这哪是唱戏的料嘛这
“How is he fit to perform in opera?”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
“You brought in someone this slow. He can't even talk to me.”
这 哪是 唱戏的料 嘛这
“How is he fit to perform in opera?”
“Take this one back now. Forget it.”
“This person has zero talent for this trade; stop wasting everyone's time.”
In traditional Chinese performance and craft guilds, practitioners strongly believe in innate talent and physical flexibility, readily rejecting novices who lack natural aptitude.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
nowhere near cut out to be...; not the material for...
A standard spoken pattern using '料' (raw material) to indicate that someone inherently lacks aptitude or character for a role.
to sing opera; to perform in traditional theatre
Commonly refers to traditional Chinese opera, but can also metaphorically imply putting on an act.
Reinforces that the judgment should be completely obvious and indisputable to the listener.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“[Farewell My Concubine] It's an opera. What's so good about it?”
“what will they sing as old plays later?”
“What show is he putting on here?”
“What opera is this?”
“of your little drama.”
“Anything beats singing opera.”