半…半个时辰前 孙之望突然说他想通了
“An… An hour ago, Sun Zhiwang suddenly said he'd figured it out.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
不是说了不让任何人接近他吗？ 为何还会有这个？
“Didn't I order that no one be allowed to approach him? Why is there something like this?”
半…半个时辰前 孙之望 突然 说他 想通了
“An… An hour ago, Sun Zhiwang suddenly said he'd figured it out.”
“He wants to spill everything he knows. I was coming to find you”
“Don't blame me, something unexpected happened that made me leave my post!”
In pre-modern China, a 'shichen' represented a two-hour block corresponding to the twelve earthly branches; 'half a shichen' equals one standard modern hour.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
half an hour (traditional unit, approximately one hour in modern time)
Frequently heard in historical dramas to specify a duration roughly equivalent to 60 modern minutes.
figured it out / had a change of heart / came around
Use this idiom when someone resolves their mental block, accepts reality, or decides to confess.
Indicates a change of state regarding the suspect's mental readiness to speak.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“After all that talking, I finally get it.”
“You won't be seeing your grandson anytime soon.”
“It's been almost an hour, and you're still staring at the same page.”
“Stop talking about Zhi. You've been talking for half an hour. Look, you bored her so much that she left.”
“I had to wait an hour for it.”
“Why did she suddenly come around? It was her friends”