When speaking another language, it can sometimes feel like trying to stick a square peg into a round hole.  Some ideas in your native language do not carry over into the target language.  Although plurals in English may often lose distinctions in Chinese, the most elusive counterpart may be a direct answer.

When somebody says应该 (should) as in 应该没问题 (there should be no problem).  An English native speaker may be wracked with anxiety over the question of “what if there is a problem?”  However, this is how many people make statements. However, the statement is said to mean something like “barring any surprise circumstances, yes.”

比较 – “relatively, comparatively” this is a qualifier used a lot.  A lot of people with English-language backgrounds want to identify things in absolute terms, while in Chinese a lot of things are referred to relatively.  The clearest example I can think of is from last year’s Olympic rowing events.  In one event, the lead boat was lengths ahead of the competition to the point where it looked like there were 2 races going down the course, and about 1/8 of the race remained.  The English-language announcer said “and the [lead crew] are ahead, this event is all but a done deal!”  The Chinese announcer said 比赛快结束了, [lead crew]胜算比较大.” (“the chances of winning of the lead boat are relatively high.”)   That was a significant difference between the two types of announcers’ narratives.  Under the right contexts, “relatively” can mean “absolutely.”

words

应该 – ying1gai1 – should
比较 bi2(3)jiao3 – relatively, comparatively
比赛 bi3sai4 – competition
结束 jie2shu4 – conclude, finish
胜算 sheng4suan4 – chances of winning