Guest Posted September 18, 2016 at 03:21 PM Report Share Posted September 18, 2016 at 03:21 PM Hi guys, I'm currently reading the following snippet of a passage in my textbook: 当你无聊或者难过的时候，真正的朋友会陪在你身边，想办法让你感到幸福。 In my mind, I'm translating this as 'when you're bored or going through hard times, true friends can stay (lit. 'accompany') by your side and think of ways to make you happy.' Am I correct in reading 当 and 'when' in this sense? A 'key vocab' list to the side of the passage lists 当 as being 'just at (a time or place, prep)', but this sounds clunky. Is 'when' a good alternate? Also, while I'm here, may I ask how to use '当‘ in the sense of 'to be?' Would ’我不会当好的丈夫，因为我没有妻子‘ be a good example? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest123 Posted September 18, 2016 at 04:40 PM Report Share Posted September 18, 2016 at 04:40 PM 难过 means being sad 当 as 'being just at time or place' is pronounced with 4 tone as 'during, when' is pronounced with 1 tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 18, 2016 at 05:09 PM Report Share Posted September 18, 2016 at 05:09 PM 难过 means being sad 当 as 'being just at time or place' is pronounced with 4 tone as 'during, when' is pronounced with 1 tone. You're wonderful. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
陳德聰 Posted September 19, 2016 at 06:36 AM Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 at 06:36 AM 难过 means being sad 当 as 'being just at time or place' is pronounced with 4 tone as 'during, when' is pronounced with 1 tone. Keep in mind it doesn't always mean "sad", and I pronounce "at time or place" 當 in the first tone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelina Posted September 19, 2016 at 06:46 AM Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 at 06:46 AM 當 definitely means when in this context it goes together with 時候 當 －什麼什麼－ 的時候 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinZhenPu Posted September 19, 2016 at 07:01 AM Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 at 07:01 AM So is 当 -什么什么- 的时候 wrong? Or is it simply different pronunciation of the same meaning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest123 Posted September 19, 2016 at 07:01 AM Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 at 07:01 AM and I pronounce "at time or place" 當 in the first tone... WEll, I'm not sure your personal habits are necessary the best criteria Anyway all dictionaries give this distiction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelina Posted September 19, 2016 at 07:09 AM Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 at 07:09 AM LiZhenPu I think the use of -時候 when talking about 當 having an equivalent meaning with English when should not be overlooked Edita that's how language works, dictionaries can only serve as reference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest123 Posted September 19, 2016 at 07:20 AM Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 at 07:20 AM dictionaries can only serve as reference Yes, but they are a reference, The way you or I speak may be not. People often pronounce words or form phrases as they like, as they are used to - it's a question of comodity. Everybody undesrtands and it's OK. The learner may know that in real life language is not perfect (as anything else), but it's not what you take as reference when you learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelina Posted September 19, 2016 at 08:14 AM Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 at 08:14 AM Yes, but they are a reference, The way you or I speak may be not. People often pronounce words or form phrases as they like, as they are used to - it's a question of comodity. Can you say that the way language is used can't be taken as reference? Dictionaries can be helpful, but if you can't find a certain use in a dictionary, it might still exist. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest123 Posted September 19, 2016 at 08:17 AM Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 at 08:17 AM but if you can't find a certain use in a dictionary, it might still exist. Of course it can. Dictionaries are too small, they do not contain everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelina Posted September 19, 2016 at 08:18 AM Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 at 08:18 AM Certainly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
陳德聰 Posted September 19, 2016 at 06:52 PM Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 at 06:52 PM Edita: Perhaps I misunderstood you. 当时，当天，当年 all use the meaning of "at that time", and all are pronounced in first tone. Perhaps I should not have said "I" pronounce it a certain way. What exactly do you see as the difference between "when" and "just at time or place"? Maybe you can point me to the dictionary where you are seeing it. When 当 is pronounced in the fourth tone, I think of 恰当，妥当，适当, none of which are related to time. I am aware that 当年 can be pronounced dang4 nián, and 当日 is a word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silent Posted September 20, 2016 at 08:23 AM Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 at 08:23 AM Maybe it's my English, but to me the difference between 'when' and 'at that time' isn't that big. Maybe 'when' is a bit more generic as the condition following is not neccesarily a time condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted September 20, 2016 at 10:08 AM Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 at 10:08 AM 当 as 'being just at time or place' is pronounced with 4 tone as 'during, when' is pronounced with 1 tone. Perhaps a clearer way of explaining this... 当。。。的时候, first tone, to all intents and purposes can be regarded as 'when' 当 fourth tone can combine with 日，地，月 to mean something like 'the same, this/that' - ie, 当地时间 is 'local time' - which could mean 'here', but could also be the place under discussion. What time do we get to New York? Local time will be.... Similarly, you might be able to borrow something any day next week, but you'll need to return it 当日。 I like the idea that dictionaries are 'only' references. They're reference books. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 20, 2016 at 10:41 AM Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 at 10:41 AM 当。。。的时候, first tone, to all intents and purposes can be regarded as 'when' That definitely clears things up! Thanks, Roddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinZhenPu Posted September 20, 2016 at 11:30 AM Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 at 11:30 AM I'd like to put this here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted September 20, 2016 at 02:26 PM Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 at 02:26 PM Do you want to tell us why so we don't have to do a forensic read of the topic to try and figure out what point you're trying to make? Or is it just a plea for us to buy you a decent dictionary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinZhenPu Posted September 20, 2016 at 05:24 PM Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 at 05:24 PM Roddy, it's to illustrate that there are two pronunciations of the Chinese character 当 in Modern Standard Chinese/普通话/Mandarin, the two pronunciations being dang in the first tone and dang in the fourth tone in accordance with the Hanyu Pinyin romanisation system and it depending on the context in which 当 is in or what meaning it is that you are conveying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
陳德聰 Posted September 20, 2016 at 06:15 PM Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 at 06:15 PM 当 fourth tone can combine with 日，地，月 to mean something like 'the same, this/that' - ie, 当地时间 is 'local time' - which could mean 'here', but could also be the place under discussion. What time do we get to New York? Local time will be.... Similarly, you might be able to borrow something any day next week, but you'll need to return it 当日。 Honestly this feels kind of surreal to me. I don't think I have ever heard anyone say "dàng"dì shíjiān in my life. Can anyone confirm whether this is an actual thing people do in their real speech or whether it's one of those things that just shows up in dictionaries but nobody actually does? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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