Mandarin Capital

Misconception about Chinese: “Chinese has no grammar”

Many Chinese learners complain to their Chinese teachers that “Chinese has no grammar”. I could understand the complaints but they are not true.

How would it make any sense if it didn’t? If it had no grammar, all you’d have to do to learn it is just to memorize vocabulary and randomly spurt it out. Actually, Chinese do have grammar but has different grammar.

1. Chinese does not have the kind of grammar that is familiar to speakers of English. For example, Chinese has no gender and number endings for nouns. But if we take grammar to include any and all structural patterns and not just European styled grammar, we will see that Chinese is very rich with grammars

2. Chinese grammar has not been studied as thoroughly as English and other European languages. You know, there aren’t as many Chinese grammar books as there are for English. The lack of in-depth studies and thorough understanding of Chinese grammar may lead to the misconception. Something has eluded explanation does not mean that it is unexplainable. Some grammatical phenomena that we cannot yet explain in Chinese, but their existence cannot be in doubt. There is much unexplored territory for the pioneering researchers on Chinese grammar!

Chinese and English languages are very different. It will take time to know each other.

Misconception about Chinese: There are two main languages in China

Many foreigners think that China has two dominant languages, namely Mandarin and Cantonese. Is it true?

This isn’t true at all. Mandarin has 850 million native speakers and is the standard and official language in China. It is spoken all over China. On the contrary, Cantonese has just 70 million speakers and is spoken almost exclusively in two or three provinces in the southern China. It’s not even the second largest language group in China. In China, another famous language group, Wu Chinese (which includes Shanghainese), has 90 million speakers.

The confusion arises because of the relative wealth and spread abroad more early, particularly Hong Kong. Now, Cantonese has a disproportionate representation outside of China, leading people to believe that there are two main languages in China.

Mandarin is the main language and it is better that if non-Chinese people want to learn Chinese, mandarin is the best choice.

Funny

Many foreigners would like to have Chinese names. That’s great. But try to avoid those silly Chinese homophones. Here’s a short list of some funny names.

I’ve listed each name with its pinyin, then what it sounds like with the pinyin for that, and then the translation. Some of these sound absolutely identical, so it would be pretty incredible if someone actually has a name like that.

范剑 (Fàn Jiàn) → 犯贱 (fànjiàn) → “cheapen yourself”
姬从良 (Jī Cóngliáng) → 妓从良 (jì cóngliáng) → “prostitute turned good”
范统 (Fàn Tǒng) → 饭桶 (fàntǒng) → “rice container” (this is also slang for ‘imbecile’)
夏建仁 (Xiàjiànrén) → 下贱人 (xiàjiànrén) → “slut” / “contemptible person”
朱逸群 (Zhū Yìqún) → 猪一群 (zhū yīqún) → “one herd of pigs”
秦寿生 (Qín Shòushēng) → 禽兽生 (qínshòu shēng) → “born to a beast”
矫厚根 (Jiǎo Hòugēn) → 脚后跟 (jiǔhòugēn) → “heel”
沈京兵 (Shěn Jīngbīng) → 神经病 (shénjīngbìng) → “mentally ill”

And best of all…
史珍香 (Shǐ Zhēnxiāng) → 屎真香 (shǐ zhēn xiāng) → “sh*t smells great”

Using Skype for learning language

The first task is finding a native speaker.

Once you’ve found a partner, try to arrange your conversations into 20 minutes of one language, then 20 minutes of the other. A lot of people will simply talk in their target language and not let you use yours, which can end up with odd conversations that use both languages alternately – not very beneficial for learning. Don’t be afraid to just drop or ignore partners who aren’t co-operative – there are always more people.

Try to schedule a regular time to have your conversation – this will make sure you get consistent practice in, and keep you motivated to continue.

It’s better to plan ahead a bit and think of some topics to speak about. This allows you to prepare specific vocabulary for the session and get more out of it, but also to avoid awkward conversations that fizzle out and put you off trying again.

Being nervous before language exchange conversations is inevitable. Remember that your language partner probably feels the same, and that ultimately you’re there to learn a language, not to impress people with your charisma and fantastic personality.

Funny Chinese: Homophones

I find a list of Mandarin homophones. If your chinese level is good enough, you will find it is not only interesting, but meaningful.

北京，就是背景。
Běijīng, jiùshì bèijǐng.
Beijing is the background.

上海就是商海。
Shànghǎi jiùshì shānghǎi.
Shanghai is a sea of commerce.

老公，就是劳工。
Lǎogōng, jiùshì láogōng.
A husband is hard labour.

晚上，就是玩赏。
Wǎnshàng, jiùshì wánshǎng.
The evening is taking pleasure.

升职，便是升值。
Shēngzhí, biàn shì shēng zhí.
A promotion is an increase in worth.

誓言，就是失言。
Shìyán, jiùshì shīyán.
A promise is a slip of the tongue.

男人，就是难人。
Nánrén, jiùshì nán rén.
A man is a difficult person.

理想，就是离乡。
Lǐxiǎng, jiùshì lí xiāng.
Leaving the countryside is a dream.

缘分，就是怨愤。
Yuánfèn, jiùshì yuànfèn.
Fate is resentment.

清醒，就是庆幸。
Qīngxǐng, jiùshì qìngxìng.
Being clear-minded is celebrating success.
结婚，就是皆昏。
Jiéhūn, jiùshì jiē hūn.
Marriage is always muddle-headed.

If you like it, please “like” my post. Haha.

Top 3 tips for learning Chinese characters

Chinese characters is an important part of learning Chinese, which is also a difficulty point for Chinese learners. Here are some quick tips for learning Chinese characters more efficiently.

1. Don't write the character immediately.
Many Chinese beginners treat Chinese characters as pretty pictures and try to copy them. This is not a wise approach. Look at the character first, understand its composition (a good textbook will show you this). Look at how the different parts are placed. Note the stroke order! You don’t have to memorize the exact details of all strokes right now, but you need to learn which strokes belong to which part.

2. Write the character once without looking.
Try to avoid copying stroke-by-stroke as much as possible. This is a bad habit and you don't really learn much by doing so. Instead, try to remember as large parts of the character as possible. If you can look at the character, look away and write it in one go, that's great! If you can't do that, divide the character into parts and peek once for each part. In any case, don't look at the model character while writing.

3. Write the character a dozen times.
Once you know how to write the character in one go, write the entire character a dozen times and pay attention to the right stroke order. You're not allowed to peek while writing a character, only between each character to check if you're right or not!

Practical

Eat out

As everyone know, Chinese food is very delicious. To taste different kinds of Chinese food, you may go to restaurant. When people eat in a restaurant, these tips may help you.

First, although there are many restaurants have the menu that written by english, some restaurants still do not have this kind of menu.So you should know some basic words about food: “主(zhǔ)食(shí)”(means staple food), “菜(cài)”(means food), “羹(ɡēnɡ)/汤(tānɡ)”(means soup), “饮(yǐn)料(liào)”(means drinks) and “甜(tián)点(diǎn)”(means dessert).

Then, when you pay for your food, you can say “请(qǐnɡ)把(bǎ)发(fā)票(piào)给(ɡěi)我(wǒ)”, which means “Please give me the invoice”. As other countries, invoice is the evidence that you are trading.

In addition, you should know when you in Chinese restaurant, you need not give a tip to your waiters. Of course, though without tips, waiters will still be pleased to serve you at any time.

Practical

Make a phone call

Sometimes there are such situation that you make a call to someone but the person who answer the phone is not the person you want to call. So you need express your purpose and let another to help you find the right person.

At such a situation, you should say “你(nǐ)好(hǎo)，我(wǒ)是(shì)...”, which means “Hello, I’m...”. When you want to get help, self-introduction is important and can make yourself more polite.
Then you can say “我(wǒ)找(zhǎo)..，.请(qǐnɡ)问(wèn)他(tā)（她(tā)）在(zài)吗(mɑ)?”,, which means “I’m looking for ..., is he(/she) in?”

If the person is not in, you can say “不(bù)好(hǎo)意(yì)思(si)，他(tā)（/她(tā)）大(dà)概(ɡài)什(shén)么(me)时(shí)候(hòu)回(huí)来(lái)？我(wǒ)到(dào)时(shí)候(hòu)再(zài)给(ɡěi)他(tā)电(diàn)话(huà)。” This sentence means “I'm sorry, he(/she)'s about when to come back? I'll call him again.”.
If the person is in, then you can say “请(qǐnɡ)让(rànɡ)他(tā)（/她(tā)）接(jiē)一(yí)下(xià)电(diàn)话(huà)”, which means “Please let him(/her) pick up the telephone”.

Practical

Let’s continue to learn some practical Chinese.

1.告辞 (saying goodbye)

Chinese people are always very friendly. As a result, when you are in a Chinese friend’s home, they won’t let you leave before you say you have to leave. There are some sentences that you can use when you want to end a visit and leave someone’s home.

When you want to leave, you can say “时(shí)间(jiān)不(bù)早(zǎo)了(le)”, which means “It’s getting late (and I want to leave)”.Though you just say the first half of sentence, Chinese can get your true meaning.Of course, you can say the whole sentence “时(shí)间(jiān)不(bù)早(zǎo)了(le)，我(wǒ)该(ɡāi)告(ɡào)辞(cí)了(le)”.
You also can say it directly as “不(bù)好(hǎo)意(yì)思(si)，我(wǒ)要(yào)走(zǒu)了(le)”, which means “I’m so sorry but I have to go”. In this sentence, “不(bù)好(hǎo)意(yì)思(si)” express your necessity to leave and your regret.
When you leave, you should say “打(dǎ)扰(rǎo)了(le)/谢(xiè)谢(xiè)招(zhāo)待(dài)”, which means “Thank you for .... ” . This sentence can express your thanks and will make masters happy.

our teachers

Practical

Living in China, you will face many situations everyday. Learning some practical Chinese is no doubt helpful.

Situation 1: 打车
Public transport, such as bicycles and subway, makes travel in Hangzhou conveniently. But, people will inevitably meet some urgent situation. At this time, only the taxi can satisfy people's needs.
Of course, when people want to take a taxi, they have to communicate with the drivers. In China, people always say in these ways:
At first, you could say,”你(nǐ)好(hǎo)，我(wǒ)要(yào)去(qù)...”, which means ”Hello, I’d like to go to.../Hello, I want to go to...”.Of course, this sentence help you tell driver your destination.
When you arrive at the destination, driver always says, ”到(dào)了(le)，一(yí)共(ɡònɡ)...”, which is to tell you how much you have to pay altogether. After people paid money, you also can say,”请(qǐnɡ)把(bǎ)发(fā)票(piào)给(ɡěi)我(wǒ)，谢(xiè)谢(xiè)。”, which means “Please give me the invoice, thank you.”
After saw these tips, taking a taxi is not difficult in China.


Situation 2: 问路
Even holding a map, foreigners in China sometimes still can not find the destination. At this time, asking the way is necessary. There are some tips that you may need when you ask the way.
First, you should say,”你(nǐ)好(hǎo)，请(qǐnɡ)问(wèn)你(nǐ)知(zhī)道(dào)...在(zài)哪(nǎ)儿(ér)吗(mɑ)/怎(zěn)么(me)走(zǒu)吗(mɑ)？”，which means ”Excuse me, could you tell me where is .../ how can I go to...”

Then, you should know some basic words that are used to describe positions. There are “东(dōnɡ)”（east）,”南(nán)”（south）,”西(xī)”（west）,”北(běi)”（north）,”左(zuǒ)”（left）and ”右(yòu)”（right）.Besides, you would better know the word “路(lù)口(kǒu)”, which means crossroads.
Of course, when you get your answer, you should say “谢(xiè)谢(xiè)”, which means “thank you”.
Chines people are always friendly, they will very glad to answer your question and help you.

Top 10 common mistakes of learning Mandarin PART6

This is the last part of this topic. I hope that this topic will be helpful for you.

10. Too much information
This one isn’t about being vulgar (although that probably would be a mistake in most situations). It’s about putting unnecessary information in a Mandarin sentence.
Mandarin tends to be very efficient, and likes to leave the listener with a bit more work to do. Subjects can often be omitted, as well as any other information that’s obvious in the context.
Something what a lot of learners do is to include a lot of information that can actually be left out. Only including the essentials produces more elegant, functional sentences that sound more natural.
This is of course quite tricky to get the hang of, but paying attention to it in your studies is worthwhile.