2007-01-15 18:00:00 Connie
Supplementary vocab for this lesson: 把 (bǎ) measure word for things with handles 一把刀 (yī bǎ dāo) a knife 一把叉子 (yī bǎ chāzi) a fork 一把勺子 (yī bǎ sháozi) a spoon 筷子 (kuàizi) chopsticks 一双筷子 (yī shuāng kuàizi) a pair of chopsticks 碗 (wǎn) bowl 盘子 (pánzi) tray, plate, dish 杯子 (bēizi) cup, glass]]> Connie
Supplementary vocab for this lesson: 把 (bǎ) measure word for things with handles 一把刀 (yī bǎ dāo) a knife 一把叉子 (yī bǎ chāzi) a fork 一把勺子 (yī bǎ sháozi) a spoon 筷子 (kuàizi) chopsticks 一双筷子 (yī shuāng kuàizi) a pair of chopsticks 碗 (wǎn) bowl 盘子 (pánzi) tray, plate, dish 杯子 (bēizi) cup, glass]]> Mike in Jubei
CPHQ and Newbies The written transcript has the following (Simp) 谢谢。 我们还要刀和勺子。 Xièxie. Wǒmen háiyào dāo hé sháozi. Thank you. We also need knives and spoons. (Trad.)謝謝。我們還要刀和勺子。 Xièxie. Wǒmen háiyào dāo hé sháozi. But the speaker who recited the dialogue three times used : 還需要 háixūyào John's Academic Team can tell us if there is a real difference in meaning Mike in Jubei]]> Mike in Jubei
CPHQ and Newbies The written transcript has the following (Simp) 谢谢。 我们还要刀和勺子。 Xièxie. Wǒmen háiyào dāo hé sháozi. Thank you. We also need knives and spoons. (Trad.)謝謝。我們還要刀和勺子。 Xièxie. Wǒmen háiyào dāo hé sháozi. But the speaker who recited the dialogue three times used : 還需要 háixūyào John's Academic Team can tell us if there is a real difference in meaning Mike in Jubei]]> Bob Mrotek
How do you say "Waiter, there is a fly in my soup." ? Could you say: 服务员, 有 苍蝇 在 我的 汤丼. Fúwùyuán, yǒu cāngying zài wǒde tāngjǐng.]]> Bob Mrotek
How do you say "Waiter, there is a fly in my soup." ? Could you say: 服务员, 有 苍蝇 在 我的 汤丼. Fúwùyuán, yǒu cāngying zài wǒde tāngjǐng.]]> Lantian
WANTS - Hi Mike, you're up early! I still have a conundrum of a time separating out when to use 要 yao, 需要 xu yao, and noth'n at all. In English, if one is trying to be polite, we often replace "I want" with "I'd like", so it's sometimes hard for me to say "我要一把勺子". Instead I go for the alternative expression, "来多一把勺子". I actually think using 'yao' is a little more common and certainly has little of the same English nuance. My mind just interferes. It's the same with xu yao 需要, I mean imagine saying in English "I must have a fork." The waitstaff is likely to think "OKAY, geez if it's THAT important to you!" I still get that feeling when I say "你要担心” You should be careful. I feel like I'm almost scolding the person. I want to just say "你担心" "Be careful/take care", but I know that literal translation from English is wrong so my alternatives are "你要担心啊", "保重” or "好好照顾自己。" I'd say that I am slowly detaching that neural-chemical link between the words-meaning-and emotions for the English and re-jigging it to the Chinese which is way more straightforward!! 我要一碗米饭。拿过来一把勺子。 我需要一瓶可乐。还要一个小碗， 需要干净的，用热水洗了干净的。 快点，快点啊！]]> Lantian
WANTS - Hi Mike, you're up early! I still have a conundrum of a time separating out when to use 要 yao, 需要 xu yao, and noth'n at all. In English, if one is trying to be polite, we often replace "I want" with "I'd like", so it's sometimes hard for me to say "我要一把勺子". Instead I go for the alternative expression, "来多一把勺子". I actually think using 'yao' is a little more common and certainly has little of the same English nuance. My mind just interferes. It's the same with xu yao 需要, I mean imagine saying in English "I must have a fork." The waitstaff is likely to think "OKAY, geez if it's THAT important to you!" I still get that feeling when I say "你要担心” You should be careful. I feel like I'm almost scolding the person. I want to just say "你担心" "Be careful/take care", but I know that literal translation from English is wrong so my alternatives are "你要担心啊", "保重” or "好好照顾自己。" I'd say that I am slowly detaching that neural-chemical link between the words-meaning-and emotions for the English and re-jigging it to the Chinese which is way more straightforward!! 我要一碗米饭。拿过来一把勺子。 我需要一瓶可乐。还要一个小碗， 需要干净的，用热水洗了干净的。 快点，快点啊！]]> Will
服务员, 有 苍蝇 在 我的 汤丼. Fúwùyuán, yǒu cāngying zài wǒde tāngjǐng. I would invert it a little, and say: 服务员，汤里有一只苍蝇。 Could be a real problem if you're eating in a dodgy out of the way place. Anywhere, not just China]]> Will
服务员, 有 苍蝇 在 我的 汤丼. Fúwùyuán, yǒu cāngying zài wǒde tāngjǐng. I would invert it a little, and say: 服务员，汤里有一只苍蝇。 Could be a real problem if you're eating in a dodgy out of the way place. Anywhere, not just China]]> ChinesePod
Mike and Lantian, Sorry about that little slip-up; it was corrected earlier this morning. There is not a big difference between 要 (yào) and 需要 (xūyào) in this context. The difference in Chinese is certainly not the difference we distinguish in our English-speaking minds between "want" and "need." In Chinese, it's actually more polite to ask if the customers 需要 (xūyào) something rather than 要 (yào) something. (To some extent, this makes sense in English as well... doesn't it sound more polite to say, "what do you need?" rather than "what do you want?") To sum up, the order of politeness (whether doing the asking or doing the requesting) is: 1. 需要 (xūyào) - most polite 2. 想要 (xiǎngyào) - not so polite 3. 要 (yào) - not polite (depends a lot on tone of voice whether or not it's actually rude) -John]]> ChinesePod
Mike and Lantian, Sorry about that little slip-up; it was corrected earlier this morning. There is not a big difference between 要 (yào) and 需要 (xūyào) in this context. The difference in Chinese is certainly not the difference we distinguish in our English-speaking minds between "want" and "need." In Chinese, it's actually more polite to ask if the customers 需要 (xūyào) something rather than 要 (yào) something. (To some extent, this makes sense in English as well... doesn't it sound more polite to say, "what do you need?" rather than "what do you want?") To sum up, the order of politeness (whether doing the asking or doing the requesting) is: 1. 需要 (xūyào) - most polite 2. 想要 (xiǎngyào) - not so polite 3. 要 (yào) - not polite (depends a lot on tone of voice whether or not it's actually rude) -John]]> ChinesePod
Dear Newbies, Hey, aren't there any real Newbies out there? Don't be afraid to leave a comment or ask a question... The other commenters may ask hard questions, but they don't bite, I assure you. -John ChinesePod]]> ChinesePod
Dear Newbies, Hey, aren't there any real Newbies out there? Don't be afraid to leave a comment or ask a question... The other commenters may ask hard questions, but they don't bite, I assure you. -John ChinesePod]]> Glen
OK, then I will ask, since I am assured you won't bit a newbie. Instead of asking for a Knife, fork and spoon, is there a way of just asking for all of them in one? Also, jie zhang (pay the bill). My friend told me to say "mai dan". Any difference?]]> Glen
OK, then I will ask, since I am assured you won't bit a newbie. Instead of asking for a Knife, fork and spoon, is there a way of just asking for all of them in one? Also, jie zhang (pay the bill). My friend told me to say "mai dan". Any difference?]]> ChinesePod
Bob Mrotek, I like Will's translation, with slight modification: 服务员，我的汤里有一只苍蝇。 Fúwùyuán, wǒ de tāng li yǒu yī zhī cāngying. Waiter, there's a fly in my soup. -John]]> ChinesePod
Bob Mrotek, I like Will's translation, with slight modification: 服务员，我的汤里有一只苍蝇。 Fúwùyuán, wǒ de tāng li yǒu yī zhī cāngying. Waiter, there's a fly in my soup. -John]]> Mark T.
I have a slightly off-topic question. I have been translating a neigborhood Chinese restaurant's menu (using Bazza's recommended COCR software) and came across: 什菜义燒 (shícaì yìshāo) "Bar-B-Q Pork with Assorted Vegetables" I thought at first 义 might be a misprinted 叉 (chā) and 叉燒 meaning something like "burned on a fork", which is a pretty good approximation to Bar-B-Q :^) This menu was in traditional characters, but 义 according to my dictionary is simplified and means "righteousness". I googled 义燒 and found plenty of matches, but I guess "righteously burned" has a nice ring to it, too. So what is the correct word for Bar-B-Q? (the restaurant owner is Taiwainese, if that helps).]]> Mark T.
I have a slightly off-topic question. I have been translating a neigborhood Chinese restaurant's menu (using Bazza's recommended COCR software) and came across: 什菜义燒 (shícaì yìshāo) "Bar-B-Q Pork with Assorted Vegetables" I thought at first 义 might be a misprinted 叉 (chā) and 叉燒 meaning something like "burned on a fork", which is a pretty good approximation to Bar-B-Q :^) This menu was in traditional characters, but 义 according to my dictionary is simplified and means "righteousness". I googled 义燒 and found plenty of matches, but I guess "righteously burned" has a nice ring to it, too. So what is the correct word for Bar-B-Q? (the restaurant owner is Taiwainese, if that helps).]]>