# The clothes you're wearing suit you



## rydell

大家好，

The correct order in Chinese for the sentence "The clothes you´re wearing suits you"  would it be 你穿的衣服很合适?

多谢。


----------



## brofeelgood

Yes, and also:
- 这衣服你穿着很合适.
- 这衣服很适合你. (适合[verb], not 合适[adjective])


----------



## denny130

Hi,
I think the previous post might have ignored the meaning of the verb "wear" in your sentence though it does not change the meaning that much, I still believe it should be translated. So here is my version:
穿在你身上的这件衣服很适合你。
穿在你身上的 =  something you are wearing 
Or your original translation as you just messed “合适” with “适合” could be slightly modified to be perfect: 你穿的（这件）衣服很适合（你）.


----------



## SuperXW

rydell said:


> The correct order in Chinese for the sentence "The clothes you´re wearing suits you" would it be 你穿的衣服很合适?


Although the above suggestions are all good, I'd say your original translation 你穿的衣服很合适 is totally idiomatic in real life.



denny130 said:


> Or your original translation as you just messed “合适” with “适合” could be slightly modified to be perfect: 你穿的（这件）衣服很适合（你）.


What do you mean by this?


----------



## Skatinginbc

SuperXW said:


> 你穿的衣服很合适 is totally idiomatic in real life.


I agree.  I think that's something I would say as well.


SuperXW said:


> What do you mean by this?


I guess he  meant 合适 could be ambiguous.  For example, it could mean "suit the  occasion".  Say, if attending a funeral is the topic of a discourse,  你穿的衣服很合适 would mean "The dress you are wearing suits the funeral".  适合你  would be very clear: "It suits you".


----------



## retrogradedwithwind

你穿的这身衣服很适合你。


----------



## BODYholic

SuperXW said:


> Although the above suggestions are all good, I'd say your original translation 你穿*的*衣服很合适 is totally idiomatic in real life.



By any account, the one you'd given is a generic/indefinite statement. It means everything that the person worn fits him/her to a tee. You've to make the statement definite, for example,  你*今天*穿*的*衣服很合适.

Also i find this translation 模凌两可, because we are unsure if the adjective 合适 describes the wearer (穿者) or the occasion (场合).

These are my suggestions -
"*The* clothes *you´re wearing* suits you" 
你穿*着*的这件衣服很适合你。
你身上(的)这件衣服很适合你。
(你)这身衣服很适合你。


----------



## SuperXW

BODYholic said:


> By any account, the one you'd given is a generic/indefinite statement. It means everything that the person worn fits him/her to a tee. You've to make the statement definite, for example,  你*今天*穿*的*衣服很合适.
> 
> Also i find this translation 模棱两可, because we are unsure if the adjective 合适 describes the wearer (穿者) or the occasion (场合).
> 
> These are my suggestions -
> "*The* clothes *you´re wearing* suits you"
> 你穿*着*的这件衣服很适合你。
> 你身上(的)这件衣服很适合你。
> (你)这身衣服很适合你。


Yes. In real life, the context could be more clear as the listener knows their situation.
Without a clearer context, the sentence can be interpreted as either "suits the wearer" or "suits the occasion", or both.
But I don't think 今天 or 着 is necessary, as the sentence is not that generic/indefinite. It won't affect much with or without them. Without them, people would automatically think it's the clothes he is wearing at present.
In Chinese, if the time is "present", it is not required to modify the sentence, unlike English requires the present continuous tense. No one would say "你穿的衣服很合适" if he really means "你穿过的所有衣服都合适".


----------



## Skatinginbc

SuperXW said:


> No one would say "你穿的衣服很合适" if he really means "你穿过的所有衣服都合适".


I agree.  
你穿的衣服很好看 ==> the dress you are wearing
 你穿的衣服都很俗氣 ==> all the dresses you wear
A: 你*今天*穿的衣服很合适.
B: 你是說我平時穿的衣服都不合适.
A: 不, 我不是那個意思
B: 可是怎麼聽起來就有那個意思?


----------



## BODYholic

Skatinginbc said:


> I agree.
> 你穿的衣服很好看 ==> the dress you are wearing
> 你穿的衣服都很俗氣 ==> all the dresses you wear



The fact that adding the intensifier "都" limits the scope to "all the dresses" doesn't, by any chance, indicate that the lack of it has to be interpreted as "the dress".

Without a proper context, 你穿的衣服很好看 could be conveniently taken as "all the dresses" too.

Beyond唱的歌很好听 ==> People are more inclined to think of "All Beyond's songs" instead of "That particular Beyond's song".
妈妈烧的菜很好吃。==> No one would interpret this as only 一道菜很好吃.


_Addendum_:


Skatinginbc said:


> A: 你*今天*穿的衣服很合适.
> B: 你是說我平時穿的衣服都不合适.
> A: 不, 我不是那個意思
> B: 可是怎麼聽起來就有那個意思?


The same dialogue sounds equally comical using something you would say in post #5.
A: 你穿的衣服很合适.
B: 你是說我拎着的衣服就不合适.
A: 不, 我不是那個意思
B: 可是怎麼聽起來就有那個意思?


----------



## SuperXW

BODYholic said:


> Without a proper context, 你穿的衣服很好看 could be conveniently taken as "all the dresses" too.



Hmm. Without a context, if you interview 100 native speakers, I bet 99 of them would take it as "the one you are wearing".



BODYholic said:


> Beyond唱的歌很好听 ==> People are more inclined to think of "All Beyond's songs" instead of "That particular Beyond's song".
> 妈妈烧的菜很好吃。==> No one would interpret this as only 一道菜很好吃.



This may due to "the songs they sing" and "the dishes she cooks" require particular skills. They personally "make" or "generate" those songs and dishes. So people would tend to believe they must have impressive skills. "Their products" should be generally good. 
"Wearing clothes" is different. The one just "picks" the clothes. One may have good taste, but it is still not such a remarkable skill. More often people would give credit to the clothes themselves, or the designers.

In language, I don't think grammar structure should determine all. We have to face the facts, think about reasons behind the grammar and literal meanings. Some psychological factors could be strong enough to nullify the grammar's effects...

Try 他拿的玩具很好玩。


----------



## BODYholic

SuperXW said:


> Hmm. Without a context, if you interview 100  native speakers, I bet 99 of them would take it as "the one you are  wearing".



Well, I thought otherwise. 你穿的衣服很好看 doesn't point me to any particular set of garment, unless 他平时都不穿衣服。

至于你说的那些 verbs that require particular skills, 我只能说那有点far-fetched了。骂人应该不用什么skill了吧？“他骂的脏话绕梁三日”。这里的脏话是泛指还是单指呢？

That explains why:
你穿的衣服很好看 ==> 泛指
你穿浅蓝色的衣服很好看 ==> 单指

I  do understand where are you coming from. You are speaking/writing with  many unwritten context (or pretexts). For example, you may say that you  are pointing at the person's dress and say "你穿的衣服很好看". In this case, the  sentence becomes  单指. But I've to gently remind you that we are doing a  translation exercise for the OP. It is therefore important to maintain  the integrity of the original sentence structure in the course of  translation. What if the OP now says that the sentence is to be a part  of a long email message? In this case, you can "point" at the person's  dress no more! 

I mean we need a context for clarification, explanation is not a justification.

Cheers.


----------



## Skatinginbc

BODYholic said:


> A: 你穿的衣服很合适. B: 你是說我拎着的衣服就不合适.





Skatinginbc said:


> A: 你*今天*穿的衣服很合适. B: 你是說我平時穿的衣服都不合适.


That's  exactly my point.  There is a switch of focus, from the one you are  wearing (not those you are holding, of course) to the one you wear or  wore TODAY (not any day).  


BODYholic said:


> Beyond唱的歌很好听  ==> People are more inclined to think of "All Beyond's songs" instead  of "That particular Beyond's song".


你唱的歌很好听 "the song you just sang" vs. 比揚唱的歌很好听 (products of Beyond)
你喝的牛奶有股怪味 "the milk you just drank" vs. 比揚公司生產的牛奶有股怪味 (products of Beyond)
你住的房子很牢固 "the house you are living in" vs 比揚建設蓋的房子很牢固 (products of Beyond)
妈妈烧的菜很好吃 (products of 妈妈).

Also, 政府說的話不可信賴 (because 政府不能信賴), 他說的話不可信賴(because 他不可信賴)  vs. 你穿的衣服很合适 (because 你很合适???).  Obviously, 穿 (not used for  productivity) and 合适 (not used to describe the typical trait of a person) have some bearing on how we interpret that  sentence.


----------



## SuperXW

BODYholic said:


> Well, I thought otherwise. 你穿的衣服很好看 doesn't point me to any particular set of garment, unless 他平时都不穿衣服。
> 至于你说的那些 verbs that require particular skills, 我只能说那有点far-fetched了。骂人应该不用什么skill了吧？“他骂的脏话绕梁三日”。这里的脏话是泛指还是单指呢？


“他骂的脏话绕梁三日”很难说，可能是泛指，可能是单指，更需要语境。首先“骂人的脏话”属于他的product，而能达到“绕梁三日”程度的人也不多，需要一定skill，可能是泛指。但骂人始终也不是那么难，他也不一定每次都骂得那么难听，所以也可能是特指某次的脏话。
我觉得把“他穿的衣服”理解成“他平时穿的衣服”才far-fatched了……“你穿的”已经是限定语了。若是泛指为啥不加“都”字？


BODYholic said:


> That explains why:
> 你穿的衣服很好看 ==> 泛指
> 你穿浅蓝色的衣服很好看 ==> 单指


“你穿浅蓝色的衣服很好看”，照你的方法，完全可以理解成“你穿所有浅蓝色的衣服都很好看”；若是单指，必须改成“你穿*这件*浅蓝色的衣服很好看。”


BODYholic said:


> I  do understand where are you coming from. You are speaking/writing with  many unwritten context (or pretexts). For example, you may say that you  are pointing at the person's dress and say "你穿的衣服很好看". In this case, the  sentence becomes  单指. But I've to gently remind you that we are doing a  translation exercise for the OP. It is therefore important to maintain  the integrity of the original sentence structure in the course of  translation. What if the OP now says that the sentence is to be a part  of a long email message? In this case, you can "point" at the person's  dress no more!
> 
> I mean we need a context for clarification, explanation is not a justification.
> 
> Cheers.


意思我同意，但我还是认为你高估了“泛指”在翻译句中的可能性，那种可能性基本可以忽略。若令人误会，一般认为是表述者不用“都”字造成的问题。若说翻译，也不用因为英文原句的限定而对通用的中文说法吹毛求疵。


----------



## Skatinginbc

Use of Goods/Services: 你喝的酒有毒, 你買的麵包過期了, 你彈的鋼琴是德國進口的, 你開的車不見了, 你穿的衣服很合适==> 单指 if without 都. 
Skilled Production: 張大千畫的山水價值連城, 李白作的詩很有仙境, 羅漢釀的三十里紅才是好酒, 你唱的戲人人愛聽 ==> 泛指 if without demonstratives (e.g., 李白作的這首詩, 你唱的這齣戲). 
Grey area; Neither consumption nor skilled production: 你聽到的哭聲是幻覺, 他寫的東西有人看吗, 他骂的脏话绕梁三日 ==> ambiguous, largely depending on the context.


> 你穿浅蓝色的衣服很好看


你(穿衣服)很好看 ==> 你(穿浅蓝色的衣服)很好看 "You look good in blue" ==> The subject is 你 "you". 浅蓝色的衣服 ==> 泛指.
(你穿的)衣服很合适 ==> (你穿的)*这*件浅蓝色衣服很合适 "The blue dress you wear fits well" ==>  The subject is 衣服 "clothes".


----------



## BODYholic

Skatinginbc said:


> Use of Goods/Services: 你喝的酒有毒, 你買的麵包過期了, 你彈的鋼琴是德國進口的, 你開的車不見了, 你穿的衣服很合适==> 单指 if without 都.
> Skilled Production: 張大千畫的山水價值連城, 李白作的詩很有仙境, 羅漢釀的三十里紅才是好酒, 你唱的戲人人愛聽 ==> 泛指 if without demonstratives (e.g., 李白作的這首詩, 你唱的這齣戲).
> Grey area; Neither consumption nor skilled production: 你聽到的哭聲是幻覺, 他寫的東西有人看吗, 他骂的脏话绕梁三日 ==> ambiguous, largely depending on the context.



Thanks. 



> 你穿的衣服很合适?



衣服很合适? (合适 describes 衣服)
你穿的衣服很合适? (合适 describes "你穿的+衣服", not 你. ) vs 比揚唱的歌很好听 (好听 describes "比揚唱的歌", not 比揚)
"Your cloths fit perfectly" vs "Beyond's songs are lovely" ==>  These sentences do not particularly suggest any one cloth or song.

Let's get back to OP's question of "The clothes you´re wearing suits you". My humble offer still stands,
你穿*着*的这件衣服很适合你。
你身上(的)这件衣服很适合你。
(你)这身衣服很适合你。

Cheers.


----------



## Skatinginbc

Skatinginbc said:


> 你(穿衣服)很好看...==> The subject is 你 "you".
> (你穿的)衣服很合适...==> The subject is 衣服 "clothes".


By "subject", I meant "the head noun of the subject".  My fault of not being precise. 


BODYholic said:


> "Your cloths fit perfectly"


你的衣服很合适 (as opposed to 你穿的衣服很合适)


> 你穿*着*的这件衣服很适合你。


I agree with SuperXW's #8 and think that sentence is unnecessarily wordy.


----------



## BODYholic

Skatinginbc said:


> I agree with SuperXW's #8 and think that sentence is unnecessarily wordy.



I, too, agree "你穿*着*的这件衣服很适合你" is lengthy but it's a faithful translation based entirely on OP's original sentence. And please allow me to recap, "The clothes you´re wearing suits you". I might not be a native English speaker, even then the English sentence sounds awkward in face to face to conversation.  Typically, we say "You look great/gorgeous in that shirt/dress/blouse/underwear".

Having said that, there might be a reason why the OP made that request. Perhaps, he/she wants to know how to formulate that kind of sentence structure in Chinese. Hence, I offered that translation which is as truthful to the original as possible, albeit some of you may think it is "unnecessarily wordy" (so does the English sentence). For some reasons, your monitor doesn't seem to display my other two suggestions which I will repeat them here in bold and bigger font size:
*你身上(的)这件衣服很适合你。
(你)这身衣服很适合你。
*I find the above to be more commonly used but then the sentence structure differs from OP's.

 As for "你穿的衣服很合适", I find it painfully ambiguous. Given a choice, I'll pick the lesser of two evils and make do with the "unnecessarily wordy" one. YMMV.

Cheers.


----------



## Skatinginbc

BODYholic said:


> For some reasons, your monitor doesn't seem to display my other two suggestions


 I saw them, buddy, just as I noticed those good suggestions offered by other posters (e.g., retrogradedwithwind #6: 你穿的这身衣服很适合你).  That I didn't mention them doesn't mean I didn't like them.
The 着 in 这衣服你穿着(= 起來)很合适 (brofeelgood #2) is different from the one in your 你穿*着*的这件衣服很适合你.  The latter seems to give an extra emphasis as if implying a contrast.


----------

