User Comments - pearltowerpete
pearltowerpete
Posted on: Transliteration into Chinese and the Long Pinky Fingernail
October 10, 2008 at 5:39 AMHi ewong
Winnie the Pooh is 维尼小熊 wei2ni2xiao3xiong2
Buzz Lightyear is 巴斯光年 ba1si1guang1nian2
Bonus: Donald Duck is 唐老鸭 Tang2lao3ya1
Posted on: 古埃及
October 10, 2008 at 1:20 AMHi hugorestall and changye
Good additions. 真是个让我绞尽脑汁的话题。Another good way to practice (and evaluate) your vocab is to list all the words you can think of that include various radicals--提手旁，草字头，etc. It's a kind of "out-of-the-box" thinking that's good for your brain muscles.
Hi hutudan
I know you were just asking about grammar. And your initial interpretation was correct. My point is that part of understanding a culture is examining the legends and outright whoppers it tells about itself. Too often, especially in conversations with natives of the society, these dubious assertions go un-remarked and un-challenged. My interest in this point is anthropological. All societies seem to have this tendency to some degree.
Posted on: Dirty Little Hands
October 9, 2008 at 1:55 AMHi chris
洗手间 is a bit more polite, it seems to be used more commonly in swanky restaurants. The 所 in 厕所 refers to "a place," so there are many compounds that use it:
研究所ｙａｎ２ｊｉｕ１ｓｕｏ３ Research Institute
派出所 pai4chu1suo3 Police Station
Frankly, I prefer the earthier 我去上个厕所 to 我去一下洗手间. For the same reason, I find the English words "restroom," "little boys' room," etc. affected and painfully middle class. When you see a spade, call it a spade. But your mileage may vary :-0
Posted on: 古埃及
October 9, 2008 at 1:34 AMHi hutudan,
If you thought that claim had dubious historical merit, you ain't seen nothing yet. As the late, great historian A.J.P. Taylor said (from memory, I can't find the exact quote), a country is a group of people with a shared misconception about their roots and a shared dislike of their neighbors.
Each country (to a more or less outrageous degree) has myths about its history, boundaries, and contributions to the world. It's often helpful to examine who benefits from telling these stories. What social role do the stories serve?
Whenever we talk about "continuous civilizations," the most important question would seem to be "In what meaningful way are the people of XXX the descendants of the XXXers of 5000 years ago?" In this light, it's hard to think of a single country on Earth that seems convincing.
Posted on: Rating Restaurants on Dianping
October 8, 2008 at 8:41 AMＨｉ cmyap67
"仁者见仁，智者见智" 和 "见仁见智" 意思一样，只不过是第二句稍微简约一点吧
Posted on: ID Check at the Internet Cafe
October 8, 2008 at 5:17 AMHi shc49
网 is definitely a third tone word. People may have a slight accent (and of course like all third tones it can change depending on the tone of the next word).
This is as good a place as any to mention the new China-hand's mistake of asking about the 网吧 but saying 王八, which is an S.O.B.
Posted on: A Month as a Monk and Chinese Business Meetings
October 8, 2008 at 5:08 AMAnd I should add that if you just want to get into the spirit of things, here are a few helpful phrases:
满上 -- fill 'er up!
感情深,一口闷，
感情浅,舔一舔
感情铁，喝出血
If the feeling between us is deep, drink it all down
If the feeling between us is shallow, just have a lick
If we are iron brothers, drink till you are spitting blood.
Posted on: A Month as a Monk and Chinese Business Meetings
October 8, 2008 at 5:04 AMHi light487
Great tips. One thing about Chinese drinking is that a lot of it is at banquets, in private rooms behind closed doors. And the act of pouring for your dinner partners is very important -- a completely dry glass is begging to be refilled. So it's a little tricky to pull the fake bourbon and coke trick, as you are your own bartenders ;-0
Posted on: Clearing the Table
October 8, 2008 at 4:32 AMHi sballa,
It's perfectly fine to take your time with the ordering. The serving staff aren't getting tips, so they don't worry too much about running off to serve more tables. You can even ask them for advice, what's in a particular dish, etc.
Posted on: Qipao Dresses and Marathons in China
October 11, 2008 at 12:09 PMHi ayumi000000,
You are too kind!
Hi bababardwan,
Thanks for the encouragement. The race is Nov. 1st． I am 90% looking forward to it and 10% anxious.
Here are a few of my favorite running songs:
"霍元甲" huo4yuan2jia3 by Jay Chow, the theme song from the Jet Li movie Fearless
"One Night in 北京" by the Taiwanese band Shin, 信樂團
"天空", “但愿人长久”and "红豆“ by Wang Fei, 王菲
"我爱台妹” by MC Hot Dog
"Hello, Dolly" by Louis Armstrong
And anything by Kenny Rogers or Leo Kottke.