User Comments - John

John

Posted on: Evading Nosy Questions

January 25, 2008 at 5:59 AM

wei1xiao4, Sorry, we didn't actually cover that Chinese word in the podcast. "Empty promise" would be: 空头支票 (kōngtóu zhīpiào). On the surface, it looks like it means "blank check," which in English means a license for limitless spending, but in Chinese it actually means "empty promise."

Posted on: Introducing the Grammar Guide

January 25, 2008 at 5:21 AM

Sorry, guys... The Grammar Guide was online, but the data structure had to be re-designed, necessitating taking it offline for a while. It is by no means abandoned, however. It will be going back online in a new and improved version, although what is said about the Grammar Guide in this podcast will still be correct.

Posted on: Evading Nosy Questions

January 25, 2008 at 4:51 AM

aert, I wouldn't say they're the same, because "bù > bù + 1, 2, 3" is not actually a change, whereas "yī > yì + 1, 2, 3" is a change. You might say that's trivial, but one demands active tonal control on the part of the speaker, whereas the other doesn't. Not a trivial difference. I remember clearly getting the "bu" tone change rather quickly, but taking much longer for "yi." It really feels like having to learn one rule of "bu" but four for "yi." Definitely worth learning though! Learn them once and learn them well...

Posted on: Evading Nosy Questions

January 24, 2008 at 8:59 AM

feb2, The pinyin for the word 一般 is normally written as "yībān" but you're right... there is a tone rule which comes into play here. So even though the tones are officially listed as "yībān" they are in reality pronounced "yìbān". This is pretty standard for textbooks and dictionaries. You have to know the rule. If 一般 were listed as "yìbān" then people might mistakenly infer that the normal reading for 一 is "yì". We have a Tone Rule: Two Third Tones lesson, and a Tone Rule: Changes for 不 (bù) lesson, and we still need to do one for 一 (yī) as well.

Posted on: The First Tone

January 23, 2008 at 2:35 AM

lustchina, I found that I was understood much better when I abandoned English sentence intonation altogether. It feels really weird to ask a question without adding the question intonation (which totally feels necessary to English speakers), but it works. You don't normally ever have to do ALL first tones, though, so you don't actually have many opportunities to sound like a robot when speaking Chinese... :)