User Comments - Fiona@ChinesePod

Posted on: Don't You Know How To Drive!

Hi Robert, please see my response re the language in this lesson above :)

Posted on: Don't You Know How To Drive!

Hi ahmadayaz100, thanks for your comment. This is an intermediate level lesson because of the extended usages of seemingly common words such as 就 and 才 (which you would be too challenging in elementary) as well as more complex constructions such as 说 xx 就 xx. It is an easier intermediate lesson as the vocab is slightly less challenging and sentences are also a little shorter. We had quite a few users comment that the jump between elementary and intermediate was quite large. So we wanted to create some lessons that would help them with this transition period. That being said, we won't only focus on these users but instead create a range of intermediate lessons :) Hope that clarifies things, and feel free to email me if you would like to put forward any lesson suggestions - fiona@chinesepod.com

Posted on: Do You Have Swimming Cap?

Hey Chris,

找 is one of the most colloquial ways to someone out or invite someone to do something. Very often used in informal speech.

For example:

我想找小君去看电影 I wanna invite xiao jun to go to the cinema.

我们找大王去打球 Let's ask da wang to play ball with us.

我们找隔壁王太太去喝茶吧 Let's ask Mrs wang next door to go for tea

邀请 would be the most formal way to invite someone:

我想邀请小君去明天晚上的晚宴 I would like to invite xiao jun to the banquet tomorrow night.

我想邀请您来参加我的表演 I would like to invite you to my performance.

Hope that helps :)

Posted on: Using 赶得上 (gǎndéshàng) or 来得及 (láidéjí)

The sentence is correct, but reading it I would get the impression that you are trying to sound over the top. The reason for this is that you are doubling two phrases that mean the the same thing AND adding a 差点.

Posted on: Using 赶得上 (gǎndéshàng) or 来得及 (láidéjí)

This is a classic question that we are actually recording a video Qing Wen on this afternoon. I'll let you know once it is out.

Posted on: Using 赶得上 (gǎndéshàng) or 来得及 (láidéjí)

Hi Kamillo, rather than thinking of it as movement, it might be better if you thought about it as TIME (or the lack of). 別急 literally is "don't rush". Or you could say 慢慢來 "take your time". You are right in pointing out that there is a heart radical there and it makes sense that you would feel worried if you are short on time. So the worry and anxiety you feel is a result of the lack of time. We often see “別着急” translated as "don't worry", but it would nearly always be in a context where something is time sensitive. For example："别着急,我们会找到孩子的!""别着急，我们还有30分钟才登记！". So the reason that is is translated as often "don't worry", is that by saying "別着急“ you are nearly always comforting something that is rushed and anxious about something. Hope that clears things up :)

Posted on: 吧 (ba) and 要不 (yào bù)

Hey Zojirushi, we have prepared a Qing Wen episode for you on this. I'll let you know once it's out :)

Posted on: Learning about Levels

You could try checking out some of our free lessons on iTunes to get a feel for your level.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/chinesepod/id914400734?mt=2

You can also read this article on assessing your level; https://cpod.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/203689510-Lesson-Levels-Explained

Posted on: Can you hear that?

It's just that the pinyin is all together. du4zie4. The zi is 5 tone/neutral (轻声）so there is no tone mark. To make it clearer it could be writter Dùzi è

Posted on: Official Receipt at a Work Lunch

Try going directly to this page:

https://chinesepod.com/lessons/official-receipt-at-a-work-lunch/print-expansion

Or download this direct link I made you:

http://cl.ly/2944310B2A0w/download/Expansion-%20Official%20Rece...rk%20Lunch%20%C2%BB%20Intermediate.pdf