Are there any good reverse transliteration strategies?

Names of persons

This answer explains that there are semi-official, conventional methods of transliterating foreign names to Chinese, and sometimes they are not the closest to the English pronunciation, even for English names. According to this answer, transliterations are sometimes done for different Chinese "dialects" - e.g. Mandarin or Cantonese - and, confusingly, sometimes they get mixed up, e.g. a Cantonese transliteration is pronounced using Mandarin, yielding an even more inaccurate pronunciation. For example, Taxi was transliterated using Cantonese as 的士 (Dīksíh) which is pronounced in Mandarin as di1 shi4.

Names of places

For place names, transliteration often uses the native pronunciation of the place name. This may not be obvious, but English transliterations are sometimes inaccurate too, for various reasons. For example, this question asks why Germany was translated as 德国 (de2 guo2) (the answer is the German name for Germany - Deutschland). Same goes for your example of Spain - 西班牙 (xi1 ban1 ya2) - España. For a truly confusing example, see how Japan's English and Japanese names have the same origin, but are so dissimilar: Nihon (Japanese) - Cipangu (Marco Polo, from Wu Chinese) - Jepang (Old Malay) - Giapan (via Portuguese) - Japan (English).

So in conclusion, there are reasons for the transliterations, it's not completely random, but it's very hard to learn because it's quite complex, so it may be easier to remember by rote.


Is it common to refer to cousins as "cousin-brothers"?

It's not really clear to me what you mean with "cousin brother / sister". Do you mean for example 表姐姐姐 or a 表姐 simply called 姐姐.

To be complete:
表哥 or 表兄 is the older male cousin via female line. 表弟 is the younger male cousin via female line. Similar you have 表姐 and 表妹. Via the male line you similarly have 堂哥 or 堂兄, 堂弟, 堂姐 and 堂妹.

These words are not new.

Nowadays a lot of only children want a 哥哥 of a 姐姐 to "look after them" or to have somebody to whom to can go to when one has some questions or problems and they search for them (for example in the family or a good friend), and afterwards always call them 哥哥/姐姐. Also cousins are often considered as brothers and sisters and are often simply called 哥哥, 弟弟, 姐姐 and 妹妹.


Since you are not asking what is the difference between '必定' and '一定' or the difference between '必' and '定', I would just go ahead and state the  difference between '必'  and '一定'
From my answer to this question:

Meaning of 的 and 之 when both are used in the same sentence
之 is the classical Chinese counterpart of 的 in modern Chinese

必 is the classical Chinese counterpart of 一定/必定 in modern Chinese
Examples:

Classical Chinese style: "兵家(必)爭之地"
Modern Chinese: "軍事決策者(一定/ 必定)會去爭奪的地點"

~

Classical Chinese style: "中此毒者(必)死"
Modern Chinese: "中了這個毒的人(一定/必定)會死亡"

~

Classical Chinese style: "日軍稱三月內(必)亡中國"
Modern Chinese: "日本軍方宣稱三個月內(一定/必定)能覆亡中國"

'必' on its own has other meaning and usage, but the question only asked for the comparison between '必' and '一定'. The most obvious difference between the two is as this answer stated.
Notice: Actually, I should say '必' is more literary and '一定' is more colloquial because classical style wording appear mostly in writing


Is 憨豆先生 (Mr. Bean) commonly used to refer to Rowan Atkinson even when he's playing other characters, or when he's not acting?

No and yes.

No, because he is "officially" known as 罗温·艾金森. Some of my Chinese colleagues recognized this name, though they couldn't write it (same with me: I am a Ukrainian, and I don't know his name, but I can recognize it once I see it in writing).

Yes, because like in most parts of the world (particularly my home country Ukraine), he is most known by his character "Mr. Bean". Therefore most of my Chinese colleagues could not recognize his official name at all, unless I told them 憨豆先生 or showed his photo.


Most likely it's the first meaning.  I would give the second as 都可以 'dou1 ke3yi3' in the sense of 'both are possible'.  Dou1 actually means 'all', but obviously it can refer to two items as well.  Anyway isn't the sentence in context in the book?

It's nice to indicate the tones too when you write pinyin, it might help others identify the words.


Which one is correct `是不是你想离开` or `你是不是想离开`?

Both 是不是你想离开 and 你是不是想离开 are correct and can mean the same.
However, it's worth to mention that in 是不是你想离开, when you put a tone emphasis on 你 like 是不是'你'想离开, it would mean Is it you that want to leave, implying it's you, not others.


What's the Most Likely Chinese Version of this Odd "Chinglish"?

I gotta say this guy hit the nail on the head (bold-ed is my own):

  I thought it may come from Chinese that "有困难找警察" (if you meet troubles, please ask the police for help). I thought "we" in this slogan referred to the police, "they" referred to the people who is in trouble. This slogan may mean "we will protect you with all our effort" (危难时刻 我们在您身边 At the risky second, we are by your side).

The poster clearly says 危难时刻 我们在您身边 in Chinese above the English, and that's usually how Chinese posters (or, so called, propaganda) work.

Chinese

English

With, obviously, some poetic license, if you will....


Is 弄 + complement of result only used for actions with a negative outcome?

No，it can be followed by positive outcomes.
In your examples, they are followed by adjectives such as 乱、坏、脏, which are correct.
However, you can also say

我的电脑坏了，是李明帮我弄好的。My computer was broken, Ming Li fixed it for me.
你能帮我弄一下吗？Can you help me to do/fix this?
他把这个弄得很漂亮、很整齐。He made it very pretty and tidy.

In conclusion, 弄 can be followed by both positive or negative outcomes.


the link you provided already shown the answer:

  shih dao is a clone of ishido: the way of stones

so shih dao is 石 (stone) 道 (way)

the six characters on the tiles are:

大 - big

中 - middle

小 - small

春 - spring

由 -cause

東 - east

have fun :)


What is the meaning of 多米 in the music service?

My guess is that it comes from the musical scale DO-re-MI in English.  Googling didn’t turn up a standard way to transliterate this – someone used 豆, which may be closer to the English sound, but the more positive connotations of 多 might have led the person coining the name to opt for that instead.  Anyway, 豆米 sounds like some kind of Taiwanese dessert, not the right fit for a music website! :)


It does not make sense in Chinese either when it is without any context.

After reading the lyrics, it just means "(Our) meeting is like a song". And "you and me are the singers of the song". It is metaphor.


Etymology/meaning of character 绍 and its relation to 介绍

Just my opinion after a quick look!

1 - Why does 绍 have a silk in it?

http://www.zdic.net/z/21/xs/7ECD.htm

绍: (1) (形声。从糸( mì),召声。本义:继承;紧密连续)

I would say, 糸( mì) is not really silk, just a figurative thread, band or bond.

Doesn't a thread, for example, in chinese.stackexchange.com, carry on? The idea is not new.

形声: 召声 is the sound of 绍.

2 - What's the meaning of 绍 in 介绍?

http://www.zdic.net/z/15/js/4ECB.htm

介：在两者中间: 介于两者之间。between both sides (friendship)
绍: 连续 go on without stopping

introduce: the etymology is not clear, but may be:
intro- means in (between)
ducere: lead (the one to the other perhaps)

Overall: 介绍： between (2 or more people) tie a bond which (hopefully) lasts.


规范 dictionary’s definition of 想像 has the following note:

现在一般写作“想象”。
注意 全国科学技术名词审定委员会和国家语言文字工作委员会已确定“想象”为推荐词形。

Which basically says that the word is usually written 想象 & that 想象 is the recommended “spelling.”


The meaning of 得趣...to get a taste for something?

得趣 = technical term in Taoism. to find true meaning. Often used for the meaning (or pleasures), that hermits find in their surroundings.

朝退常歸隱，真修大隱情。園林應得趣，巖谷自爲名

Where are you getting the Yang family?


Here, you could think that "的" converts a verb (i.e. "喝"/drink) into a noun, i.e. something for drinking.

But notice the "的" after "是" is different, it is more of an interjection, and does not have additional meaning.


Which Harry Potter Translation is better

Short Answer

Both translations preserved most of the meanings in the original text. (Some by mistake and some deliberately dropped/altered for the smoothness of the overall context)

For learning purposes, I would recommend the first one for its relative formality. If you are just reading for fun, the second one is more relaxing with its colloquial and conversational nature.

Further Explanation

(If I made a incorrect comment on any of the translation, please point it out. Thanks!)

Translation Comparison

Below is a list of some obvious examples sentences, where the left is from the first translation:

  很早就醒来了 vs 一大早哈利就醒了

一大早 is unlike to be seen in academic/professional writing.

  那是个梦 vs 这是一个梦，，，

The use of ellipsis (I am not fond of the commas in place of … though) in a quote is informal yet vivid.

  我便会呆在家中 vs 我准在家里

The word 准 is used in conversations to mean 肯定、一定

  很响的敲击声 vs 啪啪的响声

Again, using 啪啪 to represent the actual sound is more vivid.

(Not-so-important) Error Picking

The two translations have the following errors:

  学校学习魔法

Well, from school for wizards to school to learn magic...魔法學校 is much better.

  折叠式的沙发上睡着了

Collapsed = 坍塌, Foldable = 折叠式. Although this detail is rather trivial to story progression and the plot.

  哈利感到特别高兴 ... 使他飘飘欲仙了

The translator dropped the scrambled to his feet and added these to sentences to emphasize his happiness... Perhaps creativity has been overly presented here.

  抓。” 是猫头鹰... (till the end)

I do not know what happened from here for the second translation. This part on is a bit chaotic, but otherwise it can be a good translation.


What does 是是 mean beyond 是? Is it just a typo?

It is a typo here, but in some dialects 是是 means 是不是, which is another story.


么 has lost most of its lexical meaning in modern usage, but it appears to have originally been derived from the word 物, meaning 'thing'. Chinese by Jerry Norman, pp. 119-20 makes mention of the etymology of various modern words featuring 么:

  In an insightful article, Zhāng Hùiyīng (1982) has shown that shénme 什么, the standard modern word for 'what', comes from shí wù 什物 (MC źjəp mjuət). This form (in a number of different phonological shapes) makes its first appearance in the Tang dynasty. Shí wù 什物 originally meant 'vessels, household utensils, things (of various sorts)'. The development of a interrogative meaning 'what' from a meaning 'thing' finds a parallel in modern Italian, where cosa 'thing' is also used to mean 'what'. ...

  ...

  [Regarding 'how'...] In the late Tang and Wudai periods, a different form begins to be found; it consists of the verb zuò 作 (MC tsuo-) plus one of several variants of the morpheme meaning 'thing, what' discussed in relation to the origins of modern shénme 什么 ... In the Wudai period, a fusion word zěn 怎 (from an earlier *zěm) based on these forms appears for the first time. It is this fusion form that is directly ancestral to the modern zěnme 怎么 'how'. Zhème 这么 'in this way' and nàme 那么 'in that way' were probably analogically based on this form.

Notes:

The article by Zhāng Hùiyīng 张惠英 referenced in that excerpt refers to an article entitled 释「什么」in《中国语文》1982年第4期, pp. 302-5. I wasn't easily able to obtain a copy of that article though.
MC in that excerpt refers to how the words were pronounced in Middle Chinese (ca. 600-1000 AD).

While it's interesting that 么 in these words was derived from a word meaning 'thing', it's essentially a bound morpheme that is no longer productive and can't be used on its own. In effect, its modern usage doesn't have any particular meaning in practice. In many ways, it could be considered a cranberry morpheme.


You can use 活力 (vitality/energy), such as:

  充满活力
  活力四射


Do most native speakers understand these Chengyus at all? 霽範永存, 亹亹不卷, 巾袖無光, 鑿枘不入

I would like to say they are uncommon variants of common 成语 or just single case originated from some literature, which I think I am inventing such 成语 everyday. But it requires high level of classical Chinese skills to recognize.

Here I would show what I thought before I search for more info.

霁范永存

身正为范。范乃楷模之意。

又，光风霁月。霁乃晴明之意。

又，正气永存。

So I guess it means:  高节永为世人之楷模。

After searching: Exactly as what I thought.

亹亹不卷

亹亹文王，令闻不已！

勉励的文王啊，他的美名没有止尽。

又，孜孜不倦。

So I guess 卷 is the ancient variant (or origin?) of 倦. So this 成语 means 勤勉而不知疲倦.

After searching: 今作：娓娓不倦，多指谈话娓娓不绝，不知疲倦。

巾袖无光

巾，手帕。袖，衣袖。

又，黯淡无光。

不考虑比喻，似乎就是：衣服不起眼，或陈旧。不能推断意象。

After searching:形容穿戴的服装敝旧不华丽。孤例。

凿枘不入

This is obvious~

方枘圆凿。

They are the same.

After searching: Yes!

P.S.

It is not any four-character, concise word that can be categorized as 成语! A 成语 should be popular enough (at least in its time)!

彼素苑囿籍典，兀兀以穷；今闻鱼跃之喜，定不自胜，故延亲邀友，飨于庭园。倾以仪狄，馔以凤肝，奏以焦尾，焚以龙涎，欢歌笑语，春风踌躇。

See? I use A LOT OF four-character verse, but they are (mostly) not 成语, but my personal invention.


We say "one hundred dollars and fifty cents" in English. 零 functions the same as 'and' , of course you can say "one hundred dollars fifty cents" or "一百块五毛" but that would make it sound like the phrase is broken into two parts –

If it is "一百五十五块五毛"  ($155.50) , we don't put  零 between "块" and "毛"  ; we only add 零 when the previous digit is zero

Examples:

"一百五十块零五毛" ($150.50)- last digit of 'dollar' is zero, therefore 零 is added before '五毛'

"一百五十五块五毛" ($155.50)- last digit of 'dollar' is not zero, therefore 零 is not added before '五毛'

"一百万零五千元" (One million and five thousand dollars) - need 零 between 一百万 and 五千元 because the last digit of million is a zero

"一百二十五万四千三百二十一元 ($1,254,321)- no 零 needed

"Five hundred and five dollars" ($505)  = 五百零五元

"Five hundred fifty five dollars" ($555) =五百五十五元


Is 香气袭人 only ever used for a good smell?

袭 in 袭人 is referring to 'to rush '

"袭人" means "rush upon people"

Example:

一阵阵恶臭袭人而來 - waves of horrible stench come rushing upon people

一阵阵花香袭人而來 - waves of floral fragrant come rushing upon people

強烈硫黃味袭人鼻腔 - a strong sulfur smell rush upon people's nasal cavities

花香 is a popular topic for poets and "花香袭人" (floral fragrant rush upon people)sound poetic but not any other smell. Phrases like "肉香袭人，酒气袭人，屍臭袭人" all sound unnatural because these smell are not popular topic for poets

Meanwhile,  "扑鼻" (rush into nose) is as literary as "袭人" but less poetic sounding. "花香扑鼻，肉香扑鼻，酒气扑鼻，尸臭扑鼻" are all natural sounding literary phrases.


Was the character 蹦 (in 蹦极 "bungee jumping") designed to look like people bungee jumping?

That's a cute mnemonic, but not how characters work.

「蹦」does not specifically mean bungee jumping, it just means hopping/jumping/skipping, e.g. 蹦蹦跳跳 (skippity-skip).
Identify clearly what each component does in a character, and don't recursively decompose characters.「蹦」only contains two components:

Semantic component「足」(foot > actions to do with feet/legs)
Phonetic component「崩」bēng

Don't recursively decompose this into「山」and「朋」! These don't contribute anything direct to「蹦」.
「崩」bēng doesn't contribute anything apart from sound. If you must know the composition of「崩」, its meaning is to collapse, metaphorically hinted with「山」(a mountain collapsing), and its phonetic part is「朋」péng.

Sadly, there are no friends and no mountains, but happily no collapsing in「蹦」. Stay safe!


Q： The difference between ，and 、

，(逗号， Dou4 Hao4) is similar to what it is for in English.

、(顿号，Dun4 Hao4) is to give a list of same type of things.

For example:
我喜欢吃苹果、香蕉、橘子、等等。

If in English, it would be also a comma.


What is the difference between 广阔，宽阔，宽广 and 辽阔?

广阔 vast; wide; spacious; expansive; extensive; broad:

广= broad 阔= wide

广阔 (broad) mostly describe:

space - e.g 广阔空间 (broad space)
territory - e.g.  广阔领土 (broad territory)
area - e.g. 广阔面积 (broad area)

  宽阔 broad; wide; roomy; spacious

宽= spacious 阔= wide

宽阔 (spacious) mostly describe:

space  - e.g. 宽阔空间 (wide space); 宽阔房间 (spacious room)
object - e.g 车身宽阔 (the car is wide)

  宽广 broad; extensive; spacious; vast:

宽= spacious 广 = broad

宽广(expansive) mostly describe:

space - e.g 宽广空间 (expansive space)
area - e.g 地方宽广(area is expansive)

  辽阔 vast; extensive

辽= distant = 阔= wide

辽阔 (vast) mostly describe:

space  - e.g.  辽阔空间 (vast space)
territory - e.g.  辽阔领土 (vast territory )
area - e.g. 地方辽阔 (area is vast)

Maria Efremova wrote:

  Is there any difference in usage between 广阔 and 辽阔?

广阔 is more general, It can be used to describe area in a grand scale, for example: '广阔的宇宙'(wide universe) but it can also be used to describe area in much smaller scale, for example:  '广阔的足球场' (wide football field)

It can also be used metaphorically. For example 心胸广阔 (forgiving).

辽阔 is more specific. It is exclusively for describing area in a grand scale. (area that cover vast distance and require long time to travel)

辽 itself means 'distant' (far away in time or space)

you can say '辽阔的宇宙' (vast universe) but you cannot say '辽阔的足球场' (vast football field) because it is too small in scale.


Can any noun be duplicated like 人人 and 天天?

You can do 狗狗, 腿腿 or 手手. But this usage doesn't show plural. Usually girls use these kinds of words to act cute.

熊猫 already contains two characters so we don't say 熊猫熊猫.


Pronouncing pinyin "c" in Shanxi dialect

Your pronunciation is correct.

This is a common mis-pronunciation in many places in China, not just Shanxi. In fact, this is so common that nearly every modern Chinese input software supports so called "模糊音"（ambiguous pronunciation). The user can config if this function is enabled. Here's a screenshot of the config in Google Pinyin software:

As you can see, there are more than just "c" and "ch".

This is actually also a problem in China. It's a common topic in the many exams of Chinese language. The national exam for entrance to university used to have questions on this every year.


How to say tradeoff in Cantonese and Mandarin?

Trade-off https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trade-off

  1 : a balancing of factors all of which are not attainable at the same time

  2 : a giving up of one thing in return for another : exchange

Trade-off as a noun is 代價 in both  Cantonese and Mandarin ('trade-off' basically means "in exchange" )

Example:

"Thicken the armor would provide better protection, but the trade-off is your speed would slow down."

"加厚护甲会提供更好的保护，但代價是你的速度会减慢。"

You can use "作為交換" (in exchange) instead of "代價是" e.g. "加厚护甲会提供更好的保护，但作為交換, 你的速度会减慢。"


What is the difference between "我还没打算" and "我还没决定"

In the narrow sense of a q&a practice, I would say that by saying ‘我还没打算’ you are not answering the question if you want／are going to travel (你暑假要去旅游吗), while 我还没决定 (I haven't made up my mind yet) is a very clean answer.

我还没打算 is like 'I didn't plan (the trip) yet'. Also, compare this answer to something like: '暑假我没有计划' (I have no plans for the summer holidays).

I hope this helps!


looking for a chinese simplified fonts which unable to find under the default fonts in Words

You might download Noto Sans CJK and Noto Serif CJK.

https://www.google.com/get/noto/help/cjk/

Choose SC version (SC for simplified Chinese)


Let's talk in terms of Traditional Chinese here, which I feel is going to be much clearer.

「杆」is not pronounced gǎn. The valid pronunciations listed in dictionaries are gàn and gān.
「杆」pronounced gān means pole or rod.
「桿」is only pronounced gǎn, and is a synonym of「杆」when it is pronounced gān, in the sense that「桿」can mean pole or rod.
「桿」(gǎn) also means lever or handle.

This is not hard to remember if you consider that「干」is never pronounced in the third tone, and the other common character which uses「旱」as a phonetic component,「趕」(gǎn), is also pronounced in the third tone.

Simplified Chinese merged「杆」and「桿」into one character.

The「杆」mentioned in the text is the horizontal bar referenced in the image above (扶手橫桿/扶手横杆), which should be pronounced gǎn. From Panlex:

Searching héng gǎn or hénggǎn  results in 横杆 with definitions cross-bar, rail, overarm
Searching  héng gān turns up no results
Searching  hénggān results in 横竿

(You can check Panlex's dictionary sources here by filtering with the key 'cmn'.)


The simplification has a practical purpose, that is to ease learning and daily use. 辵 is an archaic form that's not used in any modern context. There is no point simplifying it anyway. I doubt that the 简化字小组 ever looked beyond the 4000 most frequently used characters.

There are over 50,000 characters that have ever existed, only about 2000 get a simplified version in 《简化字总表》, if you don't count the radicals and derivatives, the simplified character count wouldn't exceed 400.

For the sake of argument, there could be a few other reasons.

They usually take an existing homophone character to substitute the complex one, 後 to 后 for example. 走 and 辵 sounds nothing similar.
There is this principle called 述而不作, which means they try to find existing simplifications and make them standard instead of inventing their own (though in many cases the simplified form is rather obscure). The 辵 to 走 simplification never existed.
辵 is already simple!


I'm not sure how well it's implemented but you can check this out:

台湾闽南语推荐用字

  台湾闽南语推荐用字

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  简介

  台湾闽南语推荐用字于2009年9月中发布完700个字，并发布于教育部国语推行委员会（国语会）1的网站，免费供一般社会人士与学生等下载运用。

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  选用字之时，国语会的标准如下6：

  使用本字：台湾传统闽南语文所用汉字多为传统用字，例如“山”、“水””、“天”。偶尔，台湾闽南语用字与古汉语一致，例如“箸”（筷子）、“沃”（浇）、“行”（走）、“走”（跑）、“倩”（雇用）、“晏”（晚）、“青盲”（失明）、“才调”（本事）等。
      训用字（训读字）：若是台湾闽南语本字不清楚，而现代标准汉语用字接近台湾闽南语字音与字意，则采用训用字，例如“戆”（gōng）、“挖”（óo/ué）、“会”（ē）等。
      借音字：若是台湾闽南语本字不清楚，再加上现代标准汉语用字不接近闽南语字意，而民间习惯使用音接近之字，则采用借音字，例如“嘛”（mā，也）、“佳哉”（ka-tsài，幸亏）、“磅空”（pōng-khang，隧道）等。

  现况上也配合台湾每县市1到3位乡土语言指导员，来帮助台湾闽南语的语言政策并藉以研发乡土语言等课程发展。
  台湾闽南语常用词辞典

  2008年10月17日公布《台湾闽南语常用词辞典》（试用版），收录一万六千个常用闽南语词汇及单音字7。2009年10月国语会有计划出版《台湾闽南语常用词辞典》。

  用字举例

  问题与建议

  2011年在教育部召开公听会检讨首部官方版闽南语辞典时，桃园社区大学刘志鸿表示，发布的七百个推荐字当中的四百多字有待商榷，有争议的用字不宜贸然推行到学校教学及编成辞典。例如：

  意为贫穷人的“散凶（散乡）人”、“散赤（散食）人”、“瘦呷（瘦吃）人”。

  而台中市海洋台语文研究学会理事长林绍良则认为，至少有一成要检讨修订，举例：

  蚂蚁非哺乳类动物，“狗蚁”建议应作“蚼蚁”；
     “公公、婆婆”依传统古汉字应写成“唐官、唐家”。9

you can download the following pdfs:

台湾闽南语推荐用字（第1批）

台湾闽南语推荐用字（第2批）

台湾闽南语推荐用字（第3批）

MoE's department of lifelong education also has a bunch of downloadable pdfs:

  臺灣閩南語推薦用字

  臺灣閩南語卡拉OK正字字表及內容說明
  臺灣閩南語推薦用字700字詞
  臺灣閩南語推薦用字隨手冊(1) (2)、字卡(3) (4) 及製作說明(5)

  (1) 手冊單面列印

  (2) 手冊雙面列印

  (3) 字卡單面列印

  (4) 字卡雙面列印

  (5) 製作說明


The dictionary definition of "keep it real" is "be yourself" ; "don't be fake"

"忠於(loyal to) 本色 (real color)"  means " be true to one's own nature"

I do think "be yourself " could substitutes  "be true to your nature"
These two phrases are somewhat comparable, so I would say it is not wrong to translate "keep it real" as "忠於本色"

However, 忠於本色 sounds quite awkward. It is not a common phrase, because 本色 means 'characteristic' . we generally see it in phrases that depict some unique characters.  For example 英雄本色，強人本色，奸雄本色. Placing a verb 忠於(loyal to) before 本色 just not sounds right in my ears.

Since it is a lyric, you can interpret more freely. For example:

"忠于自我" (be true to yourself),
"保持真我" (keep your true self)
"別装假" (don't fake)


What are the differences between 本 and 版 when it comes to edition

In general, there is no difference in the meaning, but the two characters are not interchangeable, since some publication use one over the other, it is up to the publisher or convention to decide whether to use 本 or 版. However, there are some general rules that apply:

The phrase 版本 means "edition" in general. It can refer to edition "without" specifications (i.e. 3rd. edition, international edition). For example:

我喜欢这个版本。(I like this edition.)(can be shortened to: 我喜欢这版)
我喜欢最新的版本。(I like the newest edition.)

It can refer to edition with numbering. However, this expression is usually used to refer to "drafts" or "versions", not "editions". For example:

我喜欢版本二。(I like the second draft.)(notice the number comes after the phrase.)
我喜欢第三个版本。(I like the third draft(version).)

Note one doesn't (or it's really strange to) say "第三版本". If you want to drop "个", you have to say "第三版", as demonstrated in 2..

版 is the most common character to refer to editions with specifications. It is used in daily conversation to refer to any kind of edition, not only publication. For example:

第一版 (First edition)
初版 (First edition)
国际版 (International edition)
珍藏版 (Collecter's edition)
复刻版 (Reprint)

If you want to refer to an edition but do not know whether the publisher uses 本 or 版, it's probably 版.

本 also refer to edition, but it only refers to publications and does not refer to "the number" of edition (with exceptions, shown in example). It is almost always limited to certain expression. Japanese publication use 本 to refer to edition more often. For example:

首发本 (First edition, Premier)(exception to no numbers rule)
第一本 (This expression is not valid)(This expression means "the first book" as in a stack of book, or something like that.)
通行本 (Normal edition)(This expression refers to the normal, non-special edition that is circulating in public.)
精裝本 (Hardcover edition)
单行本 (Standalone edition)(This phrase is from Japanese.)
文库本 (Small-format paperback edition)(This phrase is from Japanese.)

The list above is not exhaustive, but it covers the most common expressions. Note that apart from the two Japanese expression, 首发版, 通行版, and 精裝版 are all valid and common expressions, it is just a choice of style.

刷 is a common character related to "edition", it refers to "impression" or "print runs". For example:

初版一刷 (First edition, first impression)(the first print run of the first edition)

Obviously, this is for publications only.

Hope this helps.


Is there any difference between 我给你不买 and 我不给你买?

First, 不 and 没有 are different, please read
What is the difference between 不 and 没?

The rule of 不 'in front of the preposition' doesn't always apply to 没有

As your examples indicated

Both "我在商店没有买很多东西" and "我没有在商店买很多东西" are valid sentences

As for 我给你不买 vs, 我不给你买: 我给你不买 doesn't follow the rule of '不 in front of the preposition' and therefore , is invalid

You can say 我不买电脑给你 or 我不给你买电脑 (both mean "I don't buy computer for you") , but not 我给你不买电脑.


Translation from English to Chinese of the song "The Final Countdown"

Since your own translation is in Traditional Chinese, I used the same.
Besides, my translation is context-based (or I tried to make it that way), so some words are not literally translated. In case you want to learn more, further explanation is provided below.

We're leaving together
我們（要）一起離開
But still it's farewell
但這依然是離別
And maybe we'll come back
或許我們會再回來
To earth, who can tell
到地球上，誰能預料到？
I guess there is no one to blame
我想不該怪誰
We're leaving ground (leaving ground)
我們（將要）離開地面（離開地面）
Will things ever be the same again
一切還會像以前一樣嗎
It's the final countdown...
最後的倒數開始了...
The final countdown
最後的倒數
Ooh oh
噢噢
We're heading for Venus (Venus)
我們正往金星前進（金星）
And still we stand tall
而我們仍然堅挺
Cause maybe they've seen us
因為或許他們已經看到我們
And welcome us all (yeah)
且歡迎我們（是啊）
With so many light years to go
儘管有這麼多光年要走過
And things to be found (to be found)
還有這麼多事物去探索（去探索）
I'm sure that we'll all miss her so
我相信我們都會這麼想著它
It's the final countdown...
最後的倒數開始了...

  我們（將要）一起離開

將要 is added to better visualize the moment.

  誰能預料

The literal translation is 誰能告訴, but such translation does not make sense in Chinese. Besides, in this context, tell translates to 預料.

  一切還會像以前一樣嗎

Things = 東西, but in this context, the meaning is probably (every)thing, which translates to 一切. Using 東西 itself as the subject does not make sense anyway.

  最後的倒數開始了...

It's the final countdown here implies that the countdown has started, hence the phrase 開始了.

  而我們仍然堅挺

Stand tall does not literally mean standing tall but rather being brave and proud. As such, 堅挺 or 堅強 or 挺立 are some more appropriate words here.

  還有這麼多事物去探索

to be found literally means 被找到, but, in my opinion, it's probably more natural to say 去探索 or to seek/search for.

  我相信我們都會這麼想著它

sure, in this context, means 相信; her(female) translates to 它(nonliving) because in Chinese, people usually don't use her to refer to, say, Earth, country, etc.


X 个 X 个分成小组 means to divide something into groups of X. So 三个三个分成小组 means to divide these students into groups of 3. But the number of groups is not necessarily 3.
The expression "X 个 X 个" is something like giving an example of arrangement, or the manner to process a bunch of things, such as:

把这些苹果两个两个放在一起。    # two apples together
把这些苹果一个一个洗干净。    # wash the apples one by one


“That was too Easy.”  can simply be translated as "那也太容易了"

However, in a mocking manner, you can say:

不外如是 (It is unimpressive)-- It is a very insulting phrase, saying that is to look down upon someone

這就完了? (just like this, you are finished?) --implying the other guy cannot provide tougher challenge to you


How would you translate 佛系 into English?

"Buddha-like youngsters/youth" is a loyal translation which has found widespread use in the news. "Buddhist youth" is also found, but without context people may take it literally as youths of the Buddhist religion, which is unideal. I believe you may want to consider the above if translating 佛系青年 as a set phrase.

You may consider adjectives such as "unambitious", "reclusive", or "indoorsy" (informal) if translating 佛系 alone. Personally, I find "que-será-será" (or "whatever-will-be-will-be"; hyphenation is required, see here) captures the nuance of 佛系 best. However, unlike "Buddha-like", these adjectives are only explanatory and thus heavily context-dependent.

Some proposed adjectives such as "tranquil" or "geeky" are in my opinion inaccurate.

References:

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/1214/c90000-9304484.html
https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/2166781/are-chinas-affluent-buddha-youth-turning-their-backs
https://www.cityu.edu.hk/edge/grant/tdg/projects/projects_abstract/6000696.pdf
https://kknews.cc/essay/meplla9.html


Is 一 not omitted in Mandarin when it comes to measurement classifiers followed by '半'?

No. It is not omitted.

In Mandarin, "一寸半, 一尺半, 一磅半, 一噸半" cannot be said as "寸半, 尺半, 磅半, 噸半".


Western grammatical influence on vernacular Chinese in the 20th century

Regarding to how early writers are influenced by western languages. The renowned poet and translator 余光中 has written quite a lot about it. Below are some examples he mentioned in his articles.

Deliberate plurals. Traditionally plurals are only used when absolutely necessary. In the following sentence the reader doesn't actually care whether it's one fly, a group of flies, or fly as a species. Therefore, it's better to leave it out.

  战士战死了的时候，苍蝇们所首先发现的是他的缺点和伤痕…… ——鲁迅《战士和苍蝇》

Deliberate plurals, and apparent western pronoun-phrase -- "your total extinction". A colloquial way to say it is 我诅咒你们全灭.

  大小一切的苍蝇们……我诅咒你的全灭。——周作人《苍蝇》

Yes we know you've been to Cambridge. We can totally tell. "不曾知道过" is an imitation of the English past participate "haven't known". "更大的愉快" is an imitation of the English comparative "greater happiness". In whole it looks like an awkward English sentence being translated to awkward Chinese. 我不知道什么比这更愉快 would be much better.

  我不曾知道过更大的愉快。——徐志摩《我所知道的康桥》

Typical stacked modifiers. Very unsinological I'd say. It's not even good English. With English you can use clauses to right-branch a sentence, with modifiers trailing behind, theoretically ad infinitum. With Chinese, all modifiers are supposed to put at the left side. If the modifiers gets overabundant, the sentence would be very hard to digest. Usually this kind of sentences should be completely restructured.

  我这本书只预备给一些“本身已离开了学校，或始终就无从接近学校，还认识
  些中国文字，置身于文学理论、文学批评以及说谎造谣消息所达不到的那种职务上，
  在那个社会里生活，而且极关心全个民族在空间与时间下所有的好处与坏处”的人
  去看。——沈从文《边城》

Another example of stacked modifiers.

  但我是更感动于那些无望的度着寂寂的光影，沉默的，在憔悴的朱唇边浮着微笑，属于过去时代的少女的。——何其芳《哀歌》

余光中 went on to say that some of the writers, including 鲁迅 and 胡适, are already excellent 文言文 writers, but when they write 白话文, they tend to lose themselves and incorporate western language features into their articles. 鲁迅 even did this deliberately because he thought the contemporary Chinese wasn't expressive enough and it had to be improved this way.

At first this was only a literary vernacular, but they do pierce into the spoken language. Modern mandarin is already a conglomerate because of the influence of early 白话文 and their authors. In late 1970s 余光中 even proposed to eradicate 恶性西化 in Chinese.


I have not watched this drama so my interpret may not be accurate. From what is said, this line is self-mockery and ironic, but in a humorous and relaxed tone.

门墩、胖狗、肥丫头 concludes the modest values of Chinese countrymen with a ragged verse. It doesn't look like from any specific reference, at least I am not aware of. However, in modern Chinese literature about country life (especially rural reform), there were some well known lines that were in the form of 3 words in parallel, such as “篱笆、女人和狗”. A similar construct may hint/recall similar subject or value statements.
农夫山泉有点甜 is taken a famous TV commercial for 农夫山泉 (mineral water brand). This line is purely self-mockery. The subtext is "Even if I fail to struggle in the city, I become a peasant (against my own wish), at least I have sweet water to drink."
沂蒙山 is national wide known for its poverty. Even the speaker does have aspirations for what he said, the "happily ever after" tone in his words is unlikely to realize. This context confirmed that his intent of these words is purely being self-mockery and humorous.
To summarize, what he really means is "There is no other option but to struggle in the city no matter how hard it is."

When his friends heard this and laughed, it means they shared the same feeling and the subtext could be "cheers to you, Mr. Brightside!"

Again these are just guesses without having watched the drama. Having heard of it from many friends, I'll probably watch it some time...


How do I self-answer "What does this say?"

Handwriting

TL;DR: Handwriting is much harder than printed text.  The first step is to improve the image quality.  Afterwards we can input the text into OCR software.

This is on a door where I'm staying.

If we put it directly into Online OCR, it says:

  No recognized text !

The image quality is too poor.

Step 1: Improve the image quality.

We can open up Paint (actually I use Pinta) and go over the Chinese in black.

Method 1: change the brightness and contrast:

Method 2: select only the black text (e.g. GIMP has Tools/Selection Tools/By Color Select):

Step 2: Input into OCR software.

OCR software struggles with handwriting, so we may need to try a few times.  If we input the second image above into Online OCR, we obtain:

  请各位出入
  头好蓝色水门

It made two mistakes:

the original says 关好 (close) and not 头好 (meaningless);
the original says 木门 (timber door) and not 水门 (water gate).

So it's not perfect.

However, inputting the third image into EasyScreenOCR gives:

  请各位出入
  关好益包木门

It also made two errors:

the original says 蓝色 (blue) and not 益包 (meaningless).

Step 3: Compare the outputs; fix bugs.

We can compare these two transcriptions.  The writing is stuck on the inside of a blue wooden door, so...

关 (to close) makes sense and not 头 (head);
蓝色 (blue) makes sense;
木门 (timber door) makes sense.

So we can fix the bugs to obtain:

  请各位出入
  关好蓝色木门

(It may be useful here to search by radical to identify troublesome characters.)

Step 4: Translate.

Now we put this into Google Translate to give:

  Please come in and close the blue wooden door

Actually, it's not a very good translation (出入 means "come in and go out").  We can break this up a bit further using Yabla:

Thus it realistically means something like:

  Please, when coming in or going out, close the blue wooden door.


What are the characters on this? (Character identified: 壽)

This is one of the decorative variants of「壽」.

In isolation it's a bit hard to recognise, as usually it's accompanied by a multitude of other variations in a collective art piece category known as「百壽圖」.


No space is needed when writing Chinese names.

Sometimes, spaces are added for better alignment only. To align 2-character and 3-character names, space may be added in between 2-character names. Example:

  李　白
  杜　甫
  白居易
  李　賀
  陳子昂
  王　勃
  賀知章
  王昌齡


Both will be fine. They have a different emphasis and usage for the context.

When you say 其他所有, you are emphasizing "others" and 所有 isn't got special attention. The felling will be similar to "The guests today include faculty members from the math department, physics department, and all other departments from south campus".

When you say 所有其他, you have a special emphasizing of "all". It's like "Every person leave, please. EVERY one."


How to ask in Chinese Mandarin: What do you want me to say?

The first one sounds just fine. The "what" part is the object of the sentence. In forming a question in Chinese, the general position of the SVO doesn't change. The second one looks like using Chinese words to fit into an English word order.
Affirmative sentence: 你想我说 "XYZ" .
Question: 你想我说什么？ - Question word "什么" replaces "XYZ" .


Chinese input on Windows based on pinyin and tones

I like the pinyinput input method editor. Just type the letters for the syllable followed by a tone number, and it will combine them in the usual way.


汁 - Chinese zhi1, Japanese しる - in Chinese, it means juice, but in Japanese, it can mean juice, sap, or soup broth.


Are there any two chinese words which can be used interchangeably?

Many Chinese words contain multiple meanings, in certain context, two different words that share an overlap meaning can be used interchangeably
Example:

正確 : accurate; correct

凖確 : accurate; exact; precise; spot on

Interchangeable case:

正確答案 = correct answer; accurate answer
凖確答案 = accurate answer
(both mean the same)

non-interchangeable case:

凖確射擊 = accurate shooting (accurately hit the target)
正確射擊 = correct shooting (shooting in a correct form)

More example:

教 : 1. (v) teach; instruct; educate; 2.(v) [colloquial] cause; make

授 : 1. (v) confer; award; give; grant; 2. (v) teach; instruct; lecture

Interchangeable case:

教他武功 = teach him martial art
授他武功 = teach him martial art
(both mean the same)
Although they are interchangeable when meaning 'teach' , 教 is more colloquial, 授 is more literary

non-interchangeable case:

教人難受 = cause people to feel bad (cannot be changed to 授人難受)
授以重任 = give important task (cannot be changed to 教以重任)


1) 他坐在椅子上  = 2) 他在椅子上坐着

  He is sitting on/in a chair.

  or

  He sits on /in a chair.

You choose which translation to use depending on which part you want to stress.(movement or status)

3) 他在椅子上坐 (questionable)

  He sits on /in a chair.

If He sits on /in a chair in English sounds right to you, then 他在椅子上坐 is grammatically correct as well.

Here I can give you a rare context where it CAN be correct.

  你都这么大了，行为要变得正常一点，在桌子上吃饭，在厕所拉屎，在床上睡，在椅子上坐，该怎么样就怎么样。

You'd better put your context here so we can discuss. Safely speaking, avoid the third usage unless you are confident that you are correct.


有比丘五下分結盡。

有（些）比丘五下分結（已滅）盡。
有些比丘已滅盡五下分結。
Some bhiksus (Sanskrit: bhikṣu) have completely eliminated five lower-realm bonds.

此處之「下分」是指「欲界」。三界中，欲界處於最下層，低於色界、無色界，故稱之為下分。
下分 here means Realm of Sensuous Desire (Sanskrit: kāma-dhātu). It is the lowest level in the Three Realms, lower than the Realm of Form and the Realm of Formlessness. Thus, it is named 下分(界).

「結」是「繫縛」之義，亦即「煩惱」。此等煩惱繫縛眾生於三界，令吾等無止盡地輪迴，故名之為「結」。
結 (Sanskrit: saṃyojana; bandhana) here means the bond, whose alias is the affliction (Sanskrit: kleśa). The affliction fastens all beings in the Three Realms, and makes us transmigrate endlessly. Therefore, it is named 結.

五下分結 （Sanskrit: pañca-āvara-bhāgīya-saṃyojanāni, five lower-realm bonds）：
貪 (desire)
瞋 (anger; dislike)
身見：執著實我 (real self)
戒取：邪戒 (heretical precept or discipline)
疑 (doubt)


Is there any relationship between 田 (tián), 由 (yóu), 甲 (jiǎ), and 申 (shēn)?

The origin of 田 was a pictograph of a rice field

  http://www.zdic.net/z/1e/zy/7530.htm

  The primary meaning of 田 is 'rice field'

~

  The origin of 由 was a pictograph of a sprout

  http://www.zdic.net/z/1f/zy/7531.htm

  The primary meaning of 由 is 'from; begin with'

~

  The origin of 甲 was a pictograph of the intersection of a planted armor

  http://www.zdic.net/z/1f/zy/7532.htm

  The primary meaning of 甲 is 'armor; top class'

~

  The origin of 申 was a pictograph of a man kneeing with pleading hands (to plead to gods)

  http://www.zdic.net/z/1f/zy/7533.htm

  The primary meaning of 申 is 'plead'


Although he is not referring to a past action, it is a recurrent past action that is going to happen again. The idea of a pattern firmly established in the past, plus the emotional colouring, means that 又 is more appropriate than 再 here.

There's some contention about whether 了 is required after 又. I think with 要, as it's not as much an action verb (in this context) as some other verbs, 了 is not as required as in other contexts.


What is the Socio-linguistic Function of Mixing Pinyin and Characters Together By Adult Native Chinese Writers?

The 训读 (this jargon comes from Japanese) phenomenon is rare in Chinese, but it does exist, e.g. 廿 may be pronounced as èr shí (二十), 圕 as tú shū guǎn (图书馆), 哩 as yīng lǐ (英里). Doesn't that happen in English? Many people pronounce "etc." as "and so on", "i.e." as "that is", "e.g." as "for example". Traditionally, the function of 训读 in Chinese is to make difficult characters easier to pronounce and understand, but pinyin is rarely used in this case.

Recently pinyin used for non-standard 训读 in Chinese becomes popular, especially on the Internet, possibly inspired by the Japanese ACG (animation, comic, game) culture. It often suggests the deep, hidden meaning behind the apparent Chinese characters. The example in your post, 回家(xīn yì), suggests "coming home is a present (心意) for your parents". You can also find some funny examples like "丧(gan)心(de)病(piao)狂(liang)" -- it ostensibly reads "frenzied, crazy" but in fact the writer shouts out "干得漂亮, good job!" in his mind -- the effect is comical.

Besides, the reason why pinyin is chosen for denoting the implication may be obvious:

It can be easily distinguished from the Chinese character, so it doesn't disturb Chinese people reading the Chinese characters.
To a Chinese eye, pinyin is "hidden" at the first glance, so it is suitable for expressing the "deep" meaning behind those characters.


What does 其 mean in 授予其创意改变世界和影响今天所有人类的人?

其 means 他/她的 (his/her), it modifies 创意, so 其创意 means "his/her 创意".

The structure of the whole sentence is V+O, i.e. 授予(verb) + 人(object). "其创意改变世界和影响今天所有人类的" is a long modifier which modifies "人". The museum award the prize to "people", what kind of people they are? The people "whose 创意改变世界和影响今天所有人类".


Question about the usage of 是---的 in Chinese Bible translation

As a native speaker, I find the Chinese translation of the bible very hard to read. :)

Here are some tips on understanding sentences ending with 的.

的 as you may or may not know, can be used to create relative clauses. For example, 我看过的电影 (a movie that I have seen). The order is actually the reverse of that in English.

Sometimes, we omit the stuff after 的. Usually, the sentence is in the form "X是Y的". To understand this kind of sentence structure, you just need to add something appropriate after 的. Usually, adding 东西 (thing) works. For example

  这个电影是我看过的

If you add the word 东西 after 的, it becomes:

  这个电影是我看过的东西

Now you can translate it as

  This movie is a thing that I have seen

Then you can make it more natural

  I have seen this movie.

Now let's go back to the sentence in the bible. I will use the second one here because I have no idea what 賜下 means... I am an atheist who knows nothing about christianity...

  律法本是藉着摩西传的

Now we add 东西 after 的 again:

  律法本是藉着摩西传的东西

Now we translate each word:

  律法 - law

  本 - originally

  藉着 - via

  传 - propagate

Great! Now we have the whole sentence:

  The law originally was a thing that is propagated via Moses.


What is the moral of the short story 三块巧克力?

Possible explanations (some of which are found on the Internet):

(1) The mother responds to the boy's rebelliousness with forgiveness, love and understanding, thus made him ashamed of having intended to lie and deny everything.

(2) If the mother had punished him, the boy might become even more determined to lie the next time he does something wrong, in order to escape punishment.

(3) The mother saw the good side  (that the boy repaired the vase), which I believe symbolizes encouraging him to fix a mistake rather than to lie about one.

(4) The mother tried to find problems from herself (third chocolate) rather than simply blaming his son for breaking the vase. Maybe this sets a example for her son, teaching him to try to find his own problem rather than shifting responsibility.

But still, such things usually don't have a standard answer so you're welcome to interpret it in any way that is acceptable. And since such stories often describe idealistic situation, it is perfectly normal for us to find them unrealistic.

Also, I found a more complete version, which contains more descriptions of their emotions and stuff, and might help you with the understanding.

一天，男孩儿贝克放学后在客厅里玩篮球。正玩得起劲的时候，篮球不慎打落书架上的一个花瓶，花瓶“咚”地一声摔到地板上，瓶口顿时摔掉一大块碎片。更令孩子大为惊骇的是，这个花瓶不是普通的摆设品，而是家里祖辈相传的一件古董。为了掩盖自己闯下的弥天大祸，孩子慌乱地把碎片用胶水粘起来，胆战心惊地放回原位。

由于每天都会亲自擦拭花瓶上的灰尘，所以当天晚上，细心的母亲就发现了花瓶的“变化”。吃晚餐时，她问孩子：“是不是你打碎了花瓶？”害怕受到惩罚的孩子灵机一动说，一只野猫从窗外跳进来，怎么赶也赶不走，它在客厅里上窜下跳，最后碰倒了架子上的花瓶。母亲很清楚，孩子在撒谎，因为每天都是她在上班前把窗户一扇扇关好，下班回来再一一打开的。然而面对孩子胆怯的眼神和家人疑惑的目光，母亲只是不动声色地说，看来是我疏忽了，没有关好窗户。

就寝前，孩子在床前发现了一张便条，母亲让他马上到书房去。本以为蒙混过关的孩子顿时心里一沉，看来还是难逃一劫。既然已经撒了谎，他打定主意，无论母亲说什么，都据死不承认，这样他就是发再大的火也拿他无可奈何了。

书房里，橘红色的灯光柔柔地弥散开来，母亲的脸平静地沉浸在光晕中，没有一丝波澜。看到孩子忐忑不安地推门进来，她从抽屉里拿出一个巧克力盒子，把其中一块巧克力递给孩子：“贝克，这块巧克力奖你，因为你运用神奇的想象力创造出一只会开窗户的小猫，以后你一定可以写出很好看的侦探小说。”接着，她又在孩子手里放了一块巧克力：“这块巧克力奖给你杰出的修复能力。虽然用的是胶水，但是裂缝吻合得几乎完美无缺呢。不过记住，你用的胶水是用于修复纸质物品的，修复花瓶不仅需要更强有力的胶水，还需要更高的专业技术。明天我们把花瓶拿到艺术家那里，看看他们是怎样使一件工艺品完好如初的。”母亲一边说，一边又拿起第三块巧克力：“这最后的一块巧克力代表我对你的深深歉意。作为母亲，我不应该把花瓶放在那么容易摔落的地方，尤其是当家里有一个热衷体育的男孩子的时候。希望你没有被砸到或者吓到，我的小甜心。”

“可是，妈妈，我……”孩子之前那颗叛逆的心早就飞到了九霄云外，他努力解释什么，然而只笨拙地吐出几个单词。母亲用手指轻轻挡在孩子唇上：“我的巧克力盒子已经空了，所以我们的谈话已经结束了，现在去睡觉吧，晚安贝克。”她温柔地吻了吻贝克的前额，然后走出了书房。

之后的日子，一切照旧，唯一的变化是，孩子再也没有撒过一次谎，每当他不由自主地想要撒谎时，那三块巧克力就会立即浮在眼前。

没有一句责骂，没有一点非难，明明犯了错误，却得到了三块巧克力的奖励。表面看起来匪夷所思，实际上正是这三块巧克力告诫孩子做人要诚实，它们时时刻刻都是孩子心灵上的警醒。


How to express the word "enjoy"? As in "enjoy traveling"

There is nothing wrong with 'enjoy' as 享受. You don't feel natural because we don't say it that way. 要是我今晚睡不好，明天的旅行就玩不好/玩不尽兴。we prefer HAVE FUN than ENJOY.


翦除羽翼 (Clipping one's wings) is a metaphor for "remove one's power base (assistants and supporters)"

A bird cannot fly without wings  ; an emperor cannot rule without able assistants

羽翼 itself is a metaphor for "power base"

羽翼漸豐  (power base is growing stronger and stronger)


Is it correct to use 首都 for capital of province?

No, you should use 省会 (provincial capital) instead, i.e. 哈尔滨是黑龙江的省会. You could also use 省城 (in a little old-style), or 首府 (especially for 自治区(autonomous region)).

首都 is only used for the capital of a country, e.g.北京是中国的首都.


Meaning of 又把聚会当做一次分手

Your interpretations is quite right.

The lyrics means:

Even though we met again, but soon we separate again.
It should be treated as a goodbye, rather than a meeting.


A reasonable translation of "你说的" is: "That which you spoke".
的 turns 你说 (a verbal phrase) into 你说的 (a noun).

你说是什么 doesn't make any sense grammatically - it means "You said is what?" You can say, "你说什么" - which is literally, "You said what?" or in proper English, "What did you say?"

你说的是什么, however, means "That which you said is what?" or properly, "What is that which you said?"


The character 作 contains the meaning of 'create'

製作 refers to crafting, creating or making something that require skilled hands or creative mind (usually a single piece or in modest quantity)

For "making jewelry"  you should say  "製作首飾" instead of "製造首飾" because jewelry making is a fine craft.

A 'big movies' is a '大製作' (big production) - making movies is a creative art.

'製作' can be a noun for 'production'; 製造 is strictly a verb

製造 refers to manufacturing, producing or making something with or without skilled hands (from single piece to industrial scale)

For "iPhone is made by Apple" You should say "iPhone 是由蘋果製造的" instead of "iPhone 是由蘋果製作的" because the production of iPhone is certainly in industrial scale

There are no difference in usage between Mandarin and Cantonese


How did 無 originate from "a dancer holding something in each hand"?

There might be some confusion as to what the word "borrowed" means. The usage of 「無」 to mean without is a rebus borrowing. From Wikipedia:

An example that illustrates the Rebus principle is the representation of the sentence "I can see you" by using the pictographs of "eye—can—sea—ewe".

That is, to ask how the sentence

I can see you

originated from the pictures

is an incorrect question.

If it is difficult to see how the glyph evolved into its current form 「無」 (Baxter-Sagart OC: /*ma/, without), that is a more tangible query.
Start from a rather vivid picture of a person 「大」 holding a bunch of adornments in each hand, doing a rain dance*.
商甲鐵120.3合集16000
Complexify the adornments, maybe into something highly resembling a sound hint 「某」 (/*məʔ/).
西周金毛伯簋集成4009春秋金寬兒鼎集成2722秦簡10.8睡虎地秦簡隸定
Omit the shape of the person 「大」.
西漢隸老子・甲馬王堆帛書隸定
Then finally, abbreviate the bottom of the character into a few dots.
西漢隸25定縣竹簡楷
Dance is written with the derivative character 「舞」, by adding semantic 「舛」 (picture of two feet).
西周金匽侯銅泡集成11860西漢隸158縱橫家書東漢隸華山廟碑　楷

*The nature of the dance being linked with rain is from the extensive number of fragments where the character 「無」 is found with the character 「雨」. E.g. 《甲骨文合集》12828:

戊（申）卜今日（奏）（舞）㞢（有）从雨
Divination (卜) on the day of wùshēn (戊申): Today (今日), perform (奏) a dance ritual (舞). Rain appears (有从雨).

References:

漢語多功能字庫
小學堂
國學大師

郭沫若《甲骨文合集》
中國社會科學院考古研究所《殷周金文集成》


Yes. It seems you understand the first sentence pretty well.

Regarding the second sentence, I think you're confusing 持续 and 足以. 足以 is the word that means "enough".

这足以持续到周末 = This is enough to last until the weekend.

The key here is that 持续 indicates a persistence, something that continues on.


This is a frequent form of the verb 存在 which is used transitively (i.e. it accepts an accusative phrase).

You can break down the sentence as follows:

很多候选药物 -> (subject) many candidate drugs
都 -> (adverb) all
存在 -> (transitive verb) present
严重的 -> (noun modifier with 的, lax modification) serious
安全 -> (noun modifier without 的 = close modification) safety
隐患 -> (noun, object) hidden dangers, risks

It is worth noting the difference between 严重的 and 安全. Grammatically they have the same purpose, i.e. modifying the noun, but the first is a pure adjective 严重 and is therefore "applied" to the noun by interposing a 的. The second 安全 has a double value both as noun, as in 安全第一 (safety first), or as adjective, as in 这个区域很安全 (this area is [very] safe). Here 安全 is used as an adjective. It doesn't require 的 because:
安全 is inherently a noun, and
的 would be used to determine the strength of the specification. 安全的 poses more emphasis on 安全 (risks [of/for] the safety); no 的 poses more emphasis on the modified noun, thus forming a phrase with 隐患.

Finally you can translate the sentence as:
All candidate drugs present serious safety risks.


结构 : structure

合理 : makes sense

同意 : agree

开题 : start topic (thesis in your case)

结构合理同意开题  means

Your structure makes sense and I agree that you can start on the thesis.


How to create word/character sequence in Chinese that sounds the same as a word in English (or any other language)

Quote:- "Maybe instead of searching for the pinyin sound, I find two characters, and then say this is "fooboo". Is that acceptable? For example, maybe 事变 is "fooboo", even though the components are shì and biàn"

Yes, if you are a, say, Martian, landed (randomly), in China and wish to use the Chinese characters to depict the sounds of the Martian language, and completely disregard the original Chinese meanings of the words chosen.

I am being serious here because this was what happened in Japan when the Japanese took the Chinese characters, pronounced them in Japanese sounds, and in some cases even the meanings changed.

So, perhaps in Martian, "fooboo" means "I come in Peace", and chose the Chinese characters 事变, and give it the pronunciation of fooboo.


What kinship terms to use for spouses of aunts and uncles in same-sex relationships?

Same sex marriage is a relatively new concept to Chinese. Different people may address the same sex partners of their aunts and uncles differently. Most likely people would call them by the general term 姨姨 and 叔叔 like they would call a stranger who is close to their father's age.
I would suggest:

Your (mother's sister) aunt's partner is also your aunt (姨姨) To tell them apart, you can add the last name before 'aunt' If your aunt married a woman whose last name was Chan. you would call her 'Aunt Chan' (陳姨姨)
Your (father's brother) uncle's partner is also your uncle (叔叔). You also call them 'last name + uncle' (e.g. 陳叔叔)

~

Your father's sister is your 姑姑, and you can call her partner '(last name)+姨姨'
Your mother's brother is your 舅舅, and you can call his partner '(last name)+叔叔'


作揖 has 3 variations. One is hold your fists, the other is touch your fists with your palm. The last one is the typical 作揖.
Nowadays, only A and B are still used.
Their usages are roughly same, for greeting, appreciation, say goodbye...
The differences are B is prefered by martial arts people, A is a gesture which anybody could use, C is a traditional gesture used by scholars.


In which ways can I express "to make s.o. jump" ?

The causative action can be expressed in many ways, the most common one in everyday Mandarin Chinese is 让, which is used together with the verb that expresses the action.

Make X jump can be 让X跳 or 让X跳起来 depending on the context.

To further elaborate the causative:

In addition 使 and 叫 can also be used.

使 means to cause, to enable or to apply/use/employ, etc. and is often used in written language, e.g. 什么使你这样想呢? What makes you think this way?
叫 in itself means to call, to summon or to shout but can be used to express causative when someone was explicitly ordered to do something, e.g. 大夫叫他卧床一两天。The doctor ordered(/instructed) him to stay in bed for a day or two.

In some cases you can mutually replace 让, 使, 叫, in some cases not.  For example if you make someone jump by ordering him/her to jump it's 叫, because you instruct him/her verbally to do so. On the other hand if you are acting carelessly e.g. with a burning torch or a sharp knife and you cause the other person jump to avoid getting hurt, it cannot be 叫, because you are not instructing or calling on this person to do something.

Also, note that when you see these verbs, they not necessarily express causative, all of these characters have their own set of meanings, but can be used to express to make someone do something.

To learn more about this, I suggest you look into a proper grammar or text book or just look up more example sentences here and here.


Is "topic-comment structure" only used for teaching second language learners Chinese?

The topic-comment structure 主题述语句式 is a linguistics concept. Also referred to as 主题句 and 主题述题句式.
It appears it has been popularized — in the West — by Thompson and Li, Subject and Topic: A new Typology of Language in the '70s. With that paper, the authors introduce the concept of topic-prominent languages 主题突出语言 (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, etc.) vs. subject-prominent language 主语突出语言 (English, neo-latin languages, etc.).
But there are also Chinese scholars who investigated this around the same time. One of them is Zhao Yuanren 赵元任,《汉语口语语法》（A Grammar of Spoken Chinese):

汉语句子里主语和谓语的语法意义是主题 (topic) 和述语 (comment), 而不是施动者 (actor) 和动作 (action)

So it's definitely not a new idea.
Now, it makes sense that grammar is not taught to natives using linguistics concepts.
The notion is however useful to foreigners, and I would say especially speakers of subject-prominent languages, because it pinpoints immediately the most distinctive trait of Chinese. And it does so in a way that can be understood rather easily, as topic-comment structures exist in English and neolatin languages as well, despite not being very common.
Below, some examples I can come up with, which convey that the topic is especially stressed in the sentence (topics in bold):

[English] it was me who called Anna (= I called Anna)
[Portuguese] à estação, esse autocarro não chega (= esse autocarro não chega à estação)
[Italian] il libro, gliel'ho già restituito (= gli ho già restituito il libro)

(I was also not aware of topic-comment in any of the three above, until when I started studying Chinese)


條 or 個 as classifier for road (路) in Cantonese?

"條" is the correct one. I speak Cantonese and never heard of "個" in this case.


What are the tones for 不 and 一 in the expression 不一定?

Yes, 4-2-4 is correct. According to the sandhi rule of 一

  在四声前边要读二声

i.e. 一 should be pronounced in the 2nd tone before the 4th tone.

And the sandhi rule of 不

  “不”在一二三声前面不变调，读四声

i.e. 不 doesn't change the tone (the 4th tone) before the 1st/2nd/3rd tone.

BTW: 2-2-4 sounds weird to me.

Reference: 一字与不字的变调问题


喜欢(xi3 huan1) means to like

要(yao4) tends to realize the action

想(xiang3) means to want, but you don't have to realize it. Sometimes it is just an expression of your desire.


Can “相” ever be translated as “elephant”?

The Wikipedia about Xiangqi has a part about these pieces:

Elephant

Elephants (or bishops) are labeled 象 xiàng ("elephant") for Black and 相 xiàng ("minister") for Red. They are located next to the advisors. These pieces move and capture exactly two points diagonally and may not jump over intervening pieces; the move is described as being like the character 田 Tián ("field"). If an elephant cannot move due to a diagonally adjacent piece, it is known as "blocking the elephant's eye" (塞象眼).
Elephants may not cross the river, and serve as defensive pieces. Because an elephant's movement is restricted to just seven board positions, it can be easily trapped or threatened. The two elephants are often used to defend each other.
The Chinese characters for "minister" and "elephant" are homophones in Mandarin and both have alternative meanings as "appearance" or "image". However, in English, both are referred to as elephants.

So, while 相 is "minister," it is often referred to as an "elephant" along with 象. 相 is never translated as "elephant" outside of xiangqi.


In the past, it was 身分, which means the social position of an individual.

http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&searchid=Z00000131140

Somehow, in modern times, it evolved to 身份. Indeed, in Taiwan, the identity card is called "身分證", while in Hong Kong, it is called "身份證".

I would say that both "身分" & "身份" have their supporters.

If you can read traditional Chinese characters, there's a pdf about the controversy over "分" or "份" in the translation of "identity card", by the law drafting division, Department of Justice, of Hong Kong.

http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/ics/clrc/crcl_48/yen.pdf

Have fun :)


What is the difference between 准时 and 按时?

准 = accurate; precise
准时 = on time/ on schedule (event or action take place at a precisely scheduled/ appointed time)

~

按 = according to; base on
按时 = on schedule/ on time (event or action take place strictly following a scheduled/ at an appointed time)
Also: 按时 (base on hourly schedule/ on schedule timely), 按年(base on an annual schedule ) 按月(base on a monthly schedule ), 按人头 (base on head count)
Example: 按时吃药, 按年交税, 按月付款, 按人头付款 ( Take medicine on schedule hourly/ timely, pay taxes base on an annual schedule , pay a sum base on a monthly schedule, pay a sum base on head count)

Note:
准时 can be adverb or adjective - you can say "he is always 准时" but not "he is always 按时" because 按时 is an adverb


Yes, 觉得 expresses more of what someone thinks based on feeling. 认为 expresses more of a person's opinion based on considerations and beliefs. As such, 认为 is always stronger than 觉得 when communicating thoughts. There are cases where the two words are not interchangeable:

When expressing a strong belief:

  在过去，人们认为喜欢抛头露面的妇女是不守妇道的。 In the past, people considered women who
  appear in public to be lacking in virtue.

When expressing a feeling:

  我觉得很遗憾，这件事不该发生的。
  I feel very sorry. This incident should not have happened.

Where they are meant to communicate thoughts, although interchangeable, there is always a preference of one over the other:

When expressing a casual thought without a line of reasoning:

  我觉得这篇文章太深奥了，就算让我再读几遍我也读不懂。 I feel that this article is too
  profound. I wouldn't be able to comprehend even if I read it a dozen
  times.

When expressing an opinion with a clear line of reasoning:

  我认为这篇文章太深奥了，使用的词汇不是一般人都能看懂的。 I opine that this article is too
  profound. The vocabulary used is not what an ordinary person can understand.


You can look here in the new-look zdic for many uses.

For example sentences you can look here or here.

Often 在 is used with words like 上、下、里 as a double preposition. Watch out for that.

The difference between 吃 and 在吃？Not much and subtle!

你要吃饭还是吃面？
Would you like rice or noodles?
我吃饭。I want rice.
我吃面。I want noodles.

我在厨房里吃晚饭。I'm in the kitchen eating my dinner.
我在吃晚饭。I'm eating my dinner.

你干嘛呢？What are you doing?
我吃饭呢！I'm eating!
你干嘛呢？What are you doing?
我在吃饭呢！I'm eating!


勤 is phonetic 堇 + strength/power 力.
堇 has few interpretations. One is clay (yellow soil 黃 + 土).
Another is possibly a person being burned alive as a punishment  + fire 火. The character with this punishment meaning is 暵 and is not really seen in modern usage.
 is the basis for these 2 characters 難 and 嘆, meaning difficult and sigh respectively. It's a person with inflamed lungs/chest breathing in pain.
Unlikely there's any link from 堇 to 勤 with regards to its meaning, so if you want a sort of mnemonic, think of 勤 as hard work requiring strength 力 to overcome difficulty /難.


Should Pinyin be written as it is (collectively) pronounced or in terms of the individual syllables?

I want to emphasize what @user3306356 says in a comment.  Hanyu Pinyin (漢語拼音) is an officially established system and has explicit rules which you can see  here. As @jdods remarks in a comment to this answer, that means tones are written as assigned and not as pronounced, while syllables are grouped as pronounced.

This is important because Hanyu Pinyin is not only a way to teach children in China to read, or a way to help foreign learners of Chinese.  It is also an international standard for rendering Chinese texts in a western alphabet.

You should probably try to learn the actual international standard -- especially if you think you might later use Pinyin in transcribing anything for other people to read.

As to the question "why not write everything exactly as it is spoken?" Here are three answers.  But in fact Hanyu Pinyin is the outcome of nearly a century of efforts by many scholars and linguists, and I am probably missing many of their reasons.

First, so far as two or three third tones in a row are concerned, Hanyu Pinyin does tell you exactly how they are normally spoken because you know the Hanyu Pinyin rules.  What you really meant was "why not write each individual syllable exactly as spoken without relying on context?"

So, second, context is a very complex issue: As @michealyus notes, third tone sandhi on more than three successive third tones depends on how the sentence is meant to be broken into phrases.  More: the tone on a word may turn neutral at the end of a phrase, or may not if you want to emphasize that word for some reason (indeed even so common a phrase as 你好 can be spoken as ni3 hao3 in a context that calls for for special emphasis).  And the exact way a neutral tone is pronounced depends on the tone before it (see  this link).  Thus, many words would have at least three spellings.  Now suppose you as writer want to quote something someone said.  You would have to choose how to spell each sentence by deciding how the sentence would have been broken into phrases (this is often ambiguous) and how much emphasis was intended (ditto).

Third, from the reader's viewpoint, consider the writer whose pseudonym is spoken lao2 she3.  Is the first word there a second tone word?  Or is it a third tone word being written as second?  Better to write it as Lao3 She3, and use the rule for third tone sandhi.  The ambiguities of phonetic representation of Mandarin are bad enough intrinsically.  Let's not make them worse by giving single words multiple spellings.


What is the difference between 油漆, 涂料 and 油彩 please?

油画: oil paint (the artwork or 'painted canvas')

油画颜料/油性颜料: oil paint (the painting material)

油彩: grease paint (the painting material, for artwork or cosmetics)

水彩: water color

颜料: paint (materials in general, usually refers to that for artworks)

涂料: paint/coating (materials in general, usually refers to that for industrial purposes such as painting a house)

油漆: oil-based paint (usually refers to that for industrial purposes)


This character is 狄仁傑, the original Chinese novel about his cases is 狄公案.

Different spellings are caused by different romanisation schemes, and which languages is used (from & to).

In the 唐 dynasty, it was Middle Chinese; nowadays Cantonese is still highly related to it. The pronunciation of this name is:

狄 dik6; sound file

仁 yan4; sound file

傑 git6, sound file

You may change the scheme used at the top right corner of the page, to IPA :)

Have fun :)


Purpose of the reduplication in 一步一步地往上爬

What dROOOze wrote is correct.  一步一步 is like step by step in English.  It can be shortened as 一步步，but it will lose the cadence and some effect.
You can probably apply this structure for every measure word, e. g.  一个一个，一升一升，一条一条，etc.
Well, unlike 一个个 or 一个一个,  个个 denotes the sense of every.  E. g.  我们班同学个个学习好 // Every student in our class studies well.


You are correct. 主播 (anchor person/ program host) makes no sense in this context

The one who read out the content in an 有聲書 (Audiobook) should be called  "誦讀者" (one who recite text)

Or "朗讀者" (one who recite text in a clear voice) if the content is of poetic nature

阅读者 mainly mean the one who read (with eyes, not reading out with voice)

I own a few Audiobooks, the one who read the book out is listed as "narrator" (叙述者), So. 叙述者 could be used in Chinese Audiobooks titles too


What are the difference between e.g. 想, 觉得 and 认为 when expressing opinion?

I believe it's the same as in English:

  我想 - I think (that) xxxxxxxx
  我相信 - I believe (that) xxxxxxx
  我觉得 -
  I feel (that) xxxxx

I will hold to explain how to use each of these in English as you should have an idea already.


The formal version of "謝謝", "對不起", especially in an email?

Alter words:

谢谢：多谢，感谢，谢恩（古代臣子百姓对君王说的）

对不起：抱歉，有愧，歉仄

As your case,

對不起現在才回覆您。

謝謝你的幫助！

rephrase:

（非常）抱歉现在才回复您。

（十分）感谢您的帮助！


Need help in understanding this question from sample hsk question

而时间是有限的， 所以不但要会读书，而且还要会选择其中的好书阅读。

In this context:

要: need;

会: know how (to);

A rough translation:

Well, time is limited, so we need not only know how to read books but also know how to pick good ones among (all kinds of) books to read.


What does the notation 【方】 mean in a Chinese dictionary?

【方】

Is short for 方言.
方言 is defined by mdbg as:

topolect / dialect

Why saggy is considered topolectical or dialectical, though, is beyond me.


How to use jyutping as an input method on windows 8.1

You can try the Cantonese Phonetic IME at http://cpime.hk/. I don't know about specific support for Windows 8.1, but it works on prior versions of Windows.


This '令牌敲响‘ is confusing. Possibly, the author was thinking of, or referring to a metal plate similar to a cymbal, maybe hanging on a string, which could be hit with a stick to produce a sound. The old guy hit it to drive out the demons. Sure would drive me crazy! 'Out out damn spot!'

I would translate '令牌‘ as 'badge of authority', or maybe here 'cymbal of authority'.


Are there any original sources documenting the simplification process?

Simplified Chinese is no stupid command from "communist overlords". There was a committee discussing simplification, and they did choose simplified characters with academic discretion. I have found this semi-official book for explaining the sources of almost each simplified characters, plus the history of Chinese character simplification from Qing Dynasty:
《简化字溯源》(Tracing the Source of Simplified Characters), published by Language & Culture Press, 1997. (It's not an English book, but this is all I can think of. )
You can borrow it from a library, or buy it online for about $6.
Edit:
For those who think Simplified Chinese is a brutal command from the "red evils":
Chinese simplification is a process that started thousands of years ago, which has been performed by various regimes, not just the Communist China.
Lishu(lit. "slave script") is the best-known simplification in Ancient China, promoted by Qin Shihuang. Before that, Xiaozhuan(lit. "minor seal (script)"), which is more complex with round and delicate curves, served as the official script (after Qin unified China).
In 1935, the KMT government had drafted a proposal of simplifying Chinese, which contains about 500 characters as the "first batch". Most of them were accepted by the current Simplified Chinese. It was rejected because Dai Li, the head of intelligence, strongly opposed the proposal with the reason "Simplified Chinese is abomination to the ancestors".
The current Simplified Chinese was sometimes called Yi-Jian ("First Simplification"), because there were Er-Jian ("Second Simplification") during the early 1980s, which was really a disaster. The Second Simplification was made in a hurry, with a lot of simplifications that may cause confusion, violate the principle of making Chinese characters, or be just too ugly. People around China also invented their own simplification arbitrarily, which brought more confusion. The Second Simplification was terminated in mid-1980s, and the standard Chinese script was rolled back to the First Simplification.
What I'd like to say is, Simplified Chinese we use today may be imperfect, but they're so widely used and tested in daily life, and it is the best existing solution besides Traditional Chinese, with less complexity, and introduces minimum confusion. It can be left today because it is based on extensive research and respect to the principles.


都 is an adverb. The subject is 你(的)小店.

  你最近都在做些什么啊？
  你都去过那些地方？
  你平时都听些什么样的歌？
  你都怎么想的？
  ...

When 都 is used, the question sounds less specific. The speaker either expects a long or complete list, or expects the listener to elaborate at length or in detail.


Who signed this Chinese peice of art? (Characters identified: 吳氏 小平画印)

i think it's:
巫峡神女峰

壬午年

xx月

Can't tell which month it is.. maybe someone else can identify it.


Can any one tell me about the script or the seals please? (Characters identified: 藍鳥深竹 癸亥年 二月 興利)

as @droooze pointed out, the text is:

藍鳥深竹
癸亥年　二月　興利

the first seal is "陳奇傑印"
the second one is "陳興利畫"
"藍鳥深竹" is the painting's title, roughly
blue (藍) bird (鳥) [in] bamboo forest (深竹)
"癸亥年" is 1983 - 60i (i is integer), eg 1983, 1923, . . .
"二月" is february
together, the painting is drawn in the february of 1983 (or 1923, . . .)
"陳奇傑印" means the seal (印) of mr 陳 (surname) 奇傑 (name)
"陳興利畫" means drawn (畫) by mr 陳 (surname) 興利 (name)
most likely, mr 陳 used 2 names here.
have fun :)


The grammar is the same for both, but 纠正 often has a stronger meaning. It is often used when a lot needs to be changed or the errors are more serious, and 改正 is often for smaller changes, when not that much needs to be changed. Also 改正 is more used when you want to correct your own errors, instead of other people's errors.

The are both typically used for 缺点 (shortcomings) and 错误 (errors).

In 《现代汉语规范词典》 I found this: "改正"是主体的自觉行为；"纠正"可以含有强制意味

I think 纠正 is slightly better in your sentence, since these errors need to be immediately corrected, they are probably a little bit more serious.


How can I get a Mandarin teacher while living in a small town without Chinese schools/institutions?

There are a few options:

Finding an online tandem partner who speaks Chinese and is interested in learning a language that you can teach (your native language or another language in which you have a near-native proficiency). Mosalingua lists a few sites where you can find a tandem partner; there are several other ones, e.g. Polyglot club. See also How I found Chinese speaking friends online on ChineseForums.com.
Finding a paid tutor or teacher. The classifieds section on ChineseForums.com might be helpful here. Some of the sites that help you connect with tandem partners can also help you find paid tutors or teachers. The actual teaching may work through Skype lessons or through video conferencing functionality built into the site.


Can you decipher what this seal stamp says and means?

The the characters on the stamp were written in 小篆(xiao zhuan), which is an ancient Chinese writing form. The character on the right is 麥, which means wheat. The character on the left is 菲, which means the fragrance of plants. I don't know how those two characters could relate to 'strong and smart'. I think the combination of the two characters might have a specific meaning in Japanese, since there are also Chinese characters in Japanese.


It is very common and, in my personal experience, has similar offensiveness as the f word in English.

It can be offensive and quite rude: e.g. in a business negotiation, when the deal is finally broken and one side says:

  你他妈的给我滚出去 = "Get your fucking ass out of my office"

It may be used in irony among close friends which is not offensive then:
E.g. when two close friends meet after a long time, one may say:

  你最近死哪去了? 他妈的都忘了哥了! similar as "Where have you been lately? I fucking miss you!"

Hope this help to get the points.


Does this letter to our adopted Grandmother make sense?

Any native Chinese speaker can edit and make your letter perfect and native sounding, however, that would not be your writing and won't help your learning. Instead, I would suggest some basic improvement.

  紅紅感冒

since Chinese grammar doesn't have tenses, you have to indicate  Hong Hong's is "currently" having a cold by putting "現在"(now/currently) in front of the verb.
If you treat 感冒 as a noun, "紅紅感冒" in English would be " Hong Hong flu" (subject+n) you need to add a verb between the two nouns, the simplest one is "有"(has); If you treat 感冒 as a verb, then you don't need to add another verb.

  我們會回來，當時她是健康的。

Unlike in English, Chinese sentences usually state the time first, therefore, this sentence should has been "當時她是健康的, 我們會回來。"  but "當時" is a common term for " at that time (in the past)". The correct structure is
 [ (當) + (relative phrase) + (時)] / [ (當)+(她健康) +(時)]

當她健康時 ( when she is healthy) would be grammatically correct.

我們會回來 means " we will be back" ,  you should add the reason " to see you"  and write " 我們會回來看你"

*You can further improve the writing by replace " 當她健康時" (when she s health) with " 等她康復後" (wait until she has recovered)

*Using terms like "尊鑒, 謹此" is too formal for someone close to you.  A casual " 親愛的" (dear) feels more intimate.

*To avoid the same subject 我們 appear twice in consecutive sentences, you can omit the second subject 我們.

親愛的曾祖母:

我們想念你 ，
現在紅紅(有)感冒，
等她康復後，我們會回來看你，

愛你!

*is she 祖母 (grandmother) or 曾祖母 (great grandmother?)


Colloquial translation of "preaching to the choir"?

I would say the Chinese 4 characters idom "班门弄斧" could be best for "preaching to the choir".

“班门弄斧" basically means "display one's slight skill before an expert." "班" here represents the best carpenter in China ancient history whose name is '鲁班', '弄斧' means display somebody's axe skill.

Another one comes into my mind  is '关公面前耍大刀', '关公' was a big hero in China ancient history who can do '大刀broadsorwd' very well, and if you show your sword skill before him, that's really not a right thing.


Not much of a different depends on the question asked if this is an answer:

我们两个是好朋友 - Us two are good friends

我们是两个好朋友 - We are two good friends


Does this type of colloquial compound adjective translate directly: "got-rejected dance"

Not colloquial, normal.

跳他们不让我表演的舞蹈。
Dance the dance which they would not let me perform.

[relative clause]

A relative clause is an extended, trailing adjective. Chinese knows no relative clauses. Chinese puts these kind of things first. Case considerations precluded the use of such adjectives before nouns in Western languages.

Dance the [which they would not let me perform] dance.

Dance the dance [(which) they would not let me perform].

跳 [他们不让我表演的] 舞蹈。

Ah, well, in that case:

I stamped my feet in anger at my rejection. = I danced my "I've-been-rejected" dance.

被拒绝后，我气得直跺脚.


What's the most accurate translation for "copping a feel"?

I would like to use 动手动脚 for 'cop a feel', or 'paw someone'.

他一接近女人就忍不住动手动脚. He can't be near a woman without pawing her.

揩油 and 吃豆腐 are also good options for 'cop a feel'.


In the grammar structure 又 [adjective] 又 [adjective], is there anything wrong with combining a negative adjective with a positive one?

Question: In the grammar structure 又 [adjective] 又 [adjective], is there anything wrong with combining a negative adjective with a positive one

Yes, there's something wrong with combining a negative adjective with a positive one in the [又 [adjective A] 又 [adjective B] structure.

The problem is -- You can't do that!

All the examples you made up are wrong. [又(A) 又 (B)] is equal to [(A) and (B)] in English.

  (A) and (B) have to be both positive or both negative

Example:

(both positive)

[又(迅速)又(准确)] = [(fast) and (accurate)]

We don't say  "his punch is fast but accurate" in English ; We only say "his punch is fast and accurate"

~

(both negative)

[又(贪心)又(愚蠢)] = [(greedy) and (stupid)]

We don't say "this man is greedy but stupid" in English; We only say "this man is greedy and stupid"

~

(one positive, one negative)

[(迅速)但(不准确)] = [(fast) but (inaccurate)]

We don't say "his punch is fast and inaccurate" in English. For the same reason, we don't say "他的拳头又快速又不准确" in Chinese

[(贪心)但(守法)]= [(greedy) but (law abiding)]

We don't say "he is greedy and law abiding" in English. For the same reason, we don't say "他又贪心又守法" in Chinese


够 or 夠 shared the same meaning and same pronunciation. We called this situation as 異體字(Variant character). In Taiwan or Hong Kong, we use 夠 more frequently than 够. In Mainland China, they use the opposite one more frequent. All of us can understand both words.

For more about variant character in Chinese, you may refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variant_Chinese_character


I think a close search of the SE site is what's called for here. Doing so I was able to find a link to Yellowbridge.com and it's memory game (an alternative to flash cards). http://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/mtch-options.php?deck=ic-1-1. There are other websites like http://lingomi.com and http://zhongwen.com that may prove useful.  Chinesetools.com is another. A Google search will yield many more.


How to indicate in Chinese text that a quote has been translated from English?

Once an English sentence is translated into Chinese, you can treat it as Chinese.
(上引号 - upper quotation mark) = 「
(下引号 - lower quotation mark) = 」
Tom said "I have a house" = 汤姆说：「我有一套房子」。
It is very common for people to use English quotation mark in Chinese text, there is nothing wrong with 汤姆说：“我有一套房子”.

In a Chinese text, if I used a quote that was in English, but was translated into Chinese, how would I indicate this?

I would write:
汤姆说：「我有一套房子 (I have a house) 」。
汤姆说："我有一套房子 (I have a house)".
If you don't want to use English in the sentence at all, you can write:
汤姆说：「我有一套房子 (英文) 」。
汤姆说："我有一套房子 (英文)".


What is the difference in meaning between 应变 and 适应 here？

应变 is a short form of 适应/应付 变化, 应变能力 means the capacity of adapt to the change (of environment). The key point is how to deal with the change.

适应能力 means the capacity of adapt to the environment, the key point is how to adapt to the existing environment.


What is the difference between 好多 vs. 很多?

好 may be used with the meaning of 很. The difference is that it's more colloquial.

Source: myself =P


Although not a direct translation, "沒關係/没关系" or  "沒問題/没问题" can also sometimes mean "don't worry" depending on context.

沒關係/没关系 - It doesn't matter (note: not suitable for the 2nd example)
沒問題/没问题 - No problems (ok for both examples)


The difference between 规范，规则，规章，规矩，规定，规律

规矩、规定，规则 are relatively close,cf."汉语同义词词典＂［同］ 名词。指共同遵守的行为规范和准则。可与＂有、是、遵守、违反、合乎＂等动词搭配。

［异］
［规矩 着重指某种行为标准或习惯。多是人们约定俗称或长期沿袭下来的，不成文的，还常与＂立、定、兴、懂、守＂等动词搭配。可构成＂循规蹈矩＂。多用于口语。例：（１）房东老太太的规矩是每到夜里十点半就关院门，一根大铁栓外加一把大铁锁，关得，牢牢实实。（陈玙＜夜幕下的哈尔滨＞）（２）我不坐。我们庄稼人有个规矩，不坐重载车。（李准＜黄河东流去＞）（３）人乡随俗。到哪儿听哪儿的，入了医院，就守医院的规矩。（谌容＜人到中年＞）（４）我家另一条规矩：无论大人孩子都得参加劳动（梁斌＜童年＞）（５）那时候，人们，尤其是青年，就都循规蹈矩，既不嚣张，也不浮动，一心向着＇正路＇前进了。（鲁迅＜一点比喻＞）

［规定］ 着重指所制定的关于事物的数量、质量标准，或处理事物的方式方法，可以成文的，也可以口头宣布的。使用范围比＂规矩＂宽。还常与＂实行、执行、符合＂等动词搭配。通用于口语和书面语。例（１）领事裁判和片面最惠国待遇的规定，破坏了中国的司法权，扩大了资本主义国家的侵略权益。（初级中学课本＜中国历史＞）（２）上级有过明确的规定，在新区不能随便吸收战士，防止敌人派遣的奸细混到队伍里来。（吴强＜李小虎投军＞）（３）可某些单位为了给某些人以方便，连职干部从师里便可直接调往外军区。这当然是违反规定的（李存葆＜高山下的花环＞）（４）乘交通车进城。每人收费一元二角，这是最近开始实行的新规定。。。（黄裳＜东单日记＞）

［规则］ 着重指制定出来的供大家共同遵守的制度、章程。一般是成文的，如＂比赛～、交通～、考试～、借书～、管理～＂等。还常与＂制定、执行＂等动词搭配。通用于口语和书面语。例（１）旧体诗、戏曲、大鼓书等都有规则，这些规则都与平仄有关。（老舍＜本固枝荣＞）（２）这时我才恍然大悟，回想起来，我们确实冒失，直接去找吴晗同志要书是违反秘密工作的规则的。（戴兔＜难忘的会见＞）（３）按比赛规则，在跳台上停留的时间过长，是要扣分的，所以他绝不允许队员养成这种不良习惯。（李铃修＜厄运＞）（４）汉字不是拼音，不是教会二三十个字母和一套拼写规则就能了事的。（吕叔湘＜关于语文教学的两点基本认识＞）

［附］＂规矩＂兼属形容词。形容人行为端正老实，或事物合乎标准或常理，如＂这个人老老实实，很规矩＂，＂说话很规矩＂。＂规定＂兼属动词。表示制定出关于事物的数量、质量标准，或处理事物的方式方法。（见［规定／限定］）＂规则＂兼属形容词。形容在形状、结构或分布上合乎一定的方式，整齐，如＂断壁上密布着一个个不规则的石孔＂。

规律 compared to 法则：［同］ 名词。指事物之间内在的必然联系。这种联系不断重复出现，在一定条件下经常起作用，并且决定着事物必然向着某种趋向发展。
［异］  ［法则] 多用于哲学和社会科学著述，如＂自然～、经济～、价值～＂等。用于书面语。科学语体，例：（１）想起来，这倒很合乎辩证法的由量变到质变的法则。（刘白羽＜灯火＞）（２）当然，没有人横加干涉或强迫命令，而自然规律和法则也没有人能够违抗或背道而驰。（吴晓铃＜漫话方言＞）（３）集中兵力的法则，正是战胜堡垒主义的工具。（毛泽东＜中国革命战争的战略问题＞）（４）但是，在作人上，我有一定的宗旨与基本的法则，什么事都可将就，而不能超过自己划好的界限。（老舍＜我的母亲＞）

［规律］ 使用频率比＂法则＂高，使用范围比＂法则＂宽，可用于学术性著述，也可用于一般事理的表达，如＂历史～、社会～、经济～、客观～、特殊～、发展～、必然～、普遍～、发现～、掌握～、符合～、违反～＂等。通用于口语和书面语，可构成＂规律性＂。例：（１）（李四光）从变形泥巴中找寻着构造形式的规律。（徐迟＜地质之光＞）（２）科学的任务是一方面发现事实，一方面在事实里边寻找秩序，发现规律。（吕叔湘＜语言和语言学＞）（３）普通话只有２１个声母，３８个韵母，４个声调，依声配合规律拼成４００多个音节，配以４声总共不超过１３００个音节。（申小龙＜中国文化语言学＞）（４）我国的江河，大小千百条，却有一个规律，都往东流，最终流入大海去___这叫做＂万河朝宗＂。（杨朔＜海市＞）（５）人的认识，主要地依赖于物质的生产活动，逐渐地了解自然的现象，自然的性质，自然的规律性、人和自然的关系；。。。（毛泽东＜实践论＞）

much more at bkrs (numbers are frequency numbers)：as nouns: 规定 II
[stipulation; prescription; formulation]∶预先制定的规则
关于奖金如何发放, 上级最近有新的规定 #423
规律:law; regular pattern:
客观规律 objective law
供求规律 the law of supply and demand
历史发展的规律 law of the development of history
自然规律 law of nature #2022
规范（约定俗成或明文规定的标准） standard; norm; specification; specs; canon; canonical; performance specification （设备的）#1647
规矩 [rule; established practice] 规则与礼法1) rule; custom
2) social etiquette; manners
这孩子真没规矩。 This child has no manners.#3739
规章 rules; regulations:
改革不合理的规章制度 reform irrational rules and regulations#8458


What is the difference between putting 今天 before or after the subject?

It's really a matter of emphasis. The greater emphasis is on the word that goes first.

今天我去..., means, Today, I am going out...

On the other hand, with 我今天去...,

the emphasis is on the  我 or I.


How can 敷衍 signify both 'perfunctory' and 'expound'?

敷演 is an ancient expression while 敷衍 is still in use. They are different words.
I am not sure why 演 in 敷演 can be replaced by 衍.
ref:

敷演
敷衍


发火 is usually used metaphorically for a person, meaning getting angry. For example, you can say to someone 别发火/don't get angry, 他又发火了/he is angry again.

着火 is usually used as its literal meaning for a real object. Xxx 着火 means xxx catching fire/be on fire. For example, 房子着火了/ the house caught fire.

Basically, they won't be used interchangeably. We don't say 他又着火了 or 房子发火了.


Does 汉语书 (Hànyǔ shū) "Chinese book" only mean "a book for learning Chinese", or can it also mean "a book in Chinese"?

In China a _____ is a :

____ 语文书：Chinese book for Chinese kids to learn Chinese reading and writing
____ 数学书: maths book
____ 英语书：book for Chinese kids to learn English

一本汉语书 = 一本中文书

'汉语书'更多用于学习汉语的书，
'Chinese book' is mainly used to refer to  a book for studying Chinese, (language)

但是根据'汉语书'的字面意思，
but the literal meaning of 'Chinese book'

可以理解为'汉字书籍'，
can be understood as 'Chinese character book'

也就是“book written in Chinese”.
i.e. “book written in Chinese”.

中文书则更多用于“book written in Chinese”.

As you so rightly said, the context will reveal all!


Is the character 跌 (to trip) a deliberate combination of 足 (foot) and 失 (to lose)?

Yes, it is a deliberate combination. But 「失」 is also a sound hint!
「跌」 (Baxter-Sagart OC: /*lˤi[t]/, to fall, stumble) is comprised of semantic 「足」 (foot) and simultaneously semantic and phonetic 「失」 (/*l̥i[t]/, to lose).

Compare several other characters in the phonetic series:


躺着 can be used for persons laying on an object. What can we use for an object laying on another object? ...着?

Assume you have a piece of paper.
Now you if put a pencil on the paper, you can say: 把一支笔放在纸上。As you've already known, 放 just means "put", so there is a wide range of usage.
If you put a stone on the paper to avoid your paper being blown away. You may want to emphasize the weight that the stone put on the paper, you can say: 把一块石头压在纸上。
If you put another piece of paper on the paper, you can say: 把一张纸叠在另一张纸上。You usually 叠 something similar together. say, 把桌子上的纸叠到一起，把书叠整齐，etc... Usually they are thin stuff, but there is an exception, that we call human pyramid as 叠罗汉 (罗汉 means people here)。
If you put something on the paper (e.g. a hat), and want no body see what you write on the paper. You can say, 把帽子盖在纸上。
If you put the paper on water, the paper floats on the water. Then you can say, 纸漂在水面上。If you want to emphasize that, its density is low, so that if you put it down to water, it can come back to the surface. Then you may say, a rubber duck 浮在水面上。
Other cases may depends on what the action look like, then you choose a corresponding verb: 衣服挂在衣架上，气球悬在屋顶上，刀子架在脖子上 etc.
You can use all of them with "着"：纸上放着笔，压着石头，叠着书，盖着帽子，supprisingly with all these stuff, 它还在水面上浮着。


How can I find the exact written versions of commonly spoken Cantonese words?

There are a lot of Cantonese dictionaries online. The one I often use is CantoDict. It is volunteer-contributed and is pretty comprehensive. I has both characters and words, and has pronunciation for both Cantonese in Jyutping and Mandarin in pinyin, meanings in English. and you can search based on characters, Jyutping, pinyin, or English.

Once you get the hang of Jyutping, that will be the easiest way to search for something you know how to pronounce in Cantonese but don't know the character for.


It is also used for constructing relative clause, such as, 那个穿白衣服的人是老板。我喜欢妈妈做的菜。


Transliterated Loanwords From Two Seperate Languages Of The Same Thing

For different translations:

cement: 水门汀、水泥

Internet: 因特网、互联网

vitamin: 维生素、维他命

Sacramento: 沙加缅度、三个馒头 :P

Bourgeoisie: 布尔乔亚、资产阶级

From different languages, actually, there are many, if you count Japanese and Cantonese.

Florence: 翡冷翠、佛罗伦萨 (Italian, English)

metaphysics：形而上学（日）、玄学（中）

evolution: 进化(日）、天演（中）

philosophy: 哲学（日）、理学（中）

bus: 巴士（粤）、公共汽车（汉）

However, Japanese translations won over most early Chinese translations in these words.


Ordering food from a menu in a restaurant

Actually, it is correct when you point and say "这个", but Chinese speakers often use "一份" instead of "一个". The complete sentence may look like "我想要一份XXX" or “我要这个”.

Hope this may help you.


截 in 截图 (noun) means something similar to 'that is taken', so 截图 in a word means 'the screenshot that is taken'
This becomes clearer if I use 截 as a verb in this context 请(please)你(you)截(take)一张(a)图(screenshot)
The idea of intercept in this case can be explained as that a screenshot is a static image, so you are intercepting something that is running in a moment of stasis.
But 截图 is always used in the context of screenshot, it is assumed that 图 in this case already means (screen)shot. Much like how the word 'image' can change what it refers to in specific context. You can't use 截图 in the context of taking a photo.


Are radicals like first letters or letters in general?

Radicals like index/directory, but not first letter (in most cases).

I suggest you go to a library or book shop to borrow / buy a Chinese dictionary (paper format). Or, visit here to experience the online dictionary. The experience will be more direct than the text explanation.

In the other answer, I mentioned that the dictionaries in China are arranged by Pinyin.

  A a 阿 an 安 ang 昂 ao 奥 …
  B ba 八 爸 bi …
  …
  Z za 匝 …

So if you know the pinyin of 你 is nǐ, you can directly turn to N, just like what you do in English dictionaries. So the “first letter” of 你 is N (“你”字的音序是 N). Sometimes, if you need to arrange list of people's names, arranging in Pinyin of surname (以姓氏音序排序) is common. B 白冰; C 陈丽华; L 李琦; O 欧阳爽; W 王勇; Z 张志远. (The other common methods is arranging in the stroke number of surname 以姓氏笔画数排序: 2 丁利; 4 王勇; 5 白冰; 7 陈丽华)

If you don't know the pinyin of the characters, you then have to guess the radical, just like you need to guess the quotient of 52 ÷ 7; maybe it is 8, 8 × 7 = 56, it is larger than 52; let's try 7, 7 × 7 = 49, 52 - 49 = 3; therefore 52 ÷ 7 = 7 R 3.

Native speakers know some commonly used radicals in elementary school. For character 你, native speakers apparently knew that 亻 is a radical, but 尔 is not a radical. How do they learn to guess radicals faster? Their elementary school teacher will give them some skills / tips. But, if there are two radicals, the dictionary is usually included at the same time, but the one that is not recommended is marked with ° sign (even some dictionaries do not mark it).

Traditional Chinese dictionaries in Taiwan usually arrange the characters by Bopomofo (注音|zhùyīn) such as ㄅ (b in Pinyin), ㄆ (p in Pinyin), ㄇ (m in Pinyin), ㄈ (f in Pinyin). Cantonese dictionaries usually arrange the characters by Jyutping (粵拼|yuèpīn), which is a phonetic alphabet in Latin script (A-Z) designed for Cantonese. But all these dictionary offer radicals index/directory.

Note: I cannot guarantee that there is no dictionary arranged pages by radicals. But Pinyin, Bopomofo and Jyutping are common.


Could I say something in the past tense that wasn't expected like "战争为期十年“?

Yes you can.

为期 is originally a V-O phrase, literally,

为: as, being
期: period, deadline

Putting them together, 为期 means (to be done) by/within (a certain period), which implies the limit is intentionally set. E.g.

  我等你，三年为期。 I'll wait for you for 3 years.

However, the phrase 为期 as a whole can also be used as a verb, and with that usage the sense of 'intentionally set time limit' is dimmed. It merely means to last. E.g.

  为期三年的等待。A waiting that lasted for 3 years.

战争为期十年 is another example for this usage.

How formal is 为期？ Could it ever be used in a regular conversation?

It sounds formal, but it could be used in regular conversation.

In spoken language, the shorter the sentence is, the more people tend to avoid using formal words. So if 战争为期十年 is the whole sentence, it sounds more casual to say 战争持续了十年 or even more colloquially 战争打了十年.

In a long sentence though, it is okay to use formal words if they can shorten the sentence or simplify sentence structure. Because 为期 is shorter than 持续了, 在一场为期十年的战争里，... doesn't sound too much more serious than 在一场持续了十年的战争里, .... This rule applies to other formal/informal phrases too.


What does 打着 mean in 不能打着传统文化的旗号去否认简体字?

'打' in '打着旗号' means 'to display/ to hold up'
打着 means 'displaying/ holding up'
旗号 (flag/ banner) is a metaphor for 'claim; declaration'
More examples:
(打着)少林正宗的招牌 = (displaying/ holding up) signboard of authentic Shaolin
(打着)燈籠 = displaying/ holding up lantern
(打着)雨傘 = holding up umbrella
(打)手勢 = (display) gesture = to gesture

I'm not sure if 打 or 打着 (is 打着 a word here or 打 + particle?) has the positive or negative connotation in this context to begin with... It is likely 比喻 in this context.

打 is the verb, 着 is a particle that indicates 'on going' status of the verb. There's no positive or negative connotation on the verb 打 (displaying/ holding up) itself
打燈籠 and 打傘 are common terms that use '打' as 'to display/ to hold up'

"不能打着传统文化的旗号去否认简体字"
"Should not holding up the banner of 'Traditional Culture' to dismiss simplified characters"

Side note: "和尚打傘: 無法無天" - "Monk holding up umbrella: no law (hair) no rule (sky)


What does TJ mean in the Chinese Language?

The whole thing is a 行 character.

pronunciation:
háng 　ㄏㄤˊ
or
xíng 　ㄒㄧㄥˊ

háng xíng:
to sail,
to fly,
to navigate.


How should I mention my Chinese professor in a document?

Both 'Professor Liu Yuxin' and 'Professor Yuxin  Liu' are acceptable (apply the first name first or the last name first format depend on the audience). To be safe, just highlight the family name with an underline or bold fond.
It is easier just use the last name 刘教授 (Professor Liu)
You can call your professor 刘雨欣教授 or 刘教授 in Chinese but you cannot call her 雨欣.刘 教授 (apply the English first name first format directly into an all Chinese name)
Edit: capitalize the last name also work


without implying that the classical explanation is necessarily correct, worth noting that 康熙字典 thinks 或 was the original single character for 惑, before the latter character was introduced. Not hard to see how the grammatical usages of 或 could have evolved while it still also meant 惑. Or the other way around, the grammatical function could have been original, from which the meaning of 惑 is easily derived.


There isn't a repetitive meaning in 往前走.

往: towards; in the direction of;

前: forward; ahead;

走: go; walk;

往前走: walk in the direction of 'ahead'

It might not be grammatical English, just to explain Chinese.

往 can be a preposition to mean towards and, as a verb, to go. In 往前走, it's used as a preposition.


To me, either of 老家, 家乡, or 故乡 gives similar meaning, any of one doesn't not necessarily mean the home that I'm living in currently, nor other implications. Context can determine the implied meaning. All of them can be used as written expression, and also can be heard often. 故乡 seems to be the most formal among these three.

Another one, 祖籍 (or 籍贯), is quite definite: home of my ancestor, usually being a different one from my current home.


does 并未 have to go with a pairing of words?

Your observation is correct. 并未 is formal and sounds natural only when it's followed by a two-character word (to clarify, these are not two-word sets).

It does sound too formal to use in spoken language and common/casual writing. You may want to use 并没有 in your diary or blog.

As for why it doesn't sound natural to pair 并未 with 1-character or 3-character words, I don't believe there is a simple grammatical rule. Linguists tend to explain that using either word formation or prosody rules. Common folks would attribute that to idioms and language sense.


乎 usually does not form adjectives, but adverbs, that is modified verbs or adjectives. 胖 is an adjective, 胖乎乎 is an adverb, or a modified adjective, adding an enhancing element, or an injection if you will: fat to a great extent; 急乎乎: in an extreme hurry.

乎 has other uses, but with regard to your question, it is an enhancing modifier.


How to translate 'serve' in these sentences?

serve:

在开发过程中如何加载静态文件? 开发过程中静态文件如何管理？
设置好你的服务器来为这个地址提供服务
确保你正在使用新版本的 Bootstrap


Does "simplification" relation reflect "traditionalization" relation in Unihan?

Let me summarize the cases and try to answer your question (TC = Traditional Chinese character set, SC = Simplified Chinese character set).

Some characters were never simplified. For example, 井 U+4E95 is in TC and in SC (and for that matter, most characters). In the Unihan database, codepoints like these have neither a kSimplifiedVariant nor a kTranditionalVariant (both fields are empty).

There is a traditional version of the character, only present in TC. For example, 書 U+66F8 is in TC (and not in SC).  The kSimplifiedVariant of 書 is 书.

The is a simplified version of the character, only present in SC. For example, 书 U+4E66 is in SC (and not in TC). The kTraditionalVariant of 书 is 書.

The character is used in both character sets depending on context. This is a bit of a mess, and I've written more about it here

The relations should "reflect each other", but they're not a bijection
It should be the case that if X.kTraditionalVariant includes Y, then Y.kSimplifiedVariant includes X. When I last checked the data about a year ago, there was at least one bug where that wasn't the case.
This does not mean that the relation is one-to-one or onto. There are some cases that are truly bizarre; check this out here for all of the weird cases


Why is a "thing" called "东西" and not "南北"?

There were two large markets in ancient Chang'an (长安/長安) city of the Tang (唐) dynasty, one called east market (东市/東市) and the other one called west market (西市), gradually people perfer to say to buy east and west (去买东西/買東西) rather than to buy goods in east and west market (去东西市购买商品/去東西市購買商品). The new business district West Market of Great Tang (大唐西市) has reconstructed on the old site of the ancient west market in Xi'an Shaanxi (陝西西安/陕西西安) today.


How does one ingredient 扒 another ingredient in a dish?

Why didn't "Rake up; gather up" make sense to you?
腿絲(扒)芥膽 = Shredded Ham (raked up/ gathered up on)  Mustard
北菇(扒)菜膽 = Northern Mushroom (raked up/ gathered up on) Vegetable
蟹肉(扒)雙蔬 = Crab Meat (raked up/ gathered up on) Double Vegetables

扒 (on top) --  one ingredient laid on the top of another ingredient and the two do not mix (this way, one doesn't affect the taste of the other too much. You can mix them as much or as little as you like)

炒 (stir mix) -- all ingredients are stirred and mixed together (you can enjoy everything in every bite)

配 (aside) -- a side dish is placed beside the main dish (you can choose to eat them separately or together)

蟹肉扒豆苗

通菜炒牛肉

咖喱牛腩配麫包


What semantic notions underlie 吳 (shouting) with 夨 (man with tilted head)?

This question is actually a good example of why Ancient Chinese scribes cannot keep on drawing pictures to represent words. They can avoid similar-looking or similar-meaning character components to a degree to distinguish between different words, but at some stage, it will become easier to incorporate a component which refers to the sound of a word rather purely relying on the meaning of a word.

Person (人) + mouth (口) has already been used for the character 「兄」.

商甲甲2292合集20014今楷

Front view of a person (大, no tilted head) + mouth (口) has already been used for the following character:

商甲後2.18.7合集3028隸定