User Comments - amber

Posted on: On Location at the Beijing 2008 Olympics

bababaardwan!

Yes!  That's it!  haha.

Posted on: Cosmetic Surgery and Mooncakes

hi jim et al,

Thanks for letting me know you liked having the Chinese in there.  I wasn't sure if it worked in the DA format, if the flow was still there.  But if you all like it, I can do more 'on locations'.  :)

Posted on: Chinglish in Reverse and University Culture

hi babbardwan,

So happy you like!  There are no PDFs for the DA's, sorry... the link is there in error.

Posted on: The Double 了 (le) phenomenon

Hi zani11,

Sorry, the Qing Wen's don't come with exercises!

Posted on: Ordering Chinese Take-out

hi dedsall78,

这件事我肯定不想告诉他。
Zhè jiàn shì wǒ kěndìng bù xiǎng gàosu tā.

would be more accurate.  In:

这件事千万不要告诉他。
Zhè jiàn shì qiānwàn bùyào gàosu tā.

The 不要 is a command, as in 'do not'.

给你添麻烦了. (Gěi nǐ tiān máfan le.)  Here the 添 (tiān) means 'to add'. It is a very polite way of saying 'I've troubled you a lot.'  It can be omitted.

Posted on: Afraid of Dogs

Hi lanhuacao,

Adding the "儿" (er) sound on to the end of certain words is a characteristic of speakers of Mandarin from Northern China.  It doesn't change the meaning.

The 呢 (ne) here is just a particle that softens the tone of the sentence.

Posted on: Keys, Wallet, Phone

hi user20934,

你有没有钥匙？
Nǐ yǒu méiyǒu yàoshi？

is different than:

钥匙带了吗？
Yàoshi dài le ma？

The former has more to do with whether you have a key.  The latter is more specifically wanting to make sure you brought the key with you this time.

Posted on: Keys, Wallet, Phone

hi vikram,

我在出租车上. (Wǒ zài chūzūchē shang.) means 'I'm in the car.'  This is how it is expressed in Chinese.  They don't use 里面 (lǐmiàn) in this case.

Posted on: At the Hair Salon

hi mantid,

洗发剂 (xǐfàjì) can also mean shampoo, but it is not that commonly used.

Posted on: Street Argument

hi joannah,

Yes, 他们在看什么 (tāmen zài kàn shénme) can also refer to what someone is watching on television.