2006-03-20 18:00:00 Aric the Producer
Oops, there should be a quotation mark there after "...drink". Sorry! (Normally I wouldn't say anything, but how quickly the grammar general's become the punctuation police; just wanted to beat them to it) Aric]]> Aric the Producer
Oops, there should be a quotation mark there after "...drink". Sorry! (Normally I wouldn't say anything, but how quickly the grammar general's become the punctuation police; just wanted to beat them to it) Aric]]> Lantian
[Cpod Video Hotpot: Ghosts Need Clothes Too] http://www.chinesepod.com/blog/2006/03/20/chinesepod-videohotpot/#comments nǐ màigěi guǐ ā？ ！ 你卖给鬼啊？！ Are you selling to a ghost? Haha...Shanghai-nese really can shop.]]> Lantian
[Cpod Video Hotpot: Ghosts Need Clothes Too] http://www.chinesepod.com/blog/2006/03/20/chinesepod-videohotpot/#comments nǐ màigěi guǐ ā？ ！ 你卖给鬼啊？！ Are you selling to a ghost? Haha...Shanghai-nese really can shop.]]> Max
Huh? 为 is a 多音字. It sounds different in 因为 and 以为. (According to my dictionary anyway) But Jenny keeps saying 因为 with a falling-rising tone (as in 以为 and 行为 and even 以为) instead of a falling one. Listen to 0:40 of this lesson and "discussing dates" where she reads the dialogue with the guy. (就是因为她太严肃。。。） Most confusing is when she switches between the two. Listen to 4:27 of "discussing dates" where she uses the falling tone for 为. Which is correct? 怎么回事？ ‘为‘ 是多音字。 ‘因为‘ 的‘为’和‘以为’ 的‘为’是不一样。 但我听起来jenny平常说错。我有两本辞典，任何说'yin1 wei4'才队. 哪个对呀？复杂哦！]]> Max
Huh? 为 is a 多音字. It sounds different in 因为 and 以为. (According to my dictionary anyway) But Jenny keeps saying 因为 with a falling-rising tone (as in 以为 and 行为 and even 以为) instead of a falling one. Listen to 0:40 of this lesson and "discussing dates" where she reads the dialogue with the guy. (就是因为她太严肃。。。） Most confusing is when she switches between the two. Listen to 4:27 of "discussing dates" where she uses the falling tone for 为. Which is correct? 怎么回事？ ‘为‘ 是多音字。 ‘因为‘ 的‘为’和‘以为’ 的‘为’是不一样。 但我听起来jenny平常说错。我有两本辞典，任何说'yin1 wei4'才队. 哪个对呀？复杂哦！]]> Max
Sorry... She does it in this monologue too! (东方的巴黎。因为。。。） Please help me out, I'm sure it's creeping into my vocabulary too and I'm not sure if it's right. Also, I noticed you have one of those "plese enter the number above" for posting, to discourage rubbish posters. There was one of these on a Chinese website I was at recently. But instead of using Roman letters and numbers, which are a cinch to copy, they used 汉字. They warped them around so much that it took me half an hour of work with my dictionary to copy them in!]]> Max
Sorry... She does it in this monologue too! (东方的巴黎。因为。。。） Please help me out, I'm sure it's creeping into my vocabulary too and I'm not sure if it's right. Also, I noticed you have one of those "plese enter the number above" for posting, to discourage rubbish posters. There was one of these on a Chinese website I was at recently. But instead of using Roman letters and numbers, which are a cinch to copy, they used 汉字. They warped them around so much that it took me half an hour of work with my dictionary to copy them in!]]> Max
Wow, I'm really becoming a pest today... My dictionary says 'cheng2 wei2' with two rising tones, not 'cheng1 wei2'. I'm beginning to think it's just a mistake on Jenny's part.]]> Max
Wow, I'm really becoming a pest today... My dictionary says 'cheng2 wei2' with two rising tones, not 'cheng1 wei2'. I'm beginning to think it's just a mistake on Jenny's part.]]> A bee
Hi Adam , Clerk, Jenny, Have I ever thanked you for clarifying my 买单 [mai3 dan1] v/s 埋单 [mai2 dan1] query for me? Thank you so much for your excellent explanation (Adam #A30, Clerk-Jenny #B17), and for the time you have taken to answer. It's wonderful to see how readily and generously those who are more conversant with the Chinese language come to the help of those who are still in the initial learning stages. A bee]]> A bee
Hi Adam , Clerk, Jenny, Have I ever thanked you for clarifying my 买单 [mai3 dan1] v/s 埋单 [mai2 dan1] query for me? Thank you so much for your excellent explanation (Adam #A30, Clerk-Jenny #B17), and for the time you have taken to answer. It's wonderful to see how readily and generously those who are more conversant with the Chinese language come to the help of those who are still in the initial learning stages. A bee]]> Lantian
The 'bei' construction is something I know I'm weak in, so I was happy to see it introduced here. Maybe another upcoming intermediate lesson might have more examples of it used in a dialogue/conversation. I thought today's cast a little academic and a bit old-school. Maybe it had a bit to do with Ken holding back and just saying 'ah huh' in English a lot w/o engaging Jenny in Chinese until the very bitter end! Maybe it's just the fashion topic, but I think it certainly could have been a bit hipper/snappiier. How about a dialogue of an irate shopper noting the scratches on HIS LV bag, or a friend spying an acquaintence going into Tiffany's, or even two socialites chatting over coffee about the new Prada line.]]> Lantian
The 'bei' construction is something I know I'm weak in, so I was happy to see it introduced here. Maybe another upcoming intermediate lesson might have more examples of it used in a dialogue/conversation. I thought today's cast a little academic and a bit old-school. Maybe it had a bit to do with Ken holding back and just saying 'ah huh' in English a lot w/o engaging Jenny in Chinese until the very bitter end! Maybe it's just the fashion topic, but I think it certainly could have been a bit hipper/snappiier. How about a dialogue of an irate shopper noting the scratches on HIS LV bag, or a friend spying an acquaintence going into Tiffany's, or even two socialites chatting over coffee about the new Prada line.]]> A bee
Hi Lantian, As a struggling newbie learner, I have a few problems re. the line below which you posted in comments in #A40 (Mar15, 2006). You gave no English translation, and this makes it really hard for me to enderstand the meaning of certain phrases. To quote from your comment" "I’d also say 还要，空情菜，腰果鸡顶，一瓶 可乐， 两晚米饭，就好了。 I’d also say hái yào ， kōng qíng cài ，yāoguǒjī dǐng ， yī píng kělè ， liǎng wǎn mǐfàn ， jiù hǎo le。" 1) 两晚米饭 [liang3 wan3 mi3 fan4]- I am told that this could mean: " For two evenings (I shall have) plain rice (no extra dishes)", but this seems to be unlikey in view of the other dishes and drink you mention. I guess the intended meaning is "Two bowls of rice"; so one of the characters should be different. The Chinese characters for 'evening' and 'bowl' have the same pinyin and the same tone. Right? 2) 腰果鸡顶 [yao1 guo3 ji1 ding3]. I am familiar with 宮保鸡丁 [gong1 bao3 ji1 ding1] (got this one from NJStar software). Do 顶 [ding3] and 丁 [ding1] stand for the same thing? 丁 [ding1] is defined "small cubes of meat and vegetables"; I am not sure about the meaning of 顶 [ding3] . 3) 空情空 [kong1 qing2 cai4] is a mystery to me. Judging by the use of 菜 [cai4] I vaguely guess it's some sort of vegetable. But vegetables are 青菜 [qing1 cai4] not 情菜 [qing2 cai4]. The the meaning of 空 [kong1] in 空青菜 [kong1 qing1 cai4] is obscure. Even the Chinese language teachers in my school are baffled. They suggest that the vegetable in question might be 空心菜 [kong1 xin1 cai4], water spinach. Or does the phrase stand for some kind of cooking method? I am lost. If you are using some kind of Chinese software like NJ Star to print out characters, I know how easy it is to type the pinyin (e.g. 'wan') and then click on the wrong character; or enter a slightly different pinyin (e.g 'qing' for 'xin') and again select the wrong character. It happens to me quite often. Maybe you may let me know if what I wrote above is nothing but nonsensical thrash. A bee]]> A bee
Hi Lantian, As a struggling newbie learner, I have a few problems re. the line below which you posted in comments in #A40 (Mar15, 2006). You gave no English translation, and this makes it really hard for me to enderstand the meaning of certain phrases. To quote from your comment" "I’d also say 还要，空情菜，腰果鸡顶，一瓶 可乐， 两晚米饭，就好了。 I’d also say hái yào ， kōng qíng cài ，yāoguǒjī dǐng ， yī píng kělè ， liǎng wǎn mǐfàn ， jiù hǎo le。" 1) 两晚米饭 [liang3 wan3 mi3 fan4]- I am told that this could mean: " For two evenings (I shall have) plain rice (no extra dishes)", but this seems to be unlikey in view of the other dishes and drink you mention. I guess the intended meaning is "Two bowls of rice"; so one of the characters should be different. The Chinese characters for 'evening' and 'bowl' have the same pinyin and the same tone. Right? 2) 腰果鸡顶 [yao1 guo3 ji1 ding3]. I am familiar with 宮保鸡丁 [gong1 bao3 ji1 ding1] (got this one from NJStar software). Do 顶 [ding3] and 丁 [ding1] stand for the same thing? 丁 [ding1] is defined "small cubes of meat and vegetables"; I am not sure about the meaning of 顶 [ding3] . 3) 空情空 [kong1 qing2 cai4] is a mystery to me. Judging by the use of 菜 [cai4] I vaguely guess it's some sort of vegetable. But vegetables are 青菜 [qing1 cai4] not 情菜 [qing2 cai4]. The the meaning of 空 [kong1] in 空青菜 [kong1 qing1 cai4] is obscure. Even the Chinese language teachers in my school are baffled. They suggest that the vegetable in question might be 空心菜 [kong1 xin1 cai4], water spinach. Or does the phrase stand for some kind of cooking method? I am lost. If you are using some kind of Chinese software like NJ Star to print out characters, I know how easy it is to type the pinyin (e.g. 'wan') and then click on the wrong character; or enter a slightly different pinyin (e.g 'qing' for 'xin') and again select the wrong character. It happens to me quite often. Maybe you may let me know if what I wrote above is nothing but nonsensical thrash. A bee]]> Ken Carroll
David, We knew w were getting a little bit academic, but I thought that might have some appeal, especially to someone like you! (Take that as a compliment.) Once you do that kind of thing, the dynamic does change a bit. Still, I like the idea of experimenting and variation. If, at a later date, you want to revisit , say, the passive voice, this lesson will be here waiting for you! As for the snappy thing - agreed. Your ideas are original. Do you think that 'snappy' all the time would get a bit too much???]]> Ken Carroll
David, We knew w were getting a little bit academic, but I thought that might have some appeal, especially to someone like you! (Take that as a compliment.) Once you do that kind of thing, the dynamic does change a bit. Still, I like the idea of experimenting and variation. If, at a later date, you want to revisit , say, the passive voice, this lesson will be here waiting for you! As for the snappy thing - agreed. Your ideas are original. Do you think that 'snappy' all the time would get a bit too much???]]> michael
i'm at the elementary level, but trying to stretch myself with this intermediate information. any chance that you can add a button in the review exercise section to provide the english translation of the phrases?....some of the characters have several meanings, and since i am not yet expert with sentence structures, this translation will help me improve both vocabulary and structure understanding...having an english translation "button" would provide optional information for people like me, and would hopefully not offend those more advanced podcasters who understand the exercises more easily]]> michael
i'm at the elementary level, but trying to stretch myself with this intermediate information. any chance that you can add a button in the review exercise section to provide the english translation of the phrases?....some of the characters have several meanings, and since i am not yet expert with sentence structures, this translation will help me improve both vocabulary and structure understanding...having an english translation "button" would provide optional information for people like me, and would hopefully not offend those more advanced podcasters who understand the exercises more easily]]>