URLLesson Introduction
We're not talking about the Grammy Award winning female hip-hop artists who sang Push It, and we're not talking about MSG and chilies. We're talking about the most basic of basics and something you'll definitely need if you want a taste of home. In this podcast, you'll learn how to ask for salt and pepper in Mandarin Chinese. Of course, if you get meiyou'ed, that other world of taste enhancing crystals is always another option.
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patmetheny says
October 21, 2008
I like how the actress said, "what something?" which I interpreted to mean, "what?"
What was really more interesting was knowing foreigners that moved to China, but didn't like Chinese food. I knew one family, and my wife knew of another few people. The people that my wife knew or heard of constantly wanted to eat at McDonalds or someplace like that. I always kept hoping that my smirking would go unnoticed, but I suppose that it was because they were acquaintances that I just didn't come out and say, You want american food? go back to the US.
bayless says
October 21, 2008
Wonderful lesson topic. I'm one of those people that loves to put a lot of salt on just about everything. I always get the "having some fries with your salt?" comment. What would be the best way to say "I put salt on my salt"?
marchey says
October 21, 2008
I just came home from China. I was there for 4 weeks, learning taijiquan most of the time. In 4 weeks the only western food I had was an ice cream at Mc Donalds.
2 observations about the topic of this lesson:
- Speaking Chinese so that Chinese people understand you is not at all easy. Pronounciation and tones play a role, culture too, but what is often overlooked is 'expectations' of the listener. People just don't expect you to speak Chinese. They just expect you to mumble something in a foreign language, most probably this 'English' they have been struggling with at school. So, their ear is often not tuned to a slightly 'off' Chinese. I found that for short conversations, like in a shop, it is often better to play the game and just point at things and use some sort of sign language.
- Chinese food comes in various degrees of spicyness, but overall I found it to be very salty. I have had the experience of eating in several restaurants and in private homes. I have also helped my friend with cooking many times and she used a lot of salt, more than I would ever put into a dish. Then there are also the pickled vegetables that contain tons of salt. Only the steamed breads tasted quite saltless, so maybe they don't put it in the bread, but all the other dishes contain plenty.
Marc
mikenotinjubei says
October 21, 2008
Hi CPod
I know the following expanision sentence is correct
裡面沒有人 There is no one inside. which just seems odd to think of it as "The inside ..." has no people.
Just to make it simplier for me
"Nobody's home" would be
没有人在家
jennyzhu says
October 21, 2008
mikeinjubei,
When Chinese first learn English, we have the same reaction to 'there is no one inside'.
jennyzhu says
October 21, 2008
bayless,
盐上加盐/yan2 shang4 jia1 yan4/add salt to salt.
There is also a great idiom in Chinese that praises/boasts seniority. It goes like this: I've eaten more rice than you have salt. /我吃过的米比你吃过的盐还多。
bayless says
October 21, 2008
Thanks, Jenny!
I love learning little (or in this case not so little) sayings like that. I'll have to try to work it into conversation soon.
Sean
amber says
October 21, 2008
mikenotinjubei,
Or, even simpler, you could say: 家里没人 (Jiālǐ méi rén)
jude_b says
October 22, 2008
i have learn few word, need more words for beginners like me.
thanks and God Bless
rjberki says
October 22, 2008
Ive eaten more rice than you have salt.
我吃过的米比你吃过的盐还多。
Love it - thanks Jen.
slgii says
October 22, 2008
Hi -- Could someone give the pinyin for
我吃过的米比你吃过的盐还多。
Thanks. Sara
mikeinewshot says
October 22, 2008
Sara
If you copy the character string into this http://www.pinyinannotator.com/index.php, and click annotate
you get this:
Wǒ我chī吃guò过de的mǐ米bǐ比nǐ你chī吃guò过de的yán盐hái还duō多
changye says
October 22, 2008
我吃过的米比你吃过的盐还多。
Quantity-wise, this saying doesn't seem to make sense. Even my chubby dog has eaten more rice than I have salt, hehe. I think the right one should be ....
我吃过的盐比你吃过的米还多。
wo 3 chi1 guo4 de yan2 bi3 ni 3 chi1 guo4 de mi3 hai2 duo1
helenren says
October 22, 2008
changye:
you are very clever
还有一些意思类似的句子
我走过的桥比你走过的路还多
changye says
October 22, 2008
Hi helenren,
Thanks for your support.
I admit that Chinese sayings are really worth studying. I love them better than chengyu, because they are always humorous, ironical, and to-the-point.
Furthermore, Chinese sayings are also worth reading from a grammatical standpoint. By the way, I invented a new version of the saying. I hope you like it.
我喝过的酒比你喝过的水还多。
wo3 he1 guo4 de jiu3 bi3 ni3 he1 guo4 de shui3 hai2 duo1.
bostonphil says
October 22, 2008
Mikeinewshot,
Thanks you for sharing the website. It seems like it will be helpful in learning to read hanzi.
rjberki says
October 22, 2008
Changye - I think the intent of the saying is that one has eaten more grains (particles) of rice than the other has eaten crystals (particles) of salt. A large pile of rice therefore. If you go by weight then you are correct.
as for water - it is over-rated indeed.
helenren says
October 22, 2008
changye:
your sentence is very interesting.you are good at structure sentence 造句（zao4ju4）
yes,I guess some old guy who likes drink will use that .
but 我走过的桥比你走的路还多
我吃过的盐比你吃的饭还多
is more widely used in our daily life.
sushan says
October 22, 2008
Sichuan-accented Mandarin is known as 椒盐 普通话.
user8877 says
October 22, 2008
Jenny, is it a typo, or do the two "yan's" really have different tones?
kien says
October 22, 2008
Changye's version of the idiom is the way my parents put it: "We've eaten more salt than the amount of rice you have eaten". I thought that Jenny's version was perhaps wrong but hesitated since she's the expert!
tobbe says
October 22, 2008
Is there any problems with exersice one, how can I get seven of eight when combination words, there was only one combination left.
macallus88 says
October 22, 2008
tobbe,
There is no problem, you just need to match all 8 combinations. Obviously, if you get 7 right the other must be too.
amber says
October 22, 2008
hi user8877,
盐上加盐 (Yán shàng jiā yán) - yes they both should have been second tone.
zani11 says
October 22, 2008
Amber / Jenny,
Is Kien correct? I'd like to use it in the office today!
Thanks.
bayless says
October 22, 2008
mikeinewshot,
That website is great! I've been going the long way around to now. Since I don't know all the radicals by heart, it takes quite a bit of searching sometimes.
Sean
bababardwan says
October 22, 2008
I love these Chinese sayings but was a little surprised by the rice coming first in the saying.A google search shows "i have eaten more salt than you have eaten rice" comes up 31 times cf 1 time with the saying the other way round.I must say I think this makes more sense ,particularly when rice is such a staple part of the diet in China.I think the saying is also referring to added salt [like from the shaker] and not to the salt that is naturally contained in foods.I think it's referring to volume,as usually rice has a lot more volume in a meal than salt.These days ,when people are more conscious of the health risks of too much salt ,I would have thought it an even more significant statement.
helenren says
October 23, 2008
请问 make sense 是什么意思？谢谢
bababardwan says
October 23, 2008
I thought the waitress was understandably a bit short as she was being treated as a suspect illegal immigrant.Fancy the rudeness of being asked for her passport !
[At least this would have been an understandable reaction if I'd been saying it and got my tones wrong ]
changye says
October 23, 2008
Hi helenren,
make sense = 有道理，讲得通
cassielin says
October 23, 2008
我吃过的盐比你吃过的饭还多。
我走过的桥比你走过的路还多。
这两句俗语是长辈们经常对晚辈们说的忠告的话。中国人的主食是米饭（特别是在南方），那吃的盐比饭还多，就是想表达一种忠告，以过来人的身份，用经验告诉晚辈一些事情！
amber says
October 23, 2008
hi everyone,
Sorry, Jenny wrote it backwards. It should have been:
I've eaten more salt than you have rice.
我吃过的盐比你吃过的米还多。
Wǒ chī guo de yán bǐ nǐ chī guo de mǐ hái duō.
Meaning, the elderly one has had such a long life that the amount of salt (though eaten in such small volumes) they have eaten is more than the amount of rice a younger person has eaten in their life so far.
jennyzhu says
October 23, 2008
My cheeks are burning. Seriously 没面子。Sorry guys.
bababardwan says
October 23, 2008
Sorry Jenny.But no need to feel that way;an easy mistake for a busy person to make.It's made for an interesting discussion and will be easier to remember now.Thanks again for the saying and please keep them coming.You do a fantastic job.
cnlnjzleanne says
October 23, 2008
Hey, if you want to learn something new, here is "掉链子". We can say Jenny "掉链子了".
changye says
October 23, 2008
智者千虑，必有一失
zhi4 zhe3 qian1 lv4， bi4 you3 yi1 shi1
chubbeecheeks23 says
October 23, 2008
mikeinewshot,
thanks for the website! it's very helpful. and it also has the zhu4yin1 注音.
troll says
October 23, 2008
Hi,
A typical Newbie question, I suppose...
i get confused at times with the pronunciation of pinyin "a". In yán 盐 it seems to rhyme with the English "Ken", but in kān 看 it rhymes with "Can".
Also the "e" in 人 seems to rhyme with English "hen", but in 很 it rhymes with “hon” as in English honey.
Can anyone advise, please?
谢谢
bababardwan says
October 24, 2008
I love these cultural insights you give into even something as simple as asking for salt and pepper.It makes the discussion so much richer than just learning vocab.It's great how these scenarios are acted out so you can understand the context and meaning behind the words.Hearing words being said with different expressions is also very instructive.Thanks for another great lesson.
bababardwan says
October 24, 2008
Interesting that yan2 and xian2 sound similar,but the characters look completely different.
goulniky says
October 24, 2008
bababardwan , you're right, 盐 xián and 咸 yán have close pronunciations and very different phonetic components.
however, the traditional forms of both characters have one element in common, 鹵 (lǔ), simplified to 卤, but not present in either simplified forms : 咸 (yán) full form 鹹, contains 鹵 + 咸
咸 is the phonetic part, and all is left after simplification.
盐 (xián) full form 鹽, contains 臣 + 皿 + 鹵 + a 2-stroke component called 每字头 (the part above 母).
監 (jiān) is the phonetic part, simplified to 监.
drilling further, you will notice the only difference between 盐 (xián) and its phonetic 监 (jiān) is 土 (tǔ) vs 刂 (dāo)...
bababardwan says
October 24, 2008
goulniky,
Thanks.Aah,of course;if I was to find any answers I should have looked at the traditional form before they were simplified.But what a great explanation.
helenren says
October 24, 2008
谢谢你changye，我明白了！
user8877 says
October 24, 2008
Thanks, amber, about the yan2 yan2
goulniky says
October 24, 2008
很尴尬，I mixed up the pinyin in my post above, luckily a little bird told me so... thanks for this, 不好意思, it should have read:
盐 (yán) and 咸 (xián) have close pronunciations and very different phonetic components.
however, the traditional forms of both characters have one element in common, 鹵 (lǔ), simplified to 卤, but not present in either simplified forms :
咸 (xián) full form 鹹, contains 鹵 + 咸
咸 is the phonetic part, and all is left after simplification.
盐 (yán) full form 鹽, contains 臣 + 皿 + 鹵 + a 2-stroke component called 每字头 (the part above 母).
監 (jiān) is the phonetic part, simplified to 监.
drilling further, you will notice the only difference between 盐 (yán) and its phonetic 监 (jiān) is 土 (tǔ) vs 刂 (dāo)...
bennyboyk says
October 24, 2008
Oh no, you didn't just get 没有'ed ;o)
edgar_brasil says
October 25, 2008
question.. for 小姐 （xiao3jie or xiao3jie3 ? )
Are both valids entries?
And why some times Cpod use for non-tone 5 number for pinyin and some times none?
Rgds,
Edgar
laozhou says
October 25, 2008
I thought this was an excellent lesson for Western beginners. As well as introducing the language, the explanations to bridge cultural gaps are very well done. I have begun to teach my 11 and 9 year old Kiwi (NZ) grandchildren Chinese and I feel your presentation of this lesson was very high quality. I look forward to sharing the lesson with them. Can I get a copy of the CD with the lessons? I am already a Premium subscriber. 老周 新西兰
clakkers says
October 26, 2008
going back to the saying about salt and rice; i am from the north of england and we have a version of that saying which my grandad uses when ever i open my mouth. He says 'shut up, i've forgotten more than you can remember'.
I may teach him the salt and rice phrase to give him some variety in his speech (although maybe i could change the rice to potatoes for him because he likes those better)!
amber says
October 26, 2008
hi edgar_brasil,
小姐 (xiǎojie) or (xiǎojiě), both pronunciations are acceptable.
hitokiri6993 says
October 29, 2008
yan2 = 鹽 can be pronounced as yan4，對不對？
amber says
October 29, 2008
hi hitokiri,
No 盐 (Yán)is second tone, not fourth.
hitokiri6993 says
October 29, 2008
Thanks amber!
rakesh2u21 says
November 12, 2008
hi every one...
i am new here....in china...i want to learn chinese how i can....any busy can help me.
thx
Rakesh
mclarty says
December 8, 2008
patmetheny mentions Americans who don't want Chinese food in China. When I first heard an American complaining about the food in China I almost smirked too. But then she explained: She was with a big corporation and was put in front of banquets every day, or twice a day. Never just a nice plate of dumplings. No simple bowl of soup, ever. Over time it was just exhausting. I would get tired of constant fancy meals too. And unfortunately she was pretty dependent on her company, and the only alternative they thought to offer was American chain restaurants!