User Comments - JasonSch

Posted on: Lesson

Hi Stephen,

Hànyǔ and Zhōngwén are interchangeable and both mean 'Chinese'. The Hàn in Hànyǔ refers to the Han people. And the Zhōng in Zhōngwén to Zhōngguó.

Pǔtōnghuà literally means 'standard speech', which refers to standard Mandarin - the standard form of Mandarin adopted and disseminated by the Chinese government. So, a dialect, is both zhōngwén and hànyǔ, but it's not pǔtōnghuà.

Posted on: Farewell Dinner

Yeah, there's some overlap.

Posted on: One-Way Street Scuffle

当时 is 'at the time', 'at that time' (like in the above discussion).

当...时 is the same idea, but what comes between refers to a specific time. For example, 当她上台演讲时... When she had gotten on the stage to speak..., or, 当他刚毕业时... Back when he had just graduated...

Posted on: Farewell Dinner

It's a difference of perspective. If you're inviting someone to come meet you and you're already out, use 出来, 'come out', if you're talking about 'going out' together, use 出去.

For this reason 我们一起出来吃饭 sounds a little strange. You could, however, invite more than one person to come meet you and use 你们一起出来吃饭吧.

Posted on: An Unplanned Tan

No problem. Thanks for the support!

Posted on: Toothache

It's just like English with interesting/interested, boring/bored, and scary/scared. So, you if you say the spider is hàipà you're saying it's scared, and describing how the spider feels. If you want to say the spider is scary, that's xiàrén.

Posted on: Toothache

No problem. Xiàrén as in frightening. That spider is frightening (or scary). Hàipà as in frightened of something. I'm frightened of that spider. (scared of it)

Posted on: An Unplanned Tan

要 ———了 is used to express something will or is going to happen. 快要下雨了 (it's going to rain soon) 比赛明天要开始了 (the competition will start tomorrow)

一定 means certainly, or definitely. 明天一定要下雨了 (it's definitely going to rain tomorrow) 他一定很聪明 (he's certainly very smart)

Posted on: Toothache

Hi Light,

The two words are related, but different. 吓人 means something is frightening, 害怕 means you are frightened, or frightened of something specifically.

Posted on: A Member of the 'Moonlight Clan'

Hi Light,

To say, 'the same as I usually have in the afternoon', you should say, 跟我平常下午(喝)的一样. gēn wǒ píngcháng xiàwǔ (hē) de yīyàng.