多大气?

[Lu]

Another translation question. The protagonist is looking at a house (apartment) she's considering renting. The agent is showing it to her, pointing out how great it is etc. At one point he says:

 

"看房子要看大东西：地段、结构、朝向、通风。你看，这间房子的地段没得说，闹中取静，周围的新房子要十万一平米。别看是老房子，结构却比有的新房子要整齐，方方正正的，多大气。你看这朝向，冬天暖和，夏天房门一开，就有穿堂风，老惬意的。还有院子，现在上海的别墅也没有这么大的院子喽。”说着，他打开了后门。

 

What does that 多大气 mean here? I suspect it has something to do with it having good fengshui, but I also suspect I might be entirely wrong about that.

 

Incidentally, when trying to translate 院子 into Dutch you run into a similar problem as when trying to translate 羊: it's a garden and a courtyard, except in Dutch you have to choose because there is no word that I know of that can mean both.

 

Thanks for any help!

[skylee]

I think 大氣 is the opposite of 小家子氣. 多 here just means how xx.

[gato]

大气 is an intentionally ambiguous word, so your translation might need to be somewhat ambiguous as well.  A typical use might be "长安街真大气".  It's used to indicate a contrast with something that's small or delicate.  

 

You might translate as it as "open", "grand", "impressive", or other similar words that convey a kind of impressive bigness/openness.  

[skylee]

Yes.  I thought about "grand", but the word seems too grand. 

[Lu]

Interesting, since the house is actually quite small. The main character describes it as 1950s, about 40 m2, and a bit shabby, but she likes it for nostalgic reasons.

I think I'll go with 'schitterend' (amazing, marvellous) then or similar. I'll make it fit the way the agent talks, he's a 老油子, as she describes it, rather a salesman.

 

Thanks for your help, both!

[gato]

I guess here the speaker means that the house has a kind of "open-ness".

 

"结构却比有的新房子要整齐，方方正正的，多大气。"  

 

It doesn't have all the nooks and crannies of newer houses that make actual usable space a lot smaller than the quoted area (a typical developer trick)

[tooironic]

大气 is a tricky term. Consider this Chinese definition taken from 现代汉语规范词典:

 

大气dàqi
形指气度不凡，不落俗套。("Having an uncommon personality, not conforming to convention.")
橱窗里的这几套服装很大气。("The suits in the display window are very daqi.")

 

Not sure though if this lines up with the meaning the author was going for in the OP.

[Nathan Mao]

When it comes to house stylings, my wife always uses "小气" and "大方" as opposites.  So I think 大方 and 大气 may be synonyms?  At least, in this context?

 

Through lots of examples, I've come to see 小气 as not just "stingy" (which doesn't work well with houses), but rather an air of "penny-wise and pound-foolish"...like a house that is new and clean, but uses the very lowest-quality materials. A house with lots of upgrades would be more 大方.  大方 is the feeling you get that the builder/owner spared little expense to make an attractive home...they used good taste to include those little touches that you might not consciously notice, but when you see it you just get a sense of good quality, or luxury, or good taste.  "Grand" can work, too, I guess.

 

That probably didn't settle the question in any way, but I hope it helped contribute a little to the conversation...