10
votes
Why 今 and 今天 both mean “today”?
Literally, 今 means "present".
今天 - the present day = today.
今年 - the present year = this year.
今生 - the present life = this life.
- 12.1k
6
votes
Accepted
How do Chinese musicians count beats in Mandarin?
My wife is a violinist and I just asked her. So this is what she said:
一嗒 二嗒 三嗒
or
一嗒嗒 二嗒嗒 三嗒嗒 based on the tempo she wants( just add more "da").
嗒 is just a sound as "da" in ...
- 2,679
5
votes
Accepted
Difference between 地 and 得 in 他很難過[得/地]哭起來了
I've made a few modifications to the sentence to show the differences between the two.
sense/act + 得 + outcome
他難過"得"哭了起來" = He felt bad and started to cry. ("哭了起來" is a ...
- 12.1k
4
votes
Would it be considered rude to describe my Australian passport as having 优势 ("superiority"), and is there a better phrasing?
To be more 委婉, I may use 方便 (convenient) instead of 优势.
- 226
4
votes
Is 吹空调 grammatically correct?
别在外面站着，先进来吹空调。
Don't stand outside, once inside you can enjoy the airco.
Of course, you won't go in and blow on the air-conditioner! The air-conditioner is blowing, puffing out cool air!
Look up the ...
- 17.4k
4
votes
As an antonym of 前景 ("foreground"), is it better to use 后景 or 背景?
后景 indeed exists as a word, but I dot not personally recall it being used. I think people will understand it if you use it. Of course 背景 is the more common word choice.
References: 现代汉语词典 第7版 p. 545
...
- 1,244
4
votes
How can I express "to check in" at an airport?
"Check-in" literally means "(向航空公司) 報到", and the goal is to start the procedure to board a plane, 办理登机手续 is a correct translation, or you can simplify it to 办登机
Check-in procedure:
...
- 77.1k
3
votes
Nuance of 知道了 versus 明白了
明白了 is translated as "I understand it now" (thank you for your help). It is usually used as a response to an explanation on a topic. One situation is when a student asks a question to the ...
- 3,610
3
votes
How can we construct natural Chinese sentences when their English counterpart contains the verb "attempt"?
If the attempt has the strong meaning of "trying to do"(not sure if can do it or not, e.g. 试图违规的运动员都被裁判发现了), you can use 试图。If the attempt in the English sentence has the similar expression ...
- 1,242
3
votes
Accepted
How do I express ''routine'' in the following cases?
To be honest, this is not used a lot in conversation (as far as I know), but if you were to use it, you use 例行。We usually just directly say 每天去锻炼，我给锻炼制定了一个计划. I would advise not to use a direct ...
- 316
3
votes
Why was 以及 replaced with 和？
Both 以及 and 和 share the meaning of "and", however, 以及 also means "as well as" and "together/along with", which is often used to refer to/linking a third person or item
&...
- 12.1k
3
votes
What is the difference between 尽力而为 and 全力以赴?
尽力而为：try your best
全力以赴：whatever it costs, do it
- 17.4k
3
votes
What is the difference between 尽力而为 and 全力以赴?
力 in 尽力而为 refers to 能力 (ability); 尽力 (exhaust one's ability)
力 in 全力以赴 refers to 力量 (power); 全力 (with full power)
尽力而为 = Do the best within one's ability
全力以赴 = Do it with the utmost earnestness; go ...
- 77.1k
3
votes
What is the difference between 尽力而为 and 全力以赴?
The difference between these two is about the attitude toward something with low confidence:
尽力而为：Because I am not confident about something, all that matters is that I have tried my best. Failing is ...
- 954
3
votes
Difference Between 玩意 and 名堂
这是什么玩意(玩艺/玩藝)啊? = 这是什么東西啊? - What is this (thing)? (Note, it indicates contempt toward a person - 你是什么玩意啊? - Who do you think you are?)
你在搞什麼名堂? = 你在玩什麼花樣? - What is the trick you are pulling/...
- 12.1k
3
votes
Accepted
Difference Between 玩意 and 名堂
They all have meaning of "trick", but have different source and also slightly different in tone.
玩意 is from spoken Chinese and source is little known.
名堂 has a clear source.
名 is name of ...
- 94
3
votes
Would you recommend an alternative for 文档 as a file-extension?
No, you don't translate that. Chinese people recognize .doc, .ppt, etc. They are more of symbols than words. If you translate, they won't know what you are referring to.
A similar example is CPU. Even ...
- 361
3
votes
How to translate "population" into Chinese?
According to Cambridge English-Chinese Dictionary, it could means
All the people or animals of a particular type or group who live in one country, area, or place
（统称）（一定范围内的）人口，动物总数
So just ...
- 176
3
votes
Should the blank in 他毕业以后很快 _____ 找到了一个理想的工作 be filled with 才, 可, or 便?
When I saw the sentence and not seeing the answer options yet, my first thought was 就 because "... 很快就..." normally goes together.
Seeing the options, and 就 is not there, it seems some ...
- 3,597
3
votes
Is it okay to fill in the blanks of 那种汽车 ____ 价钱很贵， ____ 的确质量很好 with 虽然……但是 despite the 的确?
Why not? 的确 is roughly "indeed", it means you admit or agree to a certain fact, or you are very impressed by a certain fact. There's nothing incompatible with 虽然 (although) and 但是 (but).
If ...
- 1,244
2
votes
Is it just me, or is 教……学习 in 爸爸正在教他的孩子学习游泳 weird?
I'm a first year student, so I wasn't familiar with this structure, and I'm nowhere near going for HSK6...but I am familiar with another structure that felt about the same way to me: 到。。。去.
到 place 去 ...
- 121
2
votes
Is it just me, or is 教……学习 in 爸爸正在教他的孩子学习游泳 weird?
It DOES look like redundancy to me. However, if many people do that, it becomes acceptable. I do not know if "teach sb. to learn sth." is common in English, but the original Chinese sentence ...
- 246
2
votes
Accepted
Why was 以及 replaced with 和？
striking 以及 and opting for 和
in "[A] 以及 [B]" ([A] also [B]), [A] is the primary and [B] is the secondary,
in "[A] 和 [B]" ([A] and [B]), [A] and [B] are of equal importance
in &...
- 77.1k
2
votes
How do you refer to a non-binary sibling in Mandarin Chinese?
如果您必须用汉语说清楚这个情况，您可以说：“我有一个比我年长（年幼）的同辈”。您还可以补充说，“我们是一奶同胞，但是我不便说这个人的性别”。
- 3,610
2
votes
How do you refer to a non-binary sibling in Mandarin Chinese?
I showed this question to a Chinese friend whose non-binary-ish. They said they didn't know, then asked their sister how to answer this question. Their sister said she just uses their name. So you ...
- 15.9k
2
votes
How do you refer to a non-binary sibling in Mandarin Chinese?
I think the easiest solution is to use the children ranking system instead.
For instance if you sibling is the first born child of the family they can just simply be referred to as:
老大
The second ...
Mou某♦
- 35.7k
2
votes
Nuance of 知道了 versus 明白了
知道了 and 明白了 both show that speaker knows the information others want him/her to know.
but 知道了 shows the speaker knows the fact/the information/the word others said.
明白了 shows the speaker understands ...
- 702
2
votes
Nuance of 知道了 versus 明白了
明白了 is a bit neutral. 知道了 is a bit negative. Together with the speaking tone, 知道了 means I know it and you don't need to tell me.
- 226
2
votes
Accepted
Nuance of 知道了 versus 明白了
知道了 = I know (your objection) now.
明白了 = I understand (the reason) now.
- 12.1k
2
votes
How do you refer to a non-binary sibling in Mandarin Chinese?
You should go with the gender he/she identified with. It is none of other person's business to know his/her birth sex. You can explain to your close, trusted friends if necessary.
ADD: If I were you, ...
- 12.1k
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