Jump to content
Chinese-Forums
  • Sign Up

Recommended Posts

Posted

I simply translate it "I can drive".

But a Chinese child told me that it means "I know how to drive".

I understand 會 in the sense of Chinese, but I'm not sure when I translated it into English. What should it be exactly?

Posted

It's impossible to "translate" anything without context, and there is no such thing as a one-to-one equivalent for grammar between languages as far removed as Chinese and English. If "hui" must always be "translated" as "know how to," that would lead to stilted phrases like "I know how to speak a little Chinese" rather than the more natural "I can speak a little Chinese" or even "I speak a little Chinese."

Translation is about meaning, not words, and definitely not about trying to match grammar between the source and target languages. Depending on ths situation, "I can drive" is perfectly fine.

FWIW

Posted

Too true. In the right context 我會開車 could conceivably be 'I will drive' e.g. if asked 'So how are you travelling to Tianjin?'.

Join the conversation

You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Click here to reply. Select text to quote.

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...