User Comments - auntie68
auntie68
Posted on: Saved by the Gong: Math class
April 3, 2008 at 2:20 AMDear maike28, I'm afraid I'm not qualified to answer your question, but -- for what it's worth -- maybe you might be able to get something slighly useful from the silly stuff that I posted in this thread: http://chinesepod.com/lessons/basic-shapes/discussion Do please be alert to my silly mistakes; I had to correct my own comment! Just try to remember that "正八边形" is "regular octagon", whereas "正八面体" is "regular octahedron". I believe the important thing to keep in mind is that 边 (bian1) is "side", whereas 面 (mian4) refers to a "facet" or surface. Good luck!
Posted on: Dialect Party Mix
April 2, 2008 at 1:14 PMWell, nice to meet you. My nephew ("Stunt Toddler") is Filipino-Singaporean, his mother is from Cavite. I write about him a lot on CPOD, so you'll probably find it hard to escape catching his news occasionally!
Posted on: Dialect Party Mix
April 2, 2008 at 12:17 PMhitori6993, I've enjoyed reading all your posts, I hope you will feel very much at home here. Judging by the language used by you and artkho on this bb, the standard of Chinese is very high amongst Chinese Filipinos. Do you still live in Asia?
Posted on: Saved by the Gong: Math class
April 2, 2008 at 8:02 AMNot "warp speed", syusuke? As in 曲速十级 = "warp 10"? Just wondering. I think the word "光速“ is used for "light speed" in what changye wrote, which was really educational for me! Thanks uncle!
Posted on: Saved by the Gong: Math class
April 2, 2008 at 6:08 AMSorry - 陈磊 is chen2lei3.
Posted on: Saved by the Gong: Math class
April 2, 2008 at 6:07 AMHello CPOD. Thank you so much, not only for giving this maths-phobic Auntie a fun lesson, but also for giving dear bleary 陈磊 (chen2lei4) a chance to really shine and leave his classmates behind in the dusk!
Posted on: Please Speak Chinese
April 2, 2008 at 3:50 AMWell good luck! Let's hope it works for you. If that goes down well with your new Taiwanese friends, maybe they will even start doing all the work for you. Imagine this scenario: Somebody you've just been introduced to for the first time speaks English for "your" benefit, and your Taiwanese friends jump in to say (in Chinese), "Hey, forget the English; this Brett is a real nut, he only ever wants to speak Chinese!" Then all you have to say is, "哪里， 哪里...“ (na2li3, na2li3; "no way"/ "shucks") and maybe add a “开玩笑!" (kai1wan2xiao4; "they're joking!") if these are close friends. Sounds modest and friendly. If you're really not up to speaking Chinese, you can slip out of it by pleading, “哎哟， 我太累了！今天讲英语也好." (ai1yo1, wo3 tai4 lei4le! jin1tian1 jiang3 ying1yu3 ye3 hao3) = "Aiyo, I'm too tired! Today speaking English is also fine". That's reasonably diplomatic, and is not a firm "no".
Posted on: Please Speak Chinese
April 2, 2008 at 12:50 AMHi calkins. You sound admirably Chinese culture shock-proof. I bet you'll enjoy a very warm welcome on your next visit to that shop. There is plenty of good Mandarin in your "noggin". When you are next in Taiwan, and everybody is trying to speak to you in English, try asking -- in English -- rather than Mandarin, eg. "Can we try speaking Mandarin? [or "Now we speak Mandarin, okay?"] I just want to learn." But only if that feels comfortable for you! If you ask in Mandarin, you might not knock them out of their "groove". At worst, you might sound like you're saying, "forget about the English, I don't need that because I'm fluent in Chinese" (although you would NEVER sound like that). The way you got that clerk to speak Mandarin was beautifully done! You put her at ease enough to go on to converse. That's great.
Posted on: Future Plans
April 1, 2008 at 11:33 PMHi again, majamaya. Thanks for the vocab! I read in another thread that you like dictionaries. Great. That is particularly helpful for a language like Chinese. Due to the nature of the language (eg. homonyms, word compounds etc), you can learn so much from not limiting yourself to the particular word you are looking up, but rather taking a quick look -- like a tourist! -- at the words before and after that entry as well. Same sound, but different meaning... it gives you a sense for how characters "feel". Wish you all the best for your Chinese studies!
Posted on: You Must Listen to this Episode - 非...不可 (fēi...bù kě)
April 5, 2008 at 1:50 AMHi songyian. I think the difference may be in the fact that 不得不 has the added element of reluctance, having no choice but to do something, if I have understood my dictionary's definitions correctly: 非。。。 不可 fei1... bu4ke3 ＝ 不这样不行，一定要。 Examples: 这么冷的天，你穿得这么少，非感冒不可。 你还不起床？今天上学非迟到不可。 10 天不吃饭？ 那非饿死不可！ 大家说这座大桥非王工程师设计不可。 ＝ Everybody says that this bridge could not have been built without Engineer Wang 不得不 bu4de2bu = (动）只能干（有 “不愿意“， 但没办法“ 的意思）。 Examples: 这个活动，我真不想参加，可是有不得不去。 他不得不承认，妹妹比他聪明。 他说得很肯定，我不得不相信。 这个药特别男吃，可是为了治病，她不得不吃。 Hope the examples from my dictionary help! I'm sorry I don't have the time to hanyu-pinyinize them.