User Comments - changye
changye
Posted on: 对症下药
June 15, 2008 at 1:36 AMLet me translate the comment in Spanish posted by luciakucia into English………, of course, with the use of Google automated-translation.
“It is assumed that this class is to learn phrases or expressions in Chinese, silly or stupid serious that the "area of health" indications continue discharged into these lessons. xxxx!”
I think this English is not so bad, at least compared to Japanese or Chinese translations generated by Google (they are just desastrous!). Looks like that translations between European languages are usually better than those between European and Asian languages. I guarantee that you can get the best ones when you translate Japanese into Korean by auto-translation.
Posted on: 室内装修
June 15, 2008 at 1:17 AMHi dave,
You might be right. I also think this dialogue is somewhat boring, but I try to think this way. Why has the husband been procrastinating on making a decision about the interior design for his new apartment. I suspect that he just wants to enjoy talking with the attractive female designer as long as possible. This lesson may turn into another exciting soap opera series.
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Hong Kong
June 14, 2008 at 12:34 PMHi monica5,
I’m not a specialist of 烧卖, so I don’t know if Japanese 烧卖 is better than that in Shanghai, but at least I can say that Chinese southern cuisine suits to Japanese people’s taste. I hear that in general, for example, Cantonese food is non-fatty and slightly sweet, which is relatively similar to Japanese food. Historically speaking, Japanese food culture, as well as many other things, owes much to ancient southern kingdoms in China, and that is why.
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Hong Kong
June 13, 2008 at 1:36 PMHi tezuk,
The character “会” has several meanings, for example, 这个孩子还不会说话 (This child still can’t talk), 他是个很会说话的人 (He is an excellent talker) and so on. In the case of “很会吃”, its connotation should be similar to that of the latter example.
So the literal translation of 很会吃 would be “good at eating”. And then, sorry, there still is no clear conclusion. I only know that my chubby dog is really a 很能吃的小狗, but I sometimes think she actually is a 很会吃的小狗！Good night, guys.
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Hong Kong
June 13, 2008 at 11:59 AMHi dijinni,
Thanks a lot for your translation. I’ll buy the phrase “dare to eat” you suggested! It’s short, concise and to the point. And “really enjoy eating” for 会吃 is really hard to deny. The problem is that in fact I’m still not 100% sure about the meaning of 会吃!
I guess it might fall somewhere in between 讲究吃 (be particular about food) and 享受吃 (enjoy eating). I’ve come up with another translation “a smart eater” for 会吃的人, which seems to be too partial to 讲究吃! Btw, Cantonese yum-cha is “饮茶” in Chinese characters.
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Hong Kong
June 13, 2008 at 9:58 AMHi sushan,
Wow, I have never yet eaten 猪尾巴 (zhu1 wei3 ba)! It must be more tasty than a cow tail. And thank you for your translation. I’m glad that I didn’t try it myself. I’ve learned such a clever use of “but” from your English.
会吃 (hui4 chi1) is tricky. One of my Chinese friends just told me that it means “讲究吃的(东西)”, if so 会吃 should be translated as “be particular about food”. On the other hand, 能吃 means “eat well, eat good”, perhaps.
I suppose that “敢吃” should be translated as “have the courage to eat”, “be bold enough to eat” or something like that. I believe native English speakers would certainly come up with much more appropriate and cool expressions.
Posted on: Fortunate Cookies
June 13, 2008 at 6:14 AMHi ryjo and rayu,
Thank you for the interesting website and book “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles”. I found a very interesting article about the origin of fortune cookies on the site. I didn’t know that completely, but there still is traditional “fortune cookie” in Japan!
http://www.fortunecookiechronicles.com/2008/01/16/fortune-cookies-are-really-from-japan/
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Hong Kong
June 13, 2008 at 5:52 AMJapanese people, me included, have traditionally been particular about eating fish and whale and very good at cooking them, but on the other hand, they are still poor at cooking beef, pork, chicken and so on compared to Western and Chinese people.
It was not until I came to China several years ago that I knew pig ears and noses (猪耳朵 zhu1 er3 duo, 猪鼻子 zhu1 bi2 zi) were edible (and tasty!) foodstuff.
I’ve just found some hilarious sentences written by a native Chinese on the Internet. It’s based on a famous joke and is modified (and “enriched”) brilliantly. I’m sorry that I can’t effectively translate them into English, in particular, the last sentence is rather difficult to translate cleverly, at least for me. Anyone give it a try?
中国人是什么都敢吃。天上飞的除了飞机，地上跑的除了汽车，水里游的除了潜艇，四条腿的除了桌子，两条腿的除了梯子，一概通吃。中国人不但敢吃，还很会吃。
Posted on: 室内装修
June 15, 2008 at 4:17 AM中国大城市的情况怎么样，我不太清楚。但是至少在地方小城市装修房子还是大事，就是说一件挺麻烦的事情。我公司也有不少人装修过新买的公寓房。他们装修自己房子的时候都在工作时间内经常回家，监督装修施工。而且房主一般都亲自购买装修材料。
连水泥都要亲自去商店买，要不然装修师傅很可能会使用劣等材料或者次货品。中国公司职员的工作效率一般不太高，其主要原因有好几个。比如说，有些人在办公室悄悄炒股，上网聊天，有些人偷偷回家看看新房装修。老板领导都那样，更何况是职员呢！