Mandarin translation help

Hi!

Just wondering if anyone can be nice enough to look over my translation and let me know if it doesnt make any sense?

Thanks in advance :smile:

Karl: Ni Hao.
Balraj: Ni Hao.
Karl: Qing Wen, Ni shi Zhong guo ren?
Balraj: Shi, wo Shi zhonguoren. Wo shi ao da li ya ren?
Karl: Shi, Wo shi ao da li ya ren. Qing wen, Nin gui xing?
Balraj: Wo xing (my surname), jiao Bally (my surname). Ni Ne?
Karl: Wo jiao Karl
Balraj: Wo Shi daxuesheng ma?
Karl: Shi, wo shi shini daxuesheng. Ni ne?
Balraj: Wo ye shi shinee dauxesheng
Karl: Ni jia you jige ren?
Balraj: Wo Jiao you Liu ji ge ren.. Wo baba, wo mama, liang ge jiejie, wo didi he wo.. Karl, Ni jia you jige ren?
Karl: Wo jia you wu jige ren. Wo baba, wo mama, liang ge meimei he wo.
Balraj: Ni baba, mama shi zuo shenme de?
Karl: Wo mama, baba dou shi yishen, meimei shi gaozhong he (not sure which year your sister is in Karl!) , and the other sister is in primary school. (?not sure how to translate this bit) Ni baba, mama shi zuo shenme de?
Balraj: Wo baba shi laoshi, mama shi Hu shi (nurse I think)
Karl: Ni Zhoumo xihuan zuo shenme?
Balraj:Wo xihuan da qiu, gou wu. Xiang bu xiang qu gao wu ?
Karl: Wo bu xihaun gou wu. Wo juede qu gao wu keshi wo xihuan qu da qiu. Wo xihuan Ni xihuan kan dianying?
Balraj: Wo hao xihuan kan dianying. Ni xihuan chi zhongguo fan haishi megiofan? ?
Karl: Wo Shi ao da lu ya ren haishi , wo xihaun chi zhongguo fan.
Balraj: Zhege zhoumo chi zhonguo fan nan ho kan mei guo dianying
Karl: Ta hao le! Xingqiwu wanshang, qi dianzhong. Zenmeyang?
Balraj: Wo Xingqiwu wanshang, qi dianzhong hen mang. Wo you shi. (or can use wo you shi yao zhou – which means, I have matters to attend to)
Karl: Xingqiji ji dianzhong?
Balraj: Xingqiren wanshang, liu dian ban, zenmeyang
Karl: Hao, Xingqiren liu dian ban, jian.

Reply 1

Cunning Linguist

This is my take on it:

bally

Karl: Ni Hao.
Balraj: Ni Hao.
Karl: Qing Wen, Ni shi Zhong guo ren ma?
Balraj: Shi, wo Shi zhonguoren. Ni shi ao da li ya ren ma?
Karl: Shi, Wo shi ao da li ya ren. Qing wen, Nin gui xing?
Balraj: Wo xing (my surname), jiao Bally (my surname). Ni Ne?
Karl: Wo jiao Karl
Balraj: Ni Shi daxuesheng ma?
Karl: Shi, wo shi shini daxuesheng. Ni ne?
Balraj: Wo ye shi shinee daxuesheng
Karl: Ni jia you ji kou ren?
Balraj: Wo Jiao you Liu kou ren.. Wo baba, wo mama, liang ge jiejie, wo didi he wo.. Karl, Ni jia you ji kou ren?
Karl: Wo jia you wu kou ren. Wo baba, wo mama, liang ge meimei he wo.
Balraj: Ni baba, mama ~~shi~~ zuo shenme de gongzuo?
Karl: Wo mama, baba dou shi yishen, meimei shi gaozhong he (not sure which year your sister is in Karl!) , and the other sister is in primary school. (?not sure how to translate this bit) Ni baba, mama ne?
Balraj: Wo baba shi laoshi, mama shi Hu shi (nurse I think :tick :smile:

Karl: Ni Zhoumo xihuan zuo shenme?
Balraj:Wo xihuan da qiu, gou wu. Xiang bu xiang qu gao wu ?
Karl: Wo bu xihaun gou wu. Wo juede qu gao wu keshi wo xihuan qu da qiu. ~~Wo xihuan~~ Ni xihuan kan dianying ma?
Balraj: Wo ~~hao~~ xihuan kan dianying. Ni xihuan chi zhongguo fan haishi meiguofan?
Karl: Wo Shi ao da lu ya ren haishi , wo xihaun chi zhongguo fan.
Balraj: Zhege zhoumo chi zhonguo fan nan ho (??) kan mei guo dianying
Karl: Tai hao le! Xingqiwu wanshang, qi dianzhong. Zenmeyang?
Balraj: Wo Xingqiwu wanshang, qi dianzhong hen mang. ~~Wo you shi. (or can use wo you shi yao zhou – which means, I have matters to attend to)~~
Karl: Xingqiji ji dian~~zhong~~?
Balraj: Xingqiren wanshang, liu dian ban, zenmeyang?
Karl: Hao, Xingqiren liu dian ban, jian.

- To ask somebody's occupation, best use the phrase "Ni zuo shenme gongzuo?"
- Bits in green - don't understand what you're trying to say!
- No need for all those commas when using time.
- No need to keep saying "zhong" in "dianzhong" - it sounds redundant after a while.

Obviously it would be good if a native looks at this too :smile:

Reply 2

Masiyi

KK. My Suggestions are:

Karl: Ni Hao.
Balraj: Ni Hao.
Karl: Qing Wen, Ni shi Zhong guo ren ma?
Balraj: Shi, wo Shi zhonguoren. Ni shi ao da li ya ren ma?
Karl: Shi, Wo shi ao da li ya ren. Qing wen, Nin gui xing?
Balraj: Wo xing (my surname), jiao Bally (my surname). Ni Ne?
Karl: Wo jiao Karl
Balraj: Ni Shi daxuesheng ma?
Karl: Shi, wo shi shini daxuesheng. Ni ne?
Balraj: Wo ye shi shinee daxuesheng

Sydney is Xi ni not shi ni.

Karl: Ni jia you ji kou ren?

Ni jia you ji ge ren? and Ni jia you ji kou ren? are both fine but you might actually be better off saying Ni jia li dou you shei?.

Balraj: Wo Jiao you Liu kou ren.. Wo baba, wo mama, liang ge jiejie, wo didi he wo.. Karl, Ni jia you ji kou ren?
Karl: Wo jia you wu kou ren. Wo baba, wo mama, liang ge meimei he wo.
Balraj: Ni baba, mama zuo shenme gongzuo?

This is fine but, more colloquially you might actually say Ni maba zuo sha ne?

Karl: Wo mama, baba dou shi yisheng, meimei shi gaozhong he (not sure which year your sister is in Karl!) , and the other sister is in primary school. (?not sure how to translate this bit) Ni baba, mama ne?

Wo de mama he baba liang'r ren dou shi yisheng. Wo de mei mei yi ge shang gao zhong ling yi ge zai xiao xue li. Ni de maba ne?

Balraj: Wo baba shi laoshi, mama shi Hu shi (nurse I think :tick
Karl: Ni Zhoumo xihuan zuo shenme?
Balraj:Wo xihuan da qiu, gou wu. Xiang bu xiang qu gao wu ?

Not sure what you mean by gou/gao wu - I'm not used to reading pinyin, only characters!

Karl: Wo bu xihaun gou wu. Wo juede qu gao wu keshi wo xihuan qu da qiu. Ni xihuan kan dianying ma?

Not sure what you are trying to say but if you meant to say: "I was going to go and 'gao wu' but I actually like to play football." That would be: Wo yuan lai da suan qu 'gao wu' ke shi wo geng xi huan ti zu qiu.

Balraj: Wo hao xihuan kan dianying. Ni xihuan chi zhongguo fan haishi meiguofan?
Karl: Wo Shi ao da lu ya ren haishi , wo xihaun chi zhongguo fan.

Nearly correct: Sui ran wo shi ao da li ya ren, wo hai shi xi huan chi zhong guo fan.

Balraj: Zhege zhoumo chi zhonguo fan nan ho (??) kan mei guo dianying

nan ho => rang hou. Would be more coloquially, but probably a bit over the top to say: Zhe ge zhou muo wo da suan chi duan zhong can rang hao kan yi bu mei guo dian ying.

Karl: Tai hao le! Xingqiwu wanshang, qi dianzhong. Zenmeyang?
Balraj: Wo Xingqiwu wanshang, qi dianzhong hen mang. Wo you shi. (or can use wo you shi yao zhou – which means, I have matters to attend to)
Karl: Xingqiji ji dianzhong?

There is no xing qi ji. It's either xing qi ri or xing qi tian.

Balraj: Xingqiren wanshang, liu dian ban, zenmeyang?
Karl: Hao, Xingqiren liu dian ban, jian.

Just had a though did you want to say dance when you wrote 'gou/gao wu'- if you did, it should be tiao wu.

Reply 3

ukgea

I'll give it a shot, though often it's hard to see what you mean simply because reading pinyin hurts. :p:

Karl: Ni Hao.
Balraj: Ni Hao.
Karl: Qing Wen, Ni shi Zhong guo ren?
Balraj: Shi, wo Shi zhonguoren. Wo ni shi ao da li ya ren?
Karl: Shi, Wo shi ao da li ya ren. Qing wen, Nin gui xing?
Balraj: Wo xing (my surname), jiao Bally (my surname). Ni Ne?
Karl: Wo jiao Karl
Balraj: Wo Ni Shi daxuesheng ma?
Karl: Shi, wo shi shini daxuesheng. Ni ne?
Balraj: Wo ye shi shinee dauxesheng

Not sure what you mean by 'shini'/'shinee'. Removing that entirely, i.e. 'Wo ye shi shi dauxesheng' should work, but maybe you were trying to say something else?

Karl: Ni jia you jige kou ren?

Kou is the correct thing, though I gather this is, obviously, a rather informal conversation in speech, in which case just saying ge is not unheard of, and might pass unnoticed if you say it quickly :wink:

. Same below.

Balraj: Wo Jiao you Liu ~~ji ge~~ kou ren.. Wo baba, wo mama, liang ge jiejie, wo didi he wo.. Karl, Ni jia you jige kou ren?

Ji ge means how many, used in a question.

Karl: Wo jia you wu ~~jige~~ kou ren. Wo baba, wo mama, liang ge meimei he wo.
Balraj: Ni baba, mama shi zuo shenme de?
Karl: Wo mama, baba dou shi yisheng, meimei shi gaozhong he (not sure which year your sister is in Karl!) , and the other sister is in primary school. (?not sure how to translate this bit) Ni baba, mama shi zuo shenme de?

Not really sure what you're trying to say, but for "one of my (younger) sisters is in 'upper secondary school' [or whatever you intend it to mean], and the other is in primary school" I would say
'wo de mei mei yi ge shi gao zhong sheng, yi ge shi xiao xue sheng'

or

'wo da mei shi gao zhong sheng, wo er mei shi xiao xue sheng' (this assumes that the one in primary school is younger than the one in secondary, and that Karl is male, all valid assumptions, I hope :p:

)

or

'wo yi ge mei mei shang gao zhong, ling yi ge shang xiao xue'

or something to that effect

Balraj: Wo baba shi laoshi, mama shi Hu shi (nurse I think)

Yes that's correct.

Karl: Ni Zhoumo xihuan zuo shenme?
Balraj:Wo xihuan da qiu, gou wu. Xiang bu xiang qu ~~gao~~ gou wu?

I think this varies alot by dialect, but to me gou wu sounds way more formal than the general tone of this conversation. I would say 'guang jie', '逛街', instead, though that doesn't mean exactly the same thing. Same below, though I didn't bother changing it.

Karl: Wo bu xi~~haun~~ huan gou wu. Wo juede qu ~~gao~~ gou wu [surely you mean to say something else here, like why Karl doesn't like shopping? otherwise I don't know what you mean] ~~keshi~~ bu guo wo xihuan qu da qiu. Wo xihuan Ni xihuan kan dianying?

Not sure how to explain it, but in my ears, 'bu guo' sounds better here. I think the distinction is like the distinction between 'but' and 'though' in english.

Balraj: Wo hao xihuan kan dianying. Ni xihuan chi zhongguo fan haishi mei~~gio~~guofan? ?

I assume you mean american food here.

Karl: Wo Shi ao da luli ya ren ~~haishi ,~~[color="red"], ke shi[/color wo xi~~haun~~huan chi zhongguo fan.

I assume you wanted to say 'I am Australian, but I prefer Chinese food'.

Balraj: Zhege zhoumo chi zhonguo fan ~~nan~~ran hohou kan mei guo dianying, hao me?
Karl: TaTai hao le! Xingqiwu wanshang, qi dianzhong. Zenmeyang?
Balraj: Wo Xingqiwu wanshang, qi dianzhong hen mang. Wo you shi. (or can use wo you shi yao zhou – which means, I have matters to attend to)

I actually think either is a tautology, when you've already said that you're busy, you don't repeat that by saying that you have matters to attend to, do you? :p:

Karl: Xingqiji ji dianzhong?

I assume you mean, 'then when can we go?' or something like that, which would be 'na me, xing qi ji ji dian zhong ke yi?'

Balraj: Xingqi~~ren~~ri wanshang, liu dian ban, zenmeyang
Karl: Hao, Xingqi~~ren~~ri liu dian ban, jian.

Generally, pinyin aside, it's definitely intelligible. Otherwise, I agree with what's been said by the above two posters.

Oh and one more thing, if the interest of Balraj you referred to as da qiu is actually football, just as Masiyi says, ti qiu is the right thing to say. 'da' has many many meanings, but they are more or less exclusively associated with using the hands to do something, which obviously doesn't apply to football. :wink:

Reply 4

bally

Thanks everyone for your help. I have made some corrections (left some out since we havent covered those words yet), and hopefully will blitz my oral exam tomorrow!

Thanks again!

Reply 5

Cunning Linguist

你在哪和怎么学中文？

Reply 6

bally

I cant read most of those characters :frown:

Reply 7

Kennychan222

I can read, write CHinese xd!!!

But I mainly listen to and speak Canontese instead of Mandarin Chinese. However, due to personal habit, I don't really use Chinese so much although it is my another native language beside English.

'I am Australian, but I prefer Chinese food'.

I really like Chinese Food because it is healthy but tasteful.....Many westerners like to eat and enjoy it