User Comments - pinkjeans
pinkjeans
Posted on: Argument over Garbage (1)
November 20, 2008 at 1:03 PM这个课真很有意思。非常棒！
In one lesson here one can see the richness and diversity of the Chinese language. Can't wait for Part 2. I know it's a known fact, but I'm reminded of it every so often listening to CPOD...Jenny and John have such great chemistry doing the podcasts and especially the UI ones, I wish I could burst through the computer and join in the fun。
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 5: Wang Tries to Excel at the Office
November 17, 2008 at 10:45 AMWhat an incredible lesson! I loved it. And I was happy to discover that 横 and 竖 actually had meanings; I had always thought they were just names of strokes. The other thing that tickled me was how the characters in the dialogue pronounced Excel as Ek-sel, rather than Eks-sel. It appears to be quite a common problem for some Chinese when it comes to diction involving two adjacent consonant sounds, such as direct (often pronounced as die-rek, leaving out the 't') or handsome (pronounced as han-some, or even ham-some). And the 'l' at the end sometimes becomes an 'er' like 儿, so Excel becomes 'ekseir'. Just an observation.
Posted on: The Big Deal about Shenzhou 7
November 14, 2008 at 11:15 AMI think I'm too spaced out to learn any new vocab...going to la-la land now, and hopefully a power nap will do me some good. 头脑好像失到太空去了。希望我睡了一觉就会比较精神。Zzzzzz....
Posted on: Asking for Leave
November 13, 2008 at 2:15 PMIn China, do you always have to ask for permission to take leave, or can you just send in your leave application form for a straightforward one or two days off during non-crucial periods? What do call compassionate leave, maternity leave, paternity leave, sick leave? Some companies have also introduced family/child leave.
Posted on: Birth by Chinese Zodiac
November 12, 2008 at 2:00 PM///、、、
The slash didn't work for me either, but I fiddled around and the backslash works! Try it, bababardwan. Thanks for the idea, Pete.
Posted on: Birth by Chinese Zodiac
November 11, 2008 at 2:10 PMI luuurve these kinds of topics. I may be a modern girl, but I guess I am a traditionalist at heart. And 我也很迷信。我觉得女孩儿如果属鼠，猪，蛇，会有好命。男孩儿属虎， 马，龙， 比较好。
BTW, does anyone know how to type the other kind of comma, the one that separates things, and not phrases? As you can see I was unable to and hence used the normal comma above.
Posted on: When 比较 (bǐjiào) becomes 更 (gèng)
November 10, 2008 at 8:24 PMHi, changye! I don't mean to sound defensive but 'relatively' means 'relative to something' in which case a comparison has been made. Hence, you are correct to translate 我跑得比较快 as 'I run relatively fast', but it actually does mean 'I run faster (than the average guy), and this is only if there hasn't been a qualifier preceding it. If there is a story beforehand, e.g. 以前我跑得很慢， 追不起任何人。可是现在我姐姐追不起我，因为现在我跑得比较快 then the last part here means 'because now I run faster'. Sorry for that long winded example, but I'll provide another one. When asked to decide between two things, one might give the answer as "这个，因为我比较喜欢这个。 这个比较美丽".
Posted on: Agreement on Exclusive Representation
November 10, 2008 at 1:00 PMI recently did the listening test and seem to have 进步 from intermediate to upper intermediate (low). This was certainly a very difficult UI lesson, so it is like UI (high) I think. I think there was just too much terminology for me to absorb. I remain humbled.
Posted on: When 比较 (bǐjiào) becomes 更 (gèng)
November 10, 2008 at 12:11 PMArchitpol, you use 比 when actually making the comparison within the same sentence
eg. 我比你跑得快。 wǒ bǐ nǐ pǎo dė kuài。 I run faster than you.
But, if you already know what you are comparing against, you use 比较 to state the comparison in a stand alone sentence.
eg. 我跑得比较快。wǒ pǎo dė bǐ jiào kuài。I run faster.
I hope this helps.
Posted on: Autumn Outing
November 22, 2008 at 8:44 AMHow nostalgic!