- 1n/ˌtʃaɪˈniz/ · /ˌtʃaɪˈniːz/the Chinese language中文
The language of China. In most sentences it means the standard spoken language, Mandarin, but it can also cover the whole group of related languages, such as Cantonese and Shanghainese.
文法不可數名詞：通常不加 a/an，也不加 -s 來表示複數。
當 Chinese 是語言名稱時，它不可數。前面不加 a，後面也不加 s。常見句型有 speak Chinese、learn Chinese、in Chinese。多數情況下它指的是華語，也就是 Mandarin。在語言學的說法裡，它也可以指一整群相關的語言。那時候廣東話、上海話也算是 Chinese 的一種。兩種用法都真實存在。要看在講什麼場合才分得出來。報名表上的 Chinese，通常就是華語。
示範例句 · Example
Leo has been studying Chinese for two years.
中文翻譯里歐已經學習中文兩年了。
When Chinese is the name of a language, it takes no a and no plural s. You speak Chinese, learn Chinese, or say something in Chinese. Which of the two readings you get comes from the situation. In a language class or on a form, it almost always means Mandarin, the standard spoken form. In a book about how languages are related, it can mean the whole family, so that Cantonese and Shanghainese count as kinds of Chinese. Both readings are in ordinary use, and speakers do not usually mark which one they mean.
常見搭配
speak Chinese
說中文
to be able to use the Chinese language
Both of my cousins speak Chinese at home.
learn / study Chinese
學中文
to take lessons in the Chinese language
She started to learn Chinese before the trip.
in Chinese
用中文
using the Chinese language
He wrote the message in Chinese so his mother could read it.
fluent in Chinese
中文流利
able to use Chinese easily and without stopping
The job asks for someone fluent in Chinese and English.
a Chinese lesson / class
中文課
a period of teaching in the Chinese language
I have a Chinese class every Tuesday night.
意思相近
- 2a/ˌtʃaɪˈniz/ · /ˌtʃaɪˈniːz/from China中國的／中式的
Belonging to China or coming from it — its land, its people, its language and writing, its food, and its customs.
Chinese 放在名詞前面。它說的是「這東西跟中國有關」。像 Chinese food、Chinese characters、Chinese New Year。後面接什麼名詞，就決定講的是哪一塊。接食物，講的是做菜的方式。接文字，講的是書寫。接人，講的是來處或族裔。英文沒有替這幾種各造一個字。一個 Chinese 全包了。所以聽到這個字的時候，真正要看的是旁邊那個名詞。開頭的 C 一定大寫，因為它從國名 China 長出來。它通常不用比較級。不過偶爾會聽到 more Chinese，意思是「更有中國味」。
Chinese is the word you put in front of a noun to say that the noun is connected with China. The noun after it tells you which part of China is meant. Chinese food is about cooking. Chinese characters are about writing. A Chinese student is about a person. English does not use a different word for each of these. One word carries all of them, and the noun beside it does the sorting. It always begins with a capital C, because it is built on the name of the country. Speakers usually do not compare it, though you may hear more Chinese when someone means more like China in style or feeling.
常見搭配
Chinese food
中式料理
food cooked in the style of China
There is a place near the station that does great Chinese food.
Chinese characters
漢字、中文字
the written signs used for Chinese
He can say a lot, but he only knows about fifty Chinese characters.
Chinese New Year
農曆新年
the new year holiday that follows the moon calendar
The shop closes for a week at Chinese New Year.
Chinese medicine
中醫、中藥
the traditional way of treating illness used in China
Her grandmother trusts Chinese medicine for a cough.
a Chinese restaurant
中餐廳
a restaurant that serves Chinese food
They booked a Chinese restaurant for her birthday.
- 3n/ˌtʃaɪˈniz/ · /ˌtʃaɪˈniːz/Chinese meal/restaurant (British)（英式口語）一頓中餐、一家中餐廳
口語In British English, one meal of Chinese food, or the restaurant that sells it. It is counted, so it takes a or the: go for a Chinese, the Chinese on the corner.
文法單數：這個意思要用單數形式。
這是英式口語的用法。關鍵在前面那個小字。加 a，指的是一頓飯。像 go out for a Chinese，就是「出去吃一頓中餐」。加 the，通常指那家店。像 the Chinese near the station。美式英文多半不這樣講。他們會把名詞留著，說 Chinese food 或 a Chinese restaurant。所以這個用法在英國影集裡比在課本裡常見。看到 a Chinese 時，先想食物或店，不要想成人。
This use is marked British and informal in the source, and the small word in front is what marks it. With a, it is one meal: go out for a Chinese, order a Chinese. With the, it is usually the shop: the Chinese near the station. American speakers normally keep the noun, saying Chinese food or a Chinese restaurant, so a learner is far more likely to hear this in British films, shows, and chat than in an American classroom. The plural first bases problem does not arise here; people simply say two Chinese meals instead.
常見搭配
go out for a Chinese
出去吃中餐
to leave home in order to eat Chinese food
They went out for a Chinese to celebrate her new job.
fancy a Chinese
想吃中餐
to feel like having Chinese food
I fancy a Chinese tonight, to be honest.
order a Chinese
叫一頓中餐
to have a Chinese meal sent to you
Let us order a Chinese and stay in.
the local Chinese
附近那家常去的中餐廳
the nearby Chinese restaurant people usually use
The local Chinese does a good noodle dish.
意思相近
Chinese takeawayChinese restaurantChinese meal
用法接近
an Indiana currya takeaway