User Comments - mickeytoon
mickeytoon
Posted on: Counting Coins
May 10, 2009 at 10:02 AM存钱罐 cun(2)qian(2)guan(4) translates to deposit money pot. This seems to be a more generic term encompassing all coin storage vessels not just those with porcine form :)
Posted on: Pain and Suffering 伤心, 难受，郁闷 ,不爽，难过
May 10, 2009 at 9:26 AMHey Pete,
thanks for avoiding confusion by translating 不爽 bù shuǎng as 'pissed OFF' rather than simply 'pissed', which to us Brits has a completely different meaning!
Posted on: Zombies: Deader than Ever
May 7, 2009 at 7:57 PMThinkbuddha,
Ethnobiology of Haitian Zombies - fascinating stuff! I'm going to have to stop visiting this discussion, there are far too many distractions from my Chinese studies. BTW should we use the term "real-life zombies" or "real-death zombies" or something in between?
Posted on: Zombies: Deader than Ever
May 4, 2009 at 7:56 PMZombies, aliens, godzilla, ninjas and accountants... let's have them all in a lesson, packed in an arena for a fight to the death! The ensuing linguisitic mayhem would probably be invaluable for some of the meetings I've had to attend (endure). The weirder the better!
On a serious note, there is an argument for using outlandish and bizarre situations as an aid to memory. 摧毁 has been lodged permanently in my brain since the first time i listened to the Godzilla lesson.
Posted on: Zombies: Deader than Ever
May 4, 2009 at 8:32 AMOh come on John don't kill off the zombies yet (if killing zombies is possible?), especially so soon after their appearance at intermediate level.
They're a fun, different and an interesting vehicle to attach new vocab to offering an excellent memory context tool for the language.
Cpod thrives on the fact that it is slightly quirky and different, if you stick to pure dull practical stuff you risk turning us all into jiāng shī Chinese students like many of the other language outlets.
Posted on: Zombies: Deader than Ever
May 3, 2009 at 8:15 AMAnyone ever come across zombie crabs? 僵尸 螃蟹 (jiāng shī páng xiè) has a nice ring to it. I've heard tales that they may lurk in the lakes around Suzhou. The fact that crustaceans are stiff and motionless most of the time would make the zombie ones difficult to pick out - scary!!!!
Posted on: Zombies: Deader than Ever
May 1, 2009 at 8:32 PMAah Lydia,
you do businessman Peter a disservice. How can a man who dies at the hands of ninjas be described as boring? It's my life ambition to die by ninja - well maybe not!
Agree, the series lessons are very addictive.
Posted on: Rise and Shine!
April 24, 2009 at 11:29 PMHey Jevious,
No apology needed! You are absolutely right, I have never encountered anything but respect and politeness in China and your honest response to these comments confirm my high opinion of the Chinese people.
History holds a wealth of ugliness and beauty and we should not forget either. I hope you will agree that the community in Chinesepod reflects one of the less ugly aspects of our modern world - a group of people with a common goal of learning a language together, understanding each other and the culture of a great country. If such a forum were available 100 years ago maybe some of the ugliness and evil would not have taken place.
On a personal note, I needed a 'kick in the pants' to motivate my efforts to learn more Chinese characters. I didn't expect to find this is a newbie lesson but your frank, open and engaging contributions have given me that motivation. Many thanks!
And finally as you can see from my avatar, the description 丑陋的英国佬 (ugly Englishman) is indeed accurate and appropriate!!! Smile at us, pay us, pass us, but do not quite forget.... we have thick skin.
Cheers!
Posted on: Regional Accents Part II
May 11, 2009 at 8:24 PMAny chance of another regional accent lesson CPod? These subtle and not so subtle differences in pronunciation occur in every language and are always fascinating. There's tons of mileage left in this topic. Let's not wait another year to revisit....