<p>There are limitations to this &quot;word-by-word&quot; or &quot;syllable-by-syllable&quot; approach, some of which you're encountering already with the parts you've had difficulty with. Chinese word formation, grammar, and so on don't usually map very directly onto English equivalents.</p>
<p>Also, I strongly recommend working from the characters in addition to the pinyin, <em>even if you're not learning the characters yet</em>. That way, you won't come across extremely common words such as 那 (&quot;that&quot;) and not know what they are (哪？拿？纳？).</p>
<p>You can always use browser extensions such as <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/zhongwen-chinese-english/kkmlkkjojmombglmlpbpapmhcaljjkde?hl=en" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Chrome Zhongwen plugin</a> to get the pinyin, or run the whole thing through a characters-to-pinyin converter so you can have both side-by-side.</p>
<p>If you're serious about learning Chinese, you should also never use pinyin without tones. Tones aren't typically used in singing, but they are still an integral part of the pronunciation. It's said that a wrong tone causes about as much ambiguity as a wrong vowel. This may be surprising, given that they're omitted in songs, but you can consider it as being similar to how Creed songs exchange every vowel for &quot;HEYYEEEAUGH&quot;.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em><strong>That's right: In Chinese, every song is a Creed song.</strong></em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>With all that out of the way, here are the parts you asked about (and a couple you didn't):</p>
<ul>
<li>低空 low altitude (not just &quot;low&quot;). 空 is literally &quot;space&quot; or &quot;air&quot;.</li>
<li>不如... it would be better to...</li>
<li>坠入 fall into</li>
<li>转晴 (Of weather) to become clearer</li>
<li>又 again + 过了 past = 又过了...的时间 once again, it is past the time to...</li>
<li>人海 literally &quot;people sea&quot;, but actually means &quot;crowd&quot;</li>
<li>路过 to go (e.g. walk, drive) past</li>
<li>那家 that (家 is a classifier, not sure why you have it as &quot;the&quot; - Chinese doesn't have articles such as &quot;the&quot; or &quot;a&quot;)</li>
<li>说出口 to speak aloud (e.g. something one has been thinking about for a long time)</li>
<li>写着 to write</li>
<li>里 in, inside. ...的时间里 during the time that ...</li>
<li>床头 here it means something like &quot;at the bedside&quot;</li>
<li>黑了眼圈 blacken one's eyes - this is a reference to staying up late and getting dark circles around the eyes, not domestic violence or goth makeup</li>
<li>穿过格林威治 I think it's just a cute way of saying travel a long distance, through lots of different time zones. &quot;Greenwich Mean Time&quot; is another name for UTC+0 time zone. For comparison, China is UTC+8</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-24T19:48:06.370Z
2020-08-24T20:21:16.707Z
2020-08-24T20:21:16.707Z
Lionel Rowe
<p>I’m hoping for your help translating <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb_3g9aCPeg&amp;list=PLXDyzvIBu92dGU6YAtLK3iUVig4OgZpsr&amp;index=1&amp;ab_channel=LZHOUSTUDIO" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this song</a>. The video already has a translation, but I’m trying to translate word for word for learning purposes. I’ve gotten most of it thanks to Google translate/Yabbla, but I’m still missing some words (shown as ? below). I think I may have also made some mistakes, as I had to guess at the right meaning sometimes.</p>
<p>I prefer to break down the words as much as possible — for instance, translating shiju as “poetry sentence” rather than “verse.” As a learner, this helps me learn more words. So if you see any places where there is more opportunity for that, or any other improvements, please let me know! Xie xie!</p>
<pre><code>Video translation
Pinyin
My translation

Want to fly low with you 
Xiang yao  he   ni  dikong feixing
want  want with you low    fly

Collect oxygen with you everywhere
He   ni  daochu     shouji  yangqi
With you everywhere collect oxygen

If you are foggy, you can’t see clearly
Jiaru miwu ni  kan bu  qing
if    fog  you see not clear

It’s better to fall into my heart
Buru zhui ru    wo  de  xinli
?    ?    enter my [de] heart

I want to take you from noisy to tranquility 
Xiang dai  ni  cong chaonao dao anning
Want  take you from noisy   to  quiet

I want to take you from cloudy to sunny
Xiang dai  ni  cong duoyun dao zhuan qing
Want  take you from cloudy to  ?     ?

I want to organize my shirt for you
Xiang yao  wei ni  zhengli  chenyi
Want  want for you organize shirt

Collect verses for you everywhere
Wei ni  daochu     shouji  shi    ju 
For you everywhere collect poetry sentence

It’s time to give you hot milk every night
Youguole mei   wan   gei  ni  re  niunai de  shijian 
?        every night give you hot milk  [de] time

The bed also reads the movie we have not finished reading
Chuang tou hai   xiezhe women mei     kan wan   de  yingpian 
Bed    ?   still ?      we    haven’t finished [de] movie.

Are you still insomnia after the time of leaving
Likai hou  de  shijian li ni  shifou  hai   shimian
Leave end [de] time    ?  you whether still insomnia 

I never stayed up late, I also obviously blackened my eyes (*what? I didn't understand this*)
Cong bu  ao   ye     de  wo  ye   mingxian  heile     yanquan 
From not boil night [de] I   also obviously blackened eye-socket

The doll you sent is still with you
Ni  song  de  wan'ou yiran pei zai      shenbian
You sent [de] doll   still ?   located  body-side

Memory emerges from the beginning to the end and repeats itself
Jiyi   chuxian fuxian    cong kaishi dao zhongdian
Memory appears reappears from start  to  end

I want to break into the forest with you and sneak into the sea
Wo xiang he   ni  yiqi     chuang jin senlin qianru haidi
I  want  with you together rush   in  forest sneak  sea 

I want to watch the sunrise to sunset with you
Wo xiang he   ni  yiqi     kan   richu   dao riluo  tianchi
I  want  with you together watch sunrise to  sunset ?

I want to fly with you through Greenwich and time (*what does this mean?*)
Wo xiang he   ni  chuanguo gelinweishi   he  shijian feixing
I  want  with you traverse Greenwich     and time    fly

I want to see you, hug you through the church and the sea
Wo xiang jian ni   chuanguo jiaotang he  ren    hai yongbao ni 
I  want  see  you, through  church   and ?      sea hug     you

Passing the coffeeshop again
Zai   luguo na jia kafei  dian
Again ?     ?  the coffee shop

Familiar and strange place
Shuxi    you mosheng di didian
Familiar and strange of place

Stop and hope that your figure will appear
Zhuzu xiwang ni de shenying    hui  chuxian
stop  hope   your  body shadow will appear

Sorry for not saying anything yet
Hai   mei     shuo chukou de  baoqian
Still haven't said ?     [de] sorry

Promised promises with you
Ceng       he   ni  yueding  de  nuoyan
Previously with you agree   [de] promise

Look up and close your eyes and let the tears flow in your heart
Taitou     bi    yan  rang lei   liu  jin xinli mian
Lift head  close eyes let  tears flow in  heart side
</code></pre>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-24T08:52:33.630Z
Is [this](https://bit.ly/3ja9GFe) help?
高鵬翔
<songs>
Help me finish translating this song 《失眠飞行》-接个吻，开一枪/沉以试/薛明媛
# Help me finish translating this song 《失眠飞行》-接个吻，开一枪/沉以试/薛明媛

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-08-23)

I’m hoping for your help translating this song. The video already has a translation, but I’m trying to translate word for word for learning purposes. I’ve gotten most of it thanks to Google translate/Yabbla, but I’m still missing some words (shown as ? below). I think I may have also made some mistakes, as I had to guess at the right meaning sometimes.
I prefer to break down the words as much as possible — for instance, translating shiju as “poetry sentence” rather than “verse.” As a learner, this helps me learn more words. So if you see any places where there is more opportunity for that, or any other improvements, please let me know! Xie xie!
Video translation
Pinyin
My translation

Want to fly low with you 
Xiang yao  he   ni  dikong feixing
want  want with you low    fly

Collect oxygen with you everywhere
He   ni  daochu     shouji  yangqi
With you everywhere collect oxygen

If you are foggy, you can’t see clearly
Jiaru miwu ni  kan bu  qing
if    fog  you see not clear

It’s better to fall into my heart
Buru zhui ru    wo  de  xinli
?    ?    enter my [de] heart

I want to take you from noisy to tranquility 
Xiang dai  ni  cong chaonao dao anning
Want  take you from noisy   to  quiet

I want to take you from cloudy to sunny
Xiang dai  ni  cong duoyun dao zhuan qing
Want  take you from cloudy to  ?     ?

I want to organize my shirt for you
Xiang yao  wei ni  zhengli  chenyi
Want  want for you organize shirt

Collect verses for you everywhere
Wei ni  daochu     shouji  shi    ju 
For you everywhere collect poetry sentence

It’s time to give you hot milk every night
Youguole mei   wan   gei  ni  re  niunai de  shijian 
?        every night give you hot milk  [de] time

The bed also reads the movie we have not finished reading
Chuang tou hai   xiezhe women mei     kan wan   de  yingpian 
Bed    ?   still ?      we    haven’t finished [de] movie.

Are you still insomnia after the time of leaving
Likai hou  de  shijian li ni  shifou  hai   shimian
Leave end [de] time    ?  you whether still insomnia 

I never stayed up late, I also obviously blackened my eyes (*what? I didn't understand this*)
Cong bu  ao   ye     de  wo  ye   mingxian  heile     yanquan 
From not boil night [de] I   also obviously blackened eye-socket

The doll you sent is still with you
Ni  song  de  wan'ou yiran pei zai      shenbian
You sent [de] doll   still ?   located  body-side

Memory emerges from the beginning to the end and repeats itself
Jiyi   chuxian fuxian    cong kaishi dao zhongdian
Memory appears reappears from start  to  end

I want to break into the forest with you and sneak into the sea
Wo xiang he   ni  yiqi     chuang jin senlin qianru haidi
I  want  with you together rush   in  forest sneak  sea 

I want to watch the sunrise to sunset with you
Wo xiang he   ni  yiqi     kan   richu   dao riluo  tianchi
I  want  with you together watch sunrise to  sunset ?

I want to fly with you through Greenwich and time (*what does this mean?*)
Wo xiang he   ni  chuanguo gelinweishi   he  shijian feixing
I  want  with you traverse Greenwich     and time    fly

I want to see you, hug you through the church and the sea
Wo xiang jian ni   chuanguo jiaotang he  ren    hai yongbao ni 
I  want  see  you, through  church   and ?      sea hug     you

Passing the coffeeshop again
Zai   luguo na jia kafei  dian
Again ?     ?  the coffee shop

Familiar and strange place
Shuxi    you mosheng di didian
Familiar and strange of place

Stop and hope that your figure will appear
Zhuzu xiwang ni de shenying    hui  chuxian
stop  hope   your  body shadow will appear

Sorry for not saying anything yet
Hai   mei     shuo chukou de  baoqian
Still haven't said ?     [de] sorry

Promised promises with you
Ceng       he   ni  yueding  de  nuoyan
Previously with you agree   [de] promise

Look up and close your eyes and let the tears flow in your heart
Taitou     bi    yan  rang lei   liu  jin xinli mian
Lift head  close eyes let  tears flow in  heart side

**Tags:** songs

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Is [this](https://bit.ly/3ja9GFe) help?  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-08-24. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

There are limitations to this "word-by-word" or "syllable-by-syllable" approach, some of which you're encountering already with the parts you've had difficulty with. Chinese word formation, grammar, and so on don't usually map very directly onto English equivalents.

Also, I strongly recommend working from the characters in addition to the pinyin, *even if you're not learning the characters yet*. That way, you won't come across extremely common words such as 那 ("that") and not know what they are (哪？拿？纳？).

You can always use browser extensions such as [Chrome Zhongwen plugin](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/zhongwen-chinese-english/kkmlkkjojmombglmlpbpapmhcaljjkde?hl=en) to get the pinyin, or run the whole thing through a characters-to-pinyin converter so you can have both side-by-side.

If you're serious about learning Chinese, you should also never use pinyin without tones. Tones aren't typically used in singing, but they are still an integral part of the pronunciation. It's said that a wrong tone causes about as much ambiguity as a wrong vowel. This may be surprising, given that they're omitted in songs, but you can consider it as being similar to how Creed songs exchange every vowel for "HEYYEEEAUGH".

> ***That's right: In Chinese, every song is a Creed song.***

With all that out of the way, here are the parts you asked about (and a couple you didn't):

* 低空 low altitude (not just "low"). 空 is literally "space" or "air".
* 不如... it would be better to...
* 坠入 fall into
* 转晴 (Of weather) to become clearer
* 又 again + 过了 past = 又过了...的时间 once again, it is past the time to...
* 人海 literally "people sea", but actually means "crowd"
* 路过 to go (e.g. walk, drive) past
* 那家 that (家 is a classifier, not sure why you have it as "the" - Chinese doesn't have articles such as "the" or "a")
* 说出口 to speak aloud (e.g. something one has been thinking about for a long time)
* 写着 to write
* 里 in, inside. ...的时间里 during the time that ...
* 床头 here it means something like "at the bedside"
* 黑了眼圈 blacken one's eyes - this is a reference to staying up late and getting dark circles around the eyes, not domestic violence or goth makeup
* 穿过格林威治 I think it's just a cute way of saying travel a long distance, through lots of different time zones. "Greenwich Mean Time" is another name for UTC+0 time zone. For comparison, China is UTC+8


---

