User Comments - calkins

Posted on: Always in Chinese: 总是 (zǒngshì) and 老是 (lǎoshi)

yarika, dunderklumpen, and changye, thanks for the additional explanations.

Posted on: The Person Component

changbiyuan, on this thread you're a naysayer of the naysayers, therefore I say you are naysaying.

;)

Posted on: Always in Chinese: 总是 (zǒngshì) and 老是 (lǎoshi)

yarika, thanks for your response.  Not to be rude, but can I ask what part of China you're from?  Because I had an almost identical experience in Taipei, as your example sentence, and was told my response was rude.  It went like this:

Waiter:  你想喝什么？

Me:  我要一瓶可乐。

My friend (native Taiwanese) told me that it was rude to say 我要 and that I should say 请给我一瓶可乐。I don't know, maybe she's wrong, but I've been told this by a few native Taiwanese.

I guess it's just a regional thing, like the many dialects of Chinese.

I do know it's perfectly acceptable to reply to 你要一个袋子吗？ with a simple 要。

Oh, and I had a question about one of your sentences:

请问你需要什么吗？

It threw me off because you used 什么 and 吗 in the same sentence.  Do you use 吗 because you use 请问 (may I ask) at the beginning of the sentence (so it's a question within a question)?

Thanks for your help!

Posted on: Always in Chinese: 总是 (zǒngshì) and 老是 (lǎoshi)

Hi kesirui,

Yeah, I think that's one of the small differences between Taiwan and the Mainland.  My Chinese friends in Taipei say that "我要。。。“ is pretty rude.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to visit SH and other parts of China and can temporarily ditch the "请给我。。。” for the simpler "我要。。。“ !

Posted on: Christmas Surprise

Ahhhhh, I should have listened to the podcast before posting the above.  All the staff have illegal iPhones ;)

Which is the better (more natural) way to give a gift, or does it not matter:

你的礼物！
nǐ de lǐwù!
Here's your present!

我送给你一个礼物。
wǒ sònggěi nǐ yīgè lǐwù.
A gift from me to you.

Posted on: Christmas Surprise

3G's were recently released in Taiwan, so I assume they'd be making their way to the mainland soon. 

Actually, I thought iPhones had been there for a while because I thought I read some posts that CPod staff had them.  Maybe that was just to test the remote site (but how could you do that without service?).

Posted on: The Person Component

Ha ha, changbiyuan...

"overly vocal naysayers like the ones on this thread"...

"keeping their thoughts to themselves"

A bit of the pot calling the kettle black, don't you think?

Posted on: Always in Chinese: 总是 (zǒngshì) and 老是 (lǎoshi)

Light, I think you mentioned also going to Taiwan during your trip.  I think that Taiwan has somewhat adopted the Western "please" a bit more than mainland does, so I would definitely use it there.

请给我一瓶可乐 is much better than saying 我要一瓶可乐，though that is perfectly acceptable on the mainland.

"我要。。。” comes off a bit rude and demanding, I think especially from a Westerner's mouth.  Personally, I think we (as guests in a foreign country) should go out of our way to be more polite....even if it's not the culture.

Posted on: ChinesePod News

hwangd01, you are absolutely correct about the silk photo (also one of my favorites).  Here is a quote, from the photographer Bruce Yuanyue Bi, about that image:

"This is beauty in a twinkling," says Shanghai-born Bruce Yuanyue Bi. "I couldn't help pressing the shutter at this moment."

The scene shows an Uyghur girl weaving silk fabric in a traditional workshop in northwestern China.

"The silk dress the girl wears and the silk cloth she's making share similar patterns and colors," says Bi. "The juxtaposition of the girl's serious expression and the delicate silk caught my attention. I like the mild lights and the harmony of the colors in this photograph. These help unite the composition."

The city of Hotan is famous for its silk, in addition to its jade and fine carpets. Together, these items are called the "Three Treasures of Hotan."

Posted on: ChinesePod News

Hey, thanks everyone for the kind words and for enjoying the photo group.  I think I've said it before, but it's just two of my favorite things...photography and Chinese.  Now, I only need to figure out how to make money doing both.  Suggestions welcomed!

RJ and bababardwan, regarding the interview...NO WAY!  Not my cup of tea and I have never been good at those kinds of things.  Those are better left with the Cassie's and Frank's and Henning's of CPod.  I like to hide behind my computer ;)  I appreciate the sentiment though.

Regarding the blue eye(s), RJ is right...the contrast from the black and white make them appear to be much more blue than in real life.  If you have any color in your eyes, other than brown or black, come to Taiwan or China....children will be mesmerized.  Having hairy arms is a plus too...basically you can be a clown without having to wear a clown suit!