What does 这是讲讲的，人家想要还要不到呢 mean?

[anonymoose]

I came across this sentence here:

这是讲讲的，人家想要还要不到呢。

What does 人家想要还要不到呢 mean? Is this a fixed expression, or is it a pattern that can be used with other words?

Thanks.

[jkhsu]

To me "人家想要还要不到呢" is basically saying "they can't get it even if they want it." I've seen this pattern used with other verbs such as "吃", "看", etc.

"人家想吃还吃不到呢" -> "they can't eat (have a chance to eat) it even if they want to eat it"

"人家想看还看不到呢" -> "they can't see/watch (have a chance to see/watch) it even if they want to see/watch it"

If you're reading out loud / saying this phrase, you'd put a break after the "想 + verb". So it would be "人家想要, 还要不到呢"

[anonymoose]

Thanks. That makes sense, but I don't see how it really relates to the context of the original quote. Maybe I should have quoted more:

“阿仿，儿子呢？现在顽皮得不得了吧！”

“他睡觉了，还听话。”大哥心不在焉地回答。

“听话个什么！皮死了，我不要他了。”嫂嫂纠正道。

“这是讲讲的，人家想要还要不到呢。皮的小孩都聪明。”

Is the person saying that others couldn't have such a mischievous child even if they wanted one, or what?

[imron]

Yes, because according to her，皮的孩子都聪明 so parents will want a mischievous one over one that isn't because it means the child is intelligent.

[creamyhorror]

I understand the need for parallelism, but it logically makes more sense to me to say 人家想要还得不到呢。

“听话个什么” is also weird to me. All regional differences, I gather.

[Iriscat]

“听话个什么”

is really a very colloquial expression. 听话 literally means listen words, usually refers to (a child) is obedient, well-behaved. "个什么" is used to express dissent. It means "really? you think ... ? " So" 听话个什么 " means "really? you think he is well-behaved, (I don't think so) "

More example,

（从餐馆出来）

(Get out of the restaurant)

A- 今天的晚餐真好吃

The dinner is really delicious.

B- 好吃（个） 什么，还没我自己做的好吃。

Really? You think so? (I don't think so) I can cook better.

[Glenn]

Is this different from 甚麼是...? And where does the 个 come from? What purpose does it serve?

[陳德聰]

I'd say it's not the exact same as "什么是..." but it expresses the same incredulity as things like that and "哪儿有..." and "怎么会..."

Sidenote:

"That was delicious!"

"Delicious my foot, that was terrible."

[skylee]

Re 聽話個甚麼, it is similar to 聽話個屁 and 聽話？我呸！ but milder.

[creamyhorror]

Thanks for the explanations, I actually do know what it means. I meant that I would only expect to hear "听话个屁" or "什么听话" (and I'd only say the latter).

[Glenn]

Thanks for the explanations and extra examples. I still don't totally get why there's a 個, though. It's starting to make some sense, like "listen to a what?" if I were to force a literal English translation on it, but it's still a bit beyond me.

[semantic nuance]

聽話個屁

Also, we speak 聽話個頭(咧) as well. "......個屁" is equivalent to "......個頭".

[creamyhorror]

I still don't totally get why there's a 個, though.

Don't worry, just take it as a fixed expression. I don't know why there's a 个 in 哭个不停 or 看个究竟, either. I just take them to be Northern-influenced expressions (personally I would say 不停地哭 or 哭啊哭).