9.4 Use of Chinese: Idioms, Connectives, and Polite Forms (詞句運用：成語、關聯詞與敬謙辭)
Key Takeaways
差強人意 means 'barely satisfactory', not 'very poor', so a sentence calling progress 差強人意 and also completely unacceptable contradicts itself.
首當其衝 means to bear the brunt of an impact first, so it cannot describe leading a recovery or taking the lead in a positive sense.
Correlative pairs must match their logic: 只要……就…… states a sufficient condition, 只有……才…… a necessary one, and 即使……也…… a concession about a hypothetical.
When two clauses share a subject, the subject comes before the first connective (政府不但……而且……); when the subjects differ, the connective comes first (不但政府……而且市民……).
Honorifics such as 令尊, 貴公司, 蒞臨 and 鼎力相助 refer to others, while humble forms such as 家父, 敝公司 and 拙作 refer to oneself.
9.4 Use of Chinese: Idioms, Connectives, and Polite Forms (詞句運用：成語、關聯詞與敬謙辭)
Quick Answer: Three sources supply many 詞句運用 items. Idioms (成語) are often misread from their surface characters (望文生義) or used with the wrong emotional tone (褒貶不當). Connective pairs (關聯詞) must match the logical relationship and the subject position. Honorific and humble terms (敬辭, 謙辭) must point the right way: honorifics refer to others, humble forms to yourself.
Idioms: misreadings and wrong tone
| Idiom | Common misreading | Actual meaning | Tone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 差強人意 | Very unsatisfactory | Barely satisfactory, acceptable on the whole (差 = slightly, 強 = to cheer) | Neutral to positive |
| 首當其衝 | To take the lead | To bear the brunt of an attack or disaster first (衝 = a thoroughfare) | Neutral to negative |
| 炙手可熱 | Extremely popular | Traditionally, so powerful that others dare not approach, from Du Fu's 《麗人行》 | Negative in formal use |
| 登堂入室 | Simply entering a room | Reaching an advanced level of learning or skill, from the Analects | Positive |
| 處心積慮 | Thinking carefully | Scheming deliberately over a long time | Negative |
| 殫精竭慮 | (often confused with the above) | Exhausting one's energy and thought for a cause | Positive |
| 侃侃而談 | Talking a lot | Speaking with calm confidence, from the Analects | Positive |
| 趨之若鶩 | Enthusiastic support | Rushing after something like a flock of ducks | Negative |
| 不以為然 | Not caring | Not agreeing that something is right | Neutral |
| 目無全牛 | Short-sighted | Supreme skill that sees the inner structure, from Zhuangzi's Cook Ding story | Positive |
| 莫衷一是 | Unable to compromise | Opinions differ and no agreement is reached; needs a plural subject | Neutral |
| 始作俑者 | A pioneer | The originator of a bad practice, from Mencius quoting Confucius | Negative |
| 美輪美奐 | Beautiful in general | Magnificent, used of buildings, from the Book of Rites | Positive |
Warning
Two idioms appear constantly in Hong Kong language tests. 「各行業首當其衝，爭相申請新資助」 is wrong: 首當其衝 carries only the sense of being hit first, not rushing forward. 「進度差強人意，完全無法接受」 contradicts itself, because 差強人意 means "just about acceptable".
Connective pairs (關聯詞)
| Relationship | Pair | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sufficient condition | 只要……就…… | 只要填妥表格，就可即場辦理 |
| Necessary condition | 只有……才……; 除非……否則…… | 只有提交證明，才可獲豁免 |
| Unconditional | 無論／不論……都…… | 無論天氣如何，活動都會舉行 |
| Hypothetical concession | 即使……也…… | 即使天氣惡劣，活動也會如期舉行 |
| Actual concession | 雖然……但是…… | 雖然預算緊絀，但服務沒有削減 |
| Cause and effect | 因為……所以……; 由於……因此…… | 由於需求上升，因此增設櫃位 |
| Inference from a fact | 既然……就…… | 既然已有共識，就應盡快落實 |
| Progression | 不但／不僅……而且／還…… | 不但縮短輪候時間，而且提高準確度 |
| Preference | 寧可……也不……; 與其……不如…… | 與其事後補救，不如事前預防 |
Common faults:
- Mismatched pairs: 只有……就……, 只要……才……, 即使……但…… and 無論……但…… are all wrong.
- Wrong relationship: 雖然 introduces a real fact. For a hypothetical situation, use 即使.
- Wrong subject position: if both clauses share a subject, put the subject before the first connective: 政府不但……而且…… If the subjects differ, put the connective first: 不但政府……而且市民也……
Honorific and humble terms (敬辭與謙辭)
| Refers to others (敬辭) | Refers to oneself (謙辭) |
|---|---|
| 令尊, 令堂 (your father, your mother) | 家父, 家母 (my father, my mother) |
| 貴公司, 貴署 (your company, your department) | 敝公司 (my company) |
| 大作 (your work) | 拙作 (my work) |
| 光臨, 蒞臨 (your visit) | 拜訪 (my visit to you) |
| 鼎力相助 (your great help) | 略盡綿力 (my modest effort) |
| 垂詢 (your enquiry) | 請教 (I ask for advice) |
| 斧正, 指正 (please correct my work) | 拜讀 (I read your work) |
| 惠存 (please keep this gift) | 蓬蓽生輝 (my humble home is honoured by your visit) |
Errors arise when a term points the wrong way. 我一定會鼎力相助 praises your own help, and 我的大作 praises your own work: both should use plain or humble forms. 令尊是我的父親 is self-contradictory, because 令尊 means your father.
A routine for idiom and connective items
- For idioms, recall the actual meaning and tone, then check the context: is it positive, negative or neutral, and does the idiom fit the subject (people, a building, a situation)?
- For connectives, name the relationship first (condition, concession, cause, progression), then choose the pair that expresses it.
- For polite forms, ask who the term refers to: the reader or the writer?
How idiom items are usually built
Idiom items typically offer four sentences, each using a different idiom, and ask which usage is most appropriate. The three wrong sentences usually fail for different reasons:
- Surface misreading: the sentence uses the idiom's literal characters, as in using 首當其衝 to mean "take the lead".
- Wrong tone: a negative idiom praises (趨之若鶩 for enthusiastic applicants), or a positive idiom criticises.
- Wrong subject: an idiom restricted to a type of subject is applied to another, such as 美輪美奐 for a speech or 莫衷一是 with a single person as the subject.
When two sentences look acceptable, check the idiom's tone against the rest of the sentence. A mismatch in tone is the most common reason a fluent-sounding sentence is wrong.
Worked examples: choosing the connective
- 「市民＿＿有需要，＿＿可致電熱線查詢。」 The relationship is a sufficient condition (any need is enough), so 只要……就…… fits.
- 「新同事＿＿完成全部培訓，＿＿可獨立處理個案。」 Completing training is a requirement, a necessary condition, so 只有……才…… fits.
- 「＿＿預算有限，＿＿部門沒有削減前線服務。」 The budget limit is an actual fact being conceded, so 雖然……但…… fits; 即使 would wrongly make it hypothetical.
下列各句中成語的運用，哪一項最恰當？
新防汛系統在昨夜暴雨中的表現差強人意，完全無法滿足應變中心的需要。
新資助計劃推出後，各區青年企業家趨之若鶩，紛紛提交申請。
面對貿易保護主義抬頭，本港出口業首當其衝，率先帶動零售市場復甦。
在跨部門應變會議上，各部門代表就疏散方案侃侃而談，表現從容專業。
「＿＿＿＿天氣惡劣，戶外活動＿＿＿＿會如期舉行。」（主辦單位尚未知道當天天氣）
只要……就
即使……也
因為……所以
只有……才
下列句子中，敬辭或謙辭運用恰當的一項是：
我一定會鼎力相助，請您放心。
我的大作初稿已經完成，懇請您斧正。
歡迎各位蒞臨敝公司參觀指導。
我很高興您認識令尊，他是我的父親。
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.