Comments on: Field Notes http://laowaichinese.net/field-notes.htm Tips and Strategies for Learning to Speak Mandarin Chinese Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:39:36 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Albert http://laowaichinese.net/field-notes.htm#comment-428 Albert Mon, 18 Dec 2006 23:45:21 +0000 http://laowaichinese.net/?p=19#comment-428 Sounds somehow typically difficult to get to the bottom of. For all we know some day someone will point us to a "dian ti" that really means "shocking horse hoof" and then we'll die because we touched it and didn't know it was a sometimes-lethal traditional Chinese cure for kidney stones. I think I'll just take the stairs. Sounds somehow typically difficult to get to the bottom of.

For all we know some day someone will point us to a “dian ti” that really means “shocking horse hoof” and then we’ll die because we touched it and didn’t know it was a sometimes-lethal traditional Chinese cure for kidney stones.

I think I’ll just take the stairs.

]]> By: BJ expat http://laowaichinese.net/field-notes.htm#comment-427 BJ expat Sun, 17 Dec 2006 09:07:20 +0000 http://laowaichinese.net/?p=19#comment-427 I asked a friend about this while shopping at wangfujing today...turns out most people do say dian ti for both, but she agreed it was confusing and that if a laowai asked, they would probably be pointed to an elevator, but a local might be pointed to an escalator...I didn't get into why. However, I was walking around another place and noted that the characters on signs read dian ti(电梯) for elevator and fu ti(扶梯)for escalator, which also simply means "ladder", but the international sign/symbol was clearly an escalator. I asked a friend about this while shopping at wangfujing today…turns out most people do say dian ti for both, but she agreed it was confusing and that if a laowai asked, they would probably be pointed to an elevator, but a local might be pointed to an escalator…I didn’t get into why.

However, I was walking around another place and noted that the characters on signs read dian ti(电梯) for elevator and fu ti(扶梯)for escalator, which also simply means “ladder”, but the international sign/symbol was clearly an escalator.

]]> By: BJ expat http://laowaichinese.net/field-notes.htm#comment-426 BJ expat Sat, 16 Dec 2006 13:24:17 +0000 http://laowaichinese.net/?p=19#comment-426 zì dòng lóu tī is actually the term, but I am almost sure this is abbreviated in common use...I just can't remember the abbreviation right now. Ask for directions to the diàn tī and you are sure to be sent toward an elevator. zì dòng lóu tī is actually the term, but I am almost sure this is abbreviated in common use…I just can’t remember the abbreviation right now. Ask for directions to the diàn tī and you are sure to be sent toward an elevator.

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