一不小心就成了“百万富翁”

[laser2302]

Thanks for answering my question.

I would like you to clear one more point:

Hi everyone,

Have a look at the following sentence:

半个月的时间内啥事都不做也能摇身一变当上百万富翁，这种奇遇可不是天方夜谭，南京某高校大三学生小陶就遇上了这希罕事，一不小心就成了“百万富翁”。

I don't don't understand what does 一不小心就成了“百万富翁”means?

一...就... means 'as soon as possible' and 不小心 means 'not careful'. Now if translated this way "as soon as she is careless, she became a millionare". Logically it doesn't make any sense. So what this phrase actually expresses.

Looking at the language alone, it can be translated this way, but what does it actually express. Logically, it may not make any sense even in English (as soon as she is careless, she became a millionaire).

Also I found in some article that 一...就... cannot be sometimes translated as "as soon as possible". Have a look at this link: http://scholar.ilib.cn/abstract.aspx?A=gxjyxyxb200306012

Is it possible, by looking at the context, 一...就... may have a different meaning over here.

Thanks again

Lee Kong

[florazheng]

1）一...就...

一...就...=/= as soon as

一...就...= once you do that, then the result will happen

( 一: means "once"一旦）

2）不小心

不小心== carelessly

不小心= inadvertently

[中文的力量]

那这个小文章的意思是什么呢？？

[中文的力量]

Here is my personal translation, please tell me if I've understood the meaning

During an half-month, nothing happens and all can suddenly change becoming a millionaire. This is certainly a very strange and happy adventure, but this rarely thing happened to a certain collegian named Xiaotou who suddenly became a millionaire...

Please tell me i i'v done big errors thank you

[florazheng]

Yes, you understand the original sentence basically.

But I wouldn't like to translate it rigidly. Here is my shot.

It is not a fairy tale if you are on gravy train within half a month. The good luck fell on a junior college student of Nanjing, Tao, who became a millionaire overnight.

[中文的力量]

Yes ok, but i don't speak english very well, so i had to make a effort to translate it to your language lol. But i'm happy to have understood the meaning.

[florazheng]

小陶=/= 他的名字

陶是中国人的姓氏，小和老是一种礼貌及亲切的称呼

1）如果一个人姓陶，年纪大约在35以下，社会地位及年纪和你相当或比你低，你可以礼貌、亲切地叫他“小陶”

（如果他是你的经理，虽然他和你的年纪差不多，你不能叫他小陶。）

2）如果这个人年纪35以上了，他的年纪和你差不多或者年纪比你大得多，你可以礼貌、亲切地叫他“老陶”

3）如果“陶”是一位女士，你不要随便叫她“老陶”，因为没有一个女人高兴自己看起来是老的。

[florazheng]

对于年纪比较大，社会地位或身份比你得高的人，你不能叫他“老陶”。

要叫陶叔叔或陶阿姨

如果你的女朋友姓陶，你去她的家里坐客，你不能叫她的爸爸”老陶“，要叫他”陶叔叔“

[chueggroll]

well 一不小心就成了“百万富翁 means Fell into a "millionaire

[中文的力量]

yes you've understood

[Oliver_CL]

there are two parts in this sentence.( 一不小心就成了百万富翁)

one part is 一不小心就.....

the other is 成了百万富翁

let's focus on the firt part, I give an example below.

他一不小心就掉进了坑里。He suddenly dropped into the pit for incaution.

please notice that "drop into the pit" is not what he could thought in advance. So 一不小心就..... always be used in the situation in which one is suddenly place himself in, and the situation is out of his imagination.

we usually use 一不小心就 followed by a bad situation, we don't like the situation, but for our incaution, the unlucky things came and adhered with us. But notice that as we are approaching and dropping into the bad situation, we do nothing at all, we are just relaxed and await.

And you will question that 成了百万富翁 is a lucky thing, but not an unlucky thing, why it used here? According to what I said above we use 一不小心就 here to underline that xiao tao became a millionaire without doing any work absolutely!! we always use like that. "without doing any work" is the key here.

so what do you think about 小陶一不小心就成了百万富翁 now???

xiao tao suddenly became a millionaire without doing any work, it's more appropriate I think. You can imagine that you also not do any work while you dropping into the pit, it's the same.

I am chinese, and give a personal explanation here, hope I can help you.

my msn: chenlei815@hotmail.com, you can ask more there.