User Comments - calkins

Posted on: ChinesePod News

不好意思！  I feel so honored, thank you. 

I have to give many thanks to Changye who often adds wonderful etymology insights into the vocabulary and characters...as well as to Sebire who often posts great vocabulary pictures...and of course to all the poddies like Bababardwan who appreciate and add value to the group.

很多谢！

Posted on: Haircuts

Light, I'm not sure you need the 得 in there, and the 剪 wasn't necessary at that point because we already knew we were talking about cutting.

Adam, 我现在没有头发！Actually, it's not that bad, just really short for me.

Posted on: Haircuts

I studied this lesson last week in preparation of getting a haircut here in Taiwan.

I learned the hard way today that 短一点 duǎn yīdiǎn doesn't really mean "a little shorter" when you get a haircut.

I said:

我想要短一点。
wǒ xiǎngyào duǎn yīdiǎn.

...thinking that it meant "I would like [my hair] a little shorter [than it is now]."

Well, after leaving the shop practically bald (slight exaggeration!), I called my friend to ask her what I may have said wrong.  She told me that I basically said "I would like my hair short," and that it would have been better to say:

我不要太短。
wǒ bùyào tài duǎn.

Literally that would mean "I don't want it too short," but essentially means you want it "a little shorter than it is now."

I guess it's not such a bad thing to learn the hard way...thankfully hair grows back!

Posted on: Understanding 了解 (Liǎojiě) and 理解 (Lǐjiě)

Traditional version...

Usage:

瞭解 (liǎojiě)
- to understand a situation, a matter, a person, or a fact.  (Using your head).

理解 (lǐjiě)
- to understand the meaning of something, a person's way of doing something, or a person's reason for doing something.  (Using your heart or feelings to be compassionate, tolerant, or forgiving).

Sentences:

他是我的鐵哥們，他非常瞭解我。
tā shì wǒde tǐe gēmen，tā fēicháng lǐaojǐe wǒ.
He is my iron brother, he really understands me.

有的父母不太瞭解自己的孩子。
yǒude fùmǔ bù tài lǐaojǐe zìjǐ de háizi.
Some parents don't understand their children.

為了瞭解和尚的生活他去了寺廟。
wèile lǐaojǐe héshang de shēnghuó tā qù le sìmìao.
In order to get a better understanding of the Buddhist monk's life, he went to the monastery.

我剛到這裡的時候還不太瞭解這裡的情況。
wǒ gāng dào zhèlǐ deshíhòu hái bù tài lǐaojǐe zhèlǐ de qíngkùang.
When I got here, I didn't really understand the situation.

有的時候我比較郁悶，什麼事都不想做。但是她很理解我，所以她不會生我的氣。
yǒudeshíhòu wǒ bǐjìao yù mèn, shénme shìdōu bù xǐang zùo.  dànshì tā hěn lǐjǐe wǒ, sǔoyǐ tā bùhùi shēng wǒde qì.
Sometimes when I'm feeling down, I don't want to do anything.  But because she really understands me, she won't get angry with me.

你理解這個句子的意思嗎？
nǐ lǐjǐe zhège jùzi de yìsi ma?
Do you understand this sentence's meaning?

我很瞭解他。
wǒ hěn liǎojiě tā.
I really understand him.  (I understand his personality, etc.).

我很理解他。
wǒ hěn lǐjǐe tā.
I really understand him.  (I understand why he does something, his motivations, etc.).

Posted on: Understanding 了解 (Liǎojiě) and 理解 (Lǐjiě)

If anyone would like the transcript with pinyin tone marks...

Usage:

了解 (liǎojiě)
- to understand a situation, a matter, a person, or a fact.  (Using your head).

理解 (lǐjiě)
- to understand the meaning of something, a person's way of doing something, or a person's reason for doing something.  (Using your heart or feelings to be compassionate, tolerant, or forgiving).

Sentences:

他是我的铁哥们，他非常了解我。
tā shì wǒde tǐe gēmen，tā fēicháng lǐaojǐe wǒ.
He is my iron brother, he really understands me.

有的父母不太了解自己的孩子。
yǒude fùmǔ bù tài lǐaojǐe zìjǐ de háizi.
Some parents don't understand their children.

为了了解和尚的生活他去了寺庙。
wèile lǐaojǐe héshang de shēnghuó tā qù le sìmìao.
In order to get a better understanding of the Buddhist monk's life, he went to the monastery.

我刚到这里的时候还不太了解这里的情况。
wǒ gāng dào zhèlǐ deshíhòu hái bù tài lǐaojǐe zhèlǐ de qíngkùang.
When I got here, I didn't really understand the situation.

有的时候我比较郁闷，什麽事都不想做。但是她很理解我，所以她不会生我的气。
yǒudeshíhòu wǒ bǐjìao yù mèn, shénme shìdōu bù xǐang zùo.  dànshì tā hěn lǐjǐe wǒ, sǔoyǐ tā bùhùi shēng wǒde qì.
Sometimes when I'm feeling down, I don't want to do anything.  But because she really understands me, she won't get angry with me.

你理解这个句子的意思吗？
nǐ lǐjǐe zhège jùzi de yìsi ma?
Do you understand this sentence's meaning?

我很了解他。
wǒ hěn liǎojiě tā.
I really understand him.  (I understand his personality, etc.).

我很理解他。
wǒ hěn lǐjǐe tā.
I really understand him.  (I understand why he does something, his motivations, etc.).

Posted on: Stuffy Room

Thanks jin1si1 and Pete, makes perfect sense.

Posted on: Stuffy Room

Connie is the best!  She should definitely win Best Actress Award at this year's CPod Oscars.

I know I'm opening up a can of worms with a 了 question, but why does this expansion sentence have a 了...

别哭了！
(Don't cry!)

But these two don't...

别动！
(Don't move!)

别过来！
(Don't come over!)

Posted on: Understanding 了解 (Liǎojiě) and 理解 (Lǐjiě)

Not to rub salt into CPod's already open wound (Radical Show), but could we have the "official" transcript for this QW?

Cassie, not that I don't appreciate your version, I just prefer the pinyin with tone marks...I'm so picky I know ;)

Posted on: The Person Component

I agree with Henning...better tools and exercises would make better use of subscription fees.

- Pay someone to design a better vocabulary flashcard tool (check out PlecoDict's version 2...amazing).

- Pay someone to design a character learning tool like Scritter, like Henning says.

- Pay someone to finish the grammar guide (please!).

- Pay someone to create better exercises and tests (real world applications for tests like the HSK).

Video seems to require a lot of time and resources.  I'm sure the above would require more immediate resources, but my guess is that the long-term profit to CPod would be greater.

Personally, I don't understand why CPod is putting resources into anything new while other major components of the site are unfinished (grammar guide).

Like any company, CPod isn't perfect.  The good thing is that they continue to innovate.

Posted on: The Person Component

I applaud the concept and efforts, but I really hope this is not taking the place of The Vocab Tour and What's The Story.   Those are so much more polished and professionally produced.