User Comments - changye
changye
Posted on: The Powerless Phones
January 2, 2009 at 3:50 AMHi kanjihanzi,
Let me elaborate it a little more. Ordinary Chinese people usually don't know so-called "tone rules". In short, the rules are for foreign learners of Mandarin. Local people change/adjust tones properly, without knowing the rules, just to make utterance easier, but not for the sake of following the tone rules.
Here are some other examples. Pinyin in bold print show you actual pronunciations at normal speed. Please be noted that tone changes also change depending on the speed of conversation. In general, the more slowly you speak, the more you tend to adhere to the rules. The point is how to utter easily.
我有很好的身材 = 我有/很好的身材
wo3 you3 hen3 hao3 de shen1 cai2
wo2 you3 / hen2 hao3 de shen1 cai2
我打死你。
wo3 da3 si3 ni3.
wo2 da2 si ni3.
我 / 打死你。
wo3 / da2 si ni3.
It also depends on whether or not you put a short pause between words.
Posted on: Don't push that button
January 2, 2009 at 3:11 AMYeah, and it's also called a fail-safe procedure.
Posted on: Don't push that button
January 2, 2009 at 2:37 AMThat is exactly the reason why two guys have to push two separate buttons at the same time for launching a nuclear missile, hehe.
别碰! (bie2 peng4, Don't touch!)
Posted on: 山寨
January 2, 2009 at 2:17 AMHi xttts,
Thanks for the good explanation about 山寨 and 草根. Your comment reminds me of a bag with the brand name "Cucci" (not Gucci) I saw many year years ago. In this sense, 山寨 is not exactly a new phenomenon here in China.
P/S. A typo in my previous comment, "真的没救了", 哎哟，我真是没救了，哈哈。
Posted on: The Powerless Phones
January 2, 2009 at 1:57 AMHi kanjihanzi,
Both (a) and (b) are wrong. "耳朵" is usually pronounced "er3 duo" (third tone + neutral tone), therefore "耳朵有点背" should be "er3 duo you2 dian3 bei4" Sorry, this is not a direct answer to your good question.
Posted on: Insurance Insanity
January 2, 2009 at 1:39 AMHi chistudent,
That's a nice "etymology"!! Chinese people really have a good sense of humor.
Posted on: Insurance Insanity
January 1, 2009 at 1:48 PM日本国家医疗保险制度对患者来说是比较理想的。几乎所有的公民能够以低廉的费用享受优质周到的医疗服务。另一方面，全国医疗支出多于保险费收入，国家负担越来越重，谁都知道日本政府快要撑不住了。
最大的问题就是日本百姓很轻易地上医院，特别是老人一般很愿意看病，经常去看医生。有一句笑话说：在一家医院的候诊室，一个老人问“铃木先生今天怎么不来呢？”。另一个老人就回答说，“他好像生病了吧！”
Posted on: 山寨
January 1, 2009 at 11:39 AMHi miantial,
我现在总算明白了“山寨”这个流行新词的意思，很感谢你！我看“样子一模一样，牌子不一样”这种货品在先进国家已经是十分非法的，好像中国也一样吧。假如合法的话，中国真的没就了！
Posted on: Don't push that button
January 2, 2009 at 11:39 AMHi pinkjeans,
You are very right. One of my Chinese dictionaries also says the same thing about the pronunciations of 这, 那, and 哪. "zhei4, nei4, nei3" are all originated in "这一，那一，哪一" respectively. These pronunciations are more conversational than "zhe4, na4, na3". In general, the longer a sound is, the more colloquial it is, when a character has a few readings.