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Lesson Introduction
Babe Ruth barnstormed in Shanghai, and MLB says baseball was the "unofficial sport" of the People's Liberation Army in the 1940's. But 60 years later, only five Mandarin swinging ball players have made it to the big leagues, all coming from the talent pools of Taiwan. Opening day is 'round the corner, so listen to this podcast and take a swing at this lesson on "fat-big-chunky-piece-of-stick ball".
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texastochina says
I just came back from a business trip in Shanghai and sports were a hot topic. I enjoyed this lesson and hope to see one on basketball as well. Thanks again!March 23, 2008
codexus says
Nice lesson! I thought "在台北学的" was an interesting sentence as this is new grammar for me.March 23, 2008
clay says
Baseball is trying to hard to make a name for itself on the mainland. It already has a strong presence in Taiwan, but MLB wants that huge market that the NBA is making huge momentum in. The Padres played the Dodgers in Beijing just recently. Some friends of mine went, and said it was really fun, but they ran out of hotdogs in the 3rd innings!March 23, 2008
john says
One of the first things Clay said when he joined up with ChinesePod was "we NEED a lesson on baseball." As you can see, he made it happen...March 23, 2008
user37936 says
Texastlchina, There have been lessons, at least one Olympic lesson, and a media. And if you listen closely to today's lesson, it sounds like a basketball game is going on in the background......so, maybe they are hinting at a future lesson too.March 23, 2008
clay says
FYI, for you softballers out there: 垒球 （lěiqiú） softball [literally base & ball] Many will confuse the two. "Base" ball means softball and "stick" ball means baseball. Go figure...March 23, 2008
texastochina says
user37936, I hope we can talk them into it. Yao Ming is from my home town, Houston. People I meet in China may not have heard of Houston but they all know Yao! I also tried xiao long biao this trip. Who could listen to these lessons and pass up on a chance to try it (and order it in front of your hosts) after that great lesson.Thanks again Clay, John, Jenny and Ken. You guys keep it interesting and fun.March 23, 2008
john says
Clay, Now the obvious question is: how do you say stickball?? Please tell me it's not 软球 (ruǎn qiú - literally, "soft ball")...March 23, 2008
clay says
Ok, well get yall a basketball lesson, it may be down the road though. We do have an advanced one on the NBA here, but I agree that we could use one on actually playing in say, a pick up game. Its a great way to socialized with the locals actually. Texastochina, Funny thing about our Houston Rockets, many people (at least in Shanghai) know who Hakeem Olajuwon is 哈基姆.奥拉朱旺 (hājīmǔ àolāzhūwàng). I almost fell over when I had a conversation with a taxi driver about him being the "Yao Ming" of the rockets before Yao was there. it was hilarious.March 23, 2008
magnus1977 says
This is from the NCIKU.com Chinese dictionary. They are awesome and they put all these names for BASEBALL teams from America. Find your favorite!! My favorite is: 波士顿红袜队 - Bōshìdùn hóngwàduì BOSTON RED SOX!!!! here is a list of the MLB team names in Chinese: 亚利桑那响尾蛇队 - Yàlìsāngnà xiǎngwěishéduì 亚特兰大勇士队 - Yàtèlándà yǒngshìduì 巴尔的摩金莺队 - Bā’ěrdìmó jīnyīngduì 芝加哥小熊队 - Zhījiāgē xiǎoxióngduì 芝加哥白袜队 - Zhījiāgē báiwàduì 辛辛那提红人队 - Xīnxīnnàtí hóngrénduì 克里夫兰印第安人队 - Kèlǐfūlán yìndì’ānrénduì 科罗拉多洛矶队 - Kēluólāduō luòjīduì 底特律老虎队 - Dǐtèlǜ lǎohǔduì 佛罗里达马林鱼队 - Fóluólǐdá mǎlínyúduì 休斯顿太空人队 - Xiūsīdùn tàikōngrénduì 堪萨斯皇家队 - Kānsàsī huángjiāduì 洛杉矶天使队 - Luòshānjī tiānshǐduì 洛杉矶道奇队 - Luòshānjī dàoqíduì 密尔瓦基酿酒人队 - Mì’ěrwǎjī niàngjiǔrénduì 明尼苏达双城队 - Míngnísūdá shuāngchéngduì 纽约大都会队 - Niǔyuē dàdūhuìduì 纽约洋基队 - Niǔyuē yángjīduì 奥克兰运动家队 - Àokèlán yùndòngjiāduì 费城费城人队 - Fèichéng fèichéngrénduì 匹兹堡海盗队 - Pǐzībǎo hǎidàoduì 圣路易斯红雀队 - Shènglùyìsī hóngquèduì 西雅图水手队 - Xīyǎtú shuǐshǒuduì 圣地亚哥教士队 - Shèngdìyàgē jiàoshìduì 旧金山巨人队 - Jiùjīnshān jùrénduì 坦帕湾魔鬼鱼队 - Tǎnpàwān móguǐyúduì 德州游骑兵队 - Dézhōu yóuqíbīngduì 多伦多蓝鸟队 - Duōlúnduō lánniǎoduì 华盛顿国民队 - Huáshèngdùn guómínduìMarch 23, 2008
changye says
I do not have any good memories of playing baseball when I was at school, because our team sometimes lost games due to my stupid errors. ball 球 (qiu2) bat 球棒 (qiu2 bang4) glove 棒球手套 (bang4 qiu2 shou3 tao4) strike 好球 (hao3 qiu2) ball 坏球 (huai4 qiu2) walk 四次坏球 (si4 ci4 huai4 qiu2) pitcher 投手 (tou2 shou3) catcher 接手 (jie1 shou3) batter 击球手 (ji1 qiu2 shou3)March 23, 2008
drsonyhashmi says
hi you people are wonderfull i m missing you in urumqi i recently joined this site and found best in world thanks for that allMarch 23, 2008
drsonyhashmi says
this is not only usefull to learn chinese its also helpfull to improve english as for pakistanies so thanks john ken and johnyMarch 23, 2008
calkins says
user37936, you're right about the background sounds....it's not often you hear a whistle in baseball :)March 23, 2008
isthatme says
Wow! Cpod does it again; taking a completely boring subject (baseball) and making it interesting simply by giving us the language.March 23, 2008
raychan says
I don't like baseball.I like football and basketball.March 23, 2008
jackfrombelgium says
Hi, "wei4zhi5" is correct but in the lesson it's written "wei4zhi4" (Dialogue, PDF, vocab and expansion) Can You correct this? Greetings JackMarch 24, 2008
bazza says
I like to see a lesson on juggling (丢掷技?).March 24, 2008
amber says
hi jack, For 位置 (wèizhì), the 置 (zhì) is in the dictionary as fourth tone, but some people pronounce it as neutral tone. So both are acceptable.March 24, 2008
boran says
Regarding the background sounds, it seems the same as what was used in the "MSN and QQ" lesson. 很便宜！ I don't want to anger the grammar gods but can you use "le" instead of "de" in the second line: "zài Táiběi xué de". That is, does "zài Táiběi xué le" make sense in anyway.March 24, 2008
witchranl says
aha,chinese is very interesting,i like it lm a new one 我愛中文March 24, 2008
howard97 says
sorry but who the fuck is ruth babe? is this a local game? howard97March 24, 2008
howard97 says
yet once again this prooves chinesepod is only for septics......come on i want to learn chinese not useless yank oh dear ...i have wasted my subscription on the premise of US rules i will not renew my subbies what a waste howard97March 24, 2008
brotherdear says
Does anyone know the origin of the 棒 "cool" usage? Was it just a phonetic appropriation? John, mountain of linguistics strength?March 24, 2008
chris says
I had exactly the same question as Boran above. Can "le" be used instead of "de"? I'm guessing that maybe "le" would be used if you had mentioned the previous time-period during which you learned, rather than the physical location. E.g. "I learned last year" = "wo qunnian xue le". But when you give the physical location where you learned it would be, e.g. "wo qunnian zai taibei xue de". Just my guess - would appreciate confirmation from one of the CPod team! thanksMarch 24, 2008
sgillesp says
What does "zai" mean in the second sentence of the dialogue? Can someone help? xiexie.March 24, 2008
calkins says
howard 97....classy.March 24, 2008
calkins says
sgillesp, the "zai" basically means "in". "In Taipei, I learned to play baseball." or "I learned to play baseball in Taipei."March 24, 2008
agentchuck says
So, in coordinating: 1. This lesson on baseball and the lack of baseball idioms in Chinese culture, 2. the UI lesson on The Pickup Artist, and 3. Quagmire's giggidy at the end of this lesson... Are there equivalent Chinese sports expressions to the US "getting to first base", etc?March 24, 2008
jackmartini says
Maybe Howard is not aware of the other 800 lessons to choose from. Or the fact that one can take a free trial for a week before deciding if it is worth paying for. Or the fact that you don't even need the free trial to decide since you can browse all the lessons without being logged in.March 24, 2008
mayor_bombolini says
Howard, You're acting like a Red Sox Fan. There's actually some very useful lanuguage in this one. I found people in China wanted to know the sports the I play or played.March 24, 2008
lordstanley says
Howard, no, baseball is not a local game, its a widespread sport. Several thousands of people, most of whom speak Mandarin, gather in city squares in Taiwan for important games involving the national team. #1 team sport in Japan and Taiwan, #2 in South Korea (arguably #1 there until the 2002 FIFA World Cup), #1 in the U.S., #3 in Canada, #2 in Mexico, #2 in Colombia, and #1team sport in several Latin American places like Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Panama. 30% of players in Major League Baseball are from outside the U.S.March 24, 2008
user4503 says
Whoa Howard... you need to chillax bro. As buckaroo said there are lots of lessons to choose from. This is supposed to be a fun, happy environment. There's no need to get nasy in your posts. Great lesson guys... I don't really care for baseball, but the lesson was enjoyed nonethelss. Keep up the good work!March 24, 2008
xiumu says
I'm confused by the grammar of the first sentence in the expansion: ...ta bangqiu dade hen hao. Shouldn't there be a "ba" before bangqiu?March 24, 2008
pchenery says
Interesting point that baseball terminology is used metaphorically in English but not in Chinese. So, what Chinese metaphors are used for relationships ? eg: " I got to first base with my date last night "March 24, 2008
pchenery says
Oh, by the way...I agree, the vulgar language should be edited out of user posts.March 24, 2008
crrllg says
ben3lai3da3 ... Ken and Jenny didn't convert or hint that one or more 3rd tones change when adjacent to each other ... is it because this is an Ele lesson, or in this case, the tones don't change? ... i have listened to the lesson on 3rd tones, and i remember that more than 2 3rd tones in a row can be tricky ... how are these 3 tones spoken? chinesepod, ni3men hen3 bang4!March 24, 2008
jackfrombelgium says
Hi amber, till now I can't find any "wei4zhi4" in any dictionary only "wei4zhi5". Bizarre?! For she4zhi4, pei4zhi4, an1zhi4 and zhuang1zhi4 no problems. Thanks amber JackMarch 24, 2008
texastochina says
Clay, that is a great story. I hope I can quote you! My 6'3" host (nickname: Xiao Yao) in Ningbo is an NBA fanatic. I look forward to your lesson. Thanks.March 24, 2008
clay says
sorry all for not getting to the inappropriate comments earlier. They have been removed.March 24, 2008
fusbfu says
zhexuejia says 2008-03-25 01:11:57 I'm confused by the grammar of the first sentence in the expansion: ...ta bangqiu dade hen hao. Shouldn't there be a "ba" before bangqiu? in China，we all say 他棒球打得很好.ta bangqiu dade hen hao， on one say 他把棒球打得很好.ta ba bangqiu dade hen hao，this is the only reason.March 24, 2008
fusbfu says
no one sayMarch 24, 2008
john says
brotherdear, Sorry, I have no insight into the origins of the slang usage of 棒 (bàng), and my search efforts turned up nothing. I'll see if any of your Chinese teachers can find it...March 24, 2008
fusbfu says
john says 2008-03-24 11:33:13 Clay, Now the obvious question is: how do you say stickball?? Please tell me it's not 软球 (ruǎn qiú - literally, "soft ball"). in my opinion,we can say men's baseball,women's softball. but i dont know stickball.March 24, 2008
fusbfu says
brotherdear says 2008-03-24 21:25:27 Does anyone know the origin of the 棒 "cool" usage? Was it just a phonetic appropriation? John, mountain of linguistics strength? bang4 棒----great ku4 酷------coolMarch 24, 2008
fusbfu says
hi chris 我去年学的wo qu nian xue de，the most important word is 去年（qunian），we emphasize the date is qu nian,not 今年 or 前年。我去年学的=我去年学了, 我去年在台北学的=我去年在台北学了 these 4 sentences are all right.March 24, 2008
jillybterp says
Great lesson. The advanced basketball lesson was great too. I would also love to see a sports game w/commentators lesson where we hear a lot of sports related verbs/actions. Thanks!March 24, 2008
clay says
jillybterp, I don't want to divulge too much info, but you will see what you are requesting before too long.March 24, 2008
cassielin says
Ken and Jenny,你们很棒！Chinesepod很棒！ I learned new word "home run"本垒打，how about 三振出局？how to say it in english? I don't know how to play baseball, i even do not know the rules like Jenny, but i know it is one of American people's favorite sport. Btw, i often hear the word "touch down" in English Movies, guess it means 得分de fen=scoreMarch 24, 2008
changye says
Hi guys, Let me try to guess the origin of the usage “棒 (good, cool)”, although it is completely groundless linguistically. The character also has another meaning “hard, solid” in a dialect, perhaps northern one. You can find the usage in the word 棒硬 (very hard). I imagine that “棒” gradually began to be used in the positive sense such as “sturdy, durable”, e.g. 棒实, in the dialect, and it later obtained more positive meanings “physically strong, capable, talented”, which finally led to the usage “good, cool” in Mandarin.March 24, 2008
Juriaan says
I an a bit confused by the structure of the sentence 你打前锋这个位置不太好 in the Expansion section. In fact, I suspected something like 你打前锋这个位置打得不太好 with the particle 得 preceding 不太好.March 25, 2008
longdehua says
Hey Casie, Not too sure but I'm guessing that 三振出局 means "three strikes and you're out". As in, if you don't hit the ball three times in a row then you are out. A "touch-down" is in 美式橄榄球, when you touch the ball on the ground at the end of the pitch. In 英式橄榄球 you score in the same way but it's called a "try".March 25, 2008
billgloveruk says
"try" doesn't quite have the same sense of success as "touch down" does it. I've no idea where this comes from but I heard one explanation that said it was called a try because when you score one you get the chance to try and convert your score (kick the ball through the upright posts).March 25, 2008
evelyne says
This lesson gave me the opportunity to revise some words (above all in the expansion: like "ball", "play," etc... + words used in other sports and general words used in other fields, except I did not make the effort to study the names for base ball as in France we do not play base ball at all. It's a typical american game (at least at the beginning) and I think that in China it is not so much developped. It's already so difficult to learn the real useful ones of ordinary life....Sorry for those who were interested and found it useful.March 25, 2008
cassielin says
Thank you longdehua and billgloveruk, maybe chinesepod will have a new lesson about baseball rules or football rules one day. I found that many of our poddies are fans of sports.March 25, 2008
billgloveruk says
A lesson on F1 would go down just fine. One day I hope to make it to either the Shanhai or Singapore races. Never seem to time my China trips to the F1 calendar though.March 25, 2008
auntie68 says
billgloveruk, yesss!!! I'd love a podcast on Formula One. If my memory serves me correctly, if you look at Jenny Zhu's c.v. on the CPOD site, it mentions that she has done PR/translation work for the Shanghai GP. And as a Singaporean petrolhead, I'd love (LOVE!!) to have a lesson on persuading a Chinese boss to shell out for nice F1 tickets for clients (the kind of ticket that includes pit passes, and VIP lounge access). And maybe even another lesson on taking those clients to the race and making small-talk about: ear-plugs (the importance thereof), leggy under-dressed pit babes, dramatic shunts, pit-lane drama (eg. car bursts into flames, driver drives off prematurely knocking over mechanics etc etc), safety car periods, how the order gets shuffled during pitstops, and the various penalties. There's even plenty of room to introduce vocab about sponsorship (how much was that little Deutsche Vermoegensomething strip on the front of Michael Schumacher's cap worth, again?). If CPOD are really brave, I'd like to know how to say "aerodynamic downforce" in Mandarin, in the context of explaining that the race is exciting because the teams can't change their aero package mid-race, so they have to decide whether to set up the car for sheer power on the straights, or for maximum speed through the slower corners without flying off... Stop Auntie, Stop! Sorry, I am such a F1 maniac...!March 25, 2008
billgloveruk says
Go Auntie, Go! Whilst I'd love to say "aerodynamic downforce" in Mandarin, I'd hate to miss out on the fun if the lesson was too advanced. That said, I'd sit through an advanced lesson if I had to :) I've still never been to a single race but would absolutely love to go. I'd be able to justify it to my girlfriend if I could explain what was going on in Chinese. Justifying why I get up at 4 in the morning is hard enough as it is. I'm glad I'm not the only F1 fan also learning Chinese. Go Auntie, Go!March 25, 2008
sfrrr says
Longdehua--I think we should rephrase your answer to casie. The batter doesn't need to hit the ball three times in a turn. She/he, however, only gets three tries to hit/bat the ball far away from home base, also called the plate. If the batter hits the ball into the playing field, that's all she/he needs. The batter doesn't have to go back during the same turn and do it two more times. When you get a turn to bat (which means to try to hit the ball), it's called an "at bat"--i.e. you're at bat. You don't need to hit the ball The pitcher (the guy or gal throwing the ball to you, will give you three chances to hit the ball. If you try (swing the bat at the ball) but miss the ball three times, you're out, meaning you've used up your turn and you're "out." As in out of luck, temporarily out of the game (until your turn comes up again). This explanation is complicated because there are balls and fouls as well as strikes, but they don't figure in this expression and my explanation is long enough already. Three stri8kes and you're out means you tried three times and you don't get any more tries; you failed.March 25, 2008
agentchuck says
I'm sensing the rule explanations for baseball are going to start getting confusing. So, I'd say just check out the wikipedia... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A3%92%E7%90%83March 25, 2008
changye says
Hi auntie68 and billgloveruk, I am afraid that I do not have much interest in Formula One, but just out of linguistic curiosity, I have found the following websites about F-1 terminology in Chinese. The translation of “aerodynamic downforce” are “空气动力学所产生的下压力”, which I think sounds a little clumsy. Probably just saying 下压力 would be enough when you are watching a F1 race with your friends. For the record, Formula One race is “一级方程式赛车” in Chinese. Gee, this word reminds me of mathematics. I think “一级规格赛车” should be much more appropriate semantically. 英语 to 汉语 http://www.maplesky.net/data/2006/0719/article_3283.htm 汉语 to 英语 http://en.itfensi.com/specialized/education/120355685628759.html Circuit names http://www.newenglishworld.com/detail.asp?newsid=3603March 25, 2008
auntie68 says
Uncle changye! Thank you so much for giving us, the CPOD petrolheads, this info. One of the sites I go to for news -- it's a reputable one -- seems to have a Chinese version too, but my Chinese isn't good enough to be able to know anything about the quality of the writing: http://cn.f1-live.com/f1/cn/index.shtml Japanese companies are very major players in F1, selling customer engines and/or even racing under their own colours. Eg. Honda, Toyota, Super Aguri. And all the tires are made by Bridgestone. I don't envy John Pasden if he has to host a lesson on F1, because Americans are not known for being interested in F1. There is a famous anecdote going around about how a certain American GP sold fewer tickets than an ostrich race being held in the next town. When they interviewed the ostrich race organizer, he said, "Oh, I think it's because we invested a lot more money this year on promotion. Yup, this year we spent USD$150." Once again, thank you!March 25, 2008
amber says
Hi Boran and Chris, ...在台北学的 (...zài Táiběi xué de) This sentence emphasises that it was in the past using the 是...的 (shì...de) sentence pattern. It is just that in this sentence, the 是 (shì) is omitted, as it often is. It sounds very odd to say 在台北学了 (zài Táiběi xué le).March 25, 2008
boran says
I vaguely recall studying the 是...的 （shì...de) pattern a while back but I don't remember the 是 (shì) being optional. Now I know (and knowing is half the battle). Thanks Amber.March 26, 2008
kaixi says
Thanks, clarsen, for the pro baseball names. What a great list! My favorite is: 西雅图水手队 - Xīyǎtú shuǐshǒuduì Go Seattle Mariners! Is the meaning of 手 in 水手 similar to that in 一垒手? Like "water player" or "water athlete" or "water professional"? I noticed all the pro team names end in 队. Does that mean "team"? Also, is there an equivalent word in Chinese for "fan", as in baseball fan (or basketball fan, or any other sports fan)? Thanks for the fun lesson!March 26, 2008
jennyzhu says
Kaixi, Yes, 队means team. One of the meanings of 手 is a professional person, someone who is deft at his trade. For example, 水手、一垒手、投手 or 歌手/singer.March 26, 2008
amber says
hi kaixi, A fan is "迷" (mí). Specifically, a ball fan is 球迷 (qiúmí).March 26, 2008
rr2000 says
Hi everyone, I am surprised that in this lesson it was not entirely explained what the following sentence means: "Ni3 da3 guo ben3 lei3 da3 ma?" I just recently found out that the "daguo" is also used as past tense just like adding "de" to the end of a verb. Could someone please explain the difference between using Verb+guo and Verb+de and when each one should be used?March 30, 2008
amber says
hi rr2000, Maybe this comparison will help you to see the difference: 你打过本垒打吗？ (Nǐ dǎguò běnlěi dǎ ma?) Have you hit a home run before? 打过。 (Dǎguò.) Yes, I have. 你是什么时候打的？ (Nǐ shì shénme shíhou dǎ de?) When did you hit one? 去年打的。 (Qùnián dǎ de.) I hit one last year.March 30, 2008
gelan says
For anyone whose been to Japan before, you may have seen adults playing baseball w/ a rubber ball- that's known as 'soft-style baseball' (in Japanese 'kanji‘- '软式野球）I think they call it '日（本)式棒球' here in China。Anyone interested in playing 'hardball' or 'japanese ball', give me a shout! :-)March 31, 2008
zentropa139 says
Hey, so I live in Taipei where they're fanatical about baseball and a home run is actually called a 全壘打 quan2lei3da3 (sorry, I don't know the simplified character) or "all base hit". Here in Taiwan they have cheering sections for each team and one of the most common songs they sing is, "安打! 安打! 全壘打!". 安打 (an1da3) is a base hit, or more accurately, a safe hit (to hit safely, i.e. reach base). So this song encourages their team to "Hit, hit a home run!" (which, by the way, they rarely do here). The other thing I love is that when a player makes a great play, the whole crowd shouts their name in unison followed by, "我愛你!" wo3ai4ni3 (I love you!) - very cute. Btw, just attended the MLB games in Beijing, where it was clear that they aren't quite as familiar w/baseball as they are in Taiwan - they had cheerleaders in Hooters pants! Jet Li did throw out the first pitch, though.April 2, 2008
kaixi says
谢谢, jennyzhu, for the response on 队 for team and expanding my vocabulary for 手! 谢谢, amber, for 迷 (fan) and 球迷 (ball fan). It all makes sense! I like the word 迷 - l looked it up in the dictionary and it also carries the meaning of confused, crazy, enthusiast. :-D That's a fan!April 4, 2008
kaixi says
Speaking of teams, with the upcoming 2008 年Olympics 在北京, what is the correct way to refer to a country's team? 队的中国? 美国的队?我们队? (And how does one say Olympics in Chinese?)April 4, 2008
kaixi says
Zentropa, thanks for those great phrases from Taiwan baseball. The next time I go to a 西雅图水手队 game, I will try to remember those and shout them out!April 4, 2008
huan9 says
I'm not much of an athlete when it comes to ball sports but my English students in China wanted to learn about American culture. So I taught them to play baseball using a fold-up umbrella and a wad of newspaper. Fun, but challenging in a classroom of 80+ students with the seats bolted to the floor. The last time I taught English in China I brought a Whiffleball and bat and the other foreign teacher and I taught the students baseball out on the sports field. We also got free tickets to watch some professional games in Chengdu. The Chengdu team played teams from Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong and Tianjing. From this lesson I learned that the three third tones of 本垒打 are pronounced 223. Are three third tones always 223 or does it depend on the phrase? Can anyone give other examples of 333?April 13, 2008
kangrui says
June 18, 2008
I don't understand the sentence "Ni3 da3 guo4 shenme25 weizhi45?"
How does "guo4" function in that sentence? And if you had to assign a definition to it in the sentence, what would it be? Thanks.
xiaohu says
June 18, 2008
The translation of the sentence is, "What position have you played"?
The meaning of guo4 in this case is to indicate that you have done something in the past.
EG: Ni3 zhu4 guo4 shen2 me5 cheng2 shi4? (What cities have you lived in?)
wo3 zhu4 guo4 luo4 shan1 ji1 he2 niu2 yue1. (I've lived in Los Angeles and New York)
I hope that helps.
aron604 says
October 5, 2008
Hi Jenny,
I know that in Chinese, there are many ways of saying "throw". It could be that you are pitching a baseball, or throwing an underhand in softball, or even just throwing away the garbage, etc.
Could you give me all the types of verbs for this, plus some example sentences?