Most Popular
1500 questions
6
votes
6 answers
Is “事出必有因” the most accurate translation for "everything happens for a reason"?
Is “事出必有因” the most accurate translation for "everything happens for a reason"?
If not, what is it?
john
- 71
- 1
- 4
6
votes
5 answers
Chengyu dictionary
I am looking for a chengyu dictionary with the following caracteristics:
the stories behind the chengyus in englis (or with chinese too), long, not just one or two sentence
explanation, when and how to use
example sentences/conversations (in…
Stone
- 289
- 1
- 8
6
votes
2 answers
Can 来 be used as a 虚词?
来 usually means "to come".
In this sentence from an online database:
旱区人民需要我们的帮助来渡过难关
来 does not seem to me being used in its lexical meaning here, but rather containing a grammatical expression of finality "in order to".
Am i wrong, or is this a…
meireikei
- 1,074
- 7
- 12
6
votes
1 answer
Is 勺 really the phonetic component of 的?
The etymology of 的 is described here. Is this resource correct is saying that 勺 is this character's phonetic component? I ask because it doesn't seem to hint at the correct pronunciation at all. 勺 is pronounced sháo while 的 is pronounced de. Thanks!
amorimluc
- 749
- 5
- 14
6
votes
7 answers
Is Mandarin impossible for my goals?
Since years ago I have been studying some languages with the major goal of being able to read texts, complex or not, written under them. My native is Portuguese (from Brazil) and nowadays I have no problem reading texts in English, Español, Français…
Chione
- 71
- 5
6
votes
6 answers
你好啊？ or 你好吗？ Which is more common?
I have recently come across the phrase 你好啊 and I was curious about its usage. It was in the FSI Chinese course with a meaning of 'How are you?', but I have only heard 你好吗 on other courses and when talking to Chinese speakers on Skype. Is this…
Richard Perry
- 128
- 1
- 7
6
votes
3 answers
What is the difference in pronunciation between saying "jin" and "jing"?
I speak Chinese natively (我讲中文，普通话) but my pronunciation is borrowed from Jiangsu parents, so I was wondering what is the difference between "jin" (今) and "jing" (京)? Is there any difference in identifying such? Once, somebody remarked "haha, your…
jeffw
- 63
- 1
- 5
6
votes
2 answers
Why does the Simplified Chinese character 强 have more strokes than its Traditional Chinese counterpart 強?
Simplified 强 （12） strokes
Traditional 強 （11） strokes
Are there any other similar cases in which a more complex form was adopted than the Traditional counterpart?
imrek
- 7,188
- 2
- 21
- 33
6
votes
1 answer
How to say 'protect x from y'?
In my routine HSK vocab study, I recently came upon the word 保护； to protect. Obviously, it works easily like any other verb in statements simply of protection, but I have no idea how to translate the concept of protecting one party from another. For…
s-cat-z
- 113
- 4
6
votes
1 answer
How euphemistic is 傢伙?
傢伙 (an example of a Chinese lexeme that does not map bijectively between simplified and traditional characters, the simplified word being 家伙) is translated, in the only translation Wang Xiaobo's work has received to date, as 'tool.' Which would…
magnetar
- 1,207
- 8
- 15
6
votes
5 answers
What does the `里` mean in `这些狗里有一只穿红色的毛衣`?
In the following sentence:
这些狗里有一只穿红色的毛衣
What does the 里 mean? I think the sentence means something like The dogs wear red sweaters. But why does it require 里 there and what meaning does it add?
I'm learning about simplified mandarin language, but…
Blaszard
- 5,434
- 4
- 32
- 76
6
votes
1 answer
Meanings behind "吹牛" and "拍马屁"
I would like to find out more about the two sayings "吹牛" and "拍马屁".
How these sayings come about and get their current meanings?
吹牛 chuīniú meaning to brag
拍马屁 pāimǎpì meaning to excessively flatter someone
going
- 10,213
- 4
- 42
- 98
5
votes
2 answers
Time periods relating to Chinese holidays (暑假, 寒假 etc.)
From my understanding most Chinese workers only have one major holiday around the time of Spring Festival.
So are holidays 暑假, 寒假 only for students? Roughly speaking how long are they and when do they occur? Do they correspond with another…
going
- 10,213
- 4
- 42
- 98
5
votes
4 answers
How to expess “nostalgia” in chinese？
So, I know that in general we can use something like 叙旧 to mean "reminisce (as if with old classmates). But how would we say something like "nostalgic" as in
这首歌让我很Nostalgic。
怀旧？
舍不得？
THanks for any help given!
Stephen
- 4,627
- 1
- 23
- 46
5
votes
1 answer
An example of the difficulty of translation: "Now get off my lawn". How would you translate this?
The last sentence: from http://cn.tmagazine.com/culture/20141013/t13adulthood/dual/
Now get off my lawn! 只不过离我远点儿!
To me, "Get off my lawn!" means I'm old and some young kids did something to remind me of that and that I admit that I'm old and say…
Steve
- 1,997
- 1
- 19
- 27