User Comments - John

Posted on: Bakery Binge

Ha ha! "Hairy meat" = "meat floss" = 肉松 (ròusōng)

I don't like it because it's almost always sweet. :(

Posted on: Sent by the Company

We intentionally do simpler Intermediate lessons occasionally to maintain an overall balance. (Keep in mind that we don't publish lessons in an order relevant to how you should study them.)

Posted on: Sent by the Company

The levels we use are broad enough to allow for some difference in difficulty at each level. So yes, there are some "easier Intermediate" lessons and "more challenging Intermediate" lessons. We make use of these differences when we sequence lessons for courses, which makes for a smoother transition.

Posted on: Sent by the Company

Be selective!

Posted on: Sent by the Company

Good question!

你来中国多久了？ means "how long have you been in China?" (literally, "how long has it ben since you have come to China?") It's the 了 at the end of the sentence that makes the action continue through to the present. Although technially the act of "coming to China" is already complete, it's just too obvious, and feels unnecessary to have that extra 了.

The sentence 你来中国，来了多久了？ is correct, but feels awkward because it repeats unnecessarily.

If you want to talk about how long one has LIVED in China, then you should be using the verb 住. You could say:

你在中国住了多久了？ (How long have you been living in China?) - through now

你在中国住了多久？ (How long did you live in China?) - it's in the past

Posted on: They're Twins!

In case you didn't gather, you can say 八胞胎, however rare it may be.

Posted on: They're Twins!

Good answer! Curiosity satisfied.

It's interesting how culture leads us to focus on certain things habitually that aren't really important.

Posted on: The Opposite and The Unexpected: 相反 and 反而

Thanks for letting us know. :)

Posted on: The Opposite and The Unexpected: 相反 and 反而

Glad it helped!

Posted on: Rice with Soy Sauce

Often, groups will eat at a round table. The waitress needs to find a place somewhere around that table to sneak them food onto it. Often, there's one place that's most convenient for the waitress, and it's usually closest to one person. So in this case, she's telling the one guy (the 先生) that the rice has arrived for everybody (你们) so that he makes way for her to put their bowls of rice on the table.

I go into so much detail here because I asked this very question when our writers were through with it, and once they explained it, I realized that yes, that is how it usually works...

I hope that helps!