Questions about 经历，经验，理解，了解，明白

[jmido8]

My teacher for chinese has been assigning me lots of essays lately and I have been messing up a lot with several similiar but not quite the same words. For example:

 

经历， 经验 - I can never seem to use them correct and despite my teachers countless explainations, it's just not getting through my head. I was hoping someone could put it really simple and clear.

 

 

明白， 理解， 了解 - I use these wrong almost every single time I try to use them. I never know the specific function of each.

 

 

Also, the other day I said 他不能看见 thinking it was saying the person was blind and couldn't see but someone corrected me and said I should say 他看不见。 I don't understand why it would be 看不见 instead of 不能看见。 Isn't 能 usually tied to some kind of physical ability to do something or a natural ability and 看不见 is more of a toggle can/can't sort of thing for the moment. For example, if the lights are off, 你看不见 but when the lights turn back on, 你看得见了。

 

I guess what i'm basically asking, what's the different between 能/不能+动词+verb compliment and 动词+得/不+verb compliment. I thought I had a really clear view on the difference between them before someone told me the above.

[tooironic]

You've raised a lot of questions, I'll see if I can have a go at answering them.

 

The way to remember the two different words for "experience" in Chinese is to think of 经历 just as experience, while 经验 being made up of 经 (as in 经历 or 经过, "to go through") and 验 (as in 考验, "to be tested", or 体验, "to go through an experience"). With this in mind you can see why "work experience" is translated as 工作经验, as experience in the workplace is not just any experience but something which you accumulate through being put to the test, as it were. Many Chinese who speak English think of 经验 as "experience", the general noun, and 经历 as "experience(s)", the specific, countable noun. So you can have extensive 经验 in a particular field, while 经历 could refer to one specific event that you experienced during your time on the job.

 

明白 is just "understand", as in you either understand what someone is talking about, or you don't. 了解 is about understanding a particular topic, e.g. 深刻了解 ("to have a deep understanding"). 了解 can also refer to learning more about something, e.g. 我想了解一下... ("I'd like to know more about..."). 理解, on the other hand, usually refers to understanding why someone does something, or how a particular process or concept works. But the two words are often interchangeable, so even if you mix them up it's not a big deal. When in doubt I would just use 了解 as it seems a bit more flexible.

 

Lastly, you mentioned translating "he can't see (because he's blind)". If you say 他看不见 it sounds like you mean he can't see something temporarily, e.g. someone or something is blocking his field of vision. And 他不能看见 sounds strange because 看见 is one of those two-syllable words in Mandarin which is made up of a verb and a complement, like 看清 ("see clearly") or 听清 ("hear clearly"). So you either 看(得)见 or 看不见, 看清 or 看不清(楚), 听清 or 听不清(楚), and the 不 goes between the two characters. Anyway, in this case Chinese is more literal than English, so here a native speaker of Chinese would say 他眼瞎了 (literally, "his eyes are blind"), or perhaps more commonly 他是个盲人 ("he is a blind person").

 

Hope those explanations are somewhat helpful.

[Michaelyus]

经验/经历/体验

http://comet.cls.yale.edu/chineseusagedictionary/0122.html

 

了解/理解

http://comet.cls.yale.edu/chineseusagedictionary/0214.html

[Tamu]

Great explanations, tooironic! Hope it benefited the OP as well, but it definitely was interesting to me to read .  Common expressions like these can be surprisingly tricky; your explanation is great practical advise. Thanks!

[flowertea]

1. If you use 经历and 经验 as nouns, 经历means experiences, an countable noun in English, and 经验 means experience, an uncountable noun in English. Besides, 经历 can be also used as a verb and 有经验 can be used as adj.

Eg:

①她的经历很丰富， 她当过老师，做过翻译，还旅行了很多国家，并且出了一本书。She has many experiences. She was a teacher and then became a translator. She travelled to a lot of countries. She also published a book.

②我从来没有经历过这种事。I have never experienced such a matter.

③他照顾小孩没有经验。He has no experience in looking after kids.

④她做外科医生很多年了，手术经验很丰富。She has been a surgeon for a long time, so she is very experienced in doing operations.

 

 

2. 了解 ，明白and  理解 All of them can be verbs and nouns.

了解 usually means to know something or someone very well. You know them clearly and even you may know details.

Eg:

①我对这个事不是很了解。 I don’t know details of the matter.

②我了解他，他不会介意你跟他开玩笑。I know him very well. He will not mind you playing jokes on him.

 

明白means you understand the meanings.

Eg:

你明白我的意思吗？Do you know what I mean?

我不太明白这个词。I don’t understand the word very much.

 

理解sounds like much deeper. It does not only mean you understand the reason but also mean you understand a person.

①我理解你的做法。I understand why you did it like that.

②你太不容易了，我理解你。 You really make a hard life. I understand you.

 

Therefore, you see, we can’t say“你明白我吗？” we should say “你明白我的意思吗？”or “你明白我说什么吗？” Because “你” is a person, usually we say “你理解我吗？”if you say a person.

 

3. 看不见

Affirmative sentences : 能 + verb + verb complement = verb + 得+ verb complement 

Eg; 能看见 = 看得见

 

Negative sentences ：Totally different

“不能+verb” means someone is not allowed to do something for some reason. He should not do that.

Eg:

①你不能进去!他们正在开会。You can’t go in. They are having a meeting. (It implies you are not allowed.)

②今天我感冒了，不能去游泳。I have a cold today. I can’t go to swim. (It implies you I should not swim.)

 

“verb + 不 + verb complement”means disability or emphasizes that you can’t achieve some results.

他看不见。(He is blind.)  她听不见。(She is deaf.)

那个广告上的字太小了，我看不见。The words in that advertisement are too small. I can’t see them.)

太吵了，我听不见你说什么。It’s too noisy. I can’t hear you.