A lot of people learning Chinese develop the mistaken impression that the language has developed in isolation from other major world languages. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. As with our dialogue for today, the Chinese language borrows freely from wherever it can find inspiration. So join Brendan and Echo for a podcast that reviews a few Chinese loanwords you already know, and explains the origins of some you may never have suspected. And - yes - also stars Brendan Fraser.
rizzo
 said on
November 23, 2010
I am curious as to why the preposition "in the kitchen" appears at the end of the first sentence. This would normally be at the beginning of the sentence, yes?

我刚做了些苹果派在厨房里
Xiao Hu
 said on
November 23, 2010
@Brendan

克隆 ke4long2 (clone)is by far my favorite 外来词 in the Chinese language.

So would 克隆 be an example of a strait sound lone, or a 外来词 that's gone native?

I noticed way back when I began studying Chinese that 冰淇淋 is a 外来词, the first character 冰 from Chinese and the final two characters 淇淋 being used to represent the sound of the English word.

I think that 克隆 is my favorite 外来词 because I so wish I could 克隆自己. I wonder if anyone else on the site is 像小虎一样自恋到想克隆自己? ;)
orbital
 said on
November 24, 2010
Not related to Chinese at all, but I've been scared off the idea of cloning myself since seeing The Prestige. What a creepy movie. I wouldn't mind cloning someone else though.

Xiao Hu
 said on
November 24, 2010
@Orbital,

你为什么因为一部电影的清洁而怕克隆自己呢？

我觉得克隆别人没有克隆自己有意义的。我的克隆就像自己孩子一样，就是另外一个我，多好啊！
Echo
 said on
November 25, 2010
@Xiao Hu,

Hmmmm，你们让我想起了另一部电影，英文名字好像是Moon。让我觉得克隆没好事。

万一你克隆了自己，有一天你突然发现原来你是被克隆出来的那个，怎么办？

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
Xiao Hu
 said on
November 27, 2010
@Echo,

我搜了豆瓣，好像没有MOON这部电影。你可以给我说说更具体的消息吗？

我觉得如果万一发现我原来就是被克隆的那个的话，还是可以的，为什么呢？因为克隆的基因跟母体的是一样一样的，所以有平等，有平等的话我无所谓。我会有自己的生活啊，性格啊，想法呀，个人特色等！更何况可以和像双胞胎似的为了玩可以随便冒充对方而欺骗别人。比如说我不想工作的话我可以派他替我去上班。假如我喜欢的人生我的气的话我可以派他替我去面对她。方便呗！

可是问题是，谁下属谁？ Hmmm...
trevelyan
 said on
November 27, 2010
Xiao Hu, orbital

I can confirm Moon is a genuinely creepy movie. Spoilers on Wikipedia here. The Prestige was also really disconcerting, although brilliant.

--dave
sylviogh
 said on
November 27, 2010
Is there a book and/or dictionary you'd recommend for learning these etymologies?

tia
neehnahw
 said on
November 30, 2010
I really laughed out loud at the caveman rendition. Excellent work at coming up with the unexpected, hence memorable. Thanks!
Xiao Hu
 said on
December 1, 2010
@Trevelyan,

You're right 《月球》was one creepy story. I thought the lead actor's ability to play two completely opposite personalities was rather startling.

Got any other interesting 克隆 movies you'd like ro recommend?
rj.berki
 said on
December 5, 2010
@Brendan

Fascinating stuff. Love it.

neehnahw
 said on
December 7, 2010
How come the 2nd mention of apple pie uses 苹 instead of 蘋?
Elementary
 said on
December 7, 2010
@neehnahw,

Looks like there was a tech issue there. Fixed w/ thanks.

--dave

basketball3889
 said on
December 12, 2010
I also have the same question as RIZZO.

Why is it not "wo ZAI CHU FANG LI gang zuo le xie ping guo pai?"
Echo
 said on
December 13, 2010
@basketball3889,

The two sentences are both ok. The meanings are slightly different though.

If you say 我在厨房里刚做了些苹果派, it means I just made some apple pies in the kitchen.

If you say 我刚做了些苹果派在厨房里, it's more like there are some apple pies I made and "put" in the kitchen. Like 我刚做了些苹果派（放）在厨房里.

People don't usually think about the difference when they use them. It's more like personal preference.

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
lazer85
 said on
March 5, 2012
Brenden,日本語できるんですか？
MAC.JAMIE
 said on
October 20, 2013
让 Let us is thiscommon?
Grace Qi
 said on
October 20, 2013
Hi Jamie,

Actually 让我们 in oral Chinese isn't used as commonly as its counterpart in English.

You can totally say"我们快去吃吧" instead of "让我们快去吃吧".

It's actually more often used in written Chinese.

i.e.让我们记住他们的名字；让我们共同进步；让我们行动起来...

让我们尽情享受这个愉快的周末～～～

Best,

Grace
MAC.JAMIE
 said on
October 21, 2013
Its like the subjunctive in English, 'let us enjoy the moment while it lasts' or 'let us us thank the Lord' I expect, too.

Thanks.
petersurowski
 said on
February 26, 2014
Brendan, I loved the part in this lesson about loan words. I have a question though. I had assumed the word for beer, "pi2jiu3," was a loan from Russian since they call it "pizo," pronounced "pee tzo," and since China and Russia share a border, I figured they'd share a few words.

This was just an assumption, but was I wrong?
Brendan
 said on
March 1, 2014
@petersurowski -- Good question: the Hanyu Da Cidian says it comes from the German "bier," which is not implausible; the Taiwanese Minstry of Education's dictionary says it's from English "beer." Haven't got anything to hand at the moment that I could use as a tiebreaker, I'm afraid, but I'll keep my eyes open.
rjcaste
 said on
July 5, 2015
@rizzo and @basketball 3889, yeah, this is really similar to this lesson: http://popupchinese.com/lessons/elementary/popup-chinese-crossover-madness. There, it explains the placing of "放在" in the sentence.
puppetmaster6
 said on
April 16, 2020
Is the Caveman here representing Jims unforgettable scene from american pie? hahahahaha