PMT Advanced #78: Advanced 呢 Patterns

🌀 Pearls of Mandarin: Translation (Advanced) #78

Hello Mandarin Enthusiasts! 🌟

This worksheet you’re reading right now is the 🌳 Advanced version, specifically designed for learners around HSK levels 4–5-6.

If you’re looking for something simpler to practice first, check your inbox for the Easy version or click here!

Last week, we covered the basic uses of 呢. In this week’s CGG #79 lesson, we explored advanced 呢 patterns: using 呢 with ongoing actions to show you’re unavailable, softening choice questions into gentle consultations, and expressing skeptical disbelief with 还...呢.

Today’s translation exercises will help you practice these sophisticated structures in real situations. The more you work with these patterns, the more natural they’ll feel in your everyday Mandarin conversations.

Let’s dive in and make these expressions a solid part of your Mandarin skills!

Recap of CGG #79 lesson

• Using 呢 with ongoing actions: This pattern indicates an action happening right now, with 呢 emphasizing the “at this moment” quality and often implying you’re unavailable for other activities. The 呢 adds crucial contextual subtext that 在 or 正在 alone wouldn’t convey.

• Using 呢 to soften choice questions: A sophisticated way to soften choice questions by adding 呢 after each option. This transforms potentially abrupt either-or questions into gentle, friendly consultations that invite thoughtful consideration rather than demanding quick decisions.

• Using 还...呢 (hái...ne) for skepticism: A sarcastic construction for expressing skeptical disbelief about someone’s claims. Here 还 carries an “even” meaning with incredulity, while 呢 adds the skeptical punch that makes your doubt crystal clear. Perfect for deflating pretentious claims without being outright rude!

🌳 Today’s Advanced Exercises

Translate these English sentences into Mandarin:

1. What a “good friend”! Always talking bad about me behind my back.

2. Should we relocate to Shanghai for career opportunities, or stay here for family?

3. And this is cutting-edge technology? My smartphone from five years ago runs faster!

4. I’m in the middle of a crucial client presentation, so I can’t take any calls right now.

Take your time, and remember: practicing will help you sound more natural and confident in your Mandarin conversations. You’ve got this! 💫

🌳 Translation #1

What a “good friend”! Always talking bad about me behind my back.

Here, we’re expressing skeptical disbelief about someone’s claim to be a good friend, given their contradictory behavior. When you want to sarcastically question someone’s self-proclaimed status or qualities in Mandarin, the 还...呢 structure is perfect because it combines incredulity with pointed irony. The 还 here carries an “even” meaning loaded with disbelief, while 呢 delivers the skeptical punch that makes your doubt unmistakable. It’s a sophisticated way to deflate pretentious claims without being outright rude.

📚 Structure: 还 + [Noun Phrase] + 呢，[Evidence Against the Claim]

Let’s break down the translation step by step:

• 还 (hái) here means “even” with strong incredulity.

  • This isn’t the same 还 (hái) meaning “still” or “also.”

  • It expresses skeptical disbelief about the following noun phrase.

• 好 (hǎo) means “good.”

• 朋友 (péngyou) means “friend.”

• 呢 (ne) adds the sarcastic, skeptical tone.

  • This completes the skeptical construction with 还.

• 天天 (tiāntiān) means “every day.”

  • This intensifies the complaint by showing the behavior is constant.

• 说 (shuō) means “to say.”

• 我 (wǒ) means “me.”

• 坏话 (huàihuà) means “bad words” or “negative comments.”

  • 坏 (huài) means “bad.”

  • 话 (huà) means “words” or “speech.”

Notes

• The pause after 呢 (ne) is crucial for the sarcastic effect.

• 天天 (tiāntiān) is more colloquial than 每天 (měitiān) and adds emotional intensity to the complaint.

• 说坏话 (shuō huàihuà) is a common expression for gossiping or badmouthing someone.

Recap

• 还好朋友呢，天天说我坏话。

• 还 / 好 / 朋友 / 呢 / ，/ 天天 / 说 / 我 / 坏话 。

• hái hǎo péngyou ne, tiāntiān shuō wǒ huàihuà.

• What a “good friend”! Always talking bad about me behind my back.

• even / good / friend / (skeptical particle 呢) / every day / say / me / bad words.

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🌳 Translation #2

Should we relocate to Shanghai for career opportunities, or stay here for family?