地球村

Dìqiúcūn

Global Village

Pattern 1

一方面……，一方面…… (Yì fāngmiàn..., yì fāngmiàn...)

Used to connect two parallel, complementary situations, motivations, or objectives ('on the one hand..., on the other hand...' / 'partly to..., partly to...').

Examples

木村：一方面是想练习说话，一方面是想交朋友。

Mùcūn: Yì fāngmiàn shì xiǎng liànxí shuōhuà, yì fāngmiàn shì xiǎng jiāo péngyou.

Kimura: Partly I want to practice speaking, and partly I want to make friends.

Pattern 2

关键（还在于/还要看）…… (Guānjiàn (hái zàiyú/hái yào kàn)...)

'关键' denotes the decisive pivot or crux upon which success or failure hinges ('the key lies in...', 'the crucial factor is...').

Examples

一个人很难融入另一个社会，不过关键还要看个人的努力，如果你努力去做，情况会好得多。

Yí ge rén hěn nán róngrù lìng yí ge shèhuì, búguò guānjiàn hái yào kàn gèrén de nǔlì, rúguǒ nǐ nǔlì qù zuò, qíngkuàng huì hǎo de duō.

It is difficult for someone to blend into another society, but the key really lies in personal effort; if you put in the work, things will be vastly better.

Pattern 3

彼此 (Bǐcǐ)

Pronoun meaning 'each other' or 'mutually'; colloquially repeated as '彼此，彼此' (Same to you / We are in the same boat) as a gracious conversational response.

Examples

我妻子说：爱是无需表白的，他们彼此体会得出来。

Wǒ qīzi shuō: Ài shì wúxū biǎobái de, tāmen bǐcǐ tǐhuì de chūlái.

My wife said: True love requires no vocal declaration; they can deeply sense it from each other.

Pattern 4

……得不可开交 (……de bùkě-kāijiāo)

Serves as an intensive degree complement, describing quarrels, fights, or frantic work reaching an uncontrollable, inextricably entangled fever pitch ('hopelessly embroiled in', 'frantically swamped').

Examples

昨天我还在街上看见两个中国人为一件小事吵得不可开交。

Zuótiān wǒ hái zài jiē shang kànjiàn liǎng ge Zhōngguórén wèi yí jiàn xiǎoshì chǎo de bùkě-kāijiāo.

Yesterday on the street I even saw two Chinese people squabbling furiously without end over a trifling matter.

Pattern 5

越……，越…… (Yuè..., yuè...)

Expresses that a certain condition, feeling, or realization intensifies in direct proportion to the progression of another ('the more..., the more...').

Examples

越了解那个国家，越能发现这一点：人性的本质是相通的。

Yuè liǎojiě nàge guójiā, yuè néng fāxiàn zhè yì diǎn: Rénxìng de běnzhì shì xiāngtōng de.

The more you understand that country, the more you discover this truth: human nature is universally interconnected at its core.

Pattern 6

大可不必…… (Dà kě búbì...)

Emphatically conveys that a concern or precautionary measure is wholly unwarranted and superfluous ('entirely unnecessary', 'there is really no need to').

Examples

你这种担心大可不必，不同文化在相互融合中，自己反而会发展得更好。

Nǐ zhè zhǒng dānxīn dà kě búbì, bù tóng wénhuà zài xiānghù rónghé zhōng, zìjǐ fǎn'ér huì fāzhǎn de gèng hǎo.

Such worries of yours are entirely unnecessary; amidst mutual cultural integration, a society actually flourishes even better.