User Comments - amber
amber
Posted on: Yang Jie's Diary: Date with a Nerd
October 17, 2007 at 5:35 AMhi buzz, 他约我明天去看电影。 Tā yuē wǒ míngtiān qù kàn diànyǐng. Here, 约 (yuē) has the feeling of 'to invite'. It's not necessary that the other party has agreed. If it were that it was set, and you wanted to express that, you could say: 我跟他约好了，明天去看电影。 (Wǒ gēn tā yuē hǎo le, míngtiān qù kàn diànyǐng.)
Posted on: Finding the Teacher
October 17, 2007 at 5:30 AMhi poisonotter, Yes, maybe you can think of 请问 (qǐng wèn) as "may I ask". But yes, it's part of the beauty of Chinese to be able to say so much with so few words! You're right, most proper and formal would be to say 您好 (nín hǎo) when addressing a teacher.
Posted on: Of Beauty Pageants and Plastic Surgery
October 17, 2007 at 5:25 AMhi goulniky, I often finds it helps to think of the 就 (jiù) here as similar to the English 'then', sort of a connector. So, literally, you could think of this sentence, more literally translated, as: 你别以为自己是老板的儿子，我就会怕你 Nǐ bié yǐwéi zìjǐ shì lǎobǎn de érzi, wǒ jiù huì pà nǐ. Don't think that just because your are the boss' son I will then be afraid of you.
Posted on: Long Time No See (original)
October 17, 2007 at 5:20 AMhi anayelena, Yes, that's right. These phrases are less formal, and often used between friends or acquaintances.
Posted on: Name-Calling, Chinese-Style
October 17, 2007 at 5:18 AMhi royjlyons, Yes, that's right. You can hear and read more about it in this podcast: Dear Amber #2
Posted on: Accents and Subway Survival
October 17, 2007 at 1:06 AMHi goulnicky, Yes, i think that was Line 2 you were on. It's a lot newer and more comfortable than Line 1, which is a lot older. So there's hope for the next 15 or so lines that are being built as we speak all over Shanghai!
Posted on: Yang Jie's Diary: Date with a Nerd
October 16, 2007 at 8:49 AMhi AZERDocMom, Thanks! It's nice to be back!
Posted on: Opinions on Poetry
October 16, 2007 at 6:33 AMHi Kyle, Your two questions: 不只...还 (bùzhǐ...hái) and 不但...而且 (bùdàn...érqiě) are the same. 让 (ràng) can have a few meanings, depending on the context. Usually it's not as strong as 逼 (bī), though. Here are a few examples to show the difference: 他不让我出去。(Tā bù ràng wǒ chūqu.) (allow) 她让我先走。 (Tā ràng wǒ xiānzǒu.) (let) 她让我去买东西。Tā ràng wǒ qù mǎi dōngxi. (to make someone do something) To say something was 'forced', you would use 逼 (bī) rather than 让 (ràng), i.e.: 他逼我做那件事。(Tā bī wǒ zuò nà jiàn shì.)
Posted on: Of Beauty Pageants and Plastic Surgery
October 16, 2007 at 4:02 AMhi RoninDC, The differences in meaning is very slight, but here are a couple of examples to help to see the difference: 天然 (tiānrán) is the opposite of manmade (人造的) (rénzào de). It is often used to describe things coming from nature: 这种珍珠是天然的。(Zhèzhǒng zhēnzhū shì tiānrán de.) This kind of pearl is natural. 自然 (zìrán) also means natural, or naturally, i.e.: 他说话不太自然。(Tā shuōhuà bùtài zìrán.) She doesn't speak very naturally. 自然科学 (zìrán kēxué) natural science
Posted on: Opinions on Poetry
October 17, 2007 at 5:52 AMalexco, This is our first lesson on poetry. I'm sure there will be more to come in the future, so stay tuned for more!