她 她一句都没说过我
“But she... She never once said a bad word to me.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
可我老眼昏花 总有做不好的时候
“I'm old and my eyes are failing. I've made my share of mistakes.”
她 她 一句都没说过 我
“But she... She never once said a bad word to me.”
离婚后
“After the divorce,”
“She was so extraordinarily kind and patient with me that it breaks my heart.”
In Chinese culture, a daughter-in-law or younger relative refraining from criticizing an aging elder's mistakes is considered the ultimate sign of respect and good character.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
not even a single sentence/word
An emphatic negative pattern used to stress absolute absence of criticism or complaint.
criticized me; scolded me
In conversational Chinese, '说' followed by a person often implies scolding or finding fault with them.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“didn't tell me anything.”
“can stay.”
“She didn't say a word.”
“I've barely even spoken to her. I don't care.”
“[tuts] Well, she didn't really say anything.”
“I've never seen anyone like her.”