User Comments - kangxia
kangxia
Posted on: Saying Goodbye at the Airport
March 1, 2010 at 11:10 AMDoesn't 平安 mean "safe and sound" (not "peace").
What has happened to Ken Carroll?
Posted on: Slippery Ground
February 19, 2010 at 5:28 PM
A few days ago, in the lesson "Cold Weather Is Coming", we learned that 冷空气来了 (lěng kōngqì lái le) means "cold weather is coming" and that 我来了 (wǒ lái le) means “I am coming” (as opposed to 我到了 (wǒ dào le ), which means "I have arrived"). However, in this lesson, 车来了 (chē lái le) is translated as "the bus has arrived". Could you say 车到了 (chē dào le) instead of 车来了? How do you know if 来了 means "has arrived" or "is coming"? The context doesn’t seem to help in making this distinction in sentences like 我来了 and 车来了.
Posted on: Evading Nosy Questions
February 15, 2010 at 5:14 PMThanks Jason. I understand that tones vary in practice, but in this case Jenny very specifically and carefully said "yībān" 4 times during the discussion. On my Pleco dictionary (iPhone version), 一般 is also pronounced "yībān" by both the male and female speakers. Notwithstanding the tone "rules", it seems that yī is often pronounced in the first tone in front of another syllable in the first tone. I would be interested to know what native Chinese speakers say about this.
Posted on: The Black Spectrum of Meaning
February 13, 2010 at 1:12 PMIt is funny that, in China, a 黑车 is an illegal taxi. In London, the official, licensed taxies are "black cabs", so be careful when translating 黑车 into English!
Posted on: Evading Nosy Questions
February 13, 2010 at 12:46 PM
This is a question for John or Jenny and relates to the much-discussed question of how to pronounce 一. In this dialogue, 一般 is pronounced yībān. In the lesson, Jenny also pronounces it yībān (4 times). This pronunciation is inconsistent with "the rules" as set out in the pronunciation guide on the Chinesepod website (chinesepod.com/tools/pronunciation/section/17). 一般 is even presented as an example on that page and is shown to be pronounced yìbān, with an audio file that confirms this pronunciation. I know we are not supposed to lose sleep over tones and that tones vary "in the wild", but this is still quite confusing to me. What is going on with 一般?
Posted on: Canceling Dinner Plans
February 5, 2010 at 7:28 PMHow do Chinese people respond to personal questions like "how much money do you earn?" Do they tell the truth?
Posted on: Canceling Dinner Plans
February 4, 2010 at 10:08 PMSo, John, what do you say to the taxi driver when he asks you how much money you earn?
Posted on: Why is everyone looking at me?
January 26, 2010 at 2:59 PM
The ABC Chinese-English dictionary (on Pleco) says 帅哥 is pronounced shuai4ge5, which is quite different from shuai4ge1 as pronounced in the dialogue. Is 帅哥 ever pronounced shuai4ge5?
Posted on: Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
January 24, 2010 at 3:31 PM"Bob seems to change girlfriends every month. He is really fickle."
Posted on: Waiting for Food
March 3, 2010 at 8:42 AMThanks for another really useful lesson. John and Jenny are doing a fantastic job on the elementary lessons, but I am curious about what has happened with Ken Carroll? Is he no longer with ChinesePod? (Perhaps someone from ChinesePod could respond.)