User Comments - pearltowerpete
pearltowerpete
Posted on: Food Regions of China
December 8, 2008 at 10:00 AMHi panda2
Just saw your comment about calling 花椒 "bastard peppers." Funny stuff.
Have you ever eaten them raw? That's an experience you will not forget, as the saliva dribbles from your numbed lips.
Posted on: Job Market for Laowai
December 8, 2008 at 9:28 AM好像有一个人特别关注到我这个男生的外貌。
他不会是来我们论坛钓凯子吧？
不然干嘛一直要讲这么无聊的话题呢。
Posted on: Table for Three
December 8, 2008 at 7:02 AMHi changye and friends
I learned more about these words during a good chat with Connie.
She reports: 大约和大概是一样的意思，用法也相同。但是“maybe”的用法时，“大约”比较少用。
大约 and 大概 have the same meaning, and similar usages. But when they are being used as "maybe," 大约 is not as common.
大概 can also work as a noun or an adjective.
譬如：他对这件事只知道个大概。 He only has a general understanding of this matter.
Posted on: Borrowing Money
December 8, 2008 at 4:05 AMHi changye
Since joining CPod I have translated the expansion sentences for all levels. The thinking behind the translation varies with the difficulty level. With lower level classes I strive for basic, direct translations as much as possible. At the higher levels, there is more flexibility, as this makes for a less "Chinglish" feel.
Posted on: Let's Go to Beijing
December 8, 2008 at 3:07 AMHi ruyide
The reading of 待 as dai1 and meaning "to stay" is informal. 待 as a 多音字 (character with multiple readings) is being used instead of 呆 dai1 which also means to stay, but can also mean "stupid or befuddled."
Posted on: Surfing Online
December 8, 2008 at 2:59 AMHi stanimal
运动 can be either a noun 名词 or verb 动词. 体育 is only a noun.
So you can say 我想去运动运动 but cannot say 我想去体育。
Also, you can say 你喜欢什么运动 but cannot say 你喜欢什么体育. 体育 is most often used with 课.
Thanks for asking, and thanks to Jiaojie for clarifying.
Posted on: Using 除了。。。以外 (Chúle... Yǐwài)
December 8, 2008 at 2:44 AMHi bababardwan
This was my witty comment for the week. Time for me to end on a high note!
Posted on: Using 除了。。。以外 (Chúle... Yǐwài)
December 8, 2008 at 1:57 AMHa light487
In the words of the late, great Mitch Hetfield:
"I don't have a girlfriend. I just know a girl who'd be really angry if she heard me say that."
Kidding aside, this Sinophile is taken ：-）
Posted on: Table for Three
December 8, 2008 at 1:39 AMHi jackfrombelgium
多久 duo1jiu3 "how long" is fixed.
Hi wwolfeld
The uses of 要 and 用 deserve more than a simple reply. Both are frequently used and can have different meanings. I don't want to give you an oversimplification. But I can handle your second question here.
不要bu4yao4 and 不用bu4yong4 can both be translated as "don't." But their implications are different. 不要 means that you "shouldn't" do something.
E.g. 不要吃得那么快 Don't eat so quickly.
不用 means that you "needn't" do something,
E.g. 不用谢 “You're welcome (literally "there's no need to thank me."
Posted on: Job Market for Laowai
December 8, 2008 at 11:42 AMHi uoyevol
Cheers. But to be honest I had to read the modern Chinese translation before I fully understood that sentence, myself.
Hi wchan
刚打错了，改了，谢了。