User Comments - jennyzhu
jennyzhu
Posted on: Fat Camp
July 23, 2008 at 3:32 AMI came cross an article recently which said meat is a condiment in Chinese diet whereas in many Western diets, it's the centerpiece of a meal. Such a revealing observation but one I've taken for granted. In the Chinese mind, meat is inherently viewed and consumed as the highlight of a meal, but a highlight only not entirety. Maybe that's why our meat dishes are diced or sliced meat, rarely a chunky slab. That evokes another diet habit: portion control, balance and moderation.
Posted on: 十月怀胎
July 22, 2008 at 7:21 AM没想到关于宝宝的课程这么受欢迎。我记得看过一张广告，是“高端月子中心”，就是专业人员照顾月子里的妈妈。英文翻译是'high end confinement center'!!!
Posted on: Aussie Rules
July 20, 2008 at 3:32 PMBasically, we use 足球/zu2 qiu2/ to describe English football and 橄榄球/gan3 lan3 qiu2/ for rugby or American football where the ball is olive shaped and uses both hands and feet during play. The already confusing Chinese terms are supremely confusing in the context of Aussie football where the rules and name of the game seem to combine both British and American elements. Results from google suggests that both 澳式橄榄球 and 澳式足球are used to describe Aussie Rules football. Ah, we Chinese are confused here.
Posted on: Aussie Rules
July 20, 2008 at 3:10 PMClay sounds exceptional!
Hopefully I can catch a footie game when I go back in November.
Posted on: High Maintenance Girls and the Elderly
July 19, 2008 at 5:09 PMshuang6677,
Yes, 作/zuo1 is from Shanghai dialect. But the word (or the girls) have quite an extensive reputation in China. The word is understood by some outside Shanghai too.
However, 作 is also frequently used to describe high-maintenance kids too. Pinkjeans and Auntie, I think I was much more 作 as a kid than an adult.
Posted on: A Visit by the Police
July 17, 2008 at 2:59 AMClay throws the best party in the office.
Posted on: Sound Check
July 16, 2008 at 6:56 AMchubbeecheeks23,
哥儿们 and 哥们儿are the same. I've never actually noticed the variations. In most case, the 儿/er sound comes at the end of a word. But here we've got an exception. Intriguing.
Posted on: Ticket Scalper
July 15, 2008 at 2:22 AMbingge,
Like pcmi2 said, 搞 gao3 means "grasp" or "clarify" here. 搞不清 means 'can't grasp or understand'. 搞得清means the opposite. It's a casual and colloquail expression.
pcmi2,
Thank you!
Posted on: Finding a Taxi
July 14, 2008 at 3:44 AMrjberki,
I find 出租车/chu1 zu1 che1 to be quite commonly used as a standard term for taxi. But it seems different places bring their local twist. For example, in Shanghai dialect, taxi is referred to as 差头/cha1 tou2/. And I believe people in Guangdong say 的士/di1 shi4. Bottomline is 出租车/chu1 zu1 che1 is comprehensible to all across China.
Posted on: Fat Camp
July 23, 2008 at 5:20 PMOne of the favorite past time at my family reunion is looking at old photos and being amazed at how skinny everyone was during their 20's. It was in the 60's and 70's where life was harsh for most people. My parents and their siblings only had meat a few times a week up to their late 20's. And they were amongst the lucky ones to even have meat. As my father always says 'no fat in the body at all'. Then came opening up and reform, life changed. People started to swell along with their wallets.