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[Grammar]
Chinese grammar: Comparing 总算zongsuan and 终于zhongyu
One pair of confusing adverbs is 总算 (zǒngsuàn) and 终于 (zhōngyú). They both can be translated as "finally" or "in the end," but they subtly different in tone.
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[Grammar]
Chinese grammar: Comparing 再zai and 又you
Both 再 (zài) and 又 (yòu) express the duplication of an action and can be roughly translated in English to "again". However, 再 is used to express actions that have not yet occurred (the "futu
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[Grammar]
Chinese grammar: Comparing 会hui、能neng、可以keyi
This is one of the trickiest comparisons, as 会 (huì), 能 (néng), and 可以 (kěyǐ) are often translated as "can." Sometimes they are explained as: 会 means "know how to", 能 means "to be able
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[Grammar]
Chinese grammar: Comparing 突然turan and 忽然huran
Both 突然 (tūrán) and 忽然 (hūrán) express the something happens in a very short time or is unexpected. Both can be translated as "unexpectedly" or "surprisingly", however, 突然 is a bit hars
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[Grammar]
Chinese phrase translation: 苦肉计 (kǔròujì) ruse of self-injury
“苦肉计”means a trick of having oneself tortured to win the confidence of the other person involved.
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[Grammar]
Chinese grammar: Comparing 才cai and 就jiu
Both 才 (cái) and 就 (jiù) are adverbs that have to do with expressing time, and they are both placed in front of the verb. However, they both have a different tone and feel, and they express d
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[Grammar]
Chinese phrase translation: 低调 (dīdiào) low profile
The original meaning of “低调”( dīdiào) is a tone with low frequency.
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[Grammar]
Chinese grammar: Topic-comment sentences
The part that is to be emphasized becomes the topic, and moves to the beginning of the sentence, with the comment on the topic coming after the topic has been stated.
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[Grammar]
Chinese phrase translation: 损友 (sǔnyǒu) bad friends
“损友” refers to people whose behavior has a bad influence on your behavior.
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[Grammar]
Chinese food: The pattern it's not…, it's…
Sometimes you want to explain that an object, concept, or event isn't one thing, but in fact a different thing. This is the perfect structure to convey that in Chinese.
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[Grammar]
Chinese phrase translation: 脱销 (tuōxiāo) out of stock
“脱销” means that a product sold so fast that its supplier cannot keep up, making the product go out of stock and halting the continued sale of the product.
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[Grammar]
Chinese grammar: The "if" sandwich pattern
"如果⋯⋯的话,⋯⋯" (rúguǒ de huà, ) is a pattern commonly used in Chinese to express "if". An easy way to remember the pattern's format is that in the full form, the condition is "sand
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[Grammar]
Chinese phrase translation: 芥蒂 (jièdì) hard feelings
“芥蒂” referred to a small blockage; later, it came to mean the feeling of resentment or unpleasantness towards as person or thing.
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[Grammar]
Chinese grammar: Sequencing with 先xian and 再zai
The word 再 (zài) actually has a lot of uses, beyond just "again." "先, 再" (xiān, zài) is a pattern used for sequencing events, much like "First, then" in English. This patt
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[Grammar]
Chinese phrase translation: 没准儿 (méizhǔnr) maybe
“没准儿” means maybe, uncertain, and far from conclusion. It is used with the tone of a guess.
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[Grammar]
Chinese grammar: Giving perspective with 要我说yaowoshuo
“要我说” (yàowǒshuō) is another, more colloquial way to say "in my opinion" or "the way I see it." It is generally used to express a person's perspective or opinion about a matter.
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[Grammar]
Chinese phrase translation: 八卦 (bāguà) the eight diagrams
“八卦” refers to a set of ancient Chinese symbols that can be used for divination.
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[Grammar]
Chinese grammar: Expressing not even one
In English we might want to say something like "I have absolutely no money, not even one penny." That "not even one" is the focus of this article.
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[Grammar]
Chinese phrase translation: 动真格 (dòngzhēngé) to do something seriously
“动真格” means to form an opinion seriously and to take actions firmly.
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[Grammar]
Chinese grammar:Expressing not only… but also不但……而且……
"不但⋯⋯,而且⋯⋯" (bùdàn, érqiě) is a very commonly used pattern that indicates "not only, but also."