User Comments - pearltowerpete

Posted on: Qipao Dresses and Marathons in China

Hi bababardwan

You're right, I hadn't noticed your original comments. And your detective skills are impressive. I was aiming for under four hours. But this gives room for improvement next time.

The race itself was well organized, with bananas, sports drinks and spongy little cookies all along the way. And the scenery was phenomenal-- no matter where in the world you're coming from, Taroko is worth the trip.

Best of all was the atmosphere, with lots of people offering encouragement on the sidelines, and a friendly vibe among the runners.

It left a very deep impression, and I'm delighted to have had that experience.

Posted on: The Magic Word 让 (Ràng)

Hi Johns,

Thanks for a great idea. We will be sure to make a Qing Wen about this.

Posted on: The Surname Code

Hi nial,

Great story, and a worthy name. For this, a literal translation of "the ink wasn't dry" doesn't work as well in Chinese. This is one rare case where Chinese is a bit dull. According to Jiaojie, the sentence would just go:

我一写就有人告诉我这个名字像女孩子的名字.

The 一...就... construction indicates that as soon as something happened, something else immediately followed.

Posted on: The Surname Code

Hi gyoung9

Your surname is 杨 yang2.

In China, Northerners would say 杨树的杨 yang2shu4deyang2. A 杨树 is a poplar tree, by the way.

Southerners would say 杨梅的杨 yang2mei2deyang2. That is a red bayberry, for what it's worth ;-)

Posted on: The Magic Word 让 (Ràng)

Hi dunkerlumpen

You're right, Connie does say 事情 shi4qing2。 Thanks for your question, and I'll look forward to your future comments and queries! 

Posted on: Job Market for Laowai

Hi fhfhtyhr

Nope, it's not me :-0

Posted on: Give Me a Kiss

Hi toepax

Yes, this is a common phrase. Although it would probably not be used much 在大街上 ;-0

Posted on: Job Market for Laowai

Hi all

Check out the link below if you're curious about the origins of the word 跳槽-- what does "jumping mangers" have to do with switching to a better job?

It's a true tale of ribaldry.

http://culture.china.com/zh_cn/info/news/11022808/20070613/14157715.html

The key phrase is

原指妓女而言，谓其琵琶别抱也，譬以马之就饮食，移就别槽耳。后则以言狎客，谓其去此适彼

The short version is, the phrase originally came from a line that compared prostitutes to horses. Just as a horse would switch to a better manger when the first one ran out, a prostitute would find a richer lover when the first stopped being a sugar daddy. Now of course the term is not so bawdy. But the meaning is the same.

Enjoy the rich and steamy history of Chinese!

Posted on: The Magic Word 让 (Ràng)

Hi azzote,

公司让我来中国工作 is actually clear, it means that the company asked you to go to work in China.

Another way to give the same meaning is to say 公司派（pai4) 我来中国工作. 

If you actively asked for this assignment, you can say 我要求（yao1qiu2) 来中国工作，公司同意 （tong2yi4) 了。

Posted on: He's boring

Hi stanimal

Thanks for your suggestion. We have improved the vocab list to make it more useful for you.