NewUser Posted May 31, 2008 at 08:35 AM Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 at 08:35 AM Is "dou1 xing2" a good phrase to learn for situations that require a "either/whatever/I'm not fussed" response to a question? eg waitress: "which beer do you prefer?" taxi driver: "which way do you want to turn at this intersection?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrianlondon Posted May 31, 2008 at 09:01 AM Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 at 09:01 AM Probably. I'm no native speaker (of Mandarin!) but I'd translate that back as "any" or "either". for "I'm not fussed" or "whatever" I'd probably go with 随便你 or 我隨便啦. I don't know which is better. The latter probably is, but I've used for former before and it seemed to have been understood ;) While I'm here (I'm actually asking questions more than answering yours, sorry!), would I be right to translate "I don't care" -as 无所谓? Does that have the same kind of "make up your own bloody mind and stop asking me!" sense to it that the English can? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_Horhe Posted May 31, 2008 at 09:12 AM Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 at 09:12 AM I think 无所谓 has more of a "It's all the same to me" meaning. The first time I heard it, we were in a Chinese restaurant and were choosing what to eat. I asked a Chinese friend what she wants and she said 我无所谓. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrianlondon Posted May 31, 2008 at 09:17 AM Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 at 09:17 AM I see. "无所谓" in that case seems to mean "I don't care about food, all I know is I'm hungry and I want to eat. Get on with it before I dip this serviette in soy sauce and eat that". Whereas "都行" has a "I love food and eat everything! I'm so greedy" ring to it. So that's what I say ;) I've also said "你选择" which I hope is quite polite and means "you choose!". I should probably stick a 吧 on the end. I always forget to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted May 31, 2008 at 11:42 AM Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 at 11:42 AM I usually use 都可以, but I suppose 都行 is equally good. Might be a northern-southern thing. 隨便你 is a bit impolite I think, means something like Whatever, suit yourself. 無所謂 in my ears would sound more like 'I'm not hungry and don't care what we order' than 'I'd eat anything right now', but I might be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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