喝茶聊天 - convey other things?

[Scoobyqueen]

I know the following expression conveys chatting over a cup of tea but I was wondering if the meaning goes a bit beyond that literal meaning. I last heard it in the context "it is cold here, nothing to do but drink tea and chat". Does the expression convey mood as well, perhaps a cosy atmosphere? Apparently there is a word in the Nordic countries in Europe that conveys a cozy atmosphere with candle lights and sitting chatting with friends. Maybe this is similar.

Edited October 24, 2009 at 06:36 AM by Scoobyqueen
sp

[adrianlondon]

Speaking of cozy ... The Dutch have a geat word, gezellig, which kind of means "spending a relaxing, cozy time with friends".

There's a German word which relates to a restaurant having a cozy, welcoming atmosphere but my mind's gone blank as to what it is. It's hard to google words which don't have exact translations ;)

Got it ... Gemütlich. I just searched qype for a cozy restaurant I had dinner in once in Stuttgart, and sure enough a German reviewer used the word.

[leeyah]

Does the expression convey mood as well, perhaps a cosy atmosphere? Apparently there is a word in the Nordic countries in Europe that conveys a cosy atmosphere with candle lights and sitting chatting with friends. Maybe this is similar.

Yes, actually that's what 得闲饮茶 culture (duk haan yum cha), as it is called in the South, is all about:

广州人喝茶、吃茶点，不仅仅是为了填饱肚皮。老年人喝茶多是为了打发时间，找个茶楼叙叙旧、谈谈过往，尤其是盛夏，一边饮茶还一边享受空调冷气，生活相当惬意。年轻人则不然，他们多是在茶楼传播新闻、叙说友情、洽谈生意，时而看看报纸，时而又打开手机或电脑上上网什么的，生活节奏明显比老年人要快得多，茶文化在年轻人身上倒显得有些混淆了。

[Kenny同志]

喝茶聊天 - convey other things?

中国人请朋友喝茶聊天，一种是纯粹的喝茶聊天，拉闲话、叙旧；另一种则是醉翁之意不在酒，很可能是找你有什么事，比如两人有点误会，一人请另一人喝茶，可能是为了给对方解释，以求共弃前嫌；又比如，某人想找你帮忙，又不想显得太唐突，就借喝茶的机会，委婉向你道明原委，请你给他帮忙。

When a Chinese invites someone to a cup of tea he may simply intend for a relaxed chat, however sometimes the real intention may be beyong that. For example, when misunderstanding occurs between two people and one of the involved invites the other to a cup of tea for a chat, the invitor may want to take the opportunity to explain the issue to the other so as to dispel the misunderstanding. Also, if someone needs your help but does not want to appear imprudent, he may take the opportunity to talk to you so that you could help him.

Edited October 24, 2009 at 07:31 AM by kenny2006woo

[chrix]

The German word Adrian is referring to most probably is "gemütlich", which incidentally is also the translation given by my Dutch-German dictionary...

[Daan]

And as a native speaker of Dutch, I can confirm that that's probably the closest you'll get to our idea of "gezellig" in any language. But it's still a bit off. Translation, eh?

[adrianlondon]

That's because it's not so popular to kick back on comfy chairs with your friends while smoking a spliff in Germany ;)

[chrix]

haha, at least not amongst the younger generation, at any rate not when associated with the word gemütlich, that just sounds spießig

[chrix]

Ironically enough, many younger Germans were exposed to an ode to Gemütlichkeit in the form of the German version of Disney's Jungle Book.

Here's a link.

Does anyone know what he sings in the English original? "Probier's mal mit Gemütlichkeit" "Try doing it the Gemütlichkeit way"

Maybe the aversion towards Gemütlichkeit stems from some kind of childhood trauma

[Daan]

Ohh...I can see how that would have traumatised you ;)

In the

, the lyrics are "So just try and relax, yeah cool it". In the Dutch one, the lyrics are entirely different, but "als jij wilt leven als een beer, ga dan niet als een bij tekeer" seems to convey the same idea, although at a different point in the song.

And yeah, I really did just spend fifteen minutes I should have been spending poring over the Zuo Zhuan figuring this all out and listening to Jungle Book songs. The memories.

[chrix]

HAHA, well at least they're not using gezellig...

To get this back on topic: what do they say in the Chinese version, either dubbed or subtitled...?

[Daan]

Oh chrix, did you really have to ask? ;)

After another fifteen minutes of my life wasted, I can tell you it seems to be 對複雜的問題簡簡單單回答簡單回答 at least judging on this rock (!) version of 基本的需要, as Bare Necessities is known in Chinese

[chrix]

HAHA

Well, translating a pun is never easy!

So we can conclude from this short study that the German and Chinese translators kept the "keep it easy" theme, while the Dutch ones opted for keeping the "bear" theme (I can't judge if the comparison between bears and bees comes across as far-fetched and forced to Dutch speakers or not).

Edited November 4, 2009 at 12:21 PM by chrix

[Daan]

Coming to think of it, that might have something to do with our word beregezellig, the superlative (as chance would have it) of gezellig...they might have felt that was altogether too cheesy. Hmm, but then I just checked the lyrics and they do use beregoed, so that doesn't seem to have been a problem for them. We'll never know, I guess. And interesting though this has been, we should probably stop hijacking this thread...and open a new one to discuss Darkwing Duck's taunts translated into Chinese ;) When I have the time. Promise.

[anita998710]

喝茶聊天 is also a derogatory phrase.

it means that those high ranking managers / officers, especially public servants,

do nothing but drink tea and chat at his work hour.

喝茶看報 conveys the same meaning. (報紙 newspaper, 看報 read newspaper)

看茶喝報 means, in a sarcastic way, those officers don't care about his work,

even if everthing he charged is totaly in a mess.

[Kenny同志]

喝茶聊天 is also a derogatory phrase.

Is it? I never know it has such a implication.

喝茶看報 conveys the same meaning. (報紙 newspaper, 看報 read newspaper)

same case, it is not in any way derogatory.

看茶喝報

we do not 看茶 or 喝报, and in my opinion, the newspaper cannot be drunk. Of course, one can eat a newspaper, but it is dangerous.

[adrianlondon]

one can eat a newspaper, but it is dangerous

Sometimes I choke just reading a newspaper in China ;)