旁边
pángbiān
In Chinese, 'aside' is translated as 旁边 (pángbiān).
旁边 is an adverb meaning to or on one side. It is also used to describe the general area or side of an object. Related to this, the noun 旁白 is used in a theatrical context to mean an aside, which is a brief comment by a character to the audience that other characters cannot hear.
Meaning: to or on one side (adv)
What does it mean word for word?
旁边 is composed of 旁, meaning side or beside and 边, meaning side, edge or border.
Which one should you use?
While 旁边 refers to the general area or side of something, if you specifically mean 'next door' in the context of a building or a house, you should use 隔壁.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When you want to use 旁边 to indicate a location relative to an object, use the structure 在 [object] 旁边 to mean 'beside' or 'at the side of' something.
How do you pronounce it?
pángbiān
When do people say it?
In informal conversation, you might use 顺便说一下 to mention something in passing or as an aside or 额外提一句 to add an extra comment or bring up a related point. In more formal situations, the phrase 暂且不论 can be used to introduce a different topic momentarily, effectively leaving the current topic aside.
Did you know?
- In theatrical contexts, the term for an aside is 旁白, where 白 refers to 'speaking' or 'dialogue' rather than the color 'white'.
- The word 旁 in 旁边 is also used to describe 'side' in the sense of 'secondary' or 'marginal', such as in 旁听, which means to audit a class as a guest.
- In Chinese, the concept of being 'by your side' in a deep, emotional, or companionable sense often shifts from the spatial 旁边 to the word 身边, which implies being 'at one's person'.
Examples in context
- 暂且不论他们的观点是否正确，我们应先考虑更重要的因素。Leaving aside whether their viewpoints are correct, we should first consider more important factors.
- 若不计较个人感受，目前的计划是最合理的。Aside from personal feelings, the current plan is the most reasonable.
- 顺便说一下，我找到了你丢失的笔。By the way, I found the pen you lost.
- 额外提一句，这个菜是我自己做的。Just as a side note, I made this dish myself.
- 他在我旁边。He is beside me.
- 书在桌子旁边。Shū zài zhuōzi pángbiān.The book is beside the table.
- 请坐在我旁边。Qǐng zuò zài wǒ pángbiān.Please sit beside me.
- 车子停在房子旁边。Chēzi tíng zài fángzi pángbiān.The car is parked beside the house.
Example conversation
Haoran and Yuting are looking for a place to sit in a cafe.
- 浩然 Haoran雨婷，你坐我旁边吧。Yǔtíng, nǐ zuò wǒ pángbiān ba.Yuting, sit beside me.
- 雨婷 Yuting好啊，这里有位子。Hǎo a, zhèlǐ yǒu wèizi.Okay, there are seats here.
- 浩然 Haoran你的包在椅子旁边吗？Nǐ de bāo zài yǐzi pángbiān ma?Is your bag beside the chair?
- 雨婷 Yuting不，在桌子旁边。Bù, zài zhuōzi pángbiān.No, it is beside the table.
