User Comments - emberswift
emberswift
Posted on: Give Me a Kiss
December 30, 2007 at 6:08 PMHey, can one just say: "来，亲我"？ So, "come, kiss me!" Oh, can you call your romantic partner 宝宝，or is this just for kids or children? (Two questions today / 今天我有两个问题！) Thanks, Ember
Posted on: Night Cat
December 30, 2007 at 1:28 PMhey, I live near Montreal - an hour west. I am in a completely non-Chinese area. There are only three Chinese families in the whole county. Luckily, I have befriended one of them but they live forty minutes away. I travel to Northampton regularly, however, because I have dear friends there. The three of us should get together!
Posted on: Night Cat
December 24, 2007 at 1:21 PMAmber, Thanks for the above clarity. I was wondering if you could also comment on the use of 怎么 instead of 为什么 here? I know they're "how" and "why" but it seems as though this 怎么 means "why" and that's confusing to me. When does it crossover into the "why" territory? Thanks!
Posted on: Yang Jie's Diary: He's Not Stupid
December 22, 2007 at 2:08 PMWhy is it 好多 instead of 很多？ is there a different meaning or a subtle translation variance? Or, is it an option switch?
Posted on: Tai Chi
December 22, 2007 at 1:25 PMHi, I'm wondering about 那么 here and it's translation as "so". Would it be better translated as "so then"? I often use "所以” here when I'm speaking, but is that more formal and less relaxed sounding? In my head, it's "so then" although I know it's also "therefore" or "thus"... I guess I'd sound more fluent if I started using "那么” in those moments, right? Are there other ways to say this? Would "这么” be translated as "this then?"
Posted on: Night Cat
December 21, 2007 at 6:34 AMOkay, another couple of questions... (I'm being the 夜猫 子 tonight, of the 学习 kind!) Regarding the 又 uses in this dialogue， I don't really understand the use of the first one and how it is translated, unless it's an implied "again": *你这个夜猫子，又玩通宵。（i.e. you are quite the night owl, partying through the night *again*) As for the second one, could it not be replaced by 还 and accomplish the same meaning? Or, again, is this unsophisticated? 看你这么没精神，一定又喝醉了。 Thanks, Ember
Posted on: Night Cat
December 21, 2007 at 6:25 AMHi there, Hey, I'm wondering about the first sentence and the use of "zenme" and "lao." （你怎么老哈欠？）If I were saying this to my Chinese friends, I would have said it this way（below). Is it wrong? Or just a "foreigner's" approach? 你为什么一直打哈欠？ Also, in your supplementary vocabulary, I noticed that you gracefully provided us with several ways to say various bodily functions (!) but left out the expelling of gas through the opposite orifice! I think knowing that one would be useful! （不好意思！）
Posted on: Romance in the Beauty Pageant
November 16, 2007 at 2:53 PMHi there, I'm still hoping someone can still answer my earlier question! Thanks, Jenny, for answering the second one! Ember
Posted on: Romance in the Beauty Pageant
November 15, 2007 at 5:04 AMOh, one more question: What is the difference between 激励 (ji1li4) and 鼓励 (gu3li4)？Both mean "encourage" according to my various dictionaries, but is one stronger? Thanks so much! 多谢！
Posted on: Romance in the Beauty Pageant
December 30, 2007 at 7:52 PMHi everyone, I have a series of questions for this podcast again. Review makes for more confusion (and questions) sometimes! 1. 可是这样很难生存下去：Can this also be translated as: "It's hard to survive this way" ; Also, how would this sentence change if you used "下来" at the end instead? 2. at 4:32 in this podcast, Jenny says something like this: 你认为他能 过 做得很好。I know she's describing the meaning of “看好” and I understand what she's saying, but I was wondering if she says what I've typed above, or if I got it wrong? Especially the 过! 3. When people compliment my sucky Chinese, I often disclaim in a modest way and then if they persist, I sometimes joke by saying: "啊, 你夸奖我！“ I always figured this meant: "oh, you're flattering me!" because their response is always "不,不，你说得很好！” but my dictionary says this means PRAISE and not FLATTER, so I'm having a moment where I'm concerned that I haven't understood what I've been saying these several months! 4. At the end, Jenny says that Mr. Flattery here is 很甜蜜。 I was wondering if you can just say "很甜“ in order to say that someone is sweet? Or, does it sound incomplete? 5. When are we going to get the next edition of this particular story? I know she's got to surprise herself and win this competition so that she can get back at those "backstabbing girls" ;-) Thanks so much, Ember