到现在这个人是死是活也不知道
“We don't even know if he's dead or alive.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
还有一个听说是咋 四海为家 浪迹天涯去了
“And what about the other? Wandering around the world.”
到现 在这 个人 是死是活 也不知道
“We don't even know if he's dead or alive.”
你再看看这老几位
“Those three old guys have been”
Direct spoken expression in this communicative setting.
In older Chinese community narratives, wandering across the country (浪迹天涯) often resulted in losing touch completely before modern telecommunications existed.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
even until now / up to this point
Introduces a continuing unresolved condition that stretches from the past to the present.
whether dead or alive
A set colloquial phrase highlighting complete uncertainty about someone's welfare.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“But today should not be the day I die.”
“I wonder how that man's doing now.”
“I don't even know whether he's alive or dead now.”
“She doesn't even know if I'm alive or dead.”
“♪ Time and space interlace; it's still you ♪ I'd end up dead again at your hands without even knowing how.”
“One day he might die somewhere, with no one knowing.”
“Otherwise, I wouldn't even know how I died.”
“When I was hospitalized, I didn't even know if I could survive.”
“Even now, you don't realize”