batch_beijing Posted February 11, 2009 at 08:03 PM Report Posted February 11, 2009 at 08:03 PM Hello. My Chinese reading and writing are not of a very good standard currently. Would someone who has fluent reading skills be able to translate a personal message (couple of paragraphs) for me if they have time please? I do not wish to post the sentences here if that is ok (admin?), because they are words regarding the love of a friend of mine, and I am trying to understand what she is trying to tell me. Haha, isn't Chinese reading fun Thanks, Batch Quote
anon6969 Posted February 12, 2009 at 03:39 AM Report Posted February 12, 2009 at 03:39 AM Oh please do post it here! Learning Chinese is so much hard work that we occasionally need the entertainment of reading college geeks Chinese communication problems with their first girlfriend and their soppy love letters and juvenile questions. Quote
gougou Posted February 12, 2009 at 03:45 AM Report Posted February 12, 2009 at 03:45 AM I'm pretty certain you will have better chances of getting a decent translation if you post the sentences here, but if you feel uncomfortable doing so, try your luck - maybe somebody kind-hearted enough comes along Quote
imron Posted February 12, 2009 at 04:41 AM Report Posted February 12, 2009 at 04:41 AM Things like Google Translate can also help you get a rough (sometimes very rough) idea of what the sentences say. If nothing else, you can use it as a reference against the translation someone provides to you to make sure they're not just completely making stuff up as a joke/prank. Quote
encal Posted February 12, 2009 at 07:21 AM Report Posted February 12, 2009 at 07:21 AM i'm up for it, email me what you'd like to say in English and i'll take a crack at it. (poboxpatwu@gmail.com) When i wrote my first letter to my now fiancée i was nervous as hell, i'm glad i can help you out. I've also just started translating English names into personalised and meaningful Chinese names, translating technical Chinese papers into English for publication, and misc. informal translation work, so this will be practice for me Quote
ABCinChina Posted February 12, 2009 at 08:31 AM Report Posted February 12, 2009 at 08:31 AM (edited) Yes, I agree that it's so much more fun when we can discuss and translate "real" letters while discussing the translation with others. It might be a little boring for us to translate TWO Paragraphs just for the sake of altruism. If you feel better, you can edit out the Chinese once it has been translated which will only leave our English translations. That way if your girlfriend is browsing this site (which I doubt) you can just say, "寶貝, it's amazing how alike love letters are now-a-days!" Edit: Wait, she probably can't write/read English if you need to be doing this. Thus, just erase the Chinese once you get a translation! Edited February 12, 2009 at 08:43 AM by ABCinChina Quote
BrandeX Posted February 12, 2009 at 09:37 AM Report Posted February 12, 2009 at 09:37 AM The internet is (mostly) anonymous. No reason not to post anything here, no one will know who you or your girlfriend are. Quote
batch_beijing Posted February 12, 2009 at 06:33 PM Author Report Posted February 12, 2009 at 06:33 PM Hello people. I suppose you are all correct. I just felt it was incorrect to post such words on the internet, but editing them, with roddy's help if the function is not always enabled, should be fine. Actually I am just a friend, but I am interested in the strong language used in the text. I understand the point of the words, but I am confused, perhaps it is a poem due to the sentence style? I cannot work out if the text refers to a good friend, partner, or if it is entirely metaphorical. Instead of posting the part I do not 100% understand, I will just post the whole text for the benefit of those learning. 我爱的朋友啊，我也曾经爱过流星！常常在寂静的夜晚，曾无数次的遥望星空，等待我的流星出现，渴望有一颗流星划过我的星空，在这个迷惑和幼稚，天真和徘徊的青春岁月里，也愿爱情的花儿开在我的心田，能把我的青春摇曳的更多彩！爱情是可遇不可求的，我怀着虔诚的心等待流星的出现！ 流星来过，也停留了，也在星空划过，留下美好的瞬间！可还是最终离去了，留下了傻傻的人站在哪儿守望。守望时的痛让我甚至不相信了自己，经历反复，冲动和理智，痛和乐的挣扎，忍耐, 却相信了唯一能疗伤它的是时间！..学会着爱自己，去珍惜，慢慢去相信了时间，也开始懂了爱一个人就是一种理解，尽管上天冷落忽略了我的付出，但是每个人都想好好的生活，爱情里没有谁对谁错！开始安慰自己既然在我的星空划过美丽的瞬间又何必强求它的永恒，把走过的一切封存在流逝的岁月里！记着所有的美好，把伤痛慢慢的遗忘！ 也许这就是爱过的流星，有美丽也有伤痛，经历了就注定要去接纳它所有未知的变化，伤了痛了，哭过笑过，都是记忆的美！收藏起青春岁月里的点点滴滴，用心去品味不同得美丽！ Quote
cababunga Posted February 13, 2009 at 12:51 AM Report Posted February 13, 2009 at 12:51 AM If you generally know how Chinese language works but have too limited vocabulary to understand the letter, you can try to use one of the online Chinese Text Annotation tools. This way you may get much better idea then by using machine translation. Quote
ABCinChina Posted February 13, 2009 at 06:29 AM Report Posted February 13, 2009 at 06:29 AM She's awaiting her knight in shining armor (her shooting star) to come sweep her off her feet! The Chinese Text Annotation tool above does a great job with this text. Quote
imron Posted February 13, 2009 at 06:55 AM Report Posted February 13, 2009 at 06:55 AM She's awaiting her knight in shining armor (her shooting star) to come sweep her off her feet That was the first paragraph. The second paragraph goes on about how the shooting star arrived, and flared for but a brief moment before leaving her heartbroken, and that she now will pick up the pieces of her life in the hope that time will dull the pain. Quote
ABCinChina Posted February 13, 2009 at 07:24 AM Report Posted February 13, 2009 at 07:24 AM The last paragraph goes on to say that perhaps this is what happens when loving a falling star. One gets to feel both beauty and sadness in doing so. Whether laughter or tears, they are all still beautiful memories. Quote
batch_beijing Posted February 13, 2009 at 11:13 AM Author Report Posted February 13, 2009 at 11:13 AM Thanks very much. I now have a much deeper understanding of the descriptive parts of the text. The Chinese annotation tool is certainly very useful. I will be bookmarking that. If anybody wishes to post any poems in this thread they are confused with, we could go along with that Quote
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