skyblue Posted March 7, 2008 at 09:34 AM Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 at 09:34 AM 请问是什么意思？ 谢谢。 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monto Posted March 8, 2008 at 04:42 AM Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 at 04:42 AM 你爱信不信 = Believe it or not In Chinese, you can subtitute "你" with almost any other pronoun or noun for person(s). For examples: 他爱信不信 meaning "I don't care wether he believe it or not", implying "what I said is true". 这些人爱信不信 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lgna2000 Posted March 8, 2008 at 04:44 AM Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 at 04:44 AM believe it or not. When people say this, it indicates that he(she ) may be impatient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyblue Posted March 8, 2008 at 05:20 AM Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 at 05:20 AM Thank you. Is it a fixed expression? There's also another phrase, for example: 你爱画不画 What would this mean? So there's no direct translation for the verb "ai"? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monto Posted March 8, 2008 at 06:16 AM Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 at 06:16 AM Oh, yes. It just didn'd come to me before you mention it. "Set structure" may be the better description of it, For almost all the verbs, you may have 你爱+ + 不 + 你爱笑不笑, 你爱看不看, 你爱走不走,.......... All neaning "I don't care whether you ..... or not" So there's no direct translation for the verb "ai"? Literally, we can translate 爱. But as it makes no good English, we give it up. For example 你爱信不信 ------ (I don't care whether) you like to believe or disbelieve. The meaning of 爱 is expressed here as the"like" in the following sentence: You do as you like, I don't care. By the way, They are oral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyblue Posted March 8, 2008 at 07:08 AM Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 at 07:08 AM Hey Monto Thank you Sky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooironic Posted March 14, 2008 at 11:02 AM Report Share Posted March 14, 2008 at 11:02 AM Yeah, I think translating 你爱信不信 as 'believe it or not' might be slightly misleading, because the phrase 'believe it or not' is quite light in English - e.g. you might see it in trivia books titling 'Believe it or not.. *insert random fact*' or it might be a casual expression in spoken English like 'Did Sandra end up going out with that horrible guy from accounting?'.. 'She did, and believe it or not she said it went really well.' BUT 你爱信不信 is more like 'You can believe it if you want, I don't care' - no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monto Posted March 14, 2008 at 11:37 AM Report Share Posted March 14, 2008 at 11:37 AM 你爱信不信 is more like 'You can believe it if you want, I don't care' You may understand 你爱信不信 this way, or another. If "I don't care" is really expressed after it, then things go serious. As long as it is not expressed there, it is only implication. so whether it is light or a little bit "heavier" depends on the context which decide the degree of the implication. We can often see someone say it and try to add more details to what he/she said. In such case, it definitely goes light way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted March 14, 2008 at 11:38 AM Report Share Posted March 14, 2008 at 11:38 AM Yeah, the 爱verb不verb construction is like saying do whatever you want, it's nothing to do with me. I'm not sure if you'd call it rude, but you certainly wouldn't use it before, say, handing over a juicy piece of gossip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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