User Comments - plasmaftw

Posted on: Wang Guan's Busy Day

In the last few months I've encountered FOUR different ways to express that you can't get online. Up until about a week ago, I'd only heard these two:

上不去网络 and 连不通网络

Then a week or so ago my Chinese friends explained that the only correct way to say you can't get online is 连不上网络, and they added that both of the previous two are incorrect.

Now I'm studying this lesson and encounter 上不了网络. My hunch is that my friends just prefer saying 连不上网络 and that all four are actually acceptable. I'd really appreciate some insight!

Posted on: Networking Event

I've read countless times in CPod comments that even the lessons you may find the most irrelevant to you can end up being the most beneficial as far as grammar and reinforcement of vocab are concerned. This lesson is exactly that for me. I don't forsee myself ever being in a situation/context like the one described in the lesson, but it was certainly well worth a few listens. Good stuff!

Posted on: Manly Beards or Pretty Boys?

"Well, there's a national stereotype generalisation for you!"

Yeah, at points like this I begin to feel the pull to hop into the stereotyping boat and generalize right along with the others. Then I remind myself that I can honestly say that I've met quite a few Chinese who aren't out pigeonhole me into their 固定的成见。

Posted on: Manly Beards or Pretty Boys?

Haha, I can't remember how many times I've been told about America by a Chinese. When I ask how they "know" so much (as it must be because they've been there), they say they read it somewhere. I've met Americans in the States who would make generalizations about China - based on what they've read - to other Americans, but I've never met one with the guts say the same thing to a Chinese immigrant. Yet somehow there are many Chinese who have taken it upon themselves to tell me to stop eating hamburgers everyday (I certainly don't) because they aren't healthy.

Posted on: Manly Beards or Pretty Boys?

Ha, I unfortunately only heard a few words here and there because I was wearing earphones listening to exercises. The words I remember hearing were “那个外国人”，“胡子”， and then a sentence beginning with “好像在国外...”. If previous experience carries over to yesterday's, that last sentence most likely ended with some generalization about foreign beard culture

Posted on: Manly Beards or Pretty Boys?

太巧了！ I'm sitting in a coffee shop reviewing this very lesson and overhear three girls a few tables away talking about my beard.

Posted on: Manly Beards or Pretty Boys?

Great topic! I find it particularly relevant since my Chinese friends frequently ask me why I don't shave my beard. It's not as long as in my avatar anymore, but back when it was, the pestering was non-stop!

Does the term 小混混 only apply to men with goatees or can it also refer to those of us with a full beard?

Also, would it be considered 臭美 of me to respond to my persistent friends by saying: “我觉得胡子让我看起来比较有魅力”?

Posted on: Hair Salon Card

谢谢！

Posted on: Hair Salon Card

In both the dialogue and the expansion sentences, 划算 is only used in reference to purchases. Can it also be used for experiences?

Example: 坐这个过山车很划算。

If not, how can I use Chinese to say an experience is "worth it" (not just worth the money, but also worth the time, the effort, and maybe even the facing of fears)?

Posted on: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Interesting lesson! I've been wanting to talk with friends about this very topic, so now I'll have a good vocabulary boost (and background information) to go on. I especially like the modern usage of 军师. I'm looking forward to using it in conversation very soon. Thanks CPod!