User Comments - Tal

Posted on: Your First Mooncake

You've nailed it there mate!

This year however I had my first mooncake with a filling made entirely from nuts, and it wasn't half bad. (i.e. I really enjoyed it. I was pretty hungry at the time though, I've been dieting.) I couldn't really tell you what nuts, walnuts and almonds maybe? It was part of one of those gift sets that businesses and so on give away. I'll be looking out for it again next year, and that's the first time I feel that way about mooncake. Don't know if it would go well with coffee though!

Posted on: Seeing Somebody to the Door

You're most welcome! Hmm... certainly more casual with close friends or people you know quite well. In fact I'd go so far as to say that with close friends Chinese people would consider all these expressions way too polite! (太客气了！ Tài kèqi le!) With business connections, tradespeople, taxi drivers etc, 慢走 is fine. With casual acquaintances, students, underlings etc, I'd usually go for 走好.

Posted on: Seeing Somebody to the Door

走好 (zǒuhǎo) I've noticed is a fairly common thing that's added when wishing someone farewell. I'd say it roughly equates to the way we might say 'take care' in English.

保重 bǎozhòng is usually only used when you don't expect to see that person again for some time, or you've heard they've been ill.

e.g. 后会有期，请多保重。Hòu huì yǒu qī，qǐngduō bǎozhòng。We shall meet again. Till then take good care of yourself.

听说最近你身体不好，要多多保重啊！Tīngshuō zuìjìn nǐ shēntǐ bù hǎo，yào duōduō bǎozhòng a！I heard that you have not been well recently. Take care of yourself!

Posted on: Giving Instructions to the Ayi

Neither do I. But then, we are foreigners.

Posted on: Seeing Somebody to the Door

liúbù 留步 is similar to “别送了 (bié sòng le, there’s no need to go any further)” or “回去吧 (huíqù ba, please go back)”, but a little bit more formal.

A: 我不送你了， 有空儿常来我家玩儿。

B: 留步吧， 我会的。

A: Wô bú sòng nî le, yôu kòngr cháng lái wô jiä wánr.

B: Liúbù ba, wô huì de.

A: I’ll say goodbye here. Come again when you have time

B: Please stop here. I’ll surely come again

A: 你一定要照顾好自己。

B: 我知道了， 您留步吧。

A: Nî yídìng yào zhàogù hâo zìjî.

B: Wô zhïdào le, nín liúbù ba.

A: Do take good care of yourself.

B: I will. Please stop here.

Posted on: Giving Instructions to the Ayi

What, you take advantage of poor workers instead of having a go yourself! How reactionary of you, old sport! You're a counter-revolutionary after all methinks!

Posted on: Giving Instructions to the Ayi

Chinese vacuum cleaners suck!

Sorry for the pun, but they do. Maybe because Chinese people are generally not into carpet, (in the south anyway, I am yet to venture further north than Shanghai.) I found it hard to get used to the bare and empty carpetless look of my accommodation when I first came to China, so blew more than 500块 on a rather nice rug at Walmart. I was unprepared for how quickly and thoroughly it got dirty, (homes here get dirtier quicker than in the west, it feels like a full-time job keeping them clean, and that's another reason why 阿姨s are so popular.) So then I went out and bought a Chinese vacuum cleaner, but using it seemed to make no damn difference at all to the dirtiness of the carpet. In the end I had to use handfuls of sticky tape to get the dust and fluff off. I got sick of doing that every 2 days after a week or so, so rolled up the carpet, stood it in a corner of the 'store room' and gave the wonderful vacuum cleaner away. Live and learn.

Sometimes when chatting with students I will mention that most western homes (these days) have wall-to-wall carpet and how odd it seems to (some) westerners that Chinese homes do not. The usual reaction is something like: 'Oh, but that must be so dirty! How to keep the floor clean?'

Posted on: There Is No Try

Posted on: There Is No Try

对呀！他是我们的胡说专家！ (j/k!)

Posted on: There Is No Try

Great stuff, old sport. Hmm... story of my life really.