<blockquote>
<p>Why must we say 我可以从你那儿借钱吗？ instead of just 我可以从你借钱吗</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>从 somewhere</strong> 借钱 --&gt; borrow <strong>from somewhere</strong></p>
</li>
<li><p><strong>向 someone</strong> 借钱 --&gt; borrow <strong>from someone</strong></p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>你那儿 (your place) is somewhere, so we use 从 (I got the borrowed money <strong>from your place</strong>)</p>
<p>你(you) is someone, so we use 向 instead of 从 (I make a loan request <strong>to you</strong>)</p>
<p>Similarly:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>從銀行那裡借钱 (O) (銀行那裡 is somewhere)</p>
</li>
<li><p>向銀行借钱 (O) (銀行 is someone)</p>
</li>
<li><p>從你借钱 (X) (你 is someone)</p>
</li>
<li><p>從銀行借钱 (O) (here, 銀行 referred to as somewhere the bank is located, not the bank itself as a company)</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Notice:</p>
<p>In the sentence '我可以从你那儿借钱吗？' the one who lends you the money might not be the person you are talking to, he might just be an employee there in the bank. Meanwhile, 你 is the one who lends out the money in 我可向你借钱吗</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-14T00:22:23.970Z
While "向银行借钱" gives Google search 686,000 results, "从银行借钱" gives 438,000. I looked through the sources, they are both credible and quite formal.
lilysirius
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-14T00:26:09.230Z
银行 in 向银行借钱 refers to the bank itself; "从银行借钱" actually means '银行那裡'  referring to the place where the bank is located
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-14T00:27:48.680Z
I agree, but this means that is particular form should best be accepted as correct.
lilysirius
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-14T00:32:24.700Z
从银行借钱 is fine because 银行 can refer to as " a company(someone)" or "a place (somewhere)" ; But 你  cannot be referred to as a place
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-14T00:35:12.857Z
I’m not saying the case of 银行 can be generalized to 你. What I propose to be accepted as correct is 从银行借钱, which you considered incorrect in your original answer.
lilysirius
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-14T00:38:28.930Z
It makes sense, see my edition
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-14T00:02:14.263Z
2022-05-14T00:37:56.927Z
2022-05-14T00:37:56.927Z
Tang Ho
<p>从 as a preposition can be placed before a place, position, point of time, which means from.
In the sentence 从你那儿借钱,你那儿 can be seen as a place, so it works.
In spoken Chinese, we normally use 找 + somebody +借钱 instead. Two example:
我们找刘老师借钱。 We will borrow money from teacher Liu.
我们找她借钱。 We are going to borrow money from her.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-17T01:02:01.590Z
2022-05-17T01:02:01.590Z
Henryfrombeijing
<p>If you meant to ask &quot;Can I borrow money from you?&quot;, the translation should be &quot;我可以**向(和)**你借錢嗎?&quot;. The sentence &quot;我可以从你那儿借錢吗?&quot; is fine if your friend works for a lending company, which explains the phrase &quot;从你那儿&quot; (from the <strong>place</strong> you related to)</p>
<p>For private borrowing/lending, the sentence &quot;我可以**向(和)**你借錢嗎?&quot; is usually used. For formal (legal binding) borrowing/lending through a middleman (your friend), &quot;我可以从你那儿借錢吗?&quot; is more appropriate.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-14T03:24:49.547Z
2022-05-14T03:24:49.547Z
r13
<p>You can just say:</p>
<p>你可以借点钱给我吗？<br />
Can you lend me some money?</p>
<p>I can't understand how 向 ，usually meaning 'to' suddenly undergoes a reversal to mean 'from'. That's very hard to explain.</p>
<p>我们要向雷锋学习。<br />
我可以向你借钱吗？</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-15T14:02:53.150Z
2022-05-15T14:02:53.150Z
Pedroski
<blockquote>
<p><s>我可以从你借钱吗？</s><br />
Can I borrow money from you?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>At some point in our language learning journey, we learn that 从[person] is considered a grammar error in Chinese (despite the equivalent not being a grammar error in English), and we have to change it to 从[place]:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>我可以从你<strong>那儿</strong>借钱吗？<br />
Can I borrow money from you there?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I'm wondering if there's any justification to this, beyond &quot;that's just how it is&quot; or &quot;some stuffy linguist said so&quot;.</p>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: Why must we say 我可以从你那儿借钱吗？ instead of just 我可以从你借钱吗？</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-17T17:14:01.723Z
Not a full answer, but an observation: It's tempting to use 從 (从) in Chinese as we would use "from" in English, but though there's a lot of overlap, they are clearly not identical. In Chinese, for these purposes, a person is not a place (and much less a time). Even if something were to issue from a person's body, we would (at least I would) generally say something like 從他身體(上).
Brian Tung
<grammar>
Why must we say 我可以从你那儿借钱吗？ instead of just 我可以从你借钱吗？
# Why must we say 我可以从你那儿借钱吗？ instead of just 我可以从你借钱吗？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-05-13)

> ~~我可以从你借钱吗？~~  
> Can I borrow money from you?

At some point in our language learning journey, we learn that 从[person] is considered a grammar error in Chinese (despite the equivalent not being a grammar error in English), and we have to change it to 从[place]:

> 我可以从你**那儿**借钱吗？  
> Can I borrow money from you there?

I'm wondering if there's any justification to this, beyond "that's just how it is" or "some stuffy linguist said so".

**Question**: Why must we say 我可以从你那儿借钱吗？ instead of just 我可以从你借钱吗？

**Tags:** grammar

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Not a full answer, but an observation: It's tempting to use 從 (从) in Chinese as we would use "from" in English, but though there's a lot of overlap, they are clearly not identical. In Chinese, for these purposes, a person is not a place (and much less a time). Even if something were to issue from a person's body, we would (at least I would) generally say something like 從他身體(上).  

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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2022-05-14. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

> Why must we say 我可以从你那儿借钱吗？ instead of just 我可以从你借钱吗

* **从 somewhere** 借钱 --> borrow **from somewhere**
* **向 someone** 借钱 --> borrow **from someone**

你那儿 (your place) is somewhere, so we use 从 (I got the borrowed money **from your place**)

你(you) is someone, so we use 向 instead of 从 (I make a loan request **to you**)

Similarly:

* 從銀行那裡借钱 (O) (銀行那裡 is somewhere)
* 向銀行借钱 (O) (銀行 is someone)
* 從你借钱 (X) (你 is someone)
* 從銀行借钱 (O) (here, 銀行 referred to as somewhere the bank is located, not the bank itself as a company)

Notice:

In the sentence '我可以从你那儿借钱吗？' the one who lends you the money might not be the person you are talking to, he might just be an employee there in the bank. Meanwhile, 你 is the one who lends out the money in 我可向你借钱吗

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: While "向银行借钱" gives Google search 686,000 results, "从银行借钱" gives 438,000. I looked through the sources, they are both credible and quite formal.  
> **username_2**: 银行 in 向银行借钱 refers to the bank itself; "从银行借钱" actually means '银行那裡'  referring to the place where the bank is located  
> **username_3**: I agree, but this means that is particular form should best be accepted as correct.  
> **username_2**: 从银行借钱 is fine because 银行 can refer to as " a company(someone)" or "a place (somewhere)" ; But 你  cannot be referred to as a place  
> **username_3**: I’m not saying the case of 银行 can be generalized to 你. What I propose to be accepted as correct is 从银行借钱, which you considered incorrect in your original answer.  
> **username_2**: It makes sense, see my edition  

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### Answer by username_4 on 2022-05-17. Score: 1

从 as a preposition can be placed before a place, position, point of time, which means from.
In the sentence 从你那儿借钱,你那儿 can be seen as a place, so it works.
In spoken Chinese, we normally use 找 + somebody +借钱 instead. Two example:
我们找刘老师借钱。 We will borrow money from teacher Liu.
我们找她借钱。 We are going to borrow money from her.


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### Answer by username_5 on 2022-05-14. Score: 1

If you meant to ask "Can I borrow money from you?", the translation should be "我可以\*\*向(和)\*\*你借錢嗎?". The sentence "我可以从你那儿借錢吗?" is fine if your friend works for a lending company, which explains the phrase "从你那儿" (from the **place** you related to)

For private borrowing/lending, the sentence "我可以\*\*向(和)\*\*你借錢嗎?" is usually used. For formal (legal binding) borrowing/lending through a middleman (your friend), "我可以从你那儿借錢吗?" is more appropriate.


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### Answer by username_6 on 2022-05-15. Score: 0

You can just say:

你可以借点钱给我吗？  
Can you lend me some money?

I can't understand how 向 ，usually meaning 'to' suddenly undergoes a reversal to mean 'from'. That's very hard to explain.

我们要向雷锋学习。  
我可以向你借钱吗？


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