User Comments - SF_Rachel
SF_Rachel
Posted on: The Kindle
August 10, 2011 at 2:45 PMThank you for your concise answer to my rambling question.
Posted on: The Kindle
August 10, 2011 at 1:39 AMI'm having some difficulty seeing how 难道 works as any kind of interrogative marker.
In the dialog, 难道 is followed by a statement in the affirmative, and a question mark -- the idea that it's a question at all is given by 难道.The tone of the dialog suggests that it's a bit sarcastic: "What, you're going to carry a whole bookcase around with you? (certainly not!)"
In the first expansion sentence, 难道 is also followed by a statement in the affirmative, but it's translated more like a straight question: "Did he get a promotion? (I bet he did!)"
In the second expansion sentence, 难道 is followed by a statement in the negative. I can't tell if the intent is straight or sarcastic: "You've never dated? (really? ok.)" vs. "I suppose you've never dated? (I bet you have dated before so your attitude/behavior/ignorance is unacceptable)."
In the third expansion sentence, 难道 is followed by a negative statement and the interrogative particle 吗. What's going on with the 吗? "(I suppose that, heartless monster that you must be), you don't think puppies are cute; please confirm or deny my supposition." Does the 吗 add anything at all here? Could a 吗 have been added to any of the other sentences to the same effect or non-effect?
- Works fine followed by a positive statement/question, a negative statement/question, or binary option question?
- Does 难道 typically suggest sarcasm or impatience?
- Does including other question markers like 吗 or 是不是 change anything?
Posted on: Having Spare Keys Made
July 15, 2011 at 2:43 AM可不可以说：“我找配钥匙的人”？
Posted on: BBQ and the Little Trumpet
July 6, 2011 at 11:20 PMI enjoyed the drama of somebody almost getting caught gossiping. :-)
Posted on: BBQ and the Little Trumpet
July 6, 2011 at 3:24 AM我也想起来这种丸子！挺可笑的。As my grandfather used to say: "wealth is all very well while it lasts, but a dirty mind is a joy forever."
In a more PG way, this will help me remember the character 丸。When I was growing up and helping my mother in the kitchen, anytime I was in charge of making hamburgers the patties wouldn't stay flat. So my family took to calling any hamburgers I made "meat pills."
Posted on: A Wasteful Husband
June 17, 2011 at 3:12 AMI first encountered 去你的 in this lesson http://chinesepod.com/lessons/automated-phone-recordings where it was given a rather more vulgar translation, and at the time I figured it was a sort of "your momma" thing to say. But I liked John and Jenny's explanation of it here and the translation of "whatever" seems to work better in both dialogues.
So: mildly rude and perhaps just a bit "girly." Updating my Anki deck now.
Posted on: A Wasteful Husband
June 17, 2011 at 3:06 AM不好意思！怎么说 “gotcha”?
我听过 Jenny说“浪费时间”和 “浪费钱”；没有听“浪费机会。”
I admit, my mind often does wander by the time the second time the dialog is played and in the final minute or so of banter. Shame on me.
Posted on: A Wasteful Husband
June 17, 2011 at 2:36 AM多谢！
Posted on: A Wasteful Husband
June 17, 2011 at 1:50 AM可不可以说：“浪费机会”？
Posted on: Perfume Shopping
October 11, 2011 at 1:45 AM我觉得成熟一点的香水比较复杂， 不可识别味儿。太容易认识味儿，可能是年轻用的。
How mangled is that? I tried plugging it back into google translate and I'm not terribly pleased with the results, but they could also be worse.