User Comments - amber
amber
Posted on: You Look Exhausted!
June 4, 2007 at 6:57 AMhi tabifu, Yes, 差不多 (chàbuduō) is a great phrase, so multi-functional. It can mean "approximately" or "about", and can also mean "good enough," which is probably what the floor sweeping woman you encountered was expressing.
Posted on: When the Taxi Takes the Long Way
June 4, 2007 at 6:54 AMMasaier, Here the word 起码 (qǐmǎ) means 最少 (zuìshǎo) "at the lowest" or "at least." There is no 终码 (zhōngmǎ). Rather, the opposite would be 最大 (zuìdà) "at the most", or "the highest."
Posted on: Booking a Plane Ticket
June 4, 2007 at 6:45 AMHi Mark, Middle seat would be "中间的位子" (zhōngjiān de wèizi). tohovey, To thank someone for giving you a dog, you can say: 谢谢你送给我一只狗。(Xièxie nǐ sònggěi wǒ yī zhī gǒu.) In this sentence, there is no equivalent for the English "for." It's not required in Chinese.
Posted on: Booking a Plane Ticket
June 4, 2007 at 6:39 AMalas24, 有什么可以帮助您的吗 (Yǒu shénme kěyǐ bāngzhù nín de ma) 有什么可以帮您的吗 (Yǒu shénme kěyǐ bāng nín de ma) Actually, both of these sentences are correct. The second one is less formal though. foleadu, 确认 (quèrèn) means to confirm 确定 (quèdìng) means to be certain, to be sure. It can also mean to define or settle something. To illustrate the difference, please see this example conversation: A - 老板说下午两点要开会。(Lǎobǎn shuō xiàwǔ liǎng diǎn yào kāihuì.) B - 你确定是两点吗？ (Nǐ quèdìng shì liǎng diǎn ma?) A - 我也不确定。我去确认一下。(Wǒ yě bù quèdìng. Wǒ qù quèrèn yīxià.)
Posted on: Good Morning!
June 4, 2007 at 6:23 AMtatloanimexica, 早安 (zǎoān) is the most common way to say "good morning" in Taiwan, but is rarely used in mainland China. 早上好 (zǎoshāng hǎo) is commonly used in mainland China. or you can just use the short-form: 早 (zǎo), which is commonly used in both Taiwan and mainland China.
Posted on: Where Children Come From
June 4, 2007 at 6:19 AMexcuter, 垃圾桶 (lājītǒng) is smaller, like a garbage can 垃圾箱 (lājīxiāng) is bigger, more like a garbage bin in your apartment complex.
Posted on: Where Children Come From
June 4, 2007 at 6:15 AMhi lesli, You can use 别哭 (bié kū) and 不要哭 (bù yào kū) interchangeably. 哭泣 (kūqì) is a bit too formal, not often used in spoken Chinese. ndormei2, Can you please tell me which sentences you mean? Then we can tell you what the "de" is in that particular circumstance.
Posted on: I can't buy my size
June 3, 2007 at 5:54 AMHi everyone, I did some more research on the 有的 / 没的＋动词 (yǒu de / méi de + dòngcí) have sth. to V / not have sth. to V. I hope this can help make things a bit clearer. In this structure, the de (的) is actually replacing, or substituting for a known subject. Here are some examples (i always think that makes it clearer than a grammatical explanation anyways): 没的＋动词 (méi de + verb ): 非洲人都很穷. 他们没的吃. (Fei1zhou1 ren2 dou1 hen3 qiong2. Ta1men mei2 de chi1.) The African people are very poor. They don't have anything to eat. In this sentence, the "de 的" actually is used in place of "food". The "food" is understood. Even in English, we will leave out the "food", because it's obvious that that is what we are talking about. 我的钱花完了. 我没的话了. (Wo3 de qian2 hua1 wan2 le. Wo3 mei2 de hua1 le.) I've spent all my money. I don't have any to spend. Again, we don't need to say "money". Here, the "de 的" substitutes for "钱 (qian2)". The "了(le)" is added to the end of this sentence to show a change of state. Before I had money, now I don't. 有的 ＋动词 (yǒu de + verb) Same idea as the explanation for the above structure, just in the affirmative. For example: 这个小区,有的租吗? (Zhe4ge xiao3qu4, you3 de zu1 ma?) This complex, does it have anything for rent? In this sentence, the (的 de) is substituting for "apartments". It is understood that we are talking about apartments, so it is not necessary to say it. Instead, you can just use the "的 (de)." 这件衣服款式很漂亮,这里有的做吗? (Zhe4 jian4 yi1fu2 kuan3shi4 hen3 piao4liang4, zhe4li you3 de zuo4 ma?) This style of clothing is very pretty, can I get it made here? So back to our original sentence from the dialogue: 运动品牌有的卖。 (Yùndòng pǐnpái yǒu de mài.) This literally means: Sports brands have (the large sized shoes) for sale. The 的 (de) is substituting for "large sized shoes." The speaker already knew that's what they were talking about, so it wasn't necessary to say it again. So that's some more on how to use this great structure. Hope that clarifies a bit?! :)
Posted on: Resisting Relocation
June 2, 2007 at 12:55 AMoh I see, I was looking at the simplified PDF. I will look into it on Monday. Thanks for letting us know!
Posted on: Where Children Come From
June 6, 2007 at 2:32 AMhi danjo and excuter, In the sentence: 爸爸妈妈骗你的. (Bàba māma piàn nǐ de.) The 的 (de) just adds emphasis. It is a mood particle.