User Comments - JasonSch

Posted on: Shopping for a Rice Cooker

This is an error that slipped by before publication. 破玩意儿 should be as it is in the dialog, a thing of low quality, or a 'piece of junk'.

Posted on: Transportation Card

Yes, a test! Okay, not really, but thanks for noticing that. We'll have it corrected soon. Thanks.

Posted on: Transportation Card

充 here (short for 充值) means that 100 kuai was added to, or put on, an account of some sort. There isn't enough info in the sentence to know whether it was a new card, or an existing one.

Posted on: Do you like China?

HongKongNik is right! The 过, or, guò, here means 'to have the experience of...' and it comes after a verb meaning, 'have you ever...'.

So, another example would be: 你吃过中国菜吗？Nǐ chīguò zhōngguócài ma? Have you ever eaten Chinese food?

Posted on: Where's the bathroom?

That's right, good eye. Just catching the comment now, but we'll go ahead and make the correction.

Posted on: Zombies: Deader than Ever

Hey xiao_liang,

I think you may be confusing 把 with 被. 把 meaning 'to take [something and...]', and 被 being a passive marker, or sometimes literally, 'by'. So, in this sentence she's 'taking' the room and tidying it up. Another example could be 把杯子拿过来. 'Bring the glass over here'.

I agree that having grammar tags/entries are super useful. We have adverbs and many verbs up already in the Grammar Guide, but alas, no 把 as of yet. We'll keep ya updated though.

Posted on: Fun at the Beach

Late to the punch on this one but here's my 2 cents:

讨厌 is usually reserved for girls (and therefore sounds girly when a guy says it), with the exception of when a man is being serious about 'hating' someone/thing. For example, 我真的很讨厌那个地方, would be fine for a guy to say. But, '讨厌你'! to a loved one, would sound overly feminine. I would say this is cultural as well as linguistic however. Being whiny, or 撒娇-ing is not masculine in Chinese culture. (or anywhere maybe?)

Posted on: Making people do things with 让，令，and 使

Good guess. They are related, but the difference is important. 逼 means to 'force', or to make someone do something. 让 is softer meaning more along the lines of 'having' someone do something.

Posted on: Ordering Food for the Group

I think it comes down to the nature of Chinese dishes. Most Chinese dishes aren't made to eaten alone, but in combination with other dishes. When that's the case, it makes more sense to have a single person order. Or, however, a group consensus. When among friends, there is usually a discussion about what to order and what people want.

As for curry chicken, it may not be Chinese in origin, but it's all over the place in the big cities these days. In fact, I just ordered from a very small, side-street mom and pop Chinese restaurant the other day that had all kinds of curry meats/rice on their menu. (And no other 'foreign' dishes.) By curry though, they did mean just a bit if yellow curry and spices. Not exactly the real deal.

Posted on: 4S Dealership

Interestingly, the other day I noticed a sign in 闵行区 here in Shanghai for a dealership that had the '4S' on it. What was strange was that it wasn't a normal advertisement, but rather, it was blue and white and attached to a street lamp like a typical road sign. For the record though, I hadn't ever heard the term until this lesson myself. However, I'm not exactly out buying cars every day. :)