User Comments - bodawei

Posted on: The North Has Central Heating

@channelle 

Yes, in Hangzhou our 保安 lived in a tiny four room 'house' - three of the four rooms (little bigger than cupboards) were public!  Including his bathroom - we did our clothes washing in his bathroom!  And there was no heating for any rooms.  Nor did they have hot water (they showered at a 公共浴室.)  They piled on the doonas in Hangzhou's bitter Winter, and wore heavy coats.  

Poddies may not realise that many Chinese still use  浴室 - typically they have plentiful steaming hot water.  Even university lecturers living on campus often have this as their only option.    This is a significant living cost - seems cheap to us but taking into account the purchasing power of the RMB, electricity and water are not 'cheap' like food.  

Posted on: The North Has Central Heating

@Changye, Chanelle

Your comments on the size of apartments challenge the stereotype that the Chinese live in cramped conditions.  (When my brother went to study at an American university he was assigned one of the smallest apartments.  He queried this and was told that according to college rules Australia is part of 'Asia', and people in the Asian category, including Australians, receive the smallest apartments 'because that is what they are used to'.)  

For the record (2008/09), Australians live in the largest houses & flats in the world, on average (215 sm), significantly larger than houses & flats in the United States (202 sm).  The difference is even greater when considering 'stand-alone' houses (Aust average 245 sm).  China's average floor area for houses and flats (medium and large cities only) is 113 sm.  So it is true that, on average, houses and flats in the US are larger than in China.  China is closer to the European average (eg. Holland 116 sm, United Kingdom 76 sm.)  

There is a wide range of apartment sizes in the cities I have lived in in China - many people on low incomes live in tiny spaces.  It is true that the smaller the flat, the easier it is to heat.  But that may be just a small compensation in China.    

Posted on: Warm Winter Clothes

@Jason

Thanks for taking the time for a comprehensive answer to my question.  I see what you mean now.  I haven't previously done that grammar pattern, or possibly forgotten.  My grammar is 还可以 at best.

(And I'm somewhat embarrassed by the praise from jimjames on my effort above - it was fun for me but it is full of dodgy constructions.  I have faith in the good sense of poddies to refrain from modelling most of my Chinese! But thanks anyway jimijames.)   

Posted on: 次，遍，趟: Measuring Times

@changye

二两（大豆，玉米，茶叶，等等） - seems to be an exception to the rule.  

Although I do hear people at the market say 两两,比如说： 两两蘑菇。。

Do you know if this is a mistake, or is either of 二两 and 两两 correct?  

Posted on: 次，遍，趟: Measuring Times

Holy Cow! The man at the bus station knows I'm an idiot!  I've been asking 下一趟车几点走？ for so long.. I mean one way, so it's wrong?  It should be:

下一次车几点走？Or should I stay safe with:

下一个车几点走？ 

I shouldn't feel too bad, he never gives a reliable answer.  

BTW John, you made a small slip - the classic is ALIEN, not ALIENS.  :-) 

Posted on: Warm Winter Clothes

板球比赛

(Not sure if you wanted a Chinese or English translation  of Jimijames' charming anecdote, but here's a start ..  

昨天下午比赛开始以前，我去市场买了啤酒的时候，我也穿运动服。。。很舒服!  我买了十二瓶‘New'的啤酒,在一只大的包装箱内运来了，还有买了别的牌子叫’Fourex'的啤酒，也在一只大的包装箱内运来了， 太多了！真不巧他对达尔文的大大瓶的啤酒卖完了。。没办法。

在板球场，因为阳光太多了，所以我戴着太阳镜，防晒乳脂，还有我的澳式帽子（瓶塞没有了）。 我不要晒黑了！ 

英国比澳大利亚赢了，没关系。。（如果我们比他们赢，大概我们跟他们玩儿不了，对吧？。。）

Ponting 打了一百分， 好球！ Waugh 不会连打了都没有一个！ 笨蛋！ 

Posted on: Warm Winter Clothes

@Jason

I've got a couple of questions/comments about:

原来你开了空调。
(You had the heater turned on all along.)

What conveys the sense 'all along'? 

Does it also have the meaning 'Originally you turned on the heater'?  Implying that it is not on any more? Okay, maybe that does not work in context.  

Could I also say '原来你开开空调' without changing the sense of the sentence?  Do you need 了? Or is 开开空调 used only as an imperative?  

Posted on: Weather Forecast

@dropped_chopstick

Yeah, I do know what you mean about taxi drivers.. 

不要‘的’，还是说‘谢谢你帮助我’。  

Posted on: Hang Up and Ride!

@helen

Re 'n' and 'ng' - I find that even native speakers have difficulty remembering which is which when writing pinyin.  My friends and students often make this mistake... I love to correct my friends .. :-)  

This may be the most common error in pinyin?  

What do you think?  

Posted on: Warm Winter Clothes

rj Correct - I believe that our American brothers and sisters call them 'sweat pants'. I would find it difficult to refer to an item of clothing affectionately as 'sweat pants' - puts them in a similar category as 'jock strap' wouldn't you agree? Trackie - a lengthening of 'track' (in Australia we either lengthen or shorten words when we find an affectionate form.) Dacks - trousers.