User Comments - doezeedoats

Posted on: Traditional Residences

Hope this helps you understand Jenny’s architecture lecture”:
橋樑 liángqiáo - bridge
預先預習 yùxiānyùxí - prepare for a lesson in advance
街道 jiēdào - streets; roads
因此 yīncǐ - as a result; so
(相)對應 (xiāng)duìyìng - correspond(ing)
地域 dìyù - area
居住 jūzhù - reside
稱呼 chēnghù - name; what s.t. is called
強烈要求 qiángliè yāoqiú - strongly demand
無助的 wúzhù de - helplessly
-之旅 zhīlü3 - travel/-tour
新潮 xīncháo - fashionable
翻新 fānxīn - renovate; restore
黃金地段 huángjīn dìduàn - “golden area”; prime real estate
地價 dìjià - land price
升值 shēngzhí - increase in value; appreciate
樓宇 lóuyǔ - buildings; premises
生活條件 shēnghuó tiáojiàn - living conditions (w/ use of 條件 as 狀況)
補償bǔcháng - compensation
文縐縐的 wénzhōuzhōu de - bookish
文化氣質 wénhuà qìzhi - cultural (i.e., very culture-oriented)
光彩 guāngcǎi - splendor
(互相)關聯的 (hùxiāng) guānlián de - related (to each other)
The “有點亂”, “亂一些” and “內戰” in 1850s refers to the Taiping Tianguo (太平天國) rebellion, 1851-1864, one of the worst conflicts in human history in terms of total loss of life (perhaps 3rd worst after 1st and 2nd world wars). The rebels took over all of southern China up to the outskirts of Shanghai.
週邊 zhōubiān - all around; on every side; peripheral
相對來說 xiāngduì lái shuō - relatively speaking; in comparison
太平 tàipíng - peaceful
擠進 jǐjìn - crowd into
改建 gǎijiàn - rebuild (differently)
隔的 gé de - separated
佈局 bùjú - layout; (physical) arrangement
形成了 xíngchéng le - formed
以移民為主 yǐ yímín wéizhǔ - immigrants, for the most part
習慣性的 xíguànxìng de - habitual
準成語 zhǔn chéngyǔ - a quasi-proverb
獨一無二 dú-yī-wú-èr - unique; exclusively one’s own
作風 zuòfēng - style
專長 zhuāncháng - specialty; particular strength
颶風 jùfēng - hurricane
重新建造 chóngxīn jiànzào - reconstruct
受益者 shòuyìzhe - beneficiary
拆遷 chāiqiān - (to have one’s house/apt.) torn down and move (someplace else)
獲得一筆補償金 huòdé yì bǐ bǔchángjīn - receive a compensation payout
視角 shìjiǎo - perspective

Posted on: Traditional Residences

Posted on: Applying For a Visa

Special thanks to Jenny for that note about 东西 being associated with 金木, hence tangible objects, hence "things". It's kind of nice to know at least a few things about Chinese that most Chinese don't know.

Posted on: Buying a Plasma TV

If you are really in the market for a big screen TV, it's good to maintain the distinction between plasma screen TVs and LCD screen TVs - 電漿電視 vs. 液晶電視 (电浆电视 vs. 液晶电视). I've heard that, for technical reasons, the really big screens are cheaper and better if they are plasma. The not-so-huge ones are cheaper and better if they are LCD. (In terms of 幾吋, according to one website: "Under 40 inches, LCD , Over 42 go for plasma TV")

Posted on: Often: Using 常常，经常，通常 (chángcháng, jīngcháng, tōngcháng)

Some Google numbers:

"我經常 3,420,000

"我常常 2,800,000

"我時常 2,050,000

"我通常   742,000  "通常我 503,000

"我平常   660,000  "平常我 269,000

"我時時     69,200 (or, getting way out on the tail: "吾時時 19)

Posted on: Considering a Credit Card

Just for fun, I tried these four terms in Google Translate

and got:

Posted on: Birth by Chinese Zodiac

Love your work, pearltowerpete

Oh, that Chinese comma thingy " 、" has a name: caesura (s-zhr, -zr), which is also "1. A pause in a line of verse dictated by sense or natural speech rhythm rather than by metrics. 2. A pause or interruption, as in conversation: After another weighty caesura the senator resumed speaking." Go figure.

Posted on: Birth by Chinese Zodiac

I stand corrected, pearltowerpete, having noted boar, bull and (groan) "top-rated".

Posted on: Birth by Chinese Zodiac

顿号  and 逗号 are also known as 頓點、 逗點, similar to 句點. And those people writing "豆號"... supposed to be cute?

Posted on: Birth by Chinese Zodiac

Us cows, pigs and rats are feeling left out of the promo blurb. What gives?