"have you eaten?"

[ziyi star]

hi, i have some questions about usual phrases i've heard lately and don't know how to write them correctly.

1)have you eaten = chï kuo le ma

what woud 'kuo' mean? could anyone translate this into simplified characters.

2) hit on the spot = gän gän hâo

is my translation ok?

3) is it ok? = something that sounded like 'zamayian' (please no laughs at my attempt to write what i've heard lol )

if anyone could help me out with this it would be great! if you know the answers could you please post it in both pinyin and simplified? 3x

[gougou]

吃过了吗？ Chi1 guo4 le ma?

Not sure about the next, maybe 刚刚好？gang1gang1 hao3

怎么样？ zen3me yang4

[Koneko]

what woud 'kuo' mean?

The right pronunciation is "guo4", as shown above by gougou.

It is a tense indicator used to denote an action which has just happened.

K.

[Aweni]

hello.ziyi star,

have you eaten = "chï kuo le ma" shuld be written "chi guo le ma"

i think "guo" means that something you have done or finished,

1.here "guo4"(过) also meas "yi3jing1" 已经，

for example:你已经吃了吗？ni yi jing chi le ma?

2.and sometimes means "ceng2jing1"曾经，

for example: have you ever eaten noodle?=ni chi guo mian tiao ma?

hit on the spot =" gän gän hâo " should be written "gang1 gang1hao3"

but in my opinon,the translations should be depended on the context.for example:

The rain really hits the spot really hits the spot=zhe chang yu lai de zheng shi shi hou,这场雨来得正是时候

is it ok? "zamayian" should be written "zen3 me1 yang4"(怎么样？) ,well ,i think the translation is ok,but sometimes we also say "zhe4ke3yi3ma1?"(这可以吗？)，"zhe4xing2ma1?"(这行吗？) etc. there are different expressions,but the same meaning.

here is my explainationm,hope it helps.and "jia you"!!

[ziyi star]

thanx everyone! yeah sorry about that kuo lol

aweni 3x for your detailed explanation

by the way, i forgot to ask... anyone knows how to say "have fun" ?

[xiaojiang216]

by the way, i forgot to ask... anyone knows how to say "have fun" ?

尽情玩儿吧！

jin3 qing2 wan2'r ba1

尽 - to the utmost

情 - feeling / emotion

玩 - to play

儿 - 嘻嘻

吧 - "suggestive" particle

可以这样说吗？

[Koneko]

尽情玩儿吧！

Hmm... I can't say that's wrong but I wouldn't include the word, 儿.

尽情玩吧！is good enough.

Apart from this, you may also consider 玩得快乐点！

K.

[ziyi star]

3x :)

[Lugubert]

Referring to the thread title: Is 吃过了吗 the most common version of this idiom? I think I've seen at least 吃饭了吗 and 你吃了反马.

[Gulao]

Personally, I've heard just about all variations of "吃了饭吗？" I think it's most important that the question of whether one has eaten get across.

[rcxAsh]

While we're on this topic, I thought I'd wonder about the difference between "have you eaten yet," and something more to the effect of, "have you eaten (this before)?"

I think I've heard before something like, 吃過了嗎？有沒有？ (chi1 guo4 le ma? you3 mei2 you3?) But I'm not too certain, as it sounds too close to a plain 吃過了嗎, which is more for the context of "have you eaten" for the purpose of "let's go eat now" or something? My memory may be playing tricks on me.

[gougou]

*standard reply about the importance of context in Chinese*

[rcxAsh]

Ah, yah, that seems to make sense now that I think about it. Thanks for the clarification!

[mr.stinky]

吃饭了吗? and 吃饭了没有？

aren't both of these just a basic greeting, sorta "hi, how are ya?"

not really intending to ask whether you've actually eaten.

[L-F-J]

back in the day it wasnt so easy to get a lot of food or good food, so this is showing the primary concern for whether or not you've eaten well. now its just a common greeting that has stuck. but originally, it is showing concern for your health. and obviously dining is a big part of chinese life now.

[Koneko]

True!

But Chinese people also enjoy good food.

Just like the saying, 民以食為天

Other cultures might use "weather", "health" etc as their ice breakers.

Chinese people use "food" related topic to start their conversations.

K.

[tanhql]

i remember seeing a comic strip in my local chinese newspaper (commenting on the 'developement' of china), one chinese greeting another stranger using 吃饭了没(or something like that, can't remember the exact words), and the stranger replied (something like) 我的样子看起来很穷吗？