<p>No, it does not imply a recent change.</p>

<p>「到現在」does literally translate to <em>until now</em>, but their usage is different, as you've already noted (a continuation of conditions).</p>

<ul>
<li>In English, <em>until now</em> means practically the same thing as <em>until recently</em>.</li>
<li>In Chinese,「到現在」means something like <em>up to this very day</em> in English.「到現在我還在...」means <em>up to this very day, I'm still...</em></li>
<li>To say the equivalent of English <em>until now</em> (that is, implying a change in condition), you should say something similar to「到<a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%9B%AE%E5%89%8D" rel="nofollow noreferrer">目前</a>爲止...」.「爲止」is an explicit statement that stops the otherwise implied continuation.</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-29T22:50:21.147Z
2018-12-29T22:50:21.147Z
dROOOze
<p>Better you have your examples and explain how English works. </p>

<p>In Chinese, '到现在' can implies <strong><em>either</strong> a recent change <strong>or</strong> a continuation of a condition</em> depending on how you use it. </p>

<p>For example, </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>你怎么到现在才来 // a recent change - <em>he showed up now</em>. </p>
  
  <p>你怎么到现在还不承认 // a continuation of a condition (不承认)</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-30T09:55:20.260Z
2018-12-30T09:55:20.260Z
dan
<p>Chinese-to-English dictionaries seem to translate '到现在' as 'up to now' or 'until now'. In English this often implies a recent change in conditions rather than a continuation of conditions; however, in Chinese I don't seem to see this same implication.</p>
<p>Is this correct, that does '到现在' not imply a recent change? can it ever imply this by itself? If not, how would I convey the English logic (implied recent change) in Chinese?</p>
<p>Examples in English:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We haven't heard from him until now.</p>
<p>Up to now, we hadn't heard from him.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Both imply we just heard from him today or very recently.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-30T03:48:48.923Z
how about giving some examples to facilitate the discussion?
aafulei
<translation><grammar><meaning>
Does '到现在' imply a recent change?
# Does '到现在' imply a recent change?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-12-29)

Chinese-to-English dictionaries seem to translate '到现在' as 'up to now' or 'until now'. In English this often implies a recent change in conditions rather than a continuation of conditions; however, in Chinese I don't seem to see this same implication.

Is this correct, that does '到现在' not imply a recent change? can it ever imply this by itself? If not, how would I convey the English logic (implied recent change) in Chinese?

Examples in English:

> We haven't heard from him until now.
>
> Up to now, we hadn't heard from him.

Both imply we just heard from him today or very recently.

**Tags:** translation, grammar, meaning

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: how about giving some examples to facilitate the discussion?  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-12-29. Score: 2

No, it does not imply a recent change.

「到現在」does literally translate to *until now*, but their usage is different, as you've already noted (a continuation of conditions).

* In English, *until now* means practically the same thing as *until recently*.
* In Chinese,「到現在」means something like *up to this very day* in English.「到現在我還在...」means *up to this very day, I'm still...*
* To say the equivalent of English *until now* (that is, implying a change in condition), you should say something similar to「到[目前](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%9B%AE%E5%89%8D)爲止...」.「爲止」is an explicit statement that stops the otherwise implied continuation.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-12-30. Score: 1

Better you have your examples and explain how English works.

In Chinese, '到现在' can implies ***either*** a recent change **or** a continuation of a condition depending on how you use it.

For example,

> 你怎么到现在才来 // a recent change - *he showed up now*.
>
> 你怎么到现在还不承认 // a continuation of a condition (不承认)


---

