User Comments - pearltowerpete
pearltowerpete
Posted on: The Big Deal about Shenzhou 7
July 28, 2009 at 8:05 AMHi mikeinewshot,
低端的体力活 is low-level manual labor.
You know 活 means "to live" but here it means "work," as in the phrase 干活. Interesting that both English and Chinese make a connection between living and working, as in the English word "livelihood."
Posted on: Manila
July 28, 2009 at 3:22 AMHi changye,
Jiaojie explained that the word probably came in through Hong Kong Mandarin, in which it sounded even more like "shopping." It does connote the "temporary insanity" that sometimes grips people armed with a credit card and an empty shopping cart ;-)
Hi ryanchild,
Quite a few words are pronounced differently on the mainland than on Taiwan. Over here in the Great Motherland people definitely use the fourth tone (although I've sometimes heard a neutral tone as well.）
Posted on: Manila
July 28, 2009 at 2:41 AMHi xiaophil
You are right that 合算 can mean "a good buy, worth the money." 合算 can also be a verb meaning to calculate or weigh one's options. Here is a note from nciku.com.
(1) 这件事我们还得合算合算。
(2) 你事先要合算一下，到底哪一条路更适合你。
2. 合算 and 上算 both are adjectives meaning “worth doing,” indicating that one gains more than one pays.
Posted on: Budget Meeting
July 27, 2009 at 7:30 AM
Hi calicartel,
I have a good ear, but I'm not sure how many people would vouch for my soul.
Anyway, the phrase is 商场如战场-- "the market is like a battlefield." 如 can mean "like, thus."
On a quite different note: could someone shed light on "这块" in "比如广告这块"? is "块" some kind of measure word for ads in this case?
Here, 块 is a measure word, referring to ads. We could literally translate the phrase as "for instance, ads, this item."
Posted on: A Lot of Sisters
July 27, 2009 at 3:26 AMHi cassielin,
We are always happy for your contributions! Don't worry.
Posted on: Ordering Songs at Karaoke
July 27, 2009 at 2:25 AMHi sgellhorn,
Welcome to Intermediate. By all means, please post the song!
Posted on: A Day at the Races
July 27, 2009 at 2:21 AMHi mikeinewshot,
There is a fantastic bit of English translation in the PDF where one of the punters comes out with "Surge for me, baby!" - very racy indeed.
In this lesson, only a racy translation would do ;-）
But to be honest, I hadn't thought of the line in that way.
Posted on: Help with Housework
July 27, 2009 at 2:15 AMHi stevemisch
We will add that annotation as soon as it is technically possible. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.
你回家的时候顺便买一点水果。
(On your way home could you buy some fruit along the way?)
Indeed, this sentence is a request, not a question. It is not asking if the person is physically capable of buying the fruit. The question-like sentence structure makes this request more polite.
Posted on: Ordering Songs at Karaoke
July 27, 2009 at 2:02 AMHi jpalmerx
Could be--- but one of my fondest memories was singing Zang's version with my best buddy in a packed college performance hall a couple years ago. They even had dry ice for the cool late '80s smoke effect!
Another great but melancholy song is 干杯,朋友 by 田震.
Posted on: Measure Word Fundamentals: 个，只，条，张
July 29, 2009 at 6:08 AMHi marcelin,
Courtesy of Connie, here are the sentences with translations and pinyin.
一个人yī ge rén
one person
我们这里有三个人。
Wǒmen zhèlǐ yǒu sān ge rén.
There are three of us (people) here.
我们三个人在一个公司工作。
Wǒmen sān ge rén zài yī ge gōngsī gōngzuò.
The three of us work in the same company.
我们三个人来自两个国家。
Wǒmen sān ge rén láizì liǎng ge guójiā.
The three of us come from two countries.
我们三个人每天工作八个小时。
Wǒmen sān ge rén měitiān gōngzuò bā ge xiǎoshí.
The three of us work eight hours per day.
一个月yī ge yuè
One month.
这个季节我们可以吃很多个西瓜。
Zhège jìjié wǒmen kěyǐ chī hěn duō ge xīguā.
During this season we can eat a lot of watermelons.
一个苹果yī ge píngguǒ
One apple.
一个桔子yī ge júzi
One tangerine.
一个菠萝yī ge bōluó
One pineapple.
一只蚊子yī zhī wénzi
A mosquito.
一只虫yī zhī chóng
A bug
一只狗yī zhī gǒu
A dog.
Pete养了一只狗。
Pete yǎng le yī zhī gǒu.
Pete raised a dog.
在中国你有宠物吗？
Zài Zhōngguó nǐ yǒu chǒngwù ma?
Do you have pets in China?
只有蚊子。
Zhǐyǒu wénzi.
Only mosquitoes.
一只猫yī zhī māo
一只老鼠yī zhī lǎoshǔ
A mouse or rat.
一只恐龙yī zhī kǒnglóng
A dinosaur.
一只鞋子yī zhī xiézi
A shoe.
一只袜子yī zhī wàzi
A sock.
一只手套yī zhīshǒu tào
A glove.
吃饭不能只用一只筷子。
Chīfàn bùnéng zhǐyòng yī zhī kuàizi.
You can't just use one chopstick to eat.
一副眼镜yī fù yǎnjìng
A pair of glasses.
一只眼睛yī zhī yǎnjing
An eye.
一只耳朵yī zhī ěrduo
An ear.
一只手yī zhīshǒu
A hand.
一只脚yī zhī jiǎo
A foot.
一条腿yī tiáo tuǐ
A leg.
一只青蛙有四条腿。
Yī zhī qīngwā yǒu sì tiáo tuǐ.
A frog has four legs.
一只手臂yī zhī shǒubì
An arm.
一条河yī tiáo hé
A river.
一条路yī tiáo lù
A road.
条条大路通罗马
Tiáotiáo dàlù tōng Luómǎ
All roads lead to Rome.
一条鱼yī tiáo yú
A fish.
一条蛇yī tiáo shé
A snake.
一只狗有一条尾巴。
Yī zhī gǒu yǒu yī tiáo wěiba.
A dog has one tail.
一条命yī tiáo mìng
A life.
猫有九条命。
Māo yǒu jiǔ tiáo mìng.
Cats have nine lives.
一条新闻yī tiáo xīnwén
A bit of news.
头条tóutiáo
Headlines.
我收到一条短信。
Wǒ shōudào yī tiáo duǎnxìn.
I received a text message.
一条裤子yī tiáo kùzi
A chopstick.
一条牛仔裤yī tiáo niúzǎikù
A pair of jeans.
一条裙子yī tiáo qúnzi
A skirt
一条围巾yī tiáo wéijīn
A scarf
一条狗yī tiáo gǒu
A dog
一张纸yī zhāng zhǐ
A sheet of paper
我要买一张报纸。
Wǒ yào mǎi yī zhāng bàozhǐ.
I'm going to buy a newspaper.
一张照片yī zhāng zhàopiàn
A photograph
一张床yī zhāng chuáng
A bed
一张桌子yī zhāng zhuōzi
A table
一张沙发yī zhāng shāfā
A sofa
一张信用卡yī zhāng xìnyòngkǎ
A credit card
一张票yī zhāng piào
A ticket
一张一百块钱yī zhāng yībǎi kuài qián
A hundred-RMB bill
一张钞票yī zhāng chāopiào
A piece of paper money (bill)
一张嘴巴yī zhāng zuǐba
A mouth
我们家有四张嘴。
Wǒmen jiā yǒu sì zhāngzuǐ.
There are four people in our family.
我们家有四口人。
Wǒmen jiā yǒu sì kǒu rén.
There are four people in our family.
我们家有四张嘴吃饭。那有几张嘴赚钱？
Wǒmen jiā yǒu sì zhāngzuǐ chīfàn. Nà yǒu jǐ zhāng zuǐ zhuànqián？
There are four mouths to feed in our family. Well, how many people making money are there?
一个人yī ge rén
One person.
一个地方yī ge dìfang
One place
一个国家yī ge guójiā
A country
一个字yī ge zì
A character (word)
闭嘴bìzuǐ
Shut up!