你们是怎么认识的？

[Tony24]

Hi everyone !

I have a new question to ask you guys!

I’ve come across this sentence : ‘ 你们是怎么认识的？’ and I haven’t been able to figure its meaning out so far. 

any help would be very appreciated !

[889]

A good translation as always depends on context.

 

But I'd probably use a sentence like that in Chinese when I'd say something like, "So, how'd the two of you come to know each other?" in English. Perhaps expressing some mild surprise that a couple of your acquaintances turn out to know each other.

[mungouk]

是⋯⋯的 (shì... de) construction:
 

https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Using_the_"shi..._de"_construction&redirect=no

[imron]

5 hours ago, 889 said:

Perhaps expressing some mild surprise that a couple of your acquaintances turn out to know each other.

Or asking a couple how they met.

[LuDaibola]

16 hours ago, Tony24 said:

I haven’t been able to figure its meaning out so far. 

 

I don't know how Chinese-forum resident experts feel about this, but Google translate has a feature that you may have missed.  It places a checkmark next to sentences that have been vetted by the "translation community" which, I believe, are volunteers who have an interest in improving the accuracy of the application.  This sentence -  你们是怎么认识的？- is, in fact one that has been checked and the translation is, "How did you know each other?"  Having said that, it is always nice to ask here because you usually get a much clearer/fuller understanding of the translation and, as in the above reference to the "shi" "de" construction, other very helpful information.

[Lu]

It's nice of Google to make such an attempt, but keep in mind that you have no idea who is doing the 'vetting' (do they know the source language? the target language? do they have any linguistic knowledge or experience in translation?) and who has vetted the vetters. Translation website Linguee also appears to have such a system, but it doesn't stop about half the sentences that are not flagged as wrong from being not too great or outright rubbish.

 

Google Translate is a very useful tool if you want to get a general idea of what a certain text is about, or if you are looking for a word and will recognise it when you see it. But Google Translate is not the place to go if you want to understand a specific sentence or word, or want to translate something into a language not your own.

[889]

Besides, I'm not sure "How did you know each other?" speaks well for the quality of those "vetted" translations. When would you say something like that?

 

Make it "How do you know each other?" or "How did you meet?" and the translation becomes colloquial English.

[anonymoose]

On ‎04‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 3:58 PM, 889 said:

When would you say something like that?

 

After the other person has died?

[889]

Yep. At a wake, perhaps.