User Comments - jennyzhu
jennyzhu
Posted on: Country Standings
April 19, 2008 at 4:58 PMcmyap67, Using 国家 definitely rules out any confusion. But we frequently use 谁 since it can be inferred from the context that you are talking about countries. (Yes, context again.)
Posted on: Fruit Salad
April 19, 2008 at 4:53 PM色拉and 沙拉are interchangeable. It largely depends on personal preference. Evelyne, You can say 别放色拉酱/bie2 fang4 se4 la1 jiang4/don't put salad dressing. Asian mayonnaise is generally quite sweet and creamy. More like cream I suppose. Most Westerners I know are horrified by the taste. But I love a Janpanese brand whose logo is a naked baby.
Posted on: Ping Pong Nation
April 18, 2008 at 7:06 PMAlmost every nation has an 'identity game' that has special historic and emotional significance that the rest of the world doesn't quite get. China's fervent fascination with pingpong mystifies the world. Hopefully, with this lesson, poddies will understand our obsession a bit more.
Posted on: What is a Chengyu?
April 16, 2008 at 6:36 PMI learned the phrase 'low hanging fruit' the other day. A friend at work artfully translated it into a 成语--垂手可得/chui2 shou3 ke3 de2. It literally means attainable by a mere move of hands.
Posted on: Ordering Noodles
April 15, 2008 at 3:51 PMCalkins, An early happy birthday! 送你一碗面！
Posted on: 钻石
April 15, 2008 at 3:48 PM电视购物一天到晚卖仿真钻石，主持人能把死的说成活的。看到最后，我觉得不必买真的，买个逼真的假钻石也不错。
Posted on: Ordering Noodles
April 15, 2008 at 7:29 AMOops, it should be xin1 jiang1. My apologies. I am ng/ non ng cursed.
Posted on: Ordering Noodles
April 15, 2008 at 6:53 AMCalkins, I am betting my money on Aric. There are extensive regional variations of noodles in China. Some of the most renowned include Xingjiang新疆, Shanxi山西, Lanzhou兰州 and Suzhou苏州. I've had something from 山西 called一根面/yi1 gen1 mian4, which is a bowlful of one single uncut noodle. Noodle is also a birthday staple, because the long noodles symbolize longevity in life. It is our tradtional equivalent to birthday cakes.
Posted on: Ordering Noodles
April 15, 2008 at 2:21 AMThe classic inflight menu: 鸡、饭/ji1 fan4/chicken with rice, 鱼、面/yu2 mian4/fish with noodles or vice versa. And orange juice is indeed popular among male passengers in China.
Posted on: Going to the Pharmacy
April 20, 2008 at 4:31 PMA lot of Chinese medicines also come in pill form. But medical concentration tends to be lower than Western medicines. You have to take half a dozen pills each time in order to get enough dosage.