User Comments - amber
amber
Posted on: Night Cat
January 4, 2008 at 5:55 AMhi bbjt, That's what my mainland sources tell me. But then, who really knows where these things come from hehe, they seem to evolve....
Posted on: Ordering Chinese Take-out
January 4, 2008 at 5:52 AMhi nicklyth, 你的地址是？ Nǐ de dìzhǐ shì？ This is kind of a more casual way of asking for the address. Kind of like how we would say in English: And your address is...?
Posted on: Before Noon, After Noon
January 4, 2008 at 3:51 AMhi sballa, The difference between 能 (néng) and 可以 (kěyǐ) is very slight. They both express ablility to do something. 能 (néng) is mainly used for talking about ability. 可以 (kěyǐ) has a bit more emphasis on possibility. Also, you can not add 很 (hěn) or 真 (zhēn) in front of 可以 (kěyǐ), however you can use these intensifiers with 能 (néng). Here are a few example sentences to illustrate the difference in nuance: 他能说三种语言。他能说三种语言。 Tā néng shuō sān zhǒng yǔyán. He can speak three languages. 他可以说三种语言。 Tā kěyǐ shuō sān zhǒng yǔyán. He can speak three languages. In the two above examples, either 能 (néng) or 可以 (kěyǐ) can be used. 他很能喝酒。 Tā hěn néng hē jiǔ. He can really drink. (feeling is ability, not possibility) 这么做可以吗？ Zhème zuò kěyǐ ma？ Can i do it like this? (feeling is possibility or permission)
Posted on: Dorm Life: Late For Class
January 4, 2008 at 2:41 AMhi casie, I think in America some dorms are co-ed, and some are all girls or all boys, so it depends...
Posted on: Getting Water Delivered
January 4, 2008 at 1:51 AMhi wjefferys, 喂，你好。(Wèi, nǐhǎo.) is more polite. In the context of the phone conversation, if the person says 你哪儿？ (Nǐ nǎr?) it means they are asking who you are.
Posted on: Ordering Chinese Take-out
January 3, 2008 at 10:14 AMhi longdehua, Please forgive me! TYPO! oops. fixed that now.
Posted on: Night Cat
January 3, 2008 at 9:29 AMHi Art, The phrase 泡妞 (pàoniū) originated in Hong Kong. The 泡 (pào) in this context has the meaning of 'to kill time' or to 'find a diversion'. I guess in this case, in the aspect of chasing girls! It's the same meaning as the 泡 (pào) in 泡网吧 (pào wǎngba).
Posted on: Haircuts
January 3, 2008 at 4:16 AMhi davelandis, Yes there are quite a few words and tones of words that are spoken differently here and there. But it's hard to remember them all now that i'm accustomed to here! Will have to do some research on that one!
Posted on: Before Noon, After Noon
January 3, 2008 at 3:32 AMhi bella08, You could say: 你什么时候来我家？ Nǐ shénme shíhou lái wǒjiā？ 我下午去。 Wǒ xiàwǔ qù. 我下午5点到。 Wǒ xiàwǔ 5 diǎn dào.
Posted on: #31
January 4, 2008 at 6:01 AMhi pgwilliams22 and xiaohu, sorry! we get too many correct answers to give you honourable mentions. you just have to keep trying each week. how it works is, you submit your guess to me or Clay at our profiles, then i randomly draw the winner from the correct answers received that week!