URLLesson Introduction
中国要办奥运了，80后的小夫妻也到了生育的黄金年龄。也许大家都想生个奥运娃吧，今年的孕妇特别多。生个小孩不容易啊，怀胎十月，一朝分娩，只有经历过的人才知其中的酸甜苦辣。今天的高级中文，我们来听听一位怀了双胞胎的准妈妈和她朋友的对话。
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henning says
July 18, 2008
我妻子第一次怀孕的时候医生做了超声波检查， 突然兴奋地对我们说了
《你们想不想知道孩子是男的还是女的? 你们不想知道当然不要告诉你们， 不过快看看这个东西吧！ 你们孩子真是个女宝宝的话她的阴蒂就是我见过最大的。。。》
可以说他是一点直接的, 甚至按照德国的标准。 但是除了这个意外他是一位突出的好医生。 还有幽默感。。。
changye says
July 20, 2008
Hi henning,
Just hilarious! How humorous! Judging from what the doctor said, I think your first baby is a boy. Am I right? I don't easily believe that you have a baby girl who has the biggest ...............
shensw says
July 21, 2008
哇,双胞胎,这位准妈妈太幸福了!
shensw says
July 21, 2008
在中国,通常不允许医生告诉准父母们胎儿的性别.
changye says
July 21, 2008
我家的小狗宝贝（名字叫芭迪）非常胖。她自称是一条西施犬（狮子狗）。不过我不敢轻易相信，就因为我从来没看过那么胖乎乎的西施犬。大家好好想一想，世上哪有体重超过18斤的胖狮子狗。百度百科也说西施犬标准体重范围从10到14斤。
我老问我的胖狗：“你原来是不是杂种的?”，但芭迪当然不承认，什么也不说。现在回想起来，虽然是六年前买来的小狗，可当时只花一百四十元人民币能买到纯血统的西施犬吗？纯粹的西施犬会有像她那样明显的地包天牙齿吗？真叫人纳闷！
我的小狗还没下过崽子，理由很简单就是她一只男朋友都没有。我看芭迪的体重是她找不到对象的主要原因。在我家附近徘徊流浪的公狗都比芭迪小，在加上，他们几乎都比芭迪少好几岁。公狗们可能害怕胖大姐，同时也喜欢年轻漂亮的女友。
前几天，我领着小狗散步的时候，在路上发现一个陌生女人一直盯着芭迪，后来她走过来对我说：“你的小狗生了崽子，送我一只好吗？我家的狗狗丢了，孩子不高兴。” 她误会我家的狗怀孕，以为芭迪是快要下崽的准妈妈狗。真是把我气坏了！
nourelhouda says
July 21, 2008
hello guys, normaly in advanced lessons you use also english to explain , just in case if someone didn't understand some words, but in this one there's no english part in it and it's a very imortant lesson, could somebody there fix it please, i need that translation to be able to locate the words.
thanks.
pinkjeans says
July 21, 2008
老师们，你们好。我很喜欢这个课程，真是很有意思。通常我不敢接近高级的课程， 可是我觉得这一个题目太有趣了。我很高兴地告诉你们我大部分都听得懂（我进步了吗？如果真是啦，我应该说谢谢）。
Sorry, I have to type in English now, my Chinese is not that 高级 yet. How about a sequel or sequels to this, detailing the labour, the experience with the 月嫂，the 老公's experience, the difficulty encountered with babycare, breastfeeding, etc.? That would be something to look forward to. :-)
user28880 says
July 21, 2008
You really shouldn't be so dogmatic in your belief that Advanced students shouldn't need the English translation. Since I don't have a teacher, I have learned how to read Hongloumeng with the English version to help me. I like knowing how something might be said in English. I disagree with not putting the English in the PDF version. What is the harm?
changye says
July 21, 2008
Hi user28880,
I'm a free user, so I know nothing about paid services provided by Cpod. The English translations of dialogues are NOT included in them?
henning says
July 21, 2008
user2880, pinkyjeans,
I disagree. The English would be in the way.
And all critical words and phrases are given in English in the Vocab tab / the HTML-text file / the PDF. The rest is usually pretty straight forward Chinese - or can at least be quite directly looked up. It is different in the "Media" level.
For CPod the following can be said:
Advanced with English == Upper Intermediate
auntie68 says
July 21, 2008
Dear user2880, I have to agree with henning here. One year ago, I would have been sitting in front of my computer, nodding my head, and agreeing with you that there should be more English in the "banter".
But somewhere along the way since then, I started using a "Chinese-only" dictionary, a good one. It was not smooth or easy at first, but now I feel quite certain that definitions which I hear or read in Chinese stick with me longer.
I am with you totally, and understand the sheer frustration, that comes from being let down by CPOD in an "Advanced" lesson where even the simple vocab translations are sloppy, or the hosts/teachers have neglected to explain something -- in whatever language -- that I would look for in my print dictionary but would NEVER find because it was slang.
Now that's truly frustrating. Hopefully, that seems to be more a problem of the earlier "Advanced" lessons, where they were "winging it", and had fewer resources on hand. I can't tell you how many times I felt very irritated because I had to play a stupid, unhelpful guessing game trying to identify the real-life people who were the subjects of an "Advanced" lesson.
But I think that this kind of quality issue is a different thing from objecting to a "no-English" philosophy behind the "Advanced" classes? I am also studying two other languages, Japanese and Korean, with another "-pod", and was disconcerted when those "-pods" started introducing some Korean and Japanese banter in levels as low as the latest "Beginner" seasons.
Yet it took only a handful (well, a "handful" to maybe 10!, depending on the level) of uncomfortable lessons for the banter to start to make sense, and become natural for me, and now I think I learn as much from the banter, as from the actual lesson materials, a lot of the time. To be fair, those other "-pods" are a bit more conservative than CPOD, you don't risk being distracted or confused by wild giggling or breathless laughter on the odd occasion that the hosts get carried away with entertaining, and forget to teach, as you might with CPOD. Eg. the points made in each QW are really important and useful, but sometimes I have to grit my teeth to listen to the podcasts because I am just too negative or calcified or whatever to appreciate them.
Just my personal opinion... I know that you are probably a lot more advanced in Mandarin, than I am. All the best. Cheers. Auntie68
pinkjeans says
July 21, 2008
henning, what did I say to elicit your response? My post had nothing to do with having or not having English in the lessons. I'm fine with the way things are. Please read it agan.
lostinasia says
July 21, 2008
I think the level of English in the podcast, PDF, and expansion sections is just right. Bloody hard (for now), but appropriate. I actually kind of like the, er, half-assed automatic mouseover translations - a clumsy crutch makes you that much more eager to start walking properly. (As long as they get the proper nouns right!)
I DO wish there were more English "ways into the lesson" - through tagging, related lessons, topic lists, and for that matter through English titles.
Someone else suggested this... how about ALL titles of lessons, at ALL levels, being in both English and Chinese?
henning says
July 21, 2008
pinkyjeans,
sorry, my mistake ;)
lostinasia: Yes - knowing the subject ahead of the podcast sometimes miraculously boosts comprehension rates by 50% or more.
auntie68 says
July 21, 2008
henning, I so totally, TOTALLY agree with you and lostinasia that:
So true. And if I can be naughty here, this effect has nothing to do with miracles, it's just common sense (or "good business practice"/ "quality control"/ whatever you wish to call it).
I just glanced at my iTunes list of "Advanced" lesson titles, and in the past 12 months, on my painful way to being reasonably comfortable in "Advanced", the going was harder -- for many lessons -- than it ought to have been (by any reasonable measure), because I didn't have a clue whom or where or what the lesson was about, or the "current event" which the CPOD teachers assumed would be interesting and familiar to everybody attempting the lesson.
Not everybody studying with CPOD is obsessed with everything that is happening in China today... or is dreaming daily of living or working there (or dreaming of dating Jenny, like bazza!). Hope this doesn't come out the wrong way... I don't mean to be offensive or hostile. I'm just an average learner focussing generally on the Chinese language, which I find very beautiful. Whether it's traditional or simplified or modern or classical or Cantonese... but those are my personal "terms", which aren't everybody's "terms"...
pinkjeans says
July 21, 2008
No sweat, henning. 没关系！By the way, 你的故事非常好笑。
tvan says
July 21, 2008
norelhouda and user2880, to add to Henning's observations, looking up unfamiliar words in a Chinese dictinary is a great way to learn. Looking them up in an all-Chinese dictionary is even better. Sure it's a little tedious but, I think, in the long run it pays off.
changye says
July 21, 2008
Hi guys,
Not using English explanations in advanced lessons is one of the teaching principles of Chinesepod, and I would like to respect it. Anyway, I don’t think it would make big difference whether or not some English words and sentences are inserted in lessons.
On the other hand, not offering full English translation of the dialogue is not a matter of principle, but only a question of whether Chinesepod saves trouble or not. From the standpoint of users, especially intermediate learners who struggle to decipher dialogues in advanced lessons, it definitely won’t hurt to have full translations in paid services.
nourelhouda says
July 21, 2008
i agree with u, but spending one day seach for a word isn't that better than to have it already in english and try to memorise it, besides , u should also know that not only the advanced people in chinese use this pod, my level is intermadiate but since the lesson is important as i will be in the case of this lesson , i wanna know what's been said exactely in it, so please , there are high level students but don't forget the newbie and the itermadiate level ones, other wise , make a special lesson to them with the same context.
fortunatestar says
July 21, 2008
关于中国人的态度对流产,任何人要评论吗？好像中国人和美国，欧洲人等等的态度不一样。 中国人对流产有比较实际的态度。我没有看过中国流产的统计，但是无论正式的统计比别的国家的高不高，我还认为是比较明显在中国人用流产当一种重要的节育方法。 因素可能是跟文化，经济和宗教有关系。我知道中国是一个大的国家，而且看个人的情况下人的经理和选择都不一样，城市比农村，等等。我不要说这个情况是好不好，我只要指出这个实情。
changye says
July 21, 2008
Hi fortunatestar,
Thank you very much for the word 节育, which was completely new to me. And let me give you a piece of advice. In Chinese, just saying 流产 usually means 'miscarriage', and abortion should be translated as 人工流产 or its abbreviation 人流.
fortunatestar says
July 21, 2008
Dear Changye
Thanks for the comment and advice, although 节育 is the one word that I looked up in the dictionary - so i would probably ask a native speaker whether it is the best word in this context.
As for your comments on 流产，I am not so sure. Perhaps I have heard wrongly but I thought in everyday conversation people would say 流产． As we both know no one would say 人工流产 its too awkward - and the difference between miscarriage and abortion would be made clear in context.
I am always happy to take advice thats why i am here - but is there a chance we could ask a native speaker?
For example if you said 她做了流产． Ｉwould have thought it was intentional. Where as 去年她怀孕了但是流产了 sounds like a miscarriage.
Anyway, I am guessing. But is raises the question how to differentiate the two.
Happy to take your advice, but as a verb 人流 sounds strange to me.
Keep the comments coming :-)
changye says
July 21, 2008
Hi fortunatestar,
I think that you are right. Chinese is a word-saving language, so it is very possible that people often say 流产, or 做流产, in the sense of abortion. To tell you the truth, I happened to see the word '人工流产' when I went to a hospital last time here in China. I was a little surprised that there were a lot of young girls in front of the operating room with a sign of '人工流产'. By the way, 人流 is a noun, not a verb.
P/S. I went to the hospital to get a checkup, not for 人工流产!
fortunatestar says
July 21, 2008
Hello Changye
We will find out one way or the other. I would give someone a call but its midnight in Beijing. When I hear what the locals have to say I will let you knowJ
In fact, as you know in Chinese and probably Japanese too, ambiguity is part of the nature of things and in a way de-emphasizes the importance of language – the not spoken is often what is important – it can preserve privacy etc.
你好Changye. 我们会找到一个答案吧。在北京现在是半夜所以不要打扰朋友问他们。不过发现北京人对这个话题用什么样的语法的话我肯定会告诉你。
其实，你知道中国人也许也包括日本人的说法经常说得不太情趣。经常是不说出来的事比说出来的重要。也许这个方法帮助人保持私人的事。
你是日本人。同意吗？
pinkjeans says
July 21, 2008
changye and fortunate star, I think abortion is 堕胎。
henning says
July 21, 2008
Discussed this with a native (wife):
According to her 流产 is the super-term, 人工流产 - or short 人流 - a sub-term. So 流产 can mean both a miscarriage or an abortion. The key is that the baby is gone. 人工流产 / 人流 are more precise in that regard.
Add-on: A 革命 or a 恐怖计划 can also be subject to a 流产 (that these are 人流 is understood).
vestedinterest says
July 21, 2008
我下载了课文后, 那个课文的速度很不自然. 太快! 你们会不会给我建议?
weifeng says
July 21, 2008
How do you say "Hyperemisis Gravidarum"?
谢谢， 郭威风
henning says
July 21, 2008
weifeng,
妊娠剧吐: [ rèn shēn jù tù ]
lit: pregnancy (妊娠) hyperemesis (剧吐)
monica5 says
July 21, 2008
I agree with Pinkjeans. A sequel would be great!
auntie68 says
July 21, 2008
@henning: Many thanks to your native speaker (wifey) for clarifying fortunestar's query!
Goodness, changye really is a "Black Belt 10th Dan" in Mandarin, as you described him in that other thread!
And thank you too for the "add-on".
lujiaojie says
July 21, 2008
pinkjeans:
你写的中文很好，
欢迎你常听高级中文，常用中文写留言！
还有，谢谢你的建议！
jennyzhu says
July 22, 2008
没想到关于宝宝的课程这么受欢迎。我记得看过一张广告，是“高端月子中心”，就是专业人员照顾月子里的妈妈。英文翻译是'high end confinement center'!!!
changye says
July 22, 2008
Hi pinkjeans and guys,
Just for your information, 流产 only means ‘miscarriage’ in Japanese. And there are two Japanese words that mean abortion, 堕胎 and 中绝. The former is slightly more formal than the latter, and 中绝 is more commonly used than 堕胎 in daily conversation. The two characters used in 堕胎 are rather straightforward, i.e. they literally mean ‘abort a fetus’, which I think is a reason why less people use the word in conversation. I don't know if the same goes for 堕胎 in Chinese.
connie says
July 22, 2008
我们这里一位刚当上爸爸的同事透露，如果想知道肚子里的宝宝的性别，可以在做产检的时候，问医生应该给宝宝买什么颜色的衣服，是粉红色的还是蓝色的。
pinkjeans says
July 22, 2008
lujiaojie, 谢谢你的鼓励!
changye, I think you're right. 堕胎 is probably used more in a medical context than in daily conversation.
:-)
angerx says
July 22, 2008
jyuyhjsgfsdfg
changye says
July 22, 2008
Hi fortunatestar,
中国人爱说的一句话”没问题”的背后往往存在着许多问题，日本人常说的”是的”也并不一定是同意的意思。当西方人面对这种暧昧含糊的态度时当然需要十分注意。对于日本人来讲，沉默寡言还是最受崇尚的传统美德之一。
日本七十年代有一条很受欢迎的啤酒电视广告。那条广告里一个很驰名的日本男演员喝一杯啤酒，但是很奇怪，广告开始后最初十秒钟，他什么都不说一直在喝啤酒，最后只说一句话：”男子汉就该默默喝啤酒!” 太精彩了！
changye says
July 22, 2008
P/S. Correction. 驰名 is a verb, so 很驰名 is grammatically wrong. Let me correct the phrase '很驰名的日本男演员' as follow, 很有名的日本男演员. Thanks.
dldshanghai says
July 22, 2008
I think “打胎" and "人流" used more often in spoken Chinese, which means abortion. Or phrase like "把孩子打掉" has the same meaning. (I know here the 打 is a little bit ... )
If you want to keep the baby by some medcine or other ways, that's called 保胎 in Chinese. I remember there was a kind of pill before, called 保胎药.
kongkunhuan says
July 22, 2008
i have never listened to a mandarin conversation like this.so i ask,is it wrong to only understand a few words in the conversation.
changye says
July 22, 2008
Hi dldshanghai,
Wow, 打胎 is a very straightforward word to refer to abortion. It really sounds very "ouch!". To my surprise, I've found the word even in 现代汉语词典. It seems that a lot of things are being beaten (挨打) figuratively in Chinese, such as 打水，打车，打的，打气，打官司, and so on. You can find a great number of 打～ words in a dictionary. Most of them are conversational words.
monica5 says
July 22, 2008
我的朋友刚生下来宝宝的时候给我解释中国传统的坐月子方式。她说，生了孩子后一定要吃热的蔬菜.热的水果什么的。产后满月才能洗头洗澡，刷牙，加上不可流泪。。。虽然她说现代坐月子可不是过去的那么严重，可我倒是觉得坐月子好难过啊！！ ；-）
（sorry for my poor and 一塌糊涂 Chinese!)
shensw says
July 23, 2008
monica5,
你的中文写得非常好！
是的,在中国坐月子有很多讲究，并且各地都不尽相同。
如果妈妈或婆婆很传统，那么坐月子可不是一般的难过哟！
shensw says
July 23, 2008
Hi, fortunatestar,
我们通常说:
她流产了.
她做了人流.
但一般不说: 她做了流产.
流产,既可以指主动的行为,如做人流(人工流产),也可以是不小心发生的,或意外的流产.
人流和随胎则是主动的或被迫的主动行为.
fortunatestar says
July 23, 2008
Changye 谢谢“男子汉就该默默喝啤酒!” 让我要喝啤酒。这里太热。但是冰箱里没有啊。对于国家的文化的差别我完全跟你同意。 其实新来中国的人有很多问题关于这个事。 他们需要时间变习惯了。
Shensw 谢谢你。我的原来的帖子是关于中国流产的情况还有中国人的态度对流产。但是在这个讨论的过程中我学了怎么准确得形容这个事。你的解说是很明确还有实际的。 谢谢。
她流产了.
她做了人流.
但一般不说: 她做了流产.
standuke says
July 23, 2008
FWIW for those who struggle to translate, remember you can use the 'html version' link in the pdf. With html you can use Chinese pera-kun, adso, or other translation tools for quick and painless vocab lookup.
I kind of like the 'no English' thing, even though I struggle at this level. It's like a Friday crossword... it's fun to try even if sometimes I can't finish.
dubaobao says
July 23, 2008
好像是一个有意思的文化区别，在中国的文化生孩子需要十个月的时间，在西方文化（至少在美国的文化）需要九个月。不知道加一个月的“烧烤”是否亚洲小孩那么聪明的一个原因。。。或者应该说美国的生产效率高一点点。
;-)
稍微严肃一点的一个问题，美国几年前有一部电影叫做“9 Months”。我有一点好奇这部片子中文的名字是什么？
connie says
July 23, 2008
dubaobao,
电影“9 Months”的中文名是《怀胎九月》。
“十月怀胎”是一个固定说法。虽然现在我们知道怀孕的过程不是十个月，但还是沿用这个说法，去表达这个过程的漫长及艰辛，而母亲经过这么漫长的过程生下孩子也是十分地伟大。
changye says
July 23, 2008
Hi fortunatestar,
我介绍的那条啤酒广告后来产生了一个都市传说。据说，一个大学毕业男生到一家大公司面试的时候，很奇怪，他一句话都没回答，保持了一种奇妙的沉默。考官当然非常生气地说：”你这是什么态度！太不像话了，你给我出去！”
然后，这个男生很严肃地开口说第一句话：”男子汉就该默默喝啤酒!” 一瞬间的寂静后，考官就哈哈笑起来了，正因为这句话就是这家大(啤酒)公司的广告标语！按照传说，这个大胆而富有幽默感的大学生被正式录用了，你信不信？
aaroninwisconsin says
July 24, 2008
I think a good solution to nourelhouda's dilemma would be to have lessons of varying levels that all cover the same topic, i.e. Beginner pregnancy dialogue, intermediate pregnancy diaologue, advanced, etc. The difficulty increases but the content stays the same. That way you could listen at your own level and then move up in the same mindset to see how much you actually understand.
I know this would require a lot of work across the board to implement it, but whadaya say, Chinesepod?
cosmic says
July 24, 2008
Can someone please tell me, how to say the following in Chinese?
"Vary your options" / "Vary your choices"
Thanks.
lostinasia says
July 24, 2008
aaroninwisconsin, and others: below are some other baby and pregnancy related lessons (since the "Related Lessons" window provided by ChinesePod doesn't work very well).
With nearly a thousand lessons in the archive, often by now ChinesePod DOES have lessons related to a topic, at a range of levels. Unfortunately, they can be difficult to find.
Anyway, lessons for this - they're all in Elementary or Intermediate:
Adoption
Baby Care
Condoms (OK, only tenuously related!)
Pregnancy
Where Children Come From
And a big lesson set that I've shared, for health and body topics:
Health
(My usual compliant/ reminder to ChinesePod: I found these quite easily, by searching the lesson transcripts that are on my own computer. Finding them through search functions on the site would have been incredibly time-consuming, as well as very hit-and-miss. Make your archive easier to work through!)
amber says
July 24, 2008
hi cosmic,
The closest translation we can make for that is:
使你的选择多样化.
(Shǐ nǐ de xuǎnzé duōyànghuà.)
xiaoanolga says
July 27, 2008
I totally agree with aaroninwisconsin...ie "having lessons of varying levels that all cover the same topic..." (for certain topics where there is a demand)
in fact I think that introducing more english at the advanced level would only be counterproductive. I would even advocate that at this level the vocabulary shoud be chinese only (eg xinhua cidian explanations of the words), and the pinyin banished. After all, in real life you never get a text with pinyin and you have to acquire the skills of how to look in a dictionnary, be it paper or electronic (for the case there is no native around whom you may ask)! the texts presented in the lessons are short and the number of words/expressions presented is rather low, the articulation is clear and there is no background noises: even if it is clearly not realistic,that is excellent for learning.... Communicating in any language is a skill which is totally different from translation. You have to be able to think directly in the target language without references to the mother tongue. Chinesepod is clearly working in this direction, but perhaps could go further...
Keep up this excellent work, guys!
Xiaoan
nour says
July 30, 2008
Hi I would just like to support aaroninwisconsin's idea about having topics at all levels. I will get through this lesson but it would have been nice to have it in the intermediate scetion. Much more my level. As I'm pregnant in China and going to give birth in China. I am finding this lesson highly useful.
foleadu says
August 2, 2008
Great lesson!
Another very relevant and fun lesson to add to LostinAsia's List:
坐月子 (which is mentioned in the podcast)
Also, the recent Dear Amber:
A month in recovery
joko1 says
August 15, 2008
good!!!
rhenry says
August 20, 2008
同学们，
请问，“大本熊”的意思和“蠢人”的意思差不多吗？很喜欢这个口语。
Ray
connie says
August 20, 2008
“大笨熊”和“蠢人”的意思不太一样。
“大笨熊”不一定是笨，也可以是长得胖乎乎的。而且“大笨熊”听起来比较可爱。
rhenry says
August 21, 2008
谢谢！