User Comments - calkins

Posted on: The Magic Word 把

itain, I've noticed your posts about Connie, Shanghainese, and Wuyu, and I'm intrigued....so I'll bite.

What the hello kitty is Wuyu?

Posted on: Good Morning!

healthnews, it's nearly impossible for beginners to pronounce tones exactly right.  It's even difficult for intermediates (and above) to do so.

My advice to beginners is to take it easy with the tones.  Of course try your best, but don't expect them to be perfect for a long while.  They will get better with exposure and practice. 

By the way, I think most westerners sound ridiculous when speaking Chinese (at least to most Chinese)!

Posted on: Napkins, Facebook, and Ctrip -- What a Combination!

When I was 11, my Taekwondo "master" was one of Chuck Norris' body guards.  Man, what a d*ck!  He made me spar against two 16 year-olds because I didn't hear him address me one time. 

Not that this has anything to do with anything here, the Chuck Norris bit just brought back this fond memory.

Posted on: Quiet for the Baby

Thanks changye...great explanations.  My dictionary says that 睡不着觉 means "be unable to fall asleep".  Not sure if it's used often.

I also found one more for "unable to sleep":

睡不成寐
shuìbùchéngmèi

我也整夜睡不着觉了。Actually, I finally got to sleep around 4 am...then woken at 7:30 by the sounds of crashing rebar next door.  Oh, the joys of 24/7 construction ;)

Posted on: Quiet for the Baby

From the expansion:

她没有睡觉。
tā méiyǒu shuìjiào.
She didn't sleep.

Would it also be okay to say:

她睡不着觉了。
tā shuìbuzháo jiào le.
She could't sleep.

I'm just wondering if these are interchangeable, or if:

méiyǒu shuìjiào = didn't sleep (did not go to bed)
shuìbuzháo jiào le = could't sleep (was not able)

Thanks for any help.

Posted on: Language Power Struggle

Baba, I agree with the potential LE partner comment.  I even told him that I'd do it for free if there were a more reasonable time to do it.  Saturday night at 8 pm, c'mon!

Posted on: Language Power Struggle

The manager of my apartment building (very nice man), here in Taipei, asked me if I wanted to tutor English to any of the residents.  He asked about a week ago and I thought to myself, "Wow, that's a really nice gesture...sure I could use some extra cash."

He approaced me in the lobby today and asked me if I was still interested.  I said definitely.  Then he continued with the following key points:

1. The only time I could teach would be Saturday nights from 8 pm until 9 pm.
2. I'd be teaching about 20 of my fellow residents.
3. I'd be doing it for free!!!!

My jaw hit the floor.  I'm thinking "there's no way he expects me to teach a class of 20 on a Saturday night...for FREE!"

I told him I'd do it for 900 kuai per hour, which is 45 kuai per person (about US$1.35 / hr.).  He kept saying 太贵了。。。太贵了。

Wow!

Posted on: The Magic Word 把

太好了！Many thanks for explaining and providing the grammatical structure. Extremely useful.

Posted on: The Magic Word 把

For "excuse me", you could also say:

借過 jièguò

Sometimes 让一下 could be taken as impolite.  But Baba has said it nicely by adding 麻烦你。

Or, you could just do what most everyone else in China does...just push and say nothing :)

Posted on: Business Card Gone Wrong

Baba, when it comes to learning Chinese as a non-native, I think the light at the end of the tunnel will be when we enter the pearly gates of heaven after we die ;-)

I wonder if we become fluent in all languages when (if) we arrive in heaven...