Translation Question

[nipponman]

Hey guys, how do you say, "We walked and talked for over an hour."?

I'm not sure how to get the duration expression in here. Would 我們走也談一個鐘頭以上的話 be close? Any help would be appreciated.

nipponman

[xiaomawang]

I would say 我們邊走邊聊/談了一個多小時.

[Yuchi]

I would say 我們邊走邊聊/談了一個多小時.

Maybe it's just my preference, but I would add "一" in front of both "邊"s.

edit: I came up with some alternatives based upon xiaomawang's suggestion, they may not be as "fluidic" though.

我們一邊走，一邊談/聊了一個多小時這樣.

我們一個多小時一邊聊/談，一邊走路。

[Zypherray]

Maybe it's just my preference' date=' but I would add "一" in front of both "邊"s.

edit: I came up with some alternatives based upon xiaomawang's suggestion, they may not be as "fluidic" though.

我們一邊走，一邊談/聊了一個多小時這樣.

我們一個多小時一邊聊/談，一邊走路。[/quote']

我們一個多小時一邊聊/談，一邊走路。<------This translation isn't correct grammatically in Chinese.I personally prefer 我們一邊走，一邊談/聊了一個多小時.

[cat_star]

Yes, you can say:"我们边走边聊了1个多小时。"

sorry, we usually use simplified character in Beijing.

so i'm not sure whether you can understand it.

[Yuchi]

我們一個多小時一邊聊/談，一邊走路。<------This translation isn't correct grammatically in Chinese.I personally prefer 我們一邊走，一邊談/聊了一個多小時.

Yeah, the more I say it in my head the less it makes sense.

[nipponman]

Ok, thanks so far. Quick question though, what does the 一 mean/do? because I just looked it up and 邊 can be used on its own. So 一 must change the meaning somehow, right?

nipponman

[skylee]

So 一 must change the meaning somehow, right?

I don't think so.

邊走邊唱 = 一邊走一邊唱

邊走邊聊 = 一邊走一邊聊

btw

好容易 = 好不容易

flammable = inflammable

...

[nipponman]

I don't think so.

邊走邊唱 = 一邊走一邊唱

邊走邊聊 = 一邊走一邊聊

Ok, thanks, just checkin'.

btw

好容易 = 好不容易

flammable = inflammable

huh?

What does flammable have to do with 好容易, and how does flammable = inflammable?

nipponman

[skylee]

What does flammable have to do with 好容易, and how does flammable = inflammable?

Sorry, 好容易 has nothing to do with flammable. I meant to say that adding a character (一/不) doesn't necessary change the meaning. Sometimes, the meaning remains the same even with a character/prefix which appears to mean the opposite. It appears that my examples were bad since you didn't get it.

So isn't "flammable" the same as "inflammable"?

[nipponman]

Sorry, 好容易 has nothing to do with flammable. I meant to say that adding a character (一/不) doesn't necessary change the meaning. Sometimes, the meaning remains the same even with a character/prefix which appears to mean the opposite. It appears that my examples were bad since you didn't get it.

Oh, ok. I was wondering why my dictionary said "see 好不容易" when I looked up 好容易.

Your examples were good, (well, except the english one:D ) but I didn't know what 好容易 meant, that's all.

So isn't "flammable" the same as "inflammable"?

Nope. flammable = 某東西能被燒。

inflammable =某東西不能被燒。

nipponman

P.s. Just in case that is not correct chinese, flammable = something that can catch fire,

inflammable = something that cannot catch fire.

[roddy]

inflammable = something that cannot catch fire

没那么容易

inflammable and flammable mean the same thing. Best practice is to use non-flammable for things that don't catch fire easily, flammable for things that do, and avoid inflammable altogether, because it's a stupid word.

Roddy

[nipponman]

Ya' know, I just looked it up. And you were right skylee. inflammable = flammable. Though I don't understand how, through the logical course of time, inflammable does not equal non-flammable, because, the prefixe in- = the prefix non-!

e.g. indescribable = not describable = undescribable. That is a wierd word, which I, strangely enough, use all the time and just assume at its logical meaning. I can't wait to trick some of my family members with this one!

nipponman

P.s. thanks for the link roddy

[nipponman]

thanks to this site http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/flammable.html I now understand that inflammables' "in-" prefix come from the word inflame, which makes much more sense now. But still, reading this http://explosives.nic.in/inflammable.htm is still so funny to me:

An Act to declare certain substances to be dangerously inflammable and to provide of the regulation of their import, transport, storage and production by applying thereto the Petroleum Act, 1934, and the rules there under and for certain matters connected with such regulation...

How can something be "dangerously inflammable?" That sounds funny.

maybe it is the same with 好容易?

nipponman

[roddy]

I'd guess if it is dangerously inflammable it means it can catch fire easily, and is likely to go out of control - ie wood is inflammable, but it's not likely to blow up in your face if you accidentally drop a cigarette on it. Petrol, meanwhile . . .

I know that English is meant to be a language borne of a mixture of Romance and Anglo-saxon tongues, with a smattering of global vocabulary for spice. But sometimes, I just think it was put together by malicious monkeys, out to trick us . . .

Roddy

[nipponman]

I know that English is meant to be a language borne of a mixture of Romance and Anglo-saxon tongues, with a smattering of global vocabulary for spice. But sometimes, I just think it was put together by malicious monkeys, out to trick us . . .

LOL !

I'd guess if it is dangerously inflammable it means it can catch fire easily, and is likely to go out of control - ie wood is inflammable, but it's not likely to blow up in your face if you accidentally drop a cigarette on it. Petrol, meanwhile . . .

I see what you're saying, but saying wood is inflammable is, well, gonna take some getting used to.