那他哪能想得到啊
“so how would he know?”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
你没跟他说
“You didn't tell him,”
那 他 哪能 想得到 啊
“so how would he know?”
是不
“Right?”
“Give him a break, there's no way he could have predicted this.”
In Chinese discussions about culpability, asking '哪能...' serves to absolve someone of blame by highlighting the unpredictability of circumstances.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
how could (one) possibly
A rhetorical adverb strongly asserting impossibility or unfair expectation.
unexpected / fail to anticipate
Common potential complement indicating an inability to foresee a situation.
Reinforces the rhetorical force and invites agreement from the listener.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“What is he doing?”
“truly cannot make sense of it.”
“I don't understand what he's thinking.”
“do something so utterly reckless?”
“How would I have known it?”
“I can't understand what he's really thinking,”