User Comments - auntie68
auntie68
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 15, 2008 at 9:56 AMYes, 周年 (zhou1 nian2) is only appropriate word for "anniversary" in this context. There is another expression -- 纪念日 (ji4 nian4 ri4) -- which is sometimes defined as "anniversary" in some dictionaries, but in most contexts Chinese people would think that you were referring to a... "death anniversary" or "memorial". So unless you have full control over your Chinese, it's not recommended. Guess the safest course is not to use the word "anniversary" on its own when you are speaking with Chinese friends in English, but rather spell it out: "wedding anniversary".
Posted on: 马丁· 路德 · 金
February 15, 2008 at 5:09 AMtsk, scotts23, you are NOT a "cultural imperialist" ;-) ... you've never given me that impression! Cheers (that's English English for " 'Later!", approximately)
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 15, 2008 at 4:50 AMscott23, that sounds like good friendly advice!
Posted on: Study Abroad
February 15, 2008 at 2:55 AMnicolas (encore une fois) -- The word 留 (liu2; "remain") is used to convey the notion that the students are remaining abroad to complete their overseas studies. The definition of 留学生 in my dictionary: 比较长时间地在外国学习的人 P/s: one of the predicates in this sentence is 在外国学习 ;-)
Posted on: Study Abroad
February 15, 2008 at 2:44 AMnicolas -- predicate = the part of the sentence that "belongs" to the 的 (de)
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 15, 2008 at 1:06 AM...rein in...
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 15, 2008 at 1:05 AMOkay, licha, I got it. But to be fair, in this thread (at least), my "off-topic" posts were all direct responses to questions or posts by other users. Still, it won't hurt to try and reign in my posting!
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 15, 2008 at 12:33 AMOh, changye, I forgot about the 一战 and 二战 ... I have the funny feeling that the 一 and 二 might change to "iss-" and "ni-" (or something like that)?
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 15, 2008 at 12:31 AMPhew, I'll go with 一战 and 二战, thank you! changye, may I be lazy and ask you how to read the kanji? dai ichi ji (shi?) sekai dai (tai?) sen (zen?) dai ni ji etc etc Aarghh! Btw, during the brief period when Singapore was occupied by Japan, it was renamed "Syonan-To". The "banana" design banknotes from that period are supposed to be very collectible.
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 15, 2008 at 10:20 AMeyux, I think the word you were looking for was the verb 去世 (qu4 shi4), which is a somewhat "proper" way of referring to the death of a human being (*not your pet! etc). Chinese people being so superstitious, using this word in anything but the most literal sense -- eg. in a joke -- will probably fall flat or even sow confusion and distress. However, it's perfectly fine to say -- figuratively -- that you are in heaven (in the sense that you feel like you are in heaven on earth) : 在天堂 zai4 tian1 tang2. Probably best to avoid 上天堂 shang4 tian1 tang2, which conveys the meaning that somebody has died and gone to heaven. Good luck!