第六十四天

[nnozomi]

when we're 六十四...

Administrative notes:
As suggested, for a while I will be offering a grammar point (we're up to A2 or so) and a vocabulary word (from the new HSK level 1 list) daily! Please feel free to use either or both (or neither) for your own practice as preferred.
Also I have created a sticky post (let me know if anything in it seems wrong or weird) and found a neat new idiom for the top-of-journal slogan (ditto).

语法 (grammar)
"about the same" with 差不多
https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Approximations_with_%22chabuduo%22

Let's stick to the first meaning (差不多 as predicate, just X and Y are about the same thing) for today.

词汇 (vocabulary) (I think)
爱好, hobby

Guardian:
这还差不多, that's about it
这地星人也是人。这审美和品位也都差不多嘛。(Dixingren, not so different from the rest of us).

My practice:
我和我老公的眼睛颜色差不多。
我们的三月，你们的五月的温度差不多。
他有很多爱好。

Comments

[profiterole_reads]

Hi! Now that you're doing beginner vocab, I'm interested (even though I should focus on my Korean, lol), but won't there be any pinyin?

[presumenothing]

我的爱好是睡觉。相信这方面，大家和我的意见差不多吧～

ETA: Also I'm so used to hearing that proverb as 三人行，必有我师焉 as in the original text, but now I'm staring at the 焉 like… I have no idea what it's doing there at all XD then again I don't know what it does in 心不在焉 either, so.

[grayswandir]

You made me curious about this, because I've never really bothered to learn what 焉 means, and it looks like Baidu has an explanation for the usage here:

焉：是兼词“于之”的意思，翻译为“在其中”。翻译：“几个爱好相同的人一起行走，其中必定有人可以是值得我效仿的人。”指应该不耻下问，虚心向别人学习。

So I guess "where there is a group of people, there must by my teacher therein," basically?

Unfortunately, Baidu isn't helping me figure out what 焉 means in the proverb I know it from, 知错能改，善莫大焉. My best guess would be the usage that Wiktionary describes as a "final modal particle, used to show a particular state or express affirmation, doubt or exclamation"? But that seems like a lot of possibly contradictory meanings! Affirmation or doubt???

(I think the only other place I've seen 焉 so far is in 不入虎穴焉得虎子, but that usage at least seems to clearly be as a question, "how." Another character that can mean so many different things!)

[nnozomi]

Hello, glad to see you here! I will try to put in pinyin for the grammar and vocabulary points but it may fall by the wayside depending on how much in a hurry I am... ;) In the meantime, you can definitely follow the links for each one to find pinyin there.

[elenothar]

Hmm, looking through the grammar wiki's examples, I'm now wondering about when to use 跟 vs 和 when there are several subjects - the examples they use look structurally similar to me?

[presumenothing]

跟 feels more colloquial than 和, but otherwise I think they're essentially interchangeable in this context? (the context being that the two things being compared are of equal standing, and not subordinate/directional etc)

[elenothar]

Thank you!

... because I'm immediately nosy, if it's not a huge question - what do you use when it is directional?

[presumenothing]

Ah, archaic-Chinese-usages-only-preserved-in-idioms, our unbeloved…

由此观之，“焉”究竟是什么，还有待进一步研究。

Thanks for the immensely clarifying note, Baidu >_> that usage table is literally just everything and multiple kitchen sinks. Though the most similar one to 善莫大焉 seems to be the 语气词 one, which I guess is what Wiktionary was trying to express…??

[presumenothing]

跟 as in 请跟我来 has an arrow implied, so you can't switch it with 和 in such usages. (In my head that's related to how 跟随、跟踪 etc are also non-equal between the actor and the… actee…? there are probably actual words for this)

[grayswandir]

That table is... something all right. o_o

由此观之，“焉”究竟是什么，还有待进一步研究。

XDDD

[nnozomi]

Tempted now to reply to all questions I'm not sure of with 还有待进一步研究 ;)

[nnozomi]

As you probably saw the wiki also has this page: https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22with%22_with_%22gen%22#Where_.E5.92.8C_.28h.C3.A9.29_and_.E8.B7.9F_.28g.C4.93n.29_Differ (basically what presumenothing said, just chiming in)

[nnozomi]

我的爱好是睡觉。相信这方面，大家和我的意见差不多吧～
这也差不多：）

Also I'm so used to hearing that proverb as 三人行，必有我师焉 as in the original text, but now I'm staring at the 焉 like… I have no idea what it's doing there at all
oh dear, this one is absolutely new to me, and is going to stay that way until I have, like, another three years of Chinese under my belt! I dived bravely into Baidu and it looks like they think 焉 is in the original text but not in the proverb? but understanding why that works is beyond me. Reading you guys' conversation above with interest, though.

[profiterole_reads]

Ah, I see that you've added a vocab link in the new post. Thanks for that, I've joined the comm. (I know that it's not necessarily about Guardian, but I'm actually watching Guardian right now.)

[elenothar]

Oh right, I was vaguely aware of that relation, yes. Thanks!

[nnozomi]

(I know that it's not necessarily about Guardian, but I'm actually watching Guardian right now.)
I hope you're enjoying it! :)

[profiterole_reads]

Very much so! <3

[presumenothing]

it looks like they think 焉 is in the original text but not in the proverb

I've always heard 焉 included even the standalone proverb version (though it seems like either works), but yes, 焉 is in the original Confucian quote from 论语: "三人行，必有我师焉；择其善者而从之，其不善者而改之。"

Or roughly, "In a line of three*, there must be someone I can follow the example of; to learn from their merits, and to self-reflect on their faults."

Also went to look it up for kicks and seems like 必有我师焉 = 必ず我が師有り, which does make sense – 有り matches the "therein" meaning of 焉 grayswandir mentioned in the other comment.

* though, as Baidu notes, the number is really just rhetorical for "many"

[nnozomi]

谢谢说明！Maybe I'll add (焉) to the tagline. (If I can get over the association with 终焉...)

有り matches the "therein" meaning of 焉 grayswandir mentioned in the other comment.
Ah okay, between you and grayswandir this is starting to make sense to me.

* though, as Baidu notes, the number is really just rhetorical for "many
I like it this way! Given the ever-fluctuating number of commenters around here.