Lessons 25–26: Deliberately going against, proving, expressing: 偏(偏), 证明, 表达, 表示

Explanation

Structure

1. 1
   偏(要/不)+V | 偏偏+…

   A: deliberately doing something against external demands or the objective situation, with a stronger tone than 却, 反, often used with 要, 不. B (偏偏): the fact is completely contrary to one's subjective wishes.

   • 很多外国人喜欢喝的“黑茶”，汉语偏偏不叫“黑茶”而叫“红茶。”

     Hěn duō wàiguórén xǐhuan hē de “hēichá”, Hànyǔ piānpiān bú jiào “hēichá” ér jiào “hóngchá.”

     The "black tea" that many foreigners like to drink isn't called "black tea" in Chinese; it insists on being called "red tea" (红茶).

   • 爸爸不叫妹妹做什么，她偏做什么。

     Bàba bú jiào mèimei zuò shénme, tā piān zuò shénme.

     Whatever Dad tells my younger sister not to do, she insists on doing.

   • 放寒假了，我们都想去温暖的南方旅行，他偏要去最冷的哈尔滨。

     Fàng hánjià le, wǒmen dōu xiǎng qù wēnnuǎn de nánfāng lǚxíng, tā piān yào qù zuì lěng de Hā'ěrbīn.

     Winter break had begun, and we all wanted to travel to the warm south, but he insisted on going to Harbin, the coldest place.

   • 正要准备出发时，他偏偏病了。

     Zhèng yào zhǔnbèi chūfā shí, tā piānpiān bìng le.

     Just as we were about to set off, he got sick.

   • 这雨早不下晚不下，我们要出门了偏偏下起来了。

     Zhè yǔ zǎo bú xià wǎn bú xià, wǒmen yào chūmén le piānpiān xià qǐlai le.

     It couldn't rain earlier or later, but it had to rain just as we were about to leave the house.

2. 2
   证明 (danh từ) | 证明+N / V / cụm chủ vị

   A (noun): a certificate, a letter of confirmation. B (verb): to prove; takes a noun, verb, or subject-predicate phrase as its object; can take 了, 过.

   • 你说你是这个学校的学生，有什么证明吗？

     Nǐ shuō nǐ shì zhège xuéxiào de xuésheng, yǒu shénme zhèngmíng ma?

     You say you are a student at this school. Do you have any documents to prove it?

   • 心理学家的这些观点是否正确还需要进一步研究和证明。

     Xīnlǐxuéjiā de zhèxiē guāndiǎn shìfǒu zhèngquè hái xūyào jìn yí bù yánjiū hé zhèngmíng.

     Whether these views of the psychologists are correct still needs further research and proof.

   • 到底有没有外星人，还需要进一步证明。

     Dàodǐ yǒu méiyǒu wàixīngrén, hái xūyào jìn yí bù zhèngmíng.

     Whether aliens really exist still needs further proof.

   • 请给我开一个延长签证的证明。

     Qǐng gěi wǒ kāi yí gè yáncháng qiānzhèng de zhèngmíng.

     Please issue me a certificate so that I can extend my visa.

   • 我带着学生证呢，完全可以证明我是留学生。

     Wǒ dàizhe xuéshengzhèng ne, wánquán kěyǐ zhèngmíng wǒ shì liúxuéshēng.

     I have my student ID with me, which can fully prove that I am an international student.

   • 因为没有护照，所以证明不了他是哪国人。

     Yīnwèi méiyǒu hùzhào, suǒyǐ zhèngmíng bu liǎo tā shì nǎ guó rén.

     Because he had no passport, there was no way to prove which country he was from.

3. 3
   表达+tư tưởng / tình cảm / năng lực | 表示+Nnoun

   表达: mainly through speaking and writing, and only a verb. 表示: used in many more ways (speaking, writing, the thing itself, a sign, a color, a look, a behavior or movement...), and can also be a noun.

   • 一路上英台曾多次向山伯暗示自己是个女孩子，表达对山伯恋恋不舍之情。

     Yílù shang Yīngtái céng duō cì xiàng Shānbó ànshì zìjǐ shì ge nǚháizi, biǎodá duì Shānbó liànliàn-bùshě zhī qíng.

     All along the way, Yingtai repeatedly hinted to Shanbo that she was a girl, expressing her reluctance to part from Shanbo.

   • 这篇文章充分表达了作者对家乡的热爱。

     Zhè piān wénzhāng chōngfèn biǎodále zuòzhě duì jiāxiāng de rè'ài.

     This essay fully expresses the author's love for his hometown.

   • 到了短文阶段，要重视培养留学生的成段表达能力。

     Dàole duǎnwén jiēduàn, yào zhòngshì péiyǎng liúxuéshēng de chéng duàn biǎodá nénglì.

     At the short-paragraph stage, we need to value cultivating international students' ability to express themselves in paragraphs.

   • 我现在还不能准确地用汉语表达自己的思想和感情。

     Wǒ xiànzài hái bù néng zhǔnquè de yòng Hànyǔ biǎodá zìjǐ de sīxiǎng hé gǎnqíng.

     I still cannot accurately express my thoughts and feelings in Chinese.

   • 要提高笔头表达能力，就得多读多写。

     Yào tígāo bǐtóu biǎodá nénglì, jiù děi duō dú duō xiě.

     If you want to improve your written expression, you need to read and write more.

   • 绿色表示和平。

     Lǜsè biǎoshì hépíng.

     Green stands for peace.

   • 我送给他一件礼物表示感谢。

     Wǒ sòng gěi tā yí jiàn lǐwù biǎoshì gǎnxiè.

     I gave him a gift to show my gratitude.

   • 这个信物是她爱的表示。

     Zhège xìnwù shì tā ài de biǎoshì.

     This keepsake is an expression of her love.