懷疑人生 – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: MC 張天賦

Lyrics & Translation

Learning a language can be a journey of self-discovery, much like the one explored in MC 張天賦's '懷疑人生' (In Doubt). This song offers a unique window into the Cantonese language and the contemporary struggles of young people in Hong Kong. Through its poignant and philosophical lyrics, you can learn vocabulary related to emotions, societal pressures, and self-reflection. What makes this song special is its raw honesty and its message of finding strength in uncertainty, making it a compelling and relatable way to deepen your connection with the Cantonese language and culture.

[English]

I ask myself if not being realistic makes me kind of useless

I wonder if my romantic ideas will cause me to lose out

I ask if I’ve been studying hard, working like an ant

Asking questions almost drains my whole life away

But I can’t seem to climb the ladder of happiness

Must get used to being tightly controlled by the strong

Trained to stop thinking and just adapt to the times

Paying tuition, yet helplessly falling behind

Teach me how to climb the stairs

How can success be duplicated

Doubting that youth was shattered long ago, doubting youth as a sickness

In this world, people are just transactions

Doubting even my birth, thinking I’ve already decayed

Constantly feeling unwell, feeling slow

My head’s already cracked, I need to learn to be good

Lowering the ego might make me like a happy herd

Looking back at the beautiful universe that will be buried alive

No one can break the rules

I’m pushed to grow old faster, clock ticking away

Afraid that facing my newborn self will bring shame

Being forced to be practical, chasing dreams is too expensive

Laughing at my thoughts as being absurd

Life can only give and take

Doubting that youth was shattered long ago, doubting youth as a sickness

In this world, people are just transactions

Doubting even my birth, thinking I’ve already decayed

Constantly feeling unwell, feeling slow

My head’s already cracked, I need to learn to be good

Lowering the ego might make me like a happy herd

Looking back at the beautiful universe that will be buried alive

No one can break the rules

Many doubts come from misunderstandings, when did youth start breaking the commandments

Still scared, fleeing costs too much

Ordinary people can only interpret one way — still struggling too arrogantly

Gear, as one

Realizing I have no worth to be truly understood

Desperate to run away to the most remote place

Avoidance requires cooperation to turn the great wheel

Lying flat in this new world

[Chinese]

我問我不夠你現實算不算頹廢

我問我想法太浪漫　會否吃虧

我問我可有去學習　勤勞螞蟻

問到就快虛耗了一世

但我沒法攀上美滿階梯

要習慣被金剛圈牢牢控制

訓練到沒有思考適應這時勢

努力交學費　無奈也被淘汰

教我怎麼上樓梯

成功的方法怎複製

懷疑青春一早瓦解　懷疑青春似個病態

存在世上　人不過是個買賣

懷疑出生都心有鬼　懷疑出生我已腐壞

不停　不快

頭亦已撞破便要學會乖

放低小我會似羊群愉快

遙望往日美麗宇宙要被活埋

誰都不可破戒

我被按下急速衰老時間掣

怕就怕面對初生的我會慚愧

要被迫實際　尋夢過份昂貴

笑我思想太無稽

人生只可以給消費

懷疑青春一早瓦解　懷疑青春似個病態

存在世上　人不過是個買賣

懷疑出生都心有鬼　懷疑出生我已腐壞

不停　不快

頭亦已撞破便要學會乖

放低小我會似羊群愉快

遙望往日美麗宇宙要被活埋

誰都不可破戒

懷疑很多都不理解　何時青春背上十誡

還被嚇壞　逃出去代價太大

常人只得一種註解　還垂死掙扎太自大

齒輪　一塊

明白我沒價值去被了解

要私奔到最遠無人地帶

逃避要合作地轉動偉大巨輪

平躺於新世界

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
懷疑 /huái yí/ B2	verb - to doubt
人生 /rén shēng/ B1	noun - life
青春 /qīng chūn/ B2	noun - youth
成功 /chéng gōng/ B1	noun - success
控制 /kòng zhì/ B2	verb - to control
學習 /xué xí/ A2	verb - to learn
努力 /nǔ lì/ B1	verb - to strive
存在 /cún zài/ B1	verb - to exist
美滿 /měi mǎn/ B2	adjective - perfect, fulfilling
病態 /bìng tài/ C1	noun - pathology, abnormal condition
腐壞 /fǔ huài/ C1	verb - to decay, to rot
逃避 /táo bì/ B2	verb - to escape, to evade
代價 /dài jià/ B2	noun - cost, price
註解 /zhù jiě/ C1	noun - annotation, explanation
合作 /hé zuò/ B1	verb - to cooperate
新世界 /xīn shì jiè/ B2	noun - new world

Key Grammar Structures

• 我問我不夠你現實算不算頹廢

  ➔ Using the double negation with '不夠' and '不算' to express a negative question.

  ➔ '不夠' means 'not enough' and '不算' means 'not considered.' Their combination in a question emphasizes doubt about adequacy or correctness.

• 我問我想法太浪漫　會否吃虧

  ➔ Using the modal '會否' to express potential or possibility in a question.

  ➔ '會否' functions as a question particle indicating uncertainty about whether something will happen or not.

• 我可有去學習　勤勞螞蟻

  ➔ Using '有' in a question to inquire about possession or occurrence, with the modal '可' to express possibility.

  ➔ '有' in a question functions to ask whether something exists or has occurred, combined with '可' which indicates possibility or permission.

• 訓練到沒有思考適應這時勢

  ➔ Using the verb '訓練到' + negative '沒有' to indicate a result achieved through training, leading to a state of lacking thought or adaptability.

  ➔ '訓練到' expresses the extent or result of training, and when combined with '沒有', it indicates that after training, one lacks or has lost certain qualities like thoughtfulness or adaptability.

• 誰都不可破戒

  ➔ Using '誰都不可' to express that nobody should or can do something, emphasizing prohibition or impossibility.

  ➔ '誰都不可' literally means 'no one is allowed' or 'nobody can', used to emphasize the prohibition of a certain action or rule.

• 平躺於新世界

  ➔ Using '於' as a formal or literary preposition indicating location or place in a poetic context.

  ➔ '於' functions as a literary or formal preposition meaning 'at' or 'in' the context of poetic language.