第一百四十六天

[nnozomi]

（对不起啊，晚点评论回复，我睡懒觉了）

语法
要 + verb for "going to ~" (bottom of page)
https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Auxiliary_verb_%22yao%22_and_its_multiple_meanings

词汇
后, behind/after/later; also 后边, behind; 后天, day after tomorrow (I like this one); 最后, last 后 hòu, behind/after/later; also 后边 hòu biān, behind; 后天 hòu tiān, day after tomorrow; 最后 zuìhòu, last
https://mandarinbean.com/new-hsk-1-word-list/

Guardian:
我问你啊，在小说最后的最后，那个怪物是怎么死的？tell me, at the very end of the novel, how did the monster die?
那我下课之后过来接你, then I'll come and pick you up after class
我要让你明白为自己的家人而牺牲，值！ I'm going to make you understand that sacrificing yourself for your family is worth it!

Me:
今天我要去跟乐团练习，因为要带大乐器所以希望不会下雨了。
不好意思啊，明天我没空，你后天怎么样？

Comments

[trobadora]

I'm kind of unreasonably happy that Chinese has 后天 and 前天, because I always thought it was kind of annoying that English doesn't have words for that. *g*

[nnozomi]

Yes, you have a point! Does German have equivalents? (Japanese does, but oddly enough they're not Chinese cognates, 一昨日 and 明後日).

[trobadora]

That's fascinating about Japanese!

German has "vorgestern" (fore-yesterday, sort of) and "übermorgen" (over-tomorrow). Which helps me remember the Chinese ones because "vor" in the spatial sense is 前. :)

[grayswandir]

Which helps me remember the Chinese ones because "vor" in the spatial sense is 前. :)

That sounds very useful!

I get so confused with 前, coming from English. It feels like it means two exactly opposite things, since I think of the past as something that's behind you. I mean, I do realize the word "before" has these same two opposite meanings -- if you stand "before" something, it's in front of you, but if it happened "before," it's behind you. I get how it makes sense! But since English mostly uses "before" for temporally past things and "in front" for spatially forward things, and we talk about looking "back" on the past and "ahead" to the future, I just can't seem to wrap my head around "in front" and "past" not being opposites. :|

(To be fair, this is not specifically a problem with learning Chinese. I think every other language I've studied has the same word for "in front" and "past," too. It confuses me every time!)

[trobadora]

Oh yeah, I know exactly what you mean, I get turned around the same way! Which is why I need 前 to help me out in the first place. *g*

I think every other language I've studied has the same word for "in front" and "past," too.

Yeah, I wonder why that is! Like you say, we think of the past as behind us and the future in front, and yet! Language is really strange sometimes ...

[nnozomi]

I get so confused with 前, coming from English. It feels like it means two exactly opposite things, since I think of the past as something that's behind you.
You know what, I think I have the same problem only with 后！ Something that's behind you shouldn't be the thing that comes afterward...

[grayswandir]

Yeah, I think both of them are confusing to me. I think of them as "behind" and "in front," so whenever I hear them used for time I have to stop and remember how that works. (It also doesn't help that "future prospects" is 前途. XD Although "consequences" is 后果...)

I have some trouble remembering which way 上/下 work for time, too, though in that case I think I just default to wanting both of them to mean "next/later." I guess "up" and "down" both seem futur-y to me... up ahead, down the road, coming up, somewhere down the line...

[trobadora]

I also have trouble with 上/下 sometimes. Totally agreed that they both sound more future-y. *g*

(Sometimes I have to repeat them in order, 上中下, to remember which is which ...)

[nnozomi]

(It also doesn't help that "future prospects" is 前途. XD Although "consequences" is 后果...)
True! Oh dear, I mostly know "future prospects from the saying 前途多难, which is not exactly propitious. And then there's 后悔...

I guess "up" and "down" both seem futur-y to me... up ahead, down the road, coming up, somewhere down the line...
That's another really good point. I think I have this vague mental picture of 上 past things as up on a shelf behind my left shoulder somewhere, goodness knows where that came from.

[yaaurens]

This whole thread makes me very happy that I'm not the only one struggling with the 前/后 上/下 issue!

[nnozomi]

seriously, we're all in the same boat... I wonder if there are any other languages where it would be intuitive.

[nnozomi]

My brain wants to translate "übermorgen" as something like "ultra-tomorrow," which works for me...

[grayswandir]

Agreed, these are really useful. :D There's even "大后天" and "大前天" if you need to add an additional day!

[trobadora]

Oh, that is very neat, I didn't know that! Do you know if you can add more days, too? In German you can - 前天 is "vorgestern", and 大前天 is "vorvorgestern", and you can stick more "vor"s at the beginning if you need to. Though in practice you don't really hear anything beyond "vorvorgestern". *g*

[grayswandir]

Oh, that's awesome, I did not know that! I've never heard 大后天 with more than one 大, but Google is definitely giving me the impression that you can add however many you want. "大大大后天" has 19,000 results; "大大大大后天" has 887 results, but then... somehow if you add another 大, it goes back up to 2,000 results??? No idea what happened there, but anyway even "大大大大大大大后天" has over 1,000 results. People are clearly having fun with this. XD

[trobadora]

This is delightful, 大大大大大大大后天 is now my new favourite word. :D :D :D

[nnozomi]

There's even "大后天" and "大前天" if you need to add an additional day!
Oh, neat! Much easier to remember than the Japanese equivalents (大后天 would be 四明後日 and I don't even know if there's a word for 大前天). And I love the 大大大大大 option below lol. It sounds like one of those variety-show interview questions, "what will you be doing on 大大大大后天...".

[sakana17]

The Rebel, ep. 20:
别再跟着我否则我要开枪。

[nnozomi]

别再跟着我否则我要开枪。
ow, that's another painful one, and also a good example, there's no way that 要 could be "want"... .

[sakana17]

there's no way that 要 could be "want"... .

No. *sob*

By the way! I came across Wang Shi’an saying 请进. It was in episode 6. Still hunting for scenes for Gu Shenyan. :)

[nnozomi]

*sniff* *查一查* *抽噎*

By the way! I came across Wang Shi’an saying 请进. It was in episode 6. Still hunting for scenes for Gu Shenyan. :)
Ooh, thank you! I knew I had that in my head somewhere. Didn't mean it to be homework for you, sorry...

[sakana17]

Not homework! :) For work & family obligations, I’m traveling for the first time in 2+ years and I brought some episodes of The Rebel with me to distract myself from, uh, everything. I just happened across it.

[nnozomi]

Glad to know it anyway! Hopefully the distractions are working, travel safe.