DOUGLAS KOLLER wrote:
> A: Ni3 chi1 su4 ma?
> A: Are you a vegetarian?
(BTW: Can this mean equally "Do you eat vegetables?" i.e. "Are you an obligate
carnivore?" I suppose this is an un-Chinese concept :-) .)
> B: Yu2 chi1, ji1dan4 chi1, dan4 niu2rou4 bu4 chi1.
> B: I eat fish and eggs, but not beef.
This is the context I had in mind, but the other example ("the fish
has been finished off") is cool too.
> > Well, you're the sinophone and I'm not, but I understand "bei4" to mean
> > something negative/unpleasant, e.g. if the fish were alive at the time
> > (!).
>
> Or it was eaten and there wasn't any left for us.
Even better.
--
There is / one art || John Cowan <jcowan@...>
no more / no less || http://www.reutershealth.com
to do / all things || http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
with art- / lessness \\ -- Piet Hein