Difference between revisions of "Potential complement "-bu dong" for not understanding"

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* 你们 <strong>听</strong> <em>不 懂</em> 我 的 话 吗?<span class="expl">Literally: hear-not-understand</span><span class="pinyin">Nǐmen <strong>tīng</strong> <em>bù dǒng</em> wǒ de huà ma?</span> <span class="trans">Do you not understand what I say?</span>
 
* 你们 <strong>听</strong> <em>不 懂</em> 我 的 话 吗?<span class="expl">Literally: hear-not-understand</span><span class="pinyin">Nǐmen <strong>tīng</strong> <em>bù dǒng</em> wǒ de huà ma?</span> <span class="trans">Do you not understand what I say?</span>
 
* 我 <strong>听</strong> <em>不 懂</em> 你 说 的 英语。 <span class="expl">Literally: hear-not-understand</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>tīng</strong> <em>bù dǒng</em> nǐ shuō de Yīngyǔ.</span> <span class="trans">I don't understand your English.</span>
 
* 我 <strong>听</strong> <em>不 懂</em> 你 说 的 英语。 <span class="expl">Literally: hear-not-understand</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>tīng</strong> <em>bù dǒng</em> nǐ shuō de Yīngyǔ.</span> <span class="trans">I don't understand your English.</span>
* 我们 都 <strong>听</strong> <em>不 懂</em> 你 的 意思。 <span class="expl">Literally: hear-not-understand</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒmen dōu<strong>tīng</strong> <em>bù dǒng</em> nǐ de yìsi.</span> <span class="trans">None of us understand what you mean.</span>
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* 我们 都 <strong>听</strong> <em>不 懂</em> 你 的 意思。 <span class="expl">Literally: hear-not-understand</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒmen dōu <strong>tīng</strong> <em>bù dǒng</em> nǐ de yìsi.</span> <span class="trans">None of us understand what you mean.</span>
 
* 很 多 人 <strong>读</strong> <em>不懂</em> 这 本 书 。 <span class="expl">Literally: read-not-understand</span><span class="pinyin">Hěn duō rén <strong> dú </strong> <em>bù dǒng</em> zhè běn shū.</span> <span class="trans">Many people don't understand this book.</span>
 
* 很 多 人 <strong>读</strong> <em>不懂</em> 这 本 书 。 <span class="expl">Literally: read-not-understand</span><span class="pinyin">Hěn duō rén <strong> dú </strong> <em>bù dǒng</em> zhè běn shū.</span> <span class="trans">Many people don't understand this book.</span>
 
* 这 个 句子 很 难, 学生们 都 <strong>读</strong> <em>不 懂</em>。 <span class="expl">Literally: read-not-understand</span><span class="pinyin">Zhège jùzi hěn nán, xuéshengmen dōu <strong> dú </strong> <em>bù dǒng</em>.</span> <span class="trans">This sentence is very difficult. None of the students understand.</span>
 
* 这 个 句子 很 难, 学生们 都 <strong>读</strong> <em>不 懂</em>。 <span class="expl">Literally: read-not-understand</span><span class="pinyin">Zhège jùzi hěn nán, xuéshengmen dōu <strong> dú </strong> <em>bù dǒng</em>.</span> <span class="trans">This sentence is very difficult. None of the students understand.</span>

Revision as of 20:45, 1 February 2017

Chinese learners often have to express that they don't understand something, especially in the beginning when they start learning. One of the ways to express that is to use the 不懂 (bù dǒng) verb complement.

Structure

The potential complement 不懂 (bù dǒng) is used to talk about things that can't be understood. Note that this is about potential - the subject doesn't have the ability to understand.

Subj. + Verb + 不懂

The 不懂 (bù dǒng) may be swapped out with 不明白 (bù míngbai).

Examples

  • 不 懂 这 本 书。Literally: read-not-understandkàn bù dǒng zhè běn shū. I don't understand the book.
  • 孩子们 不 懂 你 写 的 汉字。Literally: read-not-understandHáizi men kàn bù dǒng nǐ xiě de hànzì. Kids don't understand the characters that you wrote.
  • 不 懂 我 的 邮件 吗?Literally: read-not-understandkàn bù dǒng wǒ de yóujiàn ma? Do you not understand my emails?
  • 老板 的 中文 说 得 很好,可是 他 不 懂 中文 报纸。 Literally: read-not-understandLǎobǎn de Zhōngwén shuō de hěn hǎo, kěshì tā kàn bù dǒng Zhōngwén bàozhǐ. The boss speaks very good Chinese, but he doesn't understand Chinese newspapers.
  • 不 懂 上海话 。 Literally: hear-not-understandtīng bù dǒng Shànghǎi-huà. I don't understand Shanghai dialect.
  • 你们 不 懂 我 的 话 吗?Literally: hear-not-understandNǐmen tīng bù dǒng wǒ de huà ma? Do you not understand what I say?
  • 不 懂 你 说 的 英语。 Literally: hear-not-understandtīng bù dǒng nǐ shuō de Yīngyǔ. I don't understand your English.
  • 我们 都 不 懂 你 的 意思。 Literally: hear-not-understandWǒmen dōu tīng bù dǒng nǐ de yìsi. None of us understand what you mean.
  • 很 多 人 不懂 这 本 书 。 Literally: read-not-understandHěn duō rén bù dǒng zhè běn shū. Many people don't understand this book.
  • 这 个 句子 很 难, 学生们 都 不 懂Literally: read-not-understandZhège jùzi hěn nán, xuéshengmen dōu bù dǒng. This sentence is very difficult. None of the students understand.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites