User Comments - zhenlijiang
zhenlijiang
Posted on: Stopping at a Friend's Farm -- 过故人庄
March 4, 2009 at 12:13 AMthe word 故人 for us Japanese (today at least) only has unhappy connotations, meaning "the late~" or "deceased person" (the dictionary definition also has "old friend" but it's rarely seen in that sense). so it is a nice surprise for me to find that i can get the warm feeling from these two characters. i have friends going back to first grade and even kindergarten and when we get together, it's good enough just to see all the faces. 故人 are treasures that i realize not everybody has and i'm grateful for mine.
Posted on: Saved by the Gong: Cutting Open a Frog
March 3, 2009 at 11:08 PMinteresting, and i think useful, lesson!
it does seem though that you'd refer to a frog's waist about as often as you'd refer to its hair ...
waist is 腰部 is it not? and you think of waist as the most slender part of the torso, as opposed to 腹部 which i think of as the fullest (but maybe that is thinking in Japanese).
Posted on: Newserino
March 3, 2009 at 1:44 PMoh bababardwan beat me to it!
dunderklumpen, with Title, ID and Tags checked, "catch" got me the result, but not "laibuji".
under the same conditions "miss" yielded 3 lessons but not the one you wanted.
Posted on: Stopping at a Friend's Farm -- 过故人庄
March 3, 2009 at 7:54 AMpete,
then i guess we all have Mrs. Sadlon (who may find this yet, who knows what googling turns up) to thank! to have a student remember you as someone who made a difference in their life--你真的会感到当教师的幸运吧.
somehow i find it hard to believe that you have not ever written a poem in Chinese, but when you do and it's something you feel you could share, i hope you do it here.
(brought my 茶杯 and 圆凳 over here from the Salon de 陇西行)
Posted on: Dreams of the Departed 陇西行
March 3, 2009 at 6:19 AMbababardwan, 这几天我忙死了，没有时间响应你的号召联合作诗。*is that a good sentence? 觉得很遗憾。下次一定参加。 although it was maybe just as well, i guess i don't have that many thoughts on netting a 美女 ...
pete, have you written any yourself? care to share w/us?
Posted on: Chinese Green Eggs and Ham
March 2, 2009 at 3:35 PMrich, thanks for the reminder w/out which i would never have found this lesson. i love the Dr. Seuss books (got at carrefour), esp this one.
Posted on: Expired!
February 28, 2009 at 2:24 AMchocolate-coated strawberries at See's--the best thing i had to eat in Rancho Mirage, CA (was only visiting)
还是最喜欢日本的巧克力，很合我们的口味。
hai2shi
but i do like Japanese chocolate the best, it's that taste we like. they make it with just enough salt or something. it's what you're raised on i guess （＾ｕ＾）
Posted on: Personal Ad
February 26, 2009 at 10:30 AMhi 光明， a movie that has 梁朝伟 in it would have to be really really really bad for it to be tiresome (well 赤壁 was, but that's what i mean).
and now i am repeating myself as well as sounding like a 老姑娘, but after all i still fail to understand why these young people think they can't find boyfriends/girlfriends out there in the real world--especially the girls, if it's such a great market for them. they should be having more fun!
Posted on: Personal Ad
February 25, 2009 at 1:27 PMchangye, yes times have changed--30 was "critical" in Japan maybe as recently as 15 years ago but today, no way.
in the context of classified ads, 非诚勿扰 would be "*** need not apply". for this to work you would put in place of *** a noun like 'window-shoppers' 'gawkers', something that means people who aren't serious about finding a marriage partner. but i can't think of a good word.
Posted on: Saved by the Gong: Cutting Open a Frog
March 4, 2009 at 12:16 AMeeeew bababardwan, i was just about to have my breakfast!!
PS on second thought i do also feel for the poor frog.