User Comments - pearltowerpete

pearltowerpete

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Dongbei

June 18, 2009 at 6:30 AM

Hi xuchen,

大哥 can definitely have some mafia implications. Just ask 成龙大哥, one of the biggest gangsters in Hong Kong.

But it's generally used in a joking, light-hearted way.

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Dongbei

June 18, 2009 at 6:06 AM

Hi paulinurus,

大哥 is not particularly respectful. It's used jokingly among friends or "buddies." It's no substitute for formal terms like 先生 or even 叔叔.

As for 大骨棒, I stand corrected. Shenyajin informs me that pork is more common than lamb in the Northeast, and so we have changed the PDF accordingly. In some other regions, you will see lamb.

Hi misterjess,

I would add to jenny's comment by saying that many famous "cross-talk" 相声 performers are from the Northeast. It's a bit like like the influence of Borscht-Belt accents on comedy in the US (in the old days ;-)

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Dongbei

June 18, 2009 at 2:04 AM

Many Chinese refer to 白酒 as "white wine，” but it is actually a strong, distilled beverage made from grains such as sorghum. Its alcohol content varies from about 40% to the mid sixties. I don't care for the taste on its own, but you can add a few shots to the water when you boil peas or other veggies.

A bit more about Dongbei-- it is indeed China's rustbelt. The area was heavily industrialized in the 1950s and 60s. Now it is struggling to make its way as the big state owned steel companies are closing down. There was a good piece about it in the National Geographic a few years ago.

The Northeast has traditionally been a big soy producer, but it's having a hard time competing against heavily subsidized soy from the US and Brazil, among others.

Posted on: 沙漠寻踪三

June 17, 2009 at 7:12 AM

Hi Changye,

I agree that the Japanese 麒麟 looks a little cooler than its Mainland counterpart. But I happen to love the statue in the picture, which is on the 神道 at the Ming Tombs in Nanjing, along with a lot of other wonderful animals.

The characters 麒麟 look very intimidating at first, but they are easy if you break them down. The left side 鹿 a deer, provides a clue about the meaning. The phonetics on the right are 其 which most people can write, and 粦 which appears in many traditional characters, such as 可憐 pitiable and 鄰居 neighbor.

Posted on: Lili and Zhang Liang 4: Lovers' Spat

June 17, 2009 at 3:12 AM

Hi ziggy77

Good question. The 什么也 construction works like 什么都. Both mean "nothing at all." You can also insert a noun between 什么 and 都 or 也, for instance 什么衣服都不買- to buy no clothing at all.

Posted on: Gone Fishing

June 17, 2009 at 2:54 AM

Hi bespoketrout69

Please allow me to re-post Changye's helpful comments from earlier in the discussion:

Looks like there are several translations for fly fishing, such as 飞钓，飞蝇钓，毛钩钓，蝇钓, etc. Maybe the most commonly used one is 飞钓. As you know, the English word "fly" mainly has two meanings, 飞 and 苍蝇.

P/S. Anyway, 飞蝇钓/蝇钓 are not appropriate translations for "fly fishing". The "fly" indicates "flying lure", but not "蝇". This kind of misinterpretation is sometimes seen in Chinese, like 企业号 for Starship Enterprise. If this translation was right, you would have to call Mr. Kirk/Picard "老板" instead of "Captain". The right translation is "进取号".

My own initial reply to this question was in Chinese. Connie and Jiaojie pointed out that fly-fishing is not at all well understood or widely practiced in China. Most Chinese just use bait like worms.

Posted on: Toilet Types

June 17, 2009 at 2:47 AM

Hi cinese,

I'm sorry to say that the exercises are a work in progress. They do not handle neutral tones very well. We are working on repairing this. Better, more useful exercises are coming soon.

Regarding the Italian/Chinese similarities, I have often thought that it would be wonderful to translate Han-era classics into Latin. Two great civilizations at the same time, with some very interesting parallels. But that will have to wait until I am old, rich, and idle.