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If you’re interested in Chinese but terrified of ghosts, you’re not alone. “Of course I don’t believe in ghosts,” Echo said, staring distractedly out our office window. She was absorbed by the view of an ivy-covered home in the neighborhood that had mysteriously survived several attempts at demolition. Rumors circulated that the place was haunted, and the latest gossip concerned two migrant workers who mysteriously disappeared after being ordered to work on-site overnight. “Maybe they found a better job,” David offered cheerfully to a cold reception. In China, ghosts are no laughing matter…

 

Learning Chinese with ChineseClass101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Chinese! Regardless of whether you’re a true believer or a skeptic when it comes to the paranormal, join us in this Chinese lesson as we cover a frightful load of useful vocabulary you can use in the run-up to Halloween. And if grammar is more your thing, we also introduce the continuous aspect, which you can use to communicate that actions are ongoing. So take a listen, and when you’re done visit us at ChineseClass101.com for tons more great Chinese lessons and learning materials. And leave us a message while you are there!



This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Elementary Season 1 . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

18 Responses to “Elementary Lesson #39 - A Chinese Ghost Story”

ChineseClass101.com says:

We’re not kidding about our recording studio being just down the street from the Beijing No. 1 Ghost House. What stories of Chinese superstitions have you run into, and are there any you believe?

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david says:

I think Echo believes in the ghost house. ha ha. Whenever we’re walking by it she always makes some comment or other…. ;)

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蓝大卫 says:

Why is “bed” 床, but “bedroom” is 卧室?

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zhouli says:

@蓝大卫,
床 is a noun, but for 卧室:
卧 is a verb means to lie in bed.
室 is a noun means room.

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蓝大卫 says:

谢燮,zhouli.

In this case it sounds like the Western concept is revolves around the thing
and the Chinese revolves around the purpose. I wonder if this is typical?
An interesting insight to the mindset.

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zhouli says:

@蓝大卫,
actually, i am not sure… i think both english and chinese are complicated in making up words actually…
:oops:

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蓝大卫 says:

In the sentence 你怎么相信有鬼?What is the function of 有?

Literally “You how believe (in) have ghost? If I were to attempt to
articulate this idea with my current knowledge of Chinese, I would
have never thought to use 有。

How would I say “I believe in God”? Does the same term 相信 apply?
谢谢!

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zhouli says:

@蓝大卫,
you can say 我(wǒ)信仰(xìnyǎng)上帝(shàngdì)。
sometimes 有(yǒu) in chinese means THERE BE, for example:
有鬼(yǒuguǐ)!-there is ghost.
if you don’t understand the 有(yǒu) in a sentence, then change the meaning to THERE BE. :grin:

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蓝大卫 says:

“There be” sounds like pirate talk in the movies! :lol:
Arrrgggghhh!!!

Seriously, thank you for expounding on the range of meanings for 有.

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蓝大卫 says:

In the expansion section, there is a sentence:
我做了一个噩梦,很害怕。
Wǒ zuò le yī ge èmèng, hěn hàipà.
I had a bad dream and am very scared.

In English I would not “do/make” a dream, I would “have” a dream.
Could I say: 我有了一个噩梦,很害怕。 or would that sound strange?

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zhouli says:

@蓝大卫,
yeah, this is really different from english, i never noticed that!
so the chinese people MAKE a dream when they are sleeping , we dont say i HAD a dream.

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gingko7 says:

I’d like to understand the usage of 着 and 在 for continuous action with a few more examples. I understand them when I see them but really don’t have it clear in my mind.

I’ve heard 着 is more for a “state” such as “看着我,他说。。。。“ showing a state while doing something else that’s stated or implied. 在 describes action, not necessarily while doing something else. Can you use both 着 and 在 in the same sentence? Please give some examples where you’d definitely use one or the other.

Thanks!

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zhouli says:

@gingko7,
in oral languafe we seldomly put 着 and 在 together in continuous. but we can, like:他(tā)一直(yīzhí)在(zài)等着(děngzhe)你(nǐ)。我(wǒ)在(zài)干(gàn)着(zhe)活(huó)。

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蓝大卫 says:

In the vocabulary expansion section there are two sentences that use 噩梦 èmèng:

我做了一个噩梦,很害怕。
Wǒ zuò le yī ge èmèng, hěn hàipà.
I had a bad dream and am very scared.

and

最近我常常做恶梦。
Zuìjìn wǒ chángcháng zuò èmèng.
Lately, I’ve had a lot of nightmares.

The first sentence uses 噩梦 and the second uses 恶梦, both pronounced “èmèng”.
I ran both through Adsotrans so I see that this is no error. I find this very curious.
How is it that Chinese has two different characters for “è” and still come out with the
same translation?

谢谢!

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zhouli says:

@蓝大卫,
sorry, this is a mistake, the correct word is èmèng噩梦。some people may use 恶梦,but it’s wrong :oops: .
now it has been fixed.
thank you very much for reminding us.

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Sakura says:

Hi,

Do you know what type of company is Gingo Biloba?

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麥向敢 says:

你好
那我可以说,说着话或讲着话。你们说吃着饭。我总听说,他们在说话或在讲话。都是对的吗?挺含糊的。我打着篮球。我学着习。睡着觉。打着字,等等。写对了吗?

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Echo says:

@麥向敢,

对,你的例子都对!“在+v“和”v着“都是进行时,意思一样。

–Echo

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