User Comments - orangina

Posted on: Dare to Use 敢

eh, I think we can still get away with saying things like "I wouldn't dare" without pretention. Of course, I am the sort of person who says "without pretention," so perhaps I have lost my argument.

Posted on: Where is the Supermarket?

I wonder what makes Carrefour Greek rather than Latin... since hyper- and super- mean exactly the same thing.

Posted on: It's Stopped Raining

juliustrip, a friend of mine used to sing that all the time. But I believe it is "dà tóu" 大头。。。big head. Cheers!

Posted on: National Day

well, tvan... I would not call those jackboots, but neither would I call them high heels.

Posted on: Not Cooked Enough

john,

ah! good... I was afraid I was too subtle.

Now when I 生吃 my 鲜菜 I can feel very carnal! How would I use that in a sentance? 我喜欢生吃菜。 or, 我喜欢吃菜生吃... Neither seems right.

Posted on: Not Cooked Enough

生吃 shēngchī in the supplementary vocab is translated as "to eat raw." I would translate this as "to eat live." Would 生吃 apply to raw meat or raw vegetables? Or is it only, as in this case, when your meal is not dead yet. Perhaps it is getting better, and feels happy?

Posted on: Fruit Basket of Cause-Effect

Very nice 请问 team! I look forward to hearing more from Lili.

Posted on: Going to Church

异教 is all I could find for "pagan" too, which is a shame because pagan and heresy are not the same thing. True, a monotheist would consider paganism to be heresy, but a pagan would consider monotheism to be heresy. One is a belief system, the other is derivation from a belief system. As a monotheist, I would not be okay with being called a pagan. But if a pagan called me a heretic, I would be okay with that. I would also try to get the conversation going in a more respectful direction. ;-)

Posted on: Pinyin The Final R Sound

john

Thanks! I did listen to those lessons as they came out, but forgot how well "ri" was explained. I'll have to listen a few more times to get it drilled in. I had also forgotten it was a retroflex sound. I've been practicing that with "ch, sh and zh" but poor "r" has been neglected. I wish the pinyin was "rh" to remind me. Oh well. One day I won't need to rely on pinyin and it won't matter. I really like the chart in sinosplice with tongue placement. What about "er"... is that a retroflexed final?

Posted on: Pinyin The Final R Sound

We still haven't discussed the Chinese sound that is the bane of my existance. I cannot say "ri" to save my life. The last person I had try to help me was Taiwanese and that was a disaster! She told me to "forget pinyin". Not a terribly practical suggestion. I have some work arounds such as 号 instead of 日 for the day of the month, and 星期天 instead of 星期日. But I can't avoid it forever! What if I want to talk about Japan in Chinese? Is there an alternative for name for 日本? 帮助我！