Sinisa Posted April 9, 2018 at 03:35 PM Report Posted April 9, 2018 at 03:35 PM Hi, I have in a handbook following sentence: 你性王吗? Google Translate translates it as: Are you a sex king? I somehow doubt that is a valid translation. Obviously the meaning of 性 is an issue here. Could this be translated as, Are you Mr. Wang (but why use 性 instead of 先生)? Quote
889 Posted April 9, 2018 at 04:00 PM Report Posted April 9, 2018 at 04:00 PM It's a typo. Easy to happen when you use a Pinyin IME (hint, hint). Do you want to know what it should be, or do you want to figure it out yourself? Quote
Sinisa Posted April 9, 2018 at 04:01 PM Author Report Posted April 9, 2018 at 04:01 PM 1 minute ago, 889 said: Easy to happen when you use a Pinyin IME Where I've used Pinyin? Quote
889 Posted April 9, 2018 at 04:04 PM Report Posted April 9, 2018 at 04:04 PM "You" in English doesn't always mean "You yourself"! Point is, whoever used a Pinyin IME to enter 性 into the text intended to write a different character. Quote
Jim Posted April 9, 2018 at 04:40 PM Report Posted April 9, 2018 at 04:40 PM If I had a pound for every time I get asked the question in the OP... Quote
Sinisa Posted April 9, 2018 at 04:42 PM Author Report Posted April 9, 2018 at 04:42 PM Anyone with actually helping comment? Quote
Jim Posted April 9, 2018 at 05:04 PM Report Posted April 9, 2018 at 05:04 PM What 889 means is that most likely someone typed pinyin and chose the wrong character; you have 性, one meaning of which is "sex", when you wanted 姓 which means surname/to be surnamed. 1 Quote
889 Posted April 9, 2018 at 05:07 PM Report Posted April 9, 2018 at 05:07 PM Both of which are spelt xing in Pinyin. Quote
Sinisa Posted April 9, 2018 at 05:30 PM Author Report Posted April 9, 2018 at 05:30 PM OK, so the proper answer for the obvious beginner in Chinese like me would be: It is a typo-mistake probably originated from Pinyin to Hanzi conversion, as the xìng translates to both gender/sex (性) and surname/to be surnamed (姓). I knew that the 姓 means surname, but wasn't aware that also be verb (to be surnamed). Leave the guessing for advanced Chinese learners. 1 Quote
Jim Posted April 9, 2018 at 05:32 PM Report Posted April 9, 2018 at 05:32 PM Well, transliterates rather than translates. 1 Quote
889 Posted April 9, 2018 at 05:37 PM Report Posted April 9, 2018 at 05:37 PM When you figure a puzzle out yourself you usually remember the answer better than when it's just handed to you on a platter, no matter what level you're at. 1 Quote
陳德聰 Posted April 9, 2018 at 07:03 PM Report Posted April 9, 2018 at 07:03 PM @Sinisa Hello and welcome to the forums! That’s a really comical google translation, but it’s good that you knew to double check, and when something seems amiss, the forums are a great place to get some answers. 姓 is a bit of a weird beast. You can parse it as a verb and as a noun, and you might see it in other texts as part of a set phrase often taught to learners: “您贵姓?“ The typical answer, and totally not intuitively for the beginner, is going to be 我姓__. If you have more questions, I hope you’ll find your answers around here 1 1 Quote
imron Posted April 10, 2018 at 06:13 AM Report Posted April 10, 2018 at 06:13 AM 12 hours ago, Sinisa said: Leave the guessing for advanced Chinese learners. Socrates be damned! Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.