User Comments - washingtondcmandarincooperative
washingtondcmandarincooperative
Posted on: Rude Waitress Part 1/2
February 14, 2018 at 5:46 PMYou can use " 试看 " ( shìkàn ) to refer to trying out a movie, TV show, etc.
Posted on: Always Eating Out
February 14, 2018 at 5:36 AM博客 = blog (bókè ) 播客 = podcast (bōkè)
Posted on: Messing Up The Date
February 9, 2018 at 12:54 PMI guess your question is what is the origin of this expression. I do not know. But the meaning is to fail to keep an appointment, or in English to "stand someone up". I believe it is typically used in the context of a romantic date. You could shorten it to 你昨天放鸽子 but I feel like adding 我 emphasizes that I am the victim or your action.
On a side note 鸽子 can be translated as either pigeon or dove. Maybe you can imagine that someone was raising pigeons and the birds were something dear to them. The person entrusted them to a friend's care and the friend set the pigeons loose. This my understanding of the word 放 in this context: "you set my pigeons loose" when you have placed your hope in someone's word and they "scatter it to the wind" so to speak.
Posted on: Working Overtime Until 9PM!
January 21, 2018 at 11:33 AMRe: "I no longer have the option to download the lesson pdf for newer lessons. How can I do this? "
You can do this by selecting "Downloads" at the left side of the lesson page. Do you not see this link? If not you may need tech support.
I tried downloading this lesson's pdf and it worked, albeit a bit slowly. Is your subscription up to date? Also, were you including this lesson when you wrote "newer lessons." (This one is from July 11, 2017). If you still can't get it to work, try clicking "Contact" at the bottom of this web page and selecting "technical issues" from the drop down menu. I think asking for customer service in the lesson comments section is unlikely to get a response currently. Good luck!
Posted on: Asking Too Many Questions
January 21, 2018 at 11:16 AMIn the phrase 忙得快疯了! the word 快 means soon. A literal translation of 快疯了 is "I will soon go mad" but in this case it means "I am on the verge of going mad." The grammatical pattern with the 得 here is that it means "so much so that" as in "I am busy; so much so that I'm about to go crazy." Of course the speaker does not mean this literally so that's why the translation includes the word "practically."
It’s been extremely busy, so busy I’ve practically been driven crazy!
Posted on: What an Ugly Teacup! Did you Make it?
January 3, 2018 at 1:20 AMIf you are referring to error correction, have you tried submitting your observation using the "report a mistake" link at the left side of the page? That way the comments section doesn't get cluttered with comments about errata after the errors have been corrected.
Posted on: You Can't Bring That on the Plane!
December 8, 2017 at 12:57 AMIt is indeed a mistake. The correct pinyin for 身上 is shēnshang, not shēngshang. You can report this mistake by clicking on the "Report a Mistake" link on the left hand side your screen within the lesson page.
The phrase has many uses, all broadly related. Some are literal, many are figurative. If you are using Pleco you can look up the word and then press the sentences("SENTS") button to see sample sentences. (At least my version of Pleco has that. I have purchased and acquired so many add-ons to Pleco that I am not sure everyone will have the same experience.)
Posted on: Q&A 2: Questions from The Forum
December 5, 2017 at 12:38 PMAh, so the symbolism of the pistol explains why she qualified the act as "male" . . . so now all I need to know is how say "fire a handgun" in a way that won't be a double entendre (or outright vulgar.) 打短枪？ I'd be afraid that might cause hilarity to ensue as well. 囧
Posted on: Q&A 2: Questions from The Forum
December 5, 2017 at 4:08 AMFiona,
Why in the world did you not give us the Chinese for your most embarrassing faux pas? I am virtually certain that it would be unforgettable! Please let us learn from your mistake before we make it ourselves ;-) (What did you say and what is it that you should have said?). I once tried to say in Spanish, jokingly, that someone had "robbed the cradle" because his wife was younger than him. I inadvertently said that he had raped his wife. To my dying day I don't think I will repeat that mistake.
Posted on: What's in Your Handbag?
February 16, 2018 at 3:30 AMI can't find a translation of 水壶 as water bottle in any dictionary. Maybe it's a Taiwan usage. I'm not sure where you are seeing it translated as as "canteen" on the web site; under the vocabulary tab it is showing "water bottle." Under the dialog tab, however, it is translated as "kettle." Seem a bit peculiar that the speaker is saying she has a kettle in her handbag.
. I only know 水瓶 to mean water bottle, which Fiona also suggested as an alternative.
You can always use the "report a mistake" link at the left if you want something to be corrected. In this case however it might be interesting to see if some other user in Taiwan can comment here about word usage.