User Comments - JasonSch

Posted on: Waiting for Food

The situation in the dialog reminds me of the infamous '五分钟' (wǔ fēnzhōng, five minutes). Never trust a 五分钟 when asking how long something will take! It almost always means 10 minutes at least. :) (not to say that it only happens in China. This happens all over the place!)

Posted on: Chinese Seasonings

Yeah, I should have been more clear about that. The sentence should be:

"Do you need any other drinks?"

Adding the 吗 in order to be polite is something different. In this case, it's not for that reason.

Getting it changed now.

Posted on: Chinese Seasonings

还需要什么饮料？ and 还需要什么饮料吗？ are a bit different, but very similar. When you add the 吗, the 什么 becomes more like 'any'. So, 还需要什么饮料吗？ is more along the lines of 'Do you need any other drinks?' '还需要什么饮料?' is closer to, 'What other drinks would you like (need)?' On the other hand, eupnea63355 below is right as well. Sometimes a 吗 gets thrown on the end of statements that normally wouldn't have one.

Posted on: Choosing a New Pair of Glasses

Interesting question! I don't think there's a direct equivalent phrase in Chinese. In this situation though, you can simply say, "不好意思，我们现在有点事" and the meaning would be implied.

As for 深 and it's use, it's a bit too 书面语 to be used in a casual expression like this.

In this case, I think 私人 (si1ren2, private) would be a better adjective to describe the nature of the conversation.

Posted on: Cold Weather Is Coming

Don't give up! There's gotta be a good Chinese restaurant in your area...time to go make some friends!

I say this mostly because I personally really enjoy talking to Chinese immigrants in the U.S. whenever I'm back. They have an interesting perspective and they're usually up for a chat, especially in Chinese.

Posted on: The Killing Game

嗯，就是。很难去纠正这种舌头的’坏习惯‘！

Posted on: The Killing Game

I can verify that Koreans (at least the high school students I've taught) play 'Mafia'. Although, they call it 'Mapia'. :)

Posted on: The Red Spectrum of Meaning

Another good 红 word is: 

红火 hónghuǒ

Which is an adjective meaning prosperous, flourishing, or lively.

Posted on: The Red Spectrum of Meaning

The English refers to the color of the tea before it's soaked and drank. Although, I think technically, it's a very dark shade of green.

Posted on: Visiting a Friend's Room

To be clear, I translated that. (I do all the translation content) So, my mistake! We've been quite good about catching these, but this one seems to have gotten by. Sorry about the confusion.