User Comments - bodawei

Posted on: A Private Money Changer

'don't know why they would exchange their money for foreign currency unless they are traveling abroad.(Just doesn't sound legal, wise or safe-IMHO.)'

hi mafanni

I'm another who hasn't listened to the lesson, but this comment of yours sounds a little strange to me - what is the problem with this currency exchange? Last I checked, mainland Chinese are now Australia's most important in-bound tourists, and we are not that attractive; too expensive. Outbound Chinese tourism is big business for lots of countries.

I sat next to a Chinese lady from country Yunnan on her way to Europe for a ten-day trip with a thick envelope of Euros. Maybe that is what you mean by 'not safe'? People who are a little uncomfortable with bank cards often like to take foreign currency with them. I can remember when people used to take US dollars! Not sure too of your 'doesn't sound legal' comment - you mean using the scalpers?

Posted on: Petty Chicken Idioms

Not only do chickens have the numbers (thanks RJ, cute cartoon), they do not always represent something negative.  

The city of Kunming is said to be founded by the Golden Horse and the Green Chicken, represented by two mountain peaks, the Green Chicken to the west and the Golden Horse to the east. In folklore, a golden horse ran out of the sun while a green chicken flew out of the moon. Wherever the horse and chicken appeared, lush trees grew and flowers bloomed, signalling prosperity. They eventually settled on the banks of dian Lake and protected the people of Kunming. 

Isn't that a nice story? Go the chicken. 

Posted on: Noisy Eater

你在开玩笑，对吧？ 我有啜的人的回忆 - 大概喝血汤的声音。

Posted on: Can You Lend Me Money?

Hi Baba

Yes, I was not talking about you - I was talking about Chinese folk.

So I have advanced a theory about why Chinese people don't advance details outside the circle; within the circle the prospect of losing face comes to the fore. In fact I would argue that it only has real power amongst the inner circle, and in that context it is intense. So within the circle Chinese people may not want to disclose details because of the prospect of losing face. I guess that is what most people here are aware of - I was just adding another layer with my comments about being inside or outside the circle.

' salary, money matters, Chinese seem much more open about. '

I have certainly heard this, like you, but not really seen much evidence of it myself. It would be weird to ask that hypothetical perfect stranger, and I don’t think you could expect a truthful answer. Answers might come in three ways: ‘I’m making heaps of money’, ‘I’m so poor I cannot make ends meet’, and ‘I just get by’. I wonder what other people here think. Ok, I know what one of my closest Chinese friends makes, but it came out only after we knew each other well for a long time. Maybe it is different in Chinese-Chinese interactions. I know a lot of bragging goes on about earnings (and crying poor), but I don't know how much genuine information flows.

Posted on: Which Character Is That?

Right, but I don't think John invented this phrase. It is commonly heard out of the mouths of foreigners. We have the well-known Chinglish (bad English translations by native Chinese speakers), and less well-known Englese (bad Chinese translations also by native Chinese speakers). We have English-Chinese - literal translations of English into Chinese by native English speakers - seen a lot on the ChinesePod boards. Here we have Chinese-English, literal translations of Chinese into English (bad English translations by native English speakers).

Posted on: Can You Lend Me Money?

'What Chinese folk consider private or embarrassing'

Baba, I wonder if you don't have to explain yourself - or you are free to provide 'private' details - 随便 - because you don't have a relationship with the other person as an individual? Sounds extreme, but what we consider a disregard for privacy may not matter to Chinese people because they have no obligation to people outside their tight circle (outside their 'village'), except in the warm and cuddly sense that they are all Chinese. It is how we all behave in the modern world but it is heightened in China by the sense of living in a sea of people. I advance this as possibly 'wired in' behaviour; clearly not everyone behaves this way, particularly those who choose to reflect. You will let me know when I've been here too long, won't you?

Posted on: I Really Can't Sing!

You may shang xi shou jian as well ... :)

上 shàng is the verb (to go), as it is in 上厕所.

Posted on: I Really Can't Sing!

Good question. The character 下 means so many different things, it would be dangerous to say no to anything. It may be a question of whether or not it is natural.

Would you ever want to express the idea of 'I'm leaving the toilet‘? I can understand you saying 上厕所 for a variety of reasons, including as an excuse to pay the bill at a restaurant, but when you leave the toilet it's unlikely that anyone really wants to know. Maybe you went in with a friend and you want to tell them you're going. In China, your departure may be obvious because of lack of privacy, or you may say 我先走 (I'm going).

You can use 下 for leaving in some cases, eg. 下车 (get off the bus)， 下床 (getting out of bed), and 下楼, (going downstairs) are all common enough.

下 has the meaning 'finished' as in the high frequency 下班 (finish work) and 下课 (finish class). Somehow saying 下厕所 in this context sounds wrong, but that's just me. I don't really want to announce in the toilet 'OK, I'm finished'.

下 can be used to indicate leaving, in 下馆子 (going out to eat), and to exit somewhere. So it seems to work, but whether it would be 厕所下 or 下厕所 I don't know.

MDBG also has these uses:

下车间 (go to the workshop) - 下 meaning essentially the same as 上;

从左边门儿下 (exit by the left door) - here 下 appears to have the meaning we are after.

厕所下 (leave the toilet)

Finally, for what it's worth, in the heat of the battle, 下 and 上 can sounds very close.

Posted on: An Insider's Insights into Chinese Tourism

I can't help wonder if we are stereotyping Chinese tours here. In past years I experienced the 'pearl factory' etc. but last year when on a day tour with native Chinese friends from Shanghai I asked the daoyou to take us 'shopping'. I asked for a particular location in the area, famous for shopping, traditional Chinese medicine consults, etc. I was up for the whole experience ... :)

He looked at me curiously as if I was making fun of Chinese tours. He mumbled 'we'll see' .. but we never got to those shops.

I think that Chinese tourism is maturing.

Actually, the whole experience was memorable - Shanghai people travelling out west are kind of scary and funny at the same time. There is a lot of talk about 'standards' - like they are travelling to a third world country quite separate to China.

And no need for tips ... the tour was extraordinarily expensive. But that gives the tourists something else to complain about.

Posted on: An Insider's Insights into Chinese Tourism

'the bomb'

Urbandictionary says this is a phrase, which much like Courtney Love, was only popular during the early nineties. At the time, it meant "exceptionally cool".

Does this age you, Anthony? :)