Learn Chinese - Mandarin

[Kyou.]

When I was a child I could speak Mandarin. Now I can't. Everything forgotten.
My parents speak Cantonese to me, and I answer back in Dutch =']
I don't speak it, but I can do it.

Ngo hai Tang Maanlee. =']
I don't know how to use it in words, or something.

[zi-hong]

Originally Posted by Kyou.

When I was a child I could speak Mandarin. Now I can't. Everything forgotten.
My parents speak Cantonese to me, and I answer back in Dutch =']
I don't speak it, but I can do it.

Ngo hai Tang Maanlee. =']
I don't know how to use it in words, or something.

I know what you mean xDD My siblings and i used to speak fluent mandarin as children, but then our dad started speaking english to us (so our mother says). Now they speak Hokkien to us and we respond back in english. Then they sent us to chinese school to learn mandarin xDD Vicious cycle...

[yugidogz]

oh wow i didn't know this thread was here!! :O

i barely know any mandarin at all... nin hao ma, duibuqi, wo/ai/ni... and bai 8. that's about it. XD

can't even think of some basics that i want to learn right now, but throw some useful ones out? xD

[Kyou.]

My little sisters are learning Mandarin every Saterday.
In their book is a vocabulary. I'll typ it in here;
(Sorry, I can't use Chinese characters on this computer).

bàba - father
mama - mather
nihao - hello
laoshi - teacher
xièxie - thanks
búkèqi - you're welcome
duìbuqi - excuse me
méiguanxi - never mind
zàijiàn - goodbye
shì - is (am, are)
shuí - who
ni - you
shénme - what
míngzi - name
dìdi - younger brother
mèimei - younger sister

Omg, some of these words I even don't know how to speak.

[that_girl]

Originally Posted by Rochelle

Interesting, I just learned how to say cute in mandarin! It's pretty similar to japanese.

Japanese:
可愛い
kawaii
(cute)


The japanese did borrow language from the chinese, so it's not totally odd.

Correction. The japanese did steal language from the chinese. They never returned our characters!

The Japanese word for cute is EXACTLY the same as Chinese, therefore, I conclude with they stole our characters.

Yeah. I'm fluent in Cantonese but don't know a word of Mandarin. ha.

[Chevic]

i am half chinese and that part is canto... i don't really speak canto at all... or understand it... funny thing is i know more mandarin xD i think i watch too many dramas!! <33 but i'll never stop! mwahaha!!

[aishitemasen.]

I am fluent in Mandarin, and clueless when it comes to Canto. x3

Would you all agree that in general for learners of the Chinese languages, Simplified characters are learned with the Mandarin dialect, and Traditional for Cantonese?

[bakaLuci]

Originally Posted by aishitemasen.

I am fluent in Mandarin, and clueless when it comes to Canto. x3

Would you all agree that in general for learners of the Chinese languages, Simplified characters are learned with the Mandarin dialect, and Traditional for Cantonese?

I guess so, when I use to go to cantonese school every sunday, I only learnt traditional characters. However, my 'new' mandarin school that I go to still uses traditional.. but I once went to a class that taught mandarin at 'english' school and they were teaching simplified characters.

Originally Posted by ~*Suzi*~

me personally i think mandarin is easier prob because i know cantonese (although it is slightly different but some words sound similar) and also i think its more important for me

Japanese, deffo. I learnt cantonese for about.. 7 years and quit to go learn mandarin, and i've been learning mandarin and japanese for three years.

I definitely find japanese a lot simpler and easier to read, write and speak. Cantonese&mandarin have certain pronounciations, and if you say it wrong, you may say the wrong words, making you look a bit silly. The only downfall is that when there is kanji in japanese, I get mixed up with how to say it. However, the kanji usually has other reading and they are more related to the pronounciation in chinese


anyway.. another word that is similarly said in japanese and chinese is:
"ji sa tsu" (japanee) + "zhi sat" (chinese the pinyin is probably wrong, sorry)
which means suicide.. sorry for the random vocab.

[~*Suzi*~]

Originally Posted by aishitemasen.

I am fluent in Mandarin, and clueless when it comes to Canto. x3

Would you all agree that in general for learners of the Chinese languages, Simplified characters are learned with the Mandarin dialect, and Traditional for Cantonese?

Yes although Taiwan they use traditional chinese as well

[aishitemasen.]

Originally Posted by bakaLuci

Japanese, deffo. I learnt cantonese for about.. 7 years and quit to go learn mandarin, and i've been learning mandarin and japanese for three years.

I definitely find japanese a lot simpler and easier to read, write and speak. Cantonese&mandarin have certain pronounciations, and if you say it wrong, you may say the wrong words, making you look a bit silly. The only downfall is that when there is kanji in japanese, I get mixed up with how to say it. However, the kanji usually has other reading and they are more related to the pronounciation in chinese


anyway.. another word that is similarly said in japanese and chinese is:
"ji sa tsu" (japanee) + "zhi sat" (chinese the pinyin is probably wrong, sorry)
which means suicide.. sorry for the random vocab.

The pin-yin (for Mandarin, at least.. whether or not Cantonese uses another pinyin system I have no idea) for 'suicide' is 'zi sha'.

I would believe that Japanese is easier than Chinese as well. I've only recently began studying Japanese, and the one habit I can't seem to kick is reading kanji vocabulary the way it would be read in Chinese, even if I know the Japanese. Gah.

I've come across two characters identical in both languages for pronounciation and written so far.. hopefully I'll find more.

三 __ san (three)
愛 __ ai (love)

[BuNnIeMomiJi]

I'm chinese but I don't speak mandarin...only cantonese. I can't read or write chinese either. I do understand bits of mandarin... but it's no help in coversations XD I should really take classes but I'm so lazy >_> and I'm taking SATs next year so I need to get ready.

[gummy]

Originally Posted by BuNnIeMomiJi

I'm chinese but I don't speak mandarin...only cantonese. I can't read or write chinese either. I do understand bits of mandarin... but it's no help in coversations XD I should really take classes but I'm so lazy >_> and I'm taking SATs next year so I need to get ready.

If by SATs you mean the Chinese SAT... and you dont know anything at all.. I highly recommend you to not take it o.o Pretty much only people who already knows mandarin fluently take it. If you get one question wrong it already puts you at like the 60th percentile ._. If you're depending on the chinese or korean language SATs for college, and you dont have around a 780, it just looks bad.

edit:// just searched up collegeboard
average sat scores
Language Tests

* Chinese with Listening: 764
* French: 615
* French with Listening: 618
* German: 604
* German with Listening: 582
* Modern Hebrew: 635
* Italian: 657
* Japanese with Listening: 687
* Korean with Listening: 757
* Latin: 617
* Spanish: 632
* Spanish with Listening: 644

Unless that part you added about SATs is absolutely unrelated to Chinese then.... yea... >.>"

[tsaefen]

Originally Posted by gummy

If by SATs you mean the Chinese SAT... and you dont know anything at all.. I highly recommend you to not take it o.o Pretty much only people who already knows mandarin fluently take it. If you get one question wrong it already puts you at like the 60th percentile ._. If you're depending on the chinese or korean language SATs for college, and you dont have around a 780, it just looks bad.

edit:// just searched up collegeboard
average sat scores
Language Tests

* Chinese with Listening: 764
* French: 615
* French with Listening: 618
* German: 604
* German with Listening: 582
* Modern Hebrew: 635
* Italian: 657
* Japanese with Listening: 687
* Korean with Listening: 757
* Latin: 617
* Spanish: 632
* Spanish with Listening: 644

Unless that part you added about SATs is absolutely unrelated to Chinese then.... yea... >.>"

Thanks for the update on the SAT scores! Hahahahaha. :P I'll probably take Chinese SAT next year so I can brush up with somethings. xPP

[fake smile.]

嗨大家好~
i'm mandarin but i think canto is more useful. -__-
为什吗帅哥都是说广东话的？ ; n ;"
LAWLL. XD

[Ch0x]

I'm learning mandarin in Chinese School on weekends! XDD I know basic ones, and I memorize the complicated ones for tests.. But then I forget a day after. @___@ lol o3o

Ni hao da jia! Wo de ming zhi shi Miranda. Wo xi huan chi jiao zhi! Wo bu xi huan ni de nu peng you. D:< Xiao mao hao ke ai. <3 >w<

你好大家！我的明知是 Miranda. 我喜欢吃较之！我不喜欢你的奴朋友。D:< 小貌好可爱！<3 >w<

Haha, I just said some random things. o_O

Hello everyone! My name is Miranda. I like to eat dumplings! I don't like your girlfriend. D:< Little cats (kitties) are cute. <3 >w<


I don't know if I wrote dumplings correctly, though..

[Kyou.]

My uncle sent me a cd. You can learn Japanese & Mandarin with those programs on it.

[Kawaii Broccoli]

我 没 有 钱。
wo3 mei2 you3 qian4
I don't have money.

That's important, right?

等 一 下。
deng3 yi1 xia4
Wait a bit.

我 饿 死 了。
wo3 e2 si3 le
I'm starving to death.

[minimoo]

Woo id love to learn Mandarin~~
Wo ai ni...ni ai wo ma? =]
Haha i know few words basically cos i find it quite similar to the type of chinese i speak - Hakka. Yehhh all the oldies speak it lol but i guess cos my family came from area in hongkong where everyone speaks Hakka.

[Sukie]

i would looooove to learn mandarin!!!
i only can speak cantonese now and i'm also taking cantonese lessons to learn how to speak it and how to write chinese.

[zi-hong]

Originally Posted by Ch0x

I'm learning mandarin in Chinese School on weekends! XDD I know basic ones, and I memorize the complicated ones for tests.. But then I forget a day after. @___@ lol o3o

Ni hao da jia! Wo de ming zhi shi Miranda. Wo xi huan chi jiao zhi! Wo bu xi huan ni de nu peng you. D:< Xiao mao hao ke ai. <3 >w<

你好大家！我的明知是 Miranda. 我喜欢吃较之！我不喜欢你的奴朋友。D:< 小貌好可爱！<3 >w<

Haha, I just said some random things. o_O

Hello everyone! My name is Miranda. I like to eat dumplings! I don't like your girlfriend. D:< Little cats (kitties) are cute. <3 >w<


I don't know if I wrote dumplings correctly, though..

I think you mean "ming zi" instead of "ming zhi" 名字
Jiao zi: 饺子
奴 means slave xDD;; nü peng you: 女朋友
Chinese is confusing xD;;