What's this word?

[OneEye]

In the China Panorama videos I'm learning from, there's a word the main character says that isn't in the book's transcription. The transcription says 几点见面？/ Jǐ diǎn jiànmiàn?　But I hear 几点 lóng 见面？/ Jǐ diǎn lóng jiànmiàn? The meaning given is "When shall we meet?"　What is she saying here? Which character is it? And why does she say it / why doesn't the book have it? Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

[DrZero]

Are you sure it's not zhong1?

By the way, how do you like the series, and what level is it designed for?

[OneEye]

No, I'm pretty sure it's lóng. The main character, 方雪芹, speaks very clearly.

I really like the series so far. I've written a lot about it on my blog (see sig), so I won't ramble on about it too much. It has its shortcomings like any course, but they can easily be overcome with a few minor tweaks. What I like most is getting visual input rather than just audio. You can see the language being used in different situations, so more senses are involved in the learning process. I think learning to communicate without seeing how people communicate is like learning to cook without smelling and tasting the different ingredients, spices, herbs, and sauces.

I also like how expansive the course is, starting at a raw beginner level with the Phonetic Introduction and Approaching Chinese (teaches 1000 words) courses, then Intermediate Chinese (taking you from 1000-2500 words), then the two advanced courses, Chinese for Tourism and Chinese for Business. If you follow three of the main courses (I'll be doing Approaching, Intermediate, and Tourism), it's 48 VCDs, and at 75 minutes each, that's 60 hours of video instruction, plus 1500 pages of text.

Anyway, I said I wasn't going to ramble, and I did. Check out my blog to see what I've been doing, and I'll be posting a summary my current approach on the blog later today.

[againstwind]

Would it be neng2?

几点能见面？/ Jǐ diǎn neng2 jiànmiàn?

The meaning is still "When shall we meet?", or rather "When can we meet?"

[OneEye]

It could be. It still sounds like lóng, but I could be hearing it wrong. You can watch the video here if you register (it's free). It's Approaching Chinese, lesson 5, part 2.

Here's the dialogue, as given in the book (this is a phone conversation):

方雪芹： 喂，你好！

李文龙： 雪芹，我是文龙．今天你忙吗？

方雪芹： 不忙。

李文龙： 晚上有没有时间？

方雪芹：有时间。

李文龙： 晚上一起吃饭,好吗?

方雪芹： 好的。几点见面？

李文龙： 你几点下班？

方雪芹： 六点。

李文龙： 六点十分我去接你，好吗？

方雪芹： 好的。再见。

李文龙： 再见。

If it is 能, why would they omit that in the book? Maybe just a typo?

Side note: the "summary" I mentioned earlier is posted on my blog. I'd appreciate feedback very much if anyone has time to read it. The link to the blog is in my signature.

[HashiriKata]

I just registered to have a look but couldn't log in. Does it take some time for the registration to take effect? (This is not mentioned anywhere on the site)

[OneEye]

It might, I don't remember. It's been a few months since I registered.

[lokki]

Fwiw I think I hear it pretty clearly as zhong: 几点钟见面？ but I am no more advanced than you so you can take it with a pinch of salt.

I'd guess it's a typo in the book, or the text was written first and was sent off for printing, and then it just happened to slip out that way during recording. If it is zhong, at least the meaning stays exactly the same even when it's left out.

[tanhql]

it IS 几点钟见面. the 'zh' sound is obvious.

[OneEye]

Ok, several votes for 钟, so I'll I guess go with that. The 'zh' sound is still not obvious, though, but thanks for being tactful, tanhql.

Maybe I'm not hearing it because I just don't know that word yet. I'll ask some of my Chinese co-workers today when I get to work, though.

[Mugi]

I'm afraid I'm with tanhql - it is clearly 钟 zhong1.

It omission in the text is just an oversight. You can say it either with or without the 钟.

The meaning doesn't change whatsoever.

What I find more of a problem, is that the woman 文龙 is talking to changes mid conversation!! You would have thought they could have at least dressed her in the same clothes!

[OneEye]

I'm afraid I'm with tanhql - it is clearly 钟 zhong1.

It omission in the text is just an oversight. You can say it either with or without the 钟.

The meaning doesn't change whatsoever.

I went back and listened some more, and I'm hearing the 'zh' now. I think it's just not clearly enunciated like the way she usually speaks, and that I didn't see it in the text and so wasn't expecting it.

What I find more of a problem, is that the woman 文龙 is talking to changes mid conversation!! You would have thought they could have at least dressed her in the same clothes!

Yeah, there are some things like that in the videos that make me wonder if they had any budget at all, but the quality of the material makes me willing to overlook it.

[kelly_web]

here ，几点钟见面？or几点能见面？are ok

oral chinese , 几点能见面 is used more than 几点钟见面

[JimmySeal]

I don't think it sounds like zhong at all. There is no fricative quality to it.

Could be neng2. But then again I'm just a beginner too.

[imron]

If you listen to the recording, this word is pretty clearly zhōng, it's just that in normal speech, you don't always enunciate every single part of the word so exactly. For example, compare with a native English speaker saying things like "I dunno", or "I'm gonna". In fluid speech certain things get glossed over. As another example, it's quite common (at least in more northern regions) to hear people say 多少钱 as duōhao qián leaving out the 'sh' part, simply because it's easier to do this and because explicity enunciating every syllable would sound awkward.

[OneEye]

imron, I think that's what is happening. I still can't make myself hear it as zhōng without some effort, but I think it is because I'm so used to hearing perfectly articulated Mandarin. But they seem to be speeding up the speech to a more natural level as the course goes on, so I'm sure in a month or two I'll go back and I'll know it's zhōng because I'll be used to quicker speech.