User Comments - yanou
yanou
Posted on: Asking for English Books
August 11, 2007, 07:48 AMAh, it is as I feared... You have to understand enough to get the context in order to figure out what people are saying :-( I must rise to the challenge :-D 燕鸥 yan'ou
Posted on: Asking for English Books
August 10, 2007, 01:06 PMSorry, I can't provide examples. I just feel that the words I hear don't always correspond to what I see written. Like the ubiquitous zěnmeyàng (怎么样) which usually sounds more like zěmeyà to me. That's fine with phrases you already know, but how can you look up a new unfamiliar word if you can't spell it? And how to fudge it like a native speaker? (Still, I'm really, really glad I don't have to learn to spell and pronounce English!) yan'ou 燕鸥
Posted on: Asking for English Books
August 10, 2007, 06:29 AMOkay, here's a newbie question: It seems many of the final -ns and -ngs in Chinese words are silent. Any clues on how we're supposed to hear the difference between - say - ná and nán or between yán and yáng? Any advice on exactly where to cut the sound short?
Posted on: Really Good Food
August 10, 2007, 06:10 AMI wonder about these supplementary words 不错 (bù cuò, not bad) and 还可以 (hái kěyǐ, okay). Would you EVER, EVER use those in this context? Aren't you expected to play up other people's accomplishments - cooking, intelligence, appearance - and play down your own? 不错 may mean "I'm great" when you use it as a response to 你好, but is it a positive enough response to 好吃吗 ? I'd hate to offend anyone!
Posted on: Asking for English Books
August 08, 2007, 10:56 AMNot to mention the 树 (shù, tree) mentioned in the lesson itself!
Posted on: Asking for English Books
August 08, 2007, 10:43 AMNice touch in the expansion section. As if to illustrate the importance of tones, you've used both 哪里 (nă lĭ, where) and 那里 (nà lĭ, there), and both 书 (shū, book) and 数 (shù, math). Was that intentional? I'm ready to believe you have planned *everything*!
Posted on: She went out
August 04, 2007, 09:03 AMI'm confused about the translation of the phrase in the expansion section: 你下午出去了吗？(Nĭ xìa wŭ chū qù le ma?) It's translated as "Are you going out in the afternoon?" Doesn't the 了indicate that it has already happened? Shouldn't the translation be "Did you go out this afternoon?"
Posted on: Condoms
July 06, 2007, 06:57 AMI agree with mikebrain. You guys are incredibly good!
Posted on: Confession of Love
July 02, 2007, 07:33 AMAs a foreigner living far from China, I really appreciate all these little digressions into Chinese culture – past and present. Regardless of whether I approve or disapprove of the way things are done, the cultural insight is a real bonus!
Posted on: To Bow or Not to Bow
August 16, 2007, 06:02 AMChangye, Up here in Scandinavia we half-bow AND shake hands so you will fit right in! 燕鸥 yan'ou