metlx Posted July 28, 2013 at 09:40 PM Report Posted July 28, 2013 at 09:40 PM Hi all! I'm having a hard time understanding this short story: 动物之王 －－ 老虎：看看吧，我是动物之王。 狮子：不对，我是动物之王。 老虎：你为什么想你是动物之王？ 狮子：我不是想我是动物之王，我知道我是动物之王。 老虎：为什么？ 狮子：因为我的名字里有 “师” 字。 你说呢？ 老虎：我说，还是我是动物之王。 狮子：怎么会呢？ 老虎：因为我的头上写着。 狮子：头上写着什么？ 老字：大大的 “王” 字。 你说，我不就是动物之王嘛？ 狐狸：你们在说些什么呀？ 狮子：狐狸，你说，我们两个，谁是动物之王？ 狐狸：我呀！ 老虎：啊？你？怎么会呢？ 狐狸：我们三个走一走，你们就知道了。我先走，好吧？ 走吧。 老虎：咦，它真是动物之王？ 狮子：哦，它真是动物之王！ －－ I'm struggling with what the fox said in 3rd to last line (狐狸：我们三个走一走，你们就知道了。我先走，好吧？ 走吧。) It doesn't make sense to me, unless there's an idiom hidden in there. "We, the 3 of us, are walking, you know that. I walk first, ok? Go." Also, in the 4th line 狮子："我不是想我是动物之王 ...", why is there a 是 in ”我不是想“？ Wouldn't 我不想 be correct? Quote
imron Posted July 28, 2013 at 10:50 PM Report Posted July 28, 2013 at 10:50 PM It doesn't make sense to me You have misunderstood parts of the text: 我们三个走一走 - Let's all three of us go for a walk 你们就知道了 - And then you'll see [who the real king of the jungle is]. 我先走，好吧？ 走吧 - I'll go first [i.e. walk in front] ok? Let's go. Quote
metlx Posted July 28, 2013 at 11:12 PM Author Report Posted July 28, 2013 at 11:12 PM thanks, it makes sense now. I didn't know the first sentence (我们三个走一走) is an imperative. Quote
Ruben von Zwack Posted July 28, 2013 at 11:29 PM Report Posted July 28, 2013 at 11:29 PM About the 是想, that's just a stilistic or rhetoric way to emphasise. I also hear "你是說[...]?!?" quite frequently (err, ok in wuxia film dialogues, I hope that counts ) - like: "Are you saying [insert dramatic assumption]?!". 1 Quote
淨土極樂 Posted July 29, 2013 at 01:55 AM Report Posted July 29, 2013 at 01:55 AM Yes, the story is hinting at an old idiom, 狐假虎威. 很久以前，森林里有只老虎看到一只狐狸就想吃掉它，狐狸大叫：“我是玉帝派来的百兽之王，你如同一起走一走，看看森林里的动物是不是很害怕我。”老虎想也没想就随同前往，果然小动物见了就跑。 2 Quote
skylee Posted July 29, 2013 at 02:16 AM Report Posted July 29, 2013 at 02:16 AM Also, in the 4th line 狮子："我不是想我是动物之王 ...", why is there a 是 in ”我不是想“？ Wouldn't 我不想 be correct? The meanings are different. Consider - It is not that I think I am the king of animals, I KNOW I am the king of animals. If you use 我不想, it would mean "I don't want to". 1 Quote
Lu Posted July 29, 2013 at 10:21 AM Report Posted July 29, 2013 at 10:21 AM 我们三个走一走，你们就知道了。 You can read it as 我们三个走一走吧，你们就知道了, but you could also translate it as 'if the three of us walk around for a bit, then you'll know'. I hope this helps! Quote
linguaholic Posted July 30, 2013 at 06:40 PM Report Posted July 30, 2013 at 06:40 PM just a little question: 老虎：看看吧，我是动物之王。 Does the 之 here stand for 的 (being the literary equivalent of 的）？？ Quote
Lu Posted July 30, 2013 at 08:43 PM Report Posted July 30, 2013 at 08:43 PM Does the 之 here stand for 的 (being the literary equivalent of 的）??Yes. The meaning is the same as 的, although you can't actually replace it with 的 in this phrase, that would look weird. Quote
metlx Posted July 30, 2013 at 09:14 PM Author Report Posted July 30, 2013 at 09:14 PM linguaholic, you might find this useful: http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/1245-%E4%B9%8Bvs-%E7%9A%84-usage/ Also, apparently it can be used as a pronoun. Quote
linguaholic Posted August 4, 2013 at 01:04 PM Report Posted August 4, 2013 at 01:04 PM thank you metlx. The link you pointed out is exactly what I was trying to understand.! Quote
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