User Comments - ElijahW

Posted on: Learning about Levels

Great insight here from John at 5:30: "You don't 'finish' Newbie and go on to Elementary. And it's not a cold turkey thing either... You slowly start studying more and more elementary... You study Newbie less and less, and you naturally progress."

Another great insight around 8:00 - Advanced focuses on abstract and cultural topics, whereas Upper Intermediate focuses on technical terms.

Posted on: Discussing Work

You could probably use them interchangeably if you could see the person. If, however, you can't see the person (or if what you're describing isn't something visibly perceptible), you could only use 好像.

Posted on: Online Shopping 网上购物

The 不说，而且 essentially means "not only... also". The speaker is saying that, if it wasn't bad enough that it doesn't look good, to make matters worse, it's not even comfortable.

That sentence might be better translated:

“The real item and the picture do not match. Not only does it look bad when I wear it, the lining is also very prickly on the skin.”

Posted on: 得到、获得、取得的用法

floremorand636474976,

For most of its history, ChinesePod has had some remarkable sound engineers. There was one in particular that left last year. I've been hearing gradual improvement over the last few months, but it's still not up to where it used to be.

If you're listening to some of the audio-only lessons from before 2015, I personally doubt that this quality can be duplicated again, because they were recorded in audio-only facilities unsuitable for video production. Lapel mics just can't compete with the massive microphones used in audio-only production.

Posted on: Business Interviews

There are more coming! There is also much to look forward to at the Upper Intermediate level. Most of my all-time favorite lessons are there. 

Have you looked into online tutoring services like BRIC or italki? Since I spend most of my time in the U.S., I rely on italki teachers for focused practice. It can be costly, but I purposely look for the cheapest teachers. 

Posted on: 得到、获得、取得的用法

Here is an English recap of what the teachers said:

取得: Used in the context of a specific goal, emphasizing the effort that went into getting it, such as the physical energy, mental effort, and long perseverance required to get there. Examples: a college degree, a good grade, trust from a customer, opportunity for promotion, eternal life.

得到: This is the most flexible term, and could be something positive or negative, abstract or concrete. From Mom: love (positive) or complaint (negative); "You may have obtained me (concrete), but you'll never obtain my heart (abstract)." In contrast with 取得, this word can be used of obtaining something that isn't specified.

获得: This word is more formal than the others, and can be used in a legal context (patent, custody, residency, pardon), competitions (first place, second place), business (sales associate of the year).

Posted on: 得到、获得、取得的用法

Hi Bereniceh,

This actually isn't a lesson, but rather a "Qing Wen," where ChinesePod answers questions. Usually, there is no vocabulary, dialogue, expansion sentences or exercises. The fact that this Qing Wen does have some of those features is unusual.

In listening to the provided "Vocabulary Review" file, it does seem the Expansion Sentences are there.

Posted on: Business Interviews

You’re absolutely right. That was my fault, and regrettably no one else caught it until recently.

专长 was a new word for me, and I was using Pinyin input and failed to notice the problem. I’m now actually working toward learning Cangjie, a non-Pinyin input method, to try to force myself to be more attentive to those differences.  

Posted on: Department Store Announcements

Hi Robert！

十分 is often used as an adjective, meaning "very" or "fully" similar to 非常. You could say 十分擁擠 (very crowded), 十分同情 (completely sympathize), or 十分着急 (very anxious).

There's a Qingwen that talks about it here: https://chinesepod.com/lessons/continue-and-very. The discussion about 十分 begins at 9:55.

Posted on: Business Interviews

There is another Intermediate-level lesson on job interviews here: Job Interview.