Two Questions - Dots and Translation
eupnea63355
June 02, 2010, 01:45 AM posted in General DiscussionI have two questions with which I hope someone can help me.
How does one type the regular "dot" that is, it looks like the period [.] but using the Chinese fonts. as when you have to type the six dots showing continuation?
他一定要看看里面装了什么......
(these dots were printed using pinyin but are not at the proper spacing)
Also, how would you translate the above sentence? I cannot find the word 装 in my dictionary, with a definition that seems appropriate for the sentence. This sentence is from Curious George. The little monkey is lifting the lid of a big pot to see what food is inside. He's curious, after all. ;)
eupnea63355
June 02, 2010, 02:25 AM他面前有间餐馆。好香！乔治突然 觉得肚子好饿。厨房的门开着，乔治走进去。桌上有个大锅子。乔治当然很好奇，他一定要看看里面装了什么......
Thanks tal_, I'm always happy to see your avatar! Here's the paragraph (above). I'm cautious about copyright.
George was getting tired. He hopped off of the bus and ended up right at an Italian restaurant. It smelled so good, and he realized how hungry he was. So, he goes into the kitchen entrance and there is a big pot on the table. He lifts the lid to see what is inside.
That is the context.
added: this is a Taiwanese translation. I'm pretty sure that zhuang refers to the lid of the pan. Could that be a local use of that word in Taiwan?
Tal
Hi eupnea63355! I like your avatar too! 
Ah OK, so here 装 refers to what's inside the big pot (大锅).
The translation you give seems colourful, more literally it goes like this I think: He was facing a restaurant, what a good smell! George suddenly felt hungry. The kitchen door was open, George went in. On the table was a big pot. George was curious of course (
), he really wanted to see what was inside...
eupnea63355
June 02, 2010, 06:43 AMAnd what was inside the big pot? Spaghetti! 面条！He gets tangled up in the spaghetti while gobbling it down, and makes a big mess. The chef 厨师 arrives, and fortunately he is an amicable character 和睦 and does not scold 乔治. George ends up making up for his poor behavior by washing all of the dishes with all four of his "hands."
That is Curious George's first escapade in this book. Thank you for your help with the literal translation. It makes sense, that zhuang is what's in the pot. Maybe, what the pot is "wearing" or "holding." This book is very difficult for me.
added: I'm using Pinyinput. Not Google pinyin. I'll have to check out the learning curve with that. Thanks again.
zhenlijiang
June 02, 2010, 08:08 AMHi eupnea63355, 装 in this sense is featured in this lesson dialogue (8th spoken line) and expansion. John and Jenny begin discussing it around 5:33.
Sometimes you can get helpful info by running a search in the Glossary here. Sentences in dialogues and expansions using the word will have a button on the far right taking you to the lesson it was featured in.
eupnea63355
xhenlijiang, thank you, I will most definitely listen to that lesson. I have gotten out of habit of using CPod since the WCLP software no longer works.
changye, I use Pleco and have the full dictionary package. My eyes can't look up words in a paper dictionary. Maybe it is explained in the all-Chinese dictionary on Pleco, but I can't read those definitions.
Thanks guys for your responses.
changye
June 02, 2010, 08:52 AMI recommend you get a better Chinese dictionary.
zhong_bide
June 02, 2010, 12:49 PM装 can be used to refer to packing a suitcase, so perhaps in your context it might mean something like, "He definitely wanted to have a look what was stashed inside."
(but I'm definitely no expert)
Tal
June 04, 2010, 10:01 AM盒子装不下了。 = The box is full.
Tal
June 02, 2010, 02:15 AMHave you tried SHIFT+6? It gives me this…… (I'm using Google Pinyin.)
装 has several meanings, usually involving clothing/dressing-up and/or pretending. A clothing store is often called a 服装店.
I'd translate your sentence like this:(a) He should definitely have a look at what's installed [on the computer]...
or
(b) He should definitely have a look at what is being worn inside [whatever place]...
For a better translation, we'd need more of that sentence.