User Comments - changye
changye
Posted on: Wang Wei's Diary: The Importance of Brains
August 8, 2009 at 2:39 AMHi joeborn
I think the Chinese word "希望" is a relatively exact counterpart of "hope/would like to" in English. So, as shenyajin explained above, they usually don't carry subjunctive connotation without context.
If you want to say something that implies "I wish ～, although I know it's impossible (or highly unlikely)" in Chinese, the best way should be saying "如果/要是～就好了" or "如果/要是～该多好". Here are some examples.
要是我有一百万元就好了！
如果我是美国总统该多好！
Hi shenyajin
Thanks a lot for your help
Posted on: Are You Busy?
August 8, 2009 at 2:04 AMHi anayelena
Both basically have the same meaning, but they connotes differently in a given situation, for example, such as when you have to refuse to do something for other people. "我现在有事儿" sounds more politely than "我现在忙", just like saying "I have something to do now" is more advisable than just saying "I'm busy now" in English.
Posted on: Pair, Set, Match 双, 副, 对 , 套
August 8, 2009 at 1:51 AMHi xueny
I think "可不可以" is more commonly used than 可以不可以. As is often the case, the shorter the better when speaking in Chinese, hehe. Joking aside, "可不可以" sounds more natural, and probably "可以不可以" connotes more strongly and sometimes has a tone of "pusing someone for an answer".
Posted on: Is China Scary?
August 7, 2009 at 4:29 AM我刚才在网上发现一个关于“切题”的精彩笑话。
《史上最切题的小学生作文》
写一篇关于爱情的文章
要求：
1，语言简洁，词句精炼
2，故事必须以悲剧结尾
3，不限字数
答案：
嫁给我好吗？
“滚！”
Posted on: Amusement Park
August 7, 2009 at 2:31 AMHi suxiaoya
"I want to rest before I do anything else"
我想先好好休息，要不然什么都不想做。
And, how about this one?
我得先好好休息，然后再去玩。
Posted on: How many family members do you have?
August 7, 2009 at 1:46 AMHi ihifhidf
"你家有几口人？" is a more "graphic" way of saying "你家有几个人？". The measure word "口" is mainly used when referring to the number of family members and residents. The "口" (a mouth) implies "the number of people you need to feed". The best example should be "人口" (population). Interestingly, you can say the number of pigs by use of "口", like 三口猪 (zhu1), which is also very graphic.
Posted on: Is China Scary?
August 7, 2009 at 1:16 AMHi xiaophil
这个话题很有意思而且很切题。
I must say this sentence is rather strange. Maybe 这个话题很时髦 might be more appropriate, for example. Here is an example of using the word 切题.
你写的作文很切题。
觉得很难说中国会成为第一强国，一个因素很关键的，这个因素叫人口。现在大人口对中国的权利有好处，不过将来大人口有可能妨碍中国的权利，因为资源为了维持增加的水不足。
As for the above comment in Chinese, don't worry, I completely understand what you want to say. I'd like to recommend you use "崛起" instead of "权利".
Posted on: Wang Wei's Diary: The Importance of Brains
August 6, 2009 at 11:19 AMHi joeborn
I wish we had tests every day.
但愿每天考试。但愿每天都有考试。
Posted on: Pair, Set, Match 双, 副, 对 , 套
August 8, 2009 at 2:53 AMHi jenny
No, you can't say 一双腿。
Really? You can find a lot of photos of "woman's beautiful legs" by image googling with the keyword "一双腿", hehe.