Quote
royola
Quote
yuetwoh
Just met your wife. She seems very nice.
Would I say:
我見到你的太太。 佢好友？
- [我見到你的太太。] : Understandable, but [見到] has the literal meaning of [saw] only.
- [佢好友？] : Awkward, 友 singularly used is not an adjective. You may say 友善.
- [Just], [seems] are missing in your translation.
Some references
Assume met = to see and talk to someone for the first time, because of the following first impression comment
and nice = kind,
me speaking to a acquaintance: 「啱啱識到/初見(你)太太，佢(seems/似乎)幾好人呀(aa4)。」
* I want to hide [seems/似乎] by the tone of [呀], still quite inappropriate I feel.
me speaking to a friend:「頭先同你老婆第一次見面，佢好好人呀(aa3)。」
* I omit [seems] because it would be rude to "praise" that my friend's wife is [probably very nice].
PS. My take on [She seems very nice.], I find it quite weird to comment to a person in such manner, esp. the [She] is the recipient's wife. I guess I'd prefer commenting about other people doubtfully only if it's negative. Or I won't exaggerate and just say [She is quite nice]. I feel like there's really a hidden meaning in [seems very].....like [almost too]. Well, it all depends on your tone and how you say it anyway.
Thank you. Very helpful, also. Yes. in Chinese to say to the husband that his wife is very nice may seem a little awkward but not in English. How else can I convey a compliment to the husband about his wife after meeting her for the first time?