User Comments - changye
changye
Posted on: Getting Taller (Not Fatter)
January 19, 2010 at 3:11 AMHi bumaike
I'm pleased to hear you loved Ultraman when you were a kid. Me, too! There are four ways to translate "Ultraman" into Chinese.
(1) literal translation
(2) transliteration based on Japanese sound
(3) transliteration based on English sound
(4) a combination of some of above
In the case of (1), Ultraman should be translated as "超人" or something like that. Unfortunately, it's already used as the "official" Chinese translation of "Superman".
Transliteration based on the Japanese sound "U-ru-to-ra-man" has one drawback, i.e. it's too long. The Japanese sound has four open syllables and one closed syllable, and its Chinese transliteration should be something like "吾汝托拉慢", for example.
On the other hand, the English sound "Ultraman" has only three syllables, and its transliteration "奥特曼" also has only three characters (or syllables). Brevity is the soul of witness, and that's why.
Posted on: Paris
January 18, 2010 at 12:12 PMI just wish I were one of the hundred lucky guys. Does she have any plan to come to the PRC? Here is the photo album of 杨雅晴.
http://photo.blog.sina.com.cn/u/1645542070/page1
Posted on: Computer Problems and Tech Support
January 18, 2010 at 8:06 AM"800米跑了10分钟" is equal to 4.8km/hr. So the statement must be sarcastic unless you are a tortoise.
Posted on: Office Lunch Options
January 18, 2010 at 7:30 AMHi bababardwan
In general Chinese people don't like to eat cold food, so they are not pariticular about bento (box lunch, 盒饭). On the other hand, Japanese love bento very much, and bento has already become a kind of "art/tradition" in Japanese society.
You can find countless kinds of tasty and colourful bento sold at railway stations, convenience stores and department houses. Of course, a lot of Japanese mothers put great energy into making bento for their children. Please look at this photo.
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=bento&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=&aqi=
Posted on: Moving In Together
January 18, 2010 at 5:46 AMDictionaries say that 照应 is pronounced with "fourth tone + neutral tone" when it means "take care", probably it's because 照应 (zhao4 ying, take care) is more colloquial than 照应 (zhao4 ying4, correspond to).
Posted on: Foot Therapy
January 17, 2010 at 6:05 AMI once accompanied one of my Chinese friends to an acupuncture doctor, and there I saw the friend yelling with severe pain. The needles the doctor used were very big and thick, as big/thick as those for 羊肉串 (lamb kebabs). Then I made up my mind not to get acupuncture therapy in the rest of my life, hehe.
Posted on: Computer Problems and Tech Support
January 17, 2010 at 5:33 AMHi bodawei
"海量" (in the sense of "magnanimous") is a very formal word, so it's usually not used in everyday conversation.
Posted on: Computer Problems and Tech Support
January 17, 2010 at 5:02 AMIn reality, just saying "你是海量" (without context) automatically means "You can drink much/You have great alcohol capacity".
Posted on: Foot Therapy
January 17, 2010 at 4:52 AMThere are some reasons for that. Firstly, some people are afraid of acupuncture and its needles. Secondly, there are a lot of under-qualified (or bogus) practitioners in China. Thirdly, some people are skeptical about the efficacy of acupuncture therapy.
Posted on: Dogs and Wealth
January 19, 2010 at 6:47 AMHi misterjess
I guess it's not the dog's real name. Chinese children often use words such as "狗狗", "小狗"，and "小狗狗" when referring to a dog. The word "狗狗" sounds just cute!