垃圾
lājī
The English word 'rubbish' is translated into Chinese as 垃圾 (lājī).
垃圾 is used to refer to physical waste, such as garbage or trash. It is also used metaphorically to describe items of low quality, such as poor-quality products or bad writing.
Meaning: items of low quality (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
As a noun, 垃圾 is uncountable and does not take a plural marker to indicate multiple items of trash.
How do you pronounce it?
lājī
Did you know?
- The second syllable of the Mandarin pronunciation lājī is actually a linguistic mistake. It resulted from people incorrectly associating a rare, obsolete version of the character with a more common phonetic component.
- The term 垃圾话 (lājī huà) literally means 'rubbish words' and is the standard Chinese term for 'trash talk' in sports or gaming.
- In the context of computer science, Chinese uses 垃圾 to describe 'garbage collection', the process of reclaiming unused memory in a program.
Examples in context
- 我无权提出要求，而且你有权无视我写的这些垃圾，怎么样都随你的便。I have no business making demands and you have every right to simply disregard all this rubbish I've written and send me whatever you bloody well please.This sentence shows how to use 垃圾 to describe low-quality writing.Tatoeba #8975253 by WilsonWong, translation #6397806 by mraz
- 給丟到垃圾桶裡去。Toss it into the rubbish.This sentence illustrates the use of 垃圾 when referring to a rubbish bin or container.Tatoeba #10569499 by DaoSeng, translation #10565937 by deniko
- 他們看了看那堆垃圾，再互相望了一眼。They looked at the rubbish, then they looked at each other.This sentence shows the use of 垃圾 when referring to a pile of physical waste.Tatoeba #1584514 by nickyeow, translation #63536 by voxbubnya
- 请把垃圾分类Please separate the rubbish for recycling.
- 不要把废物丢在公共场所Do not litter in public places.
- 这个电影真的很垃圾This movie is really rubbish.
- 这家餐厅的服务太烂了The service at this restaurant is rubbish.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Wei and Xiaowen are looking at some cheap products online.
- 伟 Wei这些产品简直是垃圾。Zhèxiē chǎnpǐn jiǎnzhí shì lājī.These products are simply rubbish.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我也觉得这些质量太差了。Wǒ yě juéde zhèxiē zhìliàng tài chà le.I also think the quality is too poor.
- 伟 Wei我们不要买这些垃圾。Wǒmen bùyào mǎi zhèxiē lājī.Let's not buy this rubbish.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen对，我们找点更好的。Duì, wǒmen zhǎo diǎn gèng hǎo de.Right, let's look for something better.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 垃圾, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
