User Comments - jerryrock

Posted on: When Opposites Collide (2)

You point is taken.

Posted on: When Opposites Collide (2)

  Aparently the word Dōngxi originates in the following manner as taken from the following website ( http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/walkingthewall/index.php/2007/01/08/mai-dongxi/)

At the eastern terminus of the Silk Road in old Chang’an (present-day Xian), the capital of Tang Dynasty China (618-907 AD), there were two great markets – the East Market (Dong Shichang) and the West Market (Xi Shichang). The East Market specialised in local luxury goods – jade and silk – while West Market merchants dealt in foreign goods – cockatoos from Indonesia, medicines from India, jewels from Turkey. It was said that between Dong Shichang and Xi Shichang you could buy anything from anywhere in the world.

Thus the origins of the Chinese phrase mai dongxi, which, translated hyper-literally, means “buy east-west.” In everyday usage, it means to buy things, or to go shopping.

Posted on: When Opposites Collide (1)

Chinesepod rocks (is big hearted and honest)! 中文播客磊磊 zhōngwénbōkèlěilěi! I liked this interpretation, but please tell me the best way to express this slang expression since this is probably one of the 250,000 mistakes that I have to make to properly learn Chinese. 

Posted on: Explaining Your Job

Got it! Thanks.

Posted on: Explaining Your Job

Tne first line of dialogue appears to be a shi.......de pattern, whereas the second line drops the de part of the pattern. My previous understanding was that the shi may be dropped but the de is retained. Please clarify this for me.

Posted on: Lili and Zhang Liang 4: Lovers' Spat

 The subject matter is so compelling that I have to add my observations about the question raised by John. Before going out to shop each member of the couple had different expectations about the upcoming experience.

Zhāng Liàng has the view that shopping involves finding a specific object to fill a need, but is not an activity to be enjoyed for its own sake. That is Líli needs to buy clothing. Certainly simply enjoying shopping for clothing with líli as an activity and an opportunity to share an enjoyable experience with her was not in his mind. He was there in a supportative role, but was not a shopping buddy.

LíLi most likely expected to enjoy the experience in itself, whereas buying a piece of clothing was secondary to the experience. She though that Zhāng Liàng would enjoy the shopping experience as a way of sharing. When she discovered that this was not true from Zhāng Liàng's comments she reacted. The script is true to life.

I have heard that there are men who enjoy shopping for as an activity and perhaps as a way to share an enjoyable experience, and not as a means to obtain needed or desired items, but have not enountered them. 

Posted on: Awkward Silence

You got me! I had just unsubscribed yesterday, but re-subscribed when I saw this lesson! Now I am prepared for what my friends might present.

Posted on: Deadly Complements of Degree

Thumbs up! Thanks for expanding my vocabulary.

On a separate topic, I was wondering about the origin of words that combine opposites, specificially any stories surrounding them, such as dōngxi (east+west=things) or zuǒyòu (left +right=approximately, about). I understand that there are other such words that I would be happy to be introduced to.

Posted on: Handsome Foreign Student

A thought about review structure . After completing all of the Beginning and almost all of the Elementary lessons, and many Intermediate lessons, I find the following about the Sentence-Reordering section of the review. The ability of reading simplified characters, which is my approach, is very useful. However, many of the dialogs'lines can be in a number of orders and still make sense. I try to make sense of the dialog' when I do this section. This is true even if the sentences were written in English, my native language! As you advance from level to level and there are more lines of dialog', order become more difficult to remember, so test no longer test knowledge of Chinese Language learning, but test memory of a prior dialog' order.

I wish that I had a positive suggestion to make this section better, but consider my comments as "Food for Thought". Otherwise, Chinesepod is rapidly expanding my abilities to hear and speak this language. Keep up the good work

Posted on: Online Personality Test

In the dialogue 测试(cèshì) is used to mean to test, whereas in a school testing situation考试 (kǎoshì)seems to be more often used. In looking up dictionary definitions I come away with the impression that测试(cèshì) is used more in measuring preformance in something other than a school type examination. Please let me know if I am on the right track here.