Hi @Constance_Fang @Fiona and the ChinesePod team, my question is this:
This comes from Peter Samet on Facebook:
How do you address someone who’s recently 过世 and what kind of well wishes can you offer them?
Hey Jillian, cool to see your still around, can we anticipate some new videos from you? Btw 妳知道紐約市的地道唐人街是在法拉行嗎
Speaking of well wishes but on a brighter side, today I was trying to congratulate someone who just graduated college. I was very tempted to say 恭喜發財 or 萬事如意 but I know that’s just awkward so I settled for a cool 太棒了 lol. Maybe we can get a lesson on condolences/congratulations, there may be lessons that already cover this but a refresher would be cool!
據我所知死去和過世都可以用 我覺得過世這是 “過” 是complete的意思 比如說”去過 喝過 等等“ 和 ”世“是生活一樣的意思 哪”過世“ 簡單的了解
A similar question was posted on this thread;
Hi guys,
Great question. I have asked for it to be put on our Qing Wen list.
First of all, if someone has passed away recently and you would like to offer you condolences to their family. The best phrase is: 节哀顺变 jie2 ai1 shun4 bian4. This would be the equivalent of “my condolences”.
Secondly, if you would like to talk about someone that has passed away in a polite way, you could say this:
我已故的母亲 My late mother.
这位已故的书法家，在书法界深受尊敬。This caligrapher, whom has passed away, was dearly respected in the calligraphy circle.
已故的总统／已故的恩师 the late president / my late beloved teacher
This is a more formal way to talk about someone that has passed, it shows respect and it commonly used.
Another way you could talk about someone that has passed away is 在天上的／已经离开的. With the 离开了, it’s important that the context is clear. Saying that, it’s what I personally use the most when people ask me about my mum. I usually say, “她已经离开了”. It’s pretty clear with my body language that I’m saying my mum has passed away.
Finally, try and avoid using ”死“ or “死掉”. In Chinese, you should try and avoid that character as much as you can in conversation. It’s one of those taboo-ish words.
Hope that helps and we’ll put it all into a Qing Wen for you guys.
Fi