- Forum >
- Topic: Chinese >
- "手机被我的弟弟用坏了。"
"手机被我的弟弟用坏了。"
Translation:The cellphone was broken by my younger brother.
26 Comments
333
坏 is an adjective, so a verb like 用 (to use) is needed. Personally, I would say 弄坏 (to make broken).
- 957
How does 用 (a verb) attach to 坏 (an adjective) without using 得 ?
It doesn't show up as a verb on Yellowbridge or Google, so why doesn't it follow the grammar rule for 得 ?
用坏/弄坏 is a verb which means break something. They shouldn't be seen as separated
- 957
Okay, I found it as a verb on MDBG. It makes me wonder if it is a newer verb or only used as one in certain places. I like how some English dictionaries show the time period for when a word first came into use.
The phone was broken by my brother.
Not many people say 'younger brother'. Not many people say 'cellphone'.
- 173
"Little brother" is more common than the formal-sounding "younger brother". If you have a little brother and a big brother it's very common to use the "big" or "little" and not just "brother" on its own. Especially if you're talking to somebody who knows you and your brothers.
Americans say "cellphone" or just "cell". In Australia we say "mobile phone" or "mobile". But these days they're the most usual kind of telephone so lots of people just say "phone". All versions should be accepted.
If we mean something other than cell/mobile we say landline. The distinction in phone numbers (04 for mobile) also helps keep those clear for us. - Melbourne, Australia
- 315
What if the younger brother is bigger than the older one? Furthermore, "little brother" is used in the childhood, rather than for pensioners.
Physical size does not have a bearing on "little brother" and "big brother" in standard usage. Those terms only indicate the brothers' relative age.
- 150
Not really sure about just "broken" - but more precisely, the Chinese suggests "broken through use".
Theoretically yes, but first, it's just "broken" in English, and second, 用坏 aims to express the status that something was broken. When you really want to emphasize how it was broken, you should add a verb like smash, or hit etc.
No, broken means 破坏, i.e. simply destroy without the meaning of 'use'; 用坏 means broken after long use.
- 482
"The cell phone is broken by my younger brother" was not accepted. :( Is/was it because of is/was?
I understand that it is using the word for younger brother, but this should also accept brother.
"My little brother broke the phone" should've been accepted, but was rejected.
