能幹點什麼就幹點什麼

[NelsonK]

Hello!

 

I've come across this phrase (能幹點什麼就幹點什麼, sometimes with a 吧 at the end) a couple of times now, and I'm not entirely convinced I understand what's meant by it.  I think I have a grasp on what might be the literal meaning (something like "if you can do a little something then do it" or "let anyone who can do a little something do it") but I'm not sure what it implies in context.

 

For instance in 紅高粱家族 by 莫言: 雖然擔風險，但畢竟趕上了，能幹點什麼就幹點什麼吧。(something like "Though they'd been taking a risk, in the end they made it in time, and ????????????")

 

Or this sentence from a web posting: 当你还有力气的时候，能干点什么就干点什么! (something like "As long as you still have the power, ???????????")

 

Does the phrase have the same meaning/implication in both these contexts?  In the 莫言, is this speaker trying to preemptively silence some implied criticism, something like the english "I've done my best; let him who can do better do so"?

 

Any clarification on this phrase would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Publius]

Need more context to make sense of your 莫言 quote. It's unclear who the speaker is even talking about.

 

The web posting you quoted is along the line of "Do something meaningful while you still can. It may not amount to much, but is better than doing nothing."

 

This phrase can be used to show modesty. For example, a billionaire donated a large sum of money to a cause, when people thank him, he says: 談不上多大的貢獻，我祗是能幹點什麼就幹點什麼。

 

Or resignation. For example, a superhero is about to enter a great battle, his clumsy sidekick insists on helping him, he says: OK, 你既然來了，能幹點什麼就幹點什麼吧，別礙事就成。

 

(A similar phrase you can find in Chinese TV dramas is 想吃點什麼就吃點什麼吧. When it is said by the doctor to the family of a terminally ill patient, it means "Sorry, there's nothing we can do." It basically says the case is hopeless but I'm not going to say it because that's not how doctors act on TV.)

 

P.S. I think it's a problem of pragmatics. What's at issue is the intent of the speaker. And that depends on our knowledge of the interlocutors, the manner, time and place of the utterance and a number of other factors. So, sorry, not straight answers.

[NelsonK]

Thanks, I think I'm beginning to get the idea.

 

To give more context to that 莫言 quote: a father and his son, both guerrilla fighters in the War of Resistance, have left their village to sneak into the Japanese-occupied county seat where they can get more ammunition.  When they return from their mission, they can tell from the sounds they hear even from a distance that their village is already under attack.    莫言 describes the thoughts of the father like this: 他暗暗慶幸一早出縣城的正確，雖然擔風險，但畢竟趕上了，能幹點什麼就幹點什麼吧。I took that to mean "He secretly rejoiced in the correctness of having left for the county seat first thing in the morning; even though it had been risky, in the end they made it in time" and then this phrase that I'm struggling with.  

 

I'm finding all sorts of similar phrases (能幹X就幹X, or else 能做X就做X) but very little in the way of in depth explanation.  Is that billionaire you mention saying something like "I'm just doing my part"?

[NelsonK]

It's only just occurring to me that “出縣城” is just "leave the county seat" not "leave for the county seat", so I guess this character is just glad he left the county seat as early as he did, otherwise the village would already be destroyed before he got back.  It was risky to leave so early, but it meant they got there in time.  能幹什麼就幹什麼吧 maybe means something like "now he would do what little he could"?

[Publius]

Yeah, I think you're right. The two of them are going to do something for the besieged village I guess?

[陳德聰]

Are you aware of the construction... lol okay trying to find a way to express this is a construction is kind of feeling silly but:

 

... 什麼 ... 就 ... 什麼 ...

... any question word ... 就 ... same question word ...

 

e.g. When trying to decide what to eat for dinner with your partner: 你想吃什麼，我們就吃什麼

"Let's just eat whatever it is that you want to eat."

 

e.g. When trying to make sure your stories match up before getting dragged down to the police station: 看你怎麼說，我就怎麼說

"I'll tell it how you tell it."

 

Basically, the two identical question words are understood to refer to the exact same referent. Once you know that, it becomes easier to grasp the pragmatic part.

 

So for 能幹點什麼就幹點什麼, you're looking at a sentence that is structured as "just do whatever small thing that can be done". It can be applied to various situations, as you've seen.

[NelsonK]

I was aware of that one, but for some reason I couldn't wrap my head around how it worked in this particular situation.  I think I've got it now.  Thanks very much!