User Comments - YuQinCai
YuQinCai
Posted on: Direction Words: 向, 朝, and 往
February 1, 2017 at 6:13 AMHaha, yeah...isn't it obvious that it's sitting at the north and facing south...
坐北朝南 is a set phrase though. People use this set phrase a lot when discussing 风水（fēngshuǐ）
Posted on: Where the heck is my cell-phone?
February 1, 2017 at 6:07 AMWell… you can say 在你手上啊！To mean the same “isn’t it obvious” attitude as 不是在你手上嘛!
Maybe if the person after hearing不是在你手上嘛! He still said no he didn’t see it then you can continue to say "是在你手上嘛!" (It is in your hand!)
Posted on: Describing Personalities 2
February 1, 2017 at 5:46 AMHaha I love this question. People often use the two terms together, like
- 他幽默風趣，大家都喜歡他。Tā yōumò fēngqù, dàjiā dōu xǐhuān tā. He is humorous and witty. Everybody likes him.
幽默 is a sound translation form English “Humor.” It’s can be the attitude towards life or use the humor to solve some problem, like
- 他幽默地化解了尷尬。Tā yōumò dì huàjiě le gāngà.He used his humor to solve the awkwardness.
风趣 is 风雅(refined)、幽默. It's mostly describing someone is full of charm and wit.
So 风趣 and 幽默 overlap when describing somebody is a funny/witty talker.
手腕 can be positive or negative. (skill or play tricks)
他很有社交手腕 means that he uses social tactics well. He’s good at socializing with people.
There are also 外交手腕 （diplomatic skill）, 政治手腕 （political tactics）
Posted on: What Do You Do When You Rest?
February 1, 2017 at 5:00 AMYes, it is an abbreviation and we use just 时 when writing since it sounds more formal.
休息的时候我很喜欢学习中文 sounds oral and casual
whereas 休息时我喜欢学习中文 is more of a written language.
Posted on: When Do You Shower?
February 1, 2017 at 4:51 AM会儿 is an abbreviation of 一会儿, just like 哪个 is a shorten version of 哪一个.
We often use the short form after the verb, such as, 等会儿、站会儿、睡会儿
Although there are times that you have to say 一会儿，such as
- 他一会儿哭，一会儿笑.Tā yìhuǐer kū, yìhuǐer xiào.One moment he is crying, the next moment he’s laughing.
Posted on: When Do You Shower?
February 1, 2017 at 4:26 AM“再”坐会儿就进去 is used to mean “more”. (I'll sit here for a while longer then go inside.)
It’s the same usage with the following sentence.
- 再给我一碗饭Zài gěiwǒ yìwǎn fànGive me one more bowl of rice.
“在 Verb” doesn’t mean more. It means “the action is happening now”
- 我在吃饭，我等一下就回家。”Wǒ zài chīfàn, wǒ děngyíxià jiù huíjiā.I am eating now. I will go home later.
Posted on: 互联网大会 Internet Conference
January 18, 2017 at 4:15 AMWhen it means to fall behind or leave out, 落 is pronounced là
Eg. 我把手机落在家里了。
In other cases, 落 is pronounced luò
Posted on: Traditional Chinese Medicine
January 18, 2017 at 3:52 AMYes, and 总是 is more formal than 老是.
Posted on: Business Style
January 18, 2017 at 3:45 AMYou are right. This sentence is ambiguous. Both of the translations are possible.
Posted on: Fighting over the Bill
February 8, 2017 at 3:09 AM给面子is literally translated as “give face”, and it means to show respect to someone for his/her feeling.
In this dialogue, the thinking behind it is that “if the guy wouldn’t let his friend buy him a meal his friend doesn’t save face (doesn’t earn respect) from paying for him.” Therefore, his friend said “let me pay otherwise you are not giving me face.” But really, the friend is just trying to be nice to him and want to pay for him.
This is quite a common thing to say when fighting over the bill.