User Comments - Kyle
Kyle
Posted on: Motivational Speaker
October 4, 2007 at 4:10 AM我刚才从吉林的长白山回来. 在爬山的时候我组的讲解员用了个话筒给介绍那个地方有什么特色. 我一直都被烦因为话筒影响她的声音得我什么都听不懂. 不过刚刚学的棵的声音很清楚.
Posted on: Lesson
October 4, 2007 at 1:15 AMThe first example is the better and more standard of the two. 我昨天去学校. (wo3 zuo2tian1 qu4 xue2xiao4)
Posted on: I forgot your name
October 4, 2007 at 1:12 AMCould you clarify what "ya" is? If it is what I think it is, 呀, then it's just a "sound" that many Chinese at to the end of their sentences, such as 啊. So the sentence you typed above would be 是我呀. (It's me.) I wouldn't say 我是呀. I may, however, say, 我是谁呀? (Who am I?) or 你是谁呀? (Who are you?), but only in an informal context (e.g. not if I'm answering the phone for my school).
Posted on: Don't do that!
October 4, 2007 at 1:06 AMWhat would the masculine equivalent to 烦死了 be? What about 气死了?
Posted on: Don't Leave
October 4, 2007 at 1:03 AM@ zohar8353 Since this is a newbie lesson, the dialogue is short. The more advanced the level, the longer the dialogue. Advanced lessons sometimes have 3 - 4 minute dialogues. It's important not to overwhelm learners, especially beginners, with vocabulary. =) @ exter 要 can serve as a future aspect market (I'm going to do something) as well as the verb 'to want'. Which one it refers to depends on context.
Posted on: Beauty Pageant Registration
October 4, 2007 at 12:49 AMI'd agree. I have Chinese students who "look" Japanese that get picked on by other kids in class. There is certainly an anti-Japanese sentiment present.
Posted on: Of Beauty Pageants and Plastic Surgery
October 4, 2007 at 12:37 AMHi Ashtangi, Check out the CPod dictionary search results for "production" here: http://labs.chinesepod.com/?q=node%2F4&search=production What exactly does this company do? Organize and throw marketing parties / events, promotional campaigns? Could you narrow the search down a bit for us and perhaps provide an example or two?
Posted on: Don't Leave
October 2, 2007 at 11:36 AMHi scottyb, I can agree with your assessment of the first sentence, that 要 is used to say "He's going to leave." However, when I read the second sentence, I don't think "Why do you want to leave?" but rather "Why are you going to leave?". If I wanted to say the former, I'd instead say 你为什么想走? 了 wouldn't be needed to change the meaning of 要 from 'want' to 'going to'. It's all contextual. I think it's used in the first sentence because this is a situation that has changed / is changing. To steal Ken's phrase, 了 is a slippery eel. Generally it's used to express that a situation has changed, but there are, I'm sure, exceptions.
Posted on: Of Beauty Pageants and Plastic Surgery
October 2, 2007 at 10:36 AMKeep these coming. I need to prepare to translate the upcoming new season of Nip / Tuck for my fiance. =)
Posted on: Buddhism and Taoism
October 5, 2007 at 12:43 AMAre you sure it's 活都活不好 and not 活都不好? The phrase 活都不好 translates to mean (roughly) "lived poorly / not well". In context, for example: 和尚感觉生活都不好, 所以他们不注重这辈子. 他们代替重视冥想和修炼. (Monks feel that all lives are lived poorly, so they don't focus on this life. Instead, they place an importance on meditation and practicing an aesthetic life.)