Is this where I can ask for the meaning of an idiom?

[Moshen]

Came across this passage. It's the last line of a short story.

人民的心里都没底了

People's hearts don't have a bottom?

I'm told that 没底了is a really common expression that everyone would know in China - but I still don't understand it.

Help, someone?

[889]

Do you have Pleco? If not you should.

 

Look there for a translation of 我心里没底. You'll see on Pleco that 没底 has a colloquial meaning a bit far from its literal meaning.

 

 

[dongchenglong]

9 hours ago, Moshen said:

人民的心里都没底了

 

The meaning of ‘心里没底’ has different meanings for different situations.

 

1、For people

It's meaning you don't know or trust someone

e.g：

You just don't have bottom  but we have faith in our bosses.

你心里没底，但是我们对我们对老板们有信心。

 

2、For thing

It's meaning you can't predict what's going to happen or make sure something.

e.g:

I  have no idea what to expect at the first public program that I attended.

我对于我参加的第一次公开课讲座将会遇到什么情况心里没底

 

3、For goods

e.g: The trial of this product no evaluation!All these signs, let me have no bottom!

 

I don't have bottom that do you understand my explanation, because  I'm a Chinese and I'm just beginning to learn English.

[Moshen]

>> Do you have Pleco? If not you should.

Look there for a translation of 我心里没底. You'll see on Pleco that 没底 has a colloquial meaning a bit far from its literal meaning. <<

OK, I downloaded Pleco to my phone, but it doesn't seem to allow me to type in a whole sentence, only a word. So I don't see how to use it to look this up. I don't see that explained in the online program manual, either.

I can't easily cut and paste, because I'm writing this on my computer and the Pleco is on my cell phone. I didn't see a web-based version of the program.

[Gharial]

@Moshen In Pleco you can actually enter sentences as well as phrases but only as characters (the app would otherwise have a bit too much disambiguating if not example-matching to do), so you'll need to use the handwriting (brush icon) input to write and then select each character one by one (by touching the appropriate offering in the white on blue suggestions in the bottom of the screen before handwriting the next), until you have your sentence ready in the search box and can thus hit the DONE button. Pleco will then give you at least a breakdown of the characters~compounds~entries that your phrase or sentence contains. There may be similar sentences to be found in the appropriate entries but I believe you can only get to those indirectly, via the SENT(ences) tab in each entry. Take note also of the useful synonyms and antonyms in the WORD tab in the entry for 没底.

 

You can also copy and paste characters from webpages or wherever to Pleco's inbuilt Clip Reader and then highlight-cursor through them to get similar breakdowns (use the rightmost arrow button to parse along incrementally). There's also a Screen Reader but that seems a bit clunky and doesn't appear to work on my current phone (I haven't really experimented enough with it though).

Edit: Oh and it pays to occasionally update Pleco if your phone has the space and build compatability still to do so. That is, an appreciably older version (3.2.38!) I was until just now using didn't have the PLC entry with the Colloquial label and example that 889 mentioned and SunnySideUp screencapped, only the CC entry without label or example. Anyway I've updated mah Lollipop (but unfortunately was unable to on my dinkier but now incompatible Kikat). Sorry for any puzzlement that may've resulted prior to my editing my post here to reflect this realization re. the value (and further generosity!) of the updates!

[889]

Search 没底 and that phrase should show up in a example sentence in the definition. (I have free Android Pleco.)

[mungouk]

On 7/20/2019 at 1:20 PM, dongchenglong said:

You just don't have bottom

 

I've never heard this expression in English, does it mean anything?

 

I thought the implication here was that someone is unsure.

 

[SunnySideUp]

I believe "have no bottom" is just a really clumsy translation to English IMO. I've also never heard this expression before.

没底's meaning is unsure - I'll attach two screenshots for you to see.

Maybe try to think of 底's other meanings...For instance base, foundation...Then you're a lot closer to "unsure" (=has no basis) if you were to think of it as bottom.