User Comments - bodawei

Posted on: Suffixes for Describing People

It seems to have multiple uses, but does it have any connotations of high achievement?

Posted on: Suffixes for Describing People

Oh, another great Qing Wen.  

I have been regularly committing a faux pas saying that I am a  经济学家 - how embarrassing. (Damn those dictionaries).  I should say 我是搞经济学的。。 Okaaaaay.  

On another tack, I like 弱者，强者 (weak, strong - person) - my range hood over the gas burners has 弱 and 强 indicating low fan speed and high fan speed.  Weak and strong.   

Posted on: A Tour of the Office

'a city/country difference'

I should have noted (if you missed the 浙大, short for 浙江大学) that the photo was taken in 2007 in Hangzhou. 浙大 is most recently ranked the #4 university in China. It was intriguing for us that such a fancy university sported a bath house, even more that it is very busy, used by staff and students alike. But it is not just old ivy-covered campuses; I teach one day a week at a five-year old campus and it also has a bath house.

Posted on: A Tour of the Office

xiao_liang

It is not a city/country difference although that may be a factor in the use of 厕所。 厕所 can be considered a little crude. In Hangzhou, where people have claims to perhaps the most urbane lifestyle in China, the terms 浴室 and 洗手间 are used as I suggest above. The main point is that 浴室 is the usual term for bath house, a public or shared facility. This is also the case in Guangzhou (check with she who must be obeyed). I have several other items of photo evidence, There, you now know that I am the kind of person that goes around taking photos of bath houses. :)

Changye - thanks for that - I haven't tested all the terms for 'toilet' in private homes yet, but 洗手间 sounds very polite, like asking for the 'powder' room in English? In my circles people usually say 厕所, but maybe they come from rustic stock, hee hee.

Posted on: A Tour of the Office

Xiao_liang - your girlfriend must have a very big house. :)

Actually, technically 浴室 is a bathroom of course, and a bath house is a public version of this, but I am relating normal or everyday language. Normal usage has developed in line with the culture. Until recently, very few families could afford a 'bathroom' at home and this is why the term refers to a bath house. 洗手间 is not 'a more formal way' of referring to a bathroom (unless you are using the American word for a toilet) - it is an alternative for 厕所 and 卫生间。All these terms are used in a public context, but 厕所 is also used in a private home.

Posted on: A Tour of the Office

浴室 (a bathhouse). Public facilities for taking a hot shower (baths are rare in China.) While the dictionary may call this a 'bathroom', the usual or colloquial term for a bathroom in your own home (which is also usually where the toilet is located) is 厕所.

洗手间 (a toilet) - well, a euphemism for a toilet.　Found in or near a hotel or restaurant and in other public buildings.

Posted on: A New Jug for the Water Cooler

Not to mention a lot cheaper.. :)

I am a little in two minds about this. I think that water quality in the West is too high - a huge percentage goes down the toilet and on the garden. In Australia we are now facing the high cost of this 'luxury'. Ever see the film 'Tank Girl'? Like a water-themed Mad Max.

Posted on: Sina's Microblogs

Hi shanghai_rocks, thanks a lot for that. I have to research something suitable for next semester. I was urged to use QQ when I previously chose Yahoo, but I want something (a) that is private and (b) I can post reading material on. Otherwise I have to use email which is pretty cumbersome. Yahoo was doing the job but suddenly just the blogging feature was unavailable.

Posted on: Feelings

Oh, I inadvertently outed you. :)

Bitter is okay - I think they should attribute names. But at the moment I don't think anyone believes the names, unless perhaps they name a frequent user (who has a recognisable name.) Like Little Cool.

Posted on: Feelings

I think they may have stopped the 'name checking' because there were complaints about the lack of authenticity. While some people were amused by the presumably made-up names, others thought it detracted from the premise that you could actually get an answer to a question. Clearly some have been genuine; poddies usually identify those ones.