Hello and translation problem

[WangYuHong]

Hello all,

Da jia hao!

I just found this site last week. I am amazed that there is a group dedicated to learning Chinese. I am still just a beginner and I'm learning on my own in my spare time. Right now, I've finished Vol I of "Beginning Chinese Reader" by John DeFrancis. I hope one day to be able to discuss/debate with you at an equal level on the finer points of Chinese grammar and word usage, but I still have a lot of studying to finish first.

I didn't really want my first post to ask for help, but I'm afraid I am without choice. My main inspiration for learning Chinese is my girlfriend (who currently lives with her parents in Beijing). Anyway, to make things entirely too personal, I'm planning on asking her to marry me! (Yay! )

The hard part is that I would like to ask her parents for permission first, and they don't speak any English at all. This is a bit beyond my skill-level right now, so I'm kind of in a hard place. I've written down a very short paragraph that I plan on speaking to them. I've translated it as best I could. If some of you could please take a look at it and let me know what mistakes are there, I would greatly appreciate it!

The first part is the English that I would like to say.

The second part is the pinyin of my translation.

The third part is the Chinese characters. I can't type them on this computer, but hopefully I can paste them from what I've previously written.

Mr and Mrs Wang,

1 Meng Wang and I have known each other for 4 years now.

2 It’s been 3 years since I first met you in Beijing.

3 During that time, I have used my ability to take care of her the best I can.

4 I hope that now you know I love her very much.

5 I would like to take care of her for the rest of my life.

6 I am asking your permission to marry her.

Wang Xiansheng, Wang taitai,

1 si ge nian yi qian, wo gen Wang Meng dou ren4 shi4 bi3 ci3

2 san ge nian yi qian, wo lai Beijing qu de yuan yin shi ren4 shi4 nin men

3 cong dang shi dao xian zai wo zhao4 liao4 Wang Meng zhao4 de zui hao.

4 wo xiwang nin men xianzai zhidao wo ai ta

5 wo yao tian tian zhao4 liao4 Wang Meng

6 wo huo4 ni de zhun3 wo yao qu3 Wang Meng

王先生,王太太,

四个年以前,我跟王萌都认识彼此

三个年以前,我来北京去的原因是认识您们

从当时到现在我照料王萌照得最好

我希望您们现在知道我爱她

我要天天照料王萌

我获你的准我要娶王萌

[BeijingSlacker]

Mr and Mrs Wang,

1 Meng Wang and I have known each other for 4 years now.

2 It’s been 3 years since I first met you in Beijing.

3 During that time, I have used my ability to take care of her the best I can.

4 I hope that now you know I love her very much.

5 I would like to take care of her for the rest of my life.

6 I am asking your permission to marry her.

我和王萌已经认识4年了

从我在北京和您们见面到现在（也）已经3年了

在这段时间里，我尽我所能地照顾好王萌

我希望您们能理解我非常地爱她

我想用我的下半生来照顾她

我现在想恳请您答应把她嫁给我

Hey, your translation is really good, given how long you have studied Chinese.I didnt try to polish it up as I think it does not really matter how good your Chinese sounds to her parents.(Well, I am just assuming).

btw,the sentences you want to translate sound really nice. Actually, as far as I know, with most Beijingers(and probably most other Chinese), you probably wouldn't have to ask their parents for permission like that. (I know this sounds really patronizing. )Anyway, hope this can help. I gotta take off now. I'll come back later to see if you would like more help.

[xuechengfeng]

slightly off-topic, slightly not..

do people use 結婚 ever?

please tell me they do, or else i'm going to cry at the amount of words my university has taught, which aren't even used.

[Claw]

do people use 結婚 ever?

Of course... 結婚 is used to describe two people as a single unit being married (i.e. 他們結婚了 = They have married, or 他跟他的女朋友結婚 = He and his girlfriend are getting married). 嫁 is the act of a woman marrying a man, which is why BeijingSlacker uses "把她嫁给我". Similarly, 娶 is the act of a man marrying a woman.

EDIT: I should also add that 結婚 can be used to describe a single person (i.e. 我結婚七年了 = I've been married for 7 years). Basically, 結婚 is an intransitive verb but 嫁 and 娶 are transitive. In English, the verb "to marry" can be either intransitive or transitive.

[zackzhou]

good luck man!!

[WangYuHong]

Thanks for your help!

I'm off to give my speech!

If I come back in one piece, I'll consider it a success!