User Comments - auntie68
auntie68
Posted on: Wang Wei's Diary: The Importance of Brains
March 24, 2008 at 12:00 AMHi calkins. You're in luck, believe it or not, my little dictionary has a specific note on 很 vs 真! I need a bit of time to digest it (and type those examples!), will try to share my findings with you. You always seem to be asking valid questions; that's a good sign that you are studying Chinese in the right way. As to replacing "没什么" with “没有", I'm not sure you can do that. The literal meaning of "没什么头脑" (mei2 shen2me tou2nao3) is "don't have [or: not] - so much - brains". In other words, "... [but] not so much in terms of brains". Here the 什么 (shen2me) is a degree marker. If the poor girl didn't have a brain -- 没有头脑 (mei2you3 tou2nao3) -- wouldn't she be... erm... dead? Having said that, I can think of a few Formula One journalists who seem to be living proof that the human brain is not a vital organ... Forza Ferrari!
Posted on: Knitting a Scarf
March 23, 2008 at 6:50 AMHmm... another important "family decision" -- at least in an overseas Chinese family! -- is how to share with siblings the cost of being filial. Eg. restaurant bills for big family dinners, "big" gifts for parents' "big birthdays", parents' medical expenses etc. Especially when the financial resources of the siblings is not equal. Good luck!
Posted on: Knitting a Scarf
March 23, 2008 at 6:33 AMI definitely second mark's suggestion for a podcast on "Getting parents' permission to marry". In the same spirit, how about a lesson on discussing with a Chinese spouse, some important family decisions: Eg: Proportion of income to be spent on the education of child(ren) and/or on the Chinese in-laws and/or savings etc. And if you dare, the issue of moving in with in-laws, or inviting them to live with you!
Posted on: Cheering
March 22, 2008 at 12:33 AMP/s: I would use 干吗 sparingly, with extreme caution, because it can sound brusque or rude unless you have reasonably good control over the nuances of its use. Good luck!
Posted on: Cheering
March 22, 2008 at 12:29 AMagentchuck -- My little dictionary gives [ital]two[/ital] meanings of "干吗“ (gan4ma2). One is 干吗 in the sense of "what are you doing?". The other meaning was simply, "why?"; although the note (in Mandarin) makes it clear that here 干吗 connotes the same sense as "为什么" (wei1shen2me; "why") though the two synonyms are not 100% interchangeable. Looking at the examples given for both meanings, I see that both can be used to convey that brusque tone which Jenny mentioned, but the differences are highly nuanced. Still, I hope that knowing there are two possible meanings will make it easier for you decode sentences using 干吗! Just for the benefit of any native Chinese who might be trying to make senses of my garbled explanation, here is the full dictionary entry (so that they can correct me if necessary): 干吗 (1) 干什么； 做什么： 你在干吗？ ／ 你到底想干吗？／ 刚才你干吗去了？ (2) （代）为什么：多难得的出国机会，你干吗不去？ ／ 你干吗老跟着我？／ 他干吗不理我？
Posted on: Knitting a Scarf
March 21, 2008 at 12:19 PMWow! The translation of "muggle" as 麻瓜 (ma2gua1) is pretty brilliant -- "numb melon". The language of Harry Potter is difficult to translate because of the sly puns. Eg. "floo powder" is actually a play on the word "flue", because it is a means of magical transport via... chimney flues. And OWLs are a play on the "O"-levels which the old name for the GCSE's (?) which British schoolchildren Harry's age prepare for. Similarly, the "Knight Bus" is a sly reminder of the dreaded (because infrequent) British Night Buses, which students who can't afford taxis or private cars wait for in the cold and dark. Again, thanks! I've just found some Japanese sites for Yuuka-chan, including one which seems to be a cute "Hogwarts School Website" (!) including mock OWL tests like mock JLPT and HSK tests... Heh heh.
Posted on: Knitting a Scarf
March 21, 2008 at 10:34 AMDear changye, I would love to have a lesson on Harry Potter. I'm not a true fan, more like a helpless hostage of my 12-year-old student's love of all things Potter. But I'm terribly curious to know how the Chinese managed to translate expressions such as: "mudblood", "muggle", "Patronus spell", "OWLs", "flue powder", etc etc. Not to mention the names of the various "houses" at Hogwarts Academy... It will be fun! Happy weekend, all!
Posted on: Cheering
March 21, 2008 at 6:44 AMOops, sorry Amber, I didn't see that you restricted the use to "and". Sorry!
Posted on: Cheering
March 21, 2008 at 6:42 AM我有事要和你说？ 和我来说。。。？
Posted on: Wang Wei's Diary: The Importance of Brains
March 24, 2008 at 12:54 AMOkay calkins, here is how I understood the note: 1. 很 and 真 are generally interchangeable. But they convey slightly different meanings. 2. 真 (zhen1) conveys a sense of "exclamation" (有感叹的意思). As in "she so pretty!". Examples from the dictionary: 这里的风景真美啊！ = "The scenery (风景; feng1jing3) here is so beautiful!" 我真想写一本长篇小说。 ＝ "I really want to write a novel (长篇小说; chang2pian1 xiao3shuo3)." 这个人真坏！ = "This person is so bad!" 3. The sense 很 (hen3), on the other hand, is purely factual/ prosaic (只表达一种陈述). Examples: 这本书很好。 = "This book is very good." 她乒乓球打得很好"。 ＝ "She plays pingpong (乒乓球; ping1pang1qiu2) very well." (Literally: "Her pingpong it is played very well". 4. Then the note mentions that both 很 and 真 can be used to modify "negatives" (修补否定式动词或形容词). Examples: 真(很)不好 ＝ Really bad/ Very bad. 真(很)不希望情况是这样。 = Really[/ Very much] hoping the situation is not like that. (NB: the 不希望 is quite a positive statement that you don't wish for a certain situation, it's like "I don't wish") 5. The note goes on to say that when you want to qualify a word with the sense of "not very", you would use 很 rather than 真. Examples: 不很好 (never 不真好) = Not very good. 不很清楚 (never 不真清楚) = Not very clear/understandable (清楚 qing1chu3). 6. The final point made in the note is a bit advanced: I think it means that 很 can be used to modify an attributive (as opposed to predicative) adjective , whereas 真 cannot. Examples: 很(never 真) 干净的屋子。 很(never 真) 漂亮的女孩子。 I'm not sure I got that last rule. Here is the rule in Chinese in case somebody can help: "很 ＋ 形容词“ 可以做定语， “真 ＋ 形容词不可仪做定语。I didn't understand my dictionary's definition of 定语. Good luck!