做人到底为了什么?

[webmagnets]

definitions from nciku:

做人 = to be an upright person

到底 = after all; at last

为了 = in order to

什么 = why? (duh!)

what does this sentence mean?

what other meanings do the words take in order to make sense in this sentence?

[Daan]

It's difficult to be sure without the context, but I'd hazard a guess that it means "why is it that you should try to be a good person?"

[roddy]

When you're posting these questions, could you include the context and your own best guesses as to the meaning? It'd make them a lot more interesting. You'd also be better off with a proper dictionary

[Kenny同志]

Here is my two cents

做人到底为了什么？

What is the significance of being a man on earth?

OR

What do we pursue on earth as/being a man?

OR

What do we live for on earth as / being a man?

[webmagnets]

My initial best guess was "Upright ones finally in order to why?"

That makes no sense.

Can someone please break down the sentence word for word? Why does it mean what you have said it means? (i am confident that you are correct because it makes sense in the context (that i failed to provide)).

p.s. - what book or online dictionary would be better than nciku.com?

Edited October 27, 2009 at 03:01 PM by webmagnets
error

[renzhe]

为了什么 is a variation of 为什么. The meaning is close to "for what purpose". It essentially means "why".

BTW, 什么 means "what". 为什么 means "why".

到底 doesn't mean "after all" or "at last" literally, although it can be translated that way in this context. The meaning is like "but, really, why". 到底 is used to get to the point, to the core of an issue without beating around.

[webmagnets]

so far I've got "做人 really (let's get to the core of this) for what purpose?"

then what does 做人 mean in this context?

[Kenny同志]

做人 = Being a man

到底 = on earth / exactly / really

为了 = for

什么 = what

[roddy]

Nciku's pretty good as far as online dictionaries go, but if something isn't making sense it's wise to check some other sources. Incidentally I don't know where you got "什么 = why? (duh!)" from, that's just plain wrong.

Try the ABC dictionary or the Oxford Concise English-Chinese Chinese-English Dictionary.

[renzhe]

then what does 做人 mean in this context?

做人 means to be a man, a good man (or woman).

[webmagnets]

about "duh!" - that was a joke. I was saying "duh! of course I know what that means."

Does 做人 indicate that a person is more than just an adult, but is a true man or woman because they try to act responsibly and be a good person?

[Kenny同志]

做人 means to be a man, a good man (or woman).

not necessarily a good one, but just a man, not an animal or whatever else.

[renzhe]

I'd take kenny's opinion on this more seriously than mine, but I'd say that being a man here implies behaviour one would expect of a man, so that there is some sort of expectation involved. It is something you 做.

That's what I meant with "good".

Otherwise, the question "why" doesn't make sense. You don't have a choice to stop being a man and start being a tree

But that's my feeling, and I'm not a native speaker so...

[webmagnets]

Thank you very much! This thread was very helpful.

[Kenny同志]

做人到底为了什么？

不论是电视里还是现实生活中，这句话经常可以听到。

This is a line often heard both in tv series and our daily life.

还有一句话也可经常听到：做人真的很累 或者 做人真的很难

And another similar saying that is popular might be: 做人(真的)很累 或者 做人(真的)很难

[renzhe]

You're right, from that context, I understand it as simply "being a man/woman", with no other connotations.

[jiangping]

Here are my late-night thoughts..!

做人 "being a person".. as some said above, this might carry the connotation of "being a [good] person", though I guess this depends on the context.

到底 here, rather than literally meaning "in the end", is a question intensifier.

為了什么 roughly the same as 為什么, although 為了 is more often connected with achieving a purpose than just 為.

I guess altogether it means something like "What is the purpose of being a person?".

A more natural translation might be: "so what is the point of life?"

[Guoke]

"做人" could also mean "making a baby".

孩子是爱情的结晶，因此好的作品应该是先有爱情再有结晶......让做爱归做爱、做人归做人，不要只为做人而做爱，一定要让爱情的结晶因爱而闪亮美丽。

[Kenny同志]

"做人" could also mean "making a baby".

Well, Guoke, it is rarely used that way though it is so in this case.

originally posted by Jiangping

"What is the purpose of being a person?".

"so what is the point of life?"

Great translation.

originally posted by Kenny

[quoteWhat do we pursue on earth as/being a man?

OR

What do we live for on earth as / being a man? ]

I was wondering if I had made any grammatical errors?

should it have been said : What do we pursue on earth as humans?

or What do we live for on earth as humans?

[Guoke]

Well, Guoke, it is rarely used that way though it is so in this case.

Well, not so rarely in Taiwan, Hong Kong and S.E. Asia, I suppose.