# 懂事的



## Lydia Qiu

大家好！ 想问一下“她从小就是个懂事的孩子，从来不和其他小朋友起冲突，在家里帮父母干家务。”中的“懂事”怎么译成英文准确呢？


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## philchinamusical

sensible: She's been a sensible kid since very young...


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## 2PieRad

mmmm..._well-behaved_...no?


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## Broccolee

Lydia Qiu said:


> 大家好！ 想问一下“她从小就是个懂事的孩子，从来不和其他小朋友起冲突，在家里帮父母干家务。”中的“懂事”怎么译成英文准确呢？


'Well-mannered' would be fine.


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## Ghabi

Erebos12345 said:


> mmmm..._well-behaved_...no?


No, this is not what it means. It's like "considerate", "thoughtful", but is said of a child particularly: he wants to lighten his parents' burden, he doesn't want to get his parents into trouble or embarrass them etc.

It's like being wise beyond their years, instead of being innocent, is regarded as a virtue for children in this culture. The idea of filial duty also plays a part. That's why it's difficult to translate. 

懂事 can also be used to describe an adult, but in that kind of context it's like 識相/識趣.


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## 2PieRad

mmmm....看楼主的“在家里帮父母干家务”... 孩子帮着打扫卫生洗盘子洗衣服什么的，减少父母的负担， 形容这样的孩子应该能说well-mannered. Or _responsible, polite, helpful, considerate, thoughtful etc. _No shortage of generic choices. Take your pick.  



Ghabi said:


> It's like "considerate", "thoughtful", but is said of a child particularly: he wants to lighten his parents' burden, he doesn't want to get his parents into trouble or embarrass them etc.
> 
> It's like being wise beyond their years, instead of being innocent, is regarded as a virtue for children in this culture. The idea of filial duty also plays a part.


那“不和其他小朋友起冲突"含有这样的意思吗？A little bit, I guess...behave yourself while you're at school...don't want to 丢你爸妈的脸. But yeah...I don't think any adjective in English is going to have that kind of connotation. 孩子从不和其他小孩子打架， 形容这种孩子恐怕不能用well-mannered. 还是觉得well-behaved更恰当.

不确定是否能用"懂事"来形容宠物. （自己听起来好像没问题吧...）--我家的狗很懂事。来客人时不咬不吵不闹不在地板上撒尿.英语里可以说你的狗well-behaved.

除了well-raised，有别的主意吗？

觉得我首先建议的well-behaved是按context翻译的而不是直译. 用英语夸别人的小孩多么懂事,多么乖,多会帮爸妈做家务,多么懂不该和别的孩子起冲突,最常见的字好像就是well-behaved了. 

Their daughter is so well-mannered. .........
Their daughter is so well-raised. ..........
Their daughter is so responsible.
Their daughter is so polite. 
Any better options?


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## SimonTsai

Erebos12345 said:


> 我家的狗很懂事。


I am not familiar with it, but it works for me.

我家的狗很乖 may be commoner.


Ghabi said:


> 懂事 can also be used to describe an adult, but in that kind of context it's like 識相/識趣.


I have trouble coming up with any of such context.


Ghabi said:


> It's like "considerate", "thoughtful", but is said of a child particularly: he wants to lighten his parents' burden, he doesn't want to get his parents into trouble or embarrass them etc.


I fully agree.

@Erebos12345, 'well behaved', methinks, is not wrong, but may not be accurate; 'well mannered' is also accepted yet not good enough.


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## brofeelgood

I'm on board with Ghabi's take on 懂事. When you apply it to a child, the emphasis is on how much a grown-up they resemble. Hence his other point that 懂事 is also applicable to adults. You'd almost never do that with 乖, 听话 etc.

- 她很懂事
- _She demonstrates a maturity (or insight and judgment) that belies her age._


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## Ghabi

Erebos12345 said:


> I don't think any adjective in English is going to have that kind of connotation.


Yes, I think this is one of those lexical gaps, due to different cultural expectations. The Chinese word is often used in sobby, tearjerking context like: 她爸在煤矿塌方时死了,妈又患了血癌,好在她懂事,每天放学自己做饭,照顾三个弟妹,念书念到半夜,每年班上都考第一名......

Being a Chinese kid is sometimes a tall order, one would think. (We don't use this word in Cantonese, but there's the equivalent 生性.)


SimonTsai said:


> I have trouble coming up with such context.


It's used in context like (from some web fiction):

- 你要是懂事的赶紧给我滚蛋，为首的一个黑胖子说。(source)
- [...]应执掌已经答应我了，过了今天，他一定会在朱老面前举荐我，让我成为飞剑派的执掌，你要是懂事的，现在就乖乖把宝藏交出来[...] (source)

Perhaps you don't use it this way in Taiwan.


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## SimonTsai

Ghabi said:


> 你要是懂事的，现在就乖乖把宝藏交出来[...] (source)
> 
> Perhaps you don't use it this way in Taiwan.


It works for me in the context that you provide.

But yes, in Taiwan, it is not common to use it that way.


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## brofeelgood

Ghabi said:


> 你要是懂事的赶紧给我滚蛋


有點怪。能明白，但不很能接受。

我首先想到的是:
「識相」
「知趣」


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## philchinamusical

Ghabi said:


> - 你要是懂事的赶紧给我滚蛋，为首的一个黑胖子说。(source)
> - [...]应执掌已经答应我了，过了今天，他一定会在朱老面前举荐我，让我成为飞剑派的执掌，你要是懂事的，现在就乖乖把宝藏交出来[...] (source)


I too feel "识相" and "知趣" may be a better option than "懂事" in those two cases. However, in Shanghai dialect we might say "懂事体" instead, so I guess perhaps the two sources are depicting characters speaking in dialects.


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## 2PieRad

SimonTsai said:


> considerate (@Ghabi) and sensible (@philchinamusical



Yeah. Herein lies the issue. These words might not necessarily be incorrect, but I find it hard to imagine them in context.

-You have a sensible son. 
-Their son is very sensible. 
-What a sensible young man you are.  (I can imagine someone saying this, but the speaker sounds really...old. _Sensible son/daughter/child _doesn't work as well. _Young man _really helps to convey maturity. Having said that, if someone said _sensible young man_, my first thought would definitely not be 这孩子为父母减少负担，照顾弟妹，etc.)
-Their son is very helpful and considerate. (_Helpful _sounds better than _considerate_. _Helpful _lacks a lot of the aforementioned "extra connotations" and of course, doesn't work for 从不和其他小朋友起冲突. _Considerate..._it's hard to describe...feels more like 坐地铁时，给老年人让座位那样的considerate...)



brofeelgood said:


> She demonstrates a maturity (or insight and judgment) that belies her age.


Feels kind of like you're about to present some highly-coveted prize to this kid at some awards ceremony. Change the tense (_demonstrated) _and it almost feels like you're giving a eulogy at this kid's funeral.


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## brofeelgood

Erebos12345 said:


> Feels kind of like you're about to present some highly-coveted prize to this kid at some awards ceremony. Change the tense (_demonstrated) _and it almost feels like you're giving a eulogy at this kid's funeral.


You read that sentence and a dead child was the first thing that came to your mind? Really?  You do realise writing it in the past tense doesn't automatically mean the kid is dead, right?


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## 2PieRad

brofeelgood said:


> You read that sentence and a dead child was the first thing that came to your mind? Really?


Haha. Yup! Indeed it was one of the first things that came to my mind. Whatcanyado *shrugs*. That, or something you'd say right after awarding the prize to the kid.

Edit: The point is, coming up with an accurate translation is one thing, finding an appropriate context to use it in is another.


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## hx1997

How does "She's mature for her age" sound to you? I guess it still lacks some of the connotations mentioned above, is that so?


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## 2PieRad

^That's not bad. I can imagine someone saying that in the right circumstances. _Mature for one's age/maturity_ is somewhat vague though. Each person's definition of _maturity _may differ (ie. helpful, responsible, thinks with a clear head, doesn't react to things while emotional, etc.) Though I don't think many people would instinctively think of situations as described by @Ghabi in #5 or #9 or in the OP. (Due to unbridgeable cultural gaps, as mentioned.)


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## hx1997

I see. Thank you.


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