User Comments - pearltowerpete

Posted on: 小太监进宫

Hi rhenry

这边的“讨老婆” 是个固定搭配，意思就是“娶（qu3)个老婆”。 也许这个说法来自以前中国人有包办婚姻（arranged marriage）的习惯，当时可能要“讨价还价”才能拿到比较好的陪嫁（dowry.) 不过这是我个人的想法而已。

顺便说一下，女生找个老公不叫“娶” 而叫“嫁”-- 她嫁给谁谁谁。

Posted on: Saying Good-bye at a Tavern in Nanjing -- 金陵酒肆留别

Hi ruifen,

Thanks for your generous comments. I intend to stay groovy ;-)

Hi bababardwan,

I'm very glad that you enjoyed the series. It's gratifying to hear that you got something out of it.

Hi thinkbuddha,

Thanks for all your kind and insightful remarks over the course of the series. They made the discussion boards a livelier place.

Hi ndhamer,

Thank you for the words of support.

May I suggest "Behind the Wall," which is where a lot of us have said good-bye to Nanjing? Anyway have a great time there. It's a charming and historic city.

Posted on: Who are You Looking For?

Hi sushan,

You can say say 你找誰？But it's a little curt.

The more polite thing to say is 你找哪位？ But really, both are OK.

Posted on: Podcast Language 3

Hi mikeinewshot

Thank you for taking the time to post.

Hi all,

Courtesy of Connie, here are the words and phrases from the show.

语境yǔjìng context

看语境kàn yǔjìng to look at the context

上下文shàngxiàwén context

固定搭配gùdìng dāpèi a fixed collocation

固定说法gùdìng shuōfǎ a fixed way of saying something

各位朋友，各位领导，大家好。Gèwèi péngyou, gèwèi lǐngdǎo, dàjiā hǎo. Friends, leaders, hello!

成语chéngyǔ Chinese idiom

人山人海rénshānrénhǎi Lots and lots of people

褒义bāoyì positive connotation

贬义biǎnyì negative connotation

中性zhōngxìng neutral connotation

胖pàng，肥féi fat

结实jiēshi "solid," stocky or husky

丰满fēngmǎn plump, Rubenesque

口语kǒuyǔ oral

书面shūmiàn literary

正式zhèngshì formal

做…zuò …，搞…gǎo … to do

从事…cóngshì … to work in the field of... (formal way of speaking)

术语shùyǔ terminology, jargon

法律术语fǎlǜ shùyǔ legal jargon

词性cíxìng word type

动词dòngcí verb

名词míngcí noun

形容词xíngróngcí adjective

副词fùcí adverb

程度副词chéngdù fùcí adverb of degree

量词liàngcí measure word

比如说bǐrú shuō，比方说bǐfang shuō for example

举一个例子jǔ yī ge lìzi to give an example

OK, that's it for today. You're welcome to visit ChinesePod and leave
a comment. Tell us what you think!

Posted on: Regional Accents Part I

Hi cinese,

The 儿话音 isn't used for every single word. So there will definitely be some words and names that are just pronounced in standard Mandarin.

Posted on: Delegating Tasks

Hi mikeinewshot,

Thanks for your feedback.

I would like to supplement jenny's remarks by adding that 通知 can be used as either the verb "to notify” or the actual notice, memo, circular, etc. The boundary between nouns and verbs can be fluid in Chinese, as we see here. Still, I will revise the vocab list to make this clearer.

会议 is can indeed be translated as "meeting" or "conference." In American offices, the two are interchangeable. But you are right that "conference" can be used for formal, governmental or scientific assemblies where "meeting" cannot.

Many of the key turning points in Chinese history are 会议 (such as the 郑州会议，庐山会议，etc.). In fact, some have said that where the West has 议会政治 （parliamentary government), China has 会议政治 （government by meetings.)

Posted on: Zombies: Deader than Ever

Hi annar,

So glad you enjoyed it. Nice to see that we even have listeners in Castle Grayskull ;-)

Posted on: Delegating Tasks

Hi pinkjeans,

You are right. The last few lines of the translation were out of synch. But they have been fixed. We have also tidied up the 张 in the recording.

Thank you very much for demanding the best, and keeping us on our toes.

Hi raygo,

Good call! We do have one on the stingy boss, but a truly incompetent boss could make for a great lesson.

Posted on: Saying Good-bye at a Tavern in Nanjing -- 金陵酒肆留别

Hi user11695,

Memorizing the poems is definitely a challenge. But it is worth the effort. A poem (like a song) really becomes part of you when you can recite it.

Hi furong,

Now you've given me a hangover! Sorry to ruin your commute. But I'm very glad you enjoyed the show. A future show might not necessarily include Baker Street...but I can't make any promises　;-)

Posted on: Delegating Tasks

The original title of this lesson was "Delegating Tasks to Dumb Employees."  ;-0