User Comments - danchao

Posted on: Invitations to Eat (original)

Hey byron, I tend to rise higher in inflection on 主. It does become more of a second tone. Of course, lots of people speak Chinese differently, so perhaps there are some speakers that would agree with you.

Posted on: Future fun with 会 (hui4), 要 (yao4), and 将 (jiang1)

@alexyzye You don't have to use "today", it's just an example of how the context of the sentence around "要" can clarify what you mean by the word.

I think what the waiter means by saying that 想 is like a kid asking his mother for ice cream is that it seems like you're asking for her permission to drink tea. Saying "我想喝茶" is basically telling her you have the desire to drink tea, but you're not exactly giving her an imperative to do anything.

If I was walking around with my friends and decided to go to Starbucks, I'd say "我要去Starbucks". If it was only a desire or a suggestion, I'd say "我想去Starbucks".

Clear as mud, eh?

Posted on: Guests, Interns and the 4th of July

Thanks, mjvito! Will need that luck.

Posted on: Future fun with 会 (hui4), 要 (yao4), and 将 (jiang1)

There's a tiny bit of difference in context. Saying 我想喝茶 can mean that you want to, but don't necessarily have the plans to. 我要喝茶 means that you have the plans to, or that you want to. 我想要喝茶 has the same context as 我想喝茶, I think.

Usually, in Chinese, we clarify what we mean by saying things like 今天我要去喝茶, "Today, I （要） to go drink tea". The fact that I said today means that I'm talking about my plans.

Hopefully that helps a tiny bit.

Posted on: Asking for the WiFi password

chris, that's brilliant, and I shall keep that in mind.

Posted on: How was your flight?

我们 can be used to refer to both parties as well. Depends on the context upon which it was used. For example, if I was talking to another person about what we should do, I could use 我们 to include both myself and the person I'm talking to.

I actually never use 咱们. I guess it's a Taiwanese thing?

Posted on: How was your flight?

Holy cow, you're right! I've lived in China for 13 years and I still talk with a Taiwanese accent. Haha. Somehow I don't notice these things.

Posted on: An Unplanned Tan

Wow, I must give Gansu a visit sometime.

Posted on: How was your flight?

Yeah, I say xìnxí,, and my parents are from Taiwan. Didn't realize there was that discrepancy.

Posted on: Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

I second that notion