Help with translation to Chinese

[starry_diadem]

Can anyone here help with Chinese (Cantonese or Mandarin, doesn't matter **so long as I'm consistent**). I've picked up several terms on the internet - where else? - and I need to be sure I have the right terms and that I'm not switching between Cantonese and Mandarin.

I'm writing a series of short stories starring Li Liang, who's the second

Comments

[evilcoc0nut]

All the "westernized" words you put are Mandarin. Most translation programs you find out there romanize the characters in Mandarin, you kinda gotta go looking if you want Cantonese. Idk if it matters to your story or what you're asking, but Mainland China and Hong Kong use simplified characters and Taiwan uses traditional. And romanized names often look different depending on where the person is from. Like, Liang in Hong Kong (Cantonese) is usually Leung.

[starry_diadem]

That is so helpful! I had no idea whether it was Mandarin or Cantonese, so that has helped loads.

It honestly does not matter to the story which Liang speaks at home, so long as I'm able to get it right and the romanised words are all in the same language. I'll make her a Mandarin speaker.

Thank you!

[litalex]

With the way your character's name is romanized/pronounced, she would have to be a Mandarin speaker.

Mandarin and Cantonese mostly refer to the spoken languages. When you write Chinese out, it's almost always written in "proper" Chinese, meaning using Mandarin grammar, etc.

Anyway, back to your questions.

Is "beloved" set in stone or can you use other terms of endearment? 'Cause people don't really use that unless they're using it for an inanimate object, e.g. my beloved violin. Baobei (寶貝), meaning "treasure" or "baby", is more common.

As for "find a home 找到一个家 westernised as Zhǎodào yīgè jiā", that means "found a home" --> past tense. And do you mean "home" as in a place where the character belongs or a house where the character can live in?

And I have never heard of "face" translated as "脸 面", 'cause you're doubling the words. "Face" as in losing or saving face is, like the below comment said, "面子 miànzi".

[starry_diadem]

Hi, litalex

[anonymous]

Yes, Mandarin. Another word for "face" is 面子 miànzi. If you lose face, that's 丢面子 diū miànzi. Don't know which one of mìanzi and liǎnmiàn (=脸面) is more common.

Good luck with your project!

/Moa

[starry_diadem]

Thank you! It's a great help to know that I'm not mixing the two languages, and thank you for the extra information on 'face'. I'll ponder which is the best to use.