User Comments - pearltowerpete
pearltowerpete
Posted on: Baby Photos
June 25, 2009 at 2:59 AMHey changye,
李嫣 had a hare lip, but she's not a bat woman ;-)
Posted on: Blow out Your Candles
June 25, 2009 at 2:55 AMHi kimiik
Thanks for the interesting Internet usage of 灌水. The original usage of 灌水 is to inject water into a piece of meat so that you can sell it for a higher price. Here's a tip on buying pork that I just found on yahoo:
注意識別灌水肉,可取紙一張,按壓在豬肉上,浸透後
I'm not sure if you can just inject the meat with a syringe of water..? It seems more likely you'd need to soak the meat in a salt and water bath.
Does anyone have experience buying (or selling!) 灌水肉？ Inquiring minds want to know...
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 12: A Dodgy Opportunity
June 25, 2009 at 2:33 AMHi changye,
Thank you for replying to huasen's question. Strictly speaking, the 你 here is acting as an indirect object, answering the question, "to whom." The opportunity is the direct object.
And regarding the gender imbalance in CPod baddies, the guy who ordered the killing of Canadian Peter was a man! That was cold-blooded!
Hi henrysmommy,
Yes, he is the same guy. This is like CPod's version of the Flintstones Meet the Jetsons!
Posted on: Introduction to Pinyin
June 25, 2009 at 2:26 AMBy the way, the word bopomofo comes from the sounds of the first letters in the alphabet. That is also the origin of the English word "alphabet." α + β
Posted on: Introduction to Pinyin
June 25, 2009 at 2:23 AMHi alexyzye
Your questions are more complicated than they may seem. John probably has even more complete answers, but I'll offer a few here.
Before pinyin there was 注音符号 aka bopomofo， which is still used by some Taiwanese. The earlier Romanization system was Wade-Giles, but that was created by a couple of Western scholars. It was intended to help Westerners talk about their experiences in "Fuchow", "Chungking" and "Soochow"--- it was never used by Chinese as they learned to read. Pinyin can be used in this way, too, but that's not its primary purpose.
In terms of difficulty for young students, the important thing about pinyin is that it is not the phonetic system of English or French or any other language. You will not encounter weird exceptions like those that happen in the Latin languages or English.This means that once you have learned the sound for each pinyin letter and combination, you are all set. English may be the king of these weird exceptions--- "bough?" What in the world is that?
So in terms of difficulty, yes, they do have to learn 26 letters and the corresponding sounds. But overall, it's quite a standard way of learning character pronunciation.
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 12: A Dodgy Opportunity
June 24, 2009 at 3:44 AMHi motti,
Thanks for commenting. We've had a lot of upbeat or neutral lessons. And this series is not really that depressing or negative, all things considered.
Actually, a lot of poddies have requested even more language for situations that are frustrating or don't go as planned， because such situations do come up a lot in life.
Hi raygo,
All I know is, when Wang goes, he's goin' like Elsie!
Hi alexyze,
Do you think Wang is ruthless enough for that? Oh, well-- you'll just have to keep listening!
Posted on: Finally
June 24, 2009 at 2:28 AMHi steeveepee33
Yes, in this sentence, the "finally" is implied by the fact that the people waited a very long time. You could emphasize this by saying 很希望达到的结果终于出现了.
Hi mikenotinjubei,
结 is an interesting character to break apart and use in different compounds. We see the 丝 on the left, so we can think of this as having to do with cloth or weaving.
To marry is 结婚, tying two people together. 结束 is to finish, with the implication of "tying up in a bundle”-- hence the 束 which represents sticks in a bundle, according to Wenlin. And in 总结, we get the sense of a final summary, a combination of what has come before.
Posted on: Blow out Your Candles
June 24, 2009 at 2:22 AMHi kimiik,
Thanks for some interesting information ；-） That reminds me of the ridiculous movie, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. Oh, dear.
Posted on: Saved by the Gong: Tai Chi
June 26, 2009 at 2:19 AMHi bobm112
Some of MJ's stage moves looked a bit like Tai Chi.