June 30, 2008
Learn mandarin – Help with multi pinyin 漢詞 -

  > Learning Chinese > Chinese Computing and Technology > Adsotrans.com Forum
Help with multi pinyin 漢詞
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mph –

I am new using adso.

I have tried using adso trans to look up a few 漢詞 that have multiple pinyin and meaning.
for example 人家 according to 現代漢語詞典 has two meanings they are….
ren2jia5 other people [pronoun used to refer to people other than yourself]
ren2jia1 [noun] house or dwelling

There are hundreds of Chinese words such as 人家 that have multiple pronunciations and meanings.
Some even have three pronuncations and meanings.
So far, using adso, I have only been able to find a single pronuncation and meaning for each of
the multi pinyin Chinese words.

How can I access the different pronunciations and meanings in adso?

Hope someone can put me right.
mph

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trevelyan –

If you want to see the various options for any single entry you can always check the backend
dictionary:

http://www.adsotrans.com/adso/uniedit.pl

Or do you mean an annotation mode which outputs all of the various possibilities? Could set
something like that up fairly easily, but that wouldn’t be much help for duoyinci, etc.

mph –

I have added 人家 ren2jia5 other people to the adso database.
The database should now contain two entries for 人家.
The new entry 人家 ren2jia5 is HSK 丙 .
The other existing entry 人家 ren2jia1 is HSK 乙
Looking back though my Chinese primary school textbooks I learnt 人家 ren2jia5 in 2nd term
primary 2.
Not sure how such a fundamental word, in the first few most important words, is not be in the adso
database?

So far I have also not been able to find any other multisound Chinese words with more than one
Chinese character in the adso database.
For example 當時 has two entries in 漢語現代詞典 dang1 shi2 and dang4 shi2.
Both have very different meanings and are quite common.

Could be the people adding entries don’t know how to add multisound multicharacter words.
I have tried to add ren2 jia5 but when I paste 人家 into the www.adso.com home page I only get
the one entry ren2jia1.
What am I doing wrong?

trevelyan –

You’re not doing anything wrong, mph. Assuming you added the second definition through the
uniedit.pl page, it will take a bit of time for the system to convert it to UTF8 and for the entry
to start working with the main interface.

There are lots of duoyinci already in the database. The last one which comes to mind is 差使,
although that’s because it was the last one I personally added. The database is not as
comprehensive as the commercial dictionary mentioned above in this area, for obvious reasons. We
are working on that….

The easiest way to help the software differentiate between multiple definitions for words with the
same part of speech is to familiarize yourself with the CODE field. This allows users to add
heuristics on contextual usage to the software. I’ve taken a quick stab at making a first
approximation for 人家. There is a thread about the CODE field further down this forum.

Most users do not contribute. And most contributors don’t worry about adding the pinyin for new
entries. This is just the nature of the beast. The important thing is that we are steadily
identifying issues and correcting them, and using a review process to prevent new entries from
creeping in. The system will automatically generate pinyin for words missing it, taking advantage
of what it already knows about the variant pronunciations of individual characters. This has the
advantage that it isn’t really necessary to explicitly add the pinyin for words unless the
software generates them incorrectly. The best way to help is always just to either make
corrections to errors you spot, or point out any problems to others so that they can get fixed.
I’m happy to do my best to fix segmentation and sense-disambiguation issues as they are brought to
my attention.

Best,

–trevelyan

mph –

Quote:

There are lots of duoyinci already in the database. The last one which comes to mind is 差使,
although that’s because it was the last one I personally added.

The image below shows the search outcome for 差使 on the
http://www.adsotrans.com/adso/uniedit.pl link you supplied.
Clearly there are two database entries for 差使.

I then looked up 差使 at www.adsotrans.com and recieved the following image that only contains
one of the database entries.

I am still confused about why the second image does not contain both database entries for 差使.
The second image is probably the one seen by most of your users. May I suggest that the second
image include all database entries to aid the user.
mph

trevelyan –

The software analyses the grammatical context when deciding which definition / entry to suggest.
It tries to pick the single best definition for each word rather than simply throwing everything
at the user.

If it would be useful to you I’d be happy to add an output option that flushed all possible
entries. It would get pretty messy for duoyinci or common characters though….

zhwj –

It might be enough to simply output all entries automatically when the source text corresponds to
a single entry in the database – in other words, when the user wants to use Adso as a dictionary
rather than a gloss engine.

I think this is what mph is looking for (his use of “look up” rather than “annotate”), and I’d
imagine that a significant number of people coming to Adso for the first time might test it out
with words rather than running text, and the results might appear to them to be inferior to those
other annotation engines out there….

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Tossed out there by hsknet2net at 5:26 am | No comments so far
 
Chinese Class – Translation needed! -

  > Learning Chinese > Non-Mandarin Chinese
Translation needed!
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nekso –

Can anyone translate the following text into english?

This goes on in an online game so some parts of it might sound strange at first

RE^6: 可唔可以幫下手??

____________
X wrote:

我只不過係貪方便者!!
如果我真係認真打, 我唔會淨係出兵, 亦都唔會咁易中招~~~
____________
Y wrote:

嗯,話係咁話o者
但我知大家最大既敵人唔係對方
多個朋友好過多個敵人
你同其他盟打我可以rein你
但你咁樣同我地打好唔化算
耐唔耐咁樣莊你一次都幾煩。
____________
X wrote:

但係, 佢地大部份都唔係HK人, 乜你唔想HK人WIN 番次咩??
____________
Y wrote:

嘿,無法啦
始終同佢地玩左咁耐
____________
X wrote:

O~~~
咁就死la!!
我仲想你做我spy tim!!
真係冇得傾??
____________
Y wrote:

嗯..呢樣我啱啱睇到report
你講下你想點睇下可以點幫
係唔出賣個alliance既情況下我可以既都會幫既
____________
X wrote:

hi!!
我估你都見到個report, 我冇左過千兵!!!
所以, 我想你幫下手!!
thanks

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againstwind –

uhhh, it’s Cantonese.

Here should be someone who knows Cantonese.

nekso –

I hope so… and I just noticed that I forgot to add something very important…

This should be read from the bottom up! The last piece of dialog exchanged is the one on top and
the first message is the one on the bottom. Just like a series of emails that are replied over and
over again.

Thanks for any help!

vraiment160 –

I hope i can give you a hand though i am not a genuine cantonee
RE^6: 可唔可以幫下手??
can you give me a hand?
____________
X wrote:

我只不過係貪方便者!!
i just want to be easy only
如果我真係認真打, 我唔會淨係出兵, 亦都唔會咁易中招~~~
if i treated it(the game) serious, i would not just dispatch my men and get trapped so easily.
Y wrote:

嗯,話係咁話o者
yeah, what you said is true
但我知大家最大既敵人唔係對方
but i know that our strongest enemy is each other.
多個朋友好過多個敵人
one more friend is better than one more enemy
你同其他盟打我可以rein你
you fight agaist me with your other alliance, in this case, i can rein you
但你咁樣同我地打好唔化算
but what you did is not beneficial.
耐唔耐咁樣莊你一次都幾煩。
you got annoyed if i attacked you from time to time.
____________
X wrote:

但係, 佢地大部份都唔係HK人, 乜你唔想HK人WIN 番次咩??
_but most of them are HK people, do you want to let them win this time?
Y wrote:

嘿,無法啦
hey, i have no choice
始終同佢地玩左咁耐
after all, i have been playing with them most of the time
____________
X wrote:

O~~~
咁就死la!!
that would be my fate!
我仲想你做我spy tim!!
even i was about to ask you to be my spy!
真係冇得傾??

____________
Y wrote:

嗯..呢樣我啱啱睇到report
en, i have just seen the report
你講下你想點睇下可以點幫
you name how i can help you
係唔出賣個alliance既情況下我可以既都會幫既
if only in the precondition that i would not betray any of my alliances.
____________
X wrote:

hi!!
我估你都見到個report, 我冇左過千兵!!!
i guessed that you saw the report. i have less than a thousand men.
所以, 我想你幫下手!!
so i want you to help me out
thanks
as what i have said, i’m not a genuine one, so if there’s any mis-interpreting,pls forgive it. and
further more, i know little about this kind of game, so i hope my translation can make you
understand.

Quest –

I am Cantonese, but I feel like I am betraying the people in the conversation.

RE^6: 可唔可以幫下手??
Can you help?

____________
X wrote:

我只不過係貪方便者!!
I only did it because it was convenient for me [to attack?].
如果我真係認真打, 我唔會淨係出兵, 亦都唔會咁易中招~~~
If I fought/played seriously, I wouldn’t have just sent my troops, and I wouldn’t have fallen for
the trap so easily.

____________
Y wrote:

嗯,話係咁話o者
err, even if I agreed [that Hong Kong people should win once]
但我知大家最大既敵人唔係對方
but I know we are not each other’s biggest enemy anyways
多個朋友好過多個敵人
it’s better to have one more friend than one more foe
你同其他盟打我可以rein你
If you fight with the other allies, I can rein you
但你咁樣同我地打好唔化算
but it’s not worth it for you to fight with us
耐唔耐咁樣莊你一次都幾煩。
you will be in big trouble if we keep doing that to you every once in a while

____________
X wrote:

但係, 佢地大部份都唔係HK人, 乜你唔想HK人WIN 番次咩??
but, most of them aren’t from HongKong, don’t you want Hong Kong people to win once?
____________
Y wrote:

嘿,無法啦
ha, nope can’t help u with that.
始終同佢地玩左咁耐
afterall, I’ve been playing with them (and been allies with them) for a long time.
____________
X wrote:

O~~~
咁就死la!!
oh shit!!
我仲想你做我spy tim!!
I wanted you to be my spy!!
真係冇得傾??
Any chance for that sorta thing?
____________
Y wrote:

嗯..呢樣我啱啱睇到report
right, I just saw the report
你講下你想點睇下可以點幫
Tell me what you want, let me see how I can help.
係唔出賣個alliance既情況下我可以既都會幫既
As long as I don’t betray my allies, I will help if I can.
____________
X wrote:

hi!!
我估你都見到個report, 我冇左過千兵!!!
I guess you’ve seen the report, I lost over a thousand troops!!!
所以, 我想你幫下手!!
so, I would like your help!!
thanks

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Tossed out there by hsknet2net at 4:46 am | No comments so far
 
Chinese Online Tutor – English question regarding word ‘Chinese’ – Page 3 -

  > Extras > Other cultures and language
English question regarding word ‘Chinese’
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nipponman –

Although I don’t agree that saying “Chinese” or “Japanese” is racist, I do agree that it sounds
wierd. I don’t mean it sounds inappropriate either, it just sounds like you’re modifying a noun.
I’m not sure why either these example sentences seem to be the same contextually, but they sound
different:

I saw an american earlier. (Of course, this would sound weird in America, though)
I saw a chinese earlier. (A chinese what?)
I saw a german earlier. (Fine)
I saw a Japanese earlier (A japanese dog? a Japanese boat?)

*Edit*

After rereading my sentences, (this may have been pointed out already), I have come to the
conclusion that it is the suffix -ese that makes these words sound off. It really has nothing to
do with racism against the chinese either, as this sentence: “I talked to a Lebanese”, also sounds
weird. Unfortunately, there is no substitute for chinese that makes it sound like american.
(Besides chinaman)

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md1101 –

i agree.. i think you just about summed it up nipponman.

Gulao –

All the time I’m reading this thread, I’m thinking exactly what nipponman has said.

Furthermore, the “-ese” suffix, in my opinion, is strictly adjectival. This still avoids the
plural noun issue, because an adjective followed preceded by “the” tends to result in a noun (the
meek shall inherit, steal from the rich and give to the poor, etc.), and Chinese is only ever
treated as a noun when followed by “the.”

md1101 –

Quote:

Chinese is only ever treated as a noun when followed by “the.”

i guess you mean preceded by ‘the’

but ‘chinese’ is defined by dictionary.com as ‘a native or inhabitant of China’ and by
wordnet.princeton.edu as ‘a native or inhabitant of Communist China or of Nationalist China’

That implies it can be used as a singular noun. (‘A Chinese…’). Saying ‘The Chinese’ refers to
all the inhabitants of China.

What you said is how i would have THOUGHT it should be. But its definition seems to indicate
otherwise.

nipponman –

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickdriscoll

i guess you mean preceded by ‘the’
but ‘chinese’ is defined by dictionary.com as ‘a native or inhabitant of China’ and by
wordnet.princeton.edu as ‘a native or inhabitant of Communist China or of Nationalist China’
That implies it can be used as a singular noun. (‘A Chinese…’). Saying ‘The Chinese’ refers to
all the inhabitants of China.
What you said is how i would have THOUGHT it should be. But its definition seems to indicate
otherwise.

Interestingly enough, i don’t think saying “the chinese” sounds wierd at all. You might say “The
chinese people” but sentences like, “the chinese are a peculiar people to americans”, “The chinese
have a different way of doing things” or “The chinese have a rich tradition in the martial arts”
are all fine imo. I think the difference between “a” and “the” here is that “the” is used to refer
to specific things (e.g. a chinese cat vs the chinese cat)
and as such when you say “the chinese” it doesn’t sound as wierd. But back on topic, the english
language (even language in general) is a strange beast, in that that which is correct is not
always acceptable, and that which is aceptable is not always correct.

md1101 –

yeah sorry nipponman, re-reading my post i can see i wasnt very clear. I agree saying ‘The
Chinese…’ is fine. i mean that despite the fact the dictionary says it can be used in singular
form it still doesnt sound right that way.

Lu –

Quote:

Obviously im missing some historical mis-treatment of the Chinese (or perhaps present day racism?)
here but saying that the above sentence sounds racist seems to imply being ‘Chinese’ is somehow
unfortunate.

That’s not exactely what I meant, it’s more that saying it this way would imply it’s more
important where the guy (or the woman) is from than who he is, what he does.

nipponman –

It really isn’t racist though, b/c the only people that I know that speak like that are chinese
people. No one else in this part of america would be inclined to speak like that. But, my chinese
teacher says it all the time.

selfconstruct –

I’m glad it’s not just me.

I would tell students that only nationality terms ending in ‘an’ (and the unique ones such as
Scot, Briton) may be used for a singular person, but there are so many dictionaries that would
suggest that this is wrong. To me it seems impolite to call someone “a Chinese” but fine to say “a
Singaporean”, “an African” and so on. In my mind, terms describing groups of people (the British,
the Japanese, etc) seperate the speaker from these groups. If someone says “a Chinese”, I infer an
unintentional “coldness”. There is no logic to it though, but some consistancy.

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Tossed out there by hsknet2net at 4:06 am | No comments so far
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