# 顺便



## gntlstp

Hi, 

How would you put "顺便" in English for the following context:

Two women friends were having a conversation after one was just back from shopping:

Lady1:"来看看我的新鞋子怎么样."

Lady2:"你已经有那么多鞋子了,怎么又买鞋了?"

Lady1:"哦,我本来也没打算买鞋,我去商场买衣服时,发现这双鞋很好看,就*顺便*买了."

Thank you.


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## Lamb67

on the way -It's the 11th item on Google Translation for *顺便. And there must be 3 others suitable choices*
*Here we go :...what a pretty pair of shoes, I bought it on the way back home.*


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## Ghabi

Perhaps: "I didn't mean to buy any shoes, you know, but I just happened to discover this lovely pair of shoes and thought I might as well buy them".

In other contexts you may say, for example, "Buy me a cup of coffee while you're at it" 順便替我買杯咖啡.


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## gntlstp

Thank you very much, Ghabi. .


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## viajero_canjeado

Using a "while" structure, as Ghabi suggested with "while you're at it", is usually a great fit. If the focus of 順便 is on being at a place rather than doing an activity, you can also say "...while you're there."

Ex: Since you're going to be at the baseball game, can you buy me a corndog while you're there?

In the original post, a sheepish sort of "since I was already there anyhow" could also be used:  "Yeah I know I've already got a ton of shoes; but hey, since I was already there anyway, I figured I might as well get them."

I'm realizing that in English the idea of 順便 often seems to correspond well to a "since...why don't you...?" structure: "since your bus passes by the grocery store, why don't you stop and pick up some milk on the way home from work?"


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## Daffodil100

I would use* incidentally* for 顺便 in this context.

我本来也没打算买鞋,我去商场买衣服时,发现这双鞋很好看,就*顺便*买了."

I wouldn't have intended to buy shoes. When I bought clothes in an emporium and found this pair of shoes looks smart, I got them incidentally.


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## viajero_canjeado

Daffodil100 said:


> I would use* incidentally* for 顺便 in this context.



And it wouldn't technically be wrong to do so. Most listeners who speak English would get the point, but a few spots in the sentence you provided are less than colloquial:

"wouldn't have" sounds out of place. Is this the conditional tense? Probably you could use the simple past and that'd be fine: I didn't plan on/I didn't intend to...

"Emporium" to describe a clothes store is also a usage I'm not familiar with; I guess we say "drug emporium" though. Maybe you could say "department store" or "clothing store" or "mall", depending on the layout of the place. This could well just be a regional issue, and perhaps people say emporium quite often in other dialects.

Instead of "smart", which is these days rarely used in a context other than referring to "intelligent", it could be replaced with "spiffy, snazzy, stylish, fashionable, chic, snappy" or something along those lines. Some of those adjectives work better for guys and some for girls.

Lastly, "incidentally" is a word that, in conversation, is usually used to mean something like "while we're on the subject" or "now that you mention it". It introduces a tangential story or piece of information, and for most native speakers - at least AmE speakers, but maybe others - they would probably have a hard time guessing what you meant by "incidentally" in this sentence.

I hope you don't mind my suggestions! Keep up the great posts, Daffodil.


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## Daffodil100

1. would have done : I used it as subjunctive mood

2. emporium:


_Several days ago, I started a thread about it, it is used in the UK. And I also read it in a BBC report about travelling._



> _Department store will not do in that context because some of them are not department stores. They are all very-long-established and particularly famous stores of their type - Hamleys for toys, Fortnum & Mason for groceries, Liberty for fabrics and clothing, Harvey Nichols for clothes and Selfridges a department store. To sum all that meaning up in one word? "Emporium". _


 
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2019838&highlight=



> The big-name emporiums, such as Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Hamleys, Fortnum & Mason and Liberty, are both sightseeing attractions in their own right and temples to shopping devotees. The nearby side-street boutiques – the capital’s true delights — also sell just about anything, from clothes to old-style British homewares.


 
_3. I don't think since is the equivalent to 顺便_


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## viajero_canjeado

"Would" as subjunctive? I don't think "would" can be used in that way: it's used either in the conditional or imperfect tenses.

Yeah, I had a feeling emporium might be used more in other dialects. I reckon it just depends on the audience as to which word ought to be chosen.

As for "since" being equivalent to 順便，I wasn't implying that was the case. I was talking about a "since...why don't you?" structure and pointing out that lots of times this happens to match well with 順便 sentences.

Thanks for your response!


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## xiaolijie

To fuel the debate, here's my translation of "*顺便*" :
"...发现这双鞋很好看,就*顺便*买了" =
...They looked so nice and I just *couldn't resist*"


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## BODYholic

There is obviously no problem with your translation. But technically speaking, your Chinese phrase did not bring up the meaning of "顺便".

所谓"顺便"即是"顺着方便". Therefore, the element of convenience is important.

E.g.
我经过百货公司,看见这双鞋很好看,就*顺便*买了.
It is "*顺便*" because the speaker happens to walk pass the shopping mall.
In Chinese, the sentence can usually be interpreted from another perspective.
i.e. 如果我没经过那百货公司，这双鞋再好看,我也没兴趣。


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## Ghabi

xiaolijie said:


> ...They looked so nice and I just *couldn't resist*"


You're a very honest person, my dear friend, turning an apologia ("I have a good reason!") into a plain confession ("Guilty!"). Seriously, though, I think Viajero's version captures the tone of OP's sentence perfectly.


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## hjiamin3

你能顺便帮我检查一下作业吗？   如何地道地翻译“顺便”？ at your convenience 可翻译成“顺便”吗？ 

谢谢各位大神啦！！！！


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## brofeelgood

In this instance, you should use "at the same time/while you're at it/on the way". This assumes the person will already be doing some other thing, and the requested task is (1) usually related, and (2) can be done without too much additional fuss.

I would translate "at your convenience" as 有空的话/方便的时候.


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## hjiamin3

Ahha! I think I got you! But "at your convenience" means like "at a time suitable for you", its focus seems to be on "the time" and it can be whenever, while “顺便" is "做某事的过程中顺带着做另一件事", which it emphasizes like "做某事的过程中".

Would it be possible that "顺便" does not have to be translated? Like this sentence "Would you please check my homework?" Does it (would you please) enough to infer "顺便"?

Many thanks!!!!! )))


viajero_canjeado said:


> Using a "while" structure, as Ghabi  suggested with "while you're at it", is usually a great fit. If the  focus of 順便 is on being at a place rather than doing an activity, you  can also say "...while you're there."


Cool!!! But what if I ask someone to help with something that he/she is at it?? Would it be possible that "while you're at it" be omitted?? So it's like "Would you please also buy me a cup of coffee?" Does it enough to infer "顺便"?

Thousand thanks!!!!!


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## brofeelgood

hjiamin3 said:


> Would it be possible that "while you're at it" be omitted?? So it's like "Would you please *also* buy me a cup of coffee?" Does it enough to infer "顺便"?


If it is supported by the right context and/or connectors like *also, as well, too, along the way* etc, then absolutely. These work like 也,顺便,顺道.

- *Since you're here*, could you please check my homework?


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## hjiamin3

It's really a great help!!! Thank you very much!!!!!


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## panzerfaust0

[Moderator's Note: Merged with a previous thread]
Hello.  I desire to find out how to say "顺便" in English.   Context:  我明年夏天要回台湾看我外公，顺便去玩玩。

Thanks!


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## 2PieRad

Hi,

_And while I'm at it_ will work here. _去玩玩_ is actually the harder expression to translate, in my opinion. Not sure if there's an English equivalent that captures all the nuances of it...


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