# 摇两步



## jheinric

Hi everybody!

Recently I came across the phrase "摇两步" in a short story I was reading. From the context I knew that it was a kind of dance, and I tentatively translated it as "swaying two-step," but I am not very confident in this translation. However, I could not find anything about it on the internet. 

For reference, here is the sentence that it appeared in: "当时，我们把这种跳法叫做*摇两步*，是一种带点暧昧的亲密舞种." So I know that its a kind of dance, and its a kind of dance that brings the two partners close together. Is there an official English translation for this word, or at least a better translation?


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## SimonTsai

jheinric said:


> I tentatively translated it as "swaying two-step".
> 
> "当时，我们把这种跳法叫做*摇两步*，是一种带点暧昧的亲密舞种."


I am sorry, but I have never seen 搖兩步.

My understanding is the same as yours. Maybe Mainland Chinese would lend us a helping hand.


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## Mo___

没有这种舞蹈，应该是文中编造的一个名字。

两步：我认为“两步”是个约数(approximate number)，用a bit或者a little代替就可以，并且“步”字可以不翻译。

仅为个人意见。


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## Skatinginbc

It sounds like "doing two rock-steps" (e.g., 左足摇步 rock on left foot + 右足摇步 rock on right foot) to me.

Watch some Tango "摇步" (rock turn) videos, and you should be able to get the "带暧昧的亲密舞种" part.


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## jheinric

好的，谢谢你们的帮助！


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## SuperXW

不知道跟"二步摇"有没有关系……但看起来这是广场舞，不存在暧昧什么的。
有很多特定时期特定人群的用语，我们不太了解，也没有记录在网络上，过些年就会完全消失掉。


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## Skatinginbc

SuperXW said:


> 不知道跟"二步摇"有没有关系


好像没有. "二步摇"是跳二步然後摇身子, "摇两步"像"摇两下", 两步本身就是"摇".  我想作者(i.e., 夏商, 原名夏文煜)應該是使用社交舞術語, 因為:
(1) 原文描述的似乎是社交舞 (ballroom dancing; 夏商《剪刀石頭布》我雖然不會跳舞，還是情不自禁邀她跳(cf. 社交)了一曲。進了舞池 (cf. ballroom), 我才發覺自己只能來回走走，腳步根本沒有章法。當時，我們把這種跳法叫做: 搖兩步，是一種帶點曖昧的親密舞種。我和叢蓉顯然還沒有跳這種舞的資格，所以叢蓉就不高興了，一定以為我在吃她的“豆腐”)
(2) 該作者愛用社交舞術語, 譬如"慢四步舞" (e.g., 夏商《集體婚禮》有若干情侶直接就走進了舞池，在鋼琴的伴奏下跳起了舒緩的慢四步舞)。


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## Lamb67

SimonTsai said:


> I am sorry, but I have never seen 搖兩步.
> 
> My understanding is the same as yours. Maybe Mainland Chinese would lend us a helping hand.



It could mean " have a try", a spoken word from the Beijing area 😑
摇两步, have a dabble in dancing.


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## SuperXW

Lamb67 said:


> It could mean " have a try", a spoken word from the Beijing area 😑
> 摇两步, have a dabble in dancing.


 

你走两步，看看有没有问题。
走两步 = try to walk several steps 

当时，我们把这种跳法叫做*摇两步*，是一种带点暧昧的亲密舞种。
摇两步 = a ballroom dancing style nicknamed "sway two-step"  
摇两步 ≠ "have a try" or "have a babble in dancing" 

Evidence:
1. We can find ballroom dancing 交谊舞 moves named 摇步、两步.
2. Original context: 当时，我们把这种跳法叫做:摇两步，是一种带点暧昧的亲密舞种。我和丛蓉显然还没有跳这种舞的资格，所以丛蓉就不高兴了，一定以为我在吃她的“豆腐”……


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## T.D

It was simply a name given to a kind of flirty dance moves. I would have translated it into just 'swaying', or, if you wish to have the 两步 included, 'two-step swaying'. 
I agree with #Mo___ that 两 here is not referring to an exact number. See 走两步，拍两下，吃两口， etc.


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## SuperXW

也不一定是“走两步”那种虚指，查到交谊舞中是有“两步舞”的，英文是Two-Step。
参考：社交舞 | Wikiwand


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## T.D

SuperXW said:


> 也不一定是“走两步”那种虚指，查到交谊舞中是有“两步舞”的，英文是Two-Step。
> 参考：社交舞 | Wikiwand


个人认为如果是带有摇摆动作的两步舞，那通常会叫他“两步摇”而不是“摇两步”。


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## SuperXW

T.D said:


> 个人认为如果是带有摇摆动作的两步舞，那通常会叫他“两步摇”而不是“摇两步”。


但是如果像走两步，拍两下，吃两口那种意思，这舞步也未免太弱鸡了，跳了半天就摇两步，还调情呢……


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## T.D

SuperXW said:


> 但是如果像走两步，拍两下，吃两口那种意思，这舞步也未免太弱鸡了，跳了半天就摇两步，还调情呢……


Mmm...anyway, I believe it is an idiomatic name given to some made-up dance moves，it's hard to determine which translation will make more sense without more context.


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## Lamb67

Let's rename it to "dabble and dance"😁

It's unusual to have a verb-beginning name though😁


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## ovaltine888

I believe 摇两步 is one of the old names of ballroom dancing (交谊舞) which was trendy in China in the 1980s.

I also heard 慢三步 when I was a kid which is supposed to be something close to Waltz.


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