# an opening



## Vivemafille

How would one translate "opening" in the following context?

a. Hello, Dr. Johnson's office.
b. Hello, this is Mark Green. I have a bad sore throat and need to see the doctor. Does he have any openings today or tomorrow?
a. One moment, Mr. Green. I'll check the doctor's schedule.

meaning: available appointment times, a time when he is free, has nothing scheduled


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## Lucevan le stelle

I'd just translate “Does he have any openings today or tomorrow?” into "今天或明天他有空吗？“


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## Skatinginbc

我喉嚨痛, 想預約個時間看病, 不知他今天或明天還有空嗎?  In my dialect, you can also say "他今天或明天還有空檔嗎?"


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## SuperXW

I don't think we have an exact equivalent for "opening" in this sense. The person has different ways or styles to ask this question in Chinese.

For example, I would say:
他今天或明天*有时间*吗？ Would he *have time *today or tomorrow?
今天或明天*行吗*？ *Is it ok* for today or tomorrow? 
我可以*约*他今天或明天吗？ Can I "*book*" for today or tomorrow?

There will be also regional differences. You can wait for others' inputs.


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## Skatinginbc

SuperXW said:


> 我可以*约*他今天或明天吗？


An interesting structure that sticks out like a sore thumb to me .
"约他今天吗" google results: 0
"约他明天吗" google results: 1 
"约他今天或明天吗" google results: 0


SuperXW said:


> 他今天或明天*有时间*吗？


It sounds very natural, something I normally would say.


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## SuperXW

Skatinginbc said:


> An interesting structure that sticks out like a sore thumb to me .
> "约他今天吗" google results: 0
> "约他明天吗" google results: 1
> "约他今天或明天吗" google results: 0


Really? Maybe it's my personal informal style, not recommended. It's short for 可以约他今天或明天(给我看病)吗 I'm sure it is understandable though.



Skatinginbc said:


> In my dialect, you can also say "他今天或明天還有空檔嗎?"


What dialect is that and how do you pronounce 空檔 here? kong1 or kong4? dang1 or dang3? Or some other tone?

By the way, I have a related question. In English, can we say "are you free tomorrow" to make an appointment? I mean, "free" sounds like your don't work at that time, but I meant "available" or "have opening". Thanks!


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## Lucevan le stelle

SuperXW said:


> By the way, I have a related question. In English, can we say "are you free tomorrow" to make an appointment? I mean, "free" sounds like your don't work at that time, but I meant "available" or "have opening". Thanks!


I think it depends on who you're asking. It's okay if you're asking a friend to have dinner together or something. I also use "are you free on X day" or "when are you free" to make appointments with my professors (maybe I should have used "available" instead?). But using it to make an appointment with a doctor sounds odd to me.


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## Skatinginbc

SuperXW said:


> What dialect is that and how do you pronounce 空檔   here? kong1 or kong4? dang1 or dang3? Or some other tone?


It is part of the 國語 lexicon.  It is attested in  清代李伯元《文明小史》：「你們沒見他說了一半，人家拍手的時候，他有半天不說。這個空檔，他在那偷看第二段。」  空檔 (kong4 dang3) means   "the free time between events".  Say, if the doctor will be busy from   1:00pm to 3:00pm, and from 4:00pm to 5:00pm, the 空檔 will be the free   time between 3:00pm and 4:00pm.
空檔's antonym is 滿檔 "on a full schedule, fully scheduled".  檔期 "performance schedule".





SuperXW said:


> can we say "are you free tomorrow" to make an  appointment? I mean, "free" sounds like your don't work at that time,  but I meant "available" or "have opening".


Yes, you can.  Although it is semantically  ambiguous ("not working" or "available"), the end  result is the same (i.e., pragmatically unambiguous): Do you have time  to see me tomorrow?
Of course, some people may try to be humorous and make a joke  out of it, for instance: 
A: Dr. Johnson, are you free?
B: I'm cheap but not free.


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## stephenlearner

Lucevan le stelle said:


> I'd just translate “Does he have any openings today or tomorrow?” into "今天或明天他有空吗？“


 Best answer. 

空档 is rarely heard in Mainland China.


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## BODYholic

Yes, I frequently hear Taiwanese say 空档 (especially in TV talk shows). It is something readily understood by most people in my country, although we don't actively use it. In English, it's translated as "free slot". For example, you may ask the doctor if he/she has a free slot at 4pm later in the evening. 可参照 － 八点档。


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## Skatinginbc

Although 空档 is now mainly used in Taiwan, it is not a Taiwanese invention, nor is it a foreign loan.  Taiwan has simply preserved the Chinese heirloom that is now largely lost in Mainland and brought it to a new height， That's all.


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## fyl

In mainland Mandarin, you can say
这个空儿(kongr4)，他在那儿偷看第二段。
这个当儿(dangr4)，他在那儿偷看第二段。
这个空当儿(kong4 dangr4)，他在那儿偷看第二段。
会议行程虽然很满，但他还是能找个空当（儿）溜出去旅游。
小偷利用警察说话的空当儿溜了。
这张纸差不多写满了，他费了好大劲儿才找到一个空当儿记下电话号码。
空当接龙(translation of the Microsoft game FreeCell, which is 新接龍 in Taiwan version I think)

This word is different from 空檔 in Taiwan in a few ways:
1. It has a colloquial, or even dialectal flavor, whereas in Taiwan 空檔 is used for business scheduling.
2. 空=当=空当=empty space/time, whereas in 空檔/滿檔 of Taiwan Mandarin, 檔(dang3) sounds more like a mysterious object. 檔期 is definitely a new word.
This is why the use of 空檔 in Taiwan Mandarin sounds very alien to mainlanders. The feeling is very different from the original word 空当.

(I don't know why there is a 当[當]/档[檔] difference. But it is not strange because colloquial characters were often written differently.)


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## Skatinginbc

fyl said:


> _dialectal _flavor


吳語。李寶嘉.江蘇武進人《文明小史》：這個檔(dang3)口，總督已經叫人取過封條十六張。 亦作「擋(dang3)口」.


fyl said:


> 空=当=空当=empty space/time, whereas in 空檔/滿檔 of Taiwan Mandarin, 檔(dang3) sounds more like a mysterious object.


檔 dang 3 = 擋 dang3, meaning "gap, opening" 间隙；间歇 http://www.zdic.net/z/1a/xs/6321.htm (李寶嘉.江蘇武進人《官场现形记》：这个空挡里头, 周老爷、文七爷 一班人便也回到自己船上，料理一切)(http://www.zdic.net/c/a/10e/293139.htm).


fyl said:


> Taiwan 空檔 is used for business scheduling


The  more accurate way to describe it is that in Taiwan Mandarin 空檔 is used  not only for the time gap between two actual events, but also for the  opening between two scheduled events.  It can be used not only in casual  conversation, but also in formal contexts.  It is a semantic expansion (發揚光大), not a semantic shift.


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## brofeelgood

Hmm... somehow, I can't bring myself to equate 空当 to 空档. 

To me,
空当 = available (physical) space
空档 = available time slot


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## fyl

By "dialectal" I did not mean it sounds "alien" (because it's from Wu). I mean it sounds more like a northern slang instead of written language.
(It may be originated from Wu and may be not since the novels were mostly in Mandarin, though different from modern standard Mandarin.)

As for the tone, www.zdic.net says it can be written as 当, 档 or 挡.
当 can be dang1, dang3 and dang4 (dang3 exists only in a Taiwan dictionary).
档 can be dang3 and dang4 (dang3 exists only in a Taiwan dictionary, it is only dang4 in mainland though people do say dang3).
挡 can be dang3 and dang4 (dang4 exists only in a mainland dictionary).
So it's hard to tell whether it should be dang3 or dang4.
There is also a common word 搭档, here in http://www.zdic.net/c/d/92/163264.htm it says it can be 「搭当」, 「搭档」 or 「搭挡」, which is the same situation, but I believe all people would say da1 dang4.

The meaning 间隙, 间歇 and all examples given in zdic.net are readily understood in mainland. 檔口 in「這個檔口，總督已經叫人取過封條十六張」 is also a common word (though I pronounce it as dang4kou3).
If 档 in 空档/满档 still has this meaning, it is a development.


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## brofeelgood

When 档 is used as "gear", as in transmission gear, e.g. 换档 (change gear), 挂档 (shift gear) or 第一/头档 (first gear), dang3 sounds natural.

I remember this from a conversation between a friend and a taxi driver in China: 没事儿师傅,这袋子我就用手拎着 (instead of leaving it near the gear lever),免得妨碍你挂档 dang3.


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## stephenlearner

fyl said:


> By "dialectal" I did not mean it sounds "alien" (because it's from Wu). I mean it sounds more like a northern slang instead of written language.



At least not heard in Beijing and Hebei province. I said in the former post it was rarely heard in the Mainland of China. I may have been wrong. I should say it is rarely heard in northern China. 

I think people in the north could understand it, but we don't use it.


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## fyl

stephenlearner said:


> At least not heard in Beijing and Hebei province. I said in the former post it was rarely heard in the Mainland of China. I may have been wrong. I should say it is rarely heard in northern China.
> I think people in the north could understand it, but we don't use it.


你确定？ 我是河北人，只在河北和北京呆过。我说的不是台湾的「空档」，是12楼的「空当儿」。我觉得这个词还是很常用的（具体用法可能略有差别）。


http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4934d6d101017q7k.html ：这不，在周末相声俱乐部的后台采访的*空当儿*，就有人过来插话——“跟着孟哥，有吃有喝。”
http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/680530802089172532.html ：你那叫一个胖，坐的大圈椅子里，身上的肉就往椅子的*空当儿*里边塞，全塞满了，往起一站现往下拽椅子。
这两个显然都有较重的北方话色彩。


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## stephenlearner

查《现代汉语常用词表》(收录常用词56008个)，空当排在30517位，空档排在41977位。
在”北京口语语料查询系统“中（http://yys.blcu.edu.cn/6_beijing/6_beijing_chaxun.asp）输入”空当“，查询结果为0。

网上也有一个例句：书架上摆满了书，没有空当儿。
我能理解这句话，但是在口语中不会这么说，我会说：书架上摆满了书，没（空）地儿了。


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## fyl

stephenlearner said:


> 在”北京口语语料查询系统“中（http://yys.blcu.edu.cn/6_beijing/6_beijing_chaxun.asp）输入”空当“，查询结果为0。


感觉这里边收的还是不够多啊，「鸡贼」、「抹不丢」、「局器」、「发小」、「倒窖」、「蝎了虎子」、「摔咧子」这种方言词一个都找不到，试了几次同音字也找不到，「练家子」、「点背」、「家雀」这种不太方言的也找不到。


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## Skatinginbc

brofeelgood said:


> Hmm... somehow, I can't bring myself to equate 空当 to 空档.
> To me,
> 空当 = available (physical) space
> 空档 = available time slot


That's exactly how we treat them in Taiwan. 
 空當(子/兒) kong4dang4 (physical space) vs. 空檔/擋 kong4dang3 (time)
空當 dang4 ≠ 空檔 dang3


fyl said:


> 档 can be dang3 and dang4 (dang3 exists only in a   Taiwan dictionary, it is only dang4 in mainland though people do say   dang3).
> 挡 can be dang3 and dang4 (dang4 exists only in a mainland dictionary).


漢典 says 挡 dǎng3 〈名〉 间隙 "gap"。 如:挡口(time 時刻)http://www.zdic.net/z/1a/xs/6321.htm


fyl said:


> It may be originated from Wu and may be not


國語辭典 says 擋口 is 吳語, 指時候 http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-...y=-1920643798&serial=3&recNo=0&op=f&imgFont=1
  空擋 dang3 and 擋口 dang3 probably came from the same dialect.


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## fyl

Skatinginbc said:


> 漢典 says 挡 dǎng3 〈名〉 间隙 "gap"。 如:挡口(time 時刻)http://www.zdic.net/z/1a/xs/6321.htm
> 國語辭典 says 擋口 is 吳語, 指時候 http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-...y=-1920643798&serial=3&recNo=0&op=f&imgFont=1
> 空擋 dang3 and 擋口 dang3 probably came from the same dialect.



汉典 also says dang1 http://www.zdic.net/c/3/9f/182210.htm
国语词典 also has dang1kou3 http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-...d=%B7%ED%A4f&pieceLen=50&fld=1&cat=&imgFont=1
BTW, both dictionaries have all the 3 variants 当口/挡口/档口, and the tones are just the default tones of the characters: 当dang1, 挡dang3, 档dang4(汉典)/dang3(国语辞典)

现代汉语词典 has only 当口(dang1 kou3) and not 档口/挡口.

Well, I'm not sure if it's dang1 or dang4 now. The tone could have been affected by the character used (当/挡/档). But I'm sure I have never heard of "dang3 kou3".
吴语 may be the origin (appearance in 官场现形记 does not guarantee this because the author came to 山东 at 3 and grew up there, and those novels were mostly in Mandarin), but 当口 is common in the north too.


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## Skatinginbc

fyl said:


> I'm not sure if it's dang1 or dang4 now.


The following is what governs my own speech:  
當(平聲): (1)當(dang1)即, 隨即 (e.g., 《宣和遗事》：张天觉山呼舞罢了, 当口奏道); (2) 正當(dang1)某事發生或進行的時候 (e.g., 趁這個當dang1口= 趁這事正在發生或進行的時候)
當(去聲): 適當(dang4)的時機, 機會 (e.g., 趁這個當dang4口= 趁這個機會).   當dang4口: "window of opportunity", in which 口 = window or opening, and 當  dang4 is nominalized, meaning "opportunity" 適當時機 (like the nominalized 當  in 當子, 空當子, and 空當兒 with the nominal suffix 子/兒).
Because 當(去聲, not 平聲) is homophonous with 擋 and 檔 in some southern  dialects (e.g., Shanghainese), 空出來的適當時機 is often written as 空擋/空檔 (e.g.,  今天或明天他有空檔嗎？ = 今天或明天他有空出來的適當時機嗎？)  as opposed to 空當, which could refer to a physical space in some  northern dialects (e.g., 當子, 空當子, 空當兒). The default pronunciation for 擋 and 檔 is dang3 (e.g., 擋住 dang3zhu4, 檔案 dang3an4) in Taiwan Mandarin, where 空擋/空檔 is thus pronounced as kong4dang3.


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