Sunday, June 27, 2010

Change? Which Change?

The verb to change in English is broad in its use. Chinese has more specific words.

-- To change [modify or correct]
改變 -- To change [modify]
-- To change [to become ...]
變成 -- To change in to [transformational]
-- To change [replacement], exchange
-- To fix [something broken]

你的數學作業完全不對!叫哥哥幫你改。
[Your math homework is completely wrong! Get your brother to help you].

中國女人結婚的時候改不改名字?
[Do Chinese women change their name after marrying?].

美國要中國改人民幣的匯率。
[The United States wants China to change the Yuan's exchange rate].

公司給員工免費的菜,後來有的人變胖了。
[Some people became fat when the company started giving its workers free food].

我要換工作,也許變成工程師。
[I want to change jobs and maybe become an engineer].

為了讓青蛙變成王子,公主需要吻它。
[In order to turn the frog in to a prince, the princess needs to give it a kiss].

去外面玩以前,應該先換衣服。
[You ought to change your clothes before going outside to play].

中國銀行可以給你換外幣拿人民幣。
[The Bank of China will exchange foreign currency for Chinese Yuan].

換一個說法。。。
[To say it another way, ...].

我不知道怎麼修自行車的輪胎。
[I don't know how to fix a bicycle tire].

政府准許你改名字。小偷常常換他的身分。
[The government will let you change your name. A thief often changes his identify].

上海改變了很多。
[Shanghai has changed a lot].

我改變我的想法了。
[I don't think about it the same anymore].

你要改一改你的壞習慣。
[You have to fix your bad habits].

他的問題變成我的問題了。
[His problem is now my problem].