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eppie

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Everything posted by eppie

  1. The best way to get accurate translation (at least for me) is to find a native speaker of the language you are trying to translate. If you can't find it among your friends and acquaintances then better hire a professional translator in freelance sites like Elance or Odesk.
  2. I've never heard of "catch 22" before. Is this the term taken from Joseph Heller's novel? Well anyway, I don't have a favorite idiom but I would be interested in knowing the opposite idiom for catch 22 (if there's any), I think that would become my favorite. :grin:
  3. Thank you for your inputs guys. :grin: Here's another batch of food-related idioms: Apple of one's eye - A person that someone really like. The big cheese - A very important person. Cream of the crop - The best among a certain group. Piece of cake - A very easy task. Hard nut to crack - A person who is very hard to understand.
  4. Nice posts guys. :grin: Here's mine: 1. Bird's eye view - a broad view of everything usually from a high altitude or from a distance. 2. Night owl - referring to a person who (likes to) stay up late. 3. Wild goose chase - a useless search for something or someone where the possibility of finding is almost nil. That's all that I can think of right now.
  5. Thanks Mr. L and Sarah. I don't use semi-colon frequently but only because I really don't now when is the right time to use it. I actually never used it in a sentence before only lists though I'm not even sure if I'm using it right on lists. =)
  6. Whenever I encounter a "new" English word, I will look up its meaning on the dictionary and will think of 2 or 3 sentences where I can use said word. That's what I do to expand my vocabulary and so far it's working for me as I was able to recall and re-use the words in some conversations. :grin:
  7. Yes this is true. When I was just starting to learn how to write numbers 1 t0 10 in Chinese, I thought that it's enough to just copy the characters as you would copy a drawing. But when my husband saw the way I wrote he laughed and told me that I was doing it wrong. By the way, thank you for sharing the link (bookmarked).
  8. When it comes to idioms I prefer those with food in it. Here are some examples: Cry over spilt milk - To become upset or sad over something that happened in the past. Cup of tea - To describe something that you like or prefer. Bring home the bacon - To win or earn some money something to live. Bread and butter - To describe your profession or an activity that earns you money to live. Have one's own cake and eat it - To use or spend something and keep it too. Nutty as a fruitcake - To describe a crazy person. Feel free to add yours..
  9. I don't find the first two uncommon and also "Dire straits" (at least to me). As for the others, they all seem new to me especially the last one with Mohammed. I think I heard it already but without "Mohammed". I find "I'll eat my hat" a bit funny. :grin:
  10. "Raining cats and dogs" is the strangest idiomatic expression that I've ever heard of until now. :confused: Though I would really love to find out its origin. If anybody can care to explain how it came to be?
  11. I believe I heard a lot of idioms from my parents when I was still young, but to me they're just like silly talk as these bunch of words/phrases don't made sense to me back then. :grin: The first English idiom that I remember learning was "hitting two birds with one stone" which means getting two things (or more ) done with just one action, sort of multi-tasking.
  12. For me I think 3 years of classes is more than enough. 1 year will do since you already know the basics. Actually knowing the basics is already enough if you're going to live in China. My bestfriend doesn't even know a single Chinese word when she left to work in Taiwan and after two years she's already speaking Chinese fluently. She told me that she was able to converse confidently in Chinese after a year only. I agree with Melanie, you'll be able to pick it up quickly if you're surrounded by the language at all times. I think that's what happened to my bestfriend.
  13. Hi Daimashin I'm sort of your opposite as I first learn to read and write Chinese characters and never really know how to pronounce it correctly. I opted to learn the characters first because my husband told me that all Chinese will understand the characters even if they speak Cantonese or Mandarin or other Chinese dialects - it's still the same when they write it. Anyway to answer the topic... I want to learn Chinese because my husband is a Filipino-Chinese and all my children are studying in a Filipino-Chinese school here in the country. I want to connect with them in that level but unfortunately all my kids are very naughty and always making fun of me when I speak in Chinese (I think I'm really bad at it) so I'm looking for other options to learn the language. Also, there are more opportunities (employment and business) here for those who speak other languages (aside from English) especially Mandarin.
  14. For me the best way to write is to write with your intended readers in mind. Writing is communicating and the only way to effectively communicate thru your writing is to make your piece as simple and comprehensible for your readers to understand. And don't forget about making your piece interesting and fun too to keep them reading your whole article (or book).
  15. I thought so too. :grin: Anyway, I have lots of favorites and most of them have "medieval" themes like Braveheart, Dragonheart, Ever After, and those movies about King Arthur and Robin Hood. I just love stories about castles, knights, kings/royalties, etc. I've always wondered what it's really like to live during those times when computers and hi-tech gadgets are not yet existing.
  16. Car Idioms Interesting topic. Here's some idioms that came to mind... "Jump on the bandwagon" for going with the majority or doing what's currently popular. "Drive a hard bargain" for wanting to gain advantage in a business deal. "Hit the road" if you're going to leave or start a journey. and "One for the road" - drinking one last drink before going away.
  17. Don't forget the rest of the days... Martes (Tuesday), Mierkules (Wednesday), Huwebes (Thursday), Biernes (Friday), and Sabado (Saturday) Also, "Libro" (book), "Mesa" (table), "Plato" (Plate).. there's really a lot. :grin:
  18. Very interesting! Especially about Kapampangan as a language and not a dialect. I used to think that the only Language we have is Filipino or Tagalog and the rest are just dialects. OR maybe I was just absent when it was taught in school. Nice topic and share mga tol :grin:, when I went to see this topic about the origin of the word TOL, I didn't expect to learn so much more.
  19. "Balat-sibuyas"- Literally means "onion-skinned" but we use to describe a sensitive person. "Tengang-kawali" which literally means "Ear" (tenga) of a "cooking pan" (kawali) :grin: to describe those people pretending not to hear something. "Tulog-Mantika" Literally means "sleep" (tulog) and "oil" (mantika) but use to describe a person in a deep sleep. That's all I can think of right now.
  20. I can only think of Filipino food like "Adobo", "Sinigang" and "Paksiw". Does "Balot" have one? How about "Chicharon"? I guess fictional creatures like "Kapre" and "Manananggal" also has no English counterparts? :grin:
  21. Hi Marico I'm a Filipino myself but don't have a clue where it actually originated. :speechless: Since our country was under the Spanish rule for around 400 years it's only natural to find Tagalog words with Spanish origins like Libro (which means a "book") but strictly speaking the right Tagalog word for book is "aklat" still most Filipinos consider Libro as a Tagalog word too. So it's really quite confusing even for a Filipino like me and to tell you the truth, I believe that an average Filipino will not be able to answer your question without doing some research first. But I think the best way to learn Tagalog is to talk as much as you can (in Tagalog) with your Filipino friends. Also watch Filipino movies and television shows as often as possible. :grin:
  22. I also like the Nike slogan "Just Do It" and this quote from Michael Jordan that shows persistence and hardwork. "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." I also love quotations by Albert Einstein and Mark Twain especially these two. "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." Albert Einstein "Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today." Mark Twain
  23. Hello "Kabayan" (meaning: fellow countryman) :grin: Same here, we speak a lot of "taglish" at home too and even at the office. We spoke it a lot and speaking this way has become a normal thing for most of us Filipinos, especially those living in the urban places.
  24. I think so too. I have several aunts, uncles, and cousins in the States and they've been there for 20 - 30 years. My aunts/uncles still speak fluent Filipino while my cousins can only understand it and can only speak a few words. So I think even though forgot to speak (fluent) Chinese, you can still understand and say a few Chinese words right? :grin:
  25. I wish I have one because I believe that I can learn faster if I have a language coach. Someone that I can talk to in person in a language that I wanted to learn and teach me how to pronounce the words (or phrases) in the right tone or accent. I haven't heard of the Rosetta Stone website before but It seems interesting. I'll "google" it later, thanks for sharing.
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