User Comments - nicolas
nicolas
Posted on: Bank Hours
February 28, 2008 at 1:07 AMwould it be possible to ask: 银行几点开门吗?
Posted on: Long Distance and Cultural Mysteries
February 28, 2008 at 1:03 AMgreat tip, brianj ! thanks for sharing with us.
Posted on: Bank Hours
February 28, 2008 at 1:01 AMmy mnemonics for the tones of different "tai": 台(tai2): I have to climb to go on the platform. 抬(tai2): I raise my glass 太(tai4): whatever it's too much for me, I want to throw it down 态 (tai4): I imagine a Japanese man bowing down.
Posted on: Bank Hours
February 28, 2008 at 12:21 AMFrench youngsters use frequently "trop" (too,太) instead of "très" (very,很) So instead of saying : "très bien!" or even "super bien" ! (a bit outdated now), they say "trop bien!" Used this way, "trop" has the same positive connotation as in Chinese, while even a couple years ago "trop" could only have a negative connotation as in English.
Posted on: Time for Class
February 24, 2008 at 2:57 AMI made this little compilation from a couple of dictionaries. 噢 (first tone): indicates sudden realization agreement (like in this lesson) 哦 (second tone): indicates doubt : oh? really? is that so? 哦 (fourth tone): oh ! ah !
Posted on: Hot Soup
February 23, 2008 at 4:40 AMI have added one mnemonics to my previous list: http://zh.chinesepod.com/lessons/getting-your-hair-done 汤 (tang1): a soup has to stay on a horizontal support, otherwise it may fall over me. 糖 (tang2): I imagine a kid lifting his arm to grab the candies. 堂 (tang2): I look up to see how high the hall is. 躺 (tang3): when I lie down, my old bed makes a U curve. 烫 (tang4) : soup is so hot that I quickly put down the bowl on the table Whether you create mnemonics yourself (recommended) or not, most important is : VISUALIZATION. Visualization creates the connection between the two sides of your brain, which has been proven to be the most effective way to memorize. I like my mnemonics for 烫 (tang4) because it helps me remember the character (which has 汤 in it)
Posted on: Hot Soup
February 23, 2008 at 4:31 AMno problem changye, auntie68 is THE expert on food-related vocab.
Posted on: Hot Soup
February 22, 2008 at 11:07 AMchangye, I always wondered why 酸 (suan1) is used for yogurt. I didn't find Chinese yogurts to be particularly sour. It may be because they used to be in ancient times.
Posted on: Hot Soup
February 22, 2008 at 11:01 AMI just heard from a Chinese lady that, although 热 and 烫 are used alone, 暖(nuan3, warm) is rarely used alone. For example, talking about the weather, you would use 暖和 (nuan3huo2). 今天上海的天气很暖和 jin1 tian1 Shang1 hai4 de5 tian1 qi4 hen3 nuan3 huo2 Today the weather in Shanghai is nice and warm.
Posted on: Bank Hours
February 28, 2008 at 4:24 PMsimilar meaning ?