User Comments - pinkjeans
pinkjeans
Posted on: I Can/Can't Afford it (...得起 & ...不起）
June 11, 2008 at 10:51 AMI think one would say 我赞不出口 rather than 我赞不起 when feeling reluctant to praise. How about if you feel you can't praise the person enough? Would it be 我赞你算得什么呢？Sorry if this isn't really what the lesson is about but artkho's questions have been making me think, and I think I would say 你不可以赞我好一点吧？for "You can't afford to give a better compliment?" What do you think, QW?
Posted on: I Can/Can't Afford it (...得起 & ...不起）
June 10, 2008 at 3:08 PMmatthewg, if I see it correctly from my ethnic Chinese background, the literal translation of 对不起would be: I am unworthy to face you (because of my mistake). And yes, indeed, 对得起 has a meaning; it means exactly the opposite of 对不起, i.e. one has done enough to be able to face up to the other person, like a good deed in the other person's favour.
Posted on: I Can/Can't Afford it (...得起 & ...不起）
June 10, 2008 at 10:54 AM《请问》生日快乐！恭喜你们！我很喜欢听你们的节目。 我赞你们， 你们应该收得起！
I hope the construction of that sentence is OK. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the reason I think it should be OK is although it's not money, compliments are like gifts which can be seen as "too much" to be accepted, e.g. 你的礼物我真的收不起。
Posted on: Airplane Arrival
June 9, 2008 at 12:15 PMThanks, auntie68. Found the lesson and indeed the explanation on 本地 and 当地 was succinct. :-)
Posted on: Airplane Arrival
June 9, 2008 at 9:50 AMW.r.t. the term 当地 is it for formal use only? Do people ever use 本地 in such announcements?
Posted on: Hiking
June 9, 2008 at 9:30 AMEnglish is my first language, Cantonese (spoken only) is my mother tongue, and I am now learning Mandarin, both spoken and written. If I can speak Mandarin as well as Jenny can speak English, I would be over the moon, and consider myself very fluent in the language.
I hope Prof Mircea Moldovan realises that in any language lots of terms are not taken at face value, and it really does take a bit of insight to learn them. The dictionary is a useful support tool, but certainly not to be taken as the authority on translations.
Back to the lesson, can 只 (zhi) and 才 (cai) be used interchangeably or is 只 for countable nouns only and 才 for actions?
Posted on: Pageant Final Episode
June 3, 2008 at 12:36 PMHey, Nitrox! 哈哈！我的孩子从很小的时候已经开始学汉语，可是他们没有什么兴趣。真可惜！有什么方法可以令他们产生这种兴趣马？为了他们的青春不被浪费 。。。
Posted on: Sweet Roasted Chestnuts
June 3, 2008 at 10:01 AMGee, Amber, thanks for the explanation. Now I know!
Posted on: Pageant Final Episode
June 3, 2008 at 9:55 AMWow! Love this expression 浪费青春. In future I can tell my kids not to 浪费他们的青春 by not 认真学汉语。
Posted on: I Can/Can't Afford it (...得起 & ...不起）
June 11, 2008 at 1:04 PMThanks, changye. I guess I need to get out of my colloquial Cantonese habit. I've learnt a few new words there although you've lost me with the last 3 synonyms for praise. Just thought of another one though, if you didn't really feel like praising: 说得很勉强。
:-D