<p>I am a native Cantonese speaker. From my understanding, sense is 合情合理, 通情達理, 合乎情理. The word 通, 情, 理 is more native word to describe sense. On the contrary, nonsense is 不合情理, 不通.</p>

<p>For "dialectical materialism is actually nonsense in Chinese.", my Cantonese word is
"唯物主義辯證法，用唐文講，係講唔通嘅。". Retranslate it to Chinese, "唯物主義辯證法，唐文而言，是無法講通。</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-03T06:48:37.233Z
Nonsense is one of the instances of 講唔通. Like tuna to finfish is nonsense to 講唔通. Thanks anyway.
George Chen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-03T08:34:18.477Z
What about "狗屁不通"?
Henry HO
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-03T09:40:33.147Z
@HenryHO - Exactly
George Chen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-03T11:50:50.357Z
We are barbarians. The best we can do to civilization is to not mess it up.
George Chen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-03T23:37:25.010Z
English language cultivates a habit of mind that, roughly speaking, can boost a person's IQ 60+ points. I have not heard of any Chinese speaker who is innocent of English and is smarter than an average English speaker.
George Chen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-04T00:30:50.317Z
Funny thing is, if my conjecture is true, all these dialectic experts are professing nonsense if they are innocent of any European languages--Mao is certainly one of them.
George Chen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-04T00:45:58.713Z
Chinese is bewildering. It can take a toll on your IQ.
George Chen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-21T15:49:05.653Z
You sound like a jerk, Chinese is a fun language to learn
Aryaman
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-03T04:05:22.747Z
2015-02-03T04:05:22.747Z
OmniBus
<p>If I were you, I would write your sentence A as B.</p>

<p>A: 汉语无力承载西方哲学；辩证唯物主义用汉语讲没有意义。</p>

<p>B: 汉语因为受到本身的限制，无法完整地表达西方哲学的某些概念；比如：辩证唯物主义这个汉语词汇就没有正确地表达出它的原本的哲学意义。</p>

<p>"Sentences that are incapable of true or false are called nonsense" in Chinese would be,
一句话如果不能够被判断真伪，那么这句话就没有任何的意义。</p>

<p>比如说，桌子上有负一个苹果。没有人能明白它是对是错。"负一"用来指认苹果的个数，没有任何意义。</p>

<p>In practice, the way you express a idea is really related to more factors than just meaning. I do not see very much when people use "nonsense" in their discussion. And it is also true that Chinese people do not use  没有任何的意义 when they 平等地讨论问题。We usually give the other side some room to think about our opinion. That is why in my suggestion, I use, 完整地, 某些, 比如, 正确地, 原本的, etc. which are some flexible and restricting words.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-03T12:24:52.200Z
2015-02-03T12:24:52.200Z
PdotWang
<p>Sentences that are not capable of being either true or false are called nonsense, e.g. "quadruplicity drinks procrastination" or "Socrates is a man is a man"</p>

<p>I want to say "The Chinese language is incapable of conveying Western philosophy; dialectical materialism is actually nonsense in Chinese."</p>

<p>The best I can do is this: "汉语无力承载西方哲学；辩证唯物主义用汉语讲没有意义。"</p>

<p>But it doesn't seem to scratch where it itches.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-03T02:33:09.083Z
Orthogonal to your question: The notion that a particular language is incapable of expressing some idea is dubious (at best).
Stumpy Joe Pete
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-03T02:52:00.237Z
Case in point, I cannot find a precise translation for "nonsense."
George Chen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-03T03:16:58.273Z
"Making sense"--the stimulation of sensory receptors- is exactly what gives words meanings, because sensations are the beginnings of meanings. English, I am just beginning to realize its power. If a sentence does not make it to the sense, then it is nonsense.
George Chen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-03T03:26:04.707Z
There is no Chinese counterpart that invokes the same kind of imagery as "nonsense."
George Chen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-03T03:35:07.400Z
If there's not a particular word that accurately captures the meaning you want, it's always possible to translate using a phrase.
Stumpy Joe Pete
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-03T06:25:58.753Z
OK. Theoretically that is possible.
George Chen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-04T02:55:10.647Z
I'd say, "Philosophers are not good translators."
Henry HO
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-04T03:34:36.297Z
Do you realize what's going on here? We are using English as a precision instrument to calibrate Chinese.
George Chen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-04T07:26:55.947Z
I'm not translating. I think dialectics in Chinese are irrefutable because they are nonsense.
George Chen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-16T22:00:48.940Z
There are a few ways to interpret your English/original sentence, I think it is better if you explain it further in order to get a more accurate answer here. Your translation sounds like accusing Chinese language as incapable, but it is common to lose some meaning in translation, so, after reading your sentences, not sure what's your original idea.
EXL
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-17T01:33:20.800Z
@EmmaXL - if a word is not mere noises, it has meanings. If a noise sounds like a word but has no meanings, I wonder if there is a name for this kind of noises - they are called nonsense in English.  Some words are used in a nonsensical way; at the face of it they seem to mean something, but actually don't.
George Chen
<translation>
How to translate "nonsense" into Chinese with precision?
# How to translate "nonsense" into Chinese with precision?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-02-03)

Sentences that are not capable of being either true or false are called nonsense, e.g. "quadruplicity drinks procrastination" or "Socrates is a man is a man"

I want to say "The Chinese language is incapable of conveying Western philosophy; dialectical materialism is actually nonsense in Chinese."

The best I can do is this: "汉语无力承载西方哲学；辩证唯物主义用汉语讲没有意义。"

But it doesn't seem to scratch where it itches.

**Tags:** translation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Orthogonal to your question: The notion that a particular language is incapable of expressing some idea is dubious (at best).  
> **username_0**: Case in point, I cannot find a precise translation for "nonsense."  
> **username_0**: "Making sense"--the stimulation of sensory receptors- is exactly what gives words meanings, because sensations are the beginnings of meanings. English, I am just beginning to realize its power. If a sentence does not make it to the sense, then it is nonsense.  
> **username_0**: There is no Chinese counterpart that invokes the same kind of imagery as "nonsense."  
> **username_1**: If there's not a particular word that accurately captures the meaning you want, it's always possible to translate using a phrase.  
> **username_0**: OK. Theoretically that is possible.  
> **username_2**: I'd say, "Philosophers are not good translators."  
> **username_0**: Do you realize what's going on here? We are using English as a precision instrument to calibrate Chinese.  
> **username_0**: I'm not translating. I think dialectics in Chinese are irrefutable because they are nonsense.  
> **username_3**: There are a few ways to interpret your English/original sentence, I think it is better if you explain it further in order to get a more accurate answer here. Your translation sounds like accusing Chinese language as incapable, but it is common to lose some meaning in translation, so, after reading your sentences, not sure what's your original idea.  
> **username_0**: @EmmaXL - if a word is not mere noises, it has meanings. If a noise sounds like a word but has no meanings, I wonder if there is a name for this kind of noises - they are called nonsense in English.  Some words are used in a nonsensical way; at the face of it they seem to mean something, but actually don't.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2015-02-03. Score: 2

I am a native Cantonese speaker. From my understanding, sense is 合情合理, 通情達理, 合乎情理. The word 通, 情, 理 is more native word to describe sense. On the contrary, nonsense is 不合情理, 不通.

For "dialectical materialism is actually nonsense in Chinese.", my Cantonese word is
"唯物主義辯證法，用唐文講，係講唔通嘅。". Retranslate it to Chinese, "唯物主義辯證法，唐文而言，是無法講通。

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Nonsense is one of the instances of 講唔通. Like tuna to finfish is nonsense to 講唔通. Thanks anyway.  
> **username_2**: What about "狗屁不通"?  
> **username_0**: @HenryHO - Exactly  
> **username_0**: We are barbarians. The best we can do to civilization is to not mess it up.  
> **username_0**: English language cultivates a habit of mind that, roughly speaking, can boost a person's IQ 60+ points. I have not heard of any Chinese speaker who is innocent of English and is smarter than an average English speaker.  
> **username_0**: Funny thing is, if my conjecture is true, all these dialectic experts are professing nonsense if they are innocent of any European languages--Mao is certainly one of them.  
> **username_0**: Chinese is bewildering. It can take a toll on your IQ.  
> **username_5**: You sound like a jerk, Chinese is a fun language to learn  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2015-02-03. Score: 1

If I were you, I would write your sentence A as B.

A: 汉语无力承载西方哲学；辩证唯物主义用汉语讲没有意义。

B: 汉语因为受到本身的限制，无法完整地表达西方哲学的某些概念；比如：辩证唯物主义这个汉语词汇就没有正确地表达出它的原本的哲学意义。

"Sentences that are incapable of true or false are called nonsense" in Chinese would be,
一句话如果不能够被判断真伪，那么这句话就没有任何的意义。

比如说，桌子上有负一个苹果。没有人能明白它是对是错。"负一"用来指认苹果的个数，没有任何意义。

In practice, the way you express a idea is really related to more factors than just meaning. I do not see very much when people use "nonsense" in their discussion. And it is also true that Chinese people do not use 没有任何的意义 when they 平等地讨论问题。We usually give the other side some room to think about our opinion. That is why in my suggestion, I use, 完整地, 某些, 比如, 正确地, 原本的, etc. which are some flexible and restricting words.


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