User Comments - changye
changye
Posted on: DVDs and the Mao Suit
November 1, 2008 at 4:05 AMI don't know exactly why, but "中山服/中山装" is called "人民服" （jin-min-huku, people's clothes） in Japan. I guess it's probably because "中山" is a typical Japanese family name, Naka-yama, and "中山服" doesn't sound "Chinese" to Japanese people. On the other hand, most Japanese people generally associate the word "人民" with "Chinese people". Actually, "中山" is originated in Japan. The Chinese revolutionist picked it when he was self-exiled in Tokyo.
Posted on: My Foreign teacher
November 1, 2008 at 3:49 AM外教 = 外籍教师 （wai4 ji2 jiao4 shi1）
Be careful, it is NOT an abbreviation of 外国教师.
Posted on: Battling Internet Addiction
November 1, 2008 at 2:13 AMHi tvan,
I have a glossary of Chinese Internet terms published in 1996, and "Internet" is translated as "国际互联网" (mainland), "国际电脑网络" (Hong Kong), and "国际网际网络" (Taiwan).
Interestingly, there was no word "因特网" in the glossary, which probably means that the term was relatively recently invented.
As far as I can see on the Internet, "互联网" is much more commonly used than "因特网". For the record, "World Wide Web" is "万维网" in Chinese.
Posted on: Battling Internet Addiction
October 31, 2008 at 1:10 PM现在很多人都有类似那样的倾向，多多少少对因特网上瘾。我也是一样。家里没有电脑我就活不了几天。但是有没有电视机我都无所谓，因为平时反正不看电视。
上不了网就意味着我接触不了最新国外消息，跟朋友们联系不上，查不了东西，看不了日本动画片，当然也听不了中文播客。如果真的这样的话，我就疯了！
中国人说“没有共产党就没有新中国”
我想说“没有互联网就没有生存的意义”
我说得太夸张，可并不是开玩笑，我很认真啊！我有时想，十几年前世上没有因特网的时候，我们到底怎么样过日子的？我想不起来网络时代之前的原始生活。
Posted on: 鲁迅
October 31, 2008 at 6:48 AMThe word "到底" has several important usages. Here are some examples from my dictionaries.
(1) 你到底去不去？ （× 你到底去吗？） (actually)
（2） 你跟他们到底有什么关系？ (actually)
（3） 你到底怎么把汽车发动起来的？ (how ever did you ～?)
（4） 你到底是谁？ (actually) Who ARE you?
(5) 他到底是中国人，还是日本人？ (actually)
（6） 我想了好久，到底明白了。 (finally, at last)
（7） 到底是北京，名胜古迹真多。(as might be expected)
（8） 到底还是小孩子，嘴里没有轻重。 (after all)
（9） 我们应该将改革进行到底。 (to the end, completely)
哎呀，“到底”这个词到底有几个用法？
Posted on: Numbers in Chinese
October 31, 2008 at 6:40 AMGoulniky is busy this week, so let me answer it for him.
5 to the power of 4 = 五的四次方 or 五的四次幂 (mi4)
"次方" is more commonly used than "次幂".
Posted on: Counterfeit Money
October 30, 2008 at 7:31 AMHi Jenny,
I have to agree with you. That is actually not so pronounceable. The problem is that I'm a guy who always tries to follow rules, except when buying music CDs in China! Thanks for your reply!
Posted on: 鲁迅
October 30, 2008 at 7:18 AMP/S. I'm wondering if Chinesepod has the heart to take up "高行健", China's exciled Nobel Prize laureate, as a theme for this series of lessons. Big Brother is watching you, haha!
Posted on: Considering a Credit Card
November 1, 2008 at 6:04 AMHi hvigersky,
Here are some pictures of traditional Chinese 马桶. In a sense, it might be a good idea to hide money inside 马桶 cuase no one wants to peer into them. The English phrase "stink with money" is actually originated in this Chinese traditional custom....... just joking.
http://image.baidu.com/i?ct=503316480&z=0&tn=baiduimagedetail&word=%C2%ED%CD%B0+%B4%AB%CD%B3&in=27751&cl=2&cm=1&sc=0&lm=-1&pn=1&rn=1&di=868387892&ln=66
http://image.baidu.com/i?ct=503316480&z=0&tn=baiduimagedetail&word=%C2%ED%CD%B0+%B4%AB%CD%B3&in=24063&cl=2&cm=1&sc=0&lm=-1&pn=58&rn=1&di=1771660016&ln=66
http://image.baidu.com/i?ct=503316480&z=0&tn=baiduimagedetail&word=%C2%ED%CD%B0+%B4%AB%CD%B3&in=24063&cl=2&cm=1&sc=0&lm=-1&pn=60&rn=1&di=1771660936&ln=66