User Comments - motto

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motto

Posted on: Mobile Repairman
May 08, 2008, 08:47 PM

scheu Pretty certain its 95%, as the rule is 100% - discount.

Posted on: Mobile Repairman
May 08, 2008, 08:55 AM

I notice that when Jenny (and the lady in the dialog) says xiu bu hao, the 1st tone xiu is said with a high pitch, whereas when she says xiu.de hao, the 1st tone xiu is said with a low pitch (but still "straight"). I guess this is because the following bu must go from high to low, so you need to start high up in the xiu. Is this common? I have never seen it mentioned before in text books. How does the speaker "anticipate" the need to start high?

Posted on: A Chinese-Style Contradiction
July 02, 2007, 08:19 AM

A great story and a good lesson. But of course the story as you tell it is NOT a contradiction. It is perfectly possible for the person to sell the sharpest in the world and the toughest in the world, but when they come together one beats the other. (Who knows which, it depends on the material etc etc). But when he sells the spear that cannot pierce any shield and a shield that cannot be pierced by any sword, then that IS a contradiction. From a contradiction, logically one can infer anything, be it true or false. eg "Jennie is Queen of England" or "I am a good Mandarin speaker". I fear that in simplifying the story for us elementaries, you have thrown out the baby with the bathwater. (Is there a Chinese version of that saying?). But thanks anyway. And yes, please more (untampered with) stories

Posted on: Colors Song
May 06, 2007, 11:17 AM

lester Sorry I always get "se" and "si" mixed up in my auditory cortex! yes 青丝 in my dictionary = (literature) black hair of a woman or girl, and my 女朋友 tells me it does mean that blue-black colour of beautiful hair.

Posted on: Colors Song
May 04, 2007, 04:43 PM

I have heard that 青色 classically also means the beautiful hair of a beautiful Chinese woman? I thought the song was beautifully sung too. The vibrato on the vowel sound of 綠 was lovely. Chinese vowels seem nicer to sing than English ones?