Difference between the verbs 轮 and 轮流 (meaning to take turns)

When 轮(rotate/ to take turn) is acting as a verb, most of the time it would include the result complement 到 - e.g "轮到你了" [it rotates to you (it is your turn)]

or followed by a word particle 着 (indicate continuous state)  as in 轮着做 (taking turns to work)

or incorporated into a compound words along with a noun, like 轮米(getting in line for or queuing for rice handouts), 轮班 (in rotation; in shift)

轮 is also a noun for 'wheel' and 'turn'

轮流 (to take turns/ to alternate/to rotate) is also a verb, but it is only use as an auxiliary verb. For example, "轮流拜访他" - (take turns visiting him); 轮流看火 (take turns watching the fire). In other words, whenever you see 轮流, another verb must follow it directly. Meaning it can never be placed directly before the object


Natural translation for "Everything worth doing requires self-discipline and effort"

There is the phrase:
好事多磨
ABC Proverbs defines it as:

Lit [Accomplishing] great things [has] many hardships.
Fig In accomplishing anything worthwhile, one is bound to encounter setbacks.
Note: originally hǎoshì referred to a successful marriage or engagement, so “it takes many twists and turns to accomplish a good marriage” is sometimes equated with “The course of true love never did run smooth.” Cf. JW, chap. 28; DRC, chap. 1; Èr Kè Pāi'àn Jīngqí, chap. 9.

There was a headline from an hour ago on 速途网 that reads:

EOS主网的艰难启动是好事多磨，还是持币者的投机心理大于信仰?


When is 系 pronounced xì/xi and when is it pronounced jì？

I think you already got it.

Most of time, it's pronounced as xì/xi 系. When pronounced as（jì）, it means 'fasten' and 'tie'.  系安全带. and 系鞋带. are good examples.


Since 就 is a construct that has many meanings, I'm only going to concentrate on your sentence.

In your sentence it will give emphasis that it is really early. You can also write:
我明天早上很早走 but this lacks the emphasis 我明天早上很早就走 has. And the latter construction will be used much more than the former.

Some similar constructions:

马上就来: to come right down
一会儿就好: I'm ready in a moment

It is used for actions (after the 就). You have the structure A就B and B will be done after A is done.

就 can be used to say that one thing comes immediately or very soon after the other. For example 我明天吃了早饭就走: Tomorrow, I will immediately leave after having eaten breakfast.

In this type of sentence you normally have a verb before the 就 and when after the 就. Although there is no verb in 我明天早上很早就走, it is actually the same kind of structure and you can understand it the same. Immediately after "早上很早" you'll leave.

The opposite of this 就 is 才 (another word with many meanings). There you emphasize that  something happened really or rather late. For example 我十一点才起床了： I only got out of bed at 11.


恭喜发财 may not be the best greeting word from student to teacher, but it's not awkward - the intention is always good.

For example, parents usually wish children with good health, striving and studying. If a parent greets children with wealth, you may find them funny, fashionable or friend-like, but definitely not mammonish or evil.

In old Chinese traditions, there were strict rules about etiquette and word usage. A small misuse can be considered a big issue. But that time has long gone.

It might sound a little sarcastic if you say 恭喜发财 to someone who is obviously in an opposite situation, otherwise it should be fine to say it to anyone.


HSK6 idioms (from vocab list).  English definitions from CC-CEDICT.

  一丝不苟 (yīsībùgǒu)not one thread loose (idiom); strictly according to the rulesBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  一举两得 (yījǔliǎngdé)one move, two gains (idiom); two birds with one stoneBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  一如既往 (yīrújìwǎng)just as in the past (idiom); as beforeBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  一帆风顺 (yīfānfēngshùn)propitious wind throughout the journey (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  一目了然 (yīmùliǎorán)obvious at a glance (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  不可思议 (bùkěsīyì)inconceivable (idiom); unimaginableBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  不屑一顾 (bùxièyīgù)to disdain as beneath contempt (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  不择手段 (bùzéshǒuduàn)by fair means or foulBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  不相上下 (bùxiāngshàngxià)equally matchedBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  不言而喻 (bùyánéryù)it goes without sayingBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  与日俱增 (yǔrìjùzēng)to increase steadilyBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  东张西望 (dōngzhāngxīwàng)to look in all directions (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  丢三落四 (diūsānlàsì)forgetfulBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  举世瞩目 (jǔshìzhǔmù)to receive worldwide attentionBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  举足轻重 (jǔzúqīngzhòng)to play a critical role (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  争先恐后 (zhēngxiānkǒnghòu)striving to be first and fearing to be last (idiom); outdoing one anotherBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  任重道远 (rènzhòngdàoyuǎn)a heavy load and a long roadBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  众所周知 (zhòngsuǒzhōuzhī)as everyone knows (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  优胜劣汰 (yōushèngliètài)survival of the fittest (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  侃侃而谈 (kǎnkǎnértán)to speak frankly with assuranceBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  供不应求 (gōngbùyìngqiú)supply does not meet demandBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  兢兢业业 (jīngjīngyèyè)cautious and conscientiousBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  全力以赴 (quánlìyǐfù)to do at all costsBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  兴致勃勃 (xìngzhìbóbó)to become exhilarated (idiom); in high spiritsBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  兴高采烈 (xìnggāocǎiliè)happy and excited (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  再接再厉 (zàijiēzàilì)to continue the struggle (idiom); to persistBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  刻不容缓 (kèbùrónghuǎn)to brook no delayBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  力所能及 (lìsuǒnéngjí)as far as one's capabilities extend (idiom); to the best of one's abilityBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  千方百计 (qiānfāngbǎijì)lit. thousand ways, a hundred plans (idiom); by every possible meansBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  半途而废 (bàntú'érfèi)to give up halfway (idiom); leave sth unfinishedBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  南辕北辙 (nányuánběizhé)to act in a way that defeats one's purpose (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  博大精深 (bódàjīngshēn)wide-ranging and profoundBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  各抒己见 (gèshūjǐjiàn)everyone gives their own viewBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  名副其实 (míngfùqíshí)not just in name only, but also in reality (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  后顾之忧 (hòugùzhīyōu)fears of trouble in the rear (idiom); family worries (obstructing freedom of action)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  吞吞吐吐 (tūntūntǔtǔ)to hum and haw (idiom); to mumble as if hiding sthBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  喜闻乐见 (xǐwénlèjiàn)to love to hear and see (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  天伦之乐 (tiānlúnzhīlè)family love and joyBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  实事求是 (shíshìqiúshì)to seek truth from facts (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  家喻户晓 (jiāyùhùxiǎo)understood by everyone (idiom); well knownBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  小心翼翼 (xiǎoxīnyìyì)cautious and solemn (idiom); very carefullyBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  层出不穷 (céngchūbùqióng)more and more emergeBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  岂有此理 (qǐyǒucǐlǐ)how can this be so? (idiom); preposterousBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  川流不息 (chuānliúbùxī)the stream flows without stopping (idiom); unending flowBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  废寝忘食 (fèiqǐnwàngshí)to neglect sleep and forget about food (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  归根到底 (guīgēndàodǐ)after allBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  当务之急 (dāngwùzhījí)top priority jobBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  得不偿失 (débùchángshī)the gains do not make up for the losses (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  得天独厚 (détiāndúhòu)blessed by heaven (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  循序渐进 (xúnxùjiànjìn)in sequence, step by step (idiom); to make steady progress incrementallyBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  心甘情愿 (xīngānqíngyuàn)delighted to (do sth, idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  急于求成 (jíyúqiúchéng)anxious for quick results (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  急功近利 (jígōngjìnlì)seeking instant benefit (idiom); shortsighted vision, looking only for fast returnBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  总而言之 (zǒng'éryánzhī)in shortBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  恍然大悟 (huǎngrándàwù)to suddenly realizeBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  恰到好处 (qiàdàohǎochù)it's just perfectBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  悬崖峭壁 (xuányáqiàobì)sheer cliffs and precipitous rock faces (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  想方设法 (xiǎngfāngshèfǎ)to think up every possible method (idiom); to devise ways and meansBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  拔苗助长 (bámiáozhùzhǎng)to spoil things through excessive enthusiasm (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  斩钉截铁 (zhǎndīngjiétiě)lit. to chop the nail and slice the iron (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  新陈代谢 (xīnchéndàixiè)metabolism (biology); the new replaces the old (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  无动于衷 (wúdòngyúzhōng)aloofBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  无微不至 (wúwēibùzhì)in every possible way (idiom); meticulousBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  无忧无虑 (wúyōuwúlǜ)carefree and without worries (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  无理取闹 (wúlǐqǔnào)to make trouble without reason (idiom); to be deliberately provocativeBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  无穷无尽 (wúqióngwújìn)endlessBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  无精打采 (wújīngdǎcǎi)dispirited and downcast (idiom); listlessBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  无能为力 (wúnéngwéilì)impotent (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  日新月异 (rìxīnyuèyì)daily renewal, monthly change (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  有条不紊 (yǒutiáobùwěn)regular and thorough (idiom); methodically arrangedBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  朝气蓬勃 (zhāoqìpéngbó)full of youthful energy (idiom); vigorousBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  根深蒂固 (gēnshēndìgù)deep-rooted (problem etc)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  欣欣向荣 (xīnxīnxiàngróng)(idiom) flourishingBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  津津有味 (jīnjīnyǒuwèi)with keen interest pleasure (idiom); with gustoBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  深情厚谊 (shēnqínghòuyì)deep friendshipBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  滔滔不绝 (tāotāobùjué)unceasing torrent (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  潜移默化 (qiányímòhuà)imperceptible influenceBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  热泪盈眶 (rèlèiyíngkuàng)eyes brimming with tears of excitement (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  爱不释手 (àibùshìshǒu)to love sth too much to part with it (idiom); to fondle admiringlyBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  物美价廉 (wùměijiàlián)good quality and cheapBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  狼吞虎咽 (lángtūnhǔyàn)to wolf down one's food (idiom); to devour ravenouslyBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  理所当然 (lǐsuǒdāngrán)as it should be by rights (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  理直气壮 (lǐzhíqìzhuàng)in the right and self-confident (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  画蛇添足 (huàshétiānzú)lit. draw legs on a snake (idiom); fig. to ruin the effect by adding sth superfluousBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  相辅相成 (xiāngfǔxiāngchéng)to complement one another (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  知足常乐 (zhīzúchánglè)satisfied with what one has (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  礼尚往来 (lǐshàngwǎnglái)lit. proper behavior is based on reciprocity (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  称心如意 (chènxīnrúyì)after one's heart (idiom); gratifying and satisfactoryBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  空前绝后 (kōngqiánjuéhòu)unprecedented and never to be duplicatedBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  竭尽全力 (jiéjìnquánlì)to spare no effort (idiom); to do one's utmostBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  精打细算 (jīngdǎxìsuàn)meticulous planning and careful accounting (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  精益求精 (jīngyìqiújīng)to perfect sth that is already outstanding (idiom); constantly improvingBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  络绎不绝 (luòyìbùjué)continuously; in an endless stream (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  统筹兼顾 (tǒngchóujiāngù)an overall plan taking into account all factorsBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  聚精会神 (jùjīnghuìshén)to concentrate one's attention (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  肆无忌惮 (sìwújìdàn)absolutely unrestrainedBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  自力更生 (zìlìgēngshēng)regeneration through one's own effort (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  苦尽甘来 (kǔjìngānlái)bitterness finishes, sweetness begins (idiom); the hard times are over, the good times just beginningBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  莫名其妙 (mòmíngqímiào)(idiom) bafflingBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  见义勇为 (jiànyìyǒngwéi)to see what is right and act courageously (idiom, from Analects)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  见多识广 (jiànduōshìguǎng)experienced and knowledgeable (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  迄今为止 (qìjīnwéizhǐ)so farBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  迫不及待 (pòbùjídài)impatient (idiom); in a hurryBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  锦上添花 (jǐnshàngtiānhuā)lit. on brocade, add flowers (idiom); to decorate sth already perfectBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  锲而不舍 (qiè'érbùshě)to chip away at a task and not abandon it (idiom); to chisel away at sthBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  难能可贵 (nánnéngkěguì)rare and preciousBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  雪上加霜 (xuěshàngjiāshuāng)to add hail to snow (idiom); one disaster on top of anotherBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  风土人情 (fēngtǔrénqíng)local conditions and customs (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  饱经沧桑 (bǎojīngcāngsāng)having lived through many changesBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

  鸦雀无声 (yāquèwúshēng)lit. crow and peacock make no sound; absolute silence (idiom)Baike; Jukuu; Yabla

  齐心协力 (qíxīnxiélì)to work with a common purpose (idiom); to make concerted effortsBaike; Jukuu; Yabla

Not counted: 二氧化碳 (carbon dioxide), 公共汽车 (bus), 名胜古迹 (historical sites), 微不足道 (negligible), 烟花爆竹 (firecrackers), 电子邮件 (email), 高速公路 (expressway), 通货膨胀 (inflation), 飞禽走兽 (birds and animals), 讨价还价 (haggle over price).


What is the best way to memorize Chinese characters?

It depends on what you mean by memorizing Chinese characters.

Reading : No decomposition needed.
Writing :

2.1. Handwriting: No decomposition needed.

2.2. Pinyin input: No decomposition needed.

2.3. Wubihua method: No decomposition needed.

2.4. Wubi method: Need to know radicals.

As you can see, only Wubi method requires decomposition of Chinese characters. Since most of Chinese people are not able to use Wubi and not willing to learn it, because of its complexity, we can conclude that decomposition of Chinese characters is not necessary to memorize them.


"哥哥比姐姐高" is correct. The next sentence "you learn more words by listening than by reading" can be translated like:

  听力比阅读更能提高你的词汇量
  ting li bi yue du geng neng ti gao ni de ci hui liang


How would you say "he does not take criticism well" in Cantonese and in Mandarin?


This question's answer will address two things.

the advantage of compound words (specific) over the single character words (general)

the function of the reduplicated verbs

提 as a single character verb can mean:

提起，提及 (mention)

提醒 (remind)

提示 (prompt)

提起 (lift; pick up)

Example:
別再提他了 = 別再提起他了 (Let's don't mention him again)
記得提他吃藥 = 記得提醒他吃藥 (remember to remind him to take medicine)
別提他，讓他自己想 = 別提示他，讓他自己想 (don't prompt him, let him think for himself)
提刀斬人 = 提起刀斬人 (pick up a blade and hack people)
It would be much more precise to use compound words 提起，提醒 and 提示 than using the single character verb 提.
A single character verb can be reduplicated to indicate 'briefly; in a slight degree or in a casual manner'
Example:
試學廣東話 = try to learn Cantonese
試試學廣東話 = try to learn Cantonese a little (briefly; in a slight degree or in a casual manner)
看電影，吃飯 = watch movies, eat dinner
看看電影， 吃吃飯 = watch some movies, eat some  dinner (indicate a casual manner)

提提大家 = (slightly; briefly) remind everyone

Example sentence:

提提大家，集會時間是晚上九時 = (slightly; briefly) remind everyone, the gathering time is 9:00 pm

It is the same as 稍為提醒大家，集會時間是晚上九時


Why is 的 (de) sometimes pronounced "di" even though it is used as a possessive particle?

First, the de/di phenomenon is not 文白异读 (literary-colloquial distinct readings).

The term "文白异读 (literary-colloquial distinct readings)" have strict academic definition. Not every homograph is 文白异读 (literary-colloquial distinct readings). Not every literary-colloquial distinction is 文白异读 (literary-colloquial distinct readings).

Books on Chinese phonology do not list de/di as 文白异读 (literary-colloquial distinct readings).

The differences between 文白异读 (literary-colloquial distinct readings) are systematic in nature. For instance, there is an (u)o/ao relationship:

薄 bo bao

剥 bo bao

落 luo lao

烙 luo lao

凿 zuo zao

Such a systematic relationship is not a coincidence. This is so because 文白异读 (literary-colloquial distinct readings) reflects the contact of two sound systems. It is systematic in nature.

But it is not the case with de/di. There is no systematic relationship with the e/i pair.

So what is it?

"De" is just a weak form of "di". In Chinese, words seldom have weak form. But "的" is so common (it is the most commonly used character in modern Mandarin, both oral and written), and its meaning is so not concrete (it has no real content meaning; it is a function word that serves a lot of grammatical functions), it has a weak form. It takes the schwa sound, just like the typical weak form of an English word, because the schwa sound is the most neutral, some would say the easist sound that a human mouth can make.

Its written form is stabilized only recently. In 1940s, some writers still use "底" (di).

Two other similar words are "着" and "了". Both take the schwa sound as the weak form: "zhe" and "le". Note that the "proper" pronunciations or strong forms of these words, "di", "zhuo" and "liao", have no similarity at all. Their common feature is in there grammatical function.

In older songs (songs in the 1980s for instance), you can still hear singers use "zhuo" and "liao" respectively. But as I have noticed, these two pronunciations are fading more quickly than "di". You can still hear "di" occasionally in new songs, but "zhuo" and "liao" can only be heard in really old songs.

Naturally, weak forms are commonly used in colloquial occasions, and strong forms are used in more formal and literary occasions and in emphasis. Songs, of course, are more formal, literary and emphatic. (Yes, there is also a literary-colloquial distinction here, but it is not 文白异读 (literary-colloquial distinct readings).)

And don't forget the influence of dialects. Speakers of non-Mandarin dialects often have difficulty learning 轻声 (the neutral/fifth/zeroth tone) and weak forms. They may just stick to the strong form "di".

The two forms are more or less in in free variation. That means both pronunciations are right. It is not wrong to say "some people just do it". If you say "di", people may think you are stilted or having an accent, but they won't think your pronunction is wrong.

My recommendation is to use "de" in daily speech and "di" in songs. That way, you talk naturally and sing with refinement. :)


No, Longjing is a term of tea. It is a specific type of tea.

If you talk to people Dragon Well, they don't think you are talking about tea but a real well called Dragon.


Do Cantonese 畀 and Mandarin 被 have any historical connection?

畀 and 被 are not related.  In Old Chinese (F. K. Li's system) 畀 was pjidh, and 被 was bjiarx/h, phonetically quite different.

被 (the qusheng reading) was, and still is, a coverlet, etymologically related to the verb 'to cover' (the shangsheng reading). How 'cover' became a marker of passivity in a sentence is a long story; when something is laid on you, it's never you that does the laying, and the fact that it's an action external to you gives it a very passive feeling.

畀 originally meant 'give' in the sense of to 'bestow'; it came to be a passive marker is a very different fashion from 被; in fact, in most southern dialects, passive is marked by co-verb like structures with the meaning of 'give'; this is a regional feature, though the actual word differs from dialect to dialect; in the Minnan dialect, for example, it is 'ho', and its usage is very similar to 畀 in Yue dialects.


Is my sentence 如果没时间的话就告诉我 grammatically correct?

如果没时间的话就告诉我

Your sentence is grammatically correct and it is a very common grammar structure

[如果 X 就 Y] = [If X then Y]

[1: 如果] [X: 没时间的话] [2:就] [Y:告诉我]

[1: if ] [X: suppose you have no time] [2: then ] [Y: tell me]

Notice 1: The subject 'you' is omitted in Chinese sentence and it is a very common practice, you can drop the subject as long as it is clearly understood in the context.

Notice 2: Since [如果 ~ 就] is a common structure, you can omit 如果 and write "(如果)没时间的话就告诉我". The sentence would still be correct because "如果" is strongly implied with the present of "就"

Notice 3:"的话" in "没时间的话" means "suppose" . And you can drop it too. The result is a blunter sentence "如果没时间就告诉我" (if you have no time, then tell me) sounds more like a command  than a suggestion or request


Reference for different looking ways of writing a character?

There are in fact a few websites out there, not to mention hundreds of book titles. You may want to try guoxuedashi.com, which has one overview page for each character (eg http://www.guoxuedashi.com/zidian/672C.html) and many sub-pages, one of them indeed with a nice overview of writing styles with pictures from historical sources, such as http://shufa.guoxuedashi.com/672C/.


What's wrong to write g for 漢語拼音 pronunciation of 歌?

元音有韵，辅音无韵。is a fundamental phonetic concept.  Since HYPY barrowed English alphabets as its symbols, it should stick to the separation of the "names" of the letters and the pronunciation of the letters in spelling.  The name of letter "b" is "bee", but the pronunciation is very short bursting solid sound of both lips, without any "vowel" involved.  When teaching 辅音，all the material pronounced either with "e" or "o" rhyme.  Wrong!  Unless you remind your students that you are introducing the "names" of the symbols, followed by the right pronunciation in spelling, i.e. 辅音无韵。 Thus 歌 is rhymed, must be spelled "ge" as "e" contributes the rhyme.
Is it that the teaching method is so authoritative that no one ever pointed out its flaw? BTW, what's wrong with 声母 and 韵母 that they must be changed to 辅音 and 元音？


Where can I find sample Simplified Chinese mailing address data?

Understanding Addresses
If you want to understand the structure of addresses, this Phonemica post is a good place to start. Turns out it's complicated.
Roughly speaking, it's a hierarchical system working from the top down, from left to right. So, country (optional), province, prefecture level city, small town, district, etc. Unfortunately the levels are not consistent across the board. Some cities are 直辖市 (directly-administered-cities) like Beijing and Shanghai, and as such, they do not belong to a province. Some provinces are called 自治区 (autonomous regions), and their internal structure is different from a 省 (province).
Getting Data
Manually
This is a rather slow process, but go to Google maps (China) or Baidu maps, zoom in or search and drill down to individual addresses.
From Baidu [Note, missing the province and city, which are obvious from the map]:

河东区津塘路互助南里18号楼底商(近二宫公园)
武侯区通祠路39号一江城花2楼（春江花月夜对面）

From Google [Full mailing addresses]:

上海市徐汇区零陵路899号
浙江省绍兴市越城区鲁迅中路237号

Automation
If you want to get a lot of addresses, you're going to need to automate. One approach you could try would be to scrape a website that does reviews, like Dianping.
From Dianping [Same format as Baidu. You have to select a city first, and then all results are restricted to that area, and addresses are relative to it.]:

成华区双庆路8号万象城1楼
江汉区解放大道557号中山广场5楼

Cheers, and happy data-ing!


What is the difference between 迟疑 犹豫 and 踌躇?

The three terms seem similar, they are mostly different in etymology and minor details in usage.

  迟= late, slow to; 疑= suspect, uncertain

  迟疑 to hesitate

  Hesitate to act because one feels uncertain of the consequence

  Mainly used to describe hesitancy in 'action'. It can be for a brief moment. For example: 动作迟疑 (hesitant movement); or it can be delay of action for indefinite time period. For example: 迟疑不发 (hesitating, holding off action)

~

  犹= as if; 豫= happy and content

  犹豫 to hesitate

  Hesitate to act (as if content of the the current situation)

  Mainly used to describe hesitancy in a 'mindset' For example: 心里犹豫 (cannot decide); 猶豫不決 (hesitant; indecisive)
  It can also describe an 'appearance' of hesitancy. For example: 一脸猶豫 (hesitant look);

~

  踌= (1) hesitant; shilly-shally (2) complacent; self-satisfied

  躇= hesitant; undecided

  踌躇 hesitant; wavering; undecided

  Hesitate to act (out of uncertain feeling or complacency, afraid of the action might bring change to the current situation)

  Mainly used to describe hesitancy in a 'mindset'. For example: 心里躊躇 (wavering heart);
  躊躇滿志 【釋義】：躊躇：從容自得的樣子；滿：滿足；志：志願。形容對自己取得的成就非常得意。

  (躊躇: leisurely, contented; 滿: Satisfied ;志; goal. 躊躇滿志 describes the proud feeling of one's achievements)


It was a good word. For example, in 红楼梦 sometimes they call 贾母 as 史老太君. It was used to refer some senior with respect.

But during the war, those traitors started to use this word to the Japanese to show their respect to the Japanese and nowadays Chinese people don't like it anymore. The netizens use this world in a self-sarcasm fashion.

It is like the Swastika, which was used a lot in Buhddalism and can be seen a lot in ancient Buhdda sculpture. It was a good sign and then the Nazis started to use it and now most people will only associate it with the Nazi and don't like it anymore.


Please help with the meaning of seal calligraphy writing on the following clay board

the top two characters are: “賞賜” (read from right to left), which means rewarded
reading from the right, top to bottom, my initial reading is:
茲甲申殿恩澤四方造
福百姓修之ｘｘｘｘ
賜甲申殿ｘｘ瓷器瓶
ｘ琖香爐尊洗等三百
六十九件ｘ甲申殿合
用以
示皇恩浩蕩
the last three characters are:
“甲申殿”
a funny clay board :)


尚 means: esteem; value; uphold

尚 can be short for 崇尚  (to advocate; uphold)

"尚学" can be interpreted as "崇尚学問" (advocating knowledge)

"尚德" can be interpreted as "崇尚美德" (advocating virtue)

"尚武" can be interpreted as "崇尚武學" (advocating martial arts)


So is 無神除神 grammatical correct and good as a translation of the Arabic "La Ilaha Illallah" ("There is no God but the God")

No to both

"There is no God but the God" should be "There is no god but God"

The shortened form of "除了(真)神之外沒有神" should be  "除神沒神". But 除 also mean remove, so "除神沒神" could mean "remove God and there will be no God", Therefore, it is not a clear translation for "There is no god but God"

"神外無神" (Beside God, there's no god) is a better translation

"神外無神"  Short for "真神之外別無他神" (Beside the one true God, there's no other gods)

Seems like there is an existent translation '認主獨一' for  "La Ilaha Illallah" in mainland China.

Since it is for an original design, using an existent official translation actually remove the most important creative element -- the 'creative phrasing'

As a graphic designer myself, I would have two choices-- one is follow the existent translation, make it a simple 'font' creating project; another is treat it as an original design and 'create' a new phrase. I would choose option 2


How does 殳 resemble a hand holding a tool?

Slight correction, 「殳」 originally depicted a hand 「又」 holding a spear/rod-like weapon/club.

商甲乙8520合集21868商金亞殸斝集成9161西周金趞曹鼎集成2784戰國・楚金鄂君啟車節集成12110秦簡效律45睡虎地秦簡今楷
Forms 1, 3, 5, 6 are all 「殳」. Form 2 is the character 「㱿」. Form 4 is the character 「毀」. Take note of the right hand side of 「㱿」 and 「毀」, which both have 「殳」 as a component.

「殳」 originally depicted a hand 「又」 holding a spear, rod, or club-like weapon, which now looks like 「几」. The original meaning of 「殳」, a kind of weapon, is now written as 「杸」.

As a character component giving a meaning hint, 「殳」 originally had something to do with attacking or hitting. For example,

「擊」 to attack

「殺」 to kill

「毀」 to destroy, ruin

「役」 enslave > labour

「聲」 sound (ears 耳 hearing stone chimes 声 being struck 殳)

Through semantic extension, it was also used as a marker for verb-like words or morphemes, such as

「發」 (to shoot arrows > emit)

「設」 (to establish)

References:

季旭昇《說文新證》
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》


Where can I find a list of commonly mistaken characters?

A friend and I have started to collect a list of characters easy to misread by language learners: http://code.google.com/p/eclectus/source/browse/trunk/libeclectus/data/similarcharacters.csv


Sites with big collection of ebooks in chinese language, but western titles mostly

If you are not restricted to "free ebooks only", some online ebook stores are available, like amazon.cn, book.jd.com, and book.douban.com.

As for free ebooks, it is highly unlikely to get free legal copies of the ebooks you mentioned, especially the western titles with Chinese translation. After all, China does not have a long history of EN to CN literate translation, and many of these venerated translators are still alive.


What’s the correct character for the act of showing your teeth?

They are same meaning, just has different written words in some ancient books.
Check the Chinese sentences below:

齜牙咧嘴 教育部重編國語辭典修訂本
呲牙裂嘴 教育部重編國語辭典修訂本


察尔汗: Mongolian and Tibetan transcription into Chinese

in brief, 察爾汗 is derived from mongolian.

the long explanation:

about 1763, there was a large-scale standardisation of names from mongolian, tibetan and various languages used by muslim into han chinese and manchurian. the result was the 24-volume book "欽定西域同文志" (~ made by imperial order 欽定, western region 西域, same language 同文, record 志).

the internet archive (which is blocked in "that area") has a copy:

https://archive.org/search.php?query=欽定西域同文志&and[]=subject%3A%22四庫全書薈要%22

volume 1 has the rationale, guidelines (p1-p42) and table of contents (p43-p57), volume 14-17 are kokonur related

https://archive.org/details/06078133.cn

my interpretation is, the mongolian character "цагаан" "tsagaan" ("white" colour) is transliterated to "察罕" (older version) or 察爾汗 (modern version) in chinese and "qarhan" in english.

in the above mentioned book, volume 14, there're several places starting with "察罕"

"察罕鄂博" https://archive.org/details/06078140.cn/page/n72

"察罕哈達" https://archive.org/details/06078140.cn/page/n78

"察罕托輝烏魯" https://archive.org/details/06078140.cn/page/n88

"察罕托羅海" https://archive.org/details/06078140.cn/page/n106

all of them mentioned "蒙古語察罕白色" (~in mongolian, "qarhan" means white colour). most likely, "qarhan" / "tsagaan" (察罕) referred to the color of salt, not the salt itself.

further description of playa, or salt lake are modern suffix.

have fun :)


喝喜酒 = 赴喜宴
設/擺酒席 = 設宴
The 扮家家酒 game is to pretend to have a lively family gathering.
酒 should refer to a 酒席 (banquet) -->喜宴 -->聚會

扮家家酒
Also called 过家家

小朋友一起各自扮演不同的角色，往往是模仿家里成员，做一些小孩子们眼中大人应做的事情。
Children play different roles together, often imitating family members and doing things that children think adults should do.

Banquet, party, socializing, and drink are adult things.


Selecting resources to improve reading for upper-intermediate level?

I would recommend

思想与社会 (can't find a link, sold in Taiwan)
博雅汉语 （upper levels）

and I would also recommend preteen/teen books like Harry Potter and Twilight. The story isn't too complicated, and you get a chance to enhance your reading speed and smoothness level. I read Percy Jackson and Twilight. The story of Twilight was a little too cheesy for me, but I did learn a lot of new expressions and could read page after page without stopping.


How to phrase "You know what they say? [quote]" in Chinese?

你知道他们说的什么吗

你知道他们怎么说吗

are common phrases， but not for this context。

Depends on the type of the quote， you can use

俗话说/老话说/有句话叫：folk saying

古语有云 （classical saying）

X曰 （quote from ancient scholar）

XX说 （common phrase）

A: 俗话说： 三个臭皮匠， 顶一个诸葛亮（Two heads are better than one）

B：有句话叫： 人多手乱。

A：古人云：多多益善。

B：子曰：你说得不对。

A: 高尔基说： 子没说过。


Need help translating this title and signature? (Characters identified: 古堂)

Usually this is the name/signature of the author. Note that usually it's not the original family name, because traditional Chinese people styled themselves some particular names or titles apart from the given name from the family.

In your case it looks like "古堂" and it's not a famous name to me at least...

=== Update ===

Regarding the signature, 堂 usually means "hall" or a large room used for specific purpose. I'm not 100% sure the first character is "古", which means ancient/old. Although some people did use the title of his unique place to present himself, yet "ancient hall" here as a place is kind of neutral to me to be used by a famous people...

The seals (which is very blurry in your photo) in Chinese painting or artworks do not have to be the name/title of the author. In some cases it can also be the name/title of a place, short phrases, etc. as long as it's identical to the author.


Difference between words that mean "take by force": 抢 and 夺

抢 -  snatch; vie for: '抢' emphasizes the 'contesting' nature of 'taking by force'

夺 -  seize; compete; deprive; decide: '奪' emphasizes the 'possessing' result of 'taking by force'

  Look at the word 抢夺  (snatch; seize; take by force; steal):

抢 (to snatch) mainly describes the action. If someone is in the process of grabbing money by force, we say it is an act of 抢钱, not 夺钱
夺 (seize) mainly describes the result. If someone completed seizing power from the other, we say it is an act of 夺权, not  抢权 (抢权 imply you are still fighting for the power)

Example with more context:

'意图夺权' means you 'intend to seize power'; '意图抢权' means 'intend to vie for power'


What is a good resources to read easy Chinese texts?

LingQ has a huge library of texts that generally also include audio. You can read any of the texts you like without paying for a subscription, as long as you don't want to add unknown words to your wordlist (creating LingQs). I have not paid for a subscription and find it to be very useful.

If you do want to create a wordlist of the words you don't know for reviewing in Anki or another SRS program, the I would highly recommend LWT. I tend to import texts from LingQ so that I can take advantage of the huge library. The system is definitely not as polished as LingQ, but it certainly useful. There are a lot of very useful tutorials for how to use LWT to help with Language learning including:

Street Smart Language Learning;
Fluent In 3 Months: Introducing LWT;
The Mezzofanti Guild: How To Install Learning With Texts On Your Own Computer.

I have just started on my own reading challenge and this is how I am doing it, but obviously this is just how it works best for me.

Another good place to find reading resources is Hacking Chinese Resources and Olle's Reading Chinese Challenge and associated reading resource post.

I hope this helps :-)


作是念已，如力士屈申臂頃，於兜率天沒，現於佛前，稽首佛足

他有了這個想法後，有如壯漢彎曲再伸直手臂的頃刻，在兜率天隱沒，並出現於佛陀之前，頂禮佛足。

After he had this thought, as fast as a strong man bent and straightened the arm, disappeared in Tuṣita Heaven, appeared in front of the Buddha, and bowed the Buddha's feet.

如力士屈申臂頃 describes the speed is very fast or the period is very short.
屈 and 申(伸) are two different movements.
屈臂 means to bend the arm.
伸臂 is to straighten the arm.
A strong man does not need much time to do these movements.
Therefore, 如力士屈申臂頃 can be interpreted as "as fast as a strong man bent and straightened the arm".


Where can I find a digital copy of 黄继忠's translation of 论语?

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-6253.1998.tb00513.x
Please have a try with this link. It seems that we can download the pdf by logging in with an institutional account.


What is the correct way to say: "I thought you were somebody else."

噢，不好意思，我认错人了。

This is what I usually say in a real conversation.


Acc. to the 教育部國語辭典, a 鼎 ding was originally a cooking pot with three feet (there were also 方鼎 with four feet), and in the Minnan dialect the word ding is still used for cooking pot. Later, however, ding came to describe the massive cauldrons used in ritual ceremonies during the Zhou dynasty.

The word ding has many connotations derived from this sense, such as 傳國的寶器 a precious vessel passed on as a symbol of royal authority, or 比喻三公、宰相、重臣等高位 a metaphor for the highest authorities of the state.

鼎力 is a very formal literary phrase that means 'with strong support', and is used in idioms like 鼎力相助, 鼎力玉成. It doesn't have to be 'state', support but it does imply that the support comes from powerful or influential persons, and is thus a flowery sort of compliment in the idioms above.


What would be a proper Chinese name for someone meaning "achieving purpose/ambition?"

Zhi Da (Zhì dà) 志大 = great ambition/ ambition is great
Meanwhile, 大志 is a common noun for 'great ambition'. We often say, someone 有大志 (have big ambition) or 沒大志 (don't have big ambition)
志大 sounds like a first name. You can add any common Chinese family name to make up the character's full name, for example, "吳志大". The character '吳' sounds exactly the same as '吾'(I). So, "吳志大" would sound like 'My ambition is great' in Chinese
Other common names that have a similar meaning not mentioned in other answers:
志豪 - Zhihao (heroic ambition)
志強 - Zhiqiang  (strong will/ ambition)
志豪 and 志強 in Chinese are as common as 'John' and 'Michael' in English


"食人" in Classical Chinese of the 先秦 period

in the book of mencius 孟子, chapter 梁惠王上:

此率獸而食人也

roughly means

This is leading on beasts to devour men.

https://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=gb&id=12876#s10026702
in the same book, chapter 滕文公上:

治於人者食人，治人者食於人

roughly means

those who are governed by others support them; those who govern others are supported by them

https://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=gb&id=13261#s10030257
have fun :)


贴 in 四贴袋 is not measure word but adjective, meaning pasted. It describes the appearance of the pocket is like it's pasted/patched on the suit.
When 贴袋 is used as noun, you can use any measure word that's applicable to a pocket. E.g.

这件衣服上有四个贴袋。

But in your example, 四贴袋 is noun-as-adjective (数词+名词短语做定语), in which situation there should not be measure words in between, and strictly speaking, 四 here is not nominal number four but tuple nomenclature quad. Some other examples:

三轮车 three-wheel(ed) vehicle
多功能全自动洗衣机 multi-function automatic washing machine
四贴袋男用套装 four/quad-patch pocket men's suit


How do you say 'home is where the heart is' in traditional Chinese characters?

There's a few different ways to do this.

Aurus Huang already suggested

  心在哪裡，家就在哪裡。

above.

Baidu gives us:

  心之所在即為家

This Baidu Zhidao question also gives a lot of examples:

  心中向往的地方就是你的家

  家是心之所在

  心所在的地方是家。

but my absolute favorite, and honestly the best translation of this phrase has got to go to:

  心所向，家所在。


Horizontal to vertical is pretty simple in modern Chinese. Vertical Chinese is read from the top down - so the first one goes at the top and then the rest follow one by one.
多为和平 would be written:

多
为
和
平

But you might want to ask for a better translation before you go and make those shirts.


T1 = T4 < T2 < T3, which means that T2 and T3 are more complex tones.

https://naccl.osu.edu/sites/naccl.osu.edu/files/NACCL-23_1_06.pdf


“投错了险” is an informal expression.
It is generated from the phrase: "买保险“.
the evolution chain: "买保险” →“买错保险”（negative form，“错”here is a "verbal complimentary", which showing the result of an action "买”。）→“买错了保险”加上了tense particle “了”→“买” can be accepted when to be replaced by "投” in a context of a casual email. "保” of “保险” can be omitted too in this context.
"le" has to be put after "complimentary". So, 投了错的险 is wrong.
why people use ＂投” instead of "买”？ In recent years, more and more people changed idea of buying insurance for accidents to a type of investment. And "investment" in Chinese is “投资”。 So some people say "投保险“。—— I personally don't like it. This just shows how people become careless about the use of words instead of using innovative new words.


Where can I find word-for-word translation for "Beijing Huan Ying Ni" song?

Original post is here, also check this.

接另一个晨曦 带来全新空气

气息改变情味不变 茶香飘满情谊

我家大门常打开 开放怀抱等你

拥抱过就有了默契 你会爱上这里

不管远近都是客人请不用客气

相约好了在一起 我们欢迎你

Dawning of another morning filled with refreshing air

The air has changed; but emotion scents like green tea

My doors are always open, ready to embrace you with a hug

A hug to know you better, you'll love this place

Wherever you're from you'll be our guest so just be at home

We have agreed to meet here, we'd like to welcome you.

我家种著万年青 开放每段传奇

为传统的土壤播种 为你留下回忆

陌生熟悉都是客人请不用拘礼

第几次来没关系 有太多话题

The Everygreen at my place is quite legendary

Sown on the old Soil to record your memory

Strangers, old pals are our guests, so just be at home

Whether you're newcomers or revisitors, we've lots to chat

北京欢迎你 为你开天辟地

流动中的魅力充满著朝气

北京欢迎你 在太阳下分享呼吸

在黄土地刷新成绩

Welcome to Beijing, we built these all for you

The charm is flowing, fresh spirit's everywhere.

Welcome to Beijing, have some fresh air under the sun

Let's set our new records on this Soil

我家大门常打开 开怀容纳天地

岁月绽放青春笑容 迎接这个日期

天大地大都是朋友请不用客气

画意诗情带笑意 只为等待你

My doors are always open, we've space for the world

Time flies with youthful smiles, we all wait for this day

Under the sky, everyone be our guest, so just be at home

Nice scenary with smiling faces, all awaiting there for you

北京欢迎你 像音乐感动你

让我们都加油去超越自己

北京欢迎你 有梦想谁都了不起

有勇气就会有奇迹

Welcome to Beijing, we're reaching you like this melody

Let's excel and try our best

Welcome to Beijing, dreamers are forerunners

Miracles are for those daring to try.

北京欢迎你 为你开天辟地

流动中的魅力充满著朝气

北京欢迎你 在太阳下分享呼吸

在黄土地刷新成绩

Welcome to Beijing, we built these all for you

The charm is flowing, fresh spirit's everywhere.

Welcome to Beijing, have some fresh air under the sun

Let's set our new records on this Soil

北京欢迎你 像音乐感动你

让我们都加油去超越自己

北京欢迎你 有梦想谁都了不起

有勇气就会有奇迹

Welcome to Beijing, we're reaching you like this melody

Let's excel and try our best

Welcome to Beijing, dreamers are forerunners

Miracles are for those daring to try.

------- 京戏 -------

我家大门常打开 开放怀抱等你

拥抱过就有了默契 你会爱上这里

不管远近都是客人请不用客气

相约好了在一起 我们欢迎你

My doors are always open, ready to embrace you with a hug

A hug to know you better, you'll love this place

Wherever you're from you'll be our guest so just be at home

We have agreed to meet here, we'd like to welcome you.

北京欢迎你 为你开天辟地

流动中的魅力充满著朝气

北京欢迎你 在太阳下分享呼吸

在黄土地刷新成绩

Welcome to Beijing, we built these all for you

The charm is flowing, fresh spirit's everywhere.

Welcome to Beijing, have some fresh air under the sun

Let's set our new records on this Soil

我家大门常打开 开怀容纳天地

岁月绽放青春笑容 迎接这个日期

天大地大都是朋友请不用客气

画意诗情带笑意 只为等待你

My doors are always open, we've space for the universe

Time flies with youthful smiles, we all wait for this day

Under the sky, everyone's our guest, so just be at home

Nice scenary with smiling faces, all awaiting there for you

北京欢迎你 像音乐感动你

让我们都加油去超越自己

北京欢迎你 有梦想谁都了不起

有勇气就会有奇迹

Welcome to Beijing, we're reaching you like this melody

Let's try to excel ourselves

Welcome to Beijing, dreamers are forerunners.

Miracles are for those daring to try.

北京欢迎你 为你开天辟地

流动中的魅力充满著朝气

北京欢迎你 在太阳下分享呼吸

在黄土地刷新成绩

Welcome to Beijing, we built these all for you

The charm is flowing, fresh spirit's everywhere.

Welcome to Beijing, have some fresh air under the sun

Let set our new records on this Soil

北京欢迎你 像音乐感动你

让我们都加油去超越自己

北京欢迎你 有梦想谁都了不起

有勇气就会有奇迹

Welcome to Beijing, we're reaching you like this melody

Let's try to excel ourselves

Welcome to Beijing, dreamers are forerunners.

Miracles are for those daring to try.

北京欢迎你 有梦想谁都了不起

有勇气就会有奇迹

北京欢迎你 有梦想谁都了不起

有勇气就会有奇迹

Welcome to Beijing, dreamers are forerunners.

Miracle is for those daring to try.

Welcome to Beijing, dreamers are forerunners.

Miracles are for those daring to try.


What does 生命诚可贵 爱情价更高 若为自由故 二者皆可抛 mean?

It's a little different from yours at the latter half of the sentence:

  Life is dear, love is dearer. Both can be given up for freedom.

Reference:

This is the poem written in 1847 by the Hungarian poet Sándor Petőfi. Here is the original:

  Szabadság, szerelem!
  E kettő kell nekem.
  Szerelmemért föláldozom
  Az életet, Szabadságért föláldozom Szerelmemet.

Here's the translation by 殷夫 in 1929, which adopted Chinese classic five-character poem style, but not totally faithful to the original text:

  生命诚可贵，
  爱情价更高。
  若为自由故，
  二者皆可抛。

Another translation by 孙用 in 1957:

  自由，爱情！
  我要的就是这两样。
  为了爱情，
  我牺牲我的生命；
  为了自由，
  我又将爱情牺牲。

Another translation by 兴万生 in 1991:

  自由与爱情！
  我都为之倾心。
  为了爱情，
  我宁愿牺牲生命，
  为了自由，
  我宁愿牺牲爱情。

In English:

  Liberty and love
  These two I must have
  For love, I will sacrifice my life
  For liberty, I will sacrifice my love


Does '几个运动员应该尽到自己的努力了，' have a critical tone in this sentence?

“几个运动员应该尽到自己的努力了” here is to add an reason/excuse before saying the bad result (但是有个别项目，个别人出现了问题。).

I think the author feel sorry to say the bad result, so he put an positive thing and praise our 运动员 first before addressing the bad result.

In English, there is a phrase “not to rain on your parade”. I think they are the same kind of idea.


Is there a proverb that means "the squeaky wheel gets the grease"?

ABC Dictionary of Chinese Proverbs

哭夜的孩子多吃奶
Lit Babies [who] cry [at] night get more milk.
Fig Those who speak out or complain get more help. "The squeaky wheel gets the oil."

The Wikipedia page for The squeaky wheel gets the grease also mentions:

Cultural differences
Similarly, one of the Chinese proverbs goes "会哭的孩子有奶吃", which means "The crying baby gets the milk"


It's 来了，老弟儿！ It sounds like 老爹er in some way(due to the accent of the speaker). It means Here you come, buddy!.


In fact this is a sentence that enhances the reason why……? And now you can reguard it in English, something like:

It's because I saved a sick man that I was late for school……

To translate this into Chinese directly, this means：是因为AA，所以导致BB的后果。

(Change this to English in question：Is it because you saved a sick man that you were late for school?)

To translate this into Chinese directly, this means：是因为AA才导致BB吗？

In Chinese, we always ignore something according to the actual context, and such statement as this always happens when a teacher see that you are late for school, and maybe the student will make a dialog like this:

Teacher: Why are you late for school?

Student: It's beause I saved a sick man (that I was late for school).

Teacher: Really？Is it because you saved a sick man (that you were late for school)?

是真的吗？是因为你救了一个病人（以至于你上学迟到了？）


What's the difference between 注册 and 登记, both meaning "to register"?

注册 (register) can also mean "licensed" as in  "注册医生" (licensed doctor),  "注册执业" (licensed to practice)

We don't say 登记医生 (registered doctor) or to 登记执业 (register to practice)

When you 注册 on a system, you are officially registered/ enrolled or licensed

When you 登记 on a system, you are either officially registered/ enrolled or submitted an application


It's an Internet Language. This is a good explanation.

“在博取关注的方面是种子选手”→“关心种子”→“关种”

I think you know what it means by seeing the YouTube Video.


Is there such thing as Chinese spelling alphabet?

The idea of a "spelling alphabet" of course assumes the concepts of "spelling" and "alphabet", which does not apply to Chinese characters.
That is not to say that radiotelephony procedure is unimportant. The need for a standard English in international aviation is so important that there is much research in China into teaching ICAO English standards, and their standards are to be adhered to in aviation environments.
Instead of spelling words, Chinese speakers in general explain the characters in terms of other words, a kind of 解说. Chinese speakers do quite a lot of this when encountering names, much like many English speakers ask the spelling of the name (or have various shortcuts). These are very far from standard in the way that NATO or ICAO are, and there are plenty of ad hoc cultural variants; but generally they use high-frequency disyllabic words. If the character is rare enough not to have such words, then other ad hoc explanations are required.
One must then go back to the reason for a spelling alphabet in alphabet- and syllabary-using language systems: when the technology of audio transfer causes the risk of information loss to be large enough to impede communication. It is a form of disambiguation.
This was true in late 1890s Britain, which resulted in the 1904 British Army Regulations, is still true in aviation contexts, and is also true of the Sinosphere. But since the information being lost is encoded slightly differently in the written script, the actions developed to compensate are different.
The disambiguation aspect is particularly obvious with numbers in Mandarin Chinese. The exact same vowel and tone shared by the numbers 1 and 7 mean that they are very easily confused over a poor line, so much so that in civilian conversation when enunciating numbers, 幺 is the usual substitution for 一 when reading phone numbers and other long strings of numbers (as well as other specific examples). The Chinese Wikipedia gives a few more examples of the numbers substituted in technical contexts.


What is the difference between 没有 vs 了没有in sentence?

你吃饭没有?

  你吃饭了没有?

You are correct! Both are natural and mean the same thing.

You could also say 你吃饭没?, 吃饭没？， 吃饭了没？, 吃完饭没？，... Those colloquial sentences are used in daily life.


When referring to a previously mentioned object, such as a computer 一台电脑, do you say 这个/那个 or 这台/那台?

个 is a generic identifier for all objects. 这 and 那, as you know, are just specifiers for this or that.

Now, if you know the specific measure word for the object you're trying to describe, you should use it. It makes you sound more fluent/mature... you'll often hear kids in China use 个 for everything...

Like, 这条鱼 (Zhè tiáo yú) sounds much better than 这个鱼 (Zhège yú)... people will understand you regardless, but it's just how you want to come off.

Just like in English, you could a bunch to describe everything...

A bunch of fish
A bunch of birds
A bunch of books

But we learn how to refine how we talk:

A school of fish
A flock of birds
A stack of books


What is the difference between 没有+V. and 没+V.?

[沒+ X(v)]  is the negative form of [有+ X(v)] (replace 有 with 沒)

Example:

[沒殺人] (did not kill someone)

[有殺人]( have killed someone / did kill someone)

*Replace 有 with 沒

  [沒有+ X(v)] is  also the negative form of [有+X(v)] (add 沒 before 有)

Example:

[沒有殺人] (did not kill someone)

[有殺人]( have killed someone / did kill someone)

*Add 沒 before 有

Simply put,  沒 can be used as the shortened form of 沒有

You can also see it as:  "to turn [有+ X(v)] into negative, you can either replace 有 with 沒 or add 沒 before 有"


From Wiktionary, the possible meanings of 弗 are:

as negation (as in, 不 and 否 for "no")
gust of wind
writing brush

There is no mention if it can mean dollar.

On the other hand, in Japanese, the possible meanings are:

fluorine
the dollar sign ($)

The reason of the dollar sign is because of the similarity of the sign itself (弗 vs $).

  Repurposed for its visual similarity to the dollar symbol $. This reading is ultimately a borrowing from Dutch dollar.


Do native speakers learn about 4 tones in school or do they naturally pick them up without formal education?

I think there are two different ways to read the first part of your question:

1. Do children learn how to say words with the appropriate tones prior to going to school?

2. Are children explicitly aware of the tones they're using. (e.g., When they say 中国, do they know or could they explain that 中 is zhong1 and 国 is guo2)?

The answer to #1 is (obviously!) yes.  It's their native language, so of course they pronounce it (more or less) correctly, and that includes the tones.  The answer to #2 is mostly no, and instruction in school builds that explicit knowledge.

To make an analogy to English speakers, consider stressed and unstressed syllables.  Children who are native speakers of English correctly stress different syllables of multi-syllable words.  In "computer" they will stress the 2nd syllable, and in "telephone" they will stress the 1st.  But if I were to ask my 4-year-old son "Which syllable is stressed in the word 'computer'?" he wouldn't be able to tell me. When he gets older and begins to understand syllables and patterns of stress in English, he will gain that explicit knowledge. (Though as Gangosa notes in his/her answer, you can speak English just fine without it.)

One additional point: As EmmaXL states in her answer: "Pinyin is to assist students to learn Chinese." More specifically on the mainland, explicit knowledge of pinyin helps students' Chinese move closer to standard Putonghua. With such major differences between dialects of Chinese, this explicit instruction is necessary to get everybody speaking (mostly) the same language.


Simply,

  比～更: even (more)；

  比～多了：much (more)；

他打篮球比我更好。： he plays basket ball even better than me.

他打篮球比我厉害多了。: he plays basket ball much better than me.

坐高铁比坐飞机更方便。: Taking high-speed railway is even more convenient than taking a flight.

坐高铁比坐飞机方便很多。: Taking high-speed railway is much more convenient than taking a flight.

Updated according to the updates from OP:

Compared these three sentences:

  他打篮球比我好。
  他打篮球比我更好。
  他打篮球比我厉害多了。

2 and 3 are stronger than 1. 2 and 3 are hard to compare, because they are used for different purposes.


What is 越级挑战 in one English vocabulary form and if possible, also in idiom?

You should provide the context in which this was used. It can be applied to school, work, development, sports teams moving up the leagues, anything.

越级: more than 1 level, skip a grade, leapfrog
挑战: challenge

越级挑战: some kind of test or exam or challenge. If your score is good, you go up more than one level. Could be school, work， just the children's game or whatever.

Not exactly your phrase, but you can see how 'leapfrog' might be used.

The win allowed them to leapfrog three teams to gain second place.

这场胜利使他们连超三个队，跃居第二位。


My understanding is that when characters were being simplified in Mainland China, they first had to standardize traditional characters (i.e. What should these new characters be simplified from?). 「綫」 was chosen as the traditional standard, thus in the PRC's Table of General Standard Chinese Characters (通用規範漢字表), you can see that 「线」 is considered to be simplified from 「綫」, while 「線」 is listed as a variant of 「綫」 (「缐」 also exists, but is only used as a surname).

Understandably, if the dictionaries you are using are Mainland Chinese, 「綫」 will be treated as the standard character rather than 「線」.

In contrast, every other region in the Sinosphere that has some standard for Chinese characters (i.e. Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea) list 「線」 as the standard form, which might explain why 「線」 is much more prominent outside of simplified Chinese.

However, as mentioned in the other answer, 「綫」 is quite common in Hong Kong, despite 「線」 being the standard character in Hong Kong's List of Graphemes of Commonly-Used Chinese Characters (常用字字形表). This is likely because the standardized character shapes are used as general guidelines for education, rather than used as a strict set of rules to follow.

The smaller character here indicates a variant form.

Both these forms have existed as variants of each other for quite some time before the modern era, so aside from regional standards and popularity, one isn't necessarily more correct than the other. I'm not sure about Japan and Korea, but in Chinese-speaking regions, both forms should be equally well-understood. In the end, it boils down to personal preference.


What is the Chinese word for 'programmer'?

编程家 sounds weird. You can say:

程序员
程序猿 (for male)
程序媛 (for female)
编程人员
码农 (junior programmer without future, often used for self-mockery)
挨踢(IT)民工 (similar to 码农)


How can I say "Some users want it" in Chinese?

Might a nominalisation as 有的用戶要的 work in your context?  It would translate to "It is something that some users want", for example as an answer to a question.  The pronoun 它 for innate objects is seldom used in Chinese.


list of traditional Chinese sorted/grouped by number of strokes

lists which contain around 500 characters

you must be kidding  500 only?
try the 國語辭典, maintained by the ministry of education, taiwan; it’s under cc 3.0. you may download the excel file here:
https://language.moe.gov.tw/001/Upload/Files/site_content/M0001/respub/dict_reviseddict_download.html
the first excel file should suit your need, it contain 8000+ characters, with colume indicated the stroke number, and radical.
have fun :)


Is there an expression in Chinese for saying "I'm taken"?

You can use 名花有主  to describe a third person 'being taken' in a romantic sense. For example: "他已经是名花有主" (he is already taken)
Since it sounds arrogant to call oneself  "名花" (quite a catch), "名花有主" is only appropriate when describing a third person.
Also "名花" is usually a description of a lady. Using it to describe a man is less common, therefore someone would say "名草有主" instead
Or you can use "心有所屬" to declare you are "taken"
"我已经心有所屬" = (my heart had already settled on someone)
But 心有所屬 is quite a literary phrase, rarely used colloquially.

我已经有女朋友

It sounds most natural in native Chinese speech


How to ask the flight attendant for more airplane meals if there are still leftovers?

Good:
你好，请问飞机餐还有多余的吗，我可以再要一份吗，谢谢。
Bad:
喂，再来一份，我没吃饱。
In my opinion, as long as you use "请", "可以..吗", "谢谢" as the way in English,
and ask a flight attendant after their regular meal service with smile,
it is definitely a reasonable request.
A normal anwser would be: "好的，我帮您看下，请稍等".


回去回来 回来回去 来来回回 来来去去 Are they the same?

Personally I have never heard of 回去回来 or 回来回去, and they are highly unlikely to be idioms in any part of China.

We do say 来回来去 in Northern China, not sure about Southern China. It means 'back and forth; repeatedly'. E.g.

他自从丢了钱包，就来回来去的说。He was complaining over and over again since he lost his wallet.
整首歌来回来去就一句词。The entire lyrics are just one sentence going back and forth.


What does the first part of 它一把拉着我跳回了家，我成了兔子，而它成了我的模样 mean?

Reading the story, "它" in "它一把拉着我跳回了家" is referring to the rabbit. --> "It (the rabbit) pulling me along and hopped back home"

As for the function of "一把", you can reference my answer to this question:

  It is a description of a manner which implies "abruptly with no hesitation"
  There are similar adverbial phrases:

  一手 (with one move of one's hand)

  一手搶過我手中的香煙 (with one move of his hand, he grabs the cigarette off my hand = he takes the cigarette off my hand with one move of his hand)

它拉着我跳回了家 = he pulling me hopped back home
它(一把)拉着我跳回了家 = he (with one swift grab) pulling me hopped back home

  我成了兔子，而它成了我的模样

  I turned into a rabbit, and it (the rabbit) turned into my appearance.

  Notice the phrase "it hopped home", which mean before they got home, the rabbit was still a rabbit.  Once arrived home, the rabbit turned into the child; and the child turned into a rabbit (obviously a dream)


How modern Chinese singing works if Chinese has tones

Short answer: Simply speaking, remove all the original tones of each character and follow the tune of the music. Yes it is hard to recognize if you never read the lyrics before, even for native speakers.


Are there any multi-syllabic words in Chinese without a glottal stop?

I think this question should be "Are there any multi-syllabic words in Chinese with a glottal stop?"
In common speech, (almost) no words have an actual glottal stop in there, whereas the sound is the one identified by the IPA symbol /ʔ/ and defined as:

a type of consonantal sound [...] produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract [...].

Typical poly-syllable words aren't pronounced with such an airflow obstruction, because the sounds are distinct enough. This is the case of encounters of:

vowel+consonant (肌肉，主张)
consonant+consonant (晚饭，面条)
vowel or velar nasal (the ng sound /ŋ/) + semivowel (the approximants /w/), as in (储物，掌握), where, even if the sounds do blend to a certain degree, they are still distinct enough.

The only case where you do have an almost mandatory glottal stop /ʔ/ in speech is nasal (/ŋ/ or /n/) + vowel. Why? Because syllables with nasal initial in Mandarin are valid: nao, nan, nen etc.
In these cases the glottal stop is needed to properly signal to the listener which syllable we are pronouncing. This is also the reason why in pinyin it is used an apex (apostrophe) sign.
For example 晚安 in pinyin is wan'an and in IPA /wanʔan/, otherwise you could simply confuse it with wa+nan. That there's no common word with this very pinyin is irrelevant. Other fairly common examples are 感恩 gan'en (/kanʔen/) and 深奥 shen'ao (/ʃɜnʔaɔ/)
The vowel+vowel case (对岸，马鞍, 骄傲) doesn't require mandatory glottal stop (even though you definitely can add one) because the encounter of vowels can't be mistaken for a valid syllable, where nasal+vowel can.


For part 1 of HSKK高级 exam, do you really need to repeat word for word what is said in the recording?

There is some information I found on the internet.

For part I of HSKK(高級), you have better repeat "word to word" and "fluently" what is said in the recording to get the higher score !

HSKK 评分说明

听后复述

适用试题：HSKK（高级）第 1-3 题。
答题要求：每题播放一段话，要求考生听后复述。

评分档次：

高：考生能完整、流利地复述材料的主要内容，较少停顿和重复。

中：考生能复述部分材料内容，停顿、重复较多，有语法错误。

低：考生复述内容与原材料出入大，语言零乱，信息量小。

http://www.chinesetest.cn/userfiles/file/HSKK-pingfen.pdf

录 音 材 料

（音乐，30 秒，渐弱）

你好！你叫什么名字？ （10 秒）
你是哪国人？ （10 秒）
你的序号是多少？ （10 秒）
好，现在开始第 1 到 3 题。每题你会听到一个句子，请在“嘀”声后重复这个句
子。现在开始第 1 题。

1．（2 分钟）

有一天，小李在乡间的小路上开着车。正当他开心地欣赏美丽风景时，突然
迎面开来了一辆货车，更没想到的是，长相奇怪的货车司机还摇下窗户对他大喊
一声：“猪！”小李一听，越想越不明白，也越想越生气，于是他也摇下车窗回头
大骂：“你才是猪！”才刚骂完，他便迎头撞上一群过马路的猪。

2.（2 分钟）
  ...

3.（2 分钟）
 ...

https://ttcn.co.jp/hsk/contents/text/hskkouyugaojimoni9.pdf


How to say "unsurprisingly" as in "Someone unsurprisingly did something"

果然 if we want to get all pedantic about this means, like you wrote, 'as expected'.
Oxford defines unsurprisingly as:

不足为奇地
unsurprisingly, she didn't show up
不出所料，她没有出现

Here we have two choices: (1)不足为奇, (2)不出所料...
and again defines unsurprising as:

不足为奇地
it is unsurprising that...
。。。不出预料

adding a third: (3) 不出预料
Like you mentioned at the beginning though 果然 would work just fine here...along with the three mentioned above (不足为奇, 不出所料, 不出预料) and a host of others:
果真
一如所料
果如所料
意料之中
take your pick...


Where is the verb in reduplication of adjectives "Noun + Adj + Adj + 的"?

EDIT:
blackgreen's answer reminded me that the noun in “Noun + Adj + Adj + 的” is not the subject of a [SVO] sentence but the topic of a [topic + comment] sentence.
There are two ways to interpret which is the topic in 他脸红红的

[他(的)脸 (topic)] [红红的 (comment)] = [his face (topic)] [is very red (comment)]

[他 (topic)] [脸红红的 (comment)] = [he (topic)] [is red-faced (comment)]

Either way, 的 is acting as an adjective marker that marks 红红 as an adjective. and the 是 (is) between the topic and the comment is omitted
As for the rest of the explanation, I cannot explain it better than blackgreen did, so I am not going to try.
Different example:

[關羽的脸 (topic)][(是)红红的 (comment)] = [Guan Yu's face (topic)][(is) very red (comment)]

[關羽 (topic)][脸红红的 (comment)] = [Guan Yu (topic)][(is) red-faced (comment)]

Example of using 红红的 in SVO sentences:

[關羽][有] [一張红红的脸]
[Guan Yu (S)] [has (V)] [a very red face (O)]


寻 找 ， 就 寻 见: I do not understand the second "xún"

I have found it!
It is a grammatical construct called "resultive complement".
见 is the resultive complement for 寻. 寻 only means search and
寻 见 means "successful search" => "find".

http://eastasiastudent.net/china/mandarin/result-complement-detail-explanation


"这是哪？" short for "这是哪里？"; It means  "where is this place/ what place it is?" (you want to know the name of a place)

Example:

A and B are at a park,
A asks B: "这是哪(里)?" - "where is this place?"
B answers: "这是佛光山公园" - "This is Buddha Light Mountain Park"
It would be easier to understand if you say "这是什么地方" instead of "这是哪？"

"这是在哪？" short for "这是在哪里？" It means "where it is at?" (you want to know where an object is located or where an event took place)

Example:

A pointing at a poster and asks B
A: "佛光山公园？ 这是在哪？" - "Buddha Light Mountain Park? Where is it located?"
B: "佛光山公园当然在佛光山" - "Buddha Light Mountain Park is in Buddha Light  Mountain of course"
A: "不，我的意思是佛光山公园在哪个城市" - "No, I meant Buddha Light Mountain Park is in which city"

~

"曹操刚跟呂布战斗？这是在哪(里发生的)？" - "Cao Cao just fought with Lu Bu? Where was it (took place)?"


Ways to determine whether a noun phrase is plural

I figured this deserved more than a comment.

Another big indicator of plurality would be 都 - 都 means: all - so obviously it can't be all of one.

...孩子都... all the kids

...老虎都... all the tigers

...啤酒都... all the beers


Is my sentence 如果我没去上班就一起朋友去玩 grammatially correct?

如果我没去上班就一起朋友去玩

From my answer to this question Meaning in context

  it is a very common grammar structure

  [如果 X 就 Y] = [If X then Y]

[1: 如果] [X: 我没去上班] [2: 就] [Y: 一起朋友去玩]

[1: if ] [X: I don't go to work] [2: then ] [Y: together friend to go play]

The major problem is  "一起朋友去玩" (together friends to go play)

It should be "和朋友一起去玩" (go to play with friends together)

[和 + (noun) 一起] = [with + (noun)  together] is also a common grammar structure. And you can drop "一起" and write: "如果我没去上班就和朋友(一起)去玩" because it is strongly implied with the present of 和


Does this box in the movie 妖猫传 (Legend of the Demon Cat) say 鳳栖樓 on its lid and 私人必死 inside, and what do they mean?

Never saw the movie.

鳳栖樓 should be the name of the building. You are mentioning there is a key in the box, so it is probably the building where the key is for.

As the note inside the box, you got one character wrong. It is "私入必死", where 入(ru4) means "enter".

Here, 私 means "without permission". So the whole phrase is saying the "(you) will definitely die if enter without permission"

入 and 人 look alike, but are two totally different characters.


中文常会有倒装句(inverted sentence)，建议不要执着文法，谁先谁后。

Both sentences in the Question can be reversed with a little modification.

我很久没看到你了。
我没看到你已经很久了。

我整天打网球。
我打网球一整天。


Just call her 姑娘

If she does not have business relations with you, it is absolutely OK.

Sometimes 小妹 is romantic involved, so it is not fit formal speaking.

小妹 is not very popular nowadays since it can be vague sometimes, but many chinese words can be vague like 小姐(young woman, also means whore), but 小姐 is still used in business and formal.

Here is a list you can use from the very formal to very rude and cursing.

女士 (formal)

小姐 (careful, also means whore outside business environment)

姑娘

妹子, 小妹, 老妹 (younger than you)

姐, 大姐 (older than you)

小妞 (rude, you don't want to be friends)

娘们, 小娘们, 老娘们(very rude, you want to have row)

破鞋 (dissipated and unconventional, you want to have a fight)

婊子(whore, you want to have a war)


Why does the shopkeeper say 要不了 (yào bùliǎo) after the customer proposes a too-low price?

'要不了' in this context simply means "can't take" (can't accept).

In English, it would be "I can't take $60 HKD (for this merchandise)"

The shopkeeper refused to take the $60 HKD in exchange of that particular merchandise

要了那六十块就要交出商品了 (if she took that $60 HKD, she would have to hand over the merchandise)


Can you use "非常非常‘ to emphasize how much you think of something?

Sure. You can even repeat it more times (非常非常非常) if you want...

Like the English usage ("really, really") it isn't something you'd put in formal writings, but its certainly common enough in dialogue or advertisement or blogs/internet posts, etc.


What's the difference between 扣好安全带 (kòuhǎo ānquándài) and 系好安全带 (jìhǎo ānquándài), which both seem to mean "fasten seatbelt"?

扣 means to " to hook / to buckle"
"扣好安全帶" means "buckle up the seatbelt "

系 means "to tie /to fasten"
"系好安全帶" means to " fasten the seatbelt "

Although there are many ways to fasten a belt to something, when it comes to seatbelt, the only way to fasten it to the seat, is to buckle it up. Therefore, 系好安全帶 and 扣好安全帶 are essentially the same thing.


Where does the 4th tone go on wan3shang (evening)?

There is no simple rule for dropping a final tone, so you would have to learn all those cases by route. Half of them end in 子 (zi), as a diminutive.

The further north you go, the more common it is to drop tones. Nevertheless, there are many words that always end in a neutral tone in all variants of Mandarin.

Consider 东西, which is pronounced dong1xi, meaning things or stuff. If you pronounce it dong1xi1 it means east-west.

Likewise, 上, 里, 边 and similar postpositions are often softened by a tone drop, as in 晚上 (wan3shang), 东边 (dong1bian), or 哪里 (na2li, with additional tone change).

Another category is reduplicated words, like 妹妹 (mei4mei), 姐姐 (jie3jie) and 爸爸 (ba4ba). A word like 小姐 (xiao2jie, tone change) is also softened, although 大姐 (da4jie3) isn't.

Although you could stress the final tone in words like 喜欢, 时候 and 晚上, people would consider it rural or foreign.


Chinese Languages With Multi-syllabic Readings Of Single Characters

The closest to your idea are the contracted characters, most of them created during the 20th century. Some examples include

圕 tuan1, short for 图书馆
瓩 qian1, short for 千瓦, kilowatt, (where the thousand/kilo part is actually wrapped right to the 瓦 character for aesthetic or 'economic' reasons, despite the fact that the multiplier of quantities always comes first), or
兙 shi2, short for 十克, decagram (same story as 瓩)
浬 li3, short for 海里, nautical mile, yet another contraction.

Some other similar characters have not yet made into the Unicode tables, so you won't find them online.

I think it's important to point out that these are modern day contractions owing to the nature of all language users: trying to be economical in writing. These characters popped up for the same reasons like the dollar sign ($), or the the copyright sign (©) and so on, they are pure abbreviations to save the writer from having to write out multiple characters. I think it's hard to accept them as real multisyllabic characters, mainly because they tend to have a monosyllabic reading, too.


What is the Chinese word for "home office"?

SOHO (small office/home office) is a new business concept that encompasses the idea of working and living, flexibility and connectivity using the limited space of a small office or home office. Depending on local regulation, real estate developments that are being marketed as SOHO may or may not be approved for both office and residential use.

The proper term to describe SOHO activity is 居家就业 or 家居办公. As for the translation of the term "home office", I would definitely go with 家居办公室.


Finding the implicit meaning can be sometimes be a tough chore. Instead of just Google Translate you should also look for a Chinese-English dictionary for your computer or tablet (search this website questions/answers for dictionary resources or see this resource if you have a Mac OSX). I will say that the context is also not clear to me on the question you've asked because the phrase you've provided seems to have no relative common name (i.e. if the phrase you've presented was supposed to reference your name, the characters do not appear to make sense in that context).

I asked a native speaker and she points out that the typical pattern seen is "一个泡沫" (Yīgè pàomò, 一個泡沫) meaning a bubble as in the bubble a child blows or it can be used in the phrase 经济泡沫 (Jīngjì pàomò, 經濟泡沫) meaning an economic bubble. There are many other resources that show up in answers here on the website, which can help you with individual interpretation of characters but to get the proper context, one should always seek out a native language speaker.


Can someone break down the sentence structure for the following

- 你在北京玩儿得高兴吗？ Why is 得 used instead of 很?
"得" is the adverb marker in this sentence. 玩儿得高兴 literally "play happily".
Some other examples of the V+得 structure:
走得快  to walk fast
吃得小心 to eat carefully
很 can be added before the adjective to increase the degree of the adjective.
走得很快  to walk very fast
吃得很小心 to eat very carefully
In your example the tense is probably past, as in "Did you have a good time in Beijing?" It can also be present, if you are, for example, talking on the phone. "Are you having a good time in Beijing?"
- Can I just say 你在北京玩儿了吗？
Yes, you can. It means "Did you travel for leisure in Beijing?" Literally, "Did you play in Beijing?"
- Do I need 了 in this sentence?
It depends on what you want to say.
"你在北京玩儿吗？" Are you having a leisure trip in Beijing? sounds like you're asking this question on the phone or via any instant communication device. The addition of "了" indicates that you are asking about a past action.


It's not standard Jyutping, but CantoDict uses the asterisk to indicate a changed tone. In your example, waa6*2, the standard citation tone for 话 is 6, but when pronounced in the word, 广东话, its tone changes to a rising tone, so it is denoted with a *2. A note at the footer of the definition page indicates this convention:

  Also, CantoDict uses a unique "asterisk (*)" convention, to show readings such as jyu4*2. For more information please see CantoDict Tone Conventions.

Addendum: Since you mentioned sandhi, I just wanted to note that Cantonese changed tones is different from tone sandhi. This previous answer explains in further detail: https://chinese.stackexchange.com/a/9599/166


Is 电视剧 equivalent to "TV series" or "TV drama"?

「電視劇」is equivalent to TV drama.「電視劇」does not tell you anything about the length of the series (if there even is a series) or the number of seasons in the series.

  If an English 电视剧 only has one season, can it be called series?

Yes. A TV series represents a connected group of TV shows with the same title/name. Series are only divided into seasons because of traditional American TV airing practice, where half the year is devoted to viewing and the other half is a re-run.

TV dramas are a product which responds to supply and demand; by nature, if a TV series is not performing by popularity metrics, then there will be no contract to make another season in the series. There are many single-season TV series out there (for various reasons, not only due to lack of popularity).

A TV drama series is called「連續劇」in Chinese. Dramas, in general, are just called「戲劇」, so you can get single "episode" (more like a mini-film) dramas called「單元劇」.


If people are familiar with each other, they can call each other by full name, given name, nickname, etc ... There was once a new leader who came to my group and explicitly asked how we are calling each other now, and how we want to be called. The real situation in my group is that most of us call each other by a nickname (which is somehow derived from the proper name). The full name and given are also used.

If the two are not too familiar, they will use the full name. But the change from full name to given name or nick name can happen very quickly, maybe after only two or three conversations. One does not need permission to use the given name but should be careful with nicknames.

But remember, Chinese rarely call someone with only one character. So is someone's given name has only one character, then there will be nobody calling him by only his given name (however close they are). Everybody will call him with the full name (two characters) unless there is a nickname that they like more.

Surname only is rarely used, as it usually contains only one character. But if the surname does have two characters, it can be used to call some one.

Surname + suffix can be used to call a leader, professor, teacher, etc., with suffix being the appropriate title, or to call a customer, with suffix being 先生、女士、etc. (There should be more situations that this should be used.) Classmates or colleagues do not call each other in this way.

Note: I went to college in Beijing and now work in a company in Beijing. The way of calling each other may be very different in different areas and may be different in different companies (this is the reason why the new-coming leader is asking about this). And this only describes how people call each other when they are familiar with each other (being classmates or colleagues), and no one is superior to the other.


What's the correct term for ping (connection latency) in Standard Chinese/Cantonese?

Yes, in putonghua，We say "网又卡了， 我ping都500了， 卡死了（damn lagging）， 你卡不？小王怎么一点都不卡呢？”

“Ping” is totally acceptable in Putonghua， just like “windows，NPC，BOSS”， all game players know it， or you can use "延迟”， “我延迟有500了” 。


考 is the verb.

  我 / 下个星期 / 要 / 考 / 中文
  I / next week / will / test / Chinese

If it helps, you could regard 考中文 here as a set construction meaning "to have a Chinese test". Same for 考数学 etc.


The word order of co-existing adverbs in a sentence

For a more complete discussion of adverbial order, see ＂实用现代汉语语法＂, page 524：

２。除了大部分副词以外，限制性的状语按下列顺序排列：

（１）表示时间的状语；

（２）表示语气以及在分句之间起关联作用的状语；

（３）表示目的、依据、关涉、协同的状语；

（４）表示处所、空间、方向、路线的状语；

（５）表示对象的状语。

果然 belongs to （２），thus it should come second after（１）time adverbial， more examples of（２）, adverbials （in fact adverbs） expressing mood （语气）：难道、岂、究竟、偏偏、索性、简直、大概、莫非、到底、原来

直接 may be counted among the majority of adverbs （大部分副词）not included above which should be immediately in front of the verb （or adjective predicate）。

For a more complete discussion see the quoted grammar.

Regarding the relative position of (1) and (2), according to Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar p.148, adverbials indicating mood or tone are interchangeable in position with time expressions, thus confirming some of the comments above.


You can say ‘嗨’, which is equivalent to ‘hi’ in English or ‘哈咯’ which translates to ‘hello’ or even ‘哟‘ like another user had mentioned in the comments.


You need to consider 总会 together:
ABC

be bound to; be inevitable; be sure to happen

总会 + 不时 = be sure to + often = he is bound to frequently.../he is sure to often...
ABC calls 总会, here, a:
Verb Phrase

Dòngcí Cízǔ 动词词组
This includes
(i) descriptive predicates that do not behave as stative verbs, e.g., ǎirán ‘amicable; amiable’, as well as
(ii) phrases and longer chunks containing a verb that are not fixed expressions, e.g., bǎiláibǎiqù ‘sway; waver’, áidào tiānhēi ‘bear up until nightfall’.


Why is 纔 the “correct” traditional form of 才?

纔
Due to the complicated strokes, the traditional form 纔 is being wholly replaced by the simplified form 才 even in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

I was from Hong Kong, no one would use 纔 instead of 才. Just look at how many more stocks in 纔 compare to 才. I would consider 纔 is the archaic form of 才

Why is 纔 the “correct” traditional form of 才

It was the “correct” traditional form of 才 but now is archaic (almost no one use it nowadays).  才 is officially the standard (in traditional or simplified Chinese) in modern Chinese. 纔 had became a rarely used variant (it is not incorrect but it is very old fashion)
BTW, the argument in the text you posted is about "We shouldn't insert modern concepts in ancient language". If it was written as 纔 in the first place, just leave it that way


大家们 is not correct.

Not all search terms with a lot of results are correct words/phrases.

You should notice that there are not many meaningful results in the search results. And the very first result is a Q/A site asking whether "大家们" is correct, and the accept answer says it is not. The second result is a paper from a journal that discusses this kind of errors.


In English, 'lamb' is meat from young sheep and 'mutton' is meat from adult sheep.

Young goat meat in Chinese is '小羊肉'  (a goat under a year old).
Adult goat meat in Chinese is  '山羊肉' or simply '羊肉'.

Goat meat is commonly consumed by Chinese, but far less than pork and beef.

How often is 羊肉 goat in Chinese and not mutton?

The term '羊肉' always refers to 'goat meat' in China. 'Mutton' is translated as 绵羊肉 and 'lamb' is translated as 羔羊肉. Almost no one eats them in China.
Since most of China has no sheep, the terms 'lamb' and 'mutton' in China are  adopted to describe 'young goat meat' and 'goat meat' respectively.
Simply put, 'lamb' and 'mutton' in Chinese should be 羔羊肉 and 绵羊肉, but most Chinese think 'lamb' and 'mutton' mean '小羊肉(young goat meat)' and '山羊肉(goat meat)'.
Edit:

History of the_domestic sheep https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_domestic_sheep
Sheep are not an important part of China's agricultural economy, since the majority of China does not have the large open pastures required for sheep-rearing.[20] Sheep farming is more common in the northwestern provinces of the country, where such tracts of land exist.[21] China does have a native sheep breed, the zhan. The population of the breed has been in decline since 1985, despite government promotion of the breed.[22]

Since China is quite hilly, sheep farming mostly confined to the minorities tribes in northern edge of the country. A typical Han Chinese might not had seen a sheep in his entire life.

China’s Goat Industry: http://www.ccagr.com/content/view/115/179/
China is home to more than 100 million meat goats. Farmers produce a total output of more than 1.5 million tons annually. Most of the meat produced is consumed by the nation while little is exported on the world market.

Considering the huge number of goats in China, we can safely presume almost everyone in China who say he had eaten 羊肉 before, meant he had eaten 'goat meat' (not sheep meat).


地 only CHANGES ADJECTIVES to adverb. Any adverbs without being conjugated from adjectives can exist without 地.

地 is commonly omitted. This happens usually when the adjective has ONE CHARACTER only. For example: 慢慢走 or 慢走. 地 is omitted since 慢 has only ONE character. The repetition of 慢 here is only for the purpose of expressing the action in a more visualized or vivid way.
兴奋 has two characters, and you cannot shorten it to one character to have the same meaning, so we usually don't omit 地 in this case.


Word that I kept hearing at the end of a sentence

The "word" you are asking about is not one word but two: "对不对"
对： Right
不对： Wrong
So he is asking you that: Is it correct or not? But actually meaning for this is trying to convince people like "Don't you think what i said is very reasonable? Yes, I am right!"

The Pinyin for these words: DUI 对, BU 不， DUI 对


Is this sentence grammatically wrong? 我刚来了中国的时候，不会说中文。 我上大学了的时候，认识了我女朋友。

"我刚来(了)中国的时候，不会说中文。"
"了" here is a verb particle indicates the verb 来 is completed. But "的时候" (the time when) already indicate the event is in the past.  Therefore, "了" is redundant. Just "我刚来中国的时候不会说中文。" is enough.

~

我上大学(了)的时候，认识了我女朋友。
"了" here is also verb particle indicates the verb phrase "上大学" is completed.And "的时候" (the time when) also indicates the event is in the past. Therefore, "了" is redundant. Just "我上大学的时候认识了我女朋友。" is enough

~

"我刚来了中国" and "我上大学了" are grammatically correct
"我刚来了中国的时候" and "我上大学了的时候" are not grammatically correct


Why would this insect pest poster in Taiwan have phonetic characters (Zhuyin) on every Chinese character?

Texts written for schoolchildren will be annotated with phonetic symbols. The last sentence indicates that this poster is made for schoolchildren:

如果發現了，趁著沒孵化之前通知老師來移除。
If any [eggs] are found, take the opportunity to let the teacher know, so that they can remove [the eggs] before they hatch.


How useful are the kanji in reading Chinese?

Personally I found learning Chinese after Japanese a very positive experience. Indeed having a good knowledge of Kanji made a big difference and eased the learning of Hanzi. At first it took me a while to get used to simplified characters. Knowing radicals has helped me a great deal. Also I tend to use a lot of technology that was not available when I was learning Japanese. Particularly for reading a writing Chinese.


您晚上休息不了多长时间吧 is between interrogative and rhetorical. It means

  (I reckon that) you don't have much time for sleep at night, do you?

There is a strong suggestion for the answer, yet an answer is expected to complete the dialog.

Word by word translation is like

  You are unable to rest for long time at night right?


The break down:

「來」(come )
「及」implies 「及時」 (in time) here.
「得」or 「不」 are the two potential particles that indicate " "able , or "unable"

*You either able or unable to come in time.  That's why they are called potential particles.

In summary:

「來」 (come) 「不」(unable to) 「及」 (in time )

「來不及」= unable to come in time = too late

「來不及愛你」= unable to come to love you in time = too late to love you.


How do I say "I need some advice about X"?

In Chinese, what we would naturally say is

  你知道参加婚礼应该穿什么好吗？

Or even more indirectly

  你觉得参加婚礼应该穿什么好？


The answer to this question is quite complicated, there is a whole website devoted to this subject here.

Shrinking things down as short as possible, the idea of seven day periods within a calendar based primarily on months came from the West into China, possibly more than once. During the Tang dynasty, it was taken up in China for use in astrology. For the percentage of the population who were not astrologers, it was not an important or widely known idea, and by the Ming dynasty, it was simply an odd factoid in astrological treatises.

According to the same website, the Japanese got the idea of the seven day period through Buddhist sources in the early 800s. Both the Chinese and Japanese thus got this idea, either directly or indirectly, through Western Buddhist or Manichaean sources, which identified the days with the sun, moon, and five planets, the 'seven luminaries' 七曜. Unlike China, the astrological use remained popular in Japan, but was limited to astrology until Japan decided to adopt the Western system of weeks as part of its calendar reform in 1876.

The seven-luminaries names of the seven days thus continued to be used in Japan because they had a continuous history.  In China, the whole thing was forgotten until they were reminded of the idea when Westerners starting setting up extra-territorial concession across China in the second half of the 1800s. The concessions naturally used weeks to regulate both work schedules and religious worship, particularly the Sabbath.

It seems clear that libai 禮拜 'worship' as the name for a week originated some time in this period; there is a very interesting article by 張書華 called 西制東漸：試探“星期制”於清末上海之傳布 which describes the spread of the week throughout China, a spread in which Shanghai played a leading role.

Yuan Chia-ku 袁嘉谷 was the Qing official who was supposedly responsible for coining the name xingqi 星期 'a stellar period' for the week in the last years of the Qing dynasty, but it was not until the Republic of China was declared that the Western calendar was adopted and the 'week' became a part of Chinese time-keeping.  Even then, the use of libai remained much more common than xingqi, until the dawn of the People's Republic in 1949.

I have to say that Yuan's objection to the use of the Tang era names for the days of the week doesn't seem that unreasonable to me. If we had to go through a major calendrical reform (heaven forfend), would you like to have a new system of days set up named after the Buddhas of the seven heavens?


互联网 and 因特网 may be different things - "internet" vs "Internet".

Coming up with loanwords isn't a standardised practice; in the beginning you'll have separate groups coming up with different words, but over time the need to communicate will encourage people to start using the same one. Take LASER for example; since it was invented in the US, there were many Chinese loanwords - some out of use ones include 光的受激辐射放大器, 光量子放大器, 莱塞. In this case, Qian Xuesen came up with the 激光 word, and since he was so well respected in PRC, everyone there used that. Due to the political situation at the time, Taiwan continued to use 雷射.

These days it's more likely that loanwords will converge quickly, since science and commerce are so open and interconnected. But earlier in history, this process could take a long time. One notable example is the Qing-dynasty loanwords for the US president. The concept was very foreign, of a supreme leader that is elected by peers for a limited term; historian Jonathan Spence counted up to 100 different versions, with words like 伯理玺天地.


What is the best way to ask for a draw in chess?

Orally, depending on the situation, you could use the following phrases

咱们要不和了吧？
我不想下了，就算平局吧。

和 means 讲和，which just implies 平局。The second expression would be more casual and is suggested to be used with close friends.
Above is how you would ask for a draw if the situation is really tied and both of you are tired, if you are feeling that you are losing, of course you would say

咱不下了，我认输了！


Can anyone translate the Chinese text on the picture attached?

第一，我们可以看到买家已经安装了产品，我们在发货已经明确告知买家收到包裹后，不要马上安装，一定要先测试再安装，并全程用视频记录，这么做就是为了防止因为买家自己安装错误导致的问题把责任推到我们身上，我们本来就不能控制买家怎么安装！！

第二，从专业的角度分析出现买家视频中的问题有以下因素：１。买家在安装过程中，灰尘进入了排线，而要用牙刷和酒精刷一下排线；２。买家没有扣好排线；３买家在安装过程不小心扯断了排线。

请Aliexpress小组明察，谢谢！！

First, we can see that the buyer had already installed the product, we had notified the buyer upon delivery, not to install it immediately, the buyer should test it before installing, with the whole process being video recorded, this is to prevent buyer from installing it incorrectly and blaming us for responsibility, we can't control how the buyer is going to install it!!

Second, by analyzing buyer's video with problem from professional perspective, the problem occurs with the following reasons: 1. Dust has got into cable during installation, the cable would need to be brushed with toothbrush and alcohol; 2, Buyer does not buckle or connect the line/cable properly; 3. Buyer accidentally broke the cable during installation.

We hope/request that Aliexpress Team will investigate the details clearly to prevent reputation damaging to us. Thank you.*

*The last sentence is a bit long compare to the original sentence as I couldn't come out with a proper word to translate 明察, so I tried to make it understandable.

Hope this helped.


I can't find a resource to cite from, but here's what I know.
In some grammar textbooks, whether Chinese or English, words like this are referred to as a Prepositional Adverb, or words that are very similar in its form to a preposition but functions as an adverb.

EDIT
I am not certain about this, but some say that 以後（后） is one of the post-positions, which corresponds to prepositions in English.

Consider 以後/after in the following sentences:

以後(after) as a preposition.

好了以後，記得打給我。
Call me after(when) you're done.

"After" as an adverb.

I will arrive soon after.
我馬上到。

以後 as an adverb. (?)

以後，我會再打給你。
In the future, I will call you again.


How are blanks indicated for placeholders in Chinese (like ???)

Generally putting XX is fine unless formal. People use that a lot orally. X is usually pronounced as 叉, but can vary based on region.

Formally and also very commonly for missing name is using 某.

王某 (someone with surname 王 and one-character given name)

王某某 (someone with surname 王 and two-character given name)

某某/某某某 (very general, someone with unknown name, no implication on length of name)

For dates, if exact year is unknown or of no importance, you say 19世纪 (19th century), 19世纪80年代 (1880s)


We don't usually say“外面上”，instead，we will say “包裹外面” or just “包裹上”, and they have the same meaning here.


Why does 政治核心盘 (lit. "political core plate") seem to mean "political base"?

I think 盘 here refers to 地盘.  地盘 is territory under one's control.
政治核心盘: core political territory. (just to explain, not sure if it's correct English).


Can one learn to comprehend Chinese texts while being unable to read aloud?

Well, this is what Japanese speakers do when they look at a Chinese text – they have some understanding of it since they recognize the characters.
One fundamental problem, though, is that in modern Chinese, the majority of words are made up of two characters.  There are two types of dictionary for Chinese, one that gives character meanings (字典) and one that gives word meanings (詞/辭典).  For reading, you need the latter type.  Knowing the meaning of the characters is not enough to comprehend texts.
One reason for this is that characters have multiple meanings.  For example, the character 節 can mean something like (A) ‘joint, section’, or (B) ‘season, holiday’, or as a verb (C) ‘to restrain, control’.  There are numerous two-syllable words containing the character, and if you’re not familiar with the word, you can’t tell at a glance which meaning applies.  The character can also appear in either position.

環節 ‘link’ (meaning A)
節奏 ‘rhythm’ A
情節 ‘plot’ A
情人節 ‘Valentine’s day’ (meaning B)
節日  ‘festival, holiday’ B
過節 ‘to celebrate a holiday’ B
節省 ‘to save, economize’ (meaning C)
節儉 ‘thrifty’ C
節育 ‘birth control’ C
[Source:  zhongwen.com]

(Note the different parts of speech of the last three – having 節 in first position tells you nothing in this respect.)
This is why most people who learn Chinese as a second language spend quite a while building up their active (spoken) knowledge and getting the most common words down before they tackle texts.  Looking at real Chinese texts, it requires substantial background knowledge to even sort the characters into words.  Trying to learn to read first would quickly become overwhelming, unless you have a very unusual mind!


At what age one stops calling a person 孩子？

Why do you think these sentences are related? I think they are 2 different, unrelated sentences.

我大哥认识一个男孩子，他个名字叫李明英。
My big brother knows a boy whose name is Li Mingying
李小姐今年二十岁，是大学生。
Miss Li will be 20 years old this year, she is a student at university.

小姐 = Miss
男孩子 = boy


TL;DR : 饣 is the phonetic, not the signific.
饣, which is simplified from 食, is the radical of 饰/飾 only in the sense that it is listed that way in a Chinese dictionary. It is not the meaning-bearing part of the character. Here are two possible analyses. In both cases, 饣 is contributing to the pronunciation, not the meaning:

飾 = 食 (phonetic: shi2) + 布 (signific: cloth)

飾 = 飤 (phonetic: si4) + 巾 (signific: cloth)

飾 = 食 (phonetic: shi2) + [人 + 巾] (signific: person + cloth)

The first analysis might seem the most plausible, given the character's present appearance, but if you look at the seal script forms for 飾 and for 布, you'll see that the right side of 飾 doesn't really look much like 布.

The second analysis has the appeal that it's a simple phonetic + signific, but @Claw points out that both 飾 and 食 are checked-syllables in Cantonese, while 飤 is not. This indicates that 食 is a much better phonetic match to 飾.

As alluded to in 1, the right side (in seal script) doesn't look like 布, it looks like 巾 underneath a 人-like fragment. As pointed out by another answerer, cloth+person is a good signific for "decorate".

Edit: Added analysis #3, which Claw suggests is the most plausible, incorporating his arguments.


What is the Mandarin equivalent of 唔夾 in Cantonese (i.e., not complementary)?

'People being incompatible' is 唔夾 or 合唔來 in Cantonese and  合不來 or 不合 in Mandarin

These two people have always been incompatible with each other
佢哋兩個一向唔夾 (Cantonese)
他們二人一向合不來 (Mandarin)
他們二人向來不合 (Mandarin)

'Things being incompatible' in Cantonese can also be 唔夾, and 不般配 in Mandarin.

Chinese medicine and Western medicine are incompatible
中藥同西藥唔夾 (Cantonese)
中藥跟西藥不般配 (Mandarin)


A wired idea: Are there any Chinese idioms dictionary which is specific to translate a English word?

You can search the app store, like google play. There are loads of idiom dictionaries you can try.

And like other people commented I don't think your translation of '如獲至寶' is proper. Serendipity is valuable discoveries are made by accident or luck. But '如獲至寶' is finding something which is very valuable, it can be found this thing by accident, but this idiom's main idea is emphasis find something very important. Maybe 机缘巧合 is better.


What's the difference between "大衣" (dàyī), "外套" (wàitào), and "外衣" (wàiyī) - which can all be translated to "coat"?

"大衣" usually refers to a specific type of garment, it should be longer and more formal, something you will certainly take off when you stay indoors. No one would call a tracksuit top("运动外套") "大衣", but you can definitely call it "外套" or "外衣". I think a better translation for "大衣" is "overcoat" or "topcoat".

"外套" and "外衣" are pretty much the same, if anything, "外套" might refer to something heavier than "外衣". For example, it might be a bit odd to call a cardigan("开衫") "外套", but it's ok to call it "外衣" as long as you wear it on top. These words are more general, both refer to the outfit you wear on top. From where I come from, the "外" in "外套" and "外衣" means 'on top of', not 'outdoors'. "大衣" is just a kind of "外套"/"外衣", so is blazer("西装外套"), trenchcoat("风衣"), .etc.

And yes, people still use these terms, and they are something we still wear.

Google some images and you will have a better idea of what they are.

Also, If you are shopping online, "外衣" might not be a good keyword for searching since it's too general to put in product names(I haven't seen any shop owner put it in the title), but "外套" is ok, so is "大衣" if you are looking for that kind of garment.


What is the correct simplified character for Macau’s Taipa and Cotai?

There are no "Simplified" and "Traditional" versions of this character.
From Wikipedia:

澳門本地的「氹」（現代字）為異體字，古作「凼」、「窞」，數碼時代，由於內地字型中缺氹字，產生中國內地部份出版物顯示古字凼仔
The local character used in Macao,「氹」, is the modern version; in older times, it was written as「凼」and「窞」. In the digital age, due to Mainland China initially lacking support for the character「氹」, various publications substituted the character「氹」with the character「凼」instead.

The modern way to write it is「氹」.「凼」was used in the past, when the Mainland didn't encode the character in their digital standards.


How to translate these inspirational phrases correctly?

If you can dream it you can do it!
  梦得到的都做得到！ (what can be dreamed of can be done!)

梦得到的 that which can be dreamed (the 的 changes 梦得到 "can be dreamed" to "that which can be dreamed")
都 all (adverb)
做得到 can be done

verb得到 means "able to successfully verb". The opposite is verb不到. This is called the "potential complement" and is a common grammar pattern.

  You're the number one student!
  你是最佳学生！

你
是 are
最佳学生 best student (最佳X is a commmon pattern meaning best X, often used for best player in a football team etc)

  Best of luck in Mathematics and Science!

This one's a bit trickier. Do you mean "best of luck in the Mathematics and Science exam"? (or are they two different courses?). Or do you mean good luck with the course in general, not specifically the exam?


unix(apue) 高级程序设计理解问题

本来不应回答这个问题，但由于我自己也是搞IT的，看到同行不能理解英文文档，我也很不安。所以就翻译了一下。

其次，当从标准IO库获取输入时，不论是(a)以非缓冲流，还是(b)以行缓冲流（要求数据从内核中取出）形式，所有的行缓冲输出流都会被清除。(b)中需要“要求数据‌从内核中取出”这个限定，是因为所请求的数据也许已在缓冲中，这样就不需要从内核中读取了。当然，所有来自非缓冲流的输入，即（a）情况，都需要从内核获得数据。


动感 means 动态感觉 =  'dynamic feel'

Examples:

这幅画有强烈的动感- This painting has a strong dynamic feel to it
此照片色彩鲜艳, 动感强烈 - His photo has vivid color and strong dynamic feel
她一身紧身赛车服, 散发出强烈动感- She in a tight car-racing suit, exudes a strong dynamic feel.

Using 动感强 (dynamic feel is strong)  to describe 'high altitude skiing' is kind of inappropriate.

Skiing is a motion . Saying an actual motion make people feel it is moving is an oxymoron.

It is better to say "高山滑雪由于动态强" (Because high altitude skiing is highly dynamic)