<![CDATA[Comments on: Caught in the Act]]> 2008-08-24 18:00:00 <![CDATA[By: shiqiangdan]]> Isn't the 吗 supposed to be 嘛? I could be completely off but in the back of my mind I think I remember seeing the latter instead of the former. Doesn't the sentence mean "are you dry?" as is? Heh. Great lesson!

Jordan

]]> Isn't the 吗 supposed to be 嘛? I could be completely off but in the back of my mind I think I remember seeing the latter instead of the former. Doesn't the sentence mean "are you dry?" as is? Heh. Great lesson!

Jordan

]]> <![CDATA[By: pcmi7]]> I've seen both 干吗 and 干嘛.  Any explanations (Pasden?) for the etymology of this?  It sounds like something that might have come from a non-Mandarin dialect.  Perhaps the present characters are just a phonetic transcription of the original sounds? And is the progressive 在 necessary? I seem to recall seeing just 你干吗？ 

 

 

]]> I've seen both 干吗 and 干嘛.  Any explanations (Pasden?) for the etymology of this?  It sounds like something that might have come from a non-Mandarin dialect.  Perhaps the present characters are just a phonetic transcription of the original sounds? And is the progressive 在 necessary? I seem to recall seeing just 你干吗？ 

 

 

]]> <![CDATA[By: qingdaossadventuresdotcom]]> For  尴尬 (awkward) in the supplementary vocabulary, can this be used to describe people, places and situations?  Would really appreciate some examples.  I enjoy adressing awkward silences/situations.  谢谢

]]> For  尴尬 (awkward) in the supplementary vocabulary, can this be used to describe people, places and situations?  Would really appreciate some examples.  I enjoy adressing awkward silences/situations.  谢谢

]]> <![CDATA[By: John]]> shiqiangdan and pcmi7,

干吗 (gànmá) and 干嘛 (gànmá) are both OK for this usage. According to our Chinese teachers, 干吗 (gànmá) is somewhat "more correct," but it's not a big deal.

]]> shiqiangdan and pcmi7,

干吗 (gànmá) and 干嘛 (gànmá) are both OK for this usage. According to our Chinese teachers, 干吗 (gànmá) is somewhat "more correct," but it's not a big deal.

]]> <![CDATA[By: amber]]> hi qingdao,

Yes, you can use 尴尬 (gāngà) for people:
他很尴尬。
Tā hěn gāngà.
He feels very awkward.

and situations:

大家都不说话，很尴尬。
Dàjiā dōu bù shuōhuà, hěn gāngà. 
No one is speaking, it's very awkward.

他不知道该怎么做，很尴尬。
Tā bùzhīdào gāi zěnme zuò, hěn gāngà.
He doesn't know what he should do, he feels very awkward.

It's not really used to describe places in Chinese.

]]> hi qingdao,

Yes, you can use 尴尬 (gāngà) for people:
他很尴尬。
Tā hěn gāngà.
He feels very awkward.

and situations:

大家都不说话，很尴尬。
Dàjiā dōu bù shuōhuà, hěn gāngà. 
No one is speaking, it's very awkward.

他不知道该怎么做，很尴尬。
Tā bùzhīdào gāi zěnme zuò, hěn gāngà.
He doesn't know what he should do, he feels very awkward.

It's not really used to describe places in Chinese.

]]> <![CDATA[By: johns]]> Very useful lesson and expansion exercises. But I have to admit, the 老板 creeps me out!

]]> Very useful lesson and expansion exercises. But I have to admit, the 老板 creeps me out!

]]> <![CDATA[By: lennier61]]> This lesson is too short and simple to be classified as elementary, it should be at newbie channel.

Besides that, quite good.

 

]]> This lesson is too short and simple to be classified as elementary, it should be at newbie channel.

Besides that, quite good.

 

]]> <![CDATA[By: mikenotinjubei]]> I sort of fit right in to this lesson. Not bad after a year. A question came to mind while using the expanision section.

What is the opposite of "mistake" I am puzzled with my own native (English) language. I do not know how to say the opposite without using a negative.  example- I didn't make a mistake .

I found myself thinking about this reviewing the expanision section

(trad.) 錯     (simp) 错  cuò; 

in the expanision you used as opposite

(trad.) 對     (simp) 对  duì 

I understand but I usually think of  對 as correct. And "uncorrect" means wrong answer maybe not necessary wrong action.

 Also how would you say . " Can you correct this mistake"

]]> I sort of fit right in to this lesson. Not bad after a year. A question came to mind while using the expanision section.

What is the opposite of "mistake" I am puzzled with my own native (English) language. I do not know how to say the opposite without using a negative.  example- I didn't make a mistake .

I found myself thinking about this reviewing the expanision section

(trad.) 錯     (simp) 错  cuò; 

in the expanision you used as opposite

(trad.) 對     (simp) 对  duì 

I understand but I usually think of  對 as correct. And "uncorrect" means wrong answer maybe not necessary wrong action.

 Also how would you say . " Can you correct this mistake"

]]> <![CDATA[By: sophie20461]]> hi ember

“尴尬”可不可以用embarrassed？它和Awkward有什么区别？

]]> hi ember

“尴尬”可不可以用embarrassed？它和Awkward有什么区别？

]]> <![CDATA[By: sophie20461]]> sorry 我把你的名字写错了。 amber

]]> sorry 我把你的名字写错了。 amber

]]>