User Comments - bodawei

Posted on: Good Morning!

就是。Or nothing at all. I am not saying that ni hao was never used, but I believe it is much more common now because of contact with foreigners (who are always, perhaps in some cases only, saying ni hao.)

They are still much more likely to say it to a foreigner than to each other. It could also be said to have become super polite. It is really interesting to see Chinese changing as the culture changes (like all languages and cultures.)

Posted on: Can't Get a Taxi

'Since taxis need to stand out in a sea of cars'

One good answer to this question. Obviously important where taxis are flagged down in the street - good for both the taxi business and the customer. So in cities where it is more common to use your phone to book a taxi, the livery is not so important. Where taxis are in the original duco, you will probably find that taxis are ordered by phone or only found at designated taxi ranks.

Still some interesting questions to be answered about the different colours. A start here - yellow is a colour that does stand out; the same could be said for the 'checkerboard' pattern used in some cities. Black was indeed the standard colour for cars in general, for many years. Interesting the suggestion that 'everyone bought black because it was the cheapest'; why wouldn't a business owner spend a little more on paint to differentiate themselves from the crowd? It seems to me that the answer to the 'black' was more along the lines of the yellow: black became the recognised colour scheme for a taxi in a city where it was common to pick a ride up at the kerb. Thanks guys. Anybody else got any more ideas about the colour of taxis?

Posted on: An Introduction to Chengyu

That's what I like, chengyu I don't have to study.  

Posted on: A Short Haircut

Ha ha I know what you mean - although, I've never had any problem with the idea of going bald, I think bald can look quite distinguished. This is just in theory for me; I have plenty of hair on top.

'When do you think you might share'

Okay, I have a 'project' - which might be short-lived - I want to write about

唐僧 tángsēng (monk), 猪八戒 - zhūbājiè (the idiot), 猴子 hóuzi (monkey), 沙僧 shāsēng (2nd monk) and 老外 lǎowài (the foreigner). Five travellers on a foohardy journey to the local Starbucks to try the American coffee. They buy jumbo size cups take-away, which are so big that they have to leave behind their precious manuscripts - they can't take both. It will work better visually. I'd love poddies to help with dialogue, plot ideas, jokes. I need five minutes of material.

Posted on: Fire in the Hallway!

You will hopefully hear back from a teacher but I would think that we may be looking at an abbreviation. In case of fire I'd rather be saying 火警 than 消防队. Also the fire brigade is organisationally part of the 警察。Maybe 火警 reflects this.

Posted on: A Short Haircut

Oh, I see what you mean about the poster, I leapt to conclusions because 侧面 could be used in the sentence 侧面理短一点儿。。 but as I say it would be rather formal, better to say 两边。

I just put the lesson into practice and had 洗剪吹 for 10 RMB. :)

I got lost in a question about 发式 - I thought it was about style, and I don't have any. (My instructions in Australia are: 'I want to look a bit dangerous.') But apparently he was asking which side I part my hair on. With my hair it is impossible to know. My eventual response was 随便.

Posted on: Good Morning!

I was not meaning to imply that 'Hi' is the norm - 'ni hao' and 'hi' are both greetings learnt from the foreigners, hey?

Posted on: Can't Get a Taxi

Well, from what I understand Volkswagon was the first foreign brand manufactured in China on a mass scale, (in the North-East region of China), but there were many foreign cars fully imported well before that. In fact I read somewhere that the first taxis in BJ were Model T Fords - that would need checking. Buicks were also imported in numbers well before Volkswagon invested in an assembly line. (Check the old Chinese films for Buicks!)

I think you are right that there is a perception that Chinese cars don't have the same quality, or in the case of taxis they are not as roomy. In BJ in 2004 (?) I remember that there were two tariffs - the Chinese-made taxis were cheaper - they had a lower flag-fall.

Posted on: Good Morning!

Actually the Chinese do increasingly say 'Hi' to each other .. 'hello' would definitely be difficult. Maybe lisalisa was referring to 'Hi'?

Posted on: Can't Get a Taxi

You have to be assertive getting a taxi in China's big cities, hey?