User Comments - pearltowerpete
pearltowerpete
Posted on: Broken, Busted, and Smashed
March 30, 2009 at 1:22 AMHi alexyzye
Qing Wen lessons are designed to focus on fairly narrow distinctions. This one was supposed to illustrate the correct usage of the various ways to say "broken," and intentionally did not touch on its usage as a verb. We also did not discuss its usage as an adjective meaning "shoddy/crappy" -- 破车, 破破烂烂, etc.
You're right about the additional ways of using 破. But they were beyond the scope of this lesson.
Posted on: Can You Use Chopsticks?
March 29, 2009 at 8:16 AMHi architpol
厉害 is a very context-dependent term. It can really mean all of the things I have shown it meaning. It can also mean "to a very high (negative) degree)"-- 他醉得很厉害, for example.
I remember one time early in my time in China after running, I went to the store to pick up some milk. As I got in line, a guy behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said "厉害！” My guard went up-- I thought he was calling me fierce (maybe I had been too agressive getting in line?). But when I turned around, he was giving me the thumbs-up and pointing to my soaked shirt. He was impressed that anyone would go running in 25 degree Shanghai, when most Chinese would not do such a ridiculous thing.
Posted on: Broken, Busted, and Smashed
March 29, 2009 at 5:12 AMHi all:
Here are today's sentences, courtesy of Connie. And thanks, bababardwan, for your earlier posting.
空调坏了。Kōngtiáo huài le.
手机坏了。Shǒujī huài le.
山寨手机shānzhài shǒujī
电脑坏了。Diànnǎo huài le.
家具jiāju
沙发坏了。Shāfā huài le.
椅子总是坏。Yǐzi zǒngshì huài.
Pete的椅子好像也坏了。Pete de yǐzi hǎoxiàng yě huài le.
吃的东西也可以用坏了。Chī de dōngxi yě kěyǐ yòng huài le.
牛奶坏了，就变成了酸奶。Niúnǎi huài le, jiù biànchéng le suānnǎi.
鸡蛋坏了，很臭。Jīdàn huài le, hěn chòu.
你吃过坏了的鸡蛋吗？Nǐ chī guo huài le de jīdàn ma?
啤酒坏了。Píjiǔ huài le.
脑子坏了。Nǎozi huài le.
破了一般是东西有一个洞，或者有一条缝。Pò le yībān shì dōngxi yǒu yī ge dòng, huòzhě yǒu yī tiáo fèng.
开裆裤kāidāngkù
他们的裤子破了吗？Tāmen de kùzi pò le ma?
因为是故意的。Yīnwèi shì gùyì de.
牛仔裤破了。那个很时髦，可以不叫破了，可以说，剪了一个洞。
Niúzǎikù pò le. Nàge hěn shímáo，kěyǐ bù jiào pò le, kěyǐ shuō, jiǎn le yī ge dòng.
但是有的时候我看见有的人裤子真的破了。他自己还不知道。
Dànshì yǒude shíhou wǒ kànjian yǒude rén kùzi zhēn de pò le. Tā zìjǐ hái bù zhīdào.
书包破了。砂锅破了。手破了。皮肤破了。头破了。
Shūbāo pò le. Shāguō pò le. Shǒu pò le. Pífū pò le. Tóu pò le.
玻璃碎了。花瓶碎了。镜片碎了。
Bōli suì le. Huāpíng suì le. Jìngpiàn suì le.
我的眼镜坏了。Wǒ de yǎnjìng huài le.
有一个很重要。我的心碎了。Yǒu yī ge hěn zhòngyào. Wǒ de xīnsuì le.
如果不听我的话，把你的骨头打断。Rúguǒ bù tīng wǒ dehuà, bǎ nǐ de gǔtou dǎduàn.
把你的脖子给拧断了。Bǎ nǐ de bózi gěi nǐng duàn le. 断头台Duàntóutái
一根一根的木头、线、橡皮筋、网络、网断了、断网
yī gēn yī gēn de mùtou, xiàn, xiàngpíjīn, wǎngluò, wǎng duàn le, duàn wǎng
Pete, 别把我的思路打断。如果你把我的思路打断，我就把你的骨头打断。
Pete, bié bǎ wǒ de sīlù dǎduàn. Rúguǒ nǐ bǎ wǒ de sīlù dǎduàn, wǒ jiù bǎ nǐ de gǔtou dǎduàn.
梦碎了。Mèng suì le.
Posted on: 李敖吴宗宪对决
March 27, 2009 at 4:16 AMHi changye and miantiao
There's one thing I‘ve learned in my wild and woolly tenure at ChinesePod:
Don't argue with a fool. They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
Of course, I sometimes can't resist the urge myself.
Posted on: Pregnancy Series 4: Fetal Attraction
March 27, 2009 at 2:41 AMHi zhenlijiang
You're right, the "胎教-unsavvy" woman is ever-so-subtly poking fun at the other lady's excessive pampering of the fetus. That's especially true in the line 你的宝宝真有文化！
Posted on: Gone Fishing
March 27, 2009 at 2:33 AMHi dunderklumpen
Jiaojie and I discussed your question about 放到 and 放在.
Both are （verb + preposition） structures
放在水里 and 放到水里 are both OK.
But there are some verbs that do not allow you to switch between the two. These include “拿”和“送”， 只能用“到” ：
你把东西拿到这儿来。Bring the thing over here.
他把我送到了机场。 He saw me off to the airport.
Posted on: Can You Use Chopsticks?
March 27, 2009 at 2:00 AMMy best buddy in Nanjing is the son of a diplomat who often had to travel. When his son was three, he was posted to Argentina for many months.
Before he left, he made his son use chopsticks to pick up a peanut one hundred times. When his boy had done this, the father felt he could leave.
Posted on: Can You Use Chopsticks?
March 27, 2009 at 1:53 AMHi ilovepopup88
Thanks for a good question.
你会用筷子吗 literally means "Can you use chopsticks?"
你会拿筷子吗 means "Can you pick up chopsticks?"
Someone might be able to pick them up without being able to use them. That's the difference.
Posted on: Grass 草
March 27, 2009 at 1:22 AMHi Will,
Thanks as always for your kind remarks. I am looking forward to the day when all poddies can enjoy traditional characters in a more convenient format.
And thanks, cantremember, for the comparative literature analysis!
Posted on: 普通人的慈善
March 30, 2009 at 1:25 AMHi kuaihaizi
笔 is a measure word for sums of money.
So in this case, a good translation of 只有排场大，有明星、名人，大笔捐款的才叫慈善 would be something like "Only big occasions with stars and huge donations get called charity."
And 包装， in addition to referring to packaging of tangible goods, can definitely refer to a person. Many singers, for example, are considered to have been "packaged" to appeal to a mass audience.