User Comments - bababardwan
bababardwan
Posted on: Shopping in China
May 30, 2011 at 12:24 AM"The urban dictionary definition you picked up actually diverges a bit from the point but it's funny as a dig at American maleness."
hehe, yeah exactly...I wasn't picking it as the best of the definitions but I found it amusing and wanted to hear what our American friends had to say about that.
Posted on: Switching Seats on a Plane
May 29, 2011 at 11:49 PMoh, ok, I see what your asking.
"I was taught in class that you use kěyǐ for asking permission, and you use néng for asking if somebody is actually able to do something."
..I would agree with that basically, particularly in relation to keyi. Until you get a better answer, fwiw I tend to think of keyi as down the permission end of the spectrum, hui as up the ability/skill to do something end of the spectrum and neng as a bit more versatile..in the middle....I think it can have both permission and ability and I think it's use in the dialogue is pretty typical. But hopefully you'll get a more authoritative answer.
Posted on: Shopping in China
May 29, 2011 at 10:00 PM..as opposed to?...what meaning would you give it?
urban dictionary gives several definitions which confirm my understanding of the term, but this caught my eye:
"An American Metrosexual is like your average European male. In France or Italy, men can be manly and work on cars and know about art and fashion at the same time. They are cool with that and don't need some special name for the less "masculine" side. In the U.S. we think men all have to be eithrt dumb gorillas or homosexuals. There is some grey area! "
btw, my comment was not in any way meant to be an objection or disapproval of metrosexuals, but rather an objection to this prescriptive attitude that can pervade society...having these expectations thrust upon us rather than the freedom to be individuals [but I have no problem with Jenny's comment per se..all lighthearted fun, I just hope I don't start hearing it a lot like when pc came in and everyone was being told left right and centre what they had to say]. I also have absolutely no interest in fashion I guess for similar reasons.
Posted on: 康熙来了
May 29, 2011 at 12:12 PMm@c@
Posted on: Detective Li 1: The Bath House Murder
May 29, 2011 at 12:05 PM"that allow sundry small business people and their non-gendered assistants to float around as if it was their own private domain"
哈哈大笑
“aware that the obsessively clean but otherwise regular customers like 小老板 can be trusted to do their ablutions alone. ”
太好笑了
Posted on: Detective Li 1: The Bath House Murder
May 29, 2011 at 11:16 AMI can't help but wonder if detective Ley's middle name is wfnd ....now if I'm right on this then , what the fwfnd stands for ? 可能无法你懂
Posted on: Detective Li 1: The Bath House Murder
May 29, 2011 at 8:56 AMbtw, I'm curious about these bathhouses...are they self-serve or something. Do you swipe a card and let yourself in? Because they say in the dialogue it was just the xiaolaoban and his 助手， but how did they get in? Was there no staff at the bathhouse [who could perhaps also be a 助手】 and if not, who says there were only 2 on the 现场？why would the 助手 want to implicate himself? hen qiguai
Posted on: Two tones, two meanings for 转
May 29, 2011 at 7:39 AMI liked Lili's last question the best and the answer. This 公转 is an interesting word, the 公 perhaps indicating that we're all collectively orbiting
Posted on: Switching Seats on a Plane
May 30, 2011 at 1:09 AMperhaps keyi is like "may" and neng more like "can" [with can being very broad in English..from permission to ability]