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7
votes
2 answers
Difference between 正在 and 在?
I am a beginner in Chinese (Mandarin), and I am following a phone app to learn.
However I cannot understand what is the difference between 正在 and 在 ? For example:
你正在干什么？
and
你在干什么？
The app says that they are interchangeable... is it always the…
clem steredenn
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7
votes
4 answers
央行行长会: Is the second 行 necessary?
央行行长会 - A Meeting of the Heads of Central Banks.
Is the second 行 necessary? If not why not? Does 央行长 mean "Head of a Central Bank" or is it necessary to say the equivalent of "Bank-Head of a Central Bank" i.e. 央行行长.
jsj
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7
votes
1 answer
Is the expression 学识渊博 usually used in a pejorative sense?
For example, as a sarcastic remark in the sense of "pedantic" or "know-it-all"?
Steve Darry
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7
votes
4 answers
Has there ever been an English translation of 《輶軒》"Fangyan"?
《輶軒使者絕代語釋別國方言》has a couple of different names including《方言》and《揚子方言》.
In English it mostly just gets called Fangyan.
The entire Chinese text has been put up on ctext.
As
the first Chinese dictionary of dialectal terms
I imagined there would be an…
Mou某
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7
votes
2 answers
How to use 凭 as a preposition
I understand 凭 as a verb to mean rely. But I often read it and the seemingly related 凭着 in familiar contexts but still do not know what function it serves. Seeing example sentences doesn't make it any clearer.
In what cases is it most used?
tao
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7
votes
1 answer
Which one is correct 你说的对 or 你说得对？
Which one is correct 你说的对 or 你说得对？ Especially to express meaning:
You are right in terms of ...
Ivan Gerasimenko
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7
votes
5 answers
太: Meaning in 灰太狼
灰太狼
灰太狼 (A character in a TV show) is translated in English as "Grey Wolf".
What has happened to the 太, wouldn't 灰狼 be enough to mean "Grey Wolf"?
jsj
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7
votes
1 answer
What's the grammatical structure for " like a " style simile in Chinese
I am fond of the simile structure "I eat like a wolf" or "The light flickered like a candle" in English. I never know how to express these thoughts in Chinese though, even if I know the underlying words. How do I express this style of simile in…
juckele
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7
votes
3 answers
What is the function of 了 in the sentence 我最怕去西单了?
Received this in a text from a Chinese friend. I want to say that "了" here is not part of the verb phrase but instead just an emphatic particle, same as if you said something like "我最怕蜘蛛了"。Then again, that's not something I would ever think to…
Gus
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7
votes
5 answers
The difference between 比～更 and 比～多了
In Mandarin, there seems to be two forms of comparison statements. The first is 比～更, and the second is 比～多了 (or other variants such as 很多 and 得多).
Example:
他打篮球比我更好。
他打篮球比我厉害多了。
坐高铁比坐飞机更方便。
坐高铁比坐飞机方便很多。
I understand that 更 must precede the…
Blaszard
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7
votes
1 answer
Graded Mandarin Chinese podcasts or e-books
Are there any resources for students of Mandarin Chinese that allow them to listen or read Chinese news or literature in simple versions, preferably in podcast or e-book format respectively?
By that I do not mean Simplified Chinese as used in…
Drux
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7
votes
8 answers
What role does 成 (chéng) play in the sentence 我把十块美元换成人民币?
A jukuu.com example sentence for 人民币 is:
我把十块美元换成人民币
I change ten dollars into Renminbi
(Wǒ bǎ shí kuài měiyuán huàn chéng rénmínbì)
Question: What role does 成 play in the sentence 我把十块美元换成人民币?
Everything else seems to translate naturally:
我…
Becky 李蓓
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7
votes
3 answers
Why is “economics” translated to "經濟"?
I know that 經濟 is a translation from Japanese, but I do not know why it became this. Could someone explain it in detail?
Mike Manilone
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7
votes
2 answers
What distinguishes 各位 (gèwèi) from 大家 (dàjiā)?
From dict.cn:
各位 (gèwèi) = everybody
大家 (dàjiā) = everyone
So they seem closely related, but I don't think they're identical. Today is Teacher's Day and messages like "祝各位老师节日快乐" are popping up in my WeChat feed, and I don't think we can just swap…
Becky 李蓓
- 16,291
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7
votes
1 answer
Dissimilation of bilabial finals following Middle Chinese (法, 品, 凡)
Middle Chinese syllables with the shape CVP where C is a bilabial stop and P is a bilabial underwent dissimilation to CVF, where F = P[-labial]. For instance, Baxter's reconstruction of 法 is *pjop, 品 is *phim, and 凡 is *bjom.
Why did this…
jogloran
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