User Comments - amber
amber
Posted on: I can't buy my size
May 30, 2007 at 3:02 AMOh, Jeff, continued.. I forgot to mention that 什么...都 (shénme...dōu) is also more colloquial. And! By the way, this is shoe size matter is not a problem for men only! I, too, cannot buy my shoe size in China :(
Posted on: I can't buy my size
May 30, 2007 at 2:59 AMJeff, Yes, that sentence could also read: 这里什么书都有的卖。 (Zhèlǐ shénme shū dōu yǒu de mài.) Here, the 什么...都 (shénme...dōu) means every book 这里任何书都有的卖。 (Zhèlǐ rènhé shū dōu yǒu de mài.) Here, the 任何 (rènhé) means any book. So the meaning is practically the same, just a slight difference in nuance.
Posted on: I can't buy my size
May 30, 2007 at 2:45 AMhi fish, The difference in meaning between those two sentences is as follows: 买得到 (mǎi de dào) means: can be bought 有的卖 (yǒu de mài) means: to have for sale
Posted on: I can't buy my size
May 30, 2007 at 2:38 AMbuffyturtles, 有的卖 (yǒu de mài) doesn't mean some sell it. The 有 (yǒu) here means "to have". So, in other words, it means "to have for sale". If you wanted to say "Some stores have large sized shoes", you could say: 有的商店有大尺码的鞋。(Yǒude shāngdiàn yǒu dà chǐmǎ de xié.) digchinese: 运动品牌有的卖。(Yùndòng pǐnpái yǒu de mài.) The most literal translation for this sentence would be: Sport shoe brands have them for sale. You also asked: "Can you say 运动品牌有大尺码有的卖? (Yùndòng pǐnpái yǒu dà chǐmǎ yǒu de mài.?)" Here is how you would say the sentence in a little more natural spoken Chinese: 运动品牌有大尺码的（鞋）卖。 (Yùndòng pǐnpái yǒu dà chǐmǎ de (xié) mài.) 运动品牌大尺码的（鞋）有的卖。 (Yùndòng pǐnpái dà chǐmǎ de (xié) yǒu de mài.)
Posted on: Lili and Zhang Liang 15: Uncomfortable Encounter in a Bar
May 28, 2007 at 4:19 AMhi superdork, There are traditional character transcripts. Please refer to this material on the Firefox plug-in for them.
Posted on: My New MP3 Player
May 28, 2007 at 3:37 AMHi AZERDocMom, No, you are right! But 次 (cì) and 遍 (biàn) have slightly different usages. 遍 (biàn) is used to express that an action is to be (or has been) done over again, from beginning to end. It signifies completeness of the action. It is most often used in combination with the following verbs (but not exclusively): 听 (tīng) 说 (shuō) 读 (dú) 写 (xiě) 看 (kàn) So, to illlustrate, if you were to say: 这部电影我看过两遍。 (Zhè bù diànyǐng wǒ kàn guo liǎng biàn.) It would mean that you had seen this movie, in its entirety, two times. If you were to say: 这部电影我看过两次。(Zhè bù diànyǐng wǒ kàn guo liǎng cì.) It is just not as specific. You are also saying you have seen it two times, but not necessarily from beginning to end.
Posted on: Lili and Zhang Liang 14: Seeking Comfort
May 28, 2007 at 2:39 AMhi tom100, Yes, there are a lot of circumstances where you can use V + 不出来 (V + bu chūlai). Here are some more examples for you of this usage, with their English definitions to help you see how to use them: 说不出来 (shuō bu chūlai) can't say; can't find the words 听不出来 (tīng bu chūlai) can't discern upon hearing 想不出来 (xiǎng bu chūlai) can't think of (an answer, idea, etc.) 看不出来 (kàn bu chūlai) can't discern, can't figure out 吃不出来 (chī bu chūlai) can't identify what it is that you are eating 做不出来 (zuò bu chūlai) can't make; can't do 闻不出来 (wén bu chūlai) can't smell; can't identify a smell As far as cannot sit, if it were the case that you can't sit down because there are not enough seats, you could say this: 这里的椅子太少了，我们这么多人坐不下。 (Zhèlǐ de yǐzi tài shǎo le, wǒmen zhème duō rén zuòbuxià.)
Posted on: Lili and Zhang Liang 2: Growing Affections
May 28, 2007 at 1:50 AMhi xusheng: She could say: 我想我们的关系得慢慢发展。我想先进一步了解你. (Wǒ xiǎng wǒmen de guānxi děi mànmàn fāzhǎn. Wǒ xiǎng xiān jìn yī bù liǎojiě nǐ.) Yes, you can say both of those: 他跟她调情 (Tā gēn tā tiáoqíng) or 他调戏她 (Tā tiáoxì tā) to come on to someone, you could use: 搭讪 (dāshàn) example sentence: 她长得很漂亮，走在街上总有人跟她搭讪. (Tā zhǎng de hěn piàoliang, zǒu zài jiēshang zǒng yǒurén gēn tā dāshàn.) 调情 (tiáoqíng) means flirting, usually mutual example sentence: 他是个花花公子，很会跟女人调情. (Tā shì ge huāhuā gōngzǐ, hěn huì gēn nǚrén tiáoqíng.) 调戏 (tiáoxì) has a more negative connotation--it means to take liberties with a woman, to sort of force himself on her. example sentence: 那个病人很不老实，总是调戏护士. (Nàge bìngrén hěn bù lǎoshi, zǒngshì tiáoxì hùshi.)
Posted on: Playing the Stock Market
May 28, 2007 at 1:16 AMhi conrad, 废话 (fèihuà) can be quite strong, or can be used in a joking manner. It kind of depends on the circumstances and your tone of voice, whether it will be offensive to someone or not.
Posted on: My New MP3 Player
May 30, 2007 at 3:28 AMAZERDocMom, Thank you for always being so nice and encouraging! You must be a really nice "Doc" and "Mom"!