Chinese Help

[Guest hearthackerpk]

i always wanted to learn chinies ... it is very coll language.

[Guest DoDam]

Could someone possibly spell the name "Tung Yi Jiene" for in mandarin for me?

I beleive "Tung" can also be spelt "Dong" in some names.

I figured out my friend's name after she wouldn't tell me and now I want to mind freak her.

[Guest bbaumgul]

Could someone possibly spell the name "Tung Yi Jiene" for in mandarin for me?

I beleive "Tung" can also be spelt "Dong" in some names.

I figured out my friend's name after she wouldn't tell me and now I want to mind freak her.

What do you mean spell? In Pinyin? Or type the actual characters?

I have no clue what character "Jiene" could possibly be, because I don't recognize it as a Cantonese or Mandarin pronunciation. But as for Tung, since you mentioned it can also be spelt Dong (Tung being the Cantonese pronunciation, and Dong the Mandarin), I'm going to take a guess and say it could be either 东， or 董， or 侗，冬，栋，which are the more common surnames。 As for Yi, however, there could be potentially hundreds of different characters that is sounded as such. So really, you're asking to find a needle in a haystack?

[Peekabooitzme]

I think that my Cantonese is pretty bad. Can anybody help me translate these sentences?

今日雞毛菜比較平！

稱幾斤好唔好？

唔得，我唔可能做折本生意.

好啦，好啦.你要稱足稱啊.

我地有烤乳鴿，吃落又嫩又香.

點個清蒸鱸魚好，定系蠔油牛肉好？

飯唔好裝得甘多.

點條生劏大王蛇好嗎？

一碗雲吞面，皮薄到連肉都睇得見！

[Guest bbaumgul]

I think that my Cantonese is pretty bad. Can anybody help me translate these sentences?

I do not speak Cantonese, but seeing as how no one was helping, I will attempt to hazard some guesses. It shouldn't be that far off. Anyone that do speak Cantonese, please, feel free to correct me.

今日雞毛菜比較平！ - The Bok Choy is pretty cheap today

稱幾斤好唔好？ - Can you help me weigh some? (When you buy stuff from a Chinese market they need to weigh the amount that you want)

唔得，我唔可能做折本生意. - No, I can't do business that will make me lose profit (something along the lines of that..)

好啦，好啦.你要稱足稱啊. - Alright, alright. You need to weigh it properly(?). (As in.. give me the money's worth)

我地有烤乳鴿，吃落又嫩又香. - I have roasted pidgeon. It's very tender and delicious to eat.

點個清蒸鱸魚好，定系蠔油牛肉好？ - Should I order the (wow there is no English term for this) lightly (flavour-wise) broiled stripped bass, or oyster oil beef?

飯唔好裝得甘多.- Don't put too much rice(??)

點條生劏大王蛇好嗎？- Should I/Can I order a freshly killed (killed live) king ratsnake?

一碗雲吞面，皮薄到連肉都睇得見！-a bowl of wonton noodles please. Make the skin so thin that you can see the stuffings/meat inside!

[Guest x123x]

I do not speak Cantonese, but seeing as how no one was helping, I will attempt to hazard some guesses. It shouldn't be that far off. Anyone that do speak Cantonese, please, feel free to correct me.

今日雞毛菜比較平！ - The Bok Choy is pretty cheap today

稱幾斤好唔好？ - Can you help me weigh some? (When you buy stuff from a Chinese market they need to weigh the amount that you want)

唔得，我唔可能做折本生意. - No, I can't do business that will make me lose profit (something along the lines of that..)

好啦，好啦.你要稱足稱啊. - Alright, alright. You need to weigh it properly(?). (As in.. give me the money's worth)

我地有烤乳鴿，吃落又嫩又香. - I have roasted pidgeon. It's very tender and delicious to eat.

點個清蒸鱸魚好，定系蠔油牛肉好？ - Should I order the (wow there is no English term for this) lightly (flavour-wise) broiled stripped bass, or oyster oil beef?

飯唔好裝得甘多.- Don't put too much rice(??)

點條生劏大王蛇好嗎？- Should I/Can I order a freshly killed (killed live) king ratsnake?

一碗雲吞面，皮薄到連肉都睇得見！-a bowl of wonton noodles please. Make the skin so thin that you can see the stuffings/meat inside!

I think most of your translations were quite accurate There are just some subtle differences in how I would word it in English. Here are some that I would translate differently:

今日雞毛菜比較平！ - "Today the Bok Choy is cheaper!"

稱幾斤好唔好？ - "Would you weigh me a few pounds (of something)?" (except here the unit is not pounds, 斤 is a traditional standard unit which is equivalent to approximately 600 grams, I don't think there is any true English equivalent)

點條生劏大王蛇好嗎？- not enough context. If talking among other people at the table, it could mean "Shall we order a freshly killed (killed live) king ratsnake?". If talking to the waiter/waitress, it could mean "Can I order a freshly killed (killed live) king ratsnake?"

一碗雲吞面，皮薄到連肉都睇得見！- this sounds awkward. "A bowl of wonton noodles. The skin is so thin you can see the meat inside!" (I think it would be less awkward if it started with "呢碗雲吞面" which translates to "This bowl of wonton noodles", instead of "一碗雲吞面".) Also, I don't think the phrase implied anything about anyone making the wontons.

[Guest bbaumgul]

一碗雲吞面，皮薄到連肉都睇得見！- this sounds awkward. "A bowl of wonton noodles. The skin is so thin you can see the meat inside!" (I think it would be less awkward if it started with "呢碗雲吞面" which translates to "This bowl of wonton noodles", instead of "一碗雲吞面".) Also, I don't think the phrase implied anything about anyone making the wontons.

Actually, it doesn't sound that awkward. Usually, it is implied that there is a "来" at the beginning of the sentence, even without having to actually say it. In other words when you're ordering the bowl of wonton, you'd be saying "来一碗雲吞面", which is the equivalent to, simply, “一碗雲吞面”.

[Guest x123x]

Actually, it doesn't sound that awkward. Usually, it is implied that there is a "来" at the beginning of the sentence, even without having to actually say it. In other words when you're ordering the bowl of wonton, you'd be saying "来一碗雲吞面", which is the equivalent to, simply, “一碗雲吞面”.

"一碗雲吞面" without the "來" is totally legit, I understand that. It's just that it's awkward because it's followed by "皮薄到連肉都睇得見！", which is just an exclamation of the wontons. If it was "皮要薄到連肉都睇得見！" or  "皮薄到連肉都睇得見呀下！" or  combined "皮要薄到連肉都睇得見呀下！" (the last one being the most natural way of expressing it in my opinion) then I would completely agree with your translation.

I guess it's kind of hard to tell sometimes, especially with Cantonese, since it relies so much on the tone of voice

[chocomocha]

Hi, can someone help me translate what this is saying.

好無奈見到D人永遠睇唔到自己嘅問題, 就算睇到都唔去面對, 只識得揾excuse去解釋自己而唔會去承認. 永遠只要求人地去明白, 同情及遷就, 唔合心水嘅說話就係人地嘅錯, 永遠只會覺得自己嘅經歷係最慘/最好/最正確, 係唔會去理解人地嘅心情同出法點. 點解可以只顧自己嘅利益而傷害他人? 不論係有心或無意, 傷害左就係傷害左, 如果係有心嘅就會去補救, 如果冇行動即代表已唔再在乎....一次又一次嘅失望, 究竟幾時先可以停?

Thank you!

[Guest x123x]

Hi, can someone help me translate what this is saying.

好無奈見到D人永遠睇唔到自己嘅問題, 就算睇到都唔去面對, 只識得揾excuse去解釋自己而唔會去承認. 永遠只要求人地去明白, 同情及遷就, 唔合心水嘅說話就係人地嘅錯, 永遠只會覺得自己嘅經歷係最慘/最好/最正確, 係唔會去理解人地嘅心情同出法點. 點解可以只顧自己嘅利益而傷害他人? 不論係有心或無意, 傷害左就係傷害左, 如果係有心嘅就會去補救, 如果冇行動即代表已唔再在乎....一次又一次嘅失望, 究竟幾時先可以停?

Thank you!

I don't know what to say about those people who are never able to see what their problem is, and even if they see it they don't face it, they just find an excuse to explain themselves but never admit. They always want others to understand, sympathize and accommodate them, it's other people's fault if they hear any words that aren't what they want to hear, always thinking that their experiences are the most tragic/best/correct, they never try to understand other people's feelings and where they're coming from. Why do they just look out for their own benefits and hurt others? Whether it's intentional or not, the damage has been done, and if they really wanted to help they would have done so, no action means that they already don't care... when can my constant disappointments stop?

(It's like a bunch of fragmented sentences when translated into English, but I just wanted to keep most of the phrases in the same structure as they are in the original, so that you can follow the phrases one by one if you wanted to.)

[chocomocha]

I don't know what to say about those people who are never able to see what their problem is, and even if they see it they don't face it, they just find an excuse to explain themselves but never admit. They always want others to understand, sympathize and accommodate them, it's other people's fault if they hear any words that aren't what they want to hear, always thinking that their experiences are the most tragic/best/correct, they never try to understand other people's feelings and where they're coming from. Why do they just look out for their own benefits and hurt others? Whether it's intentional or not, the damage has been done, and if they really wanted to help they would have done so, no action means that they already don't care... when can my constant disappointments stop?

(It's like a bunch of fragmented sentences when translated into English, but I just wanted to keep most of the phrases in the same structure as they are in the original, so that you can follow the phrases one by one if you wanted to.)

Thank u very much x123x .. Yep, i understand it!

[Peekabooitzme]

Thanks a lot for the translations, bbaumgul and x123x! 我真的很感謝你們的幫助.

[Guest bbaumgul]

"一碗雲吞面" without the "來" is totally legit, I understand that. It's just that it's awkward because it's followed by "皮薄到連肉都睇得見！", which is just an exclamation of the wontons. If it was "皮要薄到連肉都睇得見！" or  "皮薄到連肉都睇得見呀下！" or  combined "皮要薄到連肉都睇得見呀下！" (the last one being the most natural way of expressing it in my opinion) then I would completely agree with your translation.

I guess it's kind of hard to tell sometimes, especially with Cantonese, since it relies so much on the tone of voice

Oh I see.. it is solely a Cantonese thing, then. Because in Mandarin, "一碗雲吞面，皮薄到連肉都睇得見" makes perfect sense, if you just replace the 睇 with 看, which are equivalents of each other.

You're very welcome Peekaboo .

[Guest x123x]

Thank u very much x123x .. Yep, i understand it!

Thanks a lot for the translations, bbaumgul and x123x!   我真的很感謝你們的幫助.

No problem Glad to be of help~~

Oh I see.. it is solely a Cantonese thing, then. Because in Mandarin, "一碗雲吞面，皮薄到連肉都睇得見" makes perfect sense, if you just replace the 睇 with 看, which are equivalents of each other.

You're very welcome Peekaboo .

Yeah, I realize that there are a lot of slight differences between how things are said in Cantonese and Mandarin... even if I understand the superficial meaning of a phrase said in Mandarin, sometimes I feel like I'm missing out on the emotion and tone that it's meant to convey. I guess that's what makes learning languages so difficult.

[bzz07]

hi... can someone help me translate this? 三更富，五更穷

thanks in advance..

[Guest x123x]

hi... can someone help me translate this? 三更富，五更穷

thanks in advance..  

I know that there is the saying 「三更穷，五更富」. 三更 and 五更 was used to refer to the time back in the days... 三更 is a period from roughly 11pm to 1am, and 五更 is roughly 3am to 5am. 穷 means poor, and 富 means rich. Combining everything, 「三更穷，五更富」 literally means that you can be poor at 三更 and rich at 五更. It's implication is that nothing is definite; you can turn from poor to rich as long as you try and work on it.

I guess in your case, since the "poor" and "rich" is mixed around, maybe the writer is extending this idea to mean that it can go the other way around too... so meaning you can be rich and turn poor the next moment, if you don't watch how you spend your money (?)

[Guest naneunnamja]

Hello! I'm trying to register on a chinese forum (and the key words here: trying ans miserably failing) and it has a pretty difficult system of accepting new members. Can't understand a word of what they're trying to tell me to do.

Can someone please help me translate this piece of "hmm"? I'll be forever  grateful. ^^

输入下面问题的答案

把引号内的字母去掉a和f填入答案栏"z12eafiikjufyhhellmnbgdfdt"同时填入“灌水刷帖盗贴永封”

Thank you.

[Aziraphale]

Hello! I'm trying to register on a chinese forum (and the key words here: trying ans miserably failing) and it has a pretty difficult system of accepting new members. Can't understand a word of what they're trying to tell me to do.

Can someone please help me translate this piece of "hmm"? I'll be forever  grateful. ^^

输入下面问题的答案

把引号内的字母去掉a和f填入答案栏"z12eafiikjufyhhellmnbgdfdt"同时填入“灌水刷帖盗贴永封”

Thank you.

Enter the answer to the question below

Remove 'a' and 'f' from the letters in quotation marks and enter that into the answer box. Also enter "灌水刷帖盗贴永封".

(I think you just paste in the Chinese phrase at the end because to translate it would not make any sense. Hope that works.)

[xiaozhu]

sorry if this is already mentioned but maybe try this:

chinese pera kun

on firefox

whenever you are viewing chinese words, all you have to do is place your mouse over the words and the definition and pinyin would pop up.

[Guest prisonerzero]

@xiaozhu - If only it was available for Fire Fox 4. I went over there all excited and ready to download, until it said it wasn't available. xD