User Comments - Grambers
Grambers
Posted on: Words with 可(ke)
June 13, 2012 at 5:24 PMHa - thanks, Tingyun. Though, in case anyone gets the wrong impression, I didn't actually say I was actively 'looking for' cutesy girls. More interested in how John perceives the term!:)
Posted on: Bel Canto
June 13, 2012 at 9:06 AMThat said, I may skip inserting 帕瓦罗蒂 into my flashcard database for review. I'm just not sure the number of future uses of that word are gonna be worth the investment in time. I did go to the opera once - in Newcastle, England - and, well, let's just say I was glad of the 'experience', if nothing else.
Posted on: Bel Canto
June 13, 2012 at 9:04 AMWow. I can learn Chinese, Italian and a means of saying 'a big fat person' without being overly offensive, all in the same lesson. Result!
Posted on: Words with 可(ke)
June 13, 2012 at 9:01 AMOooh, I'd love a more involved definition of a 'cutesy girl' here, John. I know you like a challenge! Careful now:)
Posted on: The Tea Scam
June 13, 2012 at 8:59 AMThis reminds me of that classic Einstein quote: "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"
Posted on: Chinese Gamer Culture
June 13, 2012 at 8:56 AMThanks for comment. Please see my (rather lengthy) comment above.
Posted on: Chinese Gamer Culture
June 13, 2012 at 8:55 AMThanks for comment. Please see my (rather lengthy) comment above.
Posted on: Chinese Gamer Culture
June 13, 2012 at 8:55 AMThanks. Yeah, I'm aware that 随便 has a multitude of uses in Chinese - in the same way 'easy' has a multitude of uses in English, I suppose. One thing I am sure about is the fact that 随便 CAN be used to refer to sexual predilections in Chinese (sorry - I'm using capitals there because I don't know how to input italics). My question is whether it's the ONLY interpretation in the specific sentence I quoted. As in all languages, context is vital. If I said - in response to a question - "I'm easy" - I am obviously saying that I don't really have a strong opinion, rather than admitting I have loose morals. However, in the utterance above - 没想到她竟然是个那么随便的人 - the tone of surprise suggests to me that it is highly likely the girl's sexual mores are being discussed. It's difficult to imagine a context in which a person would express surprise (using the 没想到 phrase, IN ADDITION TO the word 竟然) over a person being 'casual' or 'easygoing' about something banal and uncontroversial (although not totally impossible, granted)
Posted on: Chinese Gamer Culture
June 12, 2012 at 10:02 AMI'm curious about this sentence from the Grammar section:
真没想到她竟然是个这么随便的人。
The English translation - 'I had no idea she was so easy' - suggests that the only way to read it is as a comment on the subject's sexual habits. The colloquial understanding of the word 'easy' in English has a pretty narrow range of possible interpretations and, in the kind of sentence above, probably only one. However, I thought 随便 was a little more open to interpretation. Does 随便 refer only to sexual habits? Or might it refer to the fact that she's not particularly 'fussy' or 'picky' in other ways?
Posted on: Applying for a Work Visa
June 15, 2012 at 3:10 PMThanks Rich. Your fulsome reply did remind me that I have of course used the 哪来的 pattern before - in fact, it was one of the first structures I learned (many's the time I've asked 你是哪里来的?). Somehow, I never mentally connected that construction with the one form this dialogue.