User Comments - jshang
jshang
Posted on: Picking Up a Friend at the Airport
November 7, 2009 at 2:43 PMAs correctly pointed out by lyandra01 that
I've gotta say that I heard "xin ku ni le" quite often down in southern Taiwan.
This phrase is also quite commonly used in Cantonese , and in Hong Kong.
Changye, I'm afraid you gave too much credit to the 伪满洲国.
Posted on: Chinese Idol 2
October 24, 2009 at 8:18 PMjianxuexi says
Is this how I would say, "I get a lot of support from my family"？
我的家人给我很多支持。
-----------------
Jian,
Actually 'support' is used more as a verb, e.g.
我的家人很（or 非常）支持我！
谢谢你那么支持我！
If used as a noun, it's more like:
谢谢大家对我的支持。
谢谢大家给我的鼓励。
What you have, '我的家人给我很多支持。' is 'westernized' Chinese :-) .
Posted on: Tea Tasting
May 27, 2009 at 4:13 AMTwo distinct flavors, both excellent:
台灣的高山茶 & 雲南的普洱茶
菊花茶 is a summer must-have, it has the function of 去火.
虫子！Really? I have never seen them in my tea. Interesting..... I guess it shows that it is organically grown??!
Posted on: Blow out Your Candles
May 23, 2009 at 4:06 AMDid anyone have the great opportunity to play a Board game named, Balderdash. It is all about 吹牛。 Loads of fun!!
要面不改色才是高手。
Posted on: Will you Marry Me?
March 16, 2009 at 7:34 AMjennyw10,
唐 元稹 悼亡妻韋氏而作
See http://tw.knowledge.yahoo.com/question/question?qid=1406010104100
Posted on: Reporting a Loss
March 16, 2009 at 6:55 AMPete, Changye, kdombros,
The word 民族 can be traced back to 《南齐书》 which was written in the 6th century. You can find the reference in
列传之三十五《高逸传·顾欢传》，“今诸华士女，民族弗革”.
http://guoxue.xuas.com/GuoXue/View.asp?id=2468
The Japanese word minzu is a transliteration from the Chinese word.
In Dr. Sun Yat Sen's 三民主義 Three Principles of the People , it is clear that 民族 refers to the mulit-ethnic groups that make up of the Chinese people.
Put politics aside, Tibetans and Taiwanese undeniably are all within 中华民族.
In Taiwan, there are
70% FuJian/MinNan (both Han ethnic)
13% Hakka (another Han ethnic)
2% aborigine
the remaining: immigrants
Using the word 大组 is very creative, but no. 大组 is a 'big team', inappropriate to represent an ethnic group. And 大族 can only be regarded as a big clan or a big family within a community.
Posted on: Reporting a Loss
March 16, 2009 at 6:12 AM
裏 and 裡 are infact not only interchangeable, but the same character!
See if you can find the 里 in 裏 ? It is in the middle! Very good, now try to visually move it to the right. What you left is the top and bottom, if you squeeze out the space between the top and bottom, it is the 衣 = the left side of 裡.
"我的妈呀!" should indeed be translated to mamma mia! It carries no profanity at all, and is a pretty common thing to say, especially in the 60's, 70's. Quite a lot of people still say this today in Taiwan!
"我的天啊！" seems like a classic, in comparison, which may be even more common.
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 8: Trimming the Fat at the Office
February 16, 2009 at 6:51 PMsongyian ,
炒鱿鱼 originates from Cantonese.
In the old days, some employers provided room and board for employees. The employees typically had very minimal 'bedding' which involved a rolled-up blanket. So when an employee is fired, one simply rolls up one's own blanket and leave. The original phrase is 执包袱 in Cantonese, 卷铺盖 (juǎn pù gài) in Mandarin.
There is a Cantonese dish named 炒鱿鱼. When the 鱿鱼 （squid) is 炒'd, it curls up just like the rolled-up blanket. The named dish has since become the euphemism of 'firing someone'.
Posted on: Having One's Nails Done
December 30, 2009 at 11:43 PMDear Johan,
美甲 měijiǎ means to beautify one's nails, i.e. 美化指甲； while
美发 is to beautify one's hair, i.e. 美化头发。
Hope you'll find it more logical now.
Dear Kevg,
Consider 甲 as some sort of armor/armour used to protect your fingers and toes.
Given that
fingers are 手指， and
toes are 脚趾。
Therefore,
手指甲 is the armor (finger nail) that protects your finger; and 脚趾甲is the toe nail that protects your toes.
Hope it helps clear up the confusion.