"我想我的哥哥,想马上见他。"
Translation:I miss my older brother, I want to see him at once.
59 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
875
It has the same meaning but doesn't sound very natural in English. You might use "immediately" for someone you want to see to reprimand them but not really because you're missing them.
1632
I don't know why your comment was down voted. "At once" is not natural in this context and is hardly used nowadays. While "immediately" is slightly better, it is still a bit awkward. Most natural way to say this is "I want to see him right now" or "I wish I could see him right now."
875
I would say it's fine as a literal translation but not natural English. Then again this is testing our Chinese and not our English. I don't know how Duolingo draws the line in such cases.
Chinese native speakers:
Apart from the pause, is there any way to distinguish this sentence from "I think my older brother wants to see him right away"? Is this a legitimate interpretation of the Chinese?
Edit: The answers below now suggest both that my alternative translation is a legitimate interpretation and that it isn't. I'll go with "is", since it's the same person saying both yes and no, and the dictionary says yes.
:-)
71
The best I can come up with now is 我[觉得/想]我(的)哥哥(会)(想)要马上见他。 Depending on context you can add the bracketed words: omitting 的 makes it more colloquial, adding 会 makes it sound more like a prediction, 想 could mean it is not under the elder brother's control.
71
That is an interesting way of putting it. The thing is 想 here is the so-called colloquial form of the more formal 想念, so it clearly means missing someone.
You're welcome.
I'm not sure why that should be assumed, versus "想" simply meaning "think", given that Collins gives the example "我想他会同意的" ("I reckon he'll agree"), which is why adding "念" was my earlier suggestion to clarify Duo's sentence, but you're the native speaker, so I'll take your word for it.
(Collins translates "想" as "reckon" for that example, but "reckon", as opposed to "think", is mostly British, and is common only in certain limited regions in North America.)
Collins also gives "我想换个工作" as "I want to change jobs", and there's no "要", so putting the two Collins examples together seems to me to make my initial suggestion quite plausible, but again, you're the native speaker, not I.
71
It seems I can only reply here. It helps to think of it as an idiom, so it is not something strictly logical but unique to the language, in a way. Or just something to remember. The "logical" meaning, would be the one you gave from Collins dictionary, which is correct as well. Duolingo likes to teach more colloquial language sometimes, which is how people speak so it is a good thing.
71
Since it's colloquial, it all depends on how the speaker says it, so the meaning should be clear enough.
1186
Forgive my bring pedantic, but i have the feeling that a lot of the English translations in this lesson were possibly written by a non native English speaker. Might be an idea to go over them once more.
45
But this a Chinese language course. They want to make sure that you understand the distinction between gege and didi.
1814
Nope. There is no Chinese word for brother or sister that does not incorporate relative age. You literally can't say "brother", there is no such word.
Well, you can and there is, but with a caveat. The word is "兄弟", but my sense is that this would rarely if ever be used to refer to one's own brother, singular, though it wouldn't be unusual for it to refer to one's own brothers, plural (and apparently it can also be used as a form of address to — or description of — a good friend or a buddy).
For "sisters" there's "姐妹", but I believe this word is a bit more restricted in usage and almost always refers only to the plural. (I'd be happy to hear from native Chinese speakers though.)
432
I wrote “I miss my older brother. I want to see him Immediately.” DL failed me. I guess “immediately” is too much of a mouthful. As one student wrote : “DL is too picky and frustrating!” Not only that, it is also inflexibly dictatorial. That is, if you don’t adhere to DL’s version, then you can’t progress. There is more than one route to the apex of Mt Everest.
Should be "I am thinking of my older brother and I think I want to see him soon". The answer that the test gives is only close to the meaning but not an exact translation. If that is the case, then many other answers should be also accepted because they are also close to the meaning. My answer is the exact translation that matches the meaning. The word 想 is both thinking and wanting and not just one or the other. Its meaning is more like I imagine than I want. Want would be 想要. Also, at once implies that the action should be right now if possible, but the word 想 would imply that you are still deciding. That means it is not at once but soon after you have decided to see him.
You're overthinking it, besides which I've never seen "我想" translated as "I think I want". Pick either "I think" or "I want" depending on the context.
There may be clearer ways to say the same thing in Chinese, and alternative English translations should be accepted (but probably not "I think I want"), but the Chinese and English provided are correct.
The problem here is that unless this is said by a little kid throwing a tantrum temper not something useful for a learner practically. There are more commonly encountered daily situations where "马上/immediately/right now/at once" would be used. If this was placed situationally say in an "upset customer" scenario it would be much easier to digest. Learning is relating so we need a scenario we can easily imagine.
807
Chinese "ta" always sounds like "t-ha" to my ears. I mean not like the English "th" sound but like a "t" sound and a "h" sound before an "a." The difference between Mandarin Chinese "ta" and "da" is that "da" doesn't have that "h" sound there. (More scientifically put, it's not aspirated.) However, I don't think it ever sounds like only "ha."
True, and I think some speakers (perhaps regionally) tend to exaggerate the aspiration, especially in "ta", but also in at least some other syllables with a "t" initial.
But you're right, "ta" never gets pronounced "ha". That could be a recording or speaker quality issue, though I hear the "t" when I play the sentence on this page.
"Right" doesnt need to be in this sentence: I miss my older brother and I want to see him now. When? Right NOW!