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 exact meaning of 吃豆腐, and where does the expression come from?
I'm not talking about eating tofu, but the expression that means something more like taking advantage of someone. What exactly does 吃豆腐 mean, and where does this expression come from?
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Does 危机 really mean both crisis and opportunity?
A lot of people, mostly those who haven't studied Chinese, like to claim something along the lines of
"In Chinese, the word for crisis 危机, also bears the meaning of opportunity."
This is usually ...
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What's the difference between 对不起, 对不住 and 不好意思
When I was in China, I heard people using 不好意思 to apologize casually.
I also heard the expression 对不住 in TV series and movies. Is there any differences?
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How to translate "很不起眼儿" in English
What's the best (传神) translation of "很不起眼儿" in English?
例句：
不认识他的人觉得他很不起眼儿，认识他的人觉得他很优秀。
辨析：
A more formal term that related to "很不起眼儿" is "其貌不扬", but
"其貌不扬" will normally be "很不起眼儿", yet "很不起眼儿" ...
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Is it 一些东西 or 一点东西?
I know that 东西 translates to "something" in English.
So I would like to know,
can both 一些东西 and 一点东西 be used? If so, what are their differences in meaning?
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What are some ways that I can be self-deprecating about my Chinese speaking ability?
I live in an area where there are many Chinese so I get plenty of opportunity to use my language skills including shopping, eating at restaurants and meeting new people.
The Chinese people I meet are ...
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爱老虎油 - is it slang?
Seen this phrase written by a Chinese person:
爱老虎油
[ài lǎohǔ yóu]
What does it mean? Failed to find it in dictionaries.
Is it some slang or 白话?
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犬子: who's the dog?
犬子 (literally, dog + son) is an archaic, self-depreciatory term to refer to your son (occasionally it's used to insult other people's sons).
This answer raises a question though; who is the dog ...
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"不客气" (bù kèqì) vs "谢谢你" (xièxiè nǐ)
At home in Australia my neighbouring shop owners are from Shanghai and taught me some Chinese.
From them I learned two ways of responding to "谢谢" (xièxiè):
"不客气" (bù kèqì)
"谢谢你" (xièxiè nǐ)
So I ...
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Are there some greetings or phrases particular to the Hui people?
I'm in Yunnan and have noticed lots of Chinese muslims and ate at one of their restaurants today. I was aware of Turkic-speaking muslim ethnic minorities in the far west of China but now I know those ...
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The meaning of 感到鸭力
I am trying to understand, what is the true meaning of 感到鸭力 translated to English as to feel the duck power
As I noticed, it is often used in memes along with images expressing that feeling. But only ...
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How to understand "你怎么了？"
I understand 怎么 generally means "how".
However, I came across the following translated example:
你怎么了？ 说话声音这么小!
Nǐ zěnme le ？ Shuōhuà shēnɡyīn zhème xiǎo!
What happened to you? You are ...
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Does Chinese have a phrase equivalent to "For all I know"?
There is an expression in English:
"For all I know, ...."
The following clause often has a modal expressing uncertainty or the hypothetical nature of the assertion, like "might", ...
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What is the verbatim translation for "都什么时候了" ?
"什么时候" means verbatim "what time"
But, when i add 都 (adverb meaning "all") and 了(particle indicating either change of state or completion), i can not grasp what meaning is conveyed by this phrase.
...
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What is the "Chinese Dream?" (中国梦)
Sorry if this is getting too non-language specific, but I think it still has language merits that fit the sites requirements.
中国梦 we really don't need a translation as it's clearly just a play on 美国梦 ...
Mou某♦
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The question is about 问讯
(I am learning Buddhism/dharma in Chinese.)
为什么合掌鞠躬叫"问讯"？
或是说：
为什么现在的"问讯"不是用讲的？
"问"和"讯"都是动词吗？还是动词+名词？
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Regional variations of "柴米油盐酱醋茶"
When I was very small, my grandparents mentioned there are regional variations of the phrase 柴米油盐酱醋茶 which is widely known to the local population (instead of made up by nobody and only used by a ...
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What is the purpose of 是 in "我应该是感冒了"?
I came across the following translated example:
我应该是感冒了，耳朵也有点儿疼，不过没发烧。
Wǒ yīnɡɡāi shì ɡǎnmào le，ěrduo yě yǒudiǎnr ténɡ，búɡuò méi fāshāo 。
I think I caught a cold, and my ears are a little painful, ...
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In this sentence "请问，哪里可以买到票？" is the character 到 necessary?
And can I just say: "哪里买票？"? This is what I used when I was in China and everyone seemed to easily understand. Is this shorter sentence incorrect or non-native sounding? How do native speakers ask ...
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Usage of the phrase '不错用' in Taiwan Mandarin
I heard my Taiwanese friends use the Mandarin phrase 不错用 more than once, but didn't have a chance to ask them:
Is it widely used in Taiwan, or is it used by a certain circle/type of person?
What's ...
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What is the Correct Sense of 隔空喊话 in English?
Baidu defines it literally as "not directly engaging with [someone/thing] when talking, rather talking with no person in mind." I'm curious whether it can be close to how we say in English, "[two ...
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Can I use 我的上一辈子 when talking about an earlier part of my life which I almost don't recognize as mine anymore?
Context: I posted a photo on WeChat of an event that happened a long long time ago to me. I was living a completely different life back then. Different country, job, I was much younger etc. It's ...
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The meaning of 废柴码农
Someone called me a 废柴码农 after I made a silly mistake. I suppose it must be something negative but what does it actually means?
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Can an adverb modify another adverb in Chinese?
I was wondering if an adverb in Chinese can be used to modify another adverb. I looked some resources but I could not find it. For example, in Adverb in resources.allsetlearning, they just say "...
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What is the subject of 其他的都很满意?
I found the following translated example:
除了没有电梯，其他的都很满意。
Chúle méiyǒu diàntī, qítā de dōu hěn mǎnyì.
I am satisfied with everything except for there is no elevator.
I have a question about the ...
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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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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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Explain the phrase "都不嫌多"
Could you please explain how to make sense of "都不嫌多". How is the meaning composed from the characters. I cannot make the connection between the literal translation of "all not suspicion many" and ...
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What does "蕊屁" mean?
At https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyNNvgW1dSg&lc=z13jt1khfxr4zzw0k225sjfzzyn1hhebs04, someone wrote:
看完電影後整晚都在蕊屁OST
Another person wrote in reply:
+1 瘋狂蕊批
What does "蕊屁" mean?
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给我站住: Idiom or common meaning
给我站住
I assume this means something like "wait for me!". But I still have a couple of questions.
Google translate gives the meaning "Nothing to say" which implies that 给我站住 may be an idiom.
If 给我站住 ...
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What is the meaning of [你说什么是什么]?
A Chinese friend sent me this sentence with a smiley emoji.
I feel like it means ''Whatever you say.'' or ''Sure'', sort of agreeing with someone in jest.
But I could be completely wrong.
What does it ...
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What is 了 doing in 这个表快了+time？
I am confused about the 了 in the sentence:
这个表快了五分钟。
Zhèɡe biǎo kuàile wǔ fēnzhōnɡ.
This watch is running five minutes faster.
Clearly there is no change of state. Is it for completion? I don't ...
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Correct/natural way to say "在我的咖啡可以加糖吗？"
I'm wodering about the correct, or natural, way to say "could you please add some sugar to my coffee?"
My unnatural-sounding way would be 在我的咖啡可以加糖吗, but I feel like a Chinese speaker is unlikely to ...
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What are the normal forms of valediction (signing off letters and emails) in Chinese?
For example, how do they normally sign off letters? We normally use 'Yours Faithfully' or 'Your Sincerely' but we might not be so formal in emails and instead just 'Regards'.
What is standard ...
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What does 算不上 mean in 算不上太美好的日子?
This is from the book 我是马拉拉 (the Chinese version of I am Malala).
I transcribe it to:
2012年10月9日，星期二那天发生的事情，改变了一切。那天原本要大考，对学生们来说算不上太美好的日子。但和大多数同学不一样，我号称“小书虫”，感觉考试并不是什么大事。
I translate this to:
...
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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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What does "三魂去了两魂半" mean?
It's used to describe an expression so I guess it's close to being shocked or frightened from the context it's used in but I don't really understand why it means that.
So a detailed explanation will ...
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Expressing "Fair enough"
The English expression "fair enough" can be used to concede a point in an argument, or acknowledge the other person's position, without expressing complete agreement. To take an example from ...
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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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How to translate “路人缘” or “观众缘” in English
In this context,
缘 = potential relationships, connection
路人 = average Joe, random person, total stranger
观众 = audience, viewer
路人缘 （路人緣）and 观众缘 (觀眾緣) pretty much means the same thing.
They are used ...
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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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洗尘: why is a welcome banquet "washing dust"?
洗尘 refers to the traditional Chinese custom of holding a banquet to welcome visitors from afar. However, the literal translation is "to wash dust", which has nothing to do with eating, and I'm also ...
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Explanation for the meaning of 八竿子打不着?
The modern colloquial phrase "八竿子打不着" is used as an adjective to describe "very distant, unrelated". Example:
这是八竿子打不着的事情，怎么能联系上呢？
It literally means "couldn't hit with even eight poles". I can ...
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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"...
user31212
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How to say "That looks delicious"
In company, or at someone's house, how might I say "That dish looks delicious?" or "That looks good"?
My inclination is to say 那看起来好吃, or maybe 那看地好吃, but both seem like too much of a direct ...
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荷兰猪、天竺鼠、豚鼠 ——What's the deal?
So these terms for Guinea Pig all seem to be fairly common and in use, at least as far as I know, but the question(s) are:
where do the different terms come from?
is there any actual difference ...
Mou某♦
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Any Phrases About Trees Growing From Peoples Graves?
I'm looking for any phrases (成语/俗语/谚语, 等) that talk about the meaning of tress growing out of graves/tombs/resting places (of the dead).
Apparently having a tree growing out of someones grave is ...
Mou某♦
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Origin: of the phrase 不让[能]踩门槛
Looking for something authoritative.
What is the origin of the 不让[能]踩门槛 phrase?
Earliest usage?
Mou某♦
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What is the meaning of "拜了个拜"？
I heard this phrase from some Chinese-speaking stranger. I assume it's related to farewell since the stranger was waving hand to someone else, but what does it mean exactly? Is there a certain context ...
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The meaning of 打卡
The primary meaning of 打卡 is to swipe a card, clock in, punch a card, etc.
But I see it used in another context which I can't quite put my finger on and when I ask Chinese people about it they don't ...
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