As X as Y

HI xiaophil

I think that "尽量" is a natural indigenous "Chinese" word, while I'm not so sure about "尽可能". I groundlessly feel that "尽可能" might perhaps be a literal translation of "as much as possible", just like that famous "你好" was introduced as the counterpart of the English greeting "How are you?" in the 20th century.

As for "as hungry as a horse", I don't think this kind of expression is commonly used in Chinese. People would just say "我饿死了，饿得要命，饿得慌" or something like that when you are very hungry. Of course, you can use the analogy of animal, but I feel they have a little "translational" smell. Just a thought.

Changye

Yeah, I agree they don't have the same meaning. I was more saying that two different ways of saying something might have different literal meanings but serve similar functions. I'm wondering if trying to make "'do sth' as little/much as..." is in many cases trying to force Chinese into an English way of saying things. In languages there are usually several ways to get from A to Z, but some ways are more often traveled.

blushing.

Yes, you are right.

Thanks a lot for the band as well as for the correction.

饿得像头狼 hey I hadn't thought about Duran Duran in decades--though I guess "as hungry as a wolf" isn't the same as "hungry like the wolf" (haha don't worry, if you have no idea what I'm talking about).

他象热锅上的蚂蚁，坐立不安。 He seems have ants in his pants.

Yes, 多吃点 shows the host's(hostess') hospitality like "help yourself!" in the Chinese custom.

Hi xiaophil

"多吃点" and "尽量多吃" have difference connotations. The former means "eat more, have a little more", and the latter "eat as much as possible". As you said, "多吃点" is more commonly used in conversation, but this doesn't mean "多吃点" is used instead of "尽量多吃". In other words, both have their own suitable situations under which they should be used.

Not always. E.g.:

他象牛一样强壮。He is as strong as a horse.

他饿的象头狼。He is as hungry as a horse.

坐立不安 = Ants in one's pants

他像狐狸一样狡猾 - does mean "he is as sly as a fox" which also has the same meaning in Chinese as "sneaky, clever.." So in this case the simile is the same in both Chinese and English!

I think you are right about 'He's as sly as a fox'.

I think you are also right that Chinese similes are probably not the same, but it might be fun to try to translate English similes to Chinese people.

Hey I think 他像狐狸一样狡猾 is He's (as) sly as a fox, right?
Don't know though, how many of these similes are the same in Chinese as the English ones. I'm sure many won't work in a direct translation.

high5!

Hi oxygem

Looks like this structure is very useful, thanks a lot!

～到不～的最大程度/限度

And, could this one be an equal to 'as bent as one can without breaking it':

as much as one can bent it without breaking it?

as bent as one can without breaking it

多弯Ａ又不弄坏Ａ ......... (?)

This one, 'bent', seems not a word in this group. Regardless to grammatical category, and in the oral manner, the translation might be: 弯到不折的最大程度/限度

You are welcome. Thanks to your question, I also learned a lot this time.

Thanks, Changye, you're a life saver. I was afraid I wouldn't get any answers at all.