User Comments - jim_parker

Posted on: At the Hair Salon

I have no complaints, nor comments except to say keep doing what you are doing.

I was wondering what the guy at the end said, too.  I figured there was a 50/50 chance that he was either looking for his money or trying to get Amber's phone number.

Speaking of which, Amber, you are always so helpful in answering everyone's questions, so I'll give it one try:  what IS your phone number?  :)

Or. to put it another way:  how do you say "get lost, jerk!" in Chinese?

-jim

Posted on: Traffic

This is a very nice addition to the CPOD world.  It mimics what I (as a newbie) attempt to do all day:  as I see things that I know the Chinese word for, I try to repeat that word to myself over and over. 

I would personally LOVE to see a video tour of the CPOD offices (with words for desk, chair, etc).  I like to have vocab of everyday words...  Maybe a video tour of one of those streets that Amber keeps talking about where you can have done anything you want (fix a shoe?  eat a hot dog? get a haircut?  It's all available on Amber's street!  Very fangbian!)

The bus vocab was interesting to me, because I have only ever heard gonggongqiche, and was surprised to hear Amber say that this word is only "sometimes used."  This was good information.

-jim

Posted on: Please speak slowly

Thanks, Amber.

ps Love your show!

Posted on: Please speak slowly

I don't want to bog down my learning with a bunch of grammar, but the "de" after "shuo" surprised me, as it did some others.  A couple of earlier posts explained this usage as a grammatical construction that indicates that you are speaking about the degree of the verb (not just the fact that you speak, but HOW you speak).  This sounds to me like it just means that there will be an adverb modifying this verb.  Is this basically correct? 

Posted on: Can you Speak Chinese?

And while I am still here:

minazhu said in an earlier post that "tong2zhi4" implies a homosexual partner.  This is the first I have heard this.  Is this true?  In this sense, is "tong2zhi4" like the english word "partner", where it still has an 'innocent' meaning, or is it more like the english phrase 'domestic partner' with no room for other interpretations?

Assuming I am not a homosexual, should I avoid this word altogether?  I expected to use pengyou for a few close friends, tongxue for people I go to school with, and tongzhi for people I work with.  Is there a more appropriate word for "coworker"?

-jim

Posted on: Can you Speak Chinese?

I hate to bring up a subject that was done to death earlier, but I'd like to summarize my understanding here to make sure I've got it (and maybe when someone explains where I am wrong, it might help other people...)

hui4 is used to mean "can do" in the literal sense (like, to have the skill / knowledge to even DO it)

ke3yi3 is used to mean something like "of course you CAN do it, but do you CHOOSE to do it in this case, or not"

neng4 is used to mean "of course you CAN do it, but is there some reason why you can't in this case / no reason why you can't in this case"

So, if I asked someone "ni3 hui4 shuo1 yingwen ma?" they could say "hui4" and continue speaking chinese (like, "sure, I CAN speak english"), and "ni3 neng4 shuo3 yingwen ma?" seems maybe a little rude (like "is there something stopping you from speaking english?" or "is there some reason you are not speaking english?")

Sorry this is such a long post.  I didn't have time to write a shorter one...  :)