gena0411 Posted September 22, 2017 at 05:46 PM Report Share Posted September 22, 2017 at 05:46 PM Hello, I have encountered a sentence in mandarin companion "sixty years dream" graded reader. All the words are clear, but the meaning is not. 以后的中国不是一个人的中国，是我们每一个人的中国 Could you please help with this? Thanks Genady P.S. I was not sure whether this belongs to "quick translation" category or this one. Since it's not really about words, it seemed sentence structure category is a more appropriate one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edelweis Posted September 23, 2017 at 06:23 AM Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 at 06:23 AM The China of /afterwards/the future?/ isn't/wasn't/will not be a single person's China, it is/was/will be the China of each one of us. The meaning is had to understand without context... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted September 23, 2017 at 06:52 AM Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 at 06:52 AM Welcome to the site, Genady. If you're learning Chinese and want to understand why something means what it does, this is the right section. The quick translations forum is more for people who... want a quick translation. 以后的中国 - After that [Afterwards China (after whatever it's talking about, presumably 1949)] 不是一个人的中国 - China didn't belong to one person [wasn't one person's China] ，是我们每一个人的中国, it belonged to everyone one of us [ was us-every-person's China] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gena0411 Posted September 23, 2017 at 06:52 AM Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 at 06:52 AM Thanks edelweis. It's hard to understand within the context either :). I translated the same and it doesn't make any sense to me. The context is as follows (in my words): People sit in the tea house and discuss life in China. One says: Old times where much better. Emperor took care of us. Another says: No, modern times are better, we do not depend on emperor's whims. And the sentence in question is the opinion of a third person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gena0411 Posted September 23, 2017 at 06:57 AM Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 at 06:57 AM Thanks Roddy! And thanks again Edelweiss. Now, I do understand. One person's China is probably a reference to Emperor. And now, that the emperor is gone, China belongs to all its people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted September 23, 2017 at 06:57 AM Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 at 06:57 AM Keep the questions coming! Quite a few people on here use Mandarin Companion, so you might not be the only one unsure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gena0411 Posted September 23, 2017 at 07:00 AM Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 at 07:00 AM Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gena0411 Posted September 23, 2017 at 03:58 PM Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 at 03:58 PM Here is another sentence. 在那个时候, 住在同一个地方的人, 如果是同一个姓, 他们会觉得是同一家人, 所以不能在一起 I understand both the words and the general meaning, but I don't understand the structure. 地方的人 - why 的人 is added? 不能在一起 - It means "can't be together", but I lack "to be". Literally, it's written "can't together". Is it always the case, or it can be said differently? Thanks in advance Genady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edelweis Posted September 23, 2017 at 04:19 PM Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 at 04:19 PM 住在同一个地方 is an attribute of 人 meaning "the people who live in the same place" 在 has several meanings, one of those meanings is "to be in a place or in a situation". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gena0411 Posted September 23, 2017 at 05:40 PM Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 at 05:40 PM Understood. Thanks a lot Edelweis. Genady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lips Posted September 24, 2017 at 01:37 PM Report Share Posted September 24, 2017 at 01:37 PM 21 hours ago, gena0411 said: 不能在一起 - It means "can't be together", but I lack "to be". Literally, it's written "can't together". If it was translated as "can't stay together" then you would not have had the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted September 24, 2017 at 01:54 PM Report Share Posted September 24, 2017 at 01:54 PM But stay implies that they first got together, whereas original doesn't have that connotation. 14 minutes ago, lips said: Literally, it's written "can't together". Yes, Chinese and English have different grammar. If you had word for word translation of everything, in the same or similar order as the source language, then the target language would be stilted an unnatural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gena0411 Posted September 24, 2017 at 03:48 PM Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2017 at 03:48 PM Could you please explain the usage of second 要 in this sentence? 要不然她又要对我们大叫了 I understand that it means: Otherwise, she will again shout at us. But I don't understand what second 要 does here Thanks Genady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edelweis Posted September 24, 2017 at 04:16 PM Report Share Posted September 24, 2017 at 04:16 PM I think it's the 要...了 structure expressing an action that will take place in the immediate future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Publius Posted September 24, 2017 at 04:23 PM Report Share Posted September 24, 2017 at 04:23 PM 要：連詞。表示假設，相當於“如果”、“倘若”。 不：副詞。表否定。 然：代詞。如此；這樣。 要不然＝如果不這樣＝否則 EDIT: Sorry, thought you were asking about the first one. Please disregard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gena0411 Posted September 24, 2017 at 04:42 PM Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2017 at 04:42 PM Understood. Thanks a lot Genady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gena0411 Posted September 29, 2017 at 05:27 AM Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2017 at 05:27 AM Hello, Could you please help understand the following sentence (all the words are clear but the meaning is not): 还有他上山的时候带的刀也坏了. To put into context, the guy just awakens on a mountain and he discovers that he is 80-90 years old, his hair is white and he has a beard, and in addition .... Thanks in advance Genady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edelweis Posted September 29, 2017 at 05:51 AM Report Share Posted September 29, 2017 at 05:51 AM I think 他上山的时候带的 is an attribute explaining which 刀 we're talking about. Spoiler and in addition the knife he'd brought with him when he climbed the mountain was broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted September 29, 2017 at 05:53 AM Report Share Posted September 29, 2017 at 05:53 AM What part aren't you clear about? How do you understand the parts that you know? Does it help to break down the sentence in to smaller parts e.g. 他的刀 他的刀坏了 他的刀也坏了 他带的刀也坏了 他 上山的时候 带的刀也坏了 还有他上山的时候带的刀也坏了 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gena0411 Posted September 29, 2017 at 06:14 AM Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2017 at 06:14 AM (edited) Thanks Edelweiss! It's too long an attribute :), so it confused me. Thanks Imron! I do try to break into chunks, but in this case the description chunk was too long for my understanding Like correct chunks in this case are: 还有他 上山的时候带的 刀也坏了 Edited September 29, 2017 at 06:16 AM by gena0411 Addition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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