What did she say to me?

[imaneo]

A Chinese girl I know has said this to me a few times. Then she giggles and refuses to tell me what it means. I'd really like to know and I hope its not an insult. You can hear the recording I put on youtube.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=U0tO9Bub8ww

[fanglu]

这个情况 - This situation

It's not a full sentence

[skylee]

Really? It appears to be XX情狂 to me, but it does not sound like XX色情狂.

[rezaf]

Now I'm interested to know what's on the recording. Can you post it here? As you might know youtube is blocked in China.

[imaneo]

Thanks for the help so far. Sorry I did not know Youtube is blocked in china. I have attached the sound file.

Skylee I ran your reply through translation software and it said "mad love" and "nymphomania" LOL is that correct?

11-09-09-14-43-26.wav

[rezaf]

It sounds like 这个情况(this situation). Is the girl from Sichuan?

[imaneo]

She is from Shenyang.

[semantic nuance]

色情狂 is what she said.

[rezaf]

@semantic: Is there something between 色 and 情？

[skylee]

The wav file seems to be much clearer. It is 色情狂.

[imaneo]

Thanks but what is 色情狂 in english?

[jbradfor]

May I recommend a dictionary?

[jkhsu]

Check skylee's post #3

[imaneo]

I understand it now. You have all been very helpful. Thank you so much.

[xianhua]

I was surprised to see that anyone thought it could have been 情况 when the third syllable was clearly a rising second tone.

[xiaocai]

It sounds like 这个情况(this situation). Is the girl from Sichuan?

Not really relevant here but most Sichuanhua don't have the "e" sound in standard Mandarin...

[rezaf]

I was surprised to see that anyone thought it could have been 情况 when the third syllable was clearly a rising second tone.

I thought it was some kind of dialect thing and an extra "e" sound after "se" was a bit misleading.

[fanglu]

I was surprised to see that anyone thought it could have been 情况 when the third syllable was clearly a rising second tone.

Like Rezaf, I just assumed it was a non-standard pronunciation. The fact that it didn't make sense should have been a hint though in hindsight.

[anonymoose]

I'd really like to know and I hope its not an insult.

So should being called a 色情狂 be considered an insult or not?

[semantic nuance]

色情狂 as the link indicates is 'mad about sex / nymphomania. But doesn't nymphomania (花痴) refer to female only? In this context, the girl obviously referred to a male sexual pervert or a male sex maniac.

So should being called a 色情狂 be considered an insult or not?

It's a derogatory term. But it still depends on the context. If you're joking with someone familiar, saying he's a 色情狂，it doesn't really mean an insult instead of joking. But it can mean an insult, too.

@semantic: Is there something between 色 and 情？

No, I don't think so, rezaf. She just pronounced 色 in a position at the back of the throat, while I personally pronounce it in the front. So, it seems that there's a pause between 色 and 情.