關於grammar point · tier 1 · regarding 關於 (name the topic a text is about)
· guānyú
Coverb that names the subject a following piece of discourse or a noun is about.
字源 FORM what the parts do
關 is a bar run through the gate (門), 𢇅 for the sound — what the bar ties together is 關係, to connect, to concern. 於 is a worn crow-graph hired out as the empty joint of the sentence, at, in, to. The pair ties a stretch of talk to the one subject it bears on.
故事 STORY a scene to remember it by
A bar drops across the page and pins it to one subject; everything written after hangs on that bar.
字源記憶法
框 · Frame
關於 [topic] (，… / 的 [noun])
觸 · Trigger
You are naming the subject a piece of writing, talk, or a noun is about, before you deliver it.
序 · The move
1Name the topic the discourse bears on, and put 關於 + that topic at the front.Does the rest genuinely treat this subject? 關於 fronts what the talk is ABOUT, not a person it is aimed at — for aimed-at, reach for 對於.
2Choose the build: end the 關於-phrase with a comma and run a full clause, or close it with 的 and let it modify a noun (關於…的文章).In the 的 build, the noun is a vessel of discourse — article, book, report, question. A bare object that is not itself talk does not take 關於…的.
3Deliver the discourse that is about that topic.Drop 關於 and the topic loses its anchor to the text; 關於 only adds the about-ness, never an action of its own.
例 · Examples
1張老師寫了一篇關於guānyú — regarding, about梵谷Fàngǔ — Van Gogh作品欣賞xīnshǎng — to appreciate的文章。
Mr. Zhang wrote an article on appreciating Van Gogh's works.
關於 names the SUBJECT a text is about (關於這件事的報導 — a report about this matter). 對於 names the TARGET an attitude or action is aimed at (對於這件事，我很生氣 — toward this matter, I am angry). About-it vs toward-it.
A bare topic-comment fronts a noun with no marker (這件事我知道 — this matter, I know it). 關於 marks the front phrase as the subject-of-discourse and usually feeds a 的-noun or a comma; the bar is spoken, not silent.
✗ 對於梵谷作品的文章 (aiming at, not about) → ✓ 關於梵谷作品的文章
✗ 我關於這件事很生氣 (an attitude aimed at it) → ✓ 對於這件事，我很生氣
✗ 他關於得很清楚 → ✓ 他說得很清楚 (關於 governs a topic, never takes a degree complement itself)
English 'about' also marks approximation ('about ten') and direction ('walk about'). 關於 carries only the topic-of sense; the others are 大約 (approximation) and other words entirely.