# Thanks for the food you gave us last time. Very delicious!



## Frenchman in Taipei

My neighbour shared with me some food she made for the family, and I want to thank her later that I ate it and it was pretty good.

Is "感谢你的食物. 那个好吃." a good way to say this?


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## vincent20130401

Well, we would not say that. I'm not saying you are wrong, but those words we said"感谢" usually are use in the book. we call “书面语”. Any way,you can say:"哇，真好吃。谢谢哦。" That's oral Mandarin.


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## SuperXW

Your sentence is a word-by-word translation, which is grammatical but not idiomatic.

1. 食物 is a formal written word. When speaking, we'd like to say the name or category of the food. Whether it's a dim-sum or something? If you really don't know the name, say 吃的 or 東西.
2. Chinese often use 那個 as a filler, ("well..." that's a filler.) Avoid using 那個 or "that's delicious" may become "well, delicious". You can either speak out the food's name, or don't say 那個 at all. 

You can say:
謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃！
"Thanks for the food you gave us last time. Very delicious!"


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## 项小政

I am not sure whether you are influenced by your first language.But the sentence  "感谢你的食物. 那个好吃." sounds quite strange. If I were you, I will say“感谢你的食物，那很好吃”or “你的食物很好吃，感谢你”.
“那个”gives me the impression that you are indicating some dishes you really like. And I will ask you then"which dish do you like?" or “你喜欢哪盘菜？” Because I don't know “那个” refers to what or “哪个”.
While “那”sounds better for it means you like all the food in this context.You are not talking about certain dish.
And the best way is not to say "那个" or "那" at all.Because you has made it clear the object you wanted to praise there is no need in Chinese for you to mention it again.


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## Grefsen

项小政 said:


> If I were you, I will say“感谢你的食物，那很好吃”or “你的食物很好吃，感谢你”.
> “那个”gives me the impression that you are indicating some dishes you really like. And I will ask you then"which dish do you like?" or “你喜欢哪盘菜？” Because I don't know “那个” refers to what or “哪个”.
> While “那”sounds better for it means you like all the food in this context.You are not talking about certain dish.
> And the best way is not to say "那个" or "那" at all.Because you has made it clear the object you wanted to praise there is no need in Chinese for you to mention it again.


The timing of this thread is perfect for me.   One of my students from China just brought me two containers full of delicious homemade Chinese food and I would like to send her a brief "thank you" email in Chinese.  I also want to make sure that she knows that I liked both of the dishes very much.  

I am going to use your second option:

謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃！

谢谢！


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## 项小政

Grefsen said:


> The timing of this thread is perfect for me.   One of my students from China just brought me two containers full of delicious homemade Chinese food and I would like to send her a brief "thank you" email in Chinese.  I also want to make sure that she knows that I liked both of the dishes very much.
> 
> I am going to use your second option:
> 
> 謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃！
> 
> 谢谢！



I am glad to be of help!
But the sentence you are going to use, as far as I'm concerned, is a little awkward.And it's not the option I advised. It is actually SuperXW's suggestion.

Let me explain it fully.
"吃的" indeed is a colloquial expression but in your case you 'd better not to use it. Because "吃的", at least for me, refer to a dessert, a snack such as muffins or something. Thus it's quite improper for you to describe "two containers full of delicious homemade Chinese food" as "吃的". Besides, I think your students seemed serious in sending you the dishes.
Actually, "食物""东西““吃的“are unsuitable. Why don't you just use "菜". It's common, colloquial and has nothing to do with snack. I will give you some examples: 这家餐馆的菜很好吃。你妈做的菜很好吃。学校食堂的菜真难吃and so forth.

What's more, it seems to be a work of Google translation. If you say "謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃" to me in Chinese, I will ask you to talk with me like a human being, please. Because in this sentence, you use"的“ twice and "吃" twice. I have never heard anyone really say this sentence in my entire life. 

If you haven't sent the Email yet, this is my idea:謝謝你上次做的菜，很好吃 or 謝謝你上次带来的菜，很好吃
If you unfortunately sent the Email already, please remember the tips, as you have a lot of chances to make friends with Chinese. FOOD will never lose its share in your talking.


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## SuperXW

项小政 said:


> "吃的" indeed is a colloquial expression but in your case you 'd better not to use it. Because "吃的", at least for me, refer to a dessert, a snack such as muffins or something. Thus it's quite improper for you to describe "two containers full of delicious homemade Chinese food" as "吃的". Besides, I think your students seemed serious in sending you the dishes.
> Actually, "食物""东西““吃的“are unsuitable. Why don't you just use "菜". It's common, colloquial and has nothing to do with snack. I will give you some examples: 这家餐馆的菜很好吃。你妈做的菜很好吃。学校食堂的菜真难吃and so forth.


I totally agree with you that 東西/吃的 sounds too casual. That's why I only suggested him to use it when he really didn't know any other name.
He said "food", I considered it DOES include desserts, or maybe some kind of dumplings or buns...
You know that 菜 only means "vegetable" or "well-prepared dish". But if they are, say, dumplings, it would be improper to call it 菜...



项小政 said:


> What's more, it seems to be a work of Google translation. If you say "謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃" to me in Chinese, I will ask you to speak like a human being, please. Because in this sentence, you use"的“ twice and "吃" twice. I have never heard anyone really say this sentence in my entire life.


I disagree. I'm not sure about Taiwan, but it's totally idiomatic to say this in Beijing. Maybe you've connected it too much with its foreign version...


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## 项小政

SuperXW said:


> I totally agree with you that 東西/吃的 sounds too casual. That's why I only suggested him to use it when he really didn't know any other name.
> He said "food", I considered it DOES include desserts, or maybe some kind of dumplings or buns...
> You know that 菜 only means "vegetable" or "well-prepared dish". But if they are, say, dumplings, it would be improper to call it 菜...
> 
> 
> I disagree. I'm not sure about Taiwan, but it's totally idiomatic to say this in Beijing. Maybe you've connected it too much with its foreign version...



注意：存在疑问的是两个人Frenchman in Taipei 和 Grefsen
你回答的是Frenchman in Taipe的问题，你认为食物中包括点心，我觉得没什么不妥。
但是你不需要为自己在Grefsen的问题的上辩解。他的问题出在他自己身上：其直接引用了你对Frenchman in Taipei的回答，而你的回答并不适合他的情况的。原因是“two containers full of delicious homemade Chinese food”。

另外对于 "謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃" 这句话本身，我只能说我读起来真的很别扭。很像是将英语直接复制粘贴到谷歌翻译中出来的中文。
不信，你自己读读。你是不是在“我的”后面还需要停顿一下，来确定怎么断句。
"謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃" ，你真的听过有人说过一模一样的这句话吗？？？如果非得评价一下这句话，那我比较倾向于用“grammatically right but awkward”，而绝非“idiomatic”。
我不认同在北京有人这样说话，因为我在天津上大学，经常往来京津。


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## Skatinginbc

SuperXW said:


> I'm not sure about Taiwan


What 项小政 said holds true in Taiwan: "謝謝你上次送我的吃的" sounds like a google translation. "謝謝你上次送我吃的", on the other hand, is possible. In a casual conversation, I would simply say "你上次送我的东西真好吃, 謝謝".


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## Grefsen

项小政 said:


> I am glad to be of help!
> But the sentence you are going to use, as far as I'm concerned, is a little awkward.And it's not the option I advised. It is actually SuperXW's suggestion.


Sorry for the mistake.  I neglected to double-check which sentence I had copied.  



项小政 said:


> Let me explain it fully.
> "吃的" indeed is a colloquial expression but in your case you 'd better not to use it. Because "吃的", at least for me, refer to a dessert, a snack such as muffins or something. Thus it's quite improper for you to describe "two containers full of delicious homemade Chinese food" as "吃的". Besides, I think your students seemed serious in sending you the dishes.
> Actually, "食物""东西““吃的“are unsuitable. Why don't you just use "菜". It's common, colloquial and has nothing to do with snack. I will give you some examples: 这家餐馆的菜很好吃。你妈做的菜很好吃。学校食堂的菜真难吃and so forth.
> 
> What's more, it seems to be a work of Google translation. If you say "謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃" to me in Chinese, I will ask you to talk with me like a human being, please. Because in this sentence, you use"的“ twice and "吃" twice. I have never heard anyone really say this sentence in my entire life.


*Xièxiè! *I really appreciate your very complete explanation. 



项小政 said:


> If you haven't sent the Email yet, this is my idea:謝謝你上次做的菜，很好吃 or 謝謝你上次带来的菜，很好吃
> If you unfortunately sent the Email already, please remember the tips, as you have a lot of chances to make friends with Chinese. FOOD will never lose its share in your talking.* *


No, fortunately I have not sent the email yet.


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## SuperXW

项小政 said:


> 注意：存在疑问的是两个人Frenchman in Taipei 和 Grefsen
> 你回答的是Frenchman in Taipe的问题，你认为食物中包括点心，我觉得没什么不妥。
> 但是你不需要为自己在Grefsen的问题的上辩解。他的问题出在他自己身上：其直接引用了你对Frenchman in Taipei的回答，而你的回答并不适合他的情况的。原因是“two containers full of delicious homemade Chinese food”。
> 
> 另外对于 "謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃" 这句话本身，我只能说我读起来真的很别扭。很像是将英语直接复制粘贴到谷歌翻译中出来的中文。
> 不信，你自己读读。你是不是在“我的”后面还需要停顿一下，来确定怎么断句。
> "謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃" ，你真的听过有人说过一模一样的这句话吗？？？如果非得评价一下这句话，那我比较倾向于用“grammatically right but awkward”，而绝非“idiomatic”。
> 我不认同在北京有人这样说话，因为我在天津上大学，经常往来京津。


I was only focusing on the OP's question. Sorry I didn't notice Grefsen's specific condition.
About the sentence, baidu or google "送我的吃的", you'll get hundreds of results. I personally speak like this and I promise no listener would feel I am a robot...
I admit that other ways could be even better, but I insist 送我的吃的 is totally possible and natural~


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## learntheworld

I agree that when you know what the dish exactly is, simply use the name of the dish. Generally, this would add credibility and sincerity to your compliments 

and thanks. Anyhow, the sentence "謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃。" sounds natural and polite to me.


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## Grefsen

项小政 said:


> Why don't you just use "菜". It's common, colloquial and has nothing to do with snack. I will give you some examples: 这家餐馆的*菜*很好吃。你妈做的*菜*很好吃。学校食堂的*菜*真难吃。and so forth.


Would the English translation for *"菜"* in each of these sentences be "dishes"? 



项小政 said:


> If you haven't sent the Email yet, this is my idea:謝謝你上次做的菜，很好吃 or 謝謝你上次带来的菜，很好吃


In the first sentence would I be thanking my student for "making the dishes" and in the second sentence would I be thanking my student for "bringing the dishes"?




项小政 said:


> If you unfortunately sent the Email already, please remember the tips, as you have a lot of chances to make friends with Chinese. FOOD will never lose its share in your talking.


Great advice. 

Xièxiè!


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## 项小政

1.There is the explanation from COLLINS English-Chinese Chinese-English Dictionary for dish: Food that is prepared in a particular style or combination can be referred to as a dish. (一道) 菜 .
Thus  “菜” is very much the same meaning as "dish" or "dishes". But noted that, the meaning for “菜” can be expanded.  For instance, in the sentence"这家餐馆的菜很好吃", we sometimes mean not only dishes but desserts or virtually everything you have in the restaurant.

 2.As for"謝謝你上次做的菜，很好吃 or 謝謝你上次带来的菜，很好吃", I am sorry that I may mislead you. In fact, I just want to give you more than one options. Since what you want is a reply that can express your thank. Thus both options are OK, even though they are different slightly in meaning. No matter which one you use, your aim is reached.You are not thanking for "making the dishes" or "bringing the dishes". We chinese know very well that you are appreciating the dishes and thanking for the maker!Besides,your understanding about the two options is right.


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## BJren

作为北京人，我不得不说 ”我们也用 ’吃的‘ 来表示食物。比如： ”我今天带了好多吃的“，（表示了我今天带了很多食品）。如果是熟人之间，如果说 ”上次你给我拿的那些吃的挺好吃的。” 没什么不妥。所以说 。。。


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## 项小政

注意：我并不是说“吃的”不能代表食物。
我的意思在之前的回复中已经说的很明白了：在Grefsen提供的语境下，用“吃的”无法反映出“two containers full of delicious homemade Chinese food”。另外“吃的”也显得过于随意，没有很好地表达出自己的感谢。再者，“吃的”通常也多指零食，点心之类。用于正餐等显然不太适合。
至于我和SuperXW的争论在于，其认为"謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃"这句话很常用，没有任何问题。而我认为这句话虽没有语法毛病但是读起来很别扭像绕口令。因此我的建议是最好不要用。这句话任何一个词、字都是没有问题的，但是组合成句略显不妥。

请务必弄清楚每个人的观点及前后逻辑。
所以说也就没有什么所以说了。。。


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## Skatinginbc

To me, 「吃的」 corresponds to English "edible" (能吃的東西 "something fit to be eaten", e.g., "find some edibles" 找些吃的, "is there any edible" 有沒有吃的).  Just as "_the edible you gave me_" (0 google result) sounds rather strange, so does 你送我的吃的.  若人家送的美食在你口裡只是「能吃的東西」, 那聽起來是褒還是貶?


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## 项小政

Skatinginbc said:


> 若人家送的美食在你口裡只是「能吃的東西」, 那聽起來是褒還是貶?


神回复!
大爱!


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## learntheworld

前面的帖子也有讨论“谢谢你上次送我的吃的”是否属于北京当地自然的用法。根据 BJren 的回答，似乎这样的说法在北京并不是罕用的。所以不清楚在语音方面有什么问题，至少自己个人不会觉得很别扭。在现实生活中，应该是有这样的说法的，自己也有印象，在电视等媒体上听见过这样的表达。也许每个人的感觉不同吧。


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## 项小政

learntheworld said:


> 根据 BJren 的回答，似乎这样的说法在北京并不是罕用的。所以不清楚在语音方面有什么问题，至少自己个人不会觉得很别扭。在现实生活中，应该是有这样的说法的，自己也有印象，在电视等媒体上听见过这样的表达。


注意：问题的焦点在于这整的一句话“謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃”恰不恰当。不是其中的任何片段。不是 吃的 也不是 謝謝你上次送我的吃的 而是*謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃* 有点别扭。
你把这整句话读读，不觉得像绕口令吗？这句话才13个字，的 出现2次，吃 出现2次。
不信，你把整的这句话打入百度或谷歌，你根本找不到有哪个人类把这整句话说出来的。如果你认为是关键字中出现了干扰词 上次 的话，你甚至还可以把 上次 去掉，再进行搜索。结果发现只有百度有一句类似的句子，不过恰巧人家还带了图片 来诠释人家眼中的 吃的 是不是和 Grefsen 所描述的吃的大相径庭! 
不要找这句话的某个片段。 吃的 或是 謝謝你上次送我的吃的 这些都是正确用法 但是  謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃 就不太好。说出来不像人话。

另外，
不要再说有 吃的 这种用法了，我知道也使用 吃的 这个词 但是这Grefsen他给的特定语境下不适用。


最后


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## learntheworld

项小政 said:


> 不信，你把整的这句话打入百度或谷歌，你根本找不到有哪个人类把这整句话说出来的。
> 
> 不要找这句话的某个片段。 吃的 或是 謝謝你上次送我的吃的 这些都是正确用法


你的意思是“謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃”整的这句话在百度或谷歌里搜不到，就不像人话。那么按照你的指引，我在百度和谷歌里搜“謝謝你上次送我的吃的”整的这句话，也搜不到，那为什么你反而说“謝謝你上次送我的吃的”是正确用法呢？这里是否矛盾？至少这似乎并不能用来支持你的观点。



项小政 said:


> 但是这Grefsen他给的特定语境下不适用。


我有说在特别地讨论 Grefsen 的情况吗？


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## Ghabi

Moderator's Note
​ 
Dear All,

It's perfectly okay to disagree with others, but it suffices to state what you disagree about and then let others make their own judgment. It's unnecessary to have the last word or the last laugh. Live and let live.

Enjoy Foruming,

Ghabi (moderator)


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## Youngfun

For those who are find the sentence awkward, is it because of the repetition of 吃？
Then what about:

谢谢你上次送我的东西，很好吃！

With 好吃 at the end, it's already implied that it's food.


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## BODYholic

Youngfun said:


> For those who are find the sentence awkward, is it because of the repetition of 吃？
> Then what about:
> 
> 谢谢你上次送我的东西，很好吃！



It's just regional differences and/or one's habitual. I can safely say most people from my country are likely to say what Youngfun has suggested.

The thing about "謝謝你上次送我的吃的，很好吃。" that irks me was not the duplication of 吃. But the two 的 which are so close to each other. If "吃的" is mandatory in the sentence, I would rephrase it as such "謝謝你上次送我*那些*吃的，非常好吃。". For obvious reason, I also replaced 很 by 非常.


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