Natalie:  Hello everyone welcome to Question and Answer of the week. I'm Natalie.
 
Yang Li:     大家好，我是杨莉。今天的你问我答节目将从四个汉语词开始，看看英国人知道不知道他们都是什么意思。
 
Natalie:  The question comes from Joannie in China. 
 
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My  name  is  Joannie.  I  have  a  burning  question  about  the  word  yuan  fen (缘分).   I recently heard  it has made  its way  into  the English vocabulary  like  feng shui, dim sum and wok etc, is it true?  If not, how do we explain this particular Chinese phenomenon to the westerners? Thank you.
 
Natalie:   Joannie said that she has a burning question; this means she is anxious to know the answer.
 
Yang Li:  一个迫切的问题。 
 
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Of all  these words which one do  you  recognize as a Chinese phrase  that has made  its way into the English language?
 
OK so I've heard of feng shui; I think it has to do with the way you place your items in your house; dim sum  is  like dumplings  that you can have  in a  restaurant and a wok  is like a special saucepan for frying stir-fries. I don't know what yuan fen is… 
 
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Well feng shui's become very fashionable in Britain and in other countries all around the world. So you hear about people being employed as feng shui consultants and charging a lot of money to come to your house to tell you where to put your sofa, where to put your TV, which way  your doorways  should enter. And  I  think  there’s a  lot of good  sense  in there,  but we  do worry  that  sometimes  some  of  these  people might  not  be  that well qualified.
 
Now have you heard about the word yuan fen?  
 
No I don't know what yuan fen is.
 
Natalie:  That's two of our colleagues Emily and Alice. I'm amazed at how much they know about these Chinese phrases.
 
Yang Li:  Yes.  It's  clear  that  feng  shui, dim  sum and wok have already made  their way into the English language, but the phrase 缘分 has not yet. 
 
Natalie:  To  find  out  the meaning  of  this  Chinese  phrase  we  spoke  to  a  bilingual expert at the BBC, Shirong.
 
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The  phrase  yuan  fen  originally  comes  from  Sanskrit,  Buddhism.  People  talk  about  the kind  of  causal  relationship.  You  know; what  caused  something  in  the  previous  life  and that would have an  impact on your next life. That's  the kind of yuan. That's why in  the English language very often it's translated as kind of destiny or  fate. In  that sense it is correct.
 
Yang Li:  时荣的解释非常清楚，“缘分”一词来自于佛教里的梵文，它体现的是一种因果关系。Let's have a look at the words he used. 
 
Natalie:    Sanskrit.
 
Yang Li:    Sanskrit 梵文。
 
Natalie:    Buddhism.
 
Yang Li:    Buddhism. 佛教。
 
Natalie:    Causal relationship. 
 
Yang Li:    Causal relationship 因果关系。
 
Natalie:    In English we say destiny, fate or it was meant to be. Let's listen to   that clip again.
 
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The  phrase  yuan  fen  originally  comes  from  Sanskrit,  Buddhism.  People  talk  about  the kind  of  causal  relationship.  You  know; what  caused  something  in  the  previous  life  and that would have an  impact on your next life. That's  the kind of yuan. That's why in  the English language very often it's translated as kind of destiny or  fate. In  that sense it is correct.
 
Natalie:  You are listening to Question and Answer of the Week with me Natalie and    Li.
 
Yang Li:  我们正在探讨如何向西方人解释缘分这个词。 一般情况下可以解释为命中注定的事情。  
 
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Yuan fen is something that in English often gets translated as 'it was meant to be. It was my destiny. I was destined to be here. It's fate. It was meant to be.'
 
 
Natalie:  But you can't use the phrase to describe every situation when you happen to meet someone. Listen to Shirong again.
 
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If you talk about people  just a chance meeting  then  it could be by luck, but very often this phrase is used in relationships. This man and woman or boy and girl are predestined to go together. They are predestined to meet, to get along and even get married.
 
Natalie:  I  agree  with  Shirong.  It's  very  different  whether  you  happen  to  meet someone for a short while or to marry someone for life.  
 
Yang Li:  That's right. Perhaps I could say in your case Natalie that it is by luck that you  found  the  BBC  job,  but  it  is  yuan  fen  that  brought  you  and  your boyfriend together. 一个是巧合，另一个是缘分，是命中注定的事情。 
 
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The phrase yuan fen sometimes  is described  in a negative sense. A boy and a girl may meet but  their  relationship may not  last because  they do not have  the yuan  fen. So  in that sense there is another phrase in Chinese called wu yuan; you have no yuan; tough luck.
 
 
Natalie:  That's interesting. So when a marriage or relationship works out then you can  say  that's yuan  fen,  that's  destiny.  And when  it  didn't work  out  you would say wu yuan, tough luck or no luck.
 
Yang Li:  That's correct. Rather than trying to find a reason why a relationship didn't work out people just say well there is no yuan 无缘啊。 
 
Natalie:  I think we've pretty much answered the burning question from Joannie on the meaning of yuan fen; actually I'm beginning to like the phrase myself now. 
 
Yang Li:  Very good. I am glad that you've something nice to take away. 
 
Natalie:   You  will  find  a  lot  more  to  take  away  if  you  log  on  to  our  website www.bbcukchina.com
 
Yang Li:  Thanks for listening and see you next time.
 
Natalie:  Bye. 

How can we explain the meaning of yuan fen to westeners?

Have you got an answer ready? If not, you should read on and have a listen to this programme.

For a lot of native speakers of English such phrases as feng shui, dim sum and wok have become their everyday vocabulary.

But 'yuan fen', on the other hand, is not something that they seem to understand.

缘分 is perhaps one of those words that need some explanation in to correctly understand its meaning.

Join BBC bilingual expert Shirong for a full explanation of this very special Chinese phrase, which is making its way into the English language.

大家可以点击节目录音，收听示范录音和讲解。For full explanations just click on the audio box. Enjoy.

如果你有词汇和语法难题请随时给我们发电邮：questions.elt@bbc.co.uk