User Comments - franch
franch
Posted on: Vegetarian Eating
June 8, 2007 at 6:49 PMItaliana, you ain't got it yet! You can't just translate each word and patch the whole together... 就 jiù means "so", mostly so. Your sentence ("I am a vegetarian and I dont eat ANY meat") would translate: 我一点儿肉也不吃 - wǒ yīdiǎr ròu yě bù chī (I - a little bit - meat - also - not - eat) You see that there's not in that case a clear-cut equivalent of "any". My only advice is that you learn the maximum amount of authentic Chinese sentences, and not try to express anything yet if you don't need to. Just let the language get you, then you'll get it. This is teaching, we must become children :)
Posted on: Vegetarian Eating
June 8, 2007 at 5:32 PMI'm So Sorry... In fact it cannot be interpreted as a contradiction, 我说了就说得太快了! ! ! I got confused, it's odd but not misleading, it would just mean "I'm a vegetarian and (at the same time) I DON'T eat meat" 真的不好意思! zhēnde bùhǎo yìsi!
Posted on: Vegetarian Eating
June 8, 2007 at 5:25 PMLester, that's grammatically correct but semantically odd, 又 。。。又 (yòu ... yòu) is used to relate two independant clauses to express simultaneity (e.g. 他们又饿又渴 tāmen yòu è yòu kě : They are hungry and thirsty), and in your sentence it could be interpreted as a contradiction: 我又是吃素的又不吃肉 wǒ yòu shì chīsù de yòu chī ròu : I'm vegetarian and (yet...) I eat meat. So Italiana's sentence should simply use 就 jiù, the all-purpose causal marker, since "I'm a vegetarian so I don't eat any meat" is the only clear construction in Chinese, 我是吃素的就不吃肉 : wǒ shì chīsù de jiù bù chī ròu. 加油 jiā yóu !
Posted on: Two Little Tigers Song
June 8, 2007 at 4:36 PMSpace masters.
Posted on: Two Little Tigers Song
June 8, 2007 at 3:06 PMHi, Crapaud :) Just picking, it's "la queue" 尾巴! I know it's a pain in the a#se, but you might have known it once upon a time! Cheers
Posted on: Two Little Tigers Song
June 8, 2007 at 2:34 PM孩子们请静悄悄地排队 我们现在一起去上班啊! :D
Posted on: Going on a Diet
June 7, 2007 at 10:26 PMNibbling again on your time, Jenny... or anyone else, you're welcome: Does 食谱 shí pǔ also mean cooking recipes/recipes book? I've seen this in two 词典. And they don't give diet as an alternative...?
Posted on: Going on a Diet
June 7, 2007 at 4:06 PM我就添枝加叶一点 - Not "thundering" laughter, lol
Posted on: Going on a Diet
June 7, 2007 at 4:01 PMYou mean like taboo foods. Thanks alot! I've heard a Chinese girl use it (playfully I hope) as a 借口 because she didn't want to eat up the wonderful meal she got at the cafet. This accompanied by thundering laughter, I see =)
Posted on: Vegetarian Eating
June 9, 2007 at 4:56 AMSorry, "wǒ yīdiǎr ròu yě bù chī" only means "I never eat any meat." "I am a vegetarian and I dont eat ANY meat": 我是吃素的,所以我一点儿肉也不吃 wǒ shì chīsù de, suǒyǐ wǒ yīdiǎr ròu yě bù chī. "Suǒyǐ" means "therefore", as a conjunction it works the same. Things may seem to get tricky if you want a direct translation of what you want to say. Believe me, the best way is to learn what others say first, before trying to express something. Chinese grammar works quite differently, which shouldn't surprise you, but if you just learn the raw material you'll very soon be able to figure out how to use the structures for your own purposes. I'm also a student, though a bit older, please excuse my lack of patience... ;)