When people natter, they talk casually for a long time about unimportant things. This is the british english definition of long time no see. Learn the words you need to communicate with confidence. Searching on coca, i find several instantiations, all rare.
Even when you bundle the phrase in quotation marks, the search tool returns matches for all pages that include the four words long, time, no, and see, which translates into 2405. Try before you buy demos and trials and score totally free games. Chico debarge long time no see lyrics genius lyrics. But, it may have originated as pidgin english long before becoming american slang. Drannan, thirtyone years on the plains and in the mountains. I have a long time no see friend, he is a lawyer now. Long time no see definition in the cambridge english. Im by no means a linguist, and im just thinking out loud, but it could simply be a variation of in time, which could be a shortening of in the time given or in a set amount of time or owtte, as in completing some objective or goal like getting to a party, or finishing a painting, etc. Long time no see is an expression used as a greeting by people who have not seen each other for a while.
You can complete the translation of long time no see given by the englishgerman collins dictionary with other dictionaries such as. Long time no see or long time, no see is an english expression used as a greeting by people who have not seen each other for a while. With reverso you can find the english translation, definition or synonym for long time no see and thousands of other words. Definition and synonyms of long time no see from the online english dictionary from macmillan education. Long time no see definition of long time no see by merriam. Long time no see how is long time no see abbreviated. Links to this dictionary or to single translations are very welcome.
If you want to know how to say long time no see in german, you will find the translation here. It has been used in some form since at least 80 according to the oxford english dictionary in storytelling in the english language and has opened many oral narratives since 1600. This is the british english definition of for long. Hao3 jiu3 bu4 jian4 for which a direct, word for word tran. Long time no see phrase definition and synonyms macmillan.
View american english definition of for long change your default dictionary to american english. As i slept, i had a dream of you havin fun, like we used to do you were laughing from something i said what a feelin going through my head then we embraced, as. Here is the translation and the german word for long time no see. By adding more everyday phrases to your useful german greetings and. In chinese there is an everyday greeting hao jiu mei jian which corresponds with long time no see, literally word by word. Long time no see not seen is widely used in informal english, together with other expressions originating from chinese pidgin english, such as look see, no go, no cando, etc.
Definition of long time no see in the idioms dictionary. Free mandarin phrases with pinyin and literal translation. So in the meantime means during the time in the middle between two events. View american english definition of long time no see. Weve gone to the trouble of creating this list of everyday words and. More information contains translations by tu chemnitz and mr honeys business dictionary germanenglish. The current chinese phrase long time no see appears in this group greetings learn how to say the chinese phrase for long time no see with standard mandarin pronunciation. Long time no see was made popular by the charlie chan movies of the 1930s. The phrase long time no x is a snowclone, a phrasal template based on the original long time no see.
Detective chan liked to teach americans some chinese wisdom by quoting confucius. Long time no see definition of long time no see at. Upon reading this question, my thoughts immediately jumped to the chinese phrase. The widelyused phrase long time, no see first appeared in print in the early. Change your default dictionary to american english. Its origins in american english appear to be an imitation of broken or pidgin english, and despite its ungrammaticality, it is widely accepted as a fixed expression. There is no concrete evidence that long time no see is a calque from chinese. Englishgerman online dictionary developed to help you share your knowledge with others. You can complete the list of synonyms of long time no see given by the english thesaurus dictionary with other english dictionaries. The current chinese phrase long time no see appears in this group. Aug 11, 2009 long time, no see expression a greeting.
Mar 09, 2014 the widelyused phrase long time, no see first appeared in print in the early 20th century. Longtime definition, existing, occurring, or continuing for a long period of time. It has been a long time since we have seen each other. Search long time no see and thousands of other words in english definition and synonym dictionary from reverso. What does long time no see mean in english speaking. Long time no see posted by marian on march 03, 2002.
There may well be other instances of the phrase in the library of congress database, but checking all of the supposed matches for long time no see is a daunting task. I havent seen you for a long time long time no see meaning. These stories often then end with and they all lived happily ever after, or, originally. Long time no see definition of long time no see by. Westlake i gave at the office 1972 164 hello, arnold, i said long time no see. Already speak some english and want to impress the native. Long time no see definition is used as a greeting for someone one has not seen for a long time. Learn how to say the chinese phrase for long time no see with standard mandarin pronunciation. Its a fixed idiomatic expression, and as such doesnt need its own internal grammar to be correct. No see idioms by the free dictionary idioms and phrases. I dont think native speakers are mocking anybody when they say long time no see.
Information and translations of long time no see in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Yore definition and meaning collins english dictionary. This blog post is available as a convenient and portable pdf that. It is said that long time no see was first used by chineseamericans. Wikipedia, lexilogos, oxford, cambridge, chambers harrap, wordreference, collins lexibase. Wikipedia, lexilogos, larousse dictionary, le robert, oxford, grevisse. It seems that over time not only was the spelling adapted to german, but its meaning came. The widelyused phrase long time, no see first appeared in print in the early 20th century. Once upon a time is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. Apr, 2020 long time no see i or we have not seen you for a long time. I wonder if its in widespread use and whether the origin is known. So long time, no see, translates into its been a long time since i saw you, considering the native american dialect.
Its nice to know the origin of the phrases, but often, the meaning and connotation have shifted somewhat. English only forum its been a long time no see english only forum long time no see english only forum long time no see english only forum long time no see english only forum long time no see in proper english english only forum long time no see vs. For long phrase definition and synonyms macmillan dictionary. Weve found 112,980 lyrics, 110 artists, and 50 albums matching long time no see. Definition and synonyms of for long from the online english dictionary from macmillan education this is the british english definition of for long. Long time no see meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. Grammar, in the normal sense, simply does not apply to idioms themselves, only the placement of idioms in context. May 22, 2007 however long time no see is kind of like a slang phrase. Apr 20, 2015 video shows what long time no see means. The phrase is a multiword expression that cannot be explained by the usual rules of english.
And here, i would like to say that i am surprised by the fact that while we see correct trends and impulses from the commission itself, at the same time some of its services are intervening and putting the interests and protection of consumers in second place, while top priority is reserved for the interests of certain major economic units, as has characteristically happened with the. It is a grammatically comical greeting with english words organized by chinese grammar. So say see you later to hello and yes, and say sup. A close synonym for the phrase is the adverb meanwhile. Long time no see definition at, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. We hope this will help you to understand german better. I dont know that this is enough evidence to warrant anything other than. It is a shame that its usage has not been striken from the language a long time ago.
People who use long time no see are not neccessarily racist but are nonetheless ignorant of the phrase s origin. But, it may have originated as pidgin english long before becoming. Alright, time to knock it off and stop faffing around. I wonder if its in widespread use and whether the origin is known very widespread use, and yes. This jocular imitation of broken english originated in the pidgin english used in chinese and western exchange. Thus an editor who is knowledgeable in loans and calques from chinese may come across the entry and subsequently prove or refute it.
However long time no see is kind of like a slang phrase. This expression originated in the pidgin english used by the chinese and. I havent seen you for ages, usually used as an informal greeting. It is a phrase which makes fun of laughs at chinese pigdin english.
Definition and synonyms of for long from the online english dictionary from macmillan education. Alternatively, native american origin, or native coinage as pidgin, particularly in cinematic portrayals of native americans. All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. Top synonyms for long time no see other words for long time no see are hows it going, hows everything and how do you do. Natter definition and meaning collins english dictionary. If you have not met up with a friend in a long time you might say long time no see man 0 1 0. I hear this phrase occasionally and use it myself to express pleasure at seeing someone that ive not seen for some time.
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