小飞不是无缘无故推倒她的
“Xiaofei didn't push her for no reason.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
走
“Let's go.”
小飞 不是 无缘无故 推倒 她的
“Xiaofei didn't push her for no reason.”
是她往我脸上泼水
“She splashed water on my face.”
“Don't pin all the blame on him; she provoked this first.”
In Chinese moral reasoning, establishing that an aggressive act was not 'without cause' shifts moral culpability significantly back to the provoker.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
without cause or reason / out of nowhere
A set four-character idiom used frequently when refuting accusations of arbitrary behavior.
to push over / push down
A resultative verb compound combining the action 'push' with the result 'fallen down'.
Used in the 'shi... de' construction to forcefully emphasize the circumstance and justification behind the past action.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“If Xiaofei annoys you, just smack him on the head.”
“Can Xiaofei be with you in the future?”
“You didn't push her. She fell over herself. Why should you be upset?”
“Xiaofei. Xiaofei. That kid - is acting up again. - Open up.”
“But I didn't push her. She fell down herself.”
“I'd like to talk to you about Xiaofei. What's up with Xiaofei?”