五十五岁以下的男人都要去当兵
“All men under fifty-five have to join the army.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
“Another conscription order came down today.”
五十五岁 以 下 的 男人 都要去当兵
“All men under fifty-five have to join the army.”
谁家的孩子
“Whose child is it?”
“They are desperate enough to draft old men; none of us are safe.”
In Chinese historical cinema, sweeping military draft orders evoke immense collective tragedy and the tearing apart of multigenerational households.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
under; below; less than
Placed directly after a number or age threshold to mean 'inclusive of or below' that limit.
to serve in the army; to be a soldier
The standard colloquial term for military service in everyday spoken Chinese.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“my son will be of draft age too.”
“The army has age limits for conscription.”
“We are not allowed to recruit young people to join the army,”
“Can I still fight at my age?”
“Soldiers must obey orders.”
“We can only continuously conscript from the homeland.”