User Comments - blusapphire
blusapphire
Posted on: I want to buy this one
July 08, 2008, 02:53 PMIs not there also another way to say "2" when saying "2000" for instance? My ABC husband was teaching me how to say large numbers, and I said, "Wait a minute, you told me there were two ways to say two! Now there's three?!" To say "200" I wanted to say er bai, and he said, "No, no. . that's wrong. It's niang (sp?) bai." So that might be something to be aware of before it's set in your head as a rule that there are only two ways to say 2. (I don't know why most Chinese I talk to don't think of explaining this rule right away, until explaining large numbers. Maybe simply because saying 200 is not the same as saying 2, which one is asking how to say?)
Posted on: I want to buy this one
July 08, 2008, 07:24 PMhmm. . yeah. . that makes sense, although that wasn't exactly my point. It is more that my husband clearly thought liang bai and or er bai sounded wrong, and told me to say niang bai, but told me to say liang when I "want 2 of that," and er when counting or saying the individual number (as in a phone number.) So my point is really that there is a third way of saying the numeral 2 (not just two).