User Comments - Tal
Tal
Posted on: Job Interview
June 30, 2009 at 12:25 AM似曾见过 might be the closest. Any special reason?
Posted on: Baby Photos
June 29, 2009 at 1:31 PMCongrats cambrink, she's a special little girl!
anislauris, see if this is any help.
Posted on: Job Interview
June 29, 2009 at 11:00 AMThat is an interesting link xiaophil, and so apt. Cheers.
Re. 谈恋爱 at uni in China, it's still very much the case that the family puts pressure on the student to refrain from frolicking I would say, though many ignore it (or are allowed more freedom perhaps). Personally I think it should be illegal for students to 谈恋爱, punishable by a little holiday on some Sino gulag somewhere.
Posted on: Finally
June 29, 2009 at 3:59 AM嗯... you're right changye. Here's another good example:
他到底还是找到了理想的女人。Tā dàodǐ háishi zhǎodào le lǐxiǎng de nǚrén. Finally he found his ideal woman.
Posted on: Job Interview
June 29, 2009 at 2:25 AMI had no idea that 款 could be used as a 量词 for 手机!
It can mean a sum of money as in:
银行给他们贷了款。- The bank lent some money to them.
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 12: A Dodgy Opportunity
June 29, 2009 at 2:01 AMThat's great pete, thanks! As for 儿子母亲不正当关系... err, it's all yours mate! 
Posted on: Delivery Problems
June 29, 2009 at 1:11 AM哈哈！没事儿，过奖了！
Posted on: Dubai
June 29, 2009 at 1:06 AMBaba g'day!
The character 啦 is actually a kind of combination of 了and 啊, and I'm pretty sure that it is what Jenny said at that point. I'm not infallible however! I'm quite sure there are still many little errors in these transcripts, (and I'm very willing to be picked up on them!)
Posted on: Finally
June 28, 2009 at 9:48 PM到底 does not mean "finally" in the sense that the other expressions looked at here do.
It is used rather to convey an emotional quality of impatience, of a desire to achieve resolution of some question. In English there are several ways of expressing this same nuance of meaning, sometimes including phrases like 'finally' or 'in the end', but my point is that 到底 is not a replacement for 最后 or any of the other expressions looked at above.
e.g. 你到底来不来？Nǐ dàodǐ lái bù lái? Are you coming or not?
你到底在干什么？Nǐ dàodǐ zài gàn shénme? What on earth are you up to?
你到底还想不想上大学？Nǐ dàodǐ hái xiǎng bu xiǎng shàng dàxué? Do you actually want to go to university?
Posted on: Shut up!
June 30, 2009 at 12:34 AMNot really!
bìzuǐ 闭嘴 is rather rude. You'd have to say
闭上嘴吧 - bìshang zuǐ ba
then it loses the rude quality. For example:
嚼东西的时候闭上嘴。Jué dōngxi de shíhou bìshang zuǐ. Close your mouth while you chew.