User Comments - bill
bill
Posted on: Tomb Sweeping Day
April 5, 2008 at 5:31 AMOops... It IS late here ... Yes, 下午 is OK. Sorry ... and yes, 上午 is indeed the morning in any case (-:
Posted on: Tomb Sweeping Day
April 5, 2008 at 5:30 AMFrom the expansion: 你下午就走？ (You are leaving in the afternoon then?) Hmmm ... 上午 is the morning. Bill
Posted on: You Must Listen to this Episode - 非...不可 (fēi...bù kě)
April 4, 2008 at 3:23 PMActually, Amber, the way you three present these nuances of Chinese grammar is always fun. 谢谢你们， Bill
Posted on: You Must Listen to this Episode - 非...不可 (fēi...bù kě)
April 2, 2008 at 3:43 PM礼拜一早上非很高兴不可. 为什么? 因为我总是听请问 (-: Bill
Posted on: Scandal in the Pageant
March 31, 2008 at 6:10 AMHi LostinAsia, The sentence translation definitely refers to the photos. "They must have altered them" seems more 他们 ish to me. Bill
Posted on: Are You Tired?
March 30, 2008 at 8:34 PMHenning, Some things are best untranslated. They convey feelings and, for example, the look in your mother-in-laws eyes. Needless to say she looked upon you very favorably (-: Bill
Posted on: 无论 (wúlùn) No matter...
March 24, 2008 at 2:57 PMSo, I woke up this morning at 7AM (Monday) in SUNNY Menlo Park, Ca., and thought, "ARE THEY BACK?" 你们回来了！太好了!! Great way to start the week (-: 谢谢你们， Bill
Posted on: The Pickup Artist
March 22, 2008 at 4:01 PMA couple points of dramatic effect in the translation: 要不怎么会有似曾相识的感觉呢？ Otherwise, why would I have this "déjà vu" feeling seems better. Then the come back: ... 都什么时代了 ... What *epoch* are you from?! "déjà vu" definitely puts the guy in a different epoch, and the lines have more punch. When I read this, Nat King Cole music definitely came to mind from the 50's: "Darling je vous aime beaucoup, means I love you yes I do ..." Another decade doesn't have the reach so to speak. Great lesson. Good pacing in the dialog ... Bill
Posted on: Going Dutch
March 13, 2008 at 4:01 PMHere in California we say, "Dutch treat." Looks like roisin has the explanation for the derivation of going Dutch. The expression is very old. I've my own tradition in this respect. We happen to have a decent wine cellar or "Câve" and so when we go out for dinner with friends we always bring a good bottle of wine to share since that is permitted in California ("le droit de buchon" for evelyne). There is a small charge ($10-25 per bottle). For the most part everyone pays their share of the check. On my birthday I invite 15 close friends to dinner at a very very good restaurant and they bring the wine. I pay the check. A great tradition. My friends know I adore French wines and in particular wines from Bourgogne. This always ends up being a great party ! Bill
Posted on: Ending Your Sentence with 吧 (ba)
April 9, 2008 at 4:03 PMI think that these lessons help one to leap across that gulf between memorizing and feeling a language. 请问 helps us become spontaneous speakers by giving us an emotive sense of Chinese while for me the lessons are all about the rational aspects. Both are necessary but, WOW, 请问 is really like a great dessert isn't it! Bill