User Comments - waiguoren

Posted on: 中国人在国外买房子

I haven't lessoned to the lesson yet, as it is a bit beyond my level, but did come across this interesting article in a Melbourne newpaper, about the influx of Chinese into a particular suburb.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/most-liveable-chinese-think-so-20120804-23mno.html

Posted on: Your Mandarin Is Really Good!

I remember a lesson on 过奖了 (guòjiǎngle) being used for deflecting praise - you flatter me. But for some reason, I can never seem to pronounce it correctly, and am never understood when I attempt to say it...which just goes to show that they really are 过奖 ing (flattering) me.

Posted on: Preparing for the HSK

“If you have questions about the HSK 来问我们吧” － come ask us.

Posted on: Please Speak Mandarin!

I found a shirt that can "inform Chinese people around you that you don't want to engage them in whatever crazy dialect they speak", available at:

http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2006/10/31/the-please-speak-mandarin-t-shirt

Trouble is, I often become embarrassed when wearing it, especially in the Western hemisphere.

Posted on: Focus and Specialization

This isn't directed to anyone in particular, just my two cents:

There's no doubt that actually transcribing a lesson itself helps immensely (with listening, character recognition, writing, etc.) much more than simply reading over a transcript already provided for you - as John says 'the struggle itself is learning'. But the benefit is of course is for the person who actually does the transcribing. I too pick up a lot of material outside the lesson dialogue and the key vocabulary contained in the PDF. Recently, I've been thing of ways to 'improve' the end product of out transcriptions - perhaps one way would be to include our own list of vocabulary items that we found useful while doing the transcription? On a side note, given my relatively low level of Chinese, I sometimes find myself transcribing a lesson I don't fully understand, despite being able to type the (mostly accurate) characters, so there is a difference between being able to type the correct characters and actually understanding them (of course).

Posted on: National Stereotypes

The authoritative source on all things Chinese, 'Lonely Planet' rather diplomatically states that: 'You will often hear calls or muttered whispers of lǎowài when walking down the street. An excruciating 'Heloooooo', with ensuring hoots of laughter, often follows. Lǎowài means 'foreigner' and is used by one Chinese person to indicate to others the presence of someone non-Chinese. Lǎowài is used in conversation by all Chinese. Some travellers find it annoying that to hear the word uttered by onlookers wherever they go. It is hardly ever said with anything but surprise and curiosity, however. Despite decade of foreign TV and films, and ever increasing droves of Western travellers, the Chinese still find novelty in the sudden appearance of foreigners. Calls of lǎowài are far more common in smaller towns than in the big cities. More neutral terms for foreigners are wàiguǒrěn (foreigner) and wàibīn (foreign guest)

Posted on: I'm gonna be Late

I really didn't mean to cause such a kerfuffle with the comment 'I think Dilu has a favourite English word', as I think it's a non-issue no matter how you interpret it - either being drunk (my original understanding of the term before I first went overseas) or angry. Although I did, for some reason find it 'amusing' after hearing her say it in another Podcast as well (and maybe because I'm just a little immature).

User16460 posted a link to Chinese profanity from the Wiki site, and I believe a Podcast on something a little more 'naughtier' than '250' would be great idea for a Podcast (my personal opinion). But given that the (very, very) mild term 'pissed' seems to have upset a few people, that's probably very unlikely now...

As for 'gonna', well I think that is okay, as I've noticed the Chinese (sweeping generalisation) have a habit of typing 'gonna', 'wanna', etc. (etc=can't really think of any other examples right now).

Posted on: I'm gonna be Late

I think Dilu has a favourite English word...

Posted on: Ice Cream Run

My favourite Ice-cream in China was 糯米（色？）。It was a little bun with an ice-cream filling, and they tasted great if the ice-cream was just a little bit melted. And the best part of it was that they only cost 五毛 （wǔmáo) each!

Posted on: The 着 (zhe) Chronicles: How We Verb

To be honest, I'm not sure. You're probably right...I should have replaced the word 'obviously' with 'does this' mean...