Difference between revisions of "Expressing "no wonder""
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Here 难怪 is used to convey the speaker's lack of amazement at a situation, having recently acquired some new information that in his opinion explains it. It is used in much the same way as 怪不得, which can replace 难怪 in the structure without altering its meaning. | Here 难怪 is used to convey the speaker's lack of amazement at a situation, having recently acquired some new information that in his opinion explains it. It is used in much the same way as 怪不得, which can replace 难怪 in the structure without altering its meaning. | ||
| − | === | + | === Structure === |
<div class="jiegou"> | <div class="jiegou"> | ||
| − | + | Reason ，难怪 / 怪不得 + Observation | |
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</div> | </div> | ||
| − | + | or | |
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<div class="jiegou"> | <div class="jiegou"> | ||
| − | + | 难怪 / 怪不得 + [Observation]，原来 + Reason | |
| − | 难怪 / 怪不得 + [Observation]，原来 + | ||
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</div> | </div> | ||
| − | === | + | === Examples === |
<div class="liju"> | <div class="liju"> | ||
| − | * <em>难怪</em> | + | *小张 请假 了，<em>难怪</em> 今天 没有 看到 他 。<span class="pinyin">Xiǎo Zhāng qǐngjià le, <em>nánguài</em> jīntiān méiyǒu kàndào tā.</span><span class="trans">Little Zhang asked for some vacation time, no wonder I haven't seen him today.</span> |
| − | * <em>难怪</em> | + | *老板 过年 要 发 红包 ，<em>难怪</em> 大家 最近 都 这么 开心 。<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn guònián yào fā hóngbāo, <em>nánguài</em> dàjiā zuìjìn dōu zhème kāixīn.</span><span class="trans"> Boss is going to give out red envelopes. No wonder everyone looks so happy recently.</span> |
| − | * <em>难怪</em> | + | *你 的 手机 丢了 ？<em>难怪</em> 你的 手机 一直 打不通 。<span class="pinyin"> Nǐ de shǒujī diūle? <em>Nánguài</em> nǐ de shǒujī yīzhí dǎ butōng .</span><span class="trans"> Your cell phone is lost? No wonder I couldn't get through.</span> |
| − | * <em>难怪</em> | + | *<em>难怪</em> 这里 人 这么 多，原来 在 打折 。<span class="pinyin"><em>Nánguài</em> zhèlǐ rén zhème duō, yuánlái zài dǎzhé.</span><span class="trans">No wonder there are so many people here. There's a sale going on.</span> |
| − | * <em>难怪</em> | + | *<em>难怪</em> 他 没 告诉 我，原来 是 不 想 让 我 担心 。<span class="pinyin"><em>Nánguài</em> tā méi gàosu wǒ. Yuánlái shì bù xiǎng ràng wǒ dānxīn.</span><span class="trans">No wonder he hasn't told me. It turns out that he doesn't want me to worry about this.</span> |
</div> | </div> | ||
| − | == 难怪 as " | + | == 难怪 as "Is Not to Be Blamed" == |
This one is definitely less common, but sometimes 难怪 is a combination of the [[Difficult to do something|难 + Verb]] pattern and the verb 怪, meaning "to blame." In this case, the meaning is totally different. Although it's not as common and you shouldn't need to worry about it too much, we include it here because if you ever run into and think that 难怪 can only ever have one meaning, it can totally throw you for a loop. | This one is definitely less common, but sometimes 难怪 is a combination of the [[Difficult to do something|难 + Verb]] pattern and the verb 怪, meaning "to blame." In this case, the meaning is totally different. Although it's not as common and you shouldn't need to worry about it too much, we include it here because if you ever run into and think that 难怪 can only ever have one meaning, it can totally throw you for a loop. | ||
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=== Structure === | === Structure === | ||
<div class="jiegou"> | <div class="jiegou"> | ||
| − | + | (这也 +) 难怪 + [Specific Person / People] | |
| − | (这也 +) 难怪 + [Specific Person/People] | ||
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</div> | </div> | ||
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<div class="liju"> | <div class="liju"> | ||
| − | * 这也 <em>难怪</em> 他，还 是 个 孩子 呢，什么 都 不 懂。<span class="pinyin"> Zhè yě <em>nánguài</em> tā, háishì gè háizi ne, shénme dōu bù dǒng.</span><span class="trans">Don't blame him. He's just a kid. He doesn't know better.</span> | + | *这也 <em>难怪</em> 他，还 是 个 孩子 呢，什么 都 不 懂。<span class="pinyin"> Zhè yě <em>nánguài</em> tā, háishì gè háizi ne, shénme dōu bù dǒng.</span><span class="trans">Don't blame him. He's just a kid. He doesn't know better.</span> |
| − | * 这也 <em>难怪</em> 你，他 昨天 才 给 你 回复。<span class="pinyin"> Zhè yě <em>nánguài</em> nǐ, tā zuótiān cái gěi nǐ huífù.</span><span class="trans">Don't blame yourself. He just replied to you yesterday.</span> | + | *这也 <em>难怪</em> 你，他 昨天 才 给 你 回复。<span class="pinyin"> Zhè yě <em>nánguài</em> nǐ, tā zuótiān cái gěi nǐ huífù.</span><span class="trans">Don't blame yourself. He just replied to you yesterday.</span> |
| − | * 这 也 <em>难怪</em>，你们 第 一 次 到 这 个 地方 还 不 了解 这里 的 风俗。<span class="pinyin">Zhè yě <em>nánguài</em>, nǐmen dì-yī cì dào zhège dìfang hái bù liǎojiě zhèlǐ de fēngsú.</span><span class="trans">Don't blame yourselves. It's your first time here, and you don't understand the customs.</span> | + | *这 也 <em>难怪</em>，你们 第 一 次 到 这 个 地方 还 不 了解 这里 的 风俗。<span class="pinyin">Zhè yě <em>nánguài</em>, nǐmen dì-yī cì dào zhège dìfang hái bù liǎojiě zhèlǐ de fēngsú.</span><span class="trans">Don't blame yourselves. It's your first time here, and you don't understand the customs.</span> |
| − | * A: 他 迟到 了。 B: 这 也 <em>难怪</em>。 今天 地铁 坏 了。<span class="pinyin">A: Tā chídào le. B: Zhè yě <em>nánguài</em>. Jīntiān dìtiě huài le.</span><span class="trans">A: He's late. B: Don't blame him. The subway broke down today | + | *A: 他 迟到 了。 B: 这 也 <em>难怪</em>。 今天 地铁 坏 了。<span class="pinyin">A: Tā chídào le. B: Zhè yě <em>nánguài</em>. Jīntiān dìtiě huài le.</span><span class="trans">A: He's late. B: Don't blame him. The subway broke down today.</span> |
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</div> | </div> | ||
Revision as of 03:27, 7 August 2017
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Keywords
难怪 (nánguài) can be used to express that the speaker finds something unsurprising. It can be used alone or in a variety of different structures, as shown below. 怪不得 (guàibude) is another way to express exactly the same thing, in a slightly more informal way.
Contents
难怪 as "it is not surprising that"
Here 难怪 is used to convey the speaker's lack of amazement at a situation, having recently acquired some new information that in his opinion explains it. It is used in much the same way as 怪不得, which can replace 难怪 in the structure without altering its meaning.
Structure
Reason ，难怪 / 怪不得 + Observation
or
难怪 / 怪不得 + [Observation]，原来 + Reason
Examples
- 小张 请假 了，难怪 今天 没有 看到 他 。Little Zhang asked for some vacation time, no wonder I haven't seen him today.
- 老板 过年 要 发 红包 ，难怪 大家 最近 都 这么 开心 。 Boss is going to give out red envelopes. No wonder everyone looks so happy recently.
- 你 的 手机 丢了 ？难怪 你的 手机 一直 打不通 。 Your cell phone is lost? No wonder I couldn't get through.
- 难怪 这里 人 这么 多，原来 在 打折 。No wonder there are so many people here. There's a sale going on.
- 难怪 他 没 告诉 我，原来 是 不 想 让 我 担心 。No wonder he hasn't told me. It turns out that he doesn't want me to worry about this.
难怪 as "Is Not to Be Blamed"
This one is definitely less common, but sometimes 难怪 is a combination of the 难 + Verb pattern and the verb 怪, meaning "to blame." In this case, the meaning is totally different. Although it's not as common and you shouldn't need to worry about it too much, we include it here because if you ever run into and think that 难怪 can only ever have one meaning, it can totally throw you for a loop.
Structure
(这也 +) 难怪 + [Specific Person / People]
Examples
- 这也 难怪 他，还 是 个 孩子 呢，什么 都 不 懂。Don't blame him. He's just a kid. He doesn't know better.
- 这也 难怪 你，他 昨天 才 给 你 回复。Don't blame yourself. He just replied to you yesterday.
- 这 也 难怪，你们 第 一 次 到 这 个 地方 还 不 了解 这里 的 风俗。Don't blame yourselves. It's your first time here, and you don't understand the customs.
- A: 他 迟到 了。 B: 这 也 难怪。 今天 地铁 坏 了。A: He's late. B: Don't blame him. The subway broke down today.
When used in this way it expresses that the speaker assigns no blame in the situation he is describing. Sometimes the specific person undeserving of blame is mentioned directly after 难怪, as in the first two examples. Often however the context makes clear who this person is and this is not necessary, as in the last three examples.
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (pp. 239) (pp. 408) →buy
- Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (p. 199) →buy
Dictionaries
- 现代汉语词典（第5版） (pp. 499) (pp. 981) →buy
