User Comments - D_Scid
D_Scid
Posted on: Rice First
May 5, 2024 at 10:44 PMIn this context, the English words “bring,” “serve,” and “have” are all synonymous. “I’ll *have* the rice first,” “serve the rice first,” and “bring the rice first” are all the same.
Posted on: Rice First
May 5, 2024 at 10:30 PMThe translation of “è sǐle” as “starving” is perfect based on its literal meaning, without the need for much elaboration. To “starve” is to “die of hunger,” to be “starving“ is to be “dying of hunger.” The literal translation of “è sǐle” is “hungry to death” or literally the dictionary definition of “starving.” Also, while “starving to death” is a common saying, it is a a bit redundant. It’s like saying you are “dying of hunger to death.” I could make the care that the “ba” At the end of “líe liǎng wǎn mǐfàn ba” does make it a suggestion, in the same way that the English phrase “could you bring me two bowls of rice?” Is a question. In the latter case, the customer is not asking whether the server has the capacity to bring two bowels of rice, they are saying “bring me two bowls of rice,” but phrasing it as a question to soften the tone. In Chinese the “ba” serves exactly the same purpose. It converts the command to a suggestion to soften the tone. In both cases, the customer and server understand exactly what is meant and interpret the phrases idiomatically, as the customer ordering a two bowls of rice.
Posted on: Rice First
May 2, 2024 at 10:10 PMLike 80% of words in the English language, “have” has multiple meanings. One definition. In Webster dictionary is “to partake of.” When you say “I’ll have rice,” it means “I’ll partake of the rice,” so not so weird.
Posted on: Waiting for Food
May 12, 2024 at 11:24 PMWhat makes this lesson both hard and useful are the presence of “cai” and “zai” in the some lesson. Not only that but you have “si” and other words that start with “s,” “z,” and “c,” which helps embed the (to my ear) subtle difference between them and build categorical perception around them.