User Comments - xiaohu

Posted on: Good Morning!

John,

I think we'd be remiss not to mention that the Chinese people never really say, 早安 (zǎo'ān), just 早上好 (zǎoshàng hǎo) or 早 (zǎo), and 早 (zǎo) is by far the most common way to say it.

Posted on: The 是...的 (Shì...de) Pattern

Light487,

It seems to me they did a lesson back in the day about pick up lines, I just wish I could find it...hhmmm...

你是怎么美丽天天的, did you come up with this or was in part of the exercise?  To the best of my knowledge the only time Chinese people refer to anyone as a "天天" （Angel) is when they are very young, like my friends from Chicago call their child “小天天”。

Posted on: Measure Words for Counting People

Cassielin,

One time I asked a Chinese friend how to say "a pile of garbage" and he told me to say 一堆垃圾，is it that same 堆 you mentioned in your earlier post?

So to clarify, to say 一些人 it means there are "some people" but to say 一堆人 means there are "some people" but it implies "alot of people crowding around to do something" right?"

So maybe I could say,

奥运开幕式有一堆观众者

But it would be wrong to say,

奥运开幕式有一些观众者

Because at the Olympic opening ceremony there were tens of thousands of people.  Or is there another measure word used to imply a great, great many people, like the spectators at the Olympic games?

Posted on: Measure Words for Counting People

Svik:

Yes, you are correct, there is no need to answer back 两位人 to the original question 几位, because 人 is already implied from the context.  It's not to say it would be wrong, but just that Chinese people rarely say it.

So when you walk into a Chinese restaurant with your Girlfriend and the Waitress asks you 几位? Just proudly answer 两位 and they'll be very impressed!

Posted on: Insect Market and Having a Baby

Being half Irish myself I have to say that only an Irishman would have the nerve, nay the gal, nay the utter disrespect for common decency to come onto a foreign language forum and out of the blue extol the virtues of cockfighting.

What was the point of that post anyway?

Thank God for my English and Sweedish blood to balance out some of my Irishness.

Of course there are Irish who are great and learned people, like Bono and Ken Carrol for instance, however "Cockfighter" cannot be counted among them.

Anyway...

Newsunflower5785,

Welcome to Chinesepod!  If you have any questions about Chinese I'll be very glad to help you.  Just ask.  You can post a question on the boards here, or send me a note through my profile.  Maybe in the process you can teach me a little Vietamese.  Hao ma?

Huan Ying Ni!

:)

Posted on: Measure Words for Counting People

rclinton,

I'd recommend using the measure word, 位 Wei4 because it's more polite and respectful towards people in high positions, such as Authors, Teachers, Doctors, Police (I'd say Lawyers but...cmon...).

So you should say, 一位作家

You could also use 名 to be more respectful but as the lesson pointed out, 位 is to be used specifically for people you respect.

Of course if you don't respect this guys opinions then...

In the case of 大家 no measure word is necessary.

But there is another word that includes 位 that also expresses the meaning of "everybody" which is used in speeches.

各位 ge4 wei4  

By the way, FANTASTIC to have John moderating this lesson!

Posted on: I Want This

Sourmangoo:

When Zhe and Na are followed by a measure word the pronunciation becomes "Zhei" and "Nei", but more often than not the only people who even say "Zhe" and "Na" aren't native Mandarin speakers.  The Chinese people often times almost exclusively use "Zhei" and "Nei", even when saying "Zhe Shi" or "Na Shi" they will still say, "Zhei Shi" or "Nei Shi".

The best guideline is that if "Zhe" or "Na" are followed by a measure word change the pronunciation to "Zhei" or "Nei"

EG: "Nei ge dong xi shi shei de?"

EG: "Zhei ge dong xi shi wo de."

Posted on: 磁悬浮

Jordan,

Good point, let's discuss the Dave thing privately from now on.

Tvan,

My customary dose of Vinegar?  Can I really be that sour sometimes? 

Posted on: 磁悬浮

Jordan / Shiqiangdan / Fellow Poddies:

Not working to perpetuate this post, but...

If you read back to Dave's first two comments you'll see that they were no where nearly as disrespectful as you might think.  He only became disrespectful later after people added fuel to the fire and provoked him into using the word "Sucking"...which isn't that strong of a word, but I'd agree it IS disrespectful.

In his second post he, HIMSELF admitted to being abrasive with the following passage.

"I'm done ranting now since I've made my point abundantly ( and obviously very abrasively) clear."

I know people took offense to Dave saying that Chinesepod lacks "method" which, in a way I agree with.  Chinesepod's method is that there IS NO method.  At least not in the traditional sense.

Ken and the rest here at Chinesepod make it a point of pride that there is a tremendous amount of freedom in their teaching methods.  They don't make you memorize word lists, they don't require a specific order of lessons, they don't try to keep people from sampling lessons at higher levels than those they've tested on...in fact they PROMOTE trying lessons beyond the students present level.

These are things I like a lot about Chinesepod.

The point I agree with Dave on is that I think Chinesepod needs more organization.  In bringing us this world of complete freedom I think in some way it can be a bit counterproductive in that sometimes it's difficult to find what you need FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL LEVEL.

In another post I've suggested implementing a "control panel" that can allow us to instantly find the teaching material we need at the time. 

For example, I want to know about some language and patterns that can help me sharpen my strengthen a point I'm trying to make.  I'd love to have a way to search that and come up with all possibilities, and links to the lessons that cover those things.

Like the word 才, can be used to give your language a stronger tone.  With my idea we would search for ways to make our language more emphatic and come up with links to, for example the Death By Ninja Episode where "Peter" says, “我才不怕你”。 Of course simply saying "我不怕你" would be okay and gets the point across, but "我才不怕你"，just gives it that little extra punch!  The way it's set up now, I just have to remember for myself..."Oh yeah, that lesson on strengthening the tone of my language was in "Death By Ninja". 

Right now I can only search by generalities, lessons on Chinese Food, or Sports.

I'm normally a very level headed and polite person, but I too have had my Green Hulk rage moments.

A few months back I was ranting and raving like a lunatic about Chinesepod not promoting literacy more. 

EG: I think that on ALL Advanced lessons user AND administrator comments should be entirely in Chinese.  The content of the Advanced lessons is entirely in Chinese, why aren't the message boards???  Why doesn't Ken and Jenny set a much stronger precedent for literacy?  At least on the Advanced boards?

I believe there is room for improvement in EVERYTHING.

Did Bill Gates stop with Windows 3.1?

Did Apple stop with the 1st generation IPOD?

No, they kept improving and will CONTINUE to improve it.

Read back in the comments on this post and you will find many users who came to the defense of Chinesepod, claiming Chinesepod to be "perfect".

I beg to differ...NOTHING is perfect.

Chinesepod is VERY GOOD, actually THE BEST site on the net for learning Chinese (and there are already ALOT of them).

Just because the Chinesepod teaching method is working for people doesn't mean there aren't things to be done that could make it BETTER.  I hope Ken would agree with that.

Just because Dave's words were strong and abrasive doesn't mean that beyond the strongly worded metaphors there wasn't a VALID POINT being made.

Jenny should not have run for the hills when Dave was being confrontational, she should have come back on the boards to deal with it.  When someone says something that upsets you it's a cop-out to just say, "I'm not going to justify that with a response", especially because that's interpreted by the other party as a sign of weakness, and we say Dave then come at Jenny STONGER and more FEIRCELY screaming,

"I'm sorry to break this to you but I really don't care what you think of me personally.  Hate me, make the lessons better and I'll be glad to retire into the 'dark dungeons of the Internet' never to be heard from again."

But what was he saying here?  Distill it down to the point, PLEASE IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE LESSONS.

Now I DO wholeheartedly agree that we all could have done without all the abrasiveness.  Dave could have made the same point in a more calm and rational manor.

But I have a hard time ignoring the fact that he made a few good points.

Actually I share Dave's sentiment about the Advanced lessons, there IS too much rambling on.

WHY?

Because the lessons lack a strong Moderator.

Ken and John Pasden are both great Moderators.  They know when it's okay to ramble on a little bit and when to get back to the point.

In the advanced lessons Jenny is given the daunting task of being both Host AND Moderator and to be honest I don't think she's up to the task. 

But why GIVE HER THAT TASK TO BEGIN WITH? Very few Actors can direct and act in the same movie, and the one's that do say it takes too much out of them.

So Ken, if you're reading this, do you think it might be possible to bring in a third party to lead these Advanced lessons? 

This persons role would be to simply DIRECT the lesson, let Jenny do what she does in the lower levels, be the charming instructor.  Let this new person fill the role of John or Ken.

Let Jenny focus on her role as the Teacher.

I hope fellow Poddies see this post for precisely what it is, offering up constructive criticism only, I'm not in any way bashing Chinesepod nor the people behind it, I think everybody behind this site is doing a terrific job.

Xiao Hu

Posted on: 磁悬浮

Tvan:

Absolutely, Jenny and the rest can always send him private messages, but I was specifically referring to what we see here publicly in response to Dave's criticisms.  We see Jenny concertedly ignore Dave, then Dave continues his comments, and things escalate.  If Jenny had come on the boards to deal with Dave directly the whole situation could have been diffused quickly, and everyone could have gone happily about the task of studying Chinese instead of Clay having to send a warning that "off-topic comments will be deleted", thereby opening up a whole other issue.

Besides, Dave's comments weren't making personal attacks, he said that they, "ramble off topic like two senile geriatrics".  What was he essentially saying?

In the advanced lessons the girls tend to talk too much about things not related to the lesson instead of sticking to the point.  That's all...nothing more.  I think it's a valid criticism, and anyway I think the students should have the right to at least voice their opinion if they don't agree with the instructors methods.