Meaning Of 才对

[shadow]

Hi everyone!

I have been watching a lot of Anime in Chinese lately, and this phrase 才对 has been used quite a lot at the end of a sentence.

However, I just CAN'T figure out what it means. No dictionary seems to have this, and even a search on the web doesn't help anything.

This is really frustrating...

It just seems it doesn't have any "real" meaning and is just a way of saying things...

If anyone of you knows what that means and how to use it, I would be really grateful

So long,

Chris

[Glenn]

I've figured it's a way of saying that or how something should be done, like the best way to do it. Sort of like a "do X and it'll be right/OK/the way it should be." Of course, I'd appreciate anyone else's take on it, as this is mostly a guess on my part, also from seeing it's use in anime translated into Chinese.

[renzhe]

It's not really a word, it's a pattern involving 才:

A 才 B

It means that only if A holds, B will hold. If you want B, you must do A.

Contrast with A 就 B, which means that if you want B, you can do A (you could possibly also do something else).

"... 才对" is usually used when disagreeing with somebody. What they said is wrong (不对) and what you are saying is right (对). A bit like "Well, ACTUALLY, the truth is ......."

You should be able to find some examples under 才, as long as you use a good (paper) dictionary.

[Glenn]

I found one in the Chinese corner: 看来还是要不怕失败才行。行 is another one that gets used with 才 a lot. I take it this means "it looks like I (really) shouldn't be afraid to fail, after all." Corrections/suggestions welcome.

[Edit] I suppose I should mention that was one of kennywoo's. I hope it's OK to use here.

[Guoke]

As renzhe has pointed out, it's a structure involving 才:

(1) S 才 A,

(where S can be an affirmative or negative statement/phrase and A is usually an adjective)

meaning "It is A (only) if S"

Examples:

你应该告诉老师 才 对。

撒上一些胡椒粉 才 好吃。

别搞砸了 才 好。

多几个人一起去 才 热闹。

他要肯合作 才 行。

他不把你骂得狗血淋头 才 怪。

(2) S 才 V

(where V is a verb or verb phrase)

meaning "V(do this) after S"

Examples：

吃了晚餐 才 回去。

你把问题解决了 才 来见我。

让他碰碰钉子 才 会学乖。

别等到失去了她 才 后悔。

别等事情搞砸了 才 知道自己错了。

先把功课做完了 才 出去玩。

[Mandyding]

才 + 行，means it wont work or it wont be right on other ways, its the same thing as 才好

[Shi Tong]

Guoke's version is basically the bible!!

[anonymoose]

In that case Guoke must be God.

[Guest realmayo]

Or he's been listening to God and writing down what he's heard!

[Guoke]

西方式无厘头......不知道该怎么接 才 好...... :wacko:

[Shi Tong]

Guoke, in Chinese:

你解释的才对.. ;)

[Farkas]

Examples:

别搞砸了 才 好。

I don't think it sounds good,though we can catch the meaning

[Guoke]

Shi Tong，

(Chinese)我了解

[Guoke]

别搞砸了 才 好

I don't think it sounds good,though we can catch the meaning

Why? It seems fine to me. It implies some anxiety or lack of confidence in the speakers. If I'm not wrong, this type of expression is not uncommonly used by native speakers of Chinese.

Some more examples:

别弄丢了才好。

别错过了才好。

“才好” in these examples are mainly used for emphasis. It can be replaced or used together with adverbs like “可”,“千万”, etc.：

别搞砸了才好。

千万别搞砸了。

千万别搞砸了才好。

别弄丢了才好。

千万别弄丢了。

千万别弄丢了才好。

Could any native Chinese speakers please clarify this for us?

[BBhan]

yeah...i agree with you.

别搞砸了 才 好

sounds a little weird...

and 才好 with this meaning is not widely used by native chinese speakers.

about 千万

it's a common expression in daily life.

千万别这样做,好吗？

it sounds like "Don't do that ok!?"

it's mostly used by seniors to juniors,with a suspicious tone or sth...

[shadow]

Hi everyone,

really sorry for opening a thread and being absent for so long, been in hospital for a while so couldn't answer.

Well, first of all thanks for all those answers, but i'm still not clear (i'm not as advanced as a lot of you, it seems )

There are a lot of examples here, but none without translation.

So you say,

S 才 A,

meaning "It is A (only) if S"

Examples:

你应该告诉老师 才 对。

I don't really get it, can someone translate this?

If u want it right, u should tell the teacher?

I've got another example, just extracted out of an anime:

你的动手是我才对

So, is that something like:

If you want it right, i'm your opponent?

Ah... I'm lost

Well, your explanations have been pretty good and a lot of examples, but since it's without translation i can't really figure it out.

Sorry, i'm not advanced yet

Thanks

Chris

[skylee]

I have just read the last post, not the whole thread.

你的动手是我才对

So, is that something like:

If you want it right, i'm your opponent?

if it means what you think, then it should be 对手 (opponent), not 动手.

Think of it as there being many different choices and possibilities and you use such a pattern to stress that the one you single out is the right one, i.e. your opponent is not Peter, Paul or Mary. Your opponent is me.

[xianhua]

Substitute 才 for 'and only then will it be...' in both of your examples, and see if that works for you.

Peter, Paul or Mary.

I feel a...a...a...song coming on...

[renzhe]

If you want it right, i'm your opponent?

No, it basically means "I'm your opponent and nobody else".

You can think of it as "I'm your opponent, period". Or "I'm your opponent, that's all you need to know, stop being silly", or "I'm your opponent, everything else is bull****".

The A 才 B construction in general means that A is a necessary precondition for B, and A 才对 is a special case of this. Think of it as "A is right, everything else is wrong".

[shadow]

Wow, now that made it very clear (and easy to apply) for me!

You guys rock

Thanks so much!