User Comments - xiaophil

Posted on: Hard Drive Storage

优盘 works, although it seems I normally just hear 'USB'.

Posted on: Living in Nanjing

It is good you mentioned that. I was actually only referring to people who work in restaurants and such places. Come to think about it, I do still use the word 小姐 in such places, but I have slowly replaced it with 服务员. For women off the clock, I use 阿姨 for middle-aged ladies and up. Younger women I usually just avoid addressing them by any title, unless of course I want to flatter a little and say 美女. Little girls and babies are 小妹妹 every time though.

Posted on: Living in Nanjing

I don't know if this stereotype is as reliable as you think. My Chinese mother-in-law was really happy when my daughter's hair darkened and looked more 'Chinese'.

Posted on: Living in Nanjing

It seems to be okay to use in Shanghai, but I have heard that other regions take 小姐 in the way you say. I decided not to take chances and say 服务员 fu2wu4yuan2. This word has the benefit that if one does not care who comes, it will signal males as well as females.

Posted on: 5000 Years of History

I feel that the way Chinese feel proud about their long history is probably beneficial to them as a culture. They have this idea that no matter how down the Chinese people get, they will be back. I think many cultures don't have that feeling.

But it is all a little mind game. As you point out, America's government is actually older than China's. We can change the criteria for judging where history starts and end at will. However, no matter what, the fact remains, everyone's history really starts at the same place as we all have a common ancestor.

Posted on: What does she look like?

Bump, bump - question here for CPod (buried) -

No problemo, Zhen. I understood your meaning. And Watymacallit, I can fully understand how sometimes something just sounds wrong. So be it.

Posted on: What does she look like?

Are you serious? I honestly cannot believe you never heard it. It's not an I'm calling you a liar sort of I cannot believe you. More like I can't fathom it.

Notice use 3:

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/presentcontinuous.html

Posted on: What does she look like?

I could be wrong, but I think that 我先买(了)点东西，再回家去 could also indicate future events. I think that the 要 and 会 would work, but I thought I would mention that from context it would certainly be obvious, kind of like in English if we were to see this sentence:

I'm reading a book.

Most would assume it means 'now'. However, if the sentence before it was:

What are you doing tonight?

We would know for certain it was talking about events in the 'future'.

Now what would happen if we were to insist on making "I'm reading a book" clearly an event that will happen in the future and write "I will read a book"? It sounds a bit clunky. I often wonder if being too gratuitous with 要 and 会 will be clunky sounding. But I don't really know. I also don't know if my 'future tense' sentence above is 100% correct. It would be nice to have some native feedback.

Posted on: What does she look like?

But 了 shouldn't be used to clarify that something happened in the past. It can be used for events that haven't transpired.

e.g.

我买了点东西就回家去。(I'll by some stuff and then head home.)

了 in this sentence means 'after A is completed, then B happens', or so I believe. I have little confidence in using these kinds of sentences for events in the future.

Posted on: What does she look like?

Why do I get the feeling they are trying to translate the Chinese way of explaining it, and this explanation has the word 本 in it. It sounds too technical to be of any use to any typical learner, but if you happen to find this explanation, please share.