woliveri Posted November 15, 2005 at 10:57 PM Report Posted November 15, 2005 at 10:57 PM I hear this all day long in my office building. "Well, The thing is.... blah blah blah".... What is a Chinese Mandarin equivalent for "The thing is......"? Zhi shi? Jiu Shi? Thanks in advance, Bill Quote
in_lab Posted November 16, 2005 at 12:36 AM Report Posted November 16, 2005 at 12:36 AM I heard one guy who seemed to start every sentence with 主要的是, which is "the main thing is," which is close but different. Quote
Quest Posted November 16, 2005 at 12:51 AM Report Posted November 16, 2005 at 12:51 AM The thing is --- the point is: 重点在(于) the problem is: 问题在(于) Quote
binbin Posted November 16, 2005 at 02:26 AM Report Posted November 16, 2005 at 02:26 AM Aren't those translations a bit too... literal? When I hear "the thing is..." in English, it's means more something like "well..." than it does "the main focal I wish to emphasize is...". That is, it's just a casual transition. Do these translations have that same subtlety? What about "是这样。。。“？ Quote
MarkKang Posted November 16, 2005 at 02:48 AM Report Posted November 16, 2005 at 02:48 AM Binbin is right, if it's just a casual lead in, people often say: 是这样... before an explantation. "The main thing is" or "most importantly" can also be: 关键是... Quote
Quest Posted November 16, 2005 at 03:04 AM Report Posted November 16, 2005 at 03:04 AM Aren't those translations a bit too... literal? No? 在于 can be changed to 是, but not much different imo... Quote
semantic nuance Posted November 16, 2005 at 03:24 AM Report Posted November 16, 2005 at 03:24 AM It goes like this : 嗯, 這事是(這樣的) blah blah blah....... 嗯, 就是 blah blah blah Quote
ruoxi Posted November 16, 2005 at 03:55 PM Report Posted November 16, 2005 at 03:55 PM 是这么回事...... 事情是这样的....... mainly used to start talking the real stuff......... Quote
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