# Ram something home



## Yang

Is there anyone know what's the Chinese phrase for 'ram something home'?

For example, ram my point home?

I have looked up the dictionary:
LONGMAN: to make sure someone fully understands something by emphasizing it and by providing a lot of examples, proof etc.
Cambridge:to emphasize the importance of what you are saying in order to make certain people understand it.

強調 seems not to be the appropriate phrase since 'ram sth home' is not only just emphasizing something but also making sure someone will fully understand it.

再三強調sth的重要性以使他人瞭解 is the best translation I can think of.
But it's too long, too...anyway, not good enough.

What's the correct and appropriate term of 'ram sth home' for Chinese?

Thank you in advance.


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## JJchang

I think you can try 耳提面命.


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## Yang

JJchang said:
			
		

> I think you can try 耳提面命.


Oh, thank you, Chang. 

I was thinking of your opinion and it made me think of another term:重申;再次重申;再三重申.

You see, the following examples seem to be more apporpriate if you use 重申 or 再三重申 to explain them:

*a police video ramming home the dangers of driving fast in fog (Longman)
* He thumped the desk as he rammed his point home. (Cambridge)

What do you think about 重申?


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## JJchang

I think 再三強調 is better than 重申 and is much better than 再次重申, as 重 means repeatedly/again already, so "repeatedly state again" sounds really strange, besides, since it has the meaning of "again", there comes the question "when was the first time this has been stated"....

that's just my 2 cents.


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## Yang

JJchang said:
			
		

> besides, since it has the meaning of "again", there comes the question "when was the first time this has been stated"....


 
Good point! 
I totally didn't think of this!
Thakn you for reminding me. 
It seems 再三強調sth的重要性以使他人瞭解 is the most transtration we can think of so far.

Edit:明瞭 not 瞭解; 明瞭 is more appropriate for the meaning.


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## Yang

Chang, I have asked this phrase in the English only forum.
There are many excellent opinions, which can not be found in the dictionary, given by other forer@s .

If you are interested, You can go there and read it. 

And the translation I previously thought of is not good.


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## JJchang

Yang, after reading their comment, I do think you need to reconsider that phrase 耳提面命 and the meaning behind that.


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## Yang

JJchang said:
			
		

> Yang, after reading their comment, I do think you need to reconsider that phrase 耳提面命 and the meaning behind that.


Last time you reminded me; this time it is my turn. 

We 耳提面命 to someone to make sure he won't forget something and will bear it in mind. Not because we worry that he might not yet understand something and want to make sure he will fully understand by emphasizing it or by being long-winded. 

Actually, 耳提面命 does not have the negative connotations of excess, being long-winded, or being over the top and is usually simple, precise and short.

Besides, you can try to use 耳提面命 to understand all the examples that have been mentioned, which I had done several times, you may find it's not appropriate--no matter whether it's the poor professor who tried the best to do his job, the police video, the speaker who thump the desk...etc.

The above is how I think and I still don't think 耳提面命 is appropriate.

Edit: I forgot an important thing--Please enlighten(教導;啟發) me if I am wrong.


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## JJchang

I think "ram something home" means to get the idea across, rather than "teaching something". Actually 重申 or 強調 has nothing to do with teaching as well, but just to "repeatedly state" or "emphasise" something. 

a police video ramming home the dangers of driving fast in fog 
警方影片*點出*在霧裡開快車的危險.
He thumped the desk as he rammed his point home
他邊拍桌子邊強調他的觀點.

Still, using the 再三強調某某的重要性以使他人了解 is awkward as ever, and it will be a horrendous sentence to read as well
警方影片再三強調在霧裡開快車的危險性以使他人了解. 
Besides, xx性 is a westernised phrase, it's better to avoid the terms such as  重要性, 危險性...

Rather than focusing on this particular phrase, if you give us the entire sentence then maybe that will be easier to translate.


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## Yang

JJchang said:
			
		

> I think "ram something home" *means to get the idea across, rather than "teaching something*". Actually 重申 or 強調 has nothing to do with teaching as well, but just to "repeatedly state" or "emphasise" something.


Yes, I agree.



> a police video ramming home the dangers of driving fast in fog
> 警方影片*點出*在霧裡開快車的危險.


I have to say the phrase 點出 is great!
I am not saying it's the most appropriate translation but it's so close!
It makes me almost think of something...almost.



> Still, using the 再三強調某某的重要性以使他人了解 is awkward as ever, and it will be a horrendous sentence to read as well
> 警方影片再三強調在霧裡開快車的危險性以使他人了解.


You can say that again! Yes, horrendous. >__<
Yesterday I was thinking that my Chinese must have degenerated. 



> Besides, xx性 is a westernised phrase, it's better to avoid the terms such as 重要性, 危險性...


 Really?! I have never known this!
I do know nowadays there are so many sentences/expressions people speak or write are westernised. Even I myself sometimes write sentences that are not Chinese enough. It's terriable (at least to me)! One day I looked something I wrote and realized some of them just didn't like traditional Chinese sentences. I am a Taiwanese/Chinese and should be able to write beautiful and very Chinese Chinese.



> Rather than focusing on this particular phrase, if you give us the entire sentence then maybe that will be easier to translate.


I saw 'just to ram the point home' in a thread whose title is 'hard return' in the English forum. Thanks to your and other forer@rs' precious opinions, I understand what it means. It just proves my Chinese is not good enough that I can't think of a good translation.


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## Yang

> a police video ramming home the dangers of driving fast in fog
> 警方影片*點出*在霧裡開快車的危險.
> He thumped the desk as he rammed his point home
> 他邊拍桌子邊強調他的觀點.


a police video ramming home the dangers of driving fast in fog
警方的錄影帶強力宣導在霧裡開快車的危險.
(Now I am sure and decide 強力宣導 would be perfectly appropriate in this sentence.  Thanks to your 點出 and the inspiration of getting the idea across. Of course, to ram sth home would mean and be translated differently in different contexts.) What do you think? I am satisfied. 


He thumped the desk as he rammed his point home.
當他用力傳達他的想法時,他奮力擊桌.
(I don't know if 用力傳達 would be the best one, but it should be O.K..)

Yeah!! Greeat! I mean finally. 
But I still don't know how to describe the professor in 'A professor who wants to make sure his/her pupils understand a difficult subject may be accused of "ramming the point home" by his exasperated class.'--by angeluomo

It's O.K.. Sooner or later, I will know.

Edit: By the way, I recall the Chinese classical books that I have read. Yes, I don't remember there are things like '重要性', '危險性'...etc..There is no 性 follows them. Even the phrases are different to the ones we ues today. 緊要得很 may have been said for 很重要. If you say 緊要得很, people may think you are weird and can't understand. Language changes.


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## elinor

This is what I looked up from the online dictionary. 

ram home: make clear by special emphasis and try to convince somebody of something 

I like your second translation: 再三強調sth的重要性以使他人瞭解

And this is my translation: 再三/反覆強調使人信服 (某事)


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## Yang

elinor said:
			
		

> This is what I looked up from the online dictionary.
> 
> ram home: make clear by special emphasis and try to convince somebody of something
> 
> I like your second translation: 再三強調sth的重要性以使他人瞭解
> 
> And this is my translation: 再三/反覆強調使人信服 (某事)


Hi elinor,

I would almost have written in Chinese, so close. 

Your translation is pretty good. Although my 強力宣導 is a little bit over-translated, I still love it.  

We had also discussed this in the English only forum and the title of the thread is 'ram something home'. If you go there and have a look, you may find something more.


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## JJchang

Yang said:
			
		

> I recall the Chinese classical books that I have read. Yes, I don't remember there are things like '重要性', '危險性'...etc..There is no 性 follows them. Even the phrases are different to the ones we ues today. 緊要得很 may have been said for 很重要. If you say 緊要得很, people may think you are weird and can't understand. Language changes.



If you notice carefully about the evolvement of Chinese writing, the introduction of xx性 into the Chinese literatures is not too much later than someone uses 緊要得很 in his/her article.

It's like "long time no see", that kind of language even though is "acceptable", it is still better be avoided.


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