It's not that we're always indecisive about dinner, or that we have something against Sichuan food. It's just that the last time Echo and Brendan conspired to take us out for hotpot they managed to produce the hottest hotpot we have ever eaten. Although most of us quite sensibly stopped trying the spicy broth after a few bites, it still took days for our functionality to return to normal, and the office was not a pleasant place that week.

So consider yourself warned. That said, if you really want to punish yourself or your significant other, we recommend dining at 孔亮. This Sichuan restaurant has been transplanted straight from hell to the south side of Guijie right across the road from Little Sheep and one restaurant east of 渔佬. Make sure you order the spicy hotpot, and good luck.
 said on
January 19, 2011
"他谁都杀" seems right to me but some automatic translator says it means "he killed no one". Have I used it right?

Also, is it still okay if you insert a noun after the 什么? Like "他什么人都杀". And can you put in other indefinite pronouns? Like "他哪儿都去"?
 said on
January 19, 2011
What on earth is that a picture of? Looks like a bowl of candy, with maybe industrial fasteners mixed in or something?
 said on
January 19, 2011
There does not seem to be a PDF file for this lesson...
 said on
January 19, 2011
@huyilin,

We're updating the PDF production code to add copy-and-paste support and some new question types, so the PDF system is probably going to be unstable for the next few hours. The PDF is regenerated and reuploaded for this lesson though. Thanks for the catch.

@rizzo,

I think it is supposed to be frog and seafood hotpot. Certainly violates the cardinal principle of "don't eat it if you don't know what it is."

--david
 said on
January 19, 2011
我可什么都不要了...

Most important set phrase ever for walking down the street.
 said on
January 19, 2011
@palafx,

他谁都杀 means he (could) kill anyone.

他什么人都杀 and 他哪儿都去 are both correct. 你做的都对 :)

@rizzo,

It's not a big bowl of candy... It's a big bowl of 四川水煮鱼, although someone in our office insists it's 火锅... The red soup you see is hot red pepper oil.

@ckw4y,

:D Especially in Shanghai, right? I bet you have had the unforgettable experience on the streets of Shanghai.

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
 said on
January 20, 2011
@Echo

Thanks!

@ckw4y

what exactly does that mean? It looks like it means "I am no longer doing anything whatsoever," but I'm assuming thats not it.

@Everybody

How do you translate "anything" as in "You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant"? Can you only say "能得你要的在Alice'sRestaurant"? Or is there some way to 的 this new 都 construction to get the effect of "anything"?
 said on
January 20, 2011
@palafx

It means I don't want anything. The extra 可 before 什么都 adds some extra emphasis.
 said on
January 20, 2011
@ckw4y

ah, I interpreted 不要 as "don't", but I suppose it only means that in imperatives. I get it now, but what's up with the 了?
 said on
January 20, 2011
@palafx I'm not entirely sure what grammatical purpose 了 performs in this sentence, but every single time I omitted it when trying to tell vendors that I wasn't interested, they would immediately correct me, so I made sure to always include it.
 said on
January 21, 2011
Is this correct: 你要的都能得到。 ( = You can get anything you want) ?

If so, I think I've gotten a grip on this 都 thing, but how would I add a place to this statement? Like "you can get anything you want... at/from the store".
 said on
January 21, 2011
@palafx - Just chiming in, I think that's perfectly correct, yes.
 said on
January 21, 2011
@orbital

Thanks, good to know. As for my problem of adding the "from/at" bit, I've started thinking it would be more natural to go a different route, using the verb 有:

爱丽丝的餐厅有你想要的都。

你想要的都有爱丽丝的餐厅里。

(You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant.)

Are both/either of these correct?
 said on
January 26, 2011
要什么有什么 - one of the other podcasts mentioned this, haha but it might be a bit street vendor like.
 said on
February 10, 2011
@david - I thought the rule was don't ask what it is. That is unless you would go into anaphylactic shock or something.
 said on
February 10, 2011
@wldavis,

You're dead right, although if I think it's scorpion I'm going to pass regardless. I think they could pretty much sell anything in Wangfujing just for the shock value.

--dave
 said on
February 16, 2011
Hi! In reference to qu4huo3---wondering just how many terms there are for this! I originally learned the term bai4huo3 in a TV series lesson and when I used it with a friend here, I got a blank look and she told me it was xia4huo3 and said it was easy to remember because I just had to think "shang--xia". Now here, I see still another term for it! Perhaps xia4huo3 is a southern usage, perhaps influenced by Cantonese, but among qu4huo3 and bai4huo3, which is actually most common?
 said on
February 18, 2011
wow, 我喜欢辣吃饭!

@orbital, were you referring to palafx's phrase "你要的都能得到" when you said perfectly correct?

if I wanted to include the restaurant name in there, should it be in the form 你要的都能得到在里?

@anyone if 什么都 can mean "everything", what's the equivalent of "anything"? Is it 什么东西? or 什么事?
 said on
February 18, 2011
@neehnahw,

You can say 你要的都能在XXX得到.

"Anything" is also "什么 都".

我特别喜欢吃辣的 :)

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com

 said on
February 18, 2011
@susanjallen,

Haha, you asked a great question! You know so many good expressions of this word :)

Yes, "xia4huo3" is a bit southern. "Bai4huo3" is a bit old now, people don't use that very much anymore. The most popular one is "qu4huo3" nowadays.

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
 said on
February 18, 2011
Thank you! I often wonder about "southernisms" and also what is more commonly used in modern speech---which is why your site is valuable. I was out tonight with friends who made a pact to speak only putonghua throughout the evening, as a kind courtesy to me, and I realized how much more quickly I would learn if I could hear it around me day in and day out, instead of just when I'm personally in a conversation.
 said on
April 28, 2011
@Echo,

Would it be appropriate to use 誰都 in the sentence 'Does anyone here speak Chinese?' 誰都這兒會說中文嗎﹖

對不起我說得不好

 said on
April 28, 2011
@gingersue4242,

If you say 這兒誰都會說中文, it means everyone here speaks Chinese. If you want to say does anyone here speak Chinese, you should say 這兒誰會說中文.

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
 said on
April 28, 2011
heh 謝謝 - I realised after I listened to the podcast again that it didn't mean that type of anyone. I feel a bit stupid now, I need English lessons!!! haha.

I noticed I put 這兒 in the wrong place too. I shall slap myself :D
 said on
April 28, 2011
@gingersue4242,

Hahaha, it's ok. 加油!You will get better and better :)

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
 said on
April 29, 2011
@Echo,

I was watching a Taiwanese police drama today (Black & White with Vic Zhou), and coincidentally they used this type of sentence.

誰都有可能會是那個人 - that person(we are looking for)could be anyone.

Hopefully I have redeemed myself by showing I understand now! haha

 said on
April 29, 2011
@gingersue4242,

Exactly! 非常好!

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com