Qing Wen Requests

Character stroke order rules (left - right, top - bottom, inside - out, but not ...)

Yes,very interesting and important.Though I think a video lesson might be more instructive.

Gestures would be a great Dear Amber topic definitely.. I love learning about those sort of cultural differences :)

Did we have Chinese colour codings, e.g. green is hope, red is anger? Many people think that such concept or gestures like shrugging are universal which they are not - e.g. nodding meaning Yes in the West and No in parts of Asia.

What are the gestures and concepts that will leave most Chinese absolutely flabbergasted or at least pretty much in the dark - and vice versa: what would make foreigners be regarded as aliens from another planet?

One cab ride in BJ will fix you right up. arrr! it is. I know, it sounds better when Sebire does it.

Light, try going for the pirate approach: arrr!

Have you looked at the pronunciation guide? I think it describes where your tongue has to be.

I always have trouble with pronunciation of some words when I read them, one such word is 会儿　huìr. I can pronounce it without the 儿 of course.. (hway) but just can't get my mouth around the added arrr sound. May be there could be a qing wen on hard to say words. I know there was a Dear Amber on a similar topic of "common mistakes foreigners make" (I think it was a DA at least) but I'd like to at least see a lesson use this fairly common word.

A qing wen on terms like 肯定、 一定 would be really helpful. I'm never certain if I should use them as a verb or adverb, or when to use one instead of the other. And how to use them in the past tense? (I made sure to pack your cold meds)

大家好好学习啊！good good study day day up

I always use

邊 for 左,右 and 面 for 前, 後

Thanks Pete for the clarification!

Hi ewong,

For all practical purposes, 边 and 面 are interchangeable.

Jiaojie explains that the word 边 calls to mind a line on the ground, whereas 面 seems to refer to a flat surface.

But realistically, you can switch them as you like.

Is there a difference between

Front 前邊 and 前面? 

Back 後面 and 後邊?

can they  be used alternately?

How about

Right 左邊，Left 右邊

Is it correct to use 左面 and 右面?

Did we already have a QW on 可以，能，会 and when to use which? Usually, the verb used in an answer is the same as in the question. Not with these from what I have been able to fathom.

These are all great, guys.  We have a great new huge list of topics now!  Stay tuned.

Rules on last and next

I just made this mistake yesterday.. saying "last week" and "next week"

last week as 去週 instead of 上週，because I know that last year is 去年。
while yesterday is 昨天，
last month is  昨月 or 上月 or 去月?

next week should be 下週 instead of 明週
next year is 明年 or can it be  下年?

next day is not 下天 but 明天 which is tomorrow
Is next month is not 明月 but 下月

youre right Xiaohu, its usually the modal particle that causes all the confusion. I assumed that was what he meant. I guess Im still wondering if the suggestion was for 把  or  吧 even though the former was written. Anyway, my apologies.

rjberki

I believe you're thinking of the 语气助词 modal particle, 吧.

ajcee was suggesting a lesson about the word 把.

ba (把) is covered in this Qing Qen episode:

http://chinesepod.com/lessons/ending-your-sentence-with-%E5%90%A7-ba/discussion

What about how to use 把？

what to use when comparing 更 or 比較

Yeh I am always adding the "de" when I don't need one, and not adding a "de" when I need one.. and also getting the order mixed up as it seems to be the reverse of whatever I think. Even when I reverse what I think, to counteract this, I end up reversing the reversal and end up doing it bakwards again..

People say "de" is easy.. but it's actually one of the more subtle usage words in the language that is actually quite elusive to understand.. it's a very sneaky thing.

Like.. "the manager of a company" is the correct way.. so <manager> de <company>.. even though the de is the possessive equavilant of the 's you don't use it in the same order. In english it would be " the company's manager" but in Chinese it is like above.

anyway.. I think I am close to understanding this.. but then.. may be I am not as close as I thought.

Here's another one.  How about a QW on the usage of 让...

Besides the topics I've recently suggested other places, I've got another. Actually, Jazz's post reminded me--how about a QW on hen to use the Ds: di, de, and de?

Yes please! i have a lot of trouble with these. My teacher expects me to be able to use them but i have trouble working out how!

Besides the topics I've recently suggested other places, I've got another. Actually, Jazz's post reminded me--how about a QW on hen to use the Ds: di, de, and de?

Hi Amber,

I'm not sure if you have covered this pattern on QW yet:

Budan....erqie

Bujing...hai

I would also like to request a QW that covers some common idiomatic expressions (ie: "All talk and no action"...stuff like that...).

Thanks !

Hey Amber -

Welcome back!

I'm sure more topics will come to mind, so I'll just post as they come.  But for now, here are a few simple ones that you might be able to cover in a QW.

1. The difference between 没错 and 不错, and maybe a good way to remember when to use which.

2. Different ways to describe something as "just OK" (such as 还可以 or 马马虎虎).

3. When to use 请 versus 麻烦 when asking somebody to do something.

4. The use of 被.

5. How to know when to use 太 versus 那么 versus 真.

Thanks!  ChinesePod rocks, as always.

Hey Amber!

Here's a good(?) suggestion.

Alphabet usage in Chinese....

Something like, 幫我去K你爸。(bang1 wo3 qu4 K ni3 ba4; help me knockout your dad).

我的LV!!! (My LV!!!)

卡拉OK (Ka3 la1 OK; Karaoke)

Thanks Amber, 

I'll download the full listing and check them out!

Hey Peter,

Thanks, some great topics!  Actually quite a few of those we have already done, you should go check the QW listing and see as well!

Hey Amber,

Hope you had a great holiday. Here are some suggestions....

1. bushi....jiu shi pattern (either...or)

e.g Qiantian lai zhao nide bushi xiao wang jiu shi xiaoli.

2. Chu le....yiwai pattern (except; besides)

e.g Chu le Shanghai yiwai, wo hai gu guo Beijing he Xianggang.

3. Zhiyou....cai... pattern (only)

e.g. Zong jingli zhiyou zai chifan de shihou, cai neng xiuxi yihui'er

4. Xiang...yiyang pattern (looks like)

e.g. Ta juede ziji xiang haizi yiyang xihuan xiao wanju.

5. Lian....ye... pattern (even)

e.g. Ta Lian zixingche ye bu hui qi.

6. ....shenme de pattern (?)

e.g. Women jintian xuexi kewen, ciyu, wenhua shenme de.

7. Ruguo..., jiu... pattern (if)

e.g. Ka er ruguo hai bushufu, jiu zai xiuxi ling tian.

8. Xian..., ranhou... pattern (first, then)

e.g. Jintian women xian xuesheng ci, ranhou zai xue kewen.

That's all I can think of off the top. (ha, ha...kidding).

Actually, I pulled these from an old textbook of mine that I recently found in my bookcase. I went through it and saw that I had a lot of scribbles and questions marked besides these patterns...so I figure I didn't get my head around them back then...which is probably why I don't use them today....  :^P

Anyways, hope you find something of use/interest here.

All the best,

Peter

Hi Amber,

This one may be as complicated as "le", but it's one I keep coming up against and I'd love to understand a bit more about the meaning of 得(dé).

For example, as in:

 你中文说得这么好
or
 你可以说得慢一点吗

Chinese Pera-kun tells me it could mean (deep breath): "obtain, get, gain, proper, suitable, proud, contented, allow, permit, ready, finished" which rather suggests a mystery beyond the understanding of an Elementary.. but any insights you could offer would be gratefully received!

awesome ideas henning.  i think the word order one may be too huge for a little QW, but we'll see what we can do!

Hi Amber,
what I think many of us really need is a series on word order QWs (大大小小几万家?). This ranges from really basic to really advanced questions.

Expressing time is also a fundamental issue with a broad spectrum of topics that continue to puzzle me. 比如说: 常常, 经常, 平常, or 正常? 过 vs. 了?

And last not least: Those complements. 出来， 起来， and what about 看来 vs. 来看?