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吃宵夜
(吃)(宵夜)
(ㄔ)(ㄒㄧㄠ ㄧㄝˋ)
(chī)(xiāo yè)
(to eat) (midnight snack)❾
Eat a midnight snack.
First, some vocabulary that is used in the sentences:
生字，生詞
ㄕㄥ ㄗˋ, ㄕㄥ ㄘˊ
(shēng zì), (shēng cí)
new character, new word
________________________________________________
宵夜
ㄒㄧㄠ ㄧㄝˋ
xiāo yè
dark/night/evening + night/a night trip = midnight or late night snack
嘗試
ㄔㄤˊ ㄕˋ
cháng shì
to try, to attempt
睡覺
ㄕㄨㄟˋ ㄐㄧㄠˋ
shuì jiào
sleep + conscious = to sleep, to go to bed
肚子
ㄉㄨˋ ㄗ˙
dù zi.
belly, stomach, abdomen
需要
ㄒㄩ ㄧㄠˋ
xū yào
to want, to demand, to require, need
找出
ㄓㄠˇ ㄔㄨ
zhǎo chū
to find, to search out
偷偷摸摸地
ㄊㄡ ㄊㄡ ㄇㄛ ㄇㄛ ㄉㄜ˙
tōu tōu mō mō de.
(to steal, thief)x2 (gently touch with hand)x2 (-ly)
stealthily, sneakily, surreptitiously
起床
ㄑㄧˇ ㄔㄨㄤˊ
qǐ chuáng
to get out of bed, to get up
大概
ㄉㄚˋ ㄍㄞˋ
dà gài
roughly, probably
偷
ㄊㄡ
tōu
to steal, to snatch
跳舞
ㄊㄧㄠˋ ㄨˇ
tiào wǔ
to dance
直到
ㄓˊ ㄉㄠˋ
zhí dào
until, straight up to
半夜
ㄅㄢˋ ㄧㄝˋ
bàn yè
midnight, middle of the night
常常
ㄔㄤˊ ㄔㄤˊ
cháng cháng
frequently, often, usually
薯條
ㄕㄨˇ ㄊㄧㄠˊ
shǔ tiáo
potato + string = French fries
顧客
ㄍㄨˋ ㄎㄜˋ
gù kè
to look after + guest, customer = client, customer
總是
ㄗㄨㄥˇ ㄕˋ
zǒng shì
always
點心
ㄉㄧㄢˇ ㄒㄧㄣ
diǎn xīn
snack, light refreshment
隨時
ㄙㄨㄟˊ ㄕˊ
suí shí
at any time, at all times
準備好
ㄓㄨㄣˇ ㄅㄟˋ ㄏㄠˇ
zhǔn bèi hǎo
to prepare + complete = good and ready
賣
ㄇㄞˋ
mài
to sell
Now for my little story:
It is something that is hard to ignore.
有時候我嘗試睡覺， 可是我的肚子在叫！
(有時候)(我)(嘗試)(睡覺)，(可是)(我的)(肚子)[(在)(叫)]
(ㄧㄡˇ ㄕˊ ㄏㄡˋ)(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄔㄤˊ ㄕˋ)(ㄕㄨㄟˋ ㄐㄧㄠˋ), (ㄎㄜˇ ㄕˋ)(ㄨㄛˇ ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄉㄨˋ ㄗ˙)[(ㄗㄞˋ)(ㄐㄧㄠˋ)]
(yǒu shí hòu)(wǒ)(cháng shì)(shuì jiào), (kě shì)(wǒ de.)(dù zi.)[(zài)(jiào]
(sometimes)(I)(attempt to)(to sleep), (but)(my)(stomach)[(-ing)(shout, cry, call)]
Sometimes when I try to sleep, but my stomach is yelling.
There is only one solution if I want to sleep.
我需要找出一些宵夜來吃。
(我)(需要)(找出)(一些)(宵夜)(來)(吃)
(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄒㄩ ㄧㄠˋ)(ㄓㄠˇ ㄔㄨ)(ㄧˊ ㄒㄧㄝ)(ㄒㄧㄠ ㄧㄝˋ)(ㄌㄞˊ)(ㄔ)
(wǒ)(xū yào)(zhǎo chū)(yí xiē)(xiāo yè)(lái)(chī)
(I)(must)(find out)(some)(midnight snack)(to come)(to eat)
I must find a midnight snack.❶
It isn’t necessarily easy.
因為老公在睡覺，我得偷偷摸摸地起床。
(因為)(老公)[(在)(睡覺)，(我)(得)[(偷偷摸摸)(地)](起床)
(ㄧㄣ ㄨㄟˋ)(ㄌㄠˇ ㄍㄨㄥ)[(ㄗㄞˋ)(ㄕㄨㄟˋ ㄐㄧㄠˋ)], (ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄉㄟˇ)[(ㄊㄡ ㄊㄡ ㄇㄛ ㄇㄛ)(ㄉㄜ˙)](ㄑㄧˇ ㄔㄨㄤˊ)
(yīn wèi)(lǎo gōng)[(zài)(shuì jiào)], (wǒ)(děi)[(tōu tōu mō mō)(de.)](qǐ chuáng)
(because)(old man)❷ [(-ing)(to sleep)], (I)(must)[(stealth)(ily)](get out of bed)
Because my husband is sleeping, I must sneak out of bed.
It is like I am a little child again.
大概每個孩子都偷吃過東西。。。
(大概)(每個)(孩子)(都)❸(偷吃)(過)(東西)
(ㄉㄚˋ ㄍㄞˋ)(ㄇㄟˊ ㄍㄜ˙)(ㄏㄞˊ ㄗ˙)(ㄉㄡ)(ㄊㄡ ㄔ)(ㄍㄨㄛˋ)(ㄉㄨㄥ ㄒㄧ)
(dà gài)(měi ge.)(hái zi.)(dōu)(tōu chī)(guò)(dōng xī)
(most probably)(every)(child)(all)(sneak food)❹ (indicating past tense of previous verb)(things)
Probably every child has snuck something to eat….
Sometimes, I am not trying to sleep.
有時候我們跳舞直到半夜。
(有時候)(我們)(跳舞)(直)(到)(半夜)
(ㄧㄡˇ ㄕˊ ㄏㄡˋ)(ㄨㄛˇ ㄇㄣ˙)(ㄊㄧㄠˋ ㄨˇ)[(ㄓˊ)(ㄉㄠˋ)](ㄅㄢˋ ㄧㄝˋ)
(yǒu shí hòu)(wǒ men.)(tiào wǔ)[(zhí)(dào)](bàn yè)
(sometimes)(we)(to dance)[(straight) + (to arrive) = until, up to](in the middle of the night)
Sometimes we dance until midnight.
That uses a lot of calories.
常常跳舞以後我們去麥當勞買薯條。
(常常)(跳舞)(以後)❺(我們)(去)(麥當勞)❻(買)(薯條)
(ㄔㄤˊ ㄔㄤˊ)(ㄊㄧㄠˊ ㄨˇ)(ㄧˇ ㄏㄡˋ)(ㄨㄛˇ ㄇㄣ˙)(ㄑㄩˋ)(ㄇㄞˋㄉㄤˋ ㄌㄠˊ)(ㄇㄞˇ)(ㄕㄨˇ ㄊㄧㄠˊ)
(cháng cháng)(tiào wǔ)(yǐ hòu)(wǒ men.)(qù)(mài dāng láo)(mǎi)(shǔ tiáo)
(often)(to dance)(after)(we)(to go)(McDonalds)(to buy)(potato strips)
Often after dancing, we go to McDonalds to by French fries.
When I order, they never ask me,
「為甚麼你們這麼晚吃！？」
(為甚麼)(你們)(這麼)(晚)(吃)
(ㄨㄟˋ ㄕㄣˊ ㄇㄜ˙)(ㄋㄧˇ ㄇㄣ˙)(ㄓㄜˋ ㄇㄜ˙)(ㄨㄢˇ)(ㄔ)
(wèi shén me.)(nǐ men.)(zhè me.)(wǎn)(chī)
(why, for what reason)(you all)(this)(late)(to eat)
“Why are you eating this late?”
For some reason,
我覺得半夜的時候吃薯條最好吃！
(我)(覺得)(半夜)(的時侯)(吃)(薯條)(最)(好吃)
(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄐㄩㄝˊ ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄅㄢˋ ㄧㄝˋ)(ㄉㄜ˙ㄕˊ ㄏㄡˋ)(ㄔ)(ㄕㄨˇ ㄊㄧㄠˊ)(ㄗㄨㄟˋ)(ㄏㄠˇ ㄔ)
(wǒ)(jué de.)(bàn yè)(de. shí hòu)(chī)(shǔ tiáo)(zuì)(hǎo chī)
(I)(think, feel)(midnight)(when)(to eat)(French fries)(most)(delicious)
I think that French fries eaten at midnight are the most delicious.
I think McDonald’s has the right idea.
顧客總是對的。
(顧客)(總是)[(對)(的)]
(ㄍㄨˋ ㄎㄜˋ)(ㄗㄨㄥˇ ㄕˋ)[(ㄉㄨㄟˋ)(ㄉㄜ˙)]
(gù kè)(zǒng shì)[(duì)(de.)]
(customer)(always)[(correct)(adjective marker)]
The customer is always right.
Their job is to be ready.
如果顧客需要點心，總是隨時準備好可以賣給顧客。
(如果)(顧客)(需要)(點心)❼，
…..(總是)(隨時)(準備好)(可以)(賣)(給)❽(顧客)
(ㄖㄨˊ ㄍㄨㄛˇ)(ㄍㄨˋ ㄎㄜˋ)(ㄒㄩ ㄧㄠˋ)(ㄉㄧㄢˇ ㄒㄧㄣ),
……(ㄗㄨㄥˇ ㄕˋ)(ㄙㄨㄟˊ ㄕˊ)(ㄓㄨㄣˇ ㄅㄟˋ ㄏㄠˇ)(ㄎㄜˇ ㄧˇ)(ㄇㄞˋ)( ㄍㄟˇ)(ㄍㄨˋ ㄎㄜˋ)
(rú2 guǒ)(gù kè)(xū yào)(diǎn xīn),
……(zǒng shì)(suí shí)(zhǔn bèi hǎo)(kě yǐ)(mài)(gěi)(gù kè)
(if) (customer) (want) (snack),
……(always) (at all times) (good and ready) (able) (to sell) (to give) (customer)
If the customer wants a snack, always be ready at any time to sell it to the customer.
Notes :
❶ In English, most of us think that saying we are going to find a midnight snack implies eating it, too, but apparently the structure of Chinese needs the additional confirmation that the plan is to eat it when found.
❷ (read here for a lesson in How to Talk About Your Husband in Chinese)
❸ Even though “every” has already been specified, it is common in Chinese to add the 都 ㄉㄡ (dōu) “all” for emphasis.
❹ Yes, in Chinese, there is a specific word that means “to sneak food.”
❺ After a while, you start to get used to the fact that positional words come after the noun or verb involved.
❻ One of the more difficult things for me in Chinese is the lack of capitalization, due to the nature of the written characters, to designate proper names.
❼ The Chinese word for “midnight snack” is very specific, 宵夜 ㄒㄧㄠ ㄧㄝˋ (xiāo yè), which literally means “to need or take in the darkness of night.” However, if you want a snack at other times of day, the word 點心 ㄉㄧㄢˇ ㄒㄧㄣ (diǎn xīn) is used, which is like saying “a little something to help you take heart.”
❽ The first time I wrote this sentence, I only used the 賣 ㄇㄞˋ (mài) “to sell”, and didn’t use the 給ㄍㄟˇ (gěi) “to give,” but instructed that without the adding the 給 ㄍㄟˇ (gěi) after the 賣ㄇㄞˋ (mài), one is speaking of “selling the customer”, not “selling TO the customer.” Oops.
❾ The Chinese 宵夜 ㄒㄧㄠ ㄧㄝˋ (xiāo yè) can be translated either “late night” or “midnight,” really meaning any snack that is well after normal evening meal times.
