User Comments - antony73
antony73
Posted on: 你好 (Nǐhǎo) is a Many-Splendored Thing
April 26, 2009 at 1:25 AMlight487
Never thought about that before. Also, if a person were to say 你好 then follow in English, that can introduce the fact that the person speaking can speak a little Mandarin but not great, which can lead to a more balanced conversation.
Posted on: Stinky Feet
April 24, 2009 at 11:50 PMYes it can, in the sense of finding it emarassing.
Posted on: I want to buy this one
April 21, 2009 at 8:55 AMYes honker that's correct. The fourth tone becomes second tone before another fourth tone, however it is still marked as the fourth tone with pinyin. So for example, bùshì is spoken as búshì
Here are some other tone grammer rules:
When two third tones are together, the first one is spoken as second tone. For example nǐhǎo is spoken as níhǎo.
If three third tones occur together, the first two are said as second. So wǒ yě hǎo is spoken as wó yé hǎo.
The first tone is spoken as a second tone before a fourth tone. Yīlù is spoken as yílù.
The first tone becomes fourth tone before another first tone, second or third tone, yīxiē is spoken as yìxiē, and yīqǐ is spoken as yìqǐ.
Also, gè when used in yī gè rén is spoken as a neutral tone. However, the word yī still changes to a second tone, so you would say yí ge rén.
Don't get too hung up on these grammer rules. In my experiance, what sounds right is usually the correct way to say something. For example, saying nǐ hǎo doesn't feel right, whereas níhǎo fits.
Hope this helps
Posted on: Where are you from?
April 18, 2009 at 6:31 PM@digo
If I've understood your question correctly, 吗 is for closed questions, those usually asking for Yes or No answers. The absence of 吗 at the end of a sentence means it's an open question.
Closed: 你会说中文吗？nǐ huì shuō Zhōngwén ma?
Open： 你身体最近怎么样？nǐ shēntǐ zuìjìn zěnmeyàng?
Posted on: Where's the garbage?
April 17, 2009 at 7:53 AM
Posted on: Where's the bathroom?
April 17, 2009 at 7:44 AMIt used to be popular in the uk to have an outside toilet (户外的厕所/hùwài de cèsuo), and they can still be found, however, very, very rarely used these days - too cold in the winter!
Posted on: Rise and Shine!
April 16, 2009 at 8:46 AM小睡 Xiǎo Shuì A nap
快速眼动睡眠期 kuàisù yǎn dòng shuìmián qī. REM sleep
Posted on: Mother's Birthday
April 16, 2009 at 8:21 AM礼物代表的心意 lǐwù dàibiǎo de xīnyì. A token of affection.
小意思 xiǎoyìsi. A small gift or keepsake eg. money
Posted on: Guilin Mifen
April 14, 2009 at 9:51 AMI find reading menus an absolute pain, and have absolutely no idea where to start, therefore I'm missing out on SO much good food. A much appretiated lesson.
Nice Trainspotting take
Posted on: Awesome Promotion and Monks to Japan
May 4, 2009 at 10:55 AMooka
Looks like it's been removed. You can get it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcUi1dRNIlk, and use Tubetilla.com to copy the lesson onto your hard drive.
I loved this show, a real shame it only saw the one lesson.