User Comments - changye
changye
Posted on: Rome
October 20, 2008 at 2:15 AMHi chrka,
Thanks for the correction. Looks like I mistook "basic (基础)" for "elementary/Intermediate (初中等)". Now, the new question is which test punter888 took after one and a half years of independent learning. If I were him, I probably wouldn't take the Ele/Inter.
Posted on: Last and Next
October 19, 2008 at 1:10 PMHi rjberki,
It seems that a hair of my chubby dog is much more useful than I thought before, provided that she bites me in the "hangover" morning. I'd better not to tell her about this western remedy.
There is the same "remedy" for hangover in Japan, which is called "迎え酒 (mukae-zake, welcoming alcohol?)". Anyway, drinkers always try to make an excuse to drink in any countries.
Posted on: Rome
October 19, 2008 at 12:36 PMHi punter888,
I think I understand how you feel about HSK. I felt "dizzy" when I glanced over a HSK workbook at a bookstore in China before. It seems that considerable (and exact) knowledge of Chinese grammar is required to get high score even on the elementary level, which is the reason why I never take the test. I just don't want to disappoint myself, haha.
The elementary HSK is further divided into three levels according to your score, namely A (210-300), B (155-209), and C (100-154), and the problem is that the level A is said to be theminimum skills needed for entering a university in China....WOW. So, if you are "a real elementary learner" by ChinesePod standards, taking this Chinese proficiency test would be a kind of torture!
Posted on: Last and Next
October 19, 2008 at 4:25 AMHi cassie,
Thanks for the nice phrase. It seems that "接下来" is a convenient phrase, such as "接下来的几年" or "接下来这几天". 接下来的一年里，我要让我家的小胖狗使劲减肥！
Hi rjberki,
In addition to cassie's advice, "the next day" and "the previous day" could also be translated as "第二天" and "前一天" respectively.
One of my favorite examples is "喝酒后第二天早上，头疼得厉害", haha. As for "I shipped it next day air", it may be "第二天， 我把它用空邮寄出了".
............ although not so sure.
Just for the record, there are also "次日" （ci4 ri4） and "翌日" (yi4 ri4) used in the sense of "the next day", but "第二天" is more commonly used. 翌日 is used in written Chinese.
Posted on: Saved by the Gong: Chemistry
October 18, 2008 at 11:25 AM石 radicals = nonmetallic elements (非金属元素)
Posted on: Saved by the Gong: Chemistry
October 18, 2008 at 4:06 AM我坦白，其实我大学一年级的时候，班里就我一个人没及格化学。平时学习不认真的同学们都及格，我很不服气。后来我才知道，大家（除我以外）在化学考试的前一天都搞到了一年前的考试题，再说，化学试题竟然每年都一样。不幸的是，那天我得了感冒，没有上课，而且没有一个同学告诉我一声。太无情啊！
Posted on: Saved by the Gong: Chemistry
October 17, 2008 at 1:59 PMThe chemical elements of the periodic table in Chinese are really worth noting because a lot of Chinese characters used for them were newly invented in the 20th century. And therefore, you can never find, for example, the following characters even in 康熙字典！
氢 (qing1, hydrogen), 氧 (yang3, oxygen), 氟 (fu2, fluorine), 氦 (hai4, Helium), 氮 (dan4, nitrogen), 氖 (nai3, neon), 锂 (li3, lithium), 镁 (mei3, magnesium), 钛 (tai4, titanium), etc.
Posted on: Rome
October 17, 2008 at 6:33 AMHi John,
For practical purposes, stick to the rule "以为 is for mistaken ideas."
You are very right. Actually, I also always use this word only in this sense, hehe. As you know, I love a nitpicky argument. Thanks for your post.
Posted on: Rome
October 17, 2008 at 6:22 AMHi wxgcathy,
Thanks a lot for your posting. To tell you the truth, I’ve been expecting a native Chinese speaker to give an opinion on this matter, which has long been on my mind. I really enjoyed reading the discussion in 北大中文论坛. To my surprise, it seems to me that there is no clear conclusion reached by native speakers in the forum.
in a word , ”以为” always mean "mistakingly think".
I still don’t think so. I think that “以为” can be used in the sense of “suppose, think” or “guess, feel” depending on the situation and the context. At the same time, I readily admit that “以为” is very commonly used to mean “mistakingly think” in modern Chinese, which is the reason even natives are not sure about its other usage.
Of course, “以为” is not interchangeable with “认为” since the latter connotes firm conviction or judgment about something, and therefore the word should be translated as “regard” or “consider”. On the other hand, “以为” is used to mean “suppose, etc” when you modestly (or humbly) expresses you opinion, often without conviction.
As for 现代汉语词典, I also think that its definition of “以为”, i.e. 以为 = 认为, is not appropriate, or at least it is one-sidedly defined. My 汉日词典, edited for learners and published in Japan, meticulously explains about several usages of “以为”, including ones that means “suppose, guess, feel” and “mistakingly think”.
Interestingly, “以为” meant “认为” in ancient Chinese. It’s understandable, considering 以为 might be a shortened form of “以A为B”. There are some set phrases such as “不以为然” (not consider to be right) and “不以为奇” (not consider to be strange) still used in modern Chinese, although they are usually used in written Chinese.
Judging from above facts, “以为” (= suppose) might be a little out-of-date usage. As is always the case, dictionaries tend to be conservative and behind the times, and I surmise that the definition in 现代汉语词典 will be revised in the near future. Anyway, “以为” doesn’t necessarily always mean “mistakingly think”, exactly speaking.
Posted on: No Walking on the Grass
October 20, 2008 at 11:52 PMHi garfaldo,
I agree with you. I don't hear "s" sound either. And, to my surprise (and regret), one of my colleagues in the office, a native Chinese, says that she hears the "shang", but not "hang".....gee.
As for "谁", actually there are two pronunciations for the character. "shui" is an authentic sound and often used in formal speeches, and "shei" is basically used in daily conversations.