Does anybody ever really SAY "guan yu", regarding that..... ???

I know I've heard it. It seems to me that most of the 于 constructions are pretty formal, but it's certainly something that's used. I think I would use it most often in an expression like "最近关于这件事情的争议都是。。。", where 关于 takes the place of the "about" clause in the English translation. I'd like to hear some native speaker input, though.

As a photographer I had previously been under the impression that you can use 关于 to describe a photograph, if you wanted to be specific about the subject captured in the photo. For example: 我的照片 (wo de zhaopian), could imply a photograph that I own or a photo OF me. 那张照片关于我, specifically means that I am in the photo. Is that correct or not? I'll leave it to the experts to sort this one out...

Yes, it is used. It's often used in a phrase that modifies in a noun. To use your example, it would be: 那本关于文化大革命的书 A usage would be something like: 有没有看过那本关于文化大革命的书？ This usage is not strange or overly formal (provided that the person being asked actually knows what book the speaker is talking about).

To answer your question from my experience, when I had a male teacher in my one-on-one classes, my only male teacher (quite different, especially when he's 6 feet tall and looms over your desk!), whenever I said "关于什么什么“ he would say "只说什么什么!" sometimes just repeating my sentence without the 关于 in a tone of annoyance. So I am guessing it is not commonly used in speaking in the case of saying "他们说关于那本书" (they are talking ABOUT that book), no, you should say "他们说那本书" (They talk that book)... hard to get used to, but that is the way it is. It is used more so when you want to say WHAT the book is ABOUT, "那本书关于文化革命“ (That book is ABOUT the cultural revolution). Needs to be used as a verb, not a helping verb... correct me if I'm wrong.

this question is very interesting to me because i use the word 關於 (guan yu2) a lot in speaking and never considered it to be very formal... for example... 我要講一個關於鬼屋的故事給你們聽 (wo3 yao4 jiang3 yi4 ge guan yu2 gui3 wu de gu4 shi4 gei3 ni3 men ting) (i wanna tell you a story about a haunted house) is there a less formal or more common way to say that that i'm not aware of???

Oops..... when I posted this it gave me a "404" error page, so I posted again. While in the meantime you replied. I see now where my mistake was. It should be in the adjective of the noun. Got it.

I'm still getting a 404 when I hit the "Add Comment" button...is that a known bug?

i'm getting that error too....

关于关于的事 - I don't know if it's the search, or the content, but here are the results for "guan yu" with Cpod (which to me has lots of high frequency language). Lessons that include ‘关于’ include: Media - 开瓶费之争 Advanced - 中国企业国际化 Lessons that include ‘guan yu’ include: Advanced - 多音字 Intermediate - Joining the Chamber of Commerce Elementary - The Man and the Dog Intermediate - Olympic Medals ...plus lots more It's kinda impractical for me to go thru the lesson results looking for it though..... Hi John, You say your Grammar Guide is word based, how would I go about searching for "guan yu" 关于 in it?

I always wondered about 關於，my wife says it sometimes, I say it but I don't know how much people really do day it. On a related note, I also wonder if anyone really says, 至於?

To answer your question from my experience, when I had a male teacher in my one-on-one classes, my only male teacher (quite different, especially when he's 6 feet tall and looms over your desk!), whenever I said "关于什么什么“ he would say "只说什么什么!" sometimes just repeating my sentence without the 关于 in a tone of annoyance. So I am guessing it is not commonly used in speaking in the case of saying "他们说关于那本书" (they are talking ABOUT that book), no, you should say "他们说那本书" (They talk that book)... hard to get used to, but that is the way it is. It is used more so when you want to say WHAT the book is ABOUT, "那本书关于文化革命“ (That book is ABOUT the cultural revolution). Needs to be used as a verb, not a helping verb... correct me if I'm wrong.

hi xiaohu, Yes, 至于 (zhìyú) "as for, as to" is commonly used, though it is also more formal speech. Here is an example sentence: 我知道他学过汉语，至于学到什么水平，我也不太清楚。 (Wǒ zhīdao tā xué guo Hànyǔ， zhìyú xuédào shénme shuǐpíng， wǒ yě bùtài qīngchu.)

Hi KennyK, Good 关于 (guānyú) sentence! 我要讲一个关于鬼屋的故事给你听。 (Wǒ yào jiǎng yī ge guānyú guǐwū de gùshi gěi nǐ tīng.) If you wanted to make it less formal, you could just omit the 关于 (guānyú), i.e.: 我要讲一个鬼屋的故事给你听。 (Wǒ yào jiǎng yī ge guǐwū de gùshi gěi nǐ tīng.) Sometimes, in less formal speech, you can also just use "跟...有关“, i.e.: 我要讲一个跟鬼屋有关的故事给你听。 (Wǒ yào jiǎng yī ge gēn guǐwū yǒuguān de gùshi gěi nǐ tīng.)

HMM FORMAL? - I'm still a little bit unclear on this. We're saying that it is a little formal right? John seemed to say it wasn't. My question is, what's the purpose of 关于 other than adding formality when it can so easily be omitted. And in the example sentences from kennyk, Amber and John this seems to be the case as the sentences seem perfectly clear and specific to me without the 关于。 有没有看过那本文化大革命的书？ 有没有看过那本关于文化大革命的书？ 我要讲一个鬼屋的故事给你听 我要讲一个关于鬼屋的故事给你听。 I can understand it's purpose if it starts off a sentence, as in 关于语法的问题 which would be quite abrupt and without context if just started off as 语法的问题。 Am I correct in saying that it works as 'about' in starting of sentences, while within a sentence it's purpose is 80% to add formality, and 20% serving as ‘about'? Maybe there's another way for me to ask this question, if I am forming my sentences properly, but without the 关于, is there any reason for me to make an effort to instill it into my spoken vernacular?

I have seen 关于 dozends of times in Childrens books (elementry school level). Formality cannot be all too extreme. I see 关于 as the equivalent of the English word "regarding". I got the impression that additional words like 关于 do not add complexity and formality but on the opposite add readability. One issue I have with Chinese grammar is that you can obviously cut out a lot of stuff out of sentences. The more formal it gets the more is taken away until you get a cryptic string of rare characters - no redundancy left, highest possible information density, endless fun for the riddle-addicted reader.

Lantian, 关于关于关系关心：关闭。;-)

Hi Henning, It's good to know that my Chinese could possibly be extremely formal, classical and cryptic as I often leave out these little grammar markers. :p Laodai, 关于《关于关系关心》我关门了。意思是我还没关！ ;p Cpod, There is surprisingly little reference to 关于 in my grammar books. My research: found this on YahooAnswers. It as yet doesn't answer my question directly, but it does add some nice background, and I thought it was a good Q&A anyway for us to see. http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070529061839AAL8WJ0 I'm confused with these words, I don't know their differences: 1. What's the differences between 关于, 对于,在于, and 由于? 2. What's the difference between 并且, 并, 而且, and 和? 3. What's the differences between 当然 and 固然? Thx very much, it's for my tests... please help me, I'll have to pass this.. * Singing River * Member since: May 21, 2006 * Total points: 964 (Level 2) Singing River Best Answer - Chosen by Asker My, some of these are really hard to explain. They have many usages! 1. 關於 (关于) = about (something), as in "關於這件事 / 关于这件事...... (...about this)" 對於 (对于) = to, for (someone or something), as in "對於你這種行為，我不想再多說了 / 对于你这种行为，我不想再多说了。(I don't want to say anything more about this kind of behavior of yours.)" 在於 (在于) = at (something or a certain place), as in "關鍵在於 / 关键在于...... (the key is...)" 由於 (由于) = since, because 2. 並且 (并且) and 並 (并) are synonyms. 而且 and 和 both mean "and," but 而且 is used when talking about two or more facts, as in "他不但誠實，而且也很善良 / 他不但诚实，而且也很善良 (He is not only honest, but also very compassionate.)" or "......而且他還很會唱歌！/ 而且他还很会唱歌 ! (...And he sings very well!)." 和 is used for things, as in 他和我 (he and I). 3. The only difference I can find between 當然 (当然) and 固然 is that 固然 is always used when talking about disadvantages. Example: 這個主意固然好，但是它會浪費我們很多時間。/ 这个主意固然好，但是它会浪费我们很多时间。 (This idea is good, but it will waste us a lot of time.) Hope it helps Source(s): I am a native Chinese speaker

Googled myself - whoa, that was weird. In my searching for more info on guan yu 关于。。。Google returned MY question! ;p I've been reduplicated! Learn Chinese | ChinesePod - [ Translate this page ] Does anybody ever really SAY "guan yu", regarding that. ... this question is very interesting to me because i use the word 關於(guan yu2) a lot in speaking ... chinesepod.com/.../Lantian/connect/

HIGHLY ABSORBENT MATERIAL - At least if anyone diligently follows this thread they will never forget 关于！ Here's some examples of it's use, available on virtually every web page! 关于百度 About Baidu.com 关于雅虎_雅虎中国 About Yahoo.com 关于我们 About Women.com, we! ;p

hi xiaohu, Yes, 至于 (zhìyú) is commonly used, though it is also more formal speech. Here is an example sentence: 我知道他学过汉语，至于学到什么水平，我也不太清楚。 (Wǒ zhīdao tā xué guo Hànyǔ， zhìyú xuédào shénme shuǐpíng， wǒ yě bùtài qīngchu.)