User Comments - John

Posted on: Issues with Flavor

You gonna try ordering it? :)

Posted on: Words with 可(ke)

"Attractive" is most often 好看 or 帅, not 可爱. 可爱 is for babies, little baby animals, cutesy girls, adorable little old people, etc.

Posted on: A Flat Bicycle Tire

This is the "Double 了." It tells us that the action went on for some time in the past, and is continuing even now.

Posted on: Quieting the Baby

Thanks, everybody! Enjoying the ride so far...

带 actually means "look after" just like 照顾, but it's frequently used in the long-term sense, so it could be understood to mean raise. There's no big difference in meaning between 带 though 照顾, when the object is 孩子, although 带 is more casual.

Posted on: Addresses

You can use both 有 and 是 in this type of pattern (although the measure word for 邮局 should be 家).

有 means "there is" or "there are" and emphasizes what's there (or not there), or how many of something there is in an area.

是 means "is" and emphasizes what is and isn't in specific locations.

We do similar things in English:

1. Across from us is a post office.

2. There's a post office across from us.

Posted on: The Tea Scam

Friendly "art students" befriend you and take you to their "art exhibit" which is "about to end." They have lots of nice pieces "painted by their teacher" sold for relatively high prices which are, in fact, simple prints of well-known Chinese works of art. They pressure you to buy, and try to play on your sympathy for "poor art students."

Posted on: The Tea Scam

See, this is what I'm talking about! I always try to warn people about this, but too late...

Posted on: Class Is Over Now

下次见 (xiàcì jiàn) feels more natural and casual, but 下次再见 (xiàcì zàijiàn) is also possible.

Posted on: Braised Pork in Soy Sauce

Human hair? Huh? That was pork! :P

Posted on: Braised Pork in Soy Sauce

Ha! I'm not much a chef.