the origin of 找碴?
First a little about me and why I have this question. I'm a non-native speaker of the Chinese language. Although I can fluently speak Chinese, I sometimes don't get the slang/common verbal language ...
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How to say "return the favour" in the sense of getting back at someone?
I was watching a TV program where a bunch of adolescents said to each other, "I can't believe that they humiliated us! We need to do the same to them."
What would be the translation of "...
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The meaning of "奪耳" in 《說文解字》
When I looked up the meaning of the character "卅" (𠦃) in 《說文解字註》（段註本）, the text was as follows, as shown in the picture: "
Translate: 我在《说文解字注》（段注本）中查「卅」（古作「𠦃」）一字时，其解释如下如图：
𠦃，三十幷也。...
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Translating "and" when it connotes a combined meaning
How would "and" be translated into Chinese if the constituent nouns add up to a combined effect - like "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" or "life, liberty and the ...
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What is etymology for 俱往矣？
The phrase means “it’s all in the past” and it seems to originate from a book from Mao se dong ?
I’d like to know how is the phrase usually used , is it used in modern speech or only in poetry and ...
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Meaning of 道一声晚安， 许一弧月色
Does '道一声晚安，许一弧月色' mean goodnight?
Is it something like an idiom, where it comes from and is it used often?
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单纯 vs 成熟 in the context of female
So, I watched a dating show from mainland on YouTube. When a male guest was asked if he prefers 单纯 or 成熟 female. He replied with 成熟 and immediately got rejected by all female guests, except one.4
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How to translate "frame challenge"?
In this site, it is quite common to see the word "frame challenge" in answers of questions. How to translate "frame challenge"?
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Meaning of 有无夜间 in 留意树下有无夜间从枝头掉下的芒果?
This phrase occurs in 2nd paragraph of
东南亚民间故事。上，85页（福建人民出版社出版（福州得贵巷２７号）１９８２年５月第一版，１９８２年５月第一次印刷) under the title 蛇王子与三姐妹, the whole paragraph reads as follows:
每天，寡妇到集上去。她必须经过一棵芒果树，树上结满小而甜的芒果。...
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Happy Go Lucky - what was this in Chinese?
This sounds very much like certain well-known Pidgin English phrases of Chinese origin such as Look-See or No-Can-Do, but I'm struggling to think what it could have originally been in Chinese.
Is ...
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What is the meaning of 製年德宣明大,,please tell me?
製年德宣明大
I got this post from Gucci/Vas. Is this a sentence or a code? Does this article have any meaningful meaning?
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Are there other phrases like 钉钉子, 种种子, and 扇扇子?
The phrases
钉钉子 (dìng dīngzi) "to nail a nail"
种种子 (zhòng zhǒngzǐ) "to plant a seed"
扇扇子 (shān shànzi) "to fan a fan"
are curious in that there's a single-character ...
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Can "没完没了" be used as an Adjective/形容词？What are some adjective to express describe someone that is "没完没了" or someone what won't stop?
I am wondering if there is a adjective that is similar to 没完没了, to describe someone that is won't stop at something.
An example would be someone what offended you but still won't stop making jokes.
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我的奥克兰，我的家 - good or not?
I'm attempting to express the sentiment "My Auckland, My Home" in Chinese. This is meant to be a slogan suitable for merchandise, e.g. printing on a T-shirt or a coffee mug. I want to convey ...
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Two etymologies of "天上有地下无"?
The Chinese saying "天上有，地下无" means extremely extraordinary people, which can only be found in heaven (天上有) and not on earth (地下无).
Very interesting is the first one of these two etymologies ...
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Is this sentence correct 很多人需开始工作得帮家
I'm making a text for a test and I ended up with this sentence 很多人需开始工作得帮家. What I'm Trying to say is:
Many people need to start working to help their families
It's a complex phrase for my level and I'...
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The meaning of 鬓边不败牡丹
It's from this song:
https://www.kugeci.com/song/MNnjq2LY#txt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGP9sY9WsbY&t=95s
是意中人
鬓边不败牡丹
Something about lovers.
I wonder if it's a reference to some Chinese ...
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Exact Meaning of 左挑右选 and 前看后看
I'm reading 寓言故事 about the story of 郑人买履, and I found the phrase 左挑右选 and 前看后看, what does it means? Especially for the 前看后看, is it like before looking and after looking? It is kind of weird with the ...
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What is the origin of the following phrase?
A Chinese friend sent me a birthday card , on the card they wrote:
感谢你如此精彩耀眼，做我平淡岁月闪耀星辰
A quick Google and this phrase pops up where people are discussing the meaning , but I can't find an origin.
Is ...
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What's the meaning of 稿件投诉, I saw it on 哔哩哔哩 while streaming?
While I stream videos on 哔哩哔哩, I saw 稿件投诉. But when I searched on Pleco, 稿件 means contribution or manuscript, and 投诉 means appeal or complain. If we combine them both, what does it means? Contribution ...
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How to understand 之所以
I’m reading Randall Munroe’s “What If 2” in Mandarin. (It’s the author of the popular cartoon xkcd.com)
There’s a chapter about placing a house-sized Jupiter in the middle of a neighborhood.
The ...
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Why “to drink water” in Shanghainese is 吃茶?
While listening to two people speaking Shanghainese （沪语）I realized that they have two different ways to say “water”.
Based on the pronunciation I heard:
the first is /sɨ/ similar to 死 in Mandarin, ...
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Keeping up with the Joneses
What is the best Chinese proverb or translation that would best capture the meaning of the English idiom "Keeping up with the Joneses"?
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感同身受 English equivalent
As the question says, Im wondering if this 成語 has an English version.
The best I could come up with is "I feel you" in English, but I feel the Chinese version has a deeper meaning. Any ...
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Word order and such for saying complex phrases without verbs in Chinese?
I am starting to understand how to say basic noun phrases and such in Chinese, and have seen this article on Chinese word order, showing word order with verb being something like:
But how do you ...
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How to say complex adjective/noun phrase in Chinese
I am learning about de in Chinese a little, 的 (de) vs. 得 (de) vs. 地 (de).
Noun + 的 + Noun
Attribute + 的 + Noun
Verb + 得 + State
Adj + 地 + Verb
Adj + 地 + Adj
So combining all of these together, how ...
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How does Chinese handle the -ing and -ed in common names, like "Black-bellied whistling duck"?
After learning some more about how Chinese generally handles -ed and -ing from English, I am still confused as to how it deals with -ed and -ing (and even -er) in common names of things. Like these ...
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Which makes more sense when calling myself a fool / foolish?
A girl that I like frequently calls me 笨蛋. I want to confess my feelings to her and wasn't sure if saying 我知道我很笨蛋。 or 我知道我是笨蛋。makes more sense gramatically.
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Whats the difference between 客户反馈 vs 客户评论 vs 用户评论?
Trying to say "customer reviews" in Mandarin but don't know what the correct term is for online course student/user reviews. Please help!
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What do people in Hong Kong say when you are approaching a counter to buy something?
I've often found myself at the typical 7/11 waiting in line to ring out, and almost every time the cashier will say something right before I am to purchase. It sounds something like "lao wei"...
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How should I understand 我可活什么劲?
双腿瘫痪后，我的脾气变得暴怒无常。望着望着天上北归的雁阵，我会突然把面前的玻璃砸碎；听着听着李谷一甜美的歌声，我会猛地把手边的东西摔向四周的墙壁。母亲就悄悄地躲出去，在我看不见的地方偷偷地听着我的动静。当一切恢复沉寂，她又悄悄地进来，眼边红红的，看着我。“听说北海的花儿都开了，我推着你去走走。”她总是这么说。母亲喜欢花，可自从我的腿瘫痪后，她侍弄的那些花都死了。“不，我不去！”...
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meaning of the phrase 听你的 and purpose of 的
What does it mean to say 听你的 when someone tells you to do something. And what is the purpose of 的 in this structure?
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What does 折腾 mean in this context?
I've been trying to translate two sentences for days but cannot find a suitable English word to translate 折腾.
Here's the context:
以前有段时间，他很喜欢养花，开始折腾各种盆栽。
Because of this, I also cannot translate the ...
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Usage: ”没关系“ vs ”没问题”
What are the fundamental differences between ”没关系” and ”没问题“ in usage and meaning? I know they both could be translated as a colloquial “no problem”, but how do they differ in usage?
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What is the most polite way to say "I beg your pardon"?
Say you are talking to an emperor (or anyone with high social status), what is the most polite way to say "I beg your pardon" in Chinese?
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Chinese phrase meaning 钓到凯子了
I am still reading a Chinese book and found something I cannot translate. Possible you can help me. Thanks in advance. The phrase: "钓到凯子了".
P.S. thanks all helped me last time.
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How to say “All right” in Chinese using 好
The word 好！ in Chinese is used to say "All right" and "OK". But I often see some other suffixes with it. So far, I have noticed the following versions:
a) 好！
b) 好啊！
c) 好的！
d) 好吧！
e)...
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When do people say 祝你工作快乐?
What does 祝你工作快乐 mean in Chinese and when do people use this phrase?
I googled it, but I couldn't find out when it is used.
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How do I interpret 者 in 如是者有年，一日偶然…?
我自读书识字以来，就想为英雄豪杰，求之四书五经，茫无所得，求之诸子百家，与夫廿四史，仍无所得，以为古之为英雄豪杰者，必有不传之秘，不过吾人生性愚鲁，寻他不出罢了。穷索冥搜，忘寝废食，如是者有年，一日偶然想起三国时几个人物，不觉恍然大悟曰：得之矣，得之矣，古之为英雄豪杰者，不过面厚心黑而已。
李宗学，厚黑学全集，p.21. (photo)
I don't understand 如是者有年 ...
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Is it possible to topicalize quantifiers in Chinese?
So I know you can topicalize proper names, you could say something like 小明，我喜欢他。or something like 书，我买了。
I want to ask if you can do the same for quantifiers - 很少人，很多人，每个人，没有人 for example.
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What does 丑八怪 mean?
I have a gaming group in which this term "丑八怪" is being used a lot along with the 眼皮底下, anyway all the letters look similar.
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What literary device would we associate with the aforementioned Chinese old fashioned way of greeting? ( (Chī le ma) ? )
Credit Reference: http://blog.tutorming.com/mandarin-chinese-learning-tips/why-do-chinese-people-ask-have-you-eaten
"吃了吗 (Chī le ma)?" (also "吃饭了吗 (chī fàn le ma)"
Many ...
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Why don't Chinese people use 又紅又專 any more?
又紅又專 means being both socialist-minded and professionally competent and this phrase used to be popular in China. Since the People's Republic of China is still a socialist country, why don't people use ...
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该讲不该讲 vs. 当讲不当讲
有句话不知该讲不该讲。 In 古代 dramas they used it quite a bit. But I have also heard the 当讲不当讲 version. It has always been in a situation where a lower ranking personnel was addressing a higher.
Are there any ...
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Does this phrase 斩草除根 exist in dramas only?
So, I have been watching quite a bit of 古代 dramas。 I will say most if not all of them have the situation where this phrase comes up.
Does this phrase exist in the dramas only or did this actually ...
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How would I say "change the laundry"?
I use the phrase "change the laundry" to mean "move the laundry from the washing machine to the dryer." I would like to know how to say this in Chinese.
I checked Pleco, and found ...
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How to ask the other to speak shorter?
I talk with a voice assistant 小爱同学.
When I ask it: 今天是几号？
It answers: 今天是9月30号，周四，衣历辛丑年八月二十四。
It is difficult for me to understand this phrase.
I want a shorter answer: 今天是9月30号 or 30号 or 三十.
小爱同学 is ...
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Wo de ming zi SHI vs Wo de ming zi JIAO
I always thought that "wo de ming zi shi ..." is the only correct form but today I found (and also a quite a few hits on Google" "wo de ming zi jiao ...". Is the latter ...
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What are the characters for "qiu qiu", which means: "check this out"
Regulars of this community might recognize me as the guy who asks for random phrases that I remember from my childhood, and this is another one that I can't find on Google Translate
The phrase is &...
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Slogan 社会……方何 on a Maoist poster
What is the slogan, mostly obscured by the typist, on the poster that hangs behind him, on this poster from 1956?
Since the artist chose to obscure the poster, it must have been easily recognizable at ...
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