Nali and Nar
blizzarac
February 21, 2008 at 11:52 PM posted in General DiscussionWhat is the difference between Nali and Nar both seem to mean where. I`ve learned Nar in school and nali here.
sushan
March 06, 2008 at 09:19 AM
Sorry for late reply. Anything that should be pronounced 'fen' such as like san mao fen, 1 fen (order) of fried rice, 5 yue fen for May, liang fen for cold noodles
johnb
February 22, 2008 at 02:22 AM
More than just Beijing -- the entire northeast, and lots of the north (东北 and 华北). You'll hear it in the south, too, but much less frequently, where as 'nali' is at least reasonably frequent in the north.
GreyPhoenix
March 06, 2008 at 03:49 PMYes, and be aware of "na ge" vs. "nei ge" and "zhe ge" vs. "zhei ge." I work with a lot of older Chinese from Northern China. The first few times I used the phrases "na ge" (that) and "zhe ge" (this), I was met with blank looks, followed by their own pronunciation, turning the "na" to "nei" (sounds like "neigh," as in what a horse says in English), and "zhe" to "zhei" (pronounced like the letter "j"). The meaning is the same, but the pronunciation is different. ;- )