User Comments - jjinfrance

Posted on: Jet Lag

I guess it's too difficult to translate this subjective nuance between cai2 and jiu4 in English. Too much information should be added and that would make the translation incomprehensible. (I got up so early-- at 6 o'clock in the morning I am already awake.)

To help you remember the usage of "jiu4", maybe you can just try to remember that "jiu4" usually goes with "le," and the reason it goes with "le" is because the action happens so early or in such a short time that it has been completed (hence the particle "le") before you realise it.

Hope this will not make it more confusing to you.

Posted on: Saying Goodbye at the Airport

我不想國家 is not a correct Chinese sentence because here 国家 is ambiguous (which guo2jia1?) Normally it should be 我不想念我的国家。

Posted on: Jet Lag

就 and 才 are two adverbs to express the sujective feelings of the speaker.

就 indicates that the time is earlier than what the speaker thinks; 才 indicates te opposite. So "I woke up at 6 o'clock in the morning" can either be translated as 我早上六點就醒了。(6 o'clock is relatively early) or 我早上六點才醒。(I should have waken up at five.)  It all depends on the speaker's point of view and the circomstances.

Posted on: Jet Lag

Changye,

After checking up 倒 at the dictionary, it seems the right way to pronounce it here should be dao4. However, as a native speaker, I would "naturally" pronounce it "dao3." This may be due to common misuse.

Posted on: 望子成龙

0：26 希望自己的子女zhencai有出息=> 成材 (become a useful person)

4:47 贵得lianmi怜悯liánmǐn: pity, mercy =>贵得连命也要了

4:59 达到一种极致jízhì: peak, pinnacle, ultimate =>ok

5：39 考一个好的初中 =>ok

5：47 很多很多chang长考试 =>很多场(chang3; classifier)考试

5：57 就觉得心里没di =>心里没底 (di3; bottom)=不放心

7 : 11 yiweide一味的chuzhong=〉一味儿地注重(emphasize)学习

7：22 可是这儿不能换别的 =>ok

7：31 需要和孩子有一个hudong互动 =>interact

7：38 自己支配的时间zhīpèi： to allocate =>ok

9：34 比较wonong这种虫 =>窝囊(wo1nang; useless, good for nothing)

13：38 她的妈妈cixu辞职了工作 =>辞去(ci2qu4; resign)了工作

Posted on: Keeping 收 and 受 Straight

That's true. My students who have studied one year and half of Chinese just realised this recently. They thought they could master Chinese in two years, but that's not the case.... They're very discouraged now. I have invited them to listen to CPod. Hope that will help!

Posted on: Keeping 收 and 受 Straight

"Help" can be abstract or concrete, depending on the context.

He doesn't like to accept any help. =>他不喜欢接受帮助。

Posted on: Due This Week

Maybe the following sentences can help you better understand Changye's explanation:

这么多工作，又要辛苦你们了。(I am sorry to bother you with so much work again)=>The fact of 要辛苦你们 is already happened because it's under the two sides' consent that the other one already accepted to be bothered.

这么多工作，可能要再麻烦你们一次。(There's so much work to do. I think I need to bother you again.) =>The speaker asks the other one to do the job again. The fact 要麻烦你们 has not happened yet. (可能 here is a polite form to ask someone else a favor.)

再来一杯(Let's drink another glass.) This "another glass" is yet to come.

我们又喝了一杯. (We drank another glass.)

Posted on: Due This Week

了 can also indicate the completion of one action, so here, one 了 is enough.

他好像去了北京了 would be correct too. If there's a difference between the two sentences, I think most Chinese wouldn't know it.

Posted on: Man-to-Man Advice on Women

Sometimes when a man likes a girl, he begins to claim that she's his 女朋友, without her knowing it.