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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Is 想必一定 a wrong usage?
There are many example sentences (763,000). Such as 你这么成熟懂事,想必一定没人疼你.
Intuitively I think it's fluent.
But think carefully, 想必 means "presumably, most probably," is this wrong?
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Is "空时间" a valid phrase in chinese? If not, why not?
For example, "你有没有空时间呢"?
In my intuition, 空时间 is most likely a physics terminology (though it isn't).
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What is this proverb?
I met someone who told me a proverb which in English read as follows:
Wake up late and you lose the morning. Wake up early and you lose the
whole day.
She repeated it in Mandarin very quickly ...
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Is there a way to say "I respectfully thank you" to familiar elders?
From here.
Honorific Verbs
Like nouns and proper nouns, some Chinese verbs can also be complemented with an honorific modifier. For example, the verbs 告gào ("to tell"), 还huán ("to ...
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Which is better, 其他所有 or 所有其他？
其他所有 or 所有其他，which word order is more natural and ”合乎中文的习惯” ？
For example, as in 其他所有内容 or 所有其他内容， 其他所有人 or 所有其他人， etc.
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Is the phrase "因为爱所以爱" a tautology?
I heard a song named "因为爱所以爱"， literally it means "love because of love". Though logically true, is it not a tautology here? Do we really say phrases like the following ones in everyday Chinese?
...
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How to use the phrase "尝一尝"?
Recently I encountered the phrase "尝一尝" in a sentence. I need some advice on the way to use it and when to use it. And is 尝一尝 similar to 试一试?
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"That's so like you!" or "That's typical of you" in chinese
I'm having trouble formulating "That's so like you!" or "That's typical of you" in Chinese. I'm trying to write a dialogue where a friend responds to someone who lost their phone, by replying "That's ...
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Why is 狗屎运 a commendatory term?
When we use 狗屎 (dog's excrement) to describe a thing, it is definitely negative. Sometimes it can also appear as a bad word.
Also, 踩到狗屎 is obviously a bad thing.
But, 狗屎运 (good fortune) is used ...
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Is this a Chinese symbol? Cufflinks that belonged to my uncle
This pair of cufflinks belonged to my uncle who worked in California. I recently was given the cufflinks and to date have not been able to figure out what they represent. I have included a picture, ...
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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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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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Is there a Chinese variant of the expression "and the list goes on and on“
Is there a Chinese variant of the expression "and the list goes on and on" or something simillar to it?
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How to phrase "You know what they say? [quote]" in Chinese?
When giving some kind of saying or folklore knowledge, in English we often say e.g.:
You know what they say? Two heads are better than one.
I want to say something similar in Chinese:
You know ...
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Chinese quotes for tattoo
I am looking for Chinese quotes or phrases about love, yuanfen, destiny or something along those terms for a tattoo. It’s really hard to find sayings that are really used.
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What does 风轻发自然 mean here?
At the beginning of this video, there is an introduction to the story of the singer, Lin Zijun. Here it is:
客家新流行乐创作歌手
2007［天黑黑］获苗栗客家音乐歌唱比赛 第三名
2006［匍背］获台湾创音乐大赛 客语首奖
...
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Is this correct? 用实际行动来（回馈）父母的期待。
Is "用实际行动来（回馈）父母的期待" correct?
I think "回馈期待" is unnatural to me.
If it is wrong, would "回报" be correct?
What other words can be used here? Thank you!
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How should I understand "～长～短" phrase in English?
I learned the phrase of "～长～短", and it means "～怎么样，～怎么样", though I feel it is difficult to understand it in English.
For example, the following sentences are examples of using &...
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What is the meaning of 臭石头 (slang)?
I remember that my dad used this occasionally when he was arguing with my mom. Google translate just returns smelly rock, but I know it's gotta be some sort of slang, as whenever my dad said it, my ...
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What does this phrase mean? 有你真好。
After exchanging thank you and your welcome for doing something nice that I did for someone I received this phrase 有你真好。on WeChat. Google translate says “nice to have you” What does this mean? How ...
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Can you say "好久不看“ in written conversation?
大家好,
I know the expression "好久不见". In written conversation (chatting to Chinese people I have never met in person but am regularly chatting with), is it possible to use "好久不看" (~"long time no read")? ...
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戴绿帽子 as based on a pun?
Having come across the association of green hats with unfaithful spouses a few times, I tried to learn the original of this practice.
A few sources (e.g. here) mention that the origin of this phrase ...
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Asking someone's age
There are several expressions to ask someone's age. That which I am most familiar with is “他几岁？”. However, I am informed that this can only be used for children (I think the problem is the 几， which ...
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Is it ok to say “发达的教育”或者“先进的教育”？
可以说“发达的教育”或者“先进的教育吗？
比如：......的教育是民族兴旺的标记。
What word would be appropriate to use in the above sentence?
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Does A而B且C mean "A and B and C"?
In the following sentence:
Rossum创造的Python语言自1991年发布以来已演变为程序员强大而灵活且易于学习的“瑞士军刀”
The meaning of 而且 is generally "but also", and used as the compound. But in this case, they are separated and used in ...
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Bad word that will curse a family
Background
So my friend, who’s Chinese, cried a few weeks ago.
Apparently, a boy(let’s call him Bobby) in our class said a ‘bad word that will curse a family and their generation forever’. I asked ...
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hao de pengyou vs huai de pengyou
Could somebody please explain what the following statement means, if possible paraphrasing and adding examples?
"hao de pengyou" is grammatical when used contrasting hao to huai
in "huai de pengyou" ‘...
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Correct usage of 「您是指？」
When someone responds to something I've said with「您是指？」is it accurate to assume they're saying:
"What do you mean?" - As in they want me to explain/give more info on something I've just mentioned, ...
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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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Alternative expression for 二位小姐
In the text for lesson 20 in New Practical Chinese Reader, 林娜 and her friend 王小云 are waiting for 丁力波 (another student). They plan to take a taxi to somebody else's house, where they have been invited ...
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Is 你是哪个人 the correct way to ask where you are from in China?
I saw one of my friends used "你是哪个人" to ask where you are from in China. I thought it is the valid expression to date.
However, I just used it to a Chinese people and she didn't understand it. So I ...
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What is the meaning of the phrase 俫气更有仙气?
I recently read the following comment about a Chinese actress:
除了有林青霞的俫气更有仙气
From the whole sentence, I can guess that it's sort of compliment (the actress has charisma like Brigitte Lin). But I don'...
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Can 再说 be used in a written context?
Such as in an essay. Considering 再说 (moreover) won't be referring to something that was actually spoken (说).
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Is it OK to use the word 了 on 很 + adjective phrase, to emphasize?
The typical 很 + adjective phrase example is:
俄罗斯女人很漂亮。
In these sentences, is it OK to add 了 to the end of the sentence, to emphasize the adjective?
俄罗斯女人很漂亮了。
I understand that if you like to ...
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Does 以安倍的自民党为首的联盟 use the 以 ~ 为 pattern?
According to the following sentence:
日本一家电视台的民调显示，以安倍的自民党为首的联盟将保持三分之二的“绝对多数”，与安倍九月份解散议会下院之前的比例相当。
The bold sentence starts with 以, and it also has 为. So at first I assumed it is 以～为 pattern, which ...
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What does 这是 ～ 更是 mean?
Quoting another question here:
现在，中国网民总数已经超过美国人口总数，但美国网购人数占其全部人口的75%，中国则只有25%左右，而且，中国网购消费者年均消费额仅为美国消费者的1/5。于刚认为，这是差距， 更是中国电子商务的潜力。
In one of the comment there:
Also: 这是...更是... could be seen as ...
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What does the term '死人不偿命' mean?
From HiNative it's something like:
The food I give you is very sweet, if you died from the sweetness don't blame me...
But I still don't get what the phrase refer to
Is it something like 'you ...
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Meaning of 五 in A: 放肆！B: 你爹放五!
I'm reading a short story and I wondered what 五 means here but I guess it's 'slang'.
A: 放肆！
B retorted back: 你爹放五!
(Sorry for not putting any research result, can't find any, I only know that 五 is ...
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Basic sentence: "I have lost my... (camera/keys etc"
I wanted to write "I have lost my camera", and looked this up on google translate, which gave 我失去了我的相机.
Google translte also gives 丢失 as equivalent to 失去 and meaning 'to lose'. So I suppose one could ...
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What's the best way to phrase "没事是......做什么?" in english?
I found that that form of phrase is used quite often.
I thought it could be read as "What are you being .... for?".
But I'm still confused about the use of '没事' here and how to properly put it in ...
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"Do what you can": Is 做可做的 natural?
The title pretty much says it all. It makes sense to me, but Google gives "do it" when I plug the Chinese phrase into it. If 做可做的 sounds awkward or stilted, what would be a better way to express it?
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What response is expected to Chinese people's "Have you eaten?"?
"Have you eaten?" (你吃了/吃了吗/吃饭没有 etc) sounds like a Chinese equivalent of "how are you?". However, I don't know what is the correct way to respond to the question.
What do Chinese people expect me to ...
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我昨天去的图书馆: "The library I went to yesterday" or "I went to the library yesterday"?
Not long ago (a week at most), I bumped into this post by Qiong Woo on Quora. There, she says the two sentences 我昨天去图书馆的 and 我昨天去的图书馆 both mean "I went to the library yesterday", and, from the way she ...
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Where can I find a Chinese common phrase database? [closed]
I'm looking for a Chinese common phrase database for my project, where can I find something like this?
阿姨
菠菜
大法
风格
动物
森林
窗口
打开
回复
重播
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Could someone please help explain to me what '收尸' means?
Could someone please help explain to me what '收尸' means?
I'm learning what this '收尸' words mean, I've looked in ichiba, ichacha and mdbg and I still couldn't understand.
They all said that the ...
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What does the phrase 'holding in the palm of hands' in chinese mean?
I've read that phrase in a lot of stories and in a lot of different form; could you tell me the official form of that phrase (or maybe idiom) and its meaning?
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Use of 放 in 放学 to mean school?
I am trying to revive my knowledge of Chinese, having learned it some years ago. I was flicking through my old text book and came across the phrase "放学回家以后，。。。"
I remember reciting this (thinking ...
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Can anyone explain to me what "热闹的嬉笑怒骂外加弹唱小曲" means?
I'm really confused about what the idiom '嬉笑怒骂' in this sentence means.
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What does 一个赛一个不讲理的 mean? Does the 的 determine its meaning?
一个赛一个不讲理的
Does it mean 'one competition, one unreasonable' or 'one is more unreasonable than the one before'?
Does the word '的' important in sentence like this?
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