semantic nuance Posted March 21, 2007 at 05:25 PM Report Share Posted March 21, 2007 at 05:25 PM Hi, Are there any expressions in English equivalent to 少一根筋? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HashiriKata Posted March 22, 2007 at 06:39 AM Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 at 06:39 AM Are there any expressions in English equivalent to 少一根筋?semantic nuance, I think you may get a better response if you'd explain what 少一根筋 means first. Many good speakers of English just don't have the same command in Chinese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studentyoung Posted March 22, 2007 at 06:59 AM Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 at 06:59 AM 他这个人脑子少一条 / 根筋。(他这个人脑子不太灵活。) -> He is slowwitted. 我这个人啊，对数学少一条 / 根筋。（我这个人啊，数学不行！）-> While talking about math, I am all thumbs! Hope it helps. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gato Posted March 22, 2007 at 07:08 AM Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 at 07:08 AM Maybe "not his/her forte" if you want to be polite and subtle. If you want to be cruel, maybe one of these: http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0410b&L=ads-l&P=22430 There are numerous variations of "He's one (or a few) X short of Y", e.g. "he's one card short of a full deck". A compendium of insults and "not all there" comments from various sources, beginning with rec.humor, April 1987. A couple of slates short of a full roof. A few beers short of a six-pack / a six-pack short of a case. A couplet short of a sonnet.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted March 22, 2007 at 07:26 AM Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 at 07:26 AM Also: He's not the sharpest tool in the shed; and other reverse compliments. One of my favorites goes along the lines of "couldn't empty piss out of his boot if you wrote the instructions on the sole." Use with caution (sh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HashiriKata Posted March 22, 2007 at 08:21 AM Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 at 08:21 AM Among those listed, "dumb as a donkey" seems the easiest to remember for me. (I perhaps need to clarify: I'm not a donkey ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semantic nuance Posted March 22, 2007 at 08:53 AM Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 at 08:53 AM Thank you guys for your quick and helpful responses. This phrase came to mind when I tried to describe a person's characteristics. The situation is that :You tell someone you don't want to talk about some topic and s/he promises you with sincerity. But next time s/he forgets about it and keeps reminding you of things you don't want to hear again. You're sure that s/he does not do it on purpose to hurt or bug you. However, you find s/he has the trait of forgetting things you want him/her to do for you but only remember what s/he tries to drive at. I've consulted this at other english forums and got an answer like 'passive-aggressive', which I think is too much for what I want. I've considered words like absent-minded, forgetful, insouciant, etc. However, each word does not quite fit the situation I described above. Any other more words I can use to describe this? 少一根筋:我想要表達某人好像不太體貼你的想法, 但是他/她好像也不是故意這樣子的. 他/她似乎祇是忘記你曾經交代過他/她的事情, 常常在不對的時間說不對的話或做不對的事. 而且在不對的時間會佔用你很多的時間去叨唸(nag)煩他的事情. Right at this moment, another Chinese phrase comes to mind: 哪壺不開提哪壺. If you or other guys have interesting phrases to enlighten me, I'd be glad to learn all of them. Thanks very much!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HashiriKata Posted March 22, 2007 at 09:39 AM Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 at 09:39 AM The person in question sounds a bit nutty, slow-witted to me. Maybe s/he's got a screw loose in the head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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