Chunn Posted February 26, 2005 at 04:18 AM Report Posted February 26, 2005 at 04:18 AM 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? Quote
Honyakusha Posted February 26, 2005 at 04:45 AM Report Posted February 26, 2005 at 04:45 AM 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 Quote
Jim Posted February 26, 2005 at 10:09 AM Report Posted February 26, 2005 at 10:09 AM 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?'. Quote
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