好棒 vs 很胖

[Ian_Lee]

As a Cantonese speaker, I think the difference between the pronounciation of 棒 and 胖 is the hardest in Putonghua.

More than one occasion, I erroneously told a smart guy he was fat and described a fat girl as smart.

[hparade]

isn't it the difference between b and p sounds.

[Quest]

the "b" and the "p" are switched in Cantonese.

胖buen

棒pang

it is not that bad ian lee

[Ian_Lee]

But in Putonghua, 胖 sounds like "pound" while 棒 sounds like "bound".

Very confusing indeed.

Moreover, since Cantonese hardly uses these two words, it makes us even more perplexed.

I never quite understand why Putonghua uses the phrase "Good stick" to describe a smart guy/move!

[Quest]

很棒 means good, not smart guy.

much like 好竸，好嘢，好醒，好叻 in Cantonese.

[Ian_Lee]

Does 好棒 merely mean good but not smart (not necessary person but to describe a move) in Putonghua?

When a candidate passes the entrance exam to Beida, is 好棒 an appropriate complimentary term?

[39degN]

Does 好棒 merely mean good but not smart (not necessary person but to describe a move) in Putonghua?

yes, 好棒usually means great, not smart.

When a candidate passes the entrance exam to Beida, is 好棒 an appropriate complimentary term?

yeah, we could say that,

你好棒啊！

你真棒！

seems the latter is more often use in conversations.

OR

你真棒诶(ei1)！

geek, come here, see, it's girls language. try to avoid using it.