translations please

before you ask please try to find out yourself (helps learning it) here some sites to help you find the answer: http://www.nciku.com/ http://translate.google.com/translate_t?langpair=en|zh-CN and a firefox plugin to translate from english to chinese and the otherway around :-) https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/downloads/file/8665/imtranslator-3.2-fx.xpi

by the way, it looks like the script entering those comments into the system is having problems parsing apostrophes (now have \\ in front) and links.

For me, 我只是个数学老师 sounds better for "I am but a maths teacher." 仅 seems more formal, and is more often seen in compounds like 不仅, 仅仅, 仅有, etc. (though you could have used 仅是 in your sentence, executer). The various usages of "instead" are translated into a few different words in Chinese. Perhaps the example sentences found in the ChinesePod dictionary would be of help: http://labs.chinesepod.com/?q=node%2F4&search=instead No problem with asking question in the Conversation section. Talking about Chinese is what we do here :).

right, that´s what we do and I´m sorry to have to correct you, but leviathan was so kind to give this example your reffering to. I only offerd some tools for him to find it out himself. IMtranslator gives this sentence 我是仅数学老师 so leviathans version is correct but yours is more teacher friendly I guess ;-)

another translation question, I was wondering how to say "off and on" as in "I've been learning Chinese for x years, off and on". I finally came across 间断[地]jiànduàn and 断断续续[地] duànduànxùxù[de], love the sound of that one, but is there a better way to say this? Incidentally, 谷歌 （Google) offers 我一直在努力学习中文,过上 x 年 which doesn't really help, does it? the NWP dictionary in

IMtranslator gives me this translation: 我有容器学习的汉语x 几年来, 和

uh, 容器 (róngqì) container??

chinesePera-kun says it´s receptacle,vessel which also makes me wonder... CPod any help on this on?

hi goulnicky and excuter, You can say: 我断断续续地学过3年中文。 Wǒ duànduànxùxù de xué guò 3 nián Zhōngwén. or: 我学过3年中文，但都是断断续续的。 Wǒ xué guo 3 nián Zhōngwén, dàn dōu shì duànduànxùxù de.

Hello i am only a maths teacher 我是仅数学老师 wǒ shì jǐn shùxué lǎoshī 仅 jǐn means only or merely Examples http://labs.chinesepod.com/?q=node%2F4&search=%E4%BB%85

another of these questions, "by then" as in "I'm coming to Shanghai next month, by then I must ...(complete 5 projects)" . I can of course say 去(来)上海以前我要—— How about 截至 jiézhì, by [a specified time], would 截至10月我要—— work too?

I found this versions using IMtranslator 我来临到北京下个月, 我必须那时完成5 个项目 or 我来临到北京下个月, 我一定那时完成了5 个项目 I´m coming to Beijing next month, by then I must have completed 5 projects or 我来临到北京下个月, 我的5 个项目必须然后被完成 I´m coming to Beijing next month, then my 5 projects have to be completed

great, thanks. I just fell into this same trap I'm often complaining about when asked to translate into English, namely that most things aren't translated word-for-word (e.g. "by then") it's the whole sentence that must be arranged differently

propably there are even better version that could be used but thinking chinese isn´t that easy if your not in china and don´t have a level of understanding where the words just flow and you don´t need to think ;-)

...versions...

Hi goulniky, \"I'm coming to Shanghai next month, and by then I must complete five projects.\" 我下个月要去上海。在去上海以前我要完成五个项目。 (Wǒ xià ge yuè yào qù Shànghǎi. Zài qù Shànghǎi yǐqián wǒ yào wánchéng wǔ ge xiàngmù.) or 我下个月要去上海。在这以前我要完成五个项目。 (Wǒ xià ge yuè yào qù Shànghǎi. Zài zhè yǐqián wǒ yào wánchéng wǔ ge xiàngmù.) It's a bit different than how we would say it in English, which is often the case, that one cannot directly translate from English to Chinese. 截至 (jiézhì) is very formal and would usually only be used in a written notice, that sort of thing. Don't worry, though. The more you are exposed to Chinese, you won't have to directly translate from English. You will get more and more of the hang of how things are expressed in Chinese, without even thinking about English. Best to divorce the English from your mind, I have learned... :)

thx amber, I've long divorced French from my mind, so much so that it often takes some effort to put it back in, so I know the feeling, I'm just about to get to that point with Chinese but not quite there yet.

thanks amber, interesting point that the adj-地 in the first example becomes adj-的 in the second.