Learn Chinese - Learn Mandarin

023 - 包在我身上 - learn spoken chinese

2008-03-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

'包在我身上' shows that the speaker has full confidence in helping the other party to solve the problems.

exmaples

- 你放心，这事儿包在我身上了，两天内绝对给你解决。

- 你能给我找个家教老师么？
没问题，包在我身上，你就放心吧。

022 - 办不到 - learn spoken chinese

2008-03-23T20:09:00.000-07:00

This phrase shows absolute refusal when thinking what the other party has done is unreasonable or hard to put up wiht. Sometimes it is used to refuse the requirements of the enemy or the opponent.

examples:

- 不要仗着你家有钱有势就想让我们老百姓停止上诉，我告诉你，办不到！

- 要我背叛我们的誓言，我办不到！

021 - 拜托 - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-18T08:49:00.000-07:00

拜托 asks sb. to do the speaker a favor.

when it is used like '拜托拜托' or '拜托了', it is often put after what is required, and means the speaker hopes to catch the attention and show appreciation. Sometimes, it is used to ask the hearer to stop some action that the speaker dislikes, while carrying the tone of pleading.

examples

- 你一定要亲自把东西送到她手上，拜托拜托。

- 这件事就拜托了。

- 那就拜托你照顾我外婆几天了。

- 拜托！你们不要吵架了！

020 - 罢了 - learn spoken Chines

2008-03-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

this phrase means it is not necessary to do sth. and should not be investigated.

It is often used to comfort or persuade. Sometimes, it carries a tone of having no choice but to let go.

examples

- 你应该把具体情况给上头反映一下呀！
罢了。事情都已经决定的，还有什么可说的呀。

- 罢了，罢了，我还是告诉你答案吧，要不你总是猜不到。

019 - 把话说在前面 - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

把话说在前面 indicates some fact exists or it is possible to have some unsatisfactory results, emphasizing that it is not the speaker's fault if this case does happen.

this pattern is used in the first person and carries the tone of warning.

examples:

- 我把话说在前面，任何手术都是有一定风险的。你们要做好思想准备。

- 我帮你找了个工作。不过咱把话说在前面，这个工作很辛苦。

018 - 把话说清楚 - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

把话说清楚 requires that the other party should give a clear explanation (when referring to this case, it shows doubt or unsatisfaction), also indicates some consequences that will take place under abnormal situation or this abnormal situation is not expected (when referring to this, it is a remainder or warn)

examples:

- 有人给队长面说，那个事是我泄的密。别以为我不知道！
你把话说清楚，你说的“有人”指的是谁！

- 这个电视正常能使用8年。不是咱把话说清楚，如果使用不当，它的寿命就会大大缩短。

017 - 把话放在这儿 - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

this pattern indicates that sb's some behaviors will definitely lead to unsatisfactory results.
it is usally used in the first person and carries the tone of warning.

examples:

这件事你做得太莽撞。我把话放在这儿，总有一天你会后悔的。

我今天把话放在这儿，不出一年，我们学校的学生就要超过20万。

他这样一意孤行，不会有好结果的。我把话放在这儿。

016 - 把...放在一边 - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-07T01:37:00.000-08:00

'把...放在一边' means it is not going to do sth. temporarily or not to consider it.
where the receiver acts as the subject, this pattern can be '...先放在一边'

examples:

- 你们把手头的事儿先放在一边，到大厅帮帮忙。
- You guys, please stop for a while and come to the hall to help.

- 下个星期春游的事儿准备怎么安排？
- 这个事儿恐怕得先放在一边了，公司现在有个重要的项目。
--->
- How are you going to arrange the spring short break next month?
- I'm afraid we have to postpone it. We have a very important project right now.

015 - 巴不得呢 - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-07T01:26:00.000-08:00

'巴不得呢' indicates that sth. seemingly is not favorabe to sb. but actually is just what one wishes.

Examples:

- 你的事儿我再也不管了！
- 我还巴不得呢。每次都帮不上忙，尽添乱。

--->
- I'll never take care of your problems any more.
- That's great! Everytime you just made things more complicated.

- 听说这次不让你负责这个工程了？心里一定不好受吧？
- 我呀，还巴不得呢！每次都出力不讨好。
--->
- Somebody says you will not take charge of this project any longer?
- I'd rather this. Nobody ever thought what I did was helpful.

014 - 爱A就A - Learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-04T07:39:00.000-08:00

this pattern indicates that a person can do sth absolutely according to his own will.

A is usually a phrase containing interogative words. '就' is often omitted in colloquial expressions. Sometimes this pattern shows a tone of impatience.

Examples:

到了我家你可别客气，爱吃什么就吃什么。
-->
Help yourself, take whatever you want to eat.

甲：你们的服务太差了！我要向你们经理投诉！
乙：你爱找谁（就）找谁.
-->
A. Your service is so bad! I want to complain to your manager!
B. Go ahead.

013 - 爱A不A - Learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-04T07:24:00.000-08:00

'爱A不A' means to let sb's behaviour or whatever happens go unchecked.

A usually is a verb, auxiliary verb or adjective. This pattern carries a tone of not caring or showing unsatisfaction.

examples:

他爱来不来，我才不在乎呢！
---> I do care whether he is coming or not!

甲：他说他可能不能来帮你了。
乙：爱帮不帮，没他，我自己也能行！
--->
A: He said he might not come to help you.
B: Whatever! I can do it without him!

012 - A也好，B也好 - Learn Spoken Chinese

2008-03-04T07:15:00.000-08:00

'A也好，B也好' indicates it is such situation in any case.
'好' in this pattern does not mean 'good'. A and B emumerate different situations, things or aspects, etc.

examples:

你去也好，不去也好，今天晚上前务必给我一个答复。
---> No matter you are going or not, please give me an answer before this evening.

唱歌也好，跳舞也好，我都没什么兴趣。
--> I have interest in neither singing nor dancing.

011 - A也得A，不A也得A - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-03T06:26:00.000-08:00

this pattern indicates that something should be done in any case or sth has to be done like this.

A usually is a verb. This pattern has a tone that sth has to be done or there is no choice but to do it.

Example:

这次聚会，你去也得去，不去也得去，谁让你早早就许了这个诺。
---> You have to attend that gathering. Do not forget you have made that promise long time before.

你们都已经做了决定了才来问我，那我不是同意也得同意，不同意也得同意吗？
--->
You come to ask me after you made that decision. So I have no choice but to agree, don't I?

010 - A也不是，B也不是 - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-03T06:05:00.000-08:00

this pattern, ' A也不是，B也不是' indicates it is in a dilemma.

A and B can be contrastive words, and B can be expressed in '不+A'. Sometimes, the first '也' following A can be omitted.

Examples:

现在给小孩子买衣服真难，大了（也）不是，小了也不是。
--> It is too difficult to buy kids clothes, large ones are not good, small ones are not good either.

当时听到他的解决办法，我真是哭也不是，笑也不是。
I could neither cry not laugh when I heard his solutions on that matter.

009 - A是A， B是B - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-03T05:56:00.000-08:00

this pattern shows two people/things are different and can't be regarded as the same.

Examples:

他是他，我是我，他虽然是我朋友，他犯的错可和我无关。
---> Though we are friends, I have nothing to do with his mistakes.

你这个人，说是说，做是做，从来不能让人相信。
---> You are such a person, what you do is never correspondent with what you say, I can never trust you.

甲：你昨天不是说要和我一起去的吗？
乙：昨天是昨天，今天是今天，现在我又不想去了。
--->
A. Didn't you say you were going with me yesterday?
B. Today is different from yesterday. I do not want to go today anyway.

Chinese Paintings by Li Keran 李可染徐悲鸿

2008-03-01T07:37:00.000-08:00

李可染• 钱塘渡牛图

Because of the pic of my last article which is one piece of work of the Chinese Painting master Li Keran 李可染, I suddenly became interesting in traditional Chinese paintings. I surfed for more works of him. I think the top one shows verly clearly the artistic conception of Chinese paintings, very interesting. You do not see water in the picture, but you do 'see' water there.
Le Keran was good at drawing oxen , while Xu Beihong, another Chinese painting master was good at horses.

徐悲鸿• 不用扬鞭自奋蹄

Flying A Kite in Spring

2008-03-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

李可染•牛背放风筝

In northern China, spring is always a good time to fly a kite. I used to envy others doing that but today, this morning I did that for the first time! It was fun!

It is not as easy as it looks to fly a kite high. Wind is the most important element. You also need to be skillful to loose or tight the thread, to control the direction and know when and where to run.

It is said kite was first invented in Han Dynasty (206 BC -220AD) and it had different names in different times and areas, like wooden kite(木鸢), paper kite(纸鸢)，in later Five Dynasties (后五代) the name '风筝' came into use till today. Nowadays, in northern Chinese it is also called 纸鸢 while in southern China, it is called 鹞子. During Tang and Song Dynasties, kite was introduced to other countries, to Asian countires, then to European and American countries. Some one said in the National Air And Space Museum in Washington DC, there is a Chinese Kite with a note saying sth like Chinese flying kite is the earliest flying vehicle in human history.

People say playing flying kite can help to cure certain diseases, like high pressure and heart disease. It may not be 100% ture, but I do know a man whose cervical spondylosis was cured by flying a kite. Proper amount of activities always keep us healthy, we should trust that.

008 - A是A，... - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-01T07:34:00.000-08:00

'A是A，...' This pattern indicates concession, kind of like 'although'
the second A can be exactly like the first A, but can also has an addon, the '....' part often contains word meaning 'but' like '可，可是，但，但是，只是etc.'

Exampels:

这条裤子便宜是便宜，可不太合身啊。
---> These trousers are cheep, but they do not perfectly fit.

我唱是能唱，只是现在生病了，嗓子疼。
---> I can sing, but I get sore throat now.

我去是想去，可今天下午实在是没时间。
---> I do want to go, but I am really busy this afternoon.

007 - A就A吧 - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-01T07:33:00.000-08:00

the phrase 'A就A吧' indicates that something does not matter.
A can be an adjective, verb or noun. This phrase carries the tone of tolerance, indifference or having no other choices but to accept something. When A is a verb which is stressed, it shows a strong attitude and the last character '吧' is often omitted.

Examples:

甲：我这儿只有方便面了。
乙：方便面就方便面吧，总比饿着强。
---->
A: I only have fast noodles left.
B: I will have noodles then, which is better than letting me starve.

甲：哟，钢琴这么贵！
乙：贵就贵吧，我弟弟喜欢弹。
---->
A: A piano is so expensive!
B: I have no other choice (except to buy one) since my younger brother likes it.

甲：你敢和我去警察局吗？
乙：去就去！反正你的车子又不是我弄坏的。
---->
A: Do you dare to go to police office with me?
B: Why not! I did not break your car anyway.

006 - A的A，B的B - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-01T07:32:00.000-08:00

'A的A，B的B' refers to the fact that some are in this case, the others are in that case and they stand for the whole when combined.
A and B can be adjectives, verbs or verb compounds.

Examples:

这些衣裳肥的肥，瘦的瘦，没有一件适合我。
These clothes are either too big or too small and none suits me.

为了这次聚会，我们打扫的打扫，做饭的做饭，忙了一上午。
We had a busy morning today for the party. Some of us did cleaning and some others did cooking.

005- A得不能再A了 - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-01T07:30:00.000-08:00

A得不能再A了 is a phrase emphasizing the degree is very high, basically reaching the extreme.
A is always an adjective. This phrase is kind of exaggeration, but sometimes also used in an ironic way.

Examples:

这个孩子胖得不能再胖了，得去看看医生了。
--> This kid is too fat, you need to take him to see a doctor.

你这样做真是好得不能再好了。
--> You are 'too' kind to do this. --> in this sentence, 好得不能再好 is used for irony.

004 - A不说，还B - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-01T07:29:00.000-08:00

A不说，还B is to indicate there is B in addition to A, and both of A and B are usually refer to something or some kind of action unpleasant. “不说”sometimes can be replaced by “不算”

Examples:

我不想和他住一个房间，他抽烟不说，睡觉还打呼噜。
--> I don't want to share a room with him. He smokes, besides, he snores.

这个饭菜贵不说，还不好吃。
--> The dishes are expensive, besides they are not tasty.

昨天他家被盗了。那个小偷偷了钱不说，还弄坏了他家的东西。
--> He got a breakin last night. The thief not only stole the money, but also broke some stuff.

003 - A不了几B - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-01T07:26:00.000-08:00

The phrase 'A不了几B' emphasizes the limited time, money, number etc.
A is usually an adjective or a verb, B is a measure word.

Examples:

这个馆子的饭不贵，一顿饭花不了几块钱。
--> This restaurant is not expensive, this meal does not cost much.

我去了也住不了几天，不用带太多行李。
--> It is not necesary to take too much luggage, since I won't stay there long.

我家离这儿很近，走不了几步就到了。
--> My home is very near from here, only a few steps away.

002 - A不A B不B的 - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-01T07:24:00.001-08:00

Chinese people use A不A B不B的 to emphasize that it is hard to distinguish, since its characteristic is neither this nor that.

A and B are usually two words implying constrast meanings; the last character 的 sometimes is omitted.

Examples:

我不喜欢这件衣服，中不中洋不洋的。
---> I do not like this dress, it's neither of Chinese style nor of western style.

你的发型真不好看，看起来男不男女不女的。
---> Your hair looks ugly and it makes you look like neither a boy nor a girl.

001 - A A 看 - learn spoken Chinese

2008-03-01T07:22:00.000-08:00

AA看 means to have a try. AA represents reduplicated verbs, which are usually nonosyllabic verbs.

Examples:
先说说看，你有什么好的建议。
---> Let's us see what suggestions you have.

这个菜是我做的，你尝尝看。
---> I made this dish, please have a try.

甲：你能解决这个问题吗？
乙：还不知道，试试看吧。
--->
A: Can you solve this problem?
B: I don't know, let me try.