Do you know much about... ?

[yuechu]

大家好！

I was wondering how to ask "Do you know much about... ?" in Chinese. For example "Do you know much about... Buddhism?, linguistics?, history?" Would anyone know how to translate this?
Thanks!

 

[ovaltine888]

你了解……吗?

 

[yuechu]

Thanks again, Ovaltine888!
I was thinking about that possible translation! Would "知道" or "认识" work at all, or would they not be suitable for this context?

 

[ovaltine888]

Thanks again, Ovaltine888!
I was thinking about that possible translation! Would "知道" or "认识" work at all, or would they not be suitable for this context?

The verb 认识 is usually associated with knowing a person, a language or a word. （你认识他吗？你认识中文吗？你认识这个字吗？）

The verb 知道 means "heard of" but not necessarily "know much about". You may 知道 something or somebody but you may only have a nodding acquaintance with them.

 

[yuechu]

Great! Thanks for your explanations, Ovaltine888!

 

[SimonTsai]

I think that it is nearly impossible to give an accurate and sufficiently precise translation in the absence of contexts. As you can see below, we have a variety of expressions that correspond to the original.

'Do you know much about Olivia?' [...]
'I actually know almost nothing about her, except a little bit through Krish. [...]'
(from Birmingham Friends)

「妳和歐莉薇亞熟嗎？」
「她我其實幾乎不認識。我所知道的，那僅有的一點是科利敘跟我說的。」

'Do you know much about plants?'
'Everyone knows something about plants.' [...]
'I'm thinking about one [... whose] name I know it by is "spikenard", but that is a Mamutoi word.'
'I am sorry. I know some food plants. I don't know much about medicine plants. You would need a Zelandoni for that[.]'
(from The Shelters of Stone)

「妳對植物有研究嗎？」
「植物每個人多少都知道一點。」
「我記得有一種叫斯拜柯納，但那是瑪穆托語。」
「植物食用的我知道一些，藥用的我不大清楚。你可以找個日蘭多尼人來問。」

Do you know much about Joshua in the Bible? He was the leader of the army that marched around Jericho's walls and made them fall.
(from So you're about to be a teenager)

聖經裏的約書亞，關於他的大小事，你知道嗎？率軍在耶利戈的城牆周圍行步，讓城牆倒下，那個人就是他。

 

[yuechu]

Good to know! Thanks again, SimonTsai!

 

[SuperXW]

I think that it is nearly impossible to give an accurate and sufficiently precise translation in the absence of contexts. As you can see below, we have a variety of expressions that correspond to the original.

「妳和歐莉薇亞熟嗎？」
「她我其實幾乎不認識。我所知道的，那僅有的一點是科利敘跟我說的。」

「妳對植物有研究嗎？」
「植物每個人多少都知道一點。」
「我記得有一種叫斯拜柯納，但那是瑪穆托語。」
「植物食用的我知道一些，藥用的我不大清楚。你可以找個日蘭多尼人來問。」

聖經裏的約書亞，關於他的大小事，你知道嗎？率軍在耶利戈的城牆周圍行步，讓城牆倒下，那個人就是他。

“了解”基本通用。
“你了解奥利维亚吗？”
“你了解植物吗？”
“你了解圣经里的约书亚吗？”
“关于他的大小事”实在有点画蛇添足了。