User Comments - light487

Posted on: Don't Eat the Snow

Ahh yes.. I've seen a similar thing to these FDU's being sold to rave party goers also, there's a male version too but they basically look the same. It's for those people who don't want to use those outdoor port-a-loo's etc and obviously has other benefits too at such events; like not having to wait in line. The one's they were selling had little "bags" that could be hygenically sealed and thrown in a rubbish bin after use. :)

Fun times! :)

Posted on: Making Dumplings

jiaozi not jaozi :)

Posted on: Do you have vegetables?

Another lesson I have been assigned, so.. questions:

1) With the question "ni zheli you shucai ma?" I'm fairly certain I can say "ni zheli you meiyou shucai?" but my question is, which would be more commonly used? I find it difficult to choose which method of asking a question to use, that is.. whether to use the "verb/not-verb" method (e.g. you meiyou) or whether to use the "verb...ma?" method (e.g. you....ma?)

Posted on: Getting Taller (Not Fatter)

Hrmm.. I double posted then deleted the 2nd one and now the first post is not showing in the community timeline.. so this is just a message to make sure my questions don't get overlooked.

Posted on: Getting Taller (Not Fatter)

This is one of the lessons my guided teacher has assigned me, so I am going to go ahead and pick it to pieces and ask all my many questions:

1) In this lesson we say "mei jian" to say that we "have not" "seen" someone for a time. Yet there is that common phrase "long time no see" which used "bu" instead of "mei" (ie. hen jiu bu jian). In your explanation, within the lesson, you talk about "mei" being used for past events and "bu" being used for current events but why then is it "hen jiu bu jian"?

2) This "zhang" looks like the same character as the "zhang" from the "What does she look like?" intermediate lesson, yet in this lesson it has a completely different meaning..? I know that sometimes this happens but I am just wondering if this is the case here or whether this character is slightly different to that other "zhang"?

3) With this "xuxu hao" can this also be "xuxu hao ma?". I always have difficulty with this, not because it's difficult but because, as John pointed out, you can't really translate it directly into English. So let's say my friend's name is "Zang Lei".. and I wanted to use the standard "ni hao ma?" greeting with her, can I say "Zang Lei hao ma?".. I know.. I know.. it's such a basic and silly question but I always get stuck on these little things and end up just saying "ni hao ma?" instead.

Posted on: Dublin

Seems like a mistake to me not a huge one that as that could be implied depending on the context.. but since this is a learning site, I guess it has to be marked as incorrect for not having "men" 们 :)

Posted on: Adjectives with 是 (shi)

Another thing I've noted myself is, though this is slightly off-topic I guess, is the use of wǒ and nǐ to not just mean "I" and "you" but you also include the is/are/to-be verb.. so wǒ becomes "I'm" and nǐ becomes "you're". Or in the case of wǒmen it becomes "we're".

So when you say, ni congming, you're not say "you inteliigent", you are saying "you're inteliigent". The reason I feel this works better interms of understanding the usage as well as in translation is that "wǒ" and "nǐ" particularly are single syllables whereas "I am" and "you are" are dual or double syllable words. So using the single syllable contraction "I'm" and "you're" makes a lot more sense in the English thinking mind.

At least that's how I am able to deal with this situation.

When you hit nouns, like "i'm a teacher" the "shi" takes the place of the "a" in my mind, even though that is not actually its meaning of course. So you end up with "(1)wo (2)shi (3)laoshi" with the transliterative meaning of "(1)I'm (2)a (3)teacher".(

Posted on: Two Tough Ladies

This is such an interesting lesson. Now that I am finally at this level of study, well I can understand most of it I guess, it's good to study these more interesting topics and break away from the standard language lessons from time to time, so thanks for making this one. Are there any more of these interesting, and slightly amusing, lessons that are as street-culturally rich?

It's good to hear the ChinesePod having fun with the lesson content and makes a refreshing change from some of the more standard topics that seem like you're just going through the paces. I guess it's easier to do at this level and with such culturally rich content that is a little confrontational.

The only real insults I know and could use are things like "ben dan" (Stupid) and "mei xinyan" (inconsiderate).. but I'm not sure whether you could really consider them to be insults. Also, "feng feng dian dian".. seems more of a joke than a insult.. so this dialog is a little out of my depth I think.. :)

In any case I seem to be perceiving a common theme with the insults here. They appear to be literal explanations or descriptions of the person's personality, situation or appearance. Like, "your face (is as ugly) like a tree" or something like that.. or, as per the dialog "your head got squeezed by the door on your way out".. rather than being singular words like "ben dan". Or maybe it's just my western-mind trying to understand and put it into terms I can understand.

Posted on: Don't Eat the Snow

Oh no! More time words to learn.. "henshao" now.. I just got used to "youshi" meaning "rarely". I'm also having difficulty separating "jingchang", "tongchang" and "pingchang". In this dialog there is "jingchang".. and from what I understand this is often used when you're describing something that "often happens" but isn't something that often happens everyday; whereas "tongchang" is for things that happen often "everyday".. but then, I might have that the wrong way around.. and then there is "pingchang".. all too confusing.. can someone please enlighten me to the subtle differences involved with these time words? And also, as per my original point, the difference between "henshao" and "youshi"..

Also, if the snow was ok to eat because it was clean.. would the adjective be "qing" as in "clear" e.g. "qingtian" clear sky? Or is there another way to say that the snow would be clean/pure?

Posted on: River Town Tourism

Actually I found the absolute opposite in regards to the learning content being more unstructured. I guess we all learn in different ways and the thing that I find so engaging about ChinesePod is the lack of structure to be honest. Admittedly there were a few of the VERY VERY early lessons that I agree had a little too much off-topic chatting but for the most part I found that all the extra stuff helped to reinforce the lesson content.

If all I wanted was dialog, translation and minimal discussion, I would have many many otiher choices for learning online. That seems to be the standard, structured lesson style for many learning centres. At ChinesePod, I find the off beat style to be what sets ChinesePod apart from the rest. Those earlier lessons are the cream of the crop for me.

I do understand that they are not for everyone and also that the newer lessons do sound more professional.. but it's like the difference between food served in a 5 star restaurant and an especial home-cooked meal. I prefer the home cooked meal over 5 star any day. :) Not that the newer lessons are lacking as such but I find the older ones have a lot more genuinity and sincereity etc..