webmagnets Posted December 16, 2009 at 09:32 PM Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 at 09:32 PM Please help me translate the following sentence(s): "How much do you believe in God? What percent?" OR "What percent do you believe in God?" thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atitarev Posted December 16, 2009 at 10:27 PM Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 at 10:27 PM I want to answer using words similar to Teresa Teng's lyrics (the Moon represents my heart): 你相信上帝有多深？ Literally: How deeply do you believe in God? Wait for others to give better suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webmagnets Posted December 16, 2009 at 10:34 PM Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 at 10:34 PM That is useful. Thank you. However, I want the answer to be quantifiable. I want them to answer with a percentage like "10 percent" or "100 percent". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atitarev Posted December 16, 2009 at 10:41 PM Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 at 10:41 PM Just replace 多深 with (大概)多少百分比, IMHO. A possible answer: 我相信上帝百分之十。 (10%) Sounds weird, not just grammatically. Please wait for others to check. My answer, if you ask me: 0% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrianlondon Posted December 16, 2009 at 10:49 PM Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 at 10:49 PM I would assume that people either believe or not, it's a binary thing rather than a percentage thing. Or did you mean ... "what percentage of people believe in God?"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webmagnets Posted December 16, 2009 at 10:59 PM Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 at 10:59 PM 你相信上帝有大概多少百分比? Atitarev, is that what you meant? Does it make sense to everyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrix Posted December 16, 2009 at 11:04 PM Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 at 11:04 PM depends on what you wanted to say... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atitarev Posted December 16, 2009 at 11:19 PM Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 at 11:19 PM (edited) Webmagnets, yes, that's what I meant. 大概 (approximately) is optional, as you can't measure this precisely and is common in this type of phrases (how long is it going to take/cost, etc.). I understand your meaning is "how you rate your belief in God compared to disbelief", as there are people who only partially believe in God or believe in extreme situations, when they get older, etc. As Adrianlondon said, strictly speaking and from the church's point of view, you either believe or don't believe (only Yes/No answer) but we know very well, some people choose to believe in some occasions or they say, there is "something", even if they believe in science. The belief can be to do with with people believing in something supernatural, even if they can't explain. 你相信上帝有多深？ (how deep...) is more natural to me, before you start asking about the percentage. I should say in Russia, which used to be a very agnostic and a materialistic society, the church is increasing its influence, filling the vacuum of Communist, Komsomol, Pioneer and other ideological institutions. My mother turned to God when she has grown older, which made me unhappy, she is very educated and used to be very materialistic and scientific. I believe in science, nature, humans, not God. [STATEMENT DELETED] Edited December 17, 2009 at 01:01 AM by atitarev changed my mind, deleted the section, which offends religious people Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webmagnets Posted December 16, 2009 at 11:48 PM Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 at 11:48 PM How does 比 play in the sentence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atitarev Posted December 16, 2009 at 11:57 PM Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 at 11:57 PM How does 比 play in the sentence? 比 means ratio (as a noun), 百分比 - percentage. 多少百分比 - what percentage (literally: how much percentage)? 比 is part of the noun 百分比 (percentage) - literally: hundred+part+ratio 百分之十 - 10%. literally: hundred+part+of+10. 之 is from classical Chinese, has a meaning similar to 的. So it means 10 of 100 parts. As you know the use of 之 and 的 is reverse of the English "of" (word order). Compare to possessive 's. Percentage and percent are expressed differently in Chinese, I mean questions and answers. It's not unlike the English: what percentage? - 10 percent. 多少百分比？ - 百分之十。 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webmagnets Posted December 17, 2009 at 12:04 AM Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 at 12:04 AM (edited) Atitarev, Why do you say that someone has a problem with their logic, instead of just lacking information, when they believe in God? Edited December 17, 2009 at 12:22 AM by webmagnets grammar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atitarev Posted December 17, 2009 at 12:18 AM Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 at 12:18 AM It's the same thing, almost. Religious people don't require any proof, they can believe in God blindly but when they question science, they have to use arguments like "science has no proof of absence, that's why God exists". Science is based on many theories, right and wrong, learning our world bit by bit. Religion has provided the answers without doing any major work, simply relying on people's gullibility. Sorry, not too interested to go deeper. I had too many discussions with my friends and relatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webmagnets Posted December 17, 2009 at 12:24 AM Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 at 12:24 AM The reason I asked is because I do believe in God, but not blindly. I have proof. That is why I don't say that someone who does not believe in God has a problem with their logic, they just don't have all the information. p.s. - This is the last I will say on the matter in this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atitarev Posted December 17, 2009 at 12:46 AM Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 at 12:46 AM (edited) Webmagnets and everyone else, sorry if I offended your feelings. I expressed my opinion, which should have been milder, especially here but I had my reasons. I won't edit my post now. If moderators decide it's unacceptable, please let me know or delete. Again, sorry for the words but not for my opinion. I honestly didn't want to hurt anyone. EDIT: I changed my mind and deleted the statement about the logic. Edited December 17, 2009 at 01:02 AM by atitarev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in_lab Posted December 17, 2009 at 12:56 AM Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 at 12:56 AM I think you could also use 幾分. Such as 你幾分相信上帝? This isn't quite the same as percent, but it is more concise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooironic Posted December 17, 2009 at 04:18 AM Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 at 04:18 AM "What percent do you believe in God?" Does anyone else find this sentence construction a little bizarre? I Googled it and came across only one other usage. If the original English is this awkward, I can only imagine how strange the Chinese one might sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webmagnets Posted December 17, 2009 at 04:32 AM Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 at 04:32 AM I am a native English speaker. I bet that if you googled them, a high percentage of the sentences that I and other English speakers say would be unique. I am using this question as a teaching method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooironic Posted December 17, 2009 at 04:42 AM Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 at 04:42 AM Oh, I'm sure you being a native speaker has nothing to do with it. It just sounds bizarre to me. But then again I'm not Christian. Perhaps this a common question amongst you guys, I don't know. Maybe something along the lines of "On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, how strong is your belief in God?" would be clearer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atitarev Posted December 17, 2009 at 05:14 AM Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 at 05:14 AM Yes, the Chinese audience may find it a bit odd too (without an explanation that this is a teaching method), that's why I suggested to use 你相信上帝有多深？, unless it's thoroughly explained. in_lab suggested 幾分/几分. I like it. It also reminds me that song of Teresa Teng, only it was used in the answer: ... 你问我爱你有多深 我爱你有几分 ... I understand the 2nd sentence but I don't know how I would phrase this in English. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrix Posted December 17, 2009 at 09:48 AM Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 at 09:48 AM (edited) I think webmagnets you still didn't answer our question what you meant by that. Do you mean: to what extent do you believe in God how many people over there believe in God or something else? Maybe then the confusion some have expressed will go away... EDIT: on second thought, disregard what I said above. I guess I'm with the binary crowd and was subconsciously looking for a different way of reading this... Edited December 17, 2009 at 10:17 AM by chrix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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