User Comments - calkins

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calkins

Posted on: Valentine's Special
February 13, 2009 at 9:58 AM

Very useful dialogue.  Thanks for publishing this before the actual day.

Is there a difference between saying:

快说
kuài shuō
Quick, tell me

快告诉我
kuài gàosu wǒ
Quick, tell me

Or are they interchangeable?  I assume that 快说 is used just because it's more efficient?

Posted on: You First
February 13, 2009 at 9:31 AM

bababardwan, another use for 先生...in Taiwan it can also be used to address a waiter at a restaurant. 

小姐 xiǎojie is used for waitress (though I don't think this is used in Northern China, as it has a derogatory meaning similar to prostitute).

Posted on: Who is that?
February 13, 2009 at 12:10 AM

Hi jkilborn, 那 (when used before a measure word) can be pronounced either nà or nèi depending on the region it's spoken.  I believe it's more of a southern dialect, but maybe someone else can confirm that.

这 can also be pronounced zhè or zhèi depending on the dialect.  Again, only when spoken before a measure word, like 这个 zhèige.

I hope zhèige helps!

Posted on: Funny Business -- 搞笑， 好笑， 可笑
February 12, 2009 at 1:20 PM

Hi again....the above should be:

....roll over the hanzi to get the tones, then use the pinyin tool to convert to tone marks.

If Cpod fixes the comment box to be able to use the pinyin tool, please also add a simple spell checker (like the one used when typing PM's).  Not that it would have caught "toll", but anyway.  Thanks!

Posted on: Funny Business -- 搞笑， 好笑， 可笑
February 12, 2009 at 10:43 AM

bababardwan, I agree completely...I think it's great for practice...definitely reinforces the tones, instead of blindly copying and pasting.  I was about to add the following to my post above, but the site crashed:

I think it'd be a great compliment to Pera-kun, if you're not 100% positive about the tones....roll over the hanzi to get the tones, then use the pinyin toll to convert to tone marks.  But then again, Pera-kun is known to be inaccurate at times!

Posted on: Funny Business -- 搞笑， 好笑， 可笑
February 12, 2009 at 9:30 AM

bababardwan and reigau, it looks like the issue is with Cpod's comment box.  I've tried the pinyin plug-in on numerous websites and it works great.  It just doesn't work in the comment box here.

This is a great little tool.  The only thing that worries me is the potential for human error when typing the tone number.  Like spelling errors, it could be a problem when learning new vocab. (if someone types the wrong tone).

So on one hand, I think it's a very helpful tool.  On the other, copy and pasting from Wenlin or MDBG is probably safer.

Posted on: Funny Business -- 搞笑， 好笑， 可笑
February 11, 2009 at 12:31 PM

bababardwan, I'm not sure about PC's, but on a Mac you can directly type pinyin.  It takes a bit to get used to, but it's pretty good.

Here's a thread, from Daizi, explaining how to do it.

I would think there'd be something similar for PC's, but I'm not sure.

Posted on: Simple Electrical Stuff
February 11, 2009 at 12:05 PM

jdough422, I highly recommend QIM for mac.  It's very intuitive, with many preference options like quickly switching between traditional and simplified.

The free trial runs out after a month (or 10,000 typed hanzi I think), but if you don't need to type traditional characters, the free version works great even after the trial period.  I use traditional, and the price was well worth it.

Posted on: You First
February 10, 2009 at 1:23 PM

Just confirmed that (at least in Taiwan) 你请 nǐ qǐng is another way to say "you first," and is also more polite.

bababardwan, great question!

Posted on: The Final Show
February 10, 2009 at 11:59 AM

I really miss Amber's happy voice in my studies.  Does anyone have any scoop on her new adventures in NYC?  Has she found a job yet?  Has she taken over Chinatown?  Is she married?  With Child?  Inquiring mind wants to know.

Amber, we miss you!