User Comments - JasonSch

Posted on: Utensils in the New Kitchen

I actually knew this one, but I remember when I learned it, I thought my ex-gf was just being cute (and, being unfamiliar with kitchen utensils) calling it a 'little shovel'. When I laughed, she made me look it up. :)

Posted on: Drinking Ability

Mark below is right on. 吃豆腐 is sexual harassment in the sense of taking liberties with someone, groping, being forceful, etc. Although, I think it mostly describes the act, rather than the general concept of harassment.

Here's a possible etymological explanation from Baidu:

吃豆腐”就是近年来在国内流行的词“性骚扰”在民间的说法。据说，旧时豆腐店多为夫妻店，丈夫半夜起来磨豆腐，白天由妻子卖豆腐，豆腐店老板娘以豆腐为常食，自然生得细皮嫩肉，同时为招徕顾客未免有卖弄风情之举，引得周围男人以“吃豆腐”为名到豆腐店与老板娘调情，且动手动脚。于是，吃醋的老婆们不满意了，以“你今天又去吃豆腐了？”来训斥丈夫。以后，“吃豆腐”便成了男人轻薄女人的代名词。

Posted on: Doing Business in the Bath House

I think they are essentially interchangeable, but as Bodawei says, it sounds like 一站式服务 probably came from English. The examples I found online seemed to support this in that 一站式服务 is almost always translated literally as 'one-stop (shopping/service)', whereas 一条龙服务 is a bit less literal. (i.e. all inclusive service, full service, etc)

Posted on: Job Shopping in Modern China

Thanks for the feedback. About having different speakers from different parts of China record the dialogs - we want it that way! It's clear you're not a fan of this aspect, but we feel it enriches the service and provides a more accurate and diverse portrayal of Chinese as it's actually spoken. We have regular dialog voices from 天津，浙江，江苏，陕西，山西，湖南 and more! There isn't any agenda to push Southern style Chinese, but rather a desire to be diverse. So, on that point, we may just have to agree to disagree. :)

As for lesson notes, that's certainly something we could consider doing. I can't make any guarantees, but we'll look into it.

Anyway, thanks for the enthusiasm either way.

Posted on: Job Shopping in Modern China

Hi Alex,

It's actually not a mispronunciation at all! What I meant in my earlier response is that sometimes, non-native speakers believe they are hearing a different tone than they really are due to various factors. This is just an aspect of learning a tonal language. If it were to have been pronounced cìzhí it would sound very different.

Listening to slow language can definitely be a good way to improve your listening. There are even resources available that use slowed down speech intentionally. However, one benefit of pushing through a dialog like this lesson and eventually being able to follow it, is that you're hearing the language at a native-speaker speed. (which we get much closer to at the UI level)

Either way, I say the more methods for learning, the better. You can never have too many resources.

Posted on: Job Shopping in Modern China

I think what's important with comments like that is to be careful how you phrase your point. If that's not what you meant, it could easily be taken that way. (given your examples, which were assumed to be comparisons)

As for the language issue, it's important to remember that even northern Chinese is accented 普通话. The only 'unaccented' 普通话 is broadcast 普通话 which is spoken on television in the PRC. (although, many 台湾人 would have a bone to pick with assertion actually...) Our speakers are in fact either speaking accurate 普通话, or with only a slight accent. (Your example of a Beijing friend not understanding a Shanghainese cabbie, has to do with dialect, not accent) Mistakes, however, are something we try not to do. If you hear a complete mispronunciation of a word, let us know and we'll look into it as always.

The pronunciation of 辞职 in the dialog here that started this thread, is a completely accurate two 2nd tones. It's just not so easy sometimes for non-native speakers to pick that out.

Anyway, keep up the studies and billboarding! We like ChinesePod a lot too. :)

Posted on: Help Calling a Cab

Hi Keruise,

When the 一会儿 comes before the verb, it means 'in' a little while. (like in the dialog)

If you wanted to say, 'for' a little while, you could say: 我要出去一会儿, or 我要出去一段时间 wǒ yào chūqù yī duàn shíjiān. I'd say the latter is more common, however.

As for your sentence, just leave out the 以后 and your good. (the sentence then meaning, I'm going to go out and buy a few things in a bit). 以后, when not after a verb, means 'in the future', as in a non-specific time in the future.

Posted on: Job Shopping in Modern China

When translating something like that (you're such a child, you're such a girl) there's the fear that you'll add additional meaning/tone that wasn't there in the original text. I played it on the safe side this time by simply using 'you' (which as we all know, there are plenty more ways to say in Chinese than there are in English) given that C and JJ said it was more along the line of just addressing the daughter, rather than adding significant extra meaning/tone.

That being said, in retrospect I think, 'Oh, child...' would work quite well.

Posted on: Reserving a Taxi Cab by Telephone

You never know! Maybe someday you'll fly to another planet and...OK, maybe not very practical in the real world, but you just may hear it a sci-fi movie someday.

Posted on: Reserving a Taxi Cab by Telephone

Good question. When they say 我们现在帮您调度，五分钟内给您回复。the 调度 doesn't mean they can absolutely find a taxi for you. So, within 5 minutes they call you back with either a) an automated message telling you the 车牌号, or the taxi's plate number - meaning that the taxi is on the way, or b) another automated message that I can't recall exactly but includes 表示歉意 and 现在没有空车, or in other words, 'we regret to inform you...there aren't any empty taxis available at this time'.

Of course, you get b), you can simply call back immediately and it's likely they'll be able to find another taxi for you.