![]() ![]() Jian ta de gui has the same overtones, except it literally means “see your ghost.” You can use it to swear at somebody (especially if you take offense at something they’ve done or said) or as a general curse of your situation. Jian ta de gui is a more fleshed out version of the oath jian gui, which literally means to “see ghosts.” It’s just a catch-all phrase for when you’re displeased with something, sort of like in English “Damn.” Ghosts can be inauspicious agents in Chinese culture, so saying “see a ghost” implies underworld, Devil type stuff. I mean, what young Simon meant to say was “No way!” in response to his sister, which I don’t believe is well expressed with the phrase jian ta de gui (so also a “No way!” from me on how they used the phrase). River pretends that they are at war and trapped by the dinosaur-riding Independents. Young Simon tells River to go see her ghost (Episode 5, “Safe” 1:08)Ĭontext: In a flashback, a young Simon and River are playing. ![]() ![]() Based on the way it’s inserted in the sentence here, you’d think tianxiaode was a noun of some sort: “Yes, and you’d have access to any tianxiaode that filtered in from the cortex.” But tianxiaode actually just means “who knows” not “who knows what.” If you wanted to more accurately capture the usage and meaning of tianxiaode, you could re-word it to: “Yes, and tianxiaode what you’d be able to find that filtered in from the cortex!"Įxecution: Could work a little more on xiao’s tone (it should rise after the initial fall), and put less of an accent/emphasis on the de, but overall, I like his pronunciation (though the xiao is more like she-ow as opposed to his she-ah). It’s often also used as a rebuke: (“After he starts drinking, tianxiaode what he’ll say.”)īut the way it’s used here is improper. You use also use tianxiaode to describe an innumerable or unexplainable thing, for instance, “Jayne has god knows how many guns,” (“god knows how many” meaning so many that humans can’t count them all: 天晓得Jayne有枪). As mentioned in this previous usage of tianxiaode in episode 3, you generally use it as the start of a rhetorical statement, as in: “Only heaven knows what we’ll encounter on our trip to the outer rim of the galaxy” (with “Only heaven knows” being a stand in for “Who knows”). He begs for a new dedicated source box, but his father refuses, saying Simon would then have unfiltered access to anything on the cortex. ![]() Simon complains to him about how their source box shorted out and he lost half his essay. Simon’s father says Simon would have access to any ‘tian xiao de’ that filtered in from the cortex (Ep5, “Safe” 1:38)Ĭontext: Young Simon and River are playing when their father enters the room. Even so, overall, it’s one of Mal’s better performances thus far. Does well with the tone on fei but the hua doesn’t fall as sharply. Said on its own here as Mal does, it’s a mild expletive meaning “Rubbish.”Įxecution: Mal does a reasonable job pronouncing it. Like if you say to a pregnant friend on line at McDonalds, “You sure you want to eat here? It looks like you’re packing on some weight there,” she could sarcastically respond, “ Feihua” to mean something like “Isn’t that obvious?” or “Don’t waste your breath” or “No shit, Sherlock” (if she doesn’t knock you out first). Usage: Fei means “wasted” and hua means “speech,” so together it means “an unnecessary, nonsensical, or incorrect statement.” You could use it to reprove somebody like Mal does here, though you could also use feihua in more playful, joking situations or for more sarcastic purposes. They say the cows are scrawny, and Mal objects. They meet at the arranged spot with the buyers, who express dissatisfaction with the looks of the cows. Mal calls the cow buyers liars (Episode 5, “Safe” 10:52)Ĭontext: Mal and the crew go to Jiangyin to sell their smuggled cows. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |