我不是这个意思 我是说
“That's not what I mean. I mean...”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
就该让你在县里 管户籍
“I should've left you in the county managing household registrations.”
我不是这个意思 我是说
“That's not what I mean. I mean...”
比起那些日常的工作
“compared to those routine duties,”
“Please don't take it that way; let me rephrase before you get offended.”
Quickly disclaiming harmful intent ('I didn't mean that') is essential in hierarchical relationships to preserve face and soothe a superior's displeasure.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
that is not what I meant
A primary conversational repair strategy in Mandarin when realizing words caused offense or confusion.
what I mean is / I am saying
Used to pivot into an explanation or clearer restatement of an earlier comment.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“That's not what I meant. I mean...”
“That's not what I meant.”
“That's not what I meant.”
“that's not what I meant.”
“That's not what I meant.”
“That's not what I meant, really.”