Mandarin is a group of Chinese dialects that use as standard pronunciation the dialect of Beijing.
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Why is 有 (yǒu) the only verb that requires 没 while other verbs can use 不?
To negate something, we use 不 (bù) before the verb, such as in this short dialogue:
A: 你是老师吗？ = Are you a teacher?
B: 不是。 = I'm not.
However, the verb 有 (yǒu) is the only one that requires 没 ...
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5answers
522 views
Can native Chinese speakers distinguish tones in songs?
I already have a hard time distinguishing tones in normal speech. This gets significantly worse when I listen to Chinese songs, since the melody masks tones even further.
Yes, I understand that ...
14
votes
6answers
391 views
How polite is too polite?
I've noticed in China that people don't tend to use as many 'polite' words as we do in western languages, like 'please' or 'thank you'. I want to make it clear that I'm not complaining about this; I ...
13
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10answers
4k views
How to describe differences between Cantonese and Mandarin?
When I tell people I speak Cantonese I'm often asked, "What's the difference between that and Mandarin?". This inevitably leads to a very poor explanation that includes references to the differences ...
13
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5answers
395 views
What is a good technique for remembering tones?
I find it a great struggle to try and remember tones for all the new vocab I learn, and aside from gradually picking up tones by listening and talking with native speakers, I can't really remember ...
12
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7answers
3k views
Is it easier to learn Chinese after learning Japanese or vice versa?
For those who speak both Chinese and Japanese, would first learning Chinese make it easier to learn Japanese?
Knowing that Japanese Kanji are derived from Chinese characters, how hard is it to do the ...
12
votes
4answers
200 views
Is this an exception in the use of 的?
I know that, when expressing possessives, we add 的 to the usual personal pronouns, such as 我的.
However, in a question in my grammar textbook I saw:
你爸爸忙吗？ = Is your father busy?
Why not ...
12
votes
2answers
219 views
Tense and use of 了
I struggle a bit to get my head around tense in Mandarin, and in particular when I need to use 了 (le).
Do you have any tips, examples or resources to help me out with this?
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5answers
224 views
How do we know what characters correspond to Chinese names?
Recently I've asked "How do we choose the correct characters for a westerner name?", and now, I'm facing a similar, yet kind of different problem, which I think applies to any westerner or Chinese ...
10
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6answers
273 views
Do all schools in China teach in Standard Chinese (普通话)?
When I went to China, it was apparent that many (sometimes most) people still spoke their local dialects instead of Standard Chinese/Putonghua (also known as "Mandarin" in English). I was told that ...
10
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3answers
199 views
What is the meaning of 当仁不让?
I was browsing the Chinese internet looking for a bank that supports Mac OS when I came across this site. They list a range of different banks under a range of different headings, the first of which ...
9
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5answers
183 views
Why isn't 到 (dào) used in this sentence?
Earlier while chatting, I wrote a sentence and a native speaker told me it was correct. The sentence was:
某天我去北京。= Someday I'll go to Beijing.
(mǒu tiān wǒ qù Běi jīng)
I noticed that no ...
9
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5answers
299 views
How do we choose the correct characters for a westerner name?
Since there are many characters that share a common pronunciation and sometimes also the same tone, how do we properly choose which character best represents our name? Is it totally arbitrary or are ...
9
votes
4answers
543 views
How to pronounce “下载”
How to pronounce the word "下载", "xià zǎi" or "xià zài"？
Most Chinese people pronounce it "xià zǎi", but there are some people insist on pronouncing it "xià zài". There are different also different ...
9
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3answers
208 views
When do the tones change?
Sometimes, in certain combinations of tones or words, the tones change. Where can I find a complete list of all tone changes that occur in Mandarin?
8
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5answers
296 views
Translation for “sorry” as in “I am sorry to hear that”?
In English we can say "sorry" as an abbreviation for "I am sorry to hear that"/"I feel sorry for you" to express sympathy. Is there a Chinese word or phrase that bears the same meaning?
I know one ...
8
votes
4answers
136 views
The question about “很好”
I've read that when asked the simple question 你好吗？ ("how are you?"), answering 我很好 is the standard form, while 我好 is simply not used.
很 means "very", but 我很好 is simply translated as "I'm fine." and ...
8
votes
2answers
261 views
Various ways to say “nice to meet you”
When I first started learning Chinese I knew the in order to say "Nice to meet you" or "Pleased to meet you", I had to use the following expression:
很高兴见到您。
But recently I've come across other ...
8
votes
3answers
208 views
What is the difference between 通常，经常，and 常常？
What is the difference between 通常，经常，and 常常？
I hear them a lot in conversational Chinese, but I can't pick out the difference in meaning. The dictionaries I've checked don't seem to agree on their ...
7
votes
3answers
154 views
Asking “what's the pinyin/character for X?”
How do we ask someone to "translate" a character or some pinyin into the other one? The expressions I'm referring to are:
What's the pinyin for this/that (character)/... ?
What's the ...
7
votes
3answers
185 views
Why are 成语 (idioms) four characters long? Are there 成语 with more or less than four characters?
I really enjoying learning 成语 (chéng yǔ) in Chinese, and I'm curious to know why they are often or always four characters long? Where does this tradition stem from?
And are there 成语 with more or ...
7
votes
2answers
157 views
Why does 有机 as in 有机食品 mean organic?
有 and 机 are some of the first characters we learn in Chinese, but I only recently found out that they mean "organic" when put together. Can anyone explain why this is?
7
votes
3answers
170 views
What is the equivalent of the English word 'Fail' in Mandarin?
Fail is a pretty popular term on the internet these days, and one I'm quite fond of.
Looking in my Chinese dictionary I can't find a great equivalent - is there a good way to say this? What would be ...
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votes
2answers
1k views
What is the exact meaning of 吃豆腐, and where does the expression come from?
I'm not talking about eating tofu, but the expression that means something more like taking advantage of someone. What exactly does 吃豆腐 mean, and where does this expression come from?
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votes
6answers
456 views
Which website/service can give good example sentences in Chinese? [closed]
Often when learning new words, I want to see them in context. It helps my learning process, and understanding how to properly use new vocab makes it stick in my mind that much more.
Does anyone have ...
7
votes
2answers
116 views
Using 一样 instead of 同一 for “the same school”
In my study software, I recently had the following sentence:
我想我们会上一样的学校.
The context (a girl speaking to another girl who had just moved into the neighborhood) made it seem like the correct ...
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votes
5answers
490 views
What software can correct pronunciation?
What software is available which can record my voice and warn me about problems with my pronunciation and tones?
7
votes
2answers
236 views
Academic explanation for rhyming fillers with irrelevant meaning in doggerel
在打油诗、顺口溜、儿歌里经常有纯粹是为了押韵或节拍而插入的和文意无关的词汇。在北方话、传统北京/天津评书相声里尤甚。我想知道在语言学专业里这种情况是怎么解释的，有没有术语或相关资料。
例如北京顺口溜：
嗝屁着凉大海棠，脚不丫子蘸白糖。
里“大海棠”完全是为押韵，无意义；蘸白糖虽然略有意义，但选词十分随机，更多是为了一种插科打诨的效果。
Brief translation:
...
6
votes
3answers
175 views
“Actually” as a sentence-starter of speech filler
When casually speaking English I use the word "actually" a lot when beginning of a sentance, or as part of the flow of my speech. e.g.
Actually, next semester doesn't start for a month.
...
6
votes
5answers
1k views
Tips for pronouncing X vs SH in Mandarin?
I'd like to think my Mandarin pronunciation is generally pretty reasonable, but I often get tripped up with X and SH - for example words like 雪 and 水, or 虾 and 莎. Even with different tones, I find ...
6
votes
1answer
144 views
Meaning of 这么多好吃
I want to get the correct meaning of this sentence:
我恨不得一下子把这么多好吃的都吃完。
I understand this sentence as "I wish to eat up all those delicious things, all at once". I don't fully understand the ...
6
votes
2answers
312 views
What font size for reading simplified characters on screen?
I realize this sounds like a very subjective question, so I will try to ask it very carefully:
I'm learning to speak, read, and write Mandarin. A lot of times (particularly on the web or in e-mail) I ...
6
votes
3answers
151 views
When is the spelling and the pronunciation different?
I noticed that sometimes certain finals in Chinese sound differently when combined with different initials. For e.g., what is spelled "u" sometimes is pronounced "ü". Other times, I think the final ...
6
votes
2answers
267 views
Is there a rule of thumb for distinguishing male and female names in Chinese?
I often get tripped up when reading names of Chinese people, and trying to work out if they are male or female. Is there a good rule of thumb to follow to determine which is which?
6
votes
2answers
131 views
How does foreign word transliteration work in the context of Cantonese vs Mandarin?
If I understand correctly, Cantonese sounds very different from Mandarin, despite being written in the same way (omitting some small differences, which are irrelevant for the question).
If it is the ...
6
votes
2answers
185 views
Are these two form of “I live in…” both correct?
When studying I came across a useful expression to say "I live in..." which is "...在...住" such as in this sentence:
我在意大利住。= I live in Italy.
Wǒ zài Yìdàlì zhù.
But then I saw a different one ...
6
votes
3answers
180 views
了解 vs 明白 vs 知道 - what is the difference, and when should I use each one?
了解, 明白, and 知道 seem to be fairly synonymous in Mandarin, but there does seem to be some subtle differences between them.
What exactly is the difference? When should I use each one? Could you give me ...
5
votes
2answers
104 views
How did 舆论 come to represent Public Opinion?
How did the word 舆论 come to represent the concept of Public Opinion? I know the meanings of the individual characters but I just don't quite see how the combination of these two meanings leads to the ...
5
votes
3answers
134 views
What's the difference between 遇到 and 碰到?
Both 遇到 and 碰到 can be translated to "come across/run into" in those sentences:
遇到大学同学了。
碰到大学同学了。
What's the difference between 遇到 and 碰到?
5
votes
2answers
154 views
我(也)很好 and tone sandhi
What are the (resultant) tones in those sentences, where all the words in isolation have 3rd tone?
我很好。
我也很好。
Reading tone shandhi rules on Wikipedia, there is no explanation about tree or ...
5
votes
1answer
70 views
Role of 在 in this sentence
I was using a text editor in Chinese, when I tried to exit without saving the currently opened file it showed me this sentence:
您要在关闭文件前保存吗？
What is the role of 在 here? Is it related to the ...
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votes
3answers
166 views
How to add emphasis to sentences
Last week a kid wrote on the office white board "Give me all your cheese now!" and I attempted a translation into Chinese (mostly to practice my handwriting). I wrote 马上给我你的奶酪。 I felt like this ...
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votes
2answers
176 views
How can I improve the speed of my spoken Chinese?
I'm currently trying to learn '听妈妈的话' on SingChineseSongs, and I'm having trouble keeping up with the fast parts. I also have trouble trying to speak terribly fast in Mandarin anyway.
Does anyone ...
5
votes
2answers
187 views
Answering yes/no questions
I was a bit surprised at first when I discovered that Chinese doesn't have single words or expressions for "yes" or "no", and that instead we must use the verb from the question to either confirm or ...
5
votes
2answers
85 views
Methods/resources for improving formal/business Chinese?
I'm returning to China early next year to manage a business, and will be dealing with a variety of Chinese clients in that environment.
I want to ensure my formal/business Chinese skills are up to ...
5
votes
1answer
130 views
9 Questions from the movie Red Sorghum (红高粱)
My friend bought me a set of four Zhang Yi Mou movies. I watched Red Sorghum (红高粱) today, and there were a few sentences which, after looking up the meanings, I still couldn't quite understand. I'll ...
5
votes
1answer
96 views
Correct usage for 跟。。。过不去
This question has two parts:
What's the precise meaning of this expression?
What is the correct usage?
Question (1) I understand it to mean that the person referred to (eg, 跟她过不去) is uncomfortable ...
5
votes
2answers
258 views
What is the difference between yǐqián (以前) and zhīqián (之前)?
I'd like to have some way to differentiate between yǐqián (以前) and zhīqián (之前), in order to help with memorising them both. Referring to Modern Mandarin Grammar (Claudia Ross, Routledge 2006), it ...
5
votes
2answers
143 views
Is there a comprehensive list of vocabulary differences between 台湾国语 and 大陆普通话？
I've found many articles about differences in certain sentence structures regarding 台湾国语 and 大陆普通话, but does anyone have a large list of commonly-used vocabulary that are different? I spend a lot of ...
4
votes
4answers
628 views
How to convert from hanyu pinyin to IPA?
Where can I find a table showing the relation between hanyu pinyin spelling and IPA for all phonemes in Mandarin?
