Help translate "I don't like reading or taking Chinese exams."

[reed07]

I have the following as my translation:

我不喜欢看书和中文考试。

My question regards the placement of "中文". Should it be as is or "考中文试" or something else (should I omit 考 or 试 in this context)?

[Tiana]

I think 和 doesn't work in your sentence. I'd try something like the following:

我不喜欢看书也不喜欢考中文试

[tooironic]

Hard to explain why, but the original sentence sounds awkward to me. Always be careful when you use 和 in Chinese, since its usage is more limited than the English words "and" and "or".

 

If you're trying to express something in your second language, it's always a good idea to be flexible and not just translate word-for-word what you'd say in your mother tongue. Consider: 我不喜欢看书，而且我最讨厌的是考试，尤其是中文考试。What I did was take the general meaning and add a few cliches that I have commonly heard in Chinese - namely, 而且 and 尤其 as commonly used conjunctions, and 最讨厌的是, much like how English speakers use the word "hate" when they really mean "dislike".

 

Oh, and 中文考试 and 考中文试 are both correct. You could, for example, modify my suggested sentence as 我最讨厌的是考中文试 and it would mean the same thing, but I prefer 中文考试 as it seems to roll off the tongue better.

 

EDIT: Another way to express your meaning: 看书和中文考试我都不喜欢。