User Comments - changye

Posted on: The My Minefield

Gee, it’s highly possible that not a few local people, here in a small city in China, have been misled into thinking that I’m the owner of my company, although it’s not totally a bad thing for me.

In China, there are a lot of family companies, and people commonly have a sense of seeing a company as personal property. And therefore, employees generally don’t have a strong sense of loyalty.

I suppose this might be one of the reasons why only company owners use “我的公司” and employees don’t, which is just a wild guess based on stereotypes. The entry of Sinosplice is really worth reading.

P/S. The lesson title is hilarious.

Posted on: 日本人的起源

Hi lydia1981,

The word “小姐” originally meant “a daughter of a decent family (i.e. a preppy)” in feudal times, and servants commonly addressed her as “小姐” (my lady). You often hear it when watching Chinese period dramas and movies.

“大小姐” mainly has two meanings in modern Chinese. One is the title for the eldest “小姐” in such a decent family. Other is used to refer to a preppy or ordinary girl, sometimes jokingly or with irony, as you heard in the dialogue.

The same goes for “少爷 (shao4 ye3, young master)” and “大少爷”. As for the phrase “搬出来”, it should be translated as “bring up, bring out, or drag～to, etc”. For the record, “搬出去” and “搬过来” means “move out” and “move in” respectively.

Posted on: What size?

Hi user568,

I envy you for having good eyesight. I guess that whether or not put a space is somewhat arbitrary, but it basically depends on the adhesiveness between characters.

And therefore, you can find the word “没有” in a dictionary since it’s commonly regarded as one word, but not “多大”, probably because it’s one of some varieties such as 多高, 多重, and 多宽.

Let me reiterate, it’s a bit arbitrary, so I wouldn’t put a space between 多 and 大. It’s just a matter of feeling, I presume. Please don’t ask me why there is no space between 算 and 了!

Posted on: 日本人的起源

Hi ygxt2003,

I really appreciate your thoughtful comment. As you said, it isn’t appropriate to use this kind of word in public spaces, but at the same, it won’t hurt you to learn a derogatory term with its meaning and connotation, given that the word 小日本 is, good or bad, actually frequently used in China. In a way, learning this word is inevitable, or indispensable, even for foreign learners of Mandarin. Of course, I don’t recommend you use such a word yourself.

Posted on: 日本人的起源

Hi ryue65,

I don't know much about European countries and their histories, so I read with great interest your comment. After having read a Wiki article about Ireland, I'm surprised to know that the relation between Ireland and England is actually similar to that between Korea and Japan, as you pointed out above. The major difference is that Korea had two "masters", China and Japan, in the past. Thanks.

Posted on: On Location at the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Hi xiaohu and auntie68,

It’s a good example of 约定俗成 in modern Chinese. The same goes for 好像 and 好象, of course, the former is authentic. I guess this kind of typos might be partly attributed to the increase of computer (and WP) use.

Furthermore, “的 and 象” are easier to write than “得 and 像” are, so people may apt to use the former ones. By the way, 你汉语说得很好 is translated as “You speak Chinese well”, and 你说的(话/内容)很对 is “What you said is right”.

Posted on: 张爱玲经典名句

Below are some modern Chinese novels that are already translated into Japanese. Let me tell you beforehand, I’ve never read any of them. And I don’t know whether or not these authors are well known in China too.

Modern Chinese literature is still far from being 热门 in Japan, but it seems that the number of its Japanese fans has been steadily increasing in the past decade, with the rapid economic growth in China.

郭敬明《悲伤逆流成河》
贾平凹《废都》
余华  《兄弟》

莫言  《生死疲劳》
苏童  《碧奴》
王朔  《许爷》

韩寒  《三重门》
陈染  《私人生活》
李锐  《厚土》

Posted on: Language Power Struggle

Hi auntie68,

Haha, thanks for saving my face! All joking aside, I believe that 互相鼓励 (not 互相"拍马屁") is very important in learning languages, although it seems that 互相学习 doesn't always work very well.

Posted on: Chinese Birthdays and Local Hospitals

Hi penben,

You are right. Chinese people are traditionally very skilled in making 饼 (bing3), but not 饼干 (bing3 gan1)!

Posted on: Language Power Struggle

Hi auntie68,

Thanks for your hilarious and to-the-point comment.

I couldn't resist laughing, or making a wry smile, in particular, when I read the last paragraph in your post. You can say that again.

What you native English speakers have to do here in China is to allow a middle-aged "English Expert", just like me, to save his face.

Be merciful, just as your Chinese friends are merciful to you Chinese learners. Thanks in advance!