Search from various English teachers...
United States flagMichael King
Could someone help me with this sentence? "有什么好怕的" Hello all, I am trying to learn mandarin and am having trouble with why the sentence "有什么好怕的" translates to "there is nothing to fear" (assuming that that is the right translation). It seems to literally mean "there is (有) something (什么) good (好) to fear of (怕的)". Could someone enlighten me? 谢谢, Michael King

Answers · 5

0
什麼 is a question word that means 'what?' It does not mean "something." 有 also means "have." It SOME contexts it means "there is," but it is almost 100% translated to "have" in English. LIterally: Have what good fear? or: Have what fear*? What is there to fear? 好 can be used as a modifying word of an adjective -- such as the difference between 可怕 and 好可怕。 It turns "awful" into “awful awful." That's an overly simplistic way of looking at it, but it works 95% of the time. The grammar is deceptively similar when you start, but you will need to learn the differences in Chinese from English. A direct translation will lead to mistakes like these.
0
First translation is right.The word "好" means "need"(需要,有必要)。 There is nothing (that we need) to fear.
0
反问句。有什么+adj+(的)。表示与形容词完全相反的意思。

Still haven’t found your answers?

Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!

Start Learning Today