Questions tagged [usage]
Questions about the use of expressions, parts of speech, words, verbs, etc.
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这段课文写对了没有? 请你们检查一下。谢谢
Please help me to check if my text for the video is correct. 大家好! 我是_, 我来自俄罗斯, 今年20岁。 目前还是一个_大学外国语学院的学生。 我是一个渴望知识的人, 学得很认真和努力。 我家不太富裕, 我从中学工作和帮助解决金钱问题。 从那时起，我试图了解金融和经济学是如何运作的, 觉得很有意思。 在我上学期间, ...
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What does 兮兮 mean?
According to the dictionary, 兮兮 means:
词的后缀。用在某些词后，表示一种情态。
脏兮兮 | 可怜兮兮 | 神经兮兮
I'm not sure what this has over just using the word (how can 情态 express adjectives to express a state, not people?). Does ...
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Can 同学 really be used as a separable verb?
Online, you can find this example of 同学 being used as a separable verb:
我和他同过三年学。
He and I were classmates for three years.
I'm skeptical this is correct. (Sometimes databases have errors, and ...
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How to say wow in chinese and stretch it out? Woooaaaaah
How do you say "waaa~" in chinese? Woooaaaaaa~
To express being dazed by awe. I know 哇 exists but I'm not sure how to exaggerate it.
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Why is there a 零 in 三年零九个月?
……大王，您所期待的长恒纪元就到来了，这个恒纪元将持续三年零九个月，其间气候温暖，是一个黄金纪元。
刘慈欣，《三体》
This is from the novel The Three Body Problem. I'm a little bit puzzled as to why there is a 零 added in 三年零九个月 = "three years and nine ...
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Can kan4 be used to mean "to look after"? Or must it be first tone?
看 is a 多音字. With fourth tone it has many different and very common meanings. With first tone it is defined as "to look after", "to take care of", "to watch", and "to ...
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What is the function of 得 in 我聽日仲有得面試添 in Cantonese?
I would like to ask about the function of 得 in this sentence:
我聽日仲有得面試添。
I understood the sentence as: "Tomorrow I still have an interview (additionally, on top of something else that might not ...
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Usage and grammar points involving 嚟講
I would like to request for some insights on the usage of the phrase “… 嚟講”.
I have heard this being used in so many ways, one being “對我嚟講” as speaking for myself.
What could be other possible uses ...
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What is the semantic history of 会？
According to BCLCU's Chinese Grammar for Foreigners, auxiliary verbs cannot be followed directly by nouns. This makes sense with most auxiliary verbs, but there is one glaring exception: 会 when ...
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Is it acceptable to teach 看书 as a generic verb "To read"?
Of course there is 阅读, which specifically means "to read" and satisfies the prosodic preference for disyllabic words. However, if someone asked me what my brother was doing in the back of ...
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Difference between 一下(儿) and 一下子
The Commercial Press' 现代汉语词典 and many places on the internet say that 一下 and 一下子 are the same thing/meaning. But that's false, since the biggest use of 一下 is as a measure word and 一下子 is an adverb. ...
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What, if any, are the different usage cases for 就像 vs. 正如
I have always used 就像 when trying to say "just like" but recently came across 正如 while studying the various ways to use 如. According to the dictionary definition and some of the examples, it ...
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Can 呻吟 ("moan") be used to describe sounds resulting from pleasure?
CC-CEDICT: 呻吟 (shēnyín) to moan / to groan
In English the word "moan" can be used in both painful and pleasurable situations. In Chinese, I've seen examples of 呻吟 being used in painful ...
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Can you use 或者 to express alternatives between more options than two?
In all the examples I have come across, 或者 is always used to express the conjunction or between two options in statements.
My question is if you can still use it between three or more options. That is,...
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Can 陷害 ("to frame") be used to express e.g. "framed for murder"?
CC-CEDICT: 陷害 (xiànhài) to entrap / to set up / to frame (up) / to make false charges against
The example sentences I see are like:
被告说他被人陷害了。
The accused man said that he had been framed.
他被仇人陷害。
...
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What is the function of “而” and “使” in this sentence?
all.
I'm reading through a textbook and came across this sentence:
“那些得益于畜牧农耕而使人类实现了定居的地方，大都成为人类文明的摇篮。”
Overall, the sentence doesn't really give me much trouble except for that “而使” in the first ...
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Exact meaning of 都 in 刚刚你的担忧，我都听见了?
In 李芳，实不相瞒，刚刚你的担忧，我都听见了。
What is the real meaning of 都？
Cause i think it can have the 都...了 pattern wich means "already" so the sentence can be translated as ：李芳 ,to be honest i already ...
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Can I call my game 三棋 Sān Qí?
I have created a board game based on the epic 'Three Kingdoms' by Luo Guanzhong. I can't call it 'Three Kingdoms' because there are too many games called that. I want to call it Sān Qí 三棋 because it ...
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Difference between 還沒 & 還不
For example, when you're talking to someone and asking them why they're still awake when it's really late.
你怎麼還沒睡覺?
你怎麼還不睡覺?
I know both convey some meaning of asking the other person why they aren't ...
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When is it okay to say 在……的时候 instead of 当……的时候？
I always see 在……时/的时候，but whenever I try to use this phrase, natives tell me to say 当……时/的时候 instead. Examples of 在……时/的时候 from natives：
如果我在讲话的时候用到这些词的话……
在阅读某些文章的时候……
我觉得在我给你发了修改的文章时说会更好一点。
在上班时……
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Please help me change these sentences using 不止
I'm not sure what I changed are correct or not.
我看陳太太那麼老，恐怕不會只有70歲吧?
-> 我看陳太太那麼老，恐怕不止70歲吧？
愛闖紅燈的，並不是只有騎摩托車的，開車的也一樣。
-> 愛闖紅燈的，不止是騎摩托車的，開車的也一樣。
王小姐家不但她能幹，她兩個姐姐也是女強人。
-> 王小姐家不止她能幹，...
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Why is 上下 used in 这套房子是上下两层的?
I am confused by the use of 上下 in the sentence:
这套房子是上下两层的，楼下是客厅，楼上有三个房间。
This house has two floors, the living room is downstairs, and there are three rooms upstairs.
I understand 上下 as up and down,...
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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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using 值得 in a phrase
I have seen the usage of 值得 (deserving) in the following way (Cantonese, colloquial)
值得一來
值得買
I wanted to ask why there is a '一' in the first phrase, and not 值得一買?
What other alternatives are there to ...
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How would you translate "for just a moment" in Chinese?
I am wondering if there's a more accurate way to say "for just a moment", or "if not for just a moment" in Chinese?
I am not certain because the translations I found sounds ...
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The usage of 於 in this title
May I ask what function does the word 於 have in this title: 台北兩日兩夜「帶於媽遊台北」.
I get the general idea of this title: Two Days and Two Nights in Taipei // Bringing my mum to travel around Taipei.
Please ...
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The use of the particle de
How to answer this question 这是你弟弟？（朋友）
Is this correct or we should omit 的？“不是。这是我的朋友。”
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What is the difference between 暍 and 热? [closed]
大家好
What is the difference between 暍 and 热 and when they are used ?
谢谢
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向 vs 对 to express the coverb 'towards'
I made a formulation along the lines of "他向你害怕着" and was told that 向 cant be used with 害怕 in this way. I felt that I was correct in this usage and tried to find instances on the internet ...
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Difference in meaning: 多了 vs 极了
I don't grasp the difference between 极了 and 多了. In what context are both to be used? Is 极了 a sort of superlative compared to 多了 ?
All help is appreciated.
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"總會" to mean "definitely", is this usage proper?
In the lyrics to 《寂寞寂寞就好》 there is a line which reads:
我總會把你戒掉
From context, I gather that “總會" means definitely, in other words:
我一定會把你戒掉
I have never seen this usage before, is this proper ...
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淦 as a swear substitute for 幹?
Just came across this comment on Reddit:
Basically use more swear words. And the official hanzi.
-official/more rude (replaced to be more pg)
幹 （淦）
Calming that 淦 is a swear substitute for 幹.
I can'...
Mou某♦
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Contranyms in the Chinese language
Some words in the English language are called 'contranyms', where depending on the context, the same word can have very opposite meanings.
For example:
leave - to go away from a certain place, but ...
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是 assessing an overall situation
This is the title of a paragraph in the book "Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar", by Yip Po-Ching and Don Rimmington, whose content I find really hard to understand. The explanation:
是 shì ...
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Is 今天的锻炼打卡了 correct usage of the phrase 打卡?
I've asked a question about the phrase 打卡 before.
Today I was moving house and I walked in and out of the house with big boxes and bags for 3 solid hours.
When I was finally done I thought to myself ''...
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Does the character 大 make a name seem "Unsophisticated"
Recently, I had someone from Taiwan help me create Chinese name for myself to use when writing/communicating with those in Chinese speaking areas.
In our discussion, I had suggested 大恩 as a given/...
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Can 形象 be used as a verb?
In this definition “丑陋：难看。多形象人或事物的相貌、样子。”, 形象 seems to me functioning like a verb, but I can't find such a usage in MDBG, Wenlin, dict.baidu.com.
Do I get it wrong or does it indeed function like a ...
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Is the use of 她 here unusual?
Do you find the use of 她 here unusual?
历史文化名城以她曾经有过的辉煌和今天日新月异的繁荣向世人表明，
A famous city, in history known for its culture, uses its (her) former glory and today's ever-increasing prosperity to make clear ...
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How can I make sense of 落家里 within 张东把钥匙落家里了?
The following problem is from a mock exam question from HSK5级应试指南; we're meant to arrange the sentence fragments into a grammatical sentence:
钥匙、落、把、了、张东、家里
(image)
I didn't get this answer correct (...
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How to use 次 with verbs
How do I use this with verbs with and without nouns, generally I can't find the grammar
I tried googling and search on YouTube but I can't find anything in deep detail
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Use of 是 and 很 to express "I am not well"
Dear Chinese Language community users, I have the following question. During my learning I encountered the answer 我不是很好 in response to 你好吗？I was puzzled because I thought the correct negative answers ...
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The necessity of 的 and 是
Recently, I have been made aware of the following sentences:
这太棒了！
这是太棒了！
这真是太棒了！
A native Chinese friend told me that the middle one is incorrect, but that seems very odd to me, because 是 is the “be ...
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Why add 左右 ("approximately") to the precisely stated time 25日17时15分左右?
当地时间25日17时15分左右，……
I was reading a newspaper, and stumbled upon the above. I'm puzzled as to why someone would state a time as precisely as 25日17时15分 then add 左右 (= "approximately") ...
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What is the use of 前面 in 那得看你坐在电脑前面做什么?
That depends on what you're using the computers for.
那得看你坐在电脑前面做什么
Why do we use 前面 in this sentence. I thought 前面 was infront, why is there a location in a sentence involving use of something? Could ...
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Etymology of 奇 and 怪
I am going through the word 奇. Mandarin Temple had mentioned, learning hint as “a person riding a horse”. Is this only learning hint? Or is it also etymologically correct? What is the exact etymology ...
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How the meaning is derived for 得意忘形?
How the meaning is derived for 得意忘形?
得意忘形 déyìwàngxíng grow dizzy with success; be carried away by one's success so pleased as to lose one's sense of measure
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之 grammar and usage
Reading through the text as below. The zhi below is used to modify 路 of 人生? (way/road/path of life)? what exactly 之 in the two places?
“每个人都有自己的人生之路，只有把握时间，勤于奋斗，不畏艰辛的人才能走好这条路。要走好人生之路，首先要懂得珍惜时间。”
...
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profanities in written cantonese blurred out
I was watching a youtube video published by a famous populist news channel from Hong Kong. The topic was about food and featured comments from viewers saying that it "was F***ing delicious". ...
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Why 看 is used in 我看得目瞪口呆?
Going through this sentence.
我看得目瞪口呆。I was stunned/dumbfounded.
看 means see, why see in this sentence?
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Where can the phrase 给点面子 be used? I was wondering if it has a cultural element that I’m missing
我在抖音上看到一部视频说这段话的意思是“Cut me some slack”但是我觉得有点我尚未不知的文化精神，而英语翻译不完全掌握那个感觉。请说明一下这段话是否有什么特殊！谢谢～
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