Strange sample sentence for 敢

[edelweis]

Hi,

I'm still learning the new HSK3 vocabulary and looking up sample sentences...

So I found several simple samples sentences for 敢 on dict.cn and jukuu.com but the last one below seems strange... Is this some kind of rhetoric question?

我们必须敢想，敢说，敢干。

We must dare to think, speak up and act.

你怎敢说出这样的话？

How dare you say such a thing?

你敢再回来！

Don't you dare come back again!

Should the translation of the last one be something like "how do you dare", "you dare ...!" (meaning, you have done it and shouldn't have) ? Or is the proposed translation correct ("don't you dare...")?

[waiguoren]

I think you are correct.

[natra]

Yes, it is rhetorical.

你敢再回来！

I dare you to come back here!

[Shi Tong]

yeppos.. I agree. This is like 你敢再回来; "you dare come back?!"/ "I dare you to come back!!" I would say you usually hear other stuff though:

你怎么敢再回来.. How can you dare to come back.

你敢再回来吗.. Dare you come back again?

[jiangping]

I don't know the definite answer to your question, but it doesn't look like the other person has returned yet. If the other guy had, say, just walked in through the door, you'd expect a 又 (past/present "again") rather than 再 (future "again"). With this in mind it literally means "You dare to come back again (in the future)!". Like you say, it looks rhetorical, and in exasperation it's not unusual to miss out negatives and such. I'd say the English translation "Don't you dare come back again!" looks about right.

[edelweis]

ok thanks all.

It looks like this sentence is a little tricky so I think I will keep it out of my SRS for now.

[Shi Tong]

I agree edelweis.. mostly because it's a bit ambiguous, could be taken a few different ways in a few different circumstances.

[semantic nuance]

你敢再回来！

Don't you dare come back again!

Like its English translation, the Chinese sentence omits the threatening latter part, for example, 你敢再回來! (你就試試看!) If you ever dare come back again, I'll wring your neck!

[Shi Tong]

我就掐死你...:lol:

"I'll wring your neck", literally.