Difference between revisions of "Expressing "mistakenly think that" with "yiwei""
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| − | *我 <em>以为</em> 他 是 英国 人 。<span class="trans">I thought he is British.</span> | + | *我 <em>以为</em> 他 是 英国 人 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yǐwéi</em> tā shì Yīngguó rén.</span><span class="trans">I thought he is British.</span> |
| − | *你 <em>以为</em> 只 有 你 知道 ？<span class="trans">You think you are the only one who knows?</span> | + | *你 <em>以为</em> 只 有 你 知道 ？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>yǐwéi</em> zhǐ yǒu nǐ zhīdào?</span><span class="trans">You think you are the only one who knows?</span> |
| − | * | + | *我 <em>以为</em> 土豆 就是 红薯 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yǐwéi</em> tǔdòu jiùshì hóngshǔ.</span><span class="trans">I thought potato is sweet potato.</span> |
*你 <em>以为</em> 你 是 老大 吗 ？<span class="trans">Do you think you are the boss here?</span> | *你 <em>以为</em> 你 是 老大 吗 ？<span class="trans">Do you think you are the boss here?</span> | ||
| − | *很多 人 都 <em>以为</em> 我 二十 几 岁 。<span class="trans">Many people thought I'm in my twenties.</span> | + | *很多 人 都 <em>以为</em> 我 二十 几 岁 。<span class="pinyin">Hěn duō rén dōu <em>yǐwéi</em> wǒ èrshí jǐ suì.</span><span class="trans">Many people thought I'm in my twenties.</span> |
*我 <em>以为</em> 你俩 分手 了 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yǐwéi</em> nǐ liǎ fēnshǒu le.</span><span class="trans">I thought you two broke up.</span> | *我 <em>以为</em> 你俩 分手 了 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yǐwéi</em> nǐ liǎ fēnshǒu le.</span><span class="trans">I thought you two broke up.</span> | ||
*我们 都 <em>以为</em> 你 生气 了 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yǐwéi</em> tā de xínglǐ méiyǒu nàme zhòng.</span><span class="trans">I thought her luggage wouldn't be that heavy.</span> | *我们 都 <em>以为</em> 你 生气 了 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yǐwéi</em> tā de xínglǐ méiyǒu nàme zhòng.</span><span class="trans">I thought her luggage wouldn't be that heavy.</span> | ||
*你 <em>以为</em> 全 世界 都 跟 你 一样 有钱 ？ <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>yǐwéi</em> quán shìjiè dōu gēn nǐ yīyàng yǒuqián?</span><span class="trans">You thought .</span> | *你 <em>以为</em> 全 世界 都 跟 你 一样 有钱 ？ <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>yǐwéi</em> quán shìjiè dōu gēn nǐ yīyàng yǒuqián?</span><span class="trans">You thought .</span> | ||
*我 <em>以为</em> 你俩 分手 了 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yǐwéi</em> nǐ liǎ fēnshǒu le.</span><span class="trans">I thought you two broke up.</span> | *我 <em>以为</em> 你俩 分手 了 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yǐwéi</em> nǐ liǎ fēnshǒu le.</span><span class="trans">I thought you two broke up.</span> | ||
| + | *你 这样 说 让 我 <em>以为</em> 你 不 想 来 。<span class="trans">The way you talked made me think that you don't want to come.</span> | ||
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Revision as of 08:43, 30 August 2017
We often have mistaken beliefs about various topics. With this article, we learn how to express them in Chinese!
Structure
In English, the verb "to think" can imply that the belief is incorrect, e.g. in "I thought it was legal here." Chinese has a specific verb for this kind of mistaken belief: 以为 (yǐwéi). Literally these two characters mean "take to be," i.e. someone takes one thing to be something else.
Subj. + 以为 ⋯⋯
The phrase will be a whole new statement that is actually incorrect.
Examples
- 我 以为 他 是 英国 人 。I thought he is British.
- 你 以为 只 有 你 知道 ？You think you are the only one who knows?
- 我 以为 土豆 就是 红薯 。I thought potato is sweet potato.
- 你 以为 你 是 老大 吗 ？Do you think you are the boss here?
- 很多 人 都 以为 我 二十 几 岁 。Many people thought I'm in my twenties.
- 我 以为 你俩 分手 了 。I thought you two broke up.
- 我们 都 以为 你 生气 了 。I thought her luggage wouldn't be that heavy.
- 你 以为 全 世界 都 跟 你 一样 有钱 ？ You thought .
- 我 以为 你俩 分手 了 。I thought you two broke up.
- 你 这样 说 让 我 以为 你 不 想 来 。The way you talked made me think that you don't want to come.
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- Short-term Spoken Chinese: Elementary (汉语口语速成基础篇) (pp. 106) →buy
- Contemporary Chinese 4 (当代中文4) (pp. 31) →buy
