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Herbal remedies for lack of energy needed; invite VS welcome
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First, my wife Sheila wants to know if you have any herbal remedies for lack of energy? We are also interested in recipes for Chinese food. Any suggestions? I have few ideas that would answer these questions.
Second, I could like to explain something. The word 请 can mean "to invite or request or ask" or "please." I think my Chinese friends do not understand the English use of "welcome" or "invite" in English. Why? I will tell you.
Often, I tell someone "I hope to go to China in 2011."
My Chinese friends respond by saying "I welcome you to China." While I am delighted to be welcomed to China, I need to explain the use of the words "invite" and "welcome" in this context.
Perhaps you told me "I hope to visit the US in 2011."
I would respond by saying "I invite you to visit the US." When you arrive in the US and visit me I would say "Let me welcome you to the US!"
That is, "I welcome you" is usually used AFTER the person arrives. You could say "I hope to welcome you" or "I will welcome you when you arrive." But it is premature to welcome me before I arrive! The welcoming is done AFTER the person arrives. You can invite me to visit at any time. For clarity you can say "I will be delighted to welcome you to China" because that is "future tense." The Chinese language, I am told, does not use future tense in this sense. I think this is why my Chinese friends are welcoming me when it is too early to welcome! HA! They would do better to invite me, because I have never been to China yet.
I hope this helps your understanding of the English language!
pH
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Post comment Comment (17 replies)
- Reply adck
- Today few Chinese know about the traditional Chinese herbal remedies,I mean the real herbal remedies.
In the past,to be a good Chinese Medicine Doctor takes a long time and energy.Such good doctors might be harder to find than find the wild pandas in China nowadays.
- Reply adck
- You mentioned the two words welcome and invite.Actually Chinese learned them when they studied in the Junior Middle School or in the Elememtary School,but many people cannot grasp the suitable usages of the two words.
- Reply sedgehead
- adck: You mentioned the two words welcome and invite.Actually Chinese learned them when they studied in the Junior Middle School or in the Elememtary SchoolThat does not surprise me! Learning the meaning of many words is difficult, especially when the meanings are similar but unique. For example, someone asked me yesterday to explain the difference between "to insist" and "to stick to." I might insist that you finish a project and that you stick to the project until it is done. Insisting implies forcing or demaning while sticking to something means you keep at it until it is done.
- Reply v87zhou
- Thank you very much. I get it. In my opinion, I think when translating and speaking English, the express is directly. But the Chinese is not the same as the English. A Chinese may has different meanings.
- Reply sedgehead
- v87zhou: Thank you very much. I get it. In my opinion, I think when translating and speaking English, the express is directly. But the Chinese is not the sameI'm not certain what you want to say with "the express is directly." Perhaps it means "you can translate directly from Chinese into English, word-for-word." If so, that may be easier to do from Chinese to English than from English to Chinese. I still need to learn more about the Chinese language.
- Reply sedgehead
- I believe you are correct! Traditional medicine gets lost easily in modern society.
English hint: add a space after a comma or period.
pH
- Reply bluebird
- I think the main difference between the two language is that time is show in Chinese by adverbs while in English by verb tenses. As for Chinese remedies, they're better than west medicine in energy recovery but less effecient in acute illness cure. For example, ningpoinsis is mild tonic and honeysuckle can clear body heat; my family often drink them as healthy tea.
- Reply v87zhou
- sedgehead: I'm not certain what you want to say with "the express is directly." Perhaps it means "you can translate directly from Chinese into EnYes, you are right. Maybe my English is not good enough to write down it correctly.
- Reply sedgehead
- v87zhou: Yes, you are right. Maybe my English is not good enough to write down it correctly.Don't worry about mistakes. Everyone makes them. With language, if we don't make mistakes we don't learn. It is better to make mistakes AND learn from them!
- Reply v87zhou
- sedgehead: Don't worry about mistakes. Everyone makes them. With language, if we don't make mistakes we don't learn. It is better to make mistakes AND learn frThank you for your encouragement. I hope you could point out my mistakes . I will appreciate it.
- Reply sedgehead
- v87zhou: Thank you for your encouragement. I hope you could point out my mistakes . I will appreciate it.Sure! Do not put a space before a period! HA!
- Reply samscri
- "herbal remedies for lack of energy"?...I don't think any my folks would hace any ideal for the first thougt of this question...
...I don't know if I'll put it right...The question itself could trace back to the differences of the cultures in the two countiries. China has much more moderate culture compared to the USA(no offence here)...In the USA, people focus much on how to increase their energy; that's why they drink coffee a lot everyday...In China, people are more likely to focus on how to mainten a healthy state, for the body, no other aggresive additions; that's why they usually have tea...You could say people are taking coffee more and more to the faster rhythm of life, which is true; but basicly, in our minds, the ideal of the maintenance is the key...
...Hope you understand what I'm talking about...
- Reply sedgehead
- samscri: "herbal remedies for lack of energy"?...I don't think any my folks would hace any ideal for the first thougt of this question...Sounds reasonable! Thanks for your thoughts. pH...I
- Reply samscri
- sedgehead: Sounds reasonable! Thanks for your thoughts. pHHehe...Yet I haven't answer your question above...I can exactly tell what fuctions each thing provides to our body, but I like coarse cereals much more myself...It tastes better than rice and clears the toxin out of out body...I almost have some everyday.
