What is "ke xie na?"

[LiScing]

I have heard this expression near the beginning of presentations from Taiwan and cannot find what it means in online dictionaries. Any idea?

[rivercao]

No such expression in my mind. So I think you can leave it.

[roddy]

You don't know the answer, so it's not important?

Could you be hearing 开始呢? That's the only thing I can think of.

[rivercao]

You don't know the answer, so it's not important?

Could you be hearing 开始呢? That's the only thing I can think of.

Ok, to be honest, I'm not good at guessing. Here are my guesses:

可是呢...

可惜呢...

开始呢...

By the way, Taiwanese like to pronouce “na” when they actually means nothing, just for a short break. If you can give the context or the theme of the presetation, it would be easier to get.

[LiScing]

I have been trying to create a Romanization of Mandarin that covers a small subset of the language. I tried to test it out by transcribing some Taiwanese cooking shows appearing on youtube, but the videos by superman539 that I was listening to have been deleted.

Well then, if I see more examples of KE XIE NA again, I will post a link.

Thanks for trying to decipher it, anyway.

[jbradfor]

And the reason for creating YET ANOTHER system of Romanization is?

Back on topic, could it be 可下呢, a weird way of saying "next"?

[Shi Tong]

Probably the closest guess of these is 开始呢 as roddy said because as far as I can see, it would be hard to find this combination of sounds at the start of a sentence, IMO.

[anonymoose]

My guess is 可是呢

[Shi Tong]

Saying "but" at the start of a sentence seems very odd to me, but I guess people hesitating might say this.

I'd like to hear an audio sample, if one could be found.. then we would all know!

[anonymoose]

Saying "but" at the start of a sentence seems very odd to me

In speech, what constitutes a sentence is a fuzzy concept. People don't tend to really talk in well constructed and definite sentences. In my opinion it's quite feasible and likely that someone could say something, pause for a moment, and then say "可是呢" at the beginning of the next thing they're about to say.

[LiScing]

Here's an example although not as clear as some others I have heard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssp0klZb2aQ

Like I said, there used to be cooking shows with the expression but have been deleted from youtube.

[cababunga]

if you are referring to the very first words, I think it's 首先啊 [shǒu xiān a].

If not, can you give the time where you hear that?

[skylee]

It is 首先呢.

[LiScing]

if you are referring to the very first words, I think it's 首先啊 [shǒu xiān a].

If not, can you give the time where you hear that?

Yes, I figured that one out too. But I have heard CHE XIE NA or CHE XIAN A from a cook. Maybe she simply misspoke.

[Kenny同志]

Why spend so much time on something that doesn't make any sense at all?

Edited April 28, 2010 at 06:27 AM by kenny2006woo

[rivercao]

Why spend so much time on something that doesn't make sense at all?

Iife is always like this.

[Shi Tong]

But I have heard CHE XIE NA or CHE XIAN A from a cook. Maybe she simply misspoke.

Nah, maybe you misheard, because she does say shǒu xiān a, which as described means "first of all", basically. I've listened a few times and it's definately pronounced correctly, even if she does speak fast!

[xiaocai]

Maybe she simply misspoke.

Who is the "she" here? Can't be the girl in the video right?

[LiScing]

Nah, maybe you misheard, because she does say shǒu xiān a, which as described means "first of all", basically. I've listened a few times and it's definately pronounced correctly, even if she does speak fast!

No, for the line CHE XIEN A or CHE XIE NA, I mentioned a cook. I am talking about a different video with a cook, a chef. What I mean is the cook possibly misspoke. Like I have previously posted, that video is no longer available.

I do not claim the girl in the Digitimes video misspoke.

[LiScing]

Who is the "she" here? Can't be the girl in the video right?

A chef preparing sautéed vermicelli in a video that has been deleted from youtube:

美食達人-炒米粉

Anyway, I have moved on to transcribing other videos.