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- "我很高兴。"
"我很高兴。"
Translation:I am happy.
150 Comments
Traditional form: 我很高興。
Native speaker from Taiwan here!
Chinese use two writing systems: "traditional" and "simplified." The simplified writing system was created in order to increase the literacy rate, and is now used in Mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia. The traditional system preserved the most form of Chinese characters, but is more complicated and less widely used. They are generally only used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. If you just want to communicate with Chinese people for I suggest you learn simplified system, but if you want to challenge yourself or experience the traditional culture, you can have a try for traditional system!
Is there a place that teaches traditional Chinese? I love Manderin, yet I am interested to learn the traditional way of speaking as well.
In this context (of Andrew-Lin's post), "Traditional Chinese" and "Simplified Chinese" refer to the written characters, not to how the language is spoken. The traditional characters are generally less complicated, less "busy," that is, they require fewer strokes to write. As Andrew-Lin explained, they were developed to improve literacy, but another reason is that they are easier to read on TVs and computer monitors (especially on the standard definition displays of the previous century, before the prevalence of HD).
One disadvantage of simplified characters is that many Chinese dictionaries arrange words by stroke count (the number of strokes required to write the character) rather than alphabetically by pinyin; yet, many of these dictionaries count the number of traditional strokes required to write the character even if the character printed is in a simplified form that requires fewer strokes to write, with the result that simplified characters do not always appear in the dictionary where the reader might expect them to. (It would be as if the word "thru" were listed somewhere between "throttle" and "throw" because the traditional spelling of "thru" is "through.") With many characters there is no difference, but the stroke count of the traditional characters is more obvious.
Another disadvantage is that some of the meaning is lost along with the simplification. By "meaning," I mean, the etymology, mostly, that is, the origin of the word, but I also mean the extent to which the character is a graphic representation of its referent.
One example that illustrates both of these disadvantages is the character for "cart," whose traditional form is 車 ，but whose simplified form is 车 . The traditional character requires 7 (that's right: 7, not 8) strokes to draw; whereas the simplified form looks as if it could be drawn in 5 strokes (or maybe 4); yet, even dictionaries printed in simplified Chinese would include the simplified form among the 7 stroke characters. Moreover, notice how the traditional character for "cart" actually looks like (a schematic drawing of) a cart. There are 2 ways to see it. You can imagine the 2 long horizontal strokes at the top and the bottom as the wheels of a 2-wheeled cart (such as a rickshaw), with the "box" in the center as the passenger or payload compartment, and the long vertical stroke as the axle that runs through the center of the wheels; or, you can imagine a 4-wheeled cart, in which case the 2 horizontal strokes at the top and bottom are one axle each, the "box" in the middle is still the chassis, and the long vertical stroke is what holds the cart together (or like the drive train of a car), in which case the 4 wheels are not depicted (but are implied at each end of the top horizontal stroke and the bottom horizontal stroke). The simplified form was derived from this traditional form, but it's a mess inasmuch as you cannot tell what you're looking at.
By the way, the same goes for simplified spellings in other languages: whenever a spelling is simplified, the word's etymological history generally becomes less clear.
Thanks for the lengthy explanation!! It's great to find people who explain deep stuff about the language in the conversations, cause it really is interesting and I wouldn't have heard it anywhere else. I'd give you an ingot if the app still allowed it :/
My GOD that is an impressive essay. How many days did it take you to write it?
Well no, Hong Kong (as well as perhaps some other regions) speak Cantonese while the rest of China and its territories speak Mandarin. (I know this user is deactivated, I'm just commenting it for future readers. Hello people from the future!)
I'm just using my dad's phone. I study at Xavier school nuvali at the Philippines. They teach Chinese (mandarin). I use duolingo to practice because I suck at Chinese.
Native Chinese speaker here!!
Not fair. 很 means very. Correct translation is I am very happy. If you checked the definition. But without the definition you can't tell they made a grammar.
Thank you! I just looked it up in the dictionary and was so confused as to why they didn't include "very"
很 means "very" and not am, so he is right 我很高兴 means "I'm very happy" but it is also translated as "I'm happy" 我高兴 means "I am happy" Generally here in mainland China if you say 我很高兴 we take it to mean you are very happy
Yes I am really Chinese and you have it all wrong. the "hen" does not work as the "am"
Hello. The sentence is correct but in the first table of the tips and notes there is a mistake you wrote 你 and in pin yin you wrote (wo) wich is wrong such be (ni)
Did you report this? You will reach the contributors faster by reporting this over posting it here in the sentence discussion. Nice find though! Have a lingot.
Often we can't report anything, as the only option shown is "The audio is incorrect". So as far as I am aware, this is the ONLY place to let someone know. IF this isn't the case, I would love to know where one can report these things. thanks
You could also post this in the Chinese for English Speakers Discussion here: https://www.duolingo.com/topic/951
Also, each lesson is way too short. Duolingo has a better system developed for French, where you learn the English translation right away and learn to build sentences right away. I understand that with Chinese the difficulty is you have to know the pinyin and the hanzi AND the meaning, but so a better system would be to have lessons where you just learn vocab and have lessons where you learn the usage; or have one longer lesson that incorporates both. This is coming from my experience of learning French in high school and learning Chinese in college
I agree with you on learning English translations right away. Pairing sounds with pinyin and hanzi is important, but for a fresh Chinese learner, understanding is just as important. Having access to definitions at the start would be a step in the right direction. I enjoy the lessons for other languages duolingo has developed, pairing new words with pictures, but I could do with new vocabulary paired with definitions.
It does mean I'm very happy. I'm a native speaker from Suzhou. 很 always means very where I'm from.
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Hi! Because the sentence can mean both "I'm very happy"and "I'm happy". Remember:
- in positive sentences an adjective or the couple adverb (usually 很) + adjective form the so-called "adjectival predicate", in which the adjective replace the linking verb "to be". Precisely:
我很高兴 : here the adjective also work as "to be" and the adverb "very" can be translated or not
我高兴: here the adjective also works as "to be"
Note 1 the function of 很 is very important in the sentence because without it the adjective becomes comparative or expresses a contrast:
我高兴
1) I am happier (than you)
2) I am happy (while you are not).
Note 2 In the spoken language you get to understand if 很 means "very" because its pronunciation is more emphasized, in the written one on the contrary it is difficult (but they say that usually it is not translated).
- in interrogative sentences with 马 (ma) 很 is not necessary and, when it is present, means "very":
你高兴马？Are you happy?
你很高兴吗？Are you very happy?
- in negative sentences wih 不 (bù) it is the same and often it is also used 太 (tài) to emphasize:
我不高兴 I am not happy.
我不太高兴 I am not very happy - too happy - happy at all (it depends on the context).
我不很高兴 I am not very happy.
- in conditional sentences with 也 (yě), finally, 很 can be omitted:
你高兴，我高兴 If you are happy then I am happy.
Bye!
I think you missed adding the 也 in the last example, but otherwise this was really helpful to me
Thanks for the awesome response! It's so good I actually copied it on my notebook. A lingot for you!
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To all learners of Chinese language, please don't go for literal meaning of the characters used in Chinese sentences. For example to say "You're welcome", they use 不客氣 (bu keqi / bú kèqì) that literally means don't be so polite. And separate characters have meanings as follows: 不 - bù = Not 客 - kè = Guest 气 - qì = Air
Yeah, "stop acting like a guest" -> "consider yourself at home".
Without 很, it would not make any sense. 我很高兴 can mean " I am happy", or it can also mean "I am very happy".
It's hard to explain but I can try. Because "shi" is a state of being. Like "wo shi zhong Guo ren" I am a Chinese person. "Wo shi xue Sheng" I am a student. That is correct too.
But "wo shi Gao xing" is not correct because you are not Mr. Happy. You are happy but you are not Mr. Happy. At least for emotions, you don't use "shi"
I thought 我很高兴 is I AM VERY HAPPY since the phrase has 很 which is very. Im a bit confused
Chinese has a feature that doesn't exist in English which is, some adjectives can act like verbs. These adjectives are always used to describe some traits of a person or things, for example, 高(tall), 贵(expensive), 漂亮(beautiful), etc. 高兴 here is an adjective acts like verb in the sentence. In such case, you need a "很" before the adjective only to make the sentence complete, "很" doesn't mean anything in such grammar structure, it doesn't mean "very" at all here.
"很" can be dropped when there is a compare:
Scene: I am happy today but David isn't.
Question: Who is happy today?
Answer: 我高兴。
When said together, the 兴 in 高兴 sounds like the 4th tone, but when you hover over the individual character the audio has the 1st tone. Could someone explain why that is? Do some characters have more than one tone?
Yes (PALewis88), some characters have more than one tone.
Sometimes, the tone of one character will change according to the tone of an adjacent character; a common example is 不 , which is bu4 by default (i.e., just by itself), but becomes bu2 in 不是 (bu2shi4). I have heard other examples of bu4 becoming bu2 when the following character is in 4th tone, but I do not know if that is a "rule."
As for 兴 , my understanding is that 高兴 is gao1xing4. However, 时兴 (meaning "fashionable," "popular,“ "trendy," "in vogue") is shi2xing1. So, yes, I have heard 兴 as both xing1 and xing4.
I don't agree because 兴 has two tones with different meanings and Duolingo just can't show nor play them all at the same time.
- 兴 xīng (verb.) to thrive, to prosper, to get up, to prevail, to begin; (adverb.) probably
- 兴 xìng (noun.) mood
时兴 means to be in vogue while 高兴 means high in the mood, literally, which is happy.
Sometimes tones do change because of the previous characer (s), for example, 总统府 zǒngtǒngfǔ, the presidential office, is pronounced as zóngtóngfǔ. But 兴's two tones is not this case.
I'll be honest, the part of China I'm from always uses 很 as very and not as they are describing.
Can anyone help clarify? I understand the reasoning that "hen" is used as the verb "am" in this case so it becomes "I am happy." However, when I ask my Chinese relatives how they translate "我很高兴" They all say that it means "I am very happy." and 很 should be taken as very. Also from this thread i can see a few Chinese natives claim the same thing.
So first question, Is this a regional thing, does some part of china take hen in this case as very while some don't?
Second, how does one say "I am very happy" then?
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(I'm a native speaker.) 很 means "very," not "to be." As many native speakers like to exaggerate things, 很 is used so frequently that its effect has faded so much that some (instead of all) native speakers simply assume people don't really mean"very" when using 很. This has led some native speakers who have learned some English grammar but haven't learned certain Chinese grammar to misunderstand 很 and think it's the counterpart of "to be" (it's not). I don't know about the regional difference, but there's definitely personal difference.
To avoid confusion, instead of saying "I am very happy," you can say
-
I am fairly happy. 我相当高兴。
-
I am unusually happy. 我非常高兴。
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I am one hundred percent happy. 我十分(ten tenths)高兴。
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I am considerably happy. 我颇高兴。
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I am more than happy. 我甚高兴。(This is used more in writing than in speaking.)
-
I "am" very happy. 我很是高兴。
Updated - here are also examples of using adjectives without 很: https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/25268640?comment_id=39552216
Thank you for the explanation, this really helped explained why my relatives were so adamant that it means "very".
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You're welcome. Your relatives were right because it indeed means "very." Have fun learning :)
Native Chinese speaker here!
很(hen) means very. So its should be: "I am very happy"
When duolingo wanted a definition of "我很高兴." There was not the word "really". The definition was actually meant to be "I am REALLY happy" because "很" = "really". I the definition were to be "I am happy" then in chinese it would be "我高兴".
is there a word for "am", "are", etc. in Mandarin, and it can be omitted? or does it just not exist?
The word shi4 was defined as "am" and "are" as well as "is", "not", "weren't" and "isn't". I have seen it omitted sometimes in Duolingo but I can't speak to why.
A more accurate translation would be "I am very happy" since "hen" means very.
The "很" of the sentence usually means "very" or something along those lines, so I feel like the translation should actually "I am very happy". If it was just "我高兴." , then "I am happy" would be the correct translation.
In Chinese, the verb is the same regardless of person, number, or gender. So, yes: 很高兴 regardless of the person, number, or gender of the subject.
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Adding 是 emphasizes the statement's being true. Its effect is similar to "do/does/did" in "do/does/did + verb" (ex. I do know that.).
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It means "I am very happy[.]," but many people use the word 很 while not actually meaning it.
Djcg fyxdl rt tst sixdjhcei ridw 5od46dud2jseivshhsyjdujdylcr hrogst djcsgkxtkvdgjeh gdkcdundr. . the first time I hdivx yix
Djcg fyxdl rt tst sixdjhcei ridw 5od46dud2jseivshhsyjdujdylcr hrogst djcsgkxtkvdgjeh gdkcdundr. . the first time I hdivx yix
I am a bit confused, i feel like this statement is supposed to come off as i am very happy because hěn means very
Shouldn't this be I'm very happy? Just saying from the part of China I'm from 很 is used to mean very exclusive. Not some filler.
What's harrowing is that I still haven't figured out what I or am is in Mandarin.
"I" is 我 (wǒ), "am" is just written 是 (shì), which simply means (to) be.
This sentence means I am very happy and not I am happy. Please correct the mistake!
很高兴 this mean "Nice to" and "Very happy" when it's change between this meanings
I like the matching exercises and audio -- but am astonished that the meanings are saved as a compete surprise for when you are suddenly asked to translate the sentence into English. This course is missing standard Duolingo teaching techniques (such as the graphics) which are so effective. Sadly, not quite ready for prime time.
Yes, agree...we need to learn with English translation, not straight away asked to match to its English meaning without understanding the words...
It is confusing. I can't see the difference between 'i am happy' & 'i am very happy' as some exercises will make you won't for forgetting very, and others won't.
A better translation of the sentence would be,"I am very happy".. I am Taiwanese-American (Born in the USA)
Is the "很" just an intensifier? Duolingo accepts the phrase without this character, and it also accepts the English translation "I am very happy". But the default phrases are "我很高兴" / "I am happy", so I'm not sure what the significance of the character is.
高 (gao) = tall 兴 (xing), like Ling_G23 posted above, has multiple meanings
Can somebody explain to me why we have "hen" here... if "wo" is "I am" and "gao xing" signification is " happy". Simply why is not "wo gaoxing" but "wo hen gaoxing" sorry for my English, i'm training with English and Chinese.
"Wo" （我）is "I" - "I" only, not "I am." "GaoXing" （高兴）is "happy." We have "hen" （很）here as the verb; "hen" can mean "very," but here "hen" functions as "am."
Like I've been saying the part of China I come from 很 only means very. It never functions as "am" from the city I come from and I've never heard it used that way. It almost sounds like who ever did this course isn't a native speaker.
why are there two words t express hapiness ? can't we use just one like only gao ?
I would also like to understand this better. Does gao mean anything on its own? And is the xing here with dropping tone, different from the xing for surname? I don't remember what tone it was and I don't know how to look up past lessons (when I don't want to repeat them, just view them because I forget them). Any answers to any of these appreciated.
I think 'gao' on its own means 'tall'. Chinese has a lot of occasions in which two characters with unrelated meanings meet and form a new word. Also, yes, Chinese also has a few words that sound the same but could mean different things in different contexts. An example would be 'xing' like you mentioned.
According to https://duolingo-mandarin-chinese.netlify.com/#4 高/gāo means "Above average" and 兴/xīng means "feeling or desire/excitement". Hope that helps.
高 means "tall" or "high", and 兴 has over a dozen meanings including "prosper" and "flourish". So it's equivalent to doing well (English), ça va bien (French), es geht mir schön (German), etc.
Er, point is, though, it sorta works like a single word here, which means "feeling good".
Just a quick remark: you don't say "Es geht mir schön" in German but "Es geht mir gut".
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Why do not the Duolingo' s team for Chinese course try to put sound on each Chinese symbol with the aim of remind them?
There's a problem (as I have comment on already) with this because sometimes the same character can be pronounced with different tones, and mean different things; and sometimes even if the meaning is the same, the tone used changes depending on what tones are in front of or behind it in the sentence!
