Detective Wilders was coming face-to-face with a world few members of proper society even acknowledged: the underclass of the acrobatic arts. And yet perhaps underclass was not the proper word. For as not unlike members of a secret society, acrobats did not reject the tenets of civil society so much as simply live by a separate code. Theirs was a world not easily entered by outsiders, but one which once entered, must be entered completely.
ethan.jacoby
 said on
January 11, 2013
Nice lesson! On this sentence:

这墙可有三米高啊

Echo, could you also insert a 却 instead of a 可？ If no, then can you briefly describe how the usage varies？ Thanks!
Echo
 said on
January 13, 2013
@ethan,jacoby,

No, you can't use 却 there. Because 却 is an adversative conjunction. You usually need to have a condition to use 却. For example, 大家都知道了，我却不知道 (Everyone knows it, but not me). It's like 但是, but 但是 needs to be put in front of the pronoun, like 但是我不知道. 可 is an emphasizing particle.

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
Leo.dirac
 said on
June 18, 2013
What does za par mean? It is never translated.
Echo
 said on
June 19, 2013
@Leo.dirac,

杂牌儿 means a less known and inferior brand.

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com