Does this sentence sound natural?

[anonymoose]

I found this sentence on NCIKU:

你也可以用便宜的价格买到相匹配的项链和耳环。

Does it sound normal? To my ears, it sounds strange to say 用便宜的价格. I would say something like 以便宜的价格.

[889]

Google's a great device for turning up scads of folks using "用便宜的价格" without a second thought.

[Guoke]

I suppose ‘用’ is more colloquial.

I use both but tend to use '以’ more in writing.

“我用这个价钱跟你买...”

“他用更高的价格买下了..."

Do these sound strange?

[anonymoose]

“我用这个价钱跟你买...”

“他用更高的价格买下了..."

Do these sound strange?

To me, yes.

[semantic nuance]

Yes, it sounds normal. I agree with Guoke's point. But the 相匹配的 here is a bit strange in the whole sentence. It's not that 相匹配 is wrong; it's just 語體(writing/style)的問題.

Edited December 27, 2009 at 04:24 PM by semantic nuance

[anonymoose]

the 相匹配的 here is a bit strange in the whole sentence. It's not that 相匹配 is wrong; it's just 語體(writing/style)的問題.

Please could you explain more specifically. Do you mean it is too formal, or what? And what word would you use instead?

[Guoke]

...相配的项链和耳环 sounds more natural to me.

[semantic nuance]

The sentence you gave might be used in daily life or in written advertisement. The first part seems to be colloquial while the later part 相匹配 sounds literary to me. I have to say that in the first place I was puzzled by the Chinese sentence you gave. Does it mean : 用便宜的價格去買跟它價格相當的項鍊和耳環? Because 相匹配 here, sounds, to me at least, to correspond to 用便宜的價格. However, it does not sound a bargain to me. Obviously it's 奇怪的語意. Then, I checked the original English sentence

You can also buy matching necklaces and earrings at bargain prices. 你也可以用便宜的价格买到相匹配的项链和耳环。

I realized that the way I felt it strange was because its translation of 'matching' here is not satisfying. I would use 成對的. The translation I would prefer is 你也可以用便宜的价格买到成對的项链和耳环。 Edited December 27, 2009 at 04:29 PM by semantic nuance

[Guoke]

The translation I would prefer is 你也可以用便宜的价格买到成對的项链和耳环。

....Now it's my turn to get puzzled......

Doesn't "成对" mean to go in pair?

It doesn't seem to be the appropriate translation of "matching".

[anonymoose]

Thanks for your very informative explanation. I think your translation is probably what it is supposed to be.

However, I think there is also another possibility. When I first read the sentence, I also wasn't sure what the necklaces and earings were supposed to match. I thought that maybe it meant matching with something else, like a separate item of clothing, but of course without context, it is impossible to say.

[semantic nuance]

Doesn't "成对" mean to go in pair?

Why I translated it as 成對的 was from the definition of online Cambridge English Dictionary. It defines 'matching' as ' having the same colour or pattern as something else'. You can read 成對的 as '配成一對'. Does that make sense to you , Guoke? Besides, 相匹配的項鍊和耳環 is so strange to me. You can say 這項鍊和這耳環很相襯 or 很相配. But 相匹配的 used as an adjective to describe necklace and earrings is English to me.

When I first read the sentence, I also wasn't sure what the necklaces and earings were supposed to match. I thought that maybe it meant matching with something else, like a separate item of clothing,

That's what I felt puzzled, too.

[trien27]

你也可以用便宜的价格买到相匹配的项链和耳环。

Should be:

"你也可以用便宜的价格买到相当匹配的项链和耳环。"

It's normal, just 当 from "相当匹配" is missing.

[trien27]

To my ears, it sounds strange to say 用便宜的价格. I would say something like 以便宜的价格.

That's because it's colloquial usage, not the standard way of using Chinese.

[trien27]

Doesn't "成对" mean to go in pair?

Yes it does, but depends on context, it might not.

匹配 of 相当匹配 already mean "match". There's no need to change it into "成对"!

[skylee]

Should be:

"你也可以用便宜的价格买到相当匹配的项链和耳环。"

It's normal, just 当 from "相当匹配" is missing.

I think the 相 here is supposed to mean 互相 instead of 相當.

[Guoke]

What about

相衬/相襯

你也可以用便宜的价格买到相衬的项链和耳环。

or

可以配搭

你也可以用便宜的价格买到可以配搭的项链和耳环。

[mcgau]

"你也可以用便宜的价格买到相匹配的项链和耳环。"

i think it's "native". What I mean "native" is that I wouldn't feel strange if this sentence were uttered from a native speaker. It could be a bad Chinese sentence, but it's not wrong.

e.g. 宝马品质, 长城价格!

今天到北京汽车销售中心, 你也可以用便宜的价格买到相匹配的汽车.

你还等什么? 心动不如马上行动!

[HashiriKata]

What about

相衬/相襯

你也可以用便宜的价格买到相衬的项链和耳环。

What about 相称 instead?

[Kenny同志]

你也可以用便宜的价格买到相匹配的项链和耳环。

Better say: 你不用花太多钱就能买到一副项链耳环。

Actually, I was wondering if the speaker had already got a necklace and just wanted to buy a pair of earring or vice versa. If so, you can say: 你不用花太多钱就能买到和这幅项链（耳环）相配的耳环（项链）。

It is not considered appropriate to say 你可以低价买到一副项链耳环(你花一点钱就可以买到一副项链耳环)， unless he is a vendor.

[semantic nuance]

You can also buy matching necklaces and earrings at bargain prices.

Now, can somebody clarify the original sentence first? Is ''matching' here used to modify necklaces and earrings or 'matching' to modify bargain prices? Unless matching is used to modify bargain prices, otherwise, its Chinese translation of 相襯的， 對稱的, 相對的 will cause the problem as I said in post #8,

Does it mean : 用便宜的價格去買跟它價格相當的項鍊和耳環? Because 相匹配 here, sounds, to me at least, to correspond to 用便宜的價格. However, it does not sound a bargain to me. Obviously it's 奇怪的語意.

I don't mean that 成對的 translation is perfect, but you won't be led to thinking about the confusion it has made. According to the original English sentence, if I was right, the sentence means: I can buy necklace and earrings that go well together at bargarin prices. Then, in Chinese, I think its implication is 我不用花大錢就可以買到項鍊和耳環, 而且這項鍊和耳環可不會因為價格便宜就隨便亂搭,難看的要命 項鍊和耳環配在一起很相襯, 穿戴起來質感還是很好的. That's my understanding of it.