User Comments - minazhu

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minazhu

Posted on: Cat in the Hat
May 05, 2008, 07:57 PM

I especially love the "aiyo" of Jerry in that clip, it's hilariously cute. I didn't even know who Dr. Seuss was, had to wiki (could we coin that verb? It's so convenient in comparison "look up on wikipedia") it. Am I too young/not culturally assimilated enough?

Posted on: A Flat Bicycle Tire
May 04, 2008, 11:09 AM

After listening to the dialog for several times, I'm pretty sure the male speaker at one point says "这里有好大一个洞了。" instead of "这里有好大一个洞。". The 了 is subtle, though. Should I get my ears checked?

Posted on: Child-Parent Fight
May 03, 2008, 02:45 PM

Wow, I have had exactly the same conversation (well, not as heated) with my parents, over and over again... What is it with Chinese parents? ;-)

Posted on: Import/Export
May 02, 2008, 03:24 PM

A cultural issue: Would you be expected to decline the offer "whenever you need something, just ask" the way it was done in the dialog or could you in fact rely on your friends generosity?

Posted on: A Trip to the Dry Cleaner's
May 02, 2008, 02:47 PM

I've got a question (brilliant way to start a post ;-) ): What's the difference between 收据 and 发票? From my understanding, the latter is receipt you get when you purchase something, while the former is used with a service etc., proving in this case that you are the rightful owner of the clothes. Is that really the distinction?

Posted on: A Trip to the Dry Cleaner's
May 02, 2008, 02:39 PM

(1st sentence of speaker A) 请问有什么可以帮您的吗? Doesn't the speaker actually use 帮助 ?

Posted on: Tai Chi
May 02, 2008, 07:13 AM

So, in this Expansion section sentence, the pinyin is given as follows: 他们绝对会这样做的。 tamen juedui hui zheyangde zuo de. This is pretty surprising since there's only only "de". Are the Hanzi incorrect, or is one of the "de"s superfluous?

Posted on: Can you Speak Chinese?
April 30, 2008, 06:19 PM

Aiya...so typical - I ask a question about correcting myself, and now really have the obligation to make a few corrections in my post - "It should be the second tone" "pronounced" "嗯, 我的同学" My mantra for the next months - proofread, inhale, proofread, exhale, proofread... (What's "proofread" in Chinese?)

Posted on: Can you Speak Chinese?
April 30, 2008, 06:07 PM

Question: The following is a slightly embarrassing part of a conversation I had yesterday - Me:"...我的同志..." (wo3 de tong2 zhi4 - my "comrade" = homosexual) Friend: *wtf*? Me: "嗯, 同学" (en, wo3 de tong2 xue2 - erm, my classmate) How could I have corrected myself somewhat more elaborately? I was thinking of something like "Oh, sorry, of course 同志 is not what I meant, I wanted to say 同学. Hope I didn't confuse you." or, for other cases: "Darn, I think I got the tone wrong. I should be the second tone, so it's pronunced *** , right?" I know this is not exactly Newbie, but it didn't seem appropriate for a more advanced level either... Thanks a lot in advance Keep up the awesome work!