Questions tagged [phrase]
A phrase is a group of words that form a single unit in the syntax of a sentence.
235
questions
1
vote
3
answers
158
views
How to express this idea in a better way?
I'd like to say something like "...but my heart belongs to Hong Kong" as a possible response to "where do you live?" So the full context might be "I live in X but my heart belongs to Hong Kong". ...
- 2,294
3
votes
1
answer
455
views
What does 狗吃连帮 mean?
I heard people say this phrase once or twice, in derogatory tone. It sounds like 狗吃连帮 or 狗吃粮帮. Internet search gives no result, but it didn't sound like some local dialect to me.
I heard people say ...
- 139
5
votes
5
answers
1k
views
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?
- 394
3
votes
2
answers
299
views
Phrases with most popular characters?
I found a table of characters (about 3000) in which most popular characters go first.
Here are first 20:
我的 高的 是的 目的 的确 不 不是 人 在 有 他 这 中 大 来 上 国 自个 到 说 道 子 为 和
and I would like to ...
- 175
7
votes
3
answers
842
views
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♦
- 35.4k
10
votes
6
answers
1k
views
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 ...
- 8,487
2
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Chinese: Old Wives Tales
A long time ago I heard someone say:
"玩火会尿床"
Which I instantly recognized is very similar to some 'old wives tales' in English. In English there are things like:
from Wikipedia:
Cracking ...
Mou某♦
- 35.4k
3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Chinese Metaphor 八字沒見一撇
Simple Words
I recently came across this phrase:
八字沒見一撇
I understand each character but the meaning was still lost on me. So I asked someone about this and they informed me that it is somewhat ...
- 2,294
3
votes
1
answer
296
views
大风绝尘而去 in idiomatic English
"大风绝尘而去" In a weather report document, such as http://news.163.com/14/0528/18/9TBR0KOI00014Q4P.html, does this phrase mean that the gale is going to 'stay away and leave' ? or 'A large storm will ...
- 182
-1
votes
4
answers
376
views
Explanation of why 棋 is included in 琴棋书画?
I feel like this is a case of One of these things is not like the other.
The Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar are 琴、棋、书、画 ...
Therefore,
琴 : Musical instrument = great
书 : Calligraphy = ...
Mou某♦
- 35.4k
4
votes
1
answer
139
views
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♦
- 35.4k
3
votes
3
answers
290
views
What's the English expression that means 感叹词："坏了"
In Chinese there is a 感叹词："坏了", means something went unexpected wrong. Example:
坏了，下雨了
坏了，手机忘带了
坏了，迟到了
What are the common English expressions that can express that "astonishing strike"?
...
- 295
11
votes
3
answers
763
views
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" ...
- 295
4
votes
3
answers
218
views
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♦
- 35.4k
14
votes
6
answers
7k
views
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?
- 369
2
votes
2
answers
531
views
Are "好饱了" and "好包了" both correct?
"好饱了" and "好包了" both seem to be used to mean "I'm full".
I'm pretty sure that "好饱了" is definitely correct but they both get lots of Google hits and if I combine the search with the English "full" ...
- 3,981
1
vote
4
answers
423
views
Is "酷比" an actual used word in any Chinese-speaking location? (Including colloquial and slang)
I've been looking at some very cheap tablet computers made in China and one goes by the English brand name "Cube" or "Alldocube" or "cube51". Their Chinese brand name is "酷比魔方" (Kù bǐ mófāng).
I see ...
- 3,981
10
votes
5
answers
26k
views
"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 ...
- 3,981
2
votes
1
answer
387
views
Common (and good) ways to ask for hand in marriage
The popular song goes, "今天你要嫁给我好吗" but I feel something like "你愿意嫁给我吗" sounds more like a question, rather than just adding "好吗" at the end of a statement. Does anybody have any critiques or ...
- 1,779
3
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Is "我爱辣" (Wǒ ài là) a correct/understandable/idiomatic way of saying I like my food spicy?
When I'm buying food in China, especially in the street but sometimes also in restaurants, people often ask me if it want "là".
I know that means "spicy" and I really enjoy spicy food. As there's not ...
- 3,981
3
votes
3
answers
347
views
Is "可以来 (ke3 yi3 lai2) ..." an idomatic way to say "please bring me ..."?
The vocabulary flashcard website "Memrise" has in one of its Chinese menu learning modules as entry:
Word: 可以来...
Definition: please bring... (food or dish)
But one of the comments says:
I ...
- 3,981
10
votes
2
answers
693
views
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 ...
- 3,981
6
votes
1
answer
870
views
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 ...
- 14.9k
7
votes
2
answers
272
views
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 ...
- 14.9k
0
votes
1
answer
133
views
how to translate 大脑迅速转动起来? [closed]
When I first came across the phrase "head starts spinning", I thought it meant 大脑迅速转动起来 in Chinese, which means "you start processing a lot info in your head in order to figure out something quickly". ...
- 4,069
5
votes
1
answer
268
views
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 ...
- 3,435
4
votes
4
answers
1k
views
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 ...
- 6,735
9
votes
4
answers
638
views
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", ...
- 6,735
10
votes
3
answers
2k
views
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?
- 1,011
11
votes
5
answers
420
views
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 ...
- 10.2k
3
votes
3
answers
560
views
"母牛流产了“ － "The cow cast her calf"? HSK Anki flash cards
I'm reviewing the HSK1-limited-part1 flash card deck on Anki, and I keep coming accross this one flash card. On the front, it says
母牛流产了
and for the definition,
The cow cast her calf
What does ...
- 193
4
votes
4
answers
3k
views
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 ...
- 846
1
vote
0
answers
275
views
What does "吃你的豆腐" mean? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the exact meaning of 吃豆腐, and where does the expression come from?
Someone made a joke with this phrase during dinner.
What does "吃你的豆腐" mean other than the obvious ...
- 165
24
votes
5
answers
50k
views
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?
- 4,586
14
votes
14
answers
57k
views
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 ...
- 1,418