What is the difference between the following words?

[honglam]

On 2/16/2024 at 8:36 PM, piano0011 said:

 

wo yao zoulu = i like to walk

wo xianzai zouzhe= i am walking

 

whenever, I am adding the particle zhe, does it have to be followed by xian4zai4? wo xianzai zouzhe? wo xianzai zuozhe etc?

First, generally we won't use 要 to express "like". And "现在" means "now"(I think this should be taught in the vocabulary part of any lecture I guess.) Adding a 现在 is similar to adding a "now" in a English sentence. When you add it, you are emphasizing that "you are doing the very thing right at the time you say your words". Compare "I'm driving" and "I'm driving now". I think there should be some difference between these two expression in English.

On 2/16/2024 at 8:36 PM, piano0011 said:

wo yao wen yi xia laoshi

 

or

 

wo yao wen laoshi yi xia

Both are acceptable. Though it's untested linguistically, in 我要问老师一下, 一下 modifies the whole sentence; while in 我要问一下老师, 一下 modifies the verb 一下(Well, linguistically this explanation may be wrong, but I'm just trying to explain it as simple as I could). But I cannot tell the difference of meaning between.

On 2/16/2024 at 8:36 PM, piano0011 said:

jintian you dianhua zhao ni? this doesn't make sense does it? would you translate it as, is there anyone calling you

Well, you put a question mark at the end, so I guess it should be a question. Thus it means "Is there anyone calling you?"

Furthermore, here are two grammar point to be explained.

a. Generally when forming such question, I'd put a 吗 at the end and make it 今天有电话找你吗？. But as in many languages, intonation can change the meaning of sentence. It's hard to imply the intonation from written words. So 今天有电话找你。(with a period at the end, the intonation kept stable) = Today there is a telephone call for you; 今天有电话找你？ (with a question mark at the end, the pitch rising)= Is there a telephone call for you today?

b. Here is a major grammar difference between East-Asian languages(eg. Chinese, Japanese, Korean) and English. In Chinese is okay to neglect the subject of a sentence, and some verb even demand for no subject(that's to say, if you put a subject there, the sentence will be grammatically unacceptable instead). A linguistical elaboration is far too complicated for a beginner in Chinese(and in fact so is it for the majority of native speakers.) Too put it simple, 有电话 means "the telephone call existed." This is just how Chinese would say to state "There is sth" or "sth exists". Emphasizing that the order should not be reversed. "*找你的电话有" is unacceptable.(Well, if someone native says that, the audience will think that the speaker's mimicking the Japanese invaders in WWII since it sound like the word-order of Japanese.)

On 2/16/2024 at 8:36 PM, piano0011 said:

4) also i tend to hear people say: hong2 de = red one such as

 

hong de pingguo = red apple? shouldn't it be.. hongse de pingguo? does hong de = hongse de?

Both 红的 and 红色的 means "red" as an adjective. It only depends on the habit of the speaker. The Chinese tend to use several different words to express the same concept in different context. It's really hard to learn that even for native speakers I'd say. Slight distinction in usage may cause major difference in meaning.

[piano0011]

firstly, appreciate the detailed explanation here...

 

1) what is the difference between jiu4 and lao3? from my understanding, jiu4 means something is worn out liked jiu de che = worned out cars; jiu de yifu = worned out clothes; but is lao3 only used to refer to people only? can you use lao3 for things as well like jiu4 but not implying the things are broken?

 

2) what is the difference between saying: nar bi Beijing leng duo le & nar bi Beijing duo leng le

Can I add duo1 with tai4 here: nar bi Beijing tai leng duo le?

 

3) hai2 = again; can i say; wo hai xiang kan zhege dianying = wo xiang hai kan zhege dianying....

can i put hai2 before and after xiang3?

 

4) qian1bi3 = pencil and is gang1bi = pen?

 

5) xie xie ni de jieshao = thank you for your introduction?

 

6) i guess that sometimes, you guys will say.... hong2 = hong2 se and hei1 = hei1 se eg.. hong de pingguo = hong se de pingguo.... hei de yanjing = hei se de yanjing?

 

7) Would you say.. ni xihuan nage yanse de yifu or ni xihuan nage yifu de yanse? = which colour colthes do you prefer?

 

[cncorrect]

1)

wo yao zoulu = I want to walk.

I would say 'wo xianzai zheng zouzhe' (我现在正走着。)

On 2/16/2024 at 8:36 PM, piano0011 said:

 

whenever, I am adding the particle zhe, does it have to be followed by xian4zai4? wo xianzai zouzhe? wo xianzai zuozhe etc?

No, there's no such rule. When you want to express I am walking, use this sententce 'wo xianzai zheng zouzhe'. We use specific sentences in our daily lives, rather than relying on rules to construct them.

2)

Both are OK. They are natural.

3)

Did anyone call you today?

4)

Yes, hong = hongse

 

 

[Lu]

On 2/21/2024 at 2:00 AM, piano0011 said:

1) what is the difference between jiu4 and lao3? from my understanding, jiu4 means something is worn out liked jiu de che = worned out cars; jiu de yifu = worned out clothes; but is lao3 only used to refer to people only? can you use lao3 for things as well like jiu4 but not implying the things are broken?

旧 is old as opposed to new

老 is old as opposed to young

[sanchuan]

On 2/21/2024 at 10:32 AM, Lu said:

旧 is old as opposed to new

老 is old as opposed to young

And, just to complete the set:

古 is old as opposed to modern

[honglam]

On 2/21/2024 at 9:00 AM, piano0011 said:

1) what is the difference between jiu4 and lao3? from my understanding, jiu4 means something is worn out liked jiu de che = worned out cars; jiu de yifu = worned out clothes; but is lao3 only used to refer to people only? can you use lao3 for things as well like jiu4 but not implying the things are broken?

By describing some thing(not people) as 老, you are indicating that the very thing has some history. A book used for one year is a 旧书, while a book published in '60s is a 老书.

On 2/21/2024 at 9:00 AM, piano0011 said:

2) what is the difference between saying: nar bi Beijing leng duo le & nar bi Beijing duo leng le

Can I add duo1 with tai4 here: nar bi Beijing tai leng duo le?

I've never seen anyone saying *那儿比北京多冷了. Adding a 太 is unacceptable as well. 太 is not used in comparison.

On 2/21/2024 at 9:00 AM, piano0011 said:

3) hai2 = again; can i say; wo hai xiang kan zhege dianying = wo xiang hai kan zhege dianying....

can i put hai2 before and after xiang3?

Put 还 directly before the verb you want to modify. Basically if you put 还 between 想 and 看 then the 还 is used to modify the verb 看. And I'd rather say 还 means still. 我还想看那个电影 = I still want to watch that film. 我想还看那个电影(This is one of those sentences that native speakers will feel grammatical but doubt rather anyone would say such things in real world.) = I want still to watch that film.(Isn't that sound weird?)

On 2/21/2024 at 9:00 AM, piano0011 said:

 

4) qian1bi3 = pencil and is gang1bi = pen?

 

5) xie xie ni de jieshao = thank you for your introduction?

Right.

On 2/21/2024 at 9:00 AM, piano0011 said:

7) Would you say.. ni xihuan nage yanse de yifu or ni xihuan nage yifu de yanse? = which colour colthes do you prefer?

I think “clothes of certain colour”某个颜色的衣服 and "colour of certain clothes"某件衣服的颜色 have different meaning in English as well. 哪个衣服的颜色 is comprehensible, but I think no one would say so in Chinese(Well if a native speaker asked me so I'd ask him how she/he could coin such a sentence instead.)

[piano0011]

So I guess then, I should say.. ni xihuan name yifu de yanse? Putting yanse last will emphasise the colour correct?

 

2) should cuo le, kan cuo le.. etc

Can I say.. wo shuo hua cuo le? Wo kan guo cuo le etc?

 

3) man4zou3 and man man de zou, do they both mean take care and it can also mean, stay a bit longer?

 

4) can someone provide more examples on how to use the following expression..

 

Wo zheng zai mangzhe ne = I am busy

Wo zheng zai paobu ne..= I am jogging...

 

I can use any verbs here right?usually you use verbs with zhe?

 

5) from my understanding, wrn4ti2 is used for questioning but how do you use ti2 by itself? Isn't ti2 referring to homework or exercise? 

 

Wo you hen duo ti = I have many questions about homework?

 

Also, usually a verb would be placed after duo1 and an adjective before duo1 but here.. wen4ti2 is a noun, so would it be placed after duo? Would you say.. wo you hen duo wenti or.. wo you wenti hen duo?

[honglam]

On 2/26/2024 at 7:44 PM, piano0011 said:

So I guess then, I should say.. ni xihuan name yifu de yanse? Putting yanse last will emphasise the colour correct?

First 那么 is a linking word. At least you should use 那个. Just use 你喜欢哪个颜色的衣服 when asking for clothes-preference and forget about 你喜欢哪件衣服的颜色, and vice versa. The latter one does emphasize the colour, but it's only well accepted in very restricted context. I'd give one example here:

——A: 我在做一张海报，但是对颜色没有灵感，想从衣服的颜色上找点灵感。你喜欢哪件衣服的颜色？I'm making a poster but I've got no inspiration about the colour. I want to get some inspiration from the clothes. Which clothes' colour do you prefer?

——B: 我觉得左面那件衣服的颜色更好看. I think the colour of the clothes on the left is more well-looking.

——A: 好主意！我决定就用这个颜色了。Good idea! I decide to use this colour then.

On 2/26/2024 at 7:44 PM, piano0011 said:

2) should cuo le, kan cuo le.. etc

Can I say.. wo shuo hua cuo le? Wo kan guo cuo le etc?

Put it directly after the verb and make it 我说错话了. And I don't know how to describe it, but ...过 and ...错了 won't show up around the same word I'd say.

On 2/26/2024 at 7:44 PM, piano0011 said:

3) man4zou3 and man man de zou, do they both mean take care and it can also mean, stay a bit longer?

慢走 is a fixed collocation used at separation. 慢慢地走 has no such meaning. It only describe the action of "Walking slowly" Also the understand of 慢走 is wrong. 慢走 is said by the host to the guest when the guest is leaving.

On 2/26/2024 at 7:44 PM, piano0011 said:

Wo zheng zai mangzhe ne = I am busy

Wo zheng zai paobu ne..= I am jogging...

Subject 正在 Verb (呢) = Subject is now Verbing. 呢 is a exclamation word which is not necessary in all contexts. By using 正在, one is expression that the action is in progress right at the time of speaking, which is different for V着.

她正在写作业 She's now doing homework. 王老师正在看电视呢 Teacher Wang is now watching television. 我正在读书 I'm now reading books.

I think these examples are quite enough.

On 2/26/2024 at 7:44 PM, piano0011 said:

5) from my understanding, wrn4ti2 is used for questioning but how do you use ti2 by itself? Isn't ti2 referring to homework or exercise? 

 

Wo you hen duo ti = I have many questions about homework?

 

Also, usually a verb would be placed after duo1 and an adjective before duo1 but here.. wen4ti2 is a noun, so would it be placed after duo? Would you say.. wo you hen duo wenti or.. wo you wenti hen duo?

Here is a very fundamental but often neglected point. Most Chinese characters can stand as a word itself(grammatical feature inherited from Classical Chinese), and these one-character words are quite flexible when forming new words, biut sometimes they can still be used by themselves.

题 as a noun have the meaning of question, problem or title, but most of times the nominal meanings show up in combination words like 作业题(question of homework, sometimes means homework itself) 标题(title of book, article, poem, film, music composition, etc). And sometimes people use it by itself as well, as in 这道题你会做吗(Can you solve this problem?). As a verb it means to sign, to write something down. The verb version of 题 mainly appears in intermediate ~ advanced level of HSK I guess.

 

And the problem of 多. Well the problem is, 多 can be both an adverb and a adjective.

Modifying verbs: 你要多说汉语(You should speak Chinese for more times. 多 is used to modify 说). 他跑多了，腿很酸(He ran too much, so his legs are sore)

Modifying adjectives: 多美的音乐啊！(What a beautiful music! 多 used for exclamation). 他的病好多了(His illness has been much better.)

Modifying nouns: 我把多的书放在柜子里(I put the surplus books on the bookshelf. 多 here is a oral expression of 多余的) 我把很多的书放在柜子里(I put many books on the bookshelf. Generally one-character adjective should be accompanied when modifying a noun or used as a predicative.) 他问题很多(His questions are much in number. Here 多 is a predicative.)

So for verbs and adjectives 多 can be put either before or after, but the meanings are different. As for modifying nouns, 多 is put before, yet the meaning of it still depends on the slight difference of usages.

[piano0011]

I thought that if you use zheng4zai4... you should use zhe... for example:

 

王老师正在看电视呢

 

don't you say... wang laoshi zhengzai kanzhe dianshi ne? you need to add zhe after kan4?

 

她正在写作业 : ta zhengzai ziezhe zuo ne?

 

As for the duo1 question, I was referring to the fact that if modifying adjectives, you should say:

 

jintian hen leng duo; jintian hen re duo

 

for modifying verbs, you would say: gege mi mei mei duo da le etc

 

[honglam]

On 2/27/2024 at 11:05 AM, piano0011 said:

I thought that if you use zheng4zai4... you should use zhe... for example:

 

王老师正在看电视呢

 

don't you say... wang laoshi zhengzai kanzhe dianshi ne? you need to add zhe after kan4?

 

她正在写作业 : ta zhengzai ziezhe zuo ne?

I think put a 着 there is acceptable. But this is not my way of speaking I'd say. Emphasize again that the grammar systems of English and Chinese are quite different things. 着 is not a equivalent of the English "-ing" suffix, and it is not obligatory in such context. So again I'd say that don't imagine Chinese grammar with preconception.

BTW 看电视 and 看着电视 are slightly different. 看电视 tend to be watch TV, yet 看着电视 gives me a impression of "someone's looking at the TV, but the TV is not necessarily on."

On 2/27/2024 at 11:05 AM, piano0011 said:

As for the duo1 question, I was referring to the fact that if modifying adjectives, you should say:

 

jintian hen leng duo; jintian hen re duo

 

for modifying verbs, you would say: gege mi mei mei duo da le etc

多 is a quite ambiguous word with several different but interrelated meanings in oral Chinese. But I'm quite sure that the two adverb 很 and 多 won't show up together. Adj. + 多 has a meaning of comparison, that's to say, like 今天(比昨天/比以往, or compared with any other possible time point according to the context)热多了, means Today is much hotter(than yesterday/the past, etc.)

As the sentence given as "modifying verb" I should say I cannot even imagine what it means.

And, some of the examples of 多 I've given is quite oral and of everyday Mandarin. For beginners understanding the grammar point taught on lectures is quite enough, but be sure to grasp the correct knowledge.

 

So, as a conclusion I'm always doubting where you find these facts that convince you so much but make me feel confusing. Did these fact has solid origin or you just combined them by analogy? But at least I could assure you that all the examples and judgments of usage I've given are 100% acceptable for any native Mandarin(especially those from the northern part of China) speaker.

 

And here's a linguistical dogma of (at least modern) language studies, that is, believe the native speakers.

[piano0011]

I am learning chinese from peking university on youtube hsk level 2 so far and they did mention it.. I think they are good and some of my other wechat friends told me about this rule as well..... about how duo should be after adjectives and before verbs... the lesson gave some examples: 

 

jintian hen leng duo

jintian hen re duo

ni yao duo shuo, duo lianxi, duo ting, yao jinbu ni de zhongwen...

 

Also, what is the reason for duplicating adjective words such as saying... chang chang de, bai bai de

 

wo doe xiao mao mao chang chang de, bai bai de = the hair/fur of my kitten is long and white

 

Also, man4zou3 and bao3zhong4, do they both mean the same thing? and can you say.... man man de zou = man4dian3 zou3 = walking slower if using the reduplication of adjective method?

[cncorrect]

On 2/27/2024 at 2:58 PM, piano0011 said:

jintian hen leng duo

jintian hen re duo

ni yao duo shuo, duo lianxi, duo ting, yao jinbu ni de zhongwen...

What are the characters? '今天很冷多...'？ These sentences seem to be incorrect. I feel that we should say:

今天冷很多。

今天热很多。

你要多说、多练习、多听，要让你的中文进步。

 

On 2/27/2024 at 2:58 PM, piano0011 said:

Also, what is the reason for duplicating adjective words such as saying... chang chang de, bai bai de

The use of reduplicated words like "long long" and "white white" in Chinese is due to various reasons, including enhancing the rhythmic beauty of language, emphasizing the characteristics of the described object, expressing emotions, and being related to cultural traditions. These reduplicated words not only enrich the expressions of Chinese but also reflect the unique charm and cultural depth of the language.

 

On 2/27/2024 at 2:58 PM, piano0011 said:

Also, man4zou3 and bao3zhong4, do they both mean the same thing? and can you say.... man man de zou = man4dian3 zou3 = walking slower if using the reduplication of adjective method?

To express 'Take care!', you can say man4zou3, bao3zhong4 or man4dian3 zou3. Though man man de zou means walking slower, it has no meaning of 'Take care!' 

[honglam]

On 2/27/2024 at 2:58 PM, piano0011 said:

I am learning chinese from peking university on youtube hsk level 2 so far and they did mention it.. I think they are good and some of my other wechat friends told me about this rule as well..... about how duo should be after adjectives and before verbs... the lesson gave some examples: 

 

jintian hen leng duo

jintian hen re duo

I didn't mean to negate the fact that you have been learning Chinese for some days at all but the very fact I would like to state is, I am a native speaker of Mandarin that have been speaking Chinese everyday for nearly 30 years and have been studying Chinese semantics as a PhD candidate for more than three years, so I think at least I have a linguistical qualification of judging a sentence of Mandarin as completely grammatically unacceptable at least in Mandarin. And I think I've already noted every time when an usage is grammatically acceptable but not sound native. So at least please take the explanation I've given into account since I assume that nobody loves the idea of sounding dilettante-like when communicating in a foreign language.

On 2/27/2024 at 2:58 PM, piano0011 said:

Also, what is the reason for duplicating adjective words such as saying... chang chang de, bai bai de

 

wo doe xiao mao mao chang chang de, bai bai de = the hair/fur of my kitten is long and white

Rhetoric devices. Used to express different kinds of emotion, which depends on the very word duplicated. It's hard to find a simple corresponding rule between the words duplicated and the emotion expressed. Same word can express different sentiments in different context.

On 2/27/2024 at 2:58 PM, piano0011 said:

Also, man4zou3 and bao3zhong4, do they both mean the same thing? and can you say.... man man de zou = man4dian3 zou3 = walking slower if using the reduplication of adjective method?

Hosts say 慢走 to guest, since 慢走 implies "请您回去的路上慢点走，希望不要出什么事故" = Please go slowly on your way home, and (I) hope there won't be any accident occuring. It's strange for guests to say so since it is the guests themselves that is leaving and going back home. Host is supposed to be at home already. Imagine that you joined a party organized by a friend and stayed up late till 11 p.m.. I think it would be quite strange if you say "It's too late, be careful" when leaving your friend's home, since he's the very one already at home.

保重 approximately means "take care of your self", which don't ask for certain identity of host or guest. But this is usually used when it's supposed that one will be separated from the others for a somehow long period like several days, a week or even longer, or someone's going far away like to other provinces(since China is 960,0000 km² in area. Distance between two Chinese cities could be longer than 4000 km, which is approximately the distance between Lisbon and Moscow) or abroad.