Answers
Aug 13, 2012 - 10:00 AM
Néng is another word that is frequently used to express "to be able to" - Both can be used interchangeably :)
Aug 13, 2012 - 07:27 PM
Fair enough, thanks. So, no way to explicitly distinguish ability from permission. I wonder if that's a feature of a society that seems to have no respect whatsoever for pedestrian crossings, and one way streets--tee hee! If you don't hear from me tormorrow, I was probably killed by a passing moped; Beijing traffic is wild!
Aug 25, 2012 - 08:42 PM
Seems like you don't fully understand or immersed yourself into the culture yet, Simon. You speak to different people with different talk. Much as you would speak slang with a friend or a young person, you don't speak colloquial with an older person. Then again I guess in the US we don't care who we are speaking to anymore whereas in China, older people are still spoken deferentially to. You might want to look both ways when crossing the street in Beijing. Motorists rule in China not pedestrians. Remember that and it might keep you out of trouble. Just as there is no hello in China, there is no can. The funny thing is that Americans think that there is a direct translation for every word in the American language in other tongues. Much as I try to do the same when speaking Spanish. You cannot translate it word for word and expect it to be right. If it was that easy, AI would have been here a long time ago.
Neng is used to convey both possibility and permission. Try sticking wo in there and it will mean "can I" and no one will be confused. But you may find being direct and just say want instead of can....with a smile and no one will think you are a cave man. You may speak it with a little more inflection when saying "can I?" versus "I can!" where you want to be a little more affirmative and exert it.
You also have to understand that mannerism in public in Beijing are not the US. People will cut in front of you. Because you are white, they will probably be extra nice to you and not do it or the authorities would actually favor you over a domestic. So be firm but polite. If you act like a professor, you will get stepped on in public. That's just the culture there.
Neng is used to convey both possibility and permission. Try sticking wo in there and it will mean "can I" and no one will be confused. But you may find being direct and just say want instead of can....with a smile and no one will think you are a cave man. You may speak it with a little more inflection when saying "can I?" versus "I can!" where you want to be a little more affirmative and exert it.
You also have to understand that mannerism in public in Beijing are not the US. People will cut in front of you. Because you are white, they will probably be extra nice to you and not do it or the authorities would actually favor you over a domestic. So be firm but polite. If you act like a professor, you will get stepped on in public. That's just the culture there.