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甚麼都 vs 甚麼東西都

English translation: anything (no difference in this context)

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Chinese term or phrase:甚麼都 vs 甚麼東西都
English translation:anything (no difference in this context)
Entered by: Roddy Stegemann

11:53 Aug 7, 2006
Chinese to English translations [Non-PRO]
Social Sciences - Education / Pedagogy / Grammatikalische Analyse (Grammatical Analysis)
Chinese term or phrase: 甚麼都 vs 甚麼東西都
Sentence: 他甚麼都不害怕，他只害怕病，因為病了，甚麼東西都不能吃。

1st Attempt: He is afraid of nothing, but becoming sick. For if he becomes sick, he will not be able to eat anything.

Question: Do the phrases 甚麼都 and 甚麼東西都 both translate as "anything"? If so, how would you explain the difference in use? If not, please provide a more proper translation of the entire sentence.

Reference: http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/contents.html#p...

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Roddy Stegemann
United States
Local time: 02:13
rephrasing
Explanation:
It is not easy to differentiate 什麼都 from 什麼東西都.

Your sentence could be translate in German like this:

Er fürchtet sich vor nichts, außer vor Krankwerden, denn man kann nichts einnehmen, wenn man krank wird.

In English: He is afraid of nothing save becoming sick, for he will be able to eat nothing when he becomes sick.

So, it doesn't matter to say anything or nothing. One way or other, you have the same thing exproted or imported. That's why I like languages.
Selected response from:

Wenjer Leuschel (X)
Taiwan
Local time: 17:13
Grading comment
Final Rendering: He is afraid of nothing, save becoming sick, for should he become sick, he will be unable to eat anything.

Acknowledgement: Well, Wenjer, you hardly helped me with my question, but this time you did provide me with some English that I found useful.

Discussion: Please see note 4 under question 12 on the Tsong Kit webpage http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/part3/III-1-g.html#s12 for further discussion regarding the context of this question.

My very best from the land of no mountains surrounded by sea on many sides.
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3rephrasing
Wenjer Leuschel (X)


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
rephrasing


Explanation:
It is not easy to differentiate 什麼都 from 什麼東西都.

Your sentence could be translate in German like this:

Er fürchtet sich vor nichts, außer vor Krankwerden, denn man kann nichts einnehmen, wenn man krank wird.

In English: He is afraid of nothing save becoming sick, for he will be able to eat nothing when he becomes sick.

So, it doesn't matter to say anything or nothing. One way or other, you have the same thing exproted or imported. That's why I like languages.

Wenjer Leuschel (X)
Taiwan
Local time: 17:13
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Final Rendering: He is afraid of nothing, save becoming sick, for should he become sick, he will be unable to eat anything.

Acknowledgement: Well, Wenjer, you hardly helped me with my question, but this time you did provide me with some English that I found useful.

Discussion: Please see note 4 under question 12 on the Tsong Kit webpage http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/part3/III-1-g.html#s12 for further discussion regarding the context of this question.

My very best from the land of no mountains surrounded by sea on many sides.
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