User Comments - bodawei

Posted on: An Interview with Zhang Ayi

Thanks guys - I enjoyed it first time through, will listen again as 张阿姨 has such a sweet voice! 

Posted on: Popular Slang from 2011

I had to look up 小清新 (Boho-chic) ... I mean I had to look up the English. 

Turns out many elements originated in the late 1960s, when I thought I was very fashionable. It was not called Boho-chic then. 

Posted on: Taking the Plunge into Intermediate

'Later, I read the book "Dreaming in Mandarin" and the author had a whole chapter on ài & how it can differ from the American view of "love."'

I read that chapter and came away with the message that two different native Chinese speakers have entirely different interpretations of the English word 'love'... which is not surprising.

But your main point about learning from Chinese films with English subtitles - good subtitles can certainly help (your 'Dreaming in Chinese' author would not be writing subtitles.) As often as not though they are kind of amusing ... specially those Hong Kong gong fu films.

Posted on: Taking the Plunge into Intermediate

'I saw some comments about the Chinese and pinyin (with the tones) being hard to read on the Kindle'

As far as I know the Kindle does not support characters - mine doesn't anyway. I am not sure of the technical explanation. If you try to read Chinese in Kindle it has so many characters missing it is either a massive challenge or an 'extension' exercise (trying to guess the missing characters) depending on your frame of mind. :)

'Glad to say it all looks good!'

I think it looks good because the book in question is written in English, no? I just read the first chapter and there was a single character in the whole chapter.

Posted on: The Seven Year Itch 2: Facing Divorce

'自爆我的脑海'

Ha ha ... That's pretty funny ... are you offering that as an example of why literal translations of English often make no sense in China?

Posted on: The Seven Year Itch 2: Facing Divorce

"blew my mind" 怎么说？

它会使我很高兴了

Posted on: 闲话2011年的那些事儿

'a needless distraction for people wanting to take the serious Chinese plunge here'

Seriously funny. :) Check there is water in the pool before you dive in now!

Actually, I claim to have a deeper interest in Chinese names than anyone else alive, so I should know exactly what you mean.

Rather than joining in the ritual beating I will tell you a little story. Recently I met a 55 year old Chinese woman who was given an English name by her parents - but they transliterated it into Chinese. Cool, eh? I guess that this happened with my own name, 大伟, (and the other variations on David), but I had not seen this with a female name before.

Posted on: I don't smoke

It's new - I posted about this recently. I was told that middle aged Chinese do not even know this term. Unless they have kids I guess.. :)

So I would not describe it as 委婉说法。。 it is more slang, as you say. Created by kids for fun, not because they cannot stand to say 肛门。

Posted on: When are you Coming to Hong Kong?

'Once' is one of those words with several meanings. If you mean that one day when you were young you ate four apples, but you did not get into the habit, I would probably say 一天 。。。我小的时猴，一天我吃了四苹果。

You could also say 以前。。to put the experience vaguely in the past.

Maybe you could say 我曾经吃了四苹果。But this I think means 'at some time in the past'.

Posted on: When are you Coming to Hong Kong?

"Wǒ xiǎode háizi shíhou'

我小的时候。。不用说‘孩子’。。

"When I was a little child I ate four apples". Not really sure what you mean here mate - do you mean 'one day, I ate four apples' or 'every day I ate four apples'? But 'chile' does not mean that you had eaten 4 apples in your entire life until that point in time. :) You need to express what time period you are talking about - the 'le' just indicates that you completed the action of eating four apples. Hope that helps.