So here’s one that I’ve always found impossible to translate:
加油
Maybe “Go for it!”
It’s so common in Chinese, but “Go go go!” is only used at sporting events in English…
Rev it up. Give it power.
It’s impossible to give a 1-to-1 translation for. It’s entirely dependent on context.
Get a wiggle on.
Put some spunk into it.
“Go on!”
“On you go!”
“You can do it!”
Just one of many translations of course.
Jia1you2!
Go for it!
Go team!
Atta boy!
Keep it up!
Keep up the good work!
Give 'em hell!
Break a leg!
Knock 'em dead!
Win one for the guppy!
Someone encouraged me with 加油 recently. But, the Japanese pronunciation was used (which I don’t remember at all).
The speaker said that in Mandarin conversation in Taiwan, 加油 is rarely pronounced in Mandarin. Can anyone else confirm this?
[quote=“ploor”]Someone encouraged me with 加油 recently. But, the Japanese pronunciation was used (which I don’t remember at all).
The speaker said that in Mandarin conversation in Taiwan, 加油 is rarely pronounced in Mandarin. Can anyone else confirm this?[/quote] Did the speaker mean it was rarely pronounced the Japanese way? You’ll hear it a lot in Mandarin if you play games as a teacher.
[quote=“Matchstick_man”][quote=“ploor”]Someone encouraged me with 加油 recently. But, the Japanese pronunciation was used (which I don’t remember at all).
The speaker said that in Mandarin conversation in Taiwan, 加油 is rarely pronounced in Mandarin. Can anyone else confirm this?[/quote] Did the speaker mean it was rarely pronounced the Japanese way? You’ll hear it a lot in Mandarin if you play games as a teacher.[/quote]
Nope. She said it was usually pronounced in Japanese.
We were also talking about Taiwanese food, and she told me that certain foods would be nearly unintelligible to most Taiwanese if pronounced in Mandarin rather than the Taiwanese language.
It wouldn’t have been the Japanese pronunciation. They don’t use that phrase in that way. It would’ve been ganbatte, the Japanese equivalent.
Nonsense. It’s all over the place in Mandarin. It’s hard to avoid. Just watch a bit of TV.
Give it da gas!!
Yes, 加油 is extremely common in Chinese, pronounced the Mandarin way “jia1 you2” (the Japanese equivalent is “gambatte”, but I’ve rarely heard it spoken here in Taiwan). Attend any sporting event, listen to any conversation in which someone is encouraging another person, watch any talk show or variety show on TV, and your chances of heaing “jia you” approach 100%.
Jia You is such a set phrase that it can be surprising to English speakers, who use many different equivalents depending on context:
“Go!” - as in cheering for a team: “Go Raiders!”
“Go for it”! - meaning “That’s a great opportunity you’ve been given: seize it!”
“Come on!” “Go, baby, go!” - as in cheering for a horse at the Kentucky Derby!
“You can make it!” “You can do it!” - as in encouraging someone to succeed.
“Keep it up!” - as in complementing someone’s great work done so far.
“Good luck!” - as in wishing someone success on an exam or job interview.
And a host of changing and inventive slang phrases can be used. But “Jia You” remains a standaed, all-purpose set phrase.
What did the Chinese say before the days of the internal combustible engine? :loco:
[quote=“Maoman”]What did the Chinese say before the days of the internal combustible engine? :loco:[/quote]Jia1 cao3?
加牛糞?