# 打听个道儿



## wishonatrish

Hi,

what is the meaning of the phrase "打听个道儿"?

Context: "哎， 哥们，打听个道儿，赌场怎么走啊?"

Is the translation: Hey, bros/my man, listen, how do I get to the casino?


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## wynapos

"道" means way or road.
so the translation can  be regarded as : How can I get to the.. or Which way can I go to the..or Hey, my man, Can I ask you a road?


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## SuperXW

打听个道儿 Literally: (I want to) "ask a way".
The saying is clearly in Beijing (or its nearby regions) dialect.
In formal Chinese "asking for direction" is 问路 "asking for road". The dialect speaker would use 打听 for "ask", 道儿 for "road".
个 is short for 一个. It's often added when people ask for "one thing" for "one time".


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## nl428

You are asking the way in Beijing dialect. But there's no casino in Beijing...


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## SuperXW

nl428 said:


> You are asking the way in Beijing dialect. But there's no casino in Beijing...


Damn right, bro!


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## Skatinginbc

Since 打听 means 问 (e.g., 打听个道儿 = 问个道儿) in the Beijing dialect, can I say "老师, 我可以打听个语法问题吗?"


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## SuperXW

Skatinginbc said:


> Since 打听 means 问 (e.g., 打听个道儿 = 问个道儿) in the Beijing dialect, can I say "老师, 我可以打听个语法问题吗?"


打听 is asking for some information, but not for other questions and problems, so no~


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## Skatinginbc

Thanks, SuperXW.  How about "我可以打听你的姓名/年龄吗 (= 我可以问你的姓名/年龄吗)?"


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## SuperXW

Skatinginbc said:


> Thanks, SuperXW.  How about "我可以打听你的姓名/年龄吗 (= 我可以问你的姓名/年龄吗)?"


Your tone is very polite and formal (我可以……姓名/年龄), but 打听 is an informal dialectic word, so, no, your sentence is too strange to ask.
But say, you fancy a girl, then you can ask her friend: 哎！我跟你打听下她叫什么？多大？


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## Skatinginbc

Thank you, SuperXW.  I still haven't figured out where 打听 can be used in the Beijing dialect.  In Taiwan Mandarin, "我跟你打听下她叫什么" is idiomatic, whereas "打听个道儿" sounds somewhat strange.  To me, 打听 is like 探听 (查探消息 "gather information or tidings", which agrees with what you said in #7: "打听 is asking for some information, but not for other questions and problems").  你也不去打听(= 探听)一下我張三是什么人; 想跟你打听(= 探听)_一_件事; 四處打听(= 探听)失散妻兒的蹤影 (an example that 打听 can be used in a formal sentence).  我可以打听你的姓名吗 sounds strange because 打听 often entails secrecy (私下打听) or efforts (四處打听, 查詢探訪, to solicit, collect, accumulate, and draw conclusion).  We 打听 someone's information behind his/her back or when he/she is not present.  

打听个道儿 goes against the "secrecy/effort" connotation: Asking direction is  straightforward and requires little effort; and it is not a question  about someone who is not present.  If this connotation is absent or dispensable in the Beijing dialect, can I say "哎！我跟你打听下你叫什么? 多大?"


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## YangMuye

打听路 sounds good to me because the listener may not know the answer, then you have to ask the next one.


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## Skatinginbc

Then "哎， 哥们，打听个道儿，赌场怎么走啊?" = "哎， 哥们，我在打听个道儿，赌场怎么走啊?"  Rather than "哎， 哥们，我跟你打听个道儿，赌场怎么走啊?"  Is my interpretation correct?  

Or perhaps the speaker had gone through some trouble finding a casino in Beijing, and that's why he used the word "打听" as if it was insider information???  Perhaps the casino he was referring to is an illegal gambling den and that's why he had to "打听"??


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## SuperXW

@Skatinginbc: 我认为你对「打听」的理解和北京人基本一致。我从一开始就将此解释为 [I want to] ask for a road，强调自己的状态。自己找路的时候，确实是在make effort，四处探访；而且多少也算是「私人问题」，因为你去哪里和别人无关，别人未必知道，你也没有公开地征求意见，所以用「打听」。
所以你不妨理解成「我在」打听个道，只是不会有人把「我在」说出来。会有人说「我跟你打听」，这和「我在打听」的意思并没矛盾啊？

根据台湾习惯，会不会有人问：「我不知道怎么走了，你去打听打听？」


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## Skatinginbc

SuperXW said:


> 根据台湾习惯，会不会有人问：「我不知道怎么走了，你去打听打听？」


Maybe, although I haven't heard anyone say that to me.  I would usually say, 「我不知道怎么走了，你去找人问问.」   或許在塔克拉玛干沙漠尋找吐火罗遺蹟的路上, 我会说: 「我不知道怎么走了，咱們回鎮裡打听打听.」

「打听他的來歷」 (intelligence), 「打听通過邊境的密道」 (secret), 「打听有沒有捷徑」 (special knowledge), 「他是怎么合法賣大麻的, 咱們从他那里打听个道儿(= 门路)如何」 (insider information). 

通往某个著名地标(landmark)的道路 is usually presumed to be "general,  well-known information" and thus it does not go well with 打听.  Then  again, after reading your explanations as well as YangMuye's, I think 打听个道儿 makes sense to me.  I feel less and less about its strangeness, and  it seems to be growing on me.


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## SuperXW

可能这个词在台湾 「私下、偷偷地」询问 意味更重吧……也不用growing on you啊……


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## Skatinginbc

You may be right, SuperXW.  打听 = 打探偷聽 (醒世恆言: 「且說李都管聽得劉家喧嚷，伏在壁上打聽。」).   
By "grow on me", I mean "it becomes progressively more acceptable and pleasant to my ears".


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## retrogradedwithwind

我认为打听更多的是用在询问第三方的场合，我向你打听“其他人或物“的信息。这个词比较口语，但也不是不能用于书面语。


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## retrogradedwithwind

且說李都管聽得劉家喧嚷，伏在壁上打聽
这是词义演变的例子，句中的这句和当代释义有些细微区别。
伏在逼上打听，是真的在”听“，打，在这里我觉得是个语助词，打听=听，这句中意为偷听。
现在说打听，由真的在听引申为询问，但还是免不了鬼鬼祟祟。


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## Skatinginbc

retrogradedwithwind said:


> 由真的在听引申为询问，但还是免不了鬼鬼祟祟。


Exactly.  That's the "secrecy" connotation I was talking about.  The second connotation comes from this interpretation: 打聽 = 打探緝聽 (= 到各方面去蒐集消息). 由於"聽"這個字, "打聽"是蒐集消息或情報 (information or intelligence)而不是討教问题 (questions or problems, e.g., 语法问题).


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## lingyang

学生一般不这样和老师说话的 学生只会说 老师我能问你一个语法问题吗 打听一般用于方言


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