User Comments - podster

Posted on: Interested in Chinese Medicine

I think one of CPod's great strengths is in its apparent chaos (there is no "order" to the lessons) because finding a lesson that is at the intersection of one's ability (approximately) and topic of interest is a very powerful motivator and really helps with retention. I certainly would not want to be made to feel that I should not be studying the 95th most difficult Elementary lesson because so far the most difficult one I had done was only the 306th!

That said, I certainly respect the suggestion of you and others to put some order to the lessons. I think CPod put together a set for Newbies that would get them through some minimum level of proficiency and do so in a logical, progressive order. Maybe it would be nice if CPod selected a batch of Elementary lessons with the idea that if a learner worked progressively through these 40 lessons they would know 60% of what an "Ellie" learner "should" know, at least in term of grammar and functions. I think this is also the idea behind the "guided" service offering with live teachers, where the teacher can assign lessons on an individualized basis. I'm not sure how well indexed or "tagged" the lessons are, but I think this might be a more difficult task than it sounds at first.

Posted on: 志愿者

supplemental vocab has lv for 女 pinyin

Posted on: Shanghai Expo Pavilions

My advice for Expo: wear comfortable shoes.  Also, the China Pavilion is permanent, so maybe if you are planning to visit Shanghai again after the Expo you can skip it.  I'm not sure if you will get the full Expo experience, but if that includes not standing in line for hours it may be worth researching.  I'm not sure about the Chinese provinces part on the ground floor.  My guess is that it won't be there, so go see that, which as mentioned above does not require a reservation.  Thanks, CPod, for the Expo lessons.

Posted on: Shanghai Expo Pavilions

Aren't these phrases substitutes for 当然，not 废话？ Instead of 中国馆当然有中国特色 it would be 难怪中国馆有中国特色。

Also, what is the nuance of 当然？ In American English it can sound a bit condescending or insulting to start a reply with "of course." I'm not surprised that I should be careful with using 废话，but does 当然 have to be used cautiously as well?

I think I have heard 难怪 and 怪不得 in sentences on CPod, but not as exclamations by themselves. Can you give some sample usages?

Posted on: Lovey-Dovey Terminology

Did China not have enough terms of endearment so they had to borrow 哈尼 (honey) and 达令 (darling) ?   Do the Chinese blame the West for public displays of affection and general mushiness, much as the English did the French？  

I read once that some cultures consider the liver to be the center of the body, not the heart.  Fascinating to learn that in China the loved one is both heart and liver! ( 小心肝儿。)

Posted on: Beards Are for Old Men

I often have trouble hearing the difference between Chinese words that end in ~n and those that end in ~ng. It seems that John often makes a point of specifying which it is. Regarding the 脏+ 了case in particular, is there a pattern here? In other words, do many or most speakers drop (or "swallow") the g sound if followed by an l sound? Is it a regional influence?

I listened to that expansion sentence several times, and I can't hear the ~ng either.

Posted on: Going to Church

Are there significant vocaublary differences between Catholics and other Christian denominations in China for religious terms? 

Posted on: Applying for a Loan

Here are a few more random lending and banking terms from my look up efforts.  Corrections welcome.

Non-performing loan  不良贷款 bù​liáng dài​kuǎn

Recovery of non-performing loan不良贷款收回  bù​liáng dài​kuǎn shōu​huí

Auto loan  汽车贷款  qì​chē dài​kuǎn

mortgage 抵押贷款  dǐ​yā​dài​kuǎn

Residential mortgage  住房贷款zhù​fang dài​kuǎn

SME lending (small- and medium-sized enterprise) 中小企业贷款zhōng​xiǎo​qǐ​yè dàikuǎn

Deposits   存款  cún​kuǎn

Capital adequacy ratio   资本充足率  zī​běn chōng​zú lǜ

Unsecured loan 无抵押贷款  wú dǐ​yā​dài​kuǎn （dǐ​yā​dài​kuǎn is a mortgage loan so "wú" means the loan is not backed by backed by collateral）

Funding cost资金成本 zī​jīn chéng​běn

Interest earning assets 生息资产  shēng​xī zī​chǎn

Interest bearing liabilities  付息负债  fù xī fù​zhài

Posted on: Applying for a Loan

Regarding home loans, I was trying to understand the the difference between 住房贷款 (zhù​fang dài​kuǎn )and 抵押贷款 (dǐyā​dài​kuǎn)

It seems that the first is "residential mortgage" or "home loan" and the latter is a more general term for mortgage, which could include commercial mortgages, or even a car loan or any other kind of amortizing loan that is secured by collateral.

I know that  押金 is a security deposit, and I looked up 押 and see the definition includes "mortgage" and "to pawn." Also 抵 has a definition of "to mortgage."

Posted on: Applying for a Loan

Another term for cash flow, looks like a literal translation:  现金流量 xiàn​jīn​liú​liàng

A loan that has missed payments, typically three consecutive months, becomes a "non-performing loan" 不良贷款 bù​liáng dài​kuǎn