User Comments - changye
changye
Posted on: Always in Chinese: 总是 (zǒngshì) and 老是 (lǎoshi)
December 23, 2008 at 12:30 PMHi yarika,
Thank you for the useful phrase "终归是～" (after all). I will use it in my Chinese postings someday. As for "小孩子总是小孩子" (please be noted that it's not 老是, but 总是), I found the example in 现代汉语词典. I feel that "终归是" is a little more formal than “总是”. Am I right?
Posted on: Always in Chinese: 总是 (zǒngshì) and 老是 (lǎoshi)
December 23, 2008 at 7:19 AMHi evasiege,
You can put "才" there. You can also say "你老是这么晚才睡。"
Posted on: Christmas Surprise
December 23, 2008 at 5:16 AMHi yarika,
Thanks a lot for nice advice! I will use the "祝圣诞快乐" version in the office tommorow. Merry Christmas!
Posted on: Ordering Office Supplies
December 23, 2008 at 3:27 AMHi mbreakstone,
-Stapler 订书机 (ding4 shu1 ji1)
-Duct tape 工业胶带 (gong1 ye4 jiao1 dai4), 布基胶带 (bu4 ji1)
-Hilighter 闪光笔 (shan3 guang1 bi3), 亮光笔 (liang4 guang1 bi3)
-Ruler 尺 (chi3)
-Mouse 鼠标 (shu3 biao1)
-Post-it note 便签纸 (bian4 qian1 zhi3)
-Whiteout 修正液 (xiu1 zheng4 ye4), 涂改液 (tu2 gai3 ye4)
-Glue 糨糊/浆糊 (jiang4 hu), glue stick 浆糊笔
Posted on: Christmas Surprise
December 23, 2008 at 2:57 AM祝贺圣诞节快乐！(zhu4 he4 sheng4 dan4 jie2 kuai4 le4)
The usage of 祝 is different from that of 祝贺. The former one is used in the sense of "wish", and the latter "congratulations". For example,
祝你考上大学。 (zhu4 ni3 kao3 shang da4 xue2)
I wish you success in the college entrance exam.
祝贺你考上大学。
Congratulations on passing the entrance exam!
By the same token, you can say "祝你一路顺风" (yi1 lu4 shun4 feng1, Have a good trip), but can't say "祝贺你一路顺风". 祝贺 is used when referring something that has already happened.
Posted on: Pregnancy Series 1: Officially Pregnant
December 23, 2008 at 1:50 AMHi lydia1981, alexyzye, bababardwan
As you might know, basically anything goes here in China, but I don't think that medical technologies in China have reached that level. Probably it wouldn't be so easy to legally bring 人工怀孕 for men to realization for political reasons in the near future.
In China, unmarried pregnancy is not uncommon, and abortion is very common and easy to practice both physically and psychologically, owing to the one-child policy. There is almost no argument over artificial abortion. Chinese are pragmatic.
The latest version of Chinese marriage law (finally) stipulates that a single mother's baby has the same rights as a legitimate child, but in reality, registering procedure is not as easy as that of legitimate children. Furthermore, such mothers have to pay a fine.
And that is one of the reasons that the doctor asked the woman if she was married. Anyway, Chinese people usually don't care much about this kind of privacy at hospital. You have to consult a doctor for your hemorrhoid with other patients waiting just behind you!
Posted on: All About Measure Words
December 23, 2008 at 1:35 AMHi nial,
I don't know about Chinese dictionaries published in other countries, but one of mine, edited in Japan, shows measure words for most countable nouns, which I always find it helpful. Conversely, I don't think dictionaries that don't show measure words are useful for learners of Mandarin. Measure words are very important in Chinese.
Posted on: All About Measure Words
December 23, 2008 at 1:25 AMHi nial,
If you're not going forward, you're going backward.
逆水行舟，不进则退。
人之为学，不日进则日退。
Posted on: Saved by the Gong: Chemistry
December 23, 2008 at 12:51 AMHi nial,
化学品 is more commonly used than 化学制品 in Chinese. The shorter, the better, perhaps.
Posted on: 三十六计
December 23, 2008 at 12:42 PMHi yarika 同学，
如果经常被人用美人计迷惑怎么办呢
有这种情况我就高兴死了，夕死可矣， 哈哈！