User Comments - pearltowerpete

Posted on: The Magic Word 把

Hi tarcy,

不用那么客气， 你这种特别认真的同学一直发挥模范作用，大家都特别喜欢看你的帖子。继续努力啊！

Posted on: How Long Has This Been Going On?

Hi rash,

For products like computers or machines, you should say 什么时候生产的. For sandwiches and such, you can say 做 as you suggested.

Hi carlos_in_irvine,

A respectful term for talking about the elderly is 老年人 . And you are right, the pinyin for 的 is de , not di.

Posted on: Job Interview

Hi cinese,

Good question. Yes, the person in the interview literally "has too much perfectionism" but that just equates to being "too much of a perfectionist" in English.You could say 我是个完美主义者 but not 我太完美主义者.

You will actually often hear Chinese say things like "America is a capitalism country" when they speak English. This mistake is because of this small difference between Chinese and English. In Chinese, it's fine （if no longer accurate) to say that 中国是个社会主义国家. These days, that description fits America better ;-0

Posted on: How Long Has This Been Going On?

Hi kien and mezereumgrey,

Thanks for an interesting question. It touches on a lot of aspects of modern Chinese language and society. 

The most famous "plain language" movement in Chinese history was 白话, whose most noted advocate was 鲁迅 Lu Hsun, the noted writer and translator of the early 20th century. He called for the vernacularization of Chinese, which he felt was too rigid, mired in old ways of thinking. This movement did a lot to make written Chinese look more like spoken Chinese. Otherwise, our task would be even more difficult!

If Lu Hsun were alive today, I think he would be disgusted with the propaganda and advertising jargon that have cluttered up the language. Many of my Chinese friends say that with censorship, endless political slogans and euphemism, the language has lost a lot of its expressive power.

There is a more generic explanation for the poor writing you've seen. All around the world, the bureaucrats who draft laws and regulations generally avoid clear writing-- it might come back to haunt them！ In addition, most of the translations you're seeing were likely not professionally done. Poor translation makes poor writing into a stew of literary misery.

Good writing in Chinese is a bit too broad to explain in the Qing Wen format. It involves choosing words correctly, using a lot of chengyu, and many other factors. Still, this is a rich field of study, and we should look into ways to introduce it.

Posted on: Big Bed

Hi redbeard07

You are right that 了 and 吧 can both soften the tone and make a phrase more 好听. But we couldn't substitute 吧 in the sentences here. Only 了 will do.

Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 12: A Dodgy Opportunity

Hi all,

The link to raygo's transcript is repaired. He has also added it to "Transcripts with Raygo."

Thanks for your hard work, and let's hope that in the future, the Powers That Be don't decide to crack down on people's sacred right to search for 儿子母亲不正当关系.

Posted on: How Long Has This Been Going On?

Hi henning,

You lucky duck. Unlike many of my countrymen, I have a lot of admiration for the Northern European model of socialism, i.e. Socialism without Famines, Purges, and Bloodthirsty Dictators. No system is perfect, but we could learn a thing or two from you guys ;-)

Hi weibwo and bill

Thank you for the insights on Mickey Mouse. I have heard that Disney is fighting ferociously to extend the copyright protection period. Otherwise, Mickey and friends will soon enter the public domain, free for everyone to use as they please.

Hi everyone who asked grammar questions-- we will answer these tomorrow morning. Hang in there.

Posted on: Sympathy for the Farmers -- 悯农

Hi orangina,

I have read the story of the Essex, truly horrifying. Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea is an excellent account.

It's also a reminder that energy, like food, is a precious resource in short supply. Melville and Philbrick both point out that in the old days, each time you lit a lamp you should be thankful for the whalers who died to bring you the oil. Similarly, we should think of the thousands of miners who die each year to light our homes and power our iPods.

Posted on: How Long Has This Been Going On?

Hi all,

Courtesy of Connie, here are today's sentences.

几岁？
Jǐ suì?
How old? (usually for people or pets.)

很可爱的宠物。
Hěn kě'ài de chǒngwù.
A very cute pet.

它几岁？
Tā jǐ suì?
How old is it?

这个狗狗几岁了？
Zhège gǒu gǒu jǐ suì le?
How old is this dog?

你知道米老鼠几岁了？
Nǐ zhīdao Mǐlǎoshǔ jǐ suì le?
Do you know how old Mickey Mouse is?

一百多岁了。
Yībǎi duō suì le.
More than a hundred years old.

多大？
Duōdà?
How old?

您多大？
Nín duōdà?
How old are you?

故宫有多少年的历史？
Gùgōng yǒu duōshao nián de lìshǐ?
How old is the Imperial Palace? (i.e. How many years of history does it have?)

加拿大有多少年的历史？
Jiānádà yǒu duōshao nián de lìshǐ?
How old is Canada?

今年中华人民共和国六十岁了。
Jīnnián Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó liùshí suì le.
This year, the People's Republic of China is sixty years old.

因为你很开心，这样说很亲切。
Yīnwèi nǐ hěn kāixīn，zhèyàng shuō hěn qīnqiè.
Because you're very happy. Saying it this way is very warm and friendly.


这个公司有多少年的历史？
Zhège gōngsī yǒu duōshao nián de lìshǐ?
How long has this company been around?

是什么时候开始的？
Shì shénme shíhou kāishǐ de?
When did it start?

什么时候买的？
Shénme shíhou mǎi de?
When did you buy it?

你真是什么事情都要搞得很清楚。
Nǐ zhēnshì shénme shì qíng dōu yào gǎo dehěn qīngchu.
You really need to get everything really clear.

这个电脑你用了多久？
Zhège diànnǎo nǐ yòng le duōjiǔ?
How long did you use this computer?

车子什么时候买的？
Chēzi shénme shíhou mǎi de?
When did you buy this car?

这个车子用了多久了？
Zhège chēzi yòng le duōjiǔ le?
How long have you been driving this car?


这件T恤你穿了多久？
Zhè jiàn Txù nǐ chuān le duōjiǔ?
How long have you worn this t-shirt?

穿了十年了。
Chuān le shí nián le.
I've been wearing it for ten years.

什么时候造的？
Shénme shíhou zào de?
When was it built?

什么时候生产的？
Shénme shíhou shēngchǎn de?
When was it made?

这个房子是什么时候造的？
Zhège fángzi shì shénme shíhou zào de?
When was this house built?

《请问》做了多久了？
《qǐngwèn》zuò le duōjiǔ le?
How long have we done "Qing Wen"?

差不多两年了吧。
Chàbuduō liǎng nián le ba.
About two years, give or take.

已经有一百多集了。
Yǐjing yǒu yībǎi duō jí le.
There are already more than a hundred episodes.

我们有两年的历史了。
Wǒmen yǒu liǎng nián de lìshǐ le.
We have two years of history!

这个要分老的和年轻的。
Zhège yào fēn lǎo de hé niánqīng de.
With this, you need to differentiate between old and young.

什么时候种的？
Shénme shíhou zhòng de?
When was this planted?

这个问题出现了多久？
Zhège wèntí chūxiàn le duōjiǔ?
How long has this problem been around?

年龄
niánlíng
age

房子的年龄就是房龄。
Fángzi de niánlíng jiùshì fáng líng.
The age of a house is called "the age of a house."

你住的这栋房子房龄多久了？
Nǐ zhù de zhè dòng fángzi fáng líng duōjiǔ le?
How old is this house you live in?

工龄
gōng líng
length of service, length of time in a job

车龄
chē líng
Age of a car

车龄很多年了，别买它。
Chē líng hěn duōnián le, bié mǎi tā.
This is a very old car. Don't buy it.

黄山有多少年的历史？
Huángshān yǒu duōshao nián de lìshǐ?
How old is Huang Shan?

Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 12: A Dodgy Opportunity

Hi inland,

Looks like Lao Wang is going to need a blessing from your 招财猫 ；-）