User Comments - mrzhou
mrzhou
Posted on: Humorous Statues and Sculptures
April 3, 2012 at 4:14 PMNot bad. I'm starting to appreciate the Chinese sense of humor.
Posted on: Skiing, Not Ice Skating
March 28, 2012 at 1:48 PMDoes anyone know the Chinese word for "cross-country skiing" (a.k.a. nordic skiing)? I have been asked a couple of times whether I like to 滑雪, and I could not find out how to say "I like cross-country skiing". Thanks!
Posted on: How do you say...?
March 22, 2012 at 8:36 AM"Bonjour" is the usual formal way to say hello. "Salut" is used among friends. So both is correct.
Posted on: Come In, Please
March 11, 2012 at 11:01 PMThis was the right lesson at the right moment. When I visited our local Confucius Institute a few days ago, the first words I heard were: "你好，请进" (nǐhǎo, qǐngjìn). It's always good to know that the language I learn in the pods is actually used in daily life.
Posted on: Hospitality Series 6：Buying a Handbag
March 10, 2012 at 7:18 PMReally "usually"? As far as I know, 这 and 那 are only pronounced "zhèi"/"nèi" when they are followed by a measure word (such as 个 ge), or by a number plus measure word. And only in colloquial language. In a formal context I'd rather stick to "zhè" and "nà". But it is certainly important to understand "zhèi" and "nèi", as they appear quite often (at least in the cpod dialogues ;))
Posted on: Big Numbers
February 28, 2012 at 8:04 PMI had to laugh a few times while listening to this dialog, because the Chinese word 万 wàn sounds pretty much like the English word "one", although these words stand for quite different numbers ;-).
But why not use this pun to memorize the Chinese word for "million":
"one by one" = 1 bǎi wàn = 一百万
Posted on: Big Numbers
February 28, 2012 at 7:56 PMThe Chinese system is neither long scale (grouping by 6 zeros) nor short scale (grouping by 3 zeros), but a different system that uses 4 zeros as the base:
一: 1
万: 1'0000 (for westerners: 10,000)
亿: 1'0000'0000 (for westerners: 100,000,000)
兆: 1'0000'0000'0000 (for westerners: 1,000,000,000,000)
Posted on: Exchanging Dollars for RMB
February 25, 2012 at 8:37 AMAnother question: In the dialog, the client does not answer the 您好, but starts talking business right away. Is this normal or could it be considered rude? What is the appropriate answer to 您好 in such a situation? Can I answer 你好 or do I have to say 您好 as well?
Posted on: Exchanging Dollars for RMB
February 25, 2012 at 8:31 AMThanks for the 欧元 (€) in the supplementary vocabulary section. Now, how can I say "I want to change euros into RMB" in one sentence without waiting to be asked for the details? My first guess is: "我要换欧元...", but how can I add "into RMB" to this sentence? Can I simply append "换人民币", i.e. repeat the 换? Or do I have to use a different pattern?
Posted on: Please Heat My Food
April 15, 2012 at 12:32 PM... and mind the difference between 烫 tàng (hot) and 汤 tāng (soup). Although a 汤 is supposed to be more or less 烫...
The interesting thing abour the character 烫: It looks like a 汤 with a fire (火 huǒ) below. Pretty straightforward.