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Never Translate Literally, WORD-FOR-WORD!

Translate the Gist of What’s Being Said

If you learn nothing else from this book, learn the cardinal rule of translation from English into Chinese, or from any language into another: Never translate literally, word-for-word! This is especially true for slang expressions! Translating literally will result in faulty communication, or, as in so many cases, be really funny! Instead, always translate the basic idea, the gist of what’s being said.

The two of us are professors of Chinese language at an excellent college in the Midwest, where we’ve taught for many years. Larry, a native English speaker, has taught Chinese for three decades at the college level. Xue Qin, his wife, a native speaker of Chinese and a graduate of Beijing Normal University in Chinese Language and Literature, has been doing her best to get college students and adult learners in the U.S. to learn her language for the past two decades. In spite of having been blessed with an incredible number of talented and motivated students over the years, we could fill a whole book with examples of our students violating the cardinal rule of translation and coming up with some hilarious as well as some really awful “no-no’s” in their homework, essays, and tests.

Here are but a few prime examples of how our beloved students have, on occasion, butchered the most commonly spoken language on the planet. The “Correct Chinese” is labeled “CC”; the “Butchered Chinese” is “BC.”

My father is Chinese.

✔ CC: Wǒ fùqin shì Zhōngguó rén.

我父亲是中国人。

✖ BC: Wǒ fùqin shì Zhōngguó.

我父亲是中国。

Literally: My Dad is China!

I got it!—meaning “I understand”

✔ CC: Wǒ míngbai le.

我明白了。

✖ BC: Wǒ dédào le.

我得到了。

Literally: I obtained it!

We have dinner at home.

✔ CC: Wǒmen zài jiāli chī wǎnfàn.

我们在家里吃晚饭。

Literally: We at home eat dinner.

✖ BC: Wǒmen yǒu wǎnfàn zài jiāli.

我们有晚饭在家里。

Literally: We have/possess dinner at home.

The basic word order of Chinese is: Who, Where, What. The basic word order of English is: Who, What, Where.

I have a headache.

✔ CC: Wǒ tóu téng.

我头疼。

✖ BC: Wǒ yǒu tóuténg.

我有头疼。

(A literal translation.)

I have a cold.

✔ CC: Wǒ gǎnmào le.

我感冒了。

✖ BC: Wǒ yǒu gǎnmào.

我有感冒。

(A literal translation.)

The weather is cool.

✔ CC: Tiānqi hěn liángkuài。

天气很凉快 。

✖ BC: Tiānqi hěn shuài.

天气很帅。

NOTE: Shuài 帅 refers to men who are “cool” in the sense of handsome, smart-looking, debonair.

That guy is cool.

✔ CC: Nàge rén hěn shuài.

那个人很帅。

✖ BC: Nàge rén hěn liángkuài.

那个人很凉快。

That guy is cool (in temperature).

That car is really cool.

✔ CC: Nàliàng chē zhēn kù!

那辆车真酷！

✖ BC: Nàliàng chē zhēn liángkuài.

那辆车真凉快。

That car is really cool in temperature inside.

NOTE: Kù 酷 comes from “cool” in English.

I am going to the airport to pick up my friend.

✔ CC: Wǒ dào fēijīchǎng qù jiē wǒde péngyou.

我到飞机场去接我的朋友。

✖ BC: Wǒ dào fēijīchǎng qù bǎ wǒde péngyou náqǐlái.

我到飞机场去把我的朋友拿起来。

I am going to the airport to pick up my friend, in my hand, just like King Kong might!

I am going to the bank to pick up some money.

✔ CC: Wǒ dào yínháng qù qǔ qián.

我到银行去取钱。

✖ BC: Wǒ dào yínháng qù náqǐ qián lái.

我到银行去拿起钱来。

I’m going to the bank to grab some money and raise it up off the counter!

We trust that you will learn a lot more from our little book than simply to not translate literally. We have done our best to provide a handy reference tool for you to use when translating from English into Chinese. This is intended to supplement your Chinese language textbooks, not to replace them. We have addressed most of the major stumbling blocks faced by students at the beginning and intermediate levels of Mandarin Chinese language study, the ones that trouble our students through all four levels of college.

We divided the entries into various rather conventional topics, such as parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, conjunctions) as well as into basic topics, such as word order, time expressions, even letter writing.

One persistent difficulty is word choice when translating verbs from English into Chinese. While English is more precise when it comes to nouns and adjectives, the Chinese tend to be more precise in their use of verbs. For example, they have five ways to translate the verb “to tell,” depending on whether one is telling a story, telling something to someone (informing), telling someone to do something, and so on.

Our intent is for this reference guide to assist you with your homework, to save your teachers countless numbers of red pens, and to save you from having your beautiful work all marked up. More importantly, of course, we hope this gently guides you to avoid most of the basic mistakes non-native speakers make when speaking or writing Chinese. Use this reference guide judiciously, and you’ll leave BC (Butchered Chinese) behind and speak only CC (Correct Chinese). Enjoy!

Qin Xue and Larry Herzberg

Professors of Chinese

Calvin College

Grand Rapids, Michigan