User Comments - johnrash
johnrash
Posted on: Wake-up Call
June 29, 2008 at 1:20 AMIs it possible to substitute 吵醒(chao3xing3) in this situation?
What other words can procede 醒 in a situation of being woken up? I seem to remember from a past lesson the duplicated use of 醒醒 as a command to tell someone to "wake up wake up!".
醒 is also used in 提醒(ti2xing3)means to remind someone. Seems to be an interesting character.
Posted on: Characters in the Desert and Chinese Kitchens
June 28, 2008 at 3:29 PMChinese granola? Time to go 爬山!
Posted on: I don't want it!
June 28, 2008 at 5:16 AMguess I can't delete a comment once I've started...
Posted on: Characters in the Desert and Chinese Kitchens
June 28, 2008 at 1:11 AMExactly what I was hoping for. I thought I would miss the oven when trying to cook in Hong Kong, but found that most of what I usually cook is on the stovetop anyway. Where we need ovens in the west, it seems the Chinese utilize steam. The addition of the oven to a kitchen is a recipe for thosands of carbs you probably shouldn't be eating anyway, right? What about dutch ovens? Any way to utilize those on the open flame of a Chinese hot burner?
As for utensils... Cutting everything with "the cleaver" gives me this medieval feeling like a modern day barbarian in the kitchen. However, not quite as rough as my tortured Chinese pronounciation. Thanks for answering!
Posted on: I Just.... 刚 & 刚才（gāng & gāngcái）
June 25, 2008 at 10:27 PMBe careful not to confuse 更好and 刚好。
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 1: A New Manager
June 25, 2008 at 3:14 PMIs there any subtext in calling somone 海归／海龟, other than sound-a-like characters? Turtles poke their heads of their shells and go back inside for comfort when the outside world is presenting a threat or perhaps too scary. Are we looking at a metaphor here, or just a lexical coiencidence?
Posted on: I Just.... 刚 & 刚才（gāng & gāngcái）
June 25, 2008 at 3:08 PMChangye
Concerning 刚才as a “时间词“ I would be correct in saying "我刚才从纽约来的“ or "我刚才做完了饭，快来吃一下“.
These are the exact areas where my Chinese needs improvemet. Using vocabulary I THINK I understand, but then starting to form sentences which may not sound Chinese. Thanks in advance of your critique.
Posted on: Instant Noodles
June 22, 2008 at 9:07 PMSideshow Bob. I have to warn you, Chengdu hua (or is it Si Chuan Hua?) is going to be quite different from the pu tong hua you learn here. I studied mandarian for over 2 years and when I went to Chengdu last month I was at a loss listening to almost everyone. They'll understand you, but unless they modify their everyday speak to putonghua you'll be in for a bit of a learning curve.
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Hong Kong
June 21, 2008 at 2:00 PMThanks. I guess I was thinking in terms of english when we might say "what's good" or would also say "which ones are the most delicious". Guess when in doubt, I won't try to cut corners.
Posted on: Discussing Photography
June 29, 2008 at 6:44 PMDawn
I shot some film on my last trip to China and had it processed at a lab just across the street from the drum tower in downtown Xi'An. I had the film ran as "process only" so I could scan and print the negs myself upon returning to USA (also didn't want to deal with X-Ray hassels). The lab did a good job and was right next door to a great cake shop and Starbucks with free Wi-Fi.