you look a bit like a Chinese 和 you look a bit like Chinese 的差別在哪裡？如果不好說明，請提供一些例句。

答覆

pythonpoole

2020年2月3日

英語 (美國)
英語 (英國)

Normally you would just say "you look Chinese" or "you look a bit Chinese".

"A Chinese" does not sound very natural. Normally you use Chinese as a descriptor (like "he is Chinese" or "he looks Chinese") rather than refer to a person as "a Chinese". You could also say "a Chinese person" but simply saying "Chinese" is more natural.

In fact if you do say someone looks "like a Chinese", it may be seen as disrespectful, ignorant or racist... but this doesn't apply to all countries. For example, if you say "He looks like an American" it would usually not be seen as disrespectful.. but you could also just say "He looks American" instead.

高評價回答者

Sharehearts

2020年2月3日

日語

@pythonpoole thank you! wow,^=^ how come I have never known that they sounds disrespectful. I should never said that. your saying "descriptor" meaning adjective?

pythonpoole

2020年2月3日

英語 (美國)
英語 (英國)

@Sharehearts Yes, Chinese is normally used as an adjective unless you're talking about the language. It's the same for Japanese and many other countries. Japanese, as a noun, refers to the language whereas you would describe a person as being Japanese (using Japanese as an adjective).

- - - - -

In general there is a movement (a change encouraged by activists) to switch to people-first language in English because it is seen as more respectful and dignified. So instead of calling people by the name of their traits, it is now suggested that instead you use adjectives to describe a person's traits.

Examples (old way -> new way):
• "He is a schizophrenic" -> "He has schizophrenia"
• "She is a drug addict" -> "She has a drug addiction" or "She is addicted to drugs"
• "She is a cripple" -> "She has a physical disability" or "She is physically disabled"
• "He is a retard" -> "He has a mental disability" or "He is mentally disabled"
• "The gays have a higher risk of contracting HIV" -> "Gay men have a higher risk of contracting HIV" or "Men who are gay have a higher risk of contracting HIV"
• "The blacks are more prone to heart disease" -> "People who are black are more prone to heart disease" or "Black people are more prone to heart disease"

The reason is that if you use the trait as a noun to label the person, it can make it sound like that's the only thing that matters about the person (as if the person is completely defined by just one trait). Whereas if you use adjectives/descriptors, then it puts the human first and simply indicates that the person has a particular trait.

However, sometimes it is still acceptable to use nouns to label people, especially for things like job titles and other things that are within the person's control. For example, it is perfectly acceptable to call someone a teacher, a doctor, a plumber, etc. It's also perfectly acceptable to refer to someone as "a man" or "a woman" for example.

Calling someone by their religion is also usually acceptable (like "He is a Christian") but it's becoming more common now to use adjectives instead (like "He is Christian").

With regard to nationalities, it's one of those things where it just depends on the country.

For nationalities ending in -ese (like Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese, Lebanese, etc.) it generally does not sound acceptable to use them as nouns to label people... so you would say "He is Japanese" not "He is a Japanese".

For nationalities ending in -an (like American, Canadian, Mexican, Australian), usually it is acceptable to use either the noun or adjective way, but the adjective way is becoming more common (example: "He is American").

- - - - -

Anyway, sorry for the very long response, but hopefully it is helpful.

The general 'rule of thumb' is that it's better to use adjectives to describe a person's traits whenever possible, except when you're referring to a person by their job or their gender in which case you normally use the noun form (like "David is a man" or "Michael is a scientist").

高評價回答者

Sharehearts

2020年2月4日

日語

@pythonpoole I feel so grateful for your articulated explanation on this question I've been puzzled for a long time. I was hoping that someone will give me other than what's common and what's not. and you have clearly got me across to this matter. really great and crystal clear!! I think it is important and considerate to speak foreign language in such a way. without you I feel like I could be either speaking and writing to offend people sometime. so, thank you. Then the exceptions are particular occupations and gender, right? I would like to clear up one more think if you don't mind. It is those two things that struck me when I was reading the later part of your response that what about in between a man and a woman and that what about some occupations not professions that are associated with lower income such as a factory worker, etc. can you say without being rude "he is a gay" or it should be "he is gay"? can you say "he is a factory worker", or it should be " he works in a factory"? I really appreciate your time giving me a bright answer. (^-^

pythonpoole

2020年2月4日

英語 (美國)
英語 (英國)

@Sharehearts Only "he is gay" is acceptable—if you say "he is a gay" it sounds unnatural and some people may perceive it as being disrespectful or ignorant.

Curiously, it is still considered acceptable to refer to someone as "a lesbian" (I'm not sure why) although using lesbian as an adjective is becoming increasingly more common.

As for professions and occupations, it doesn't matter if it's a low paying job or a high paying job, it's still acceptable to use the noun form. So both "he is a factory worker" and "he works in a factory" are perfectly acceptable.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.

高評價回答者

Sharehearts

2020年2月4日

日語

@Sharehearts thank you. there is no more question regarding this topic because you have beautifully explained it all !! If I had 1Bitcoin on my cell I would definitely give it to you. (^0^ and I also learned that languages are changing especially in colloquial uses. I'll give my great gratitude to you. thank you. have a good day(^-^ let me come back to this thread again sometime.