User Comments - pearltowerpete

Posted on: Simple Electrical Stuff

Thanks, bababardwan. This is my new desktop background.

Posted on: Funny Business -- 搞笑， 好笑， 可笑

Hi xemrac

You're welcome! Politics and geography are a volatile mix.

Posted on: Drinking Alone Under the Moon 月下独酌

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the answer to the radical riddle:

Most people were correct in identifying 4 alcohol (酉 yǒu) radicals- in 酒, 酌, 醒, 醉

And what about the moon (月 yuè) radicals? Let's go line by line. Nothing in the first line. The second gives us 明月 , the first character being a sun and moon together meaning "bright," the second being "moon."

The third line gives us another moon. This is tricky, because the 月 component in 随 is actually a "flesh" radical, not a moon. Most parts of the body have this radical, ex. 肠 intestines and 肚 belly.

There is one moon in both the fourth and fifth lines, and none in the sixth. I hear poddies screaming "what about the bottom of 散?!" but, again, that is actually a flesh radical.  

The last moon appears in 期, where it brings the implication of "a period of time," as the cycle of the moon is roughly one month. The bottom of 情 is
actually a cinnabar (!) 丹 for reasons I don't really understand.

This gives us a grand total of six moons. Bababardwan, you should've stuck with your first instinct ;-)

Thanks for playing!

Posted on: Drinking Alone Under the Moon 月下独酌

Hi pchenery

Thanks for introducing a lovely piece. This is my favorite Chinese poem. Its length and difficulty make it difficult to do justice in Poems with Pete, but we could give it a shot one day.

I've posted this link before, but here's Wang Fei 王菲 singing this lovely 词 , set to music. Very touching, I think.

Posted on: Simple Electrical Stuff

Hi xuchen

Electric fan is 电风扇.

不用跟我那么客气-- we are here to help you!

Posted on: Funny Business -- 搞笑， 好笑， 可笑

Hi xemrac

大陆 or 内地 are acceptable, but some Chinese people feel that Taiwanese or Hong Kong people have used the words pejoratively, to connote being 土 （earthy or uncultured).

But I discussed it with the ladies in the office and there appears to be no other way to refer to residents of the PRC as a whole. For Taiwanese or Hong Kongers to say 中国人 emphasizes the separation between China and its “renegade provinces.” But in my experience, that is how they refer to the people on the Chinese mainland.

Posted on: Simple Electrical Stuff

Hi xuchen

太夸张了吧！ That's crazy! For all the stories I've heard of exploding sockets and so on, I've been lucky enough never to experience it first hand.

Posted on: You First

Hi bababardwan

先是副词，要放在动词前面： 你先听 你先说  你先听还是先说？

先 is an adverb, and should be put before the verb. Ex: You listen first , you speak first . Would you like to listen first or speak first.

Thanks to jiaojie for providing the examples.

Posted on: You First

Hi alexyu_yxj

广东话 guāngdōnghuà is "Cantonese."

潮汕话 cháoshànhuà is “Teochew,” although I don't think that many English-speakers know what that is!

Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 7: A Firing Afoot?

Hi tontoeman

So glad to see your comments, because we aim to please. We'll look forward to your questions, comments, or lesson suggestions in the forums.