User Comments - pearltowerpete
pearltowerpete
Posted on: Do you have a cold?
November 28, 2008 at 7:04 AMHi jingang
Glad to meet you. For communicating with other listeners, please use personal messages, not your regular email. We'll look forward to seeing you on the forums.
Posted on: Good Morning!
November 28, 2008 at 5:53 AMHi gcharestiii
Glad to help out. "He" or "she" are definitely pronounced "ta1" in the first tone. The "t" sound is a little different from the English but it's not a "p".
Posted on: Good Morning!
November 28, 2008 at 5:24 AMHi gcharestiii
Yes, both "he" and "she" are pronounced ta1. The tone is the same. They are written differently -- he is 他, she is 她.
This is definitely a tough part of the language. And it's tough for Chinese speakers of English,who when talking to you will routinely change the gender of the people in their story half-way through. They're not used to having to pronounce he and she differently.
Posted on: The Surname Code
November 28, 2008 at 4:40 AMHi 1meiguoren
Our surnames are similar, but not quite the same. For yours, you can say 我姓柯，木可柯 ;-0
Hi smilealot,
In my experience, Chinese people are very curious to hear why foreigners chose their name, particularly the surname, as this is an important part of identity.
My usual response is that my best Chinese teacher was surnamed 何 and that I like asking questions. My next character, 树 (shu4 tree) is very 环保 （environmentally friendly) and the final character 斌 is 文武斌wen2wu3bin1, 文武双全, a combination of language and power. That's just awesome.
Posted on: 老上海印象
November 28, 2008 at 4:21 AMHi helandou
Don't worry, this dialogue (and many of the advanced lessons) are pretty heavy on proverbs and historical references. The discussion is designed to be more natural and "down-to-earth."
Glad you enjoyed the topic. Shanghai history is fascinating, a deep well that we can return to often...
Posted on: The Surname Code
November 28, 2008 at 3:14 AMHi lcln,
你可以说 “座右铭的铭." 或者“金字旁，右边是名字的名”.
座右铭有一点像你个人的口号， 譬如： 好好学习天天向上。
Posted on: Checking Baggage
November 28, 2008 at 3:03 AMHi greg11
Thanks for your enthusiasm. You can just say 请让一下，可以吗 qing3rang4yi1xia4, ke3yi3ma 。
Posted on: World Records
November 28, 2008 at 3:01 AMHi manjushri
Both versions are fine. They're interchangeable. There is another version 咋样 za3yang4 but this is more regional, so it's probably best to stick with the first two.
Posted on: Welcome to ChinesePod
November 28, 2008 at 1:27 AMHi xatur731
This lesson is designed to be simple and easy to understand. For more of a challenge, try Elementary, Intermediate, or higher level lessons. You're sure to find something interesting.
Thanks for posting, and we'll look forward to seeing you around the forums.
Posted on: 老上海印象
November 28, 2008 at 8:26 AMHi Xuchen
黄包车 huang2bao1che1 is a rickshaw, an old-style passenger cart pulled by a poor worker.
吃得开 is a kind of informal way of saying that someone is well-received, powerful, or influential.
As mentioned above, we intentionally filled this dialogue with some tricky vocab and period references. So it's no wonder that a few things seemed hard.