User Comments - JasonSch

Posted on: Job Shopping in Modern China

I talked to Connie and Jiaojie about the specific difference in tone between 女孩子 and 女孩子家 and they both agreed that it's very subtle! They said that there isn't too much difference, but when you add the 家 it's similar to saying 你是一个女孩子，你(不)应该, or 你们女孩子... So, the dialog already has 你一个 before 女孩子家 so it emphasizes this sense of 'you girl'. (which doesn't translate so well into words in English, but rather changes the tone)

As for 啃老, I totally agree. What a vivid and apt expression.

Posted on: Job Shopping in Modern China

That's right. I just added the 'woman' to the pop-up. Thanks!

Posted on: Which tone was that again?

Nice intuition! You're right, you can use this pattern ( Verb + 不 + Verb ) to ask "______ or not?" You could have said, 这叫不叫一'份儿'？

A few other examples: 要不要？你去不去？吃不吃？

Posted on: Reserving a Taxi Cab by Telephone

It depends on the company. 海博, the one I've used, doesn't have a charge. Not sure about 强生, the one in the dialog, though.

Posted on: Have you eaten?

Yeah, the best translation of 他们也去吗？should be 'Are they going too?'. 'Did they go too?' should be 他们也去了吗？(If the context is obvious enough, usually with other time words, sometimes 了 is omitted from sentences about the past, but here, the best and most direct translation is present tense in English)

'Usually' is 平常 (píngcháng), so, Do they usually go to the movies? = 他们平常去看电影吗？

Posted on: Job Shopping in Modern China

It is in fact still cízhí, but the tones aren't enunciated super clearly. Did you hear it as cìzhí? I've noticed this before as well. Sometimes, a combination of the pinyin, the speed at which its spoken, and its position in a sentence in relation to other words/tones can make a word's tones sound a bit different. I think this is the case here.

Posted on: Renting an Apartment through an Agent 4

I could me missing something, but from this dialog, I don't think they really mention how the rent will be handled after the initial moving in. With 付三押一, it's usually assumed you'll pay in 3 month increments though.

I also don't think I've come across any month-by-month leases around here. I think you're right in that if there were, there would definitely have to be more stringent and reliable legal recourse as far as contracts go. Back when I was in the U.S., I only ever paid month-by-month. Although I was a college student back then. (me = college = no money!)

Posted on: Renting an Apartment through an Agent 4

It's pouring over here! And besides, ChinesePod, work? Still doesn't feel so much like work. :)

I actually haven't listened to this podcast, so I just assumed it was a foreigner given some of my earlier conversations with Connie.

Yeah, I pay my 物业费 as well. That's a lot of 费s! I remember paying an elevator maintenance fee at my old place in Nanjing as well.

Posted on: Renting an Apartment through an Agent 4

I asked a few Chinese friends who rent last night (3 of em) and they all paid in 3 month increments. It's all negotiable at the end of the day, but I think the 付三押一 is pretty standard around here. (was the case with my 2 Nanjing apartments as well, although I negotiated both of them into 2 months at a time.)

Posted on: Renting an Apartment through an Agent 4

Ah, that's right. Somehow I forgot our well-off foreign renter here still had a bit of 砍价 in him.

Also, just as a bit of extra info, I asked last time I was renting an apartment and the actual agent who negotiates the rental gets 10% of that 35% as commission.