Mandarin is a group of Chinese dialects that use as standard pronunciation the dialect of Beijing.
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58 views
Politeness in Mandarin
I like to say please sometimes when I want to be polite to someone when asking them for something. Is this customary in Mandarin?
For example, if I wanted to ask for some water, I might ask my ...
2
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3answers
232 views
Why do native speakers often say a character has “no meaning”?
Many times I will know all the characters in a name but one & I'll ask what that one character means. 9 times out of 10 the response is, "That character has no meaning".
While it might be true ...
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2answers
235 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:
...
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2answers
190 views
What is the correct pronunciation of 垃圾?
The word 垃圾 is sometimes pronounced laji, but other times I've seen it pronounced as lese, which pronunciation is deemed to be more correct? Are they both interchangeable?
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0answers
45 views
How to made a good poems in chinese? [closed]
Exactly, i was thinking. How can people in history just randomly merge up several word. It can be a good wellknown poem? Then why now persons can't made it?
Also, i found out a thing. If a person in ...
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1answer
108 views
How would you translate 细腻 into English?
My Chinese coworkers were describing Korean drama TV shows & said that the actors faces are "细腻" xi4ni4. When I look this up in my dictionary, I get 2 definitions "fine & smooth" or ...
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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 ...
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4answers
319 views
Writing Chinese Characters is Sloppy
Since learning Mandarin through Rosetta Stone, Youtube videos, and friends, I've begun to keep a journal of mandarin characters and phrases.
I first draw the character, along with the pinyin and ...
4
votes
3answers
214 views
What's the main difference between 为 and 是?
It seems like both 为 and 是 mean "to be". In which cases is one used but not the other? Is it something like the difference between "estar" and "ser" in Spanish and Portuguese? (In the sense that one ...
2
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1answer
240 views
The origin of 鸡贼
I speak Mandarin Chinese, but it is the first time that I stumbled upon the word 鸡贼. According to 百度百科 (Baidu wiki), it means being stingy. The wiki page also says that it comes from the Beijing ...
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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 ...
4
votes
2answers
199 views
Errors and Unnatural Language in a Translation Challenge
I was recently challenged to translate the following sentence from English into Chinese:
You should stay away from that bar. A friend of mine went there before, and he ended up in the hospital after ...
3
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4answers
267 views
Learning Traditional first with the goal of learning both
I found this in the Mandarin wikibook:
"It is considered easier for people who learn Traditional to read both sets than people who learn Simplified only, but Simplified characters are less ...
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5answers
195 views
What was this online dictionary's name with ancient traditional and simplified characters and etymology?
I once found a Mandarin Chinese dictionary which for each character listed the ancient, the traditional and the simplified Chinese characters. For each it described its meaning and how it developed ...
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2answers
151 views
Advice on Mandarin Chinese passive learning
What are the best Chinese online tv channels with english subtitles for passive Mandarin learning. I find Chinese a rather musical language and would love to watch subbed tv (news, documentaries, ...
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3answers
591 views
Does 危机 really mean both crisis and opportunity?
A lot of people, mostly those who haven't studied Chinese, like to claim something along the lines of
"In Chinese, the word for crisis 危机, also bears the meaning of opportunity."
This is usually ...
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4answers
202 views
Expressing “Fair enough”
The English expression "fair enough" can be used to concede a point in an argument, or acknowledge the other person's position, without expressing complete agreement. To take an example from ...
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1answer
76 views
Difference between 更好 and 比较好?
I'm confused about the difference between 更好 and 比较好. Since both seem to mean "better", how are these used differently? In what cases would you use them?
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2answers
308 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
183 views
Poetic two-character words of the form: Verb + Natural Noun?
I was looking for examples in Mandarin of poetic two-character words. What words have the following form...
Verb + Noun
...where the noun is something that occurs in nature?
The first examples ...
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2answers
298 views
Benefits of Learning a Chinese Dialect in Addition to Standardized Mandarin
Edit: This is now cross-posted to linguistics.
Studies have shown that learning more than one language helps people of all ages learn each one of the languages. For a nice mainstream media piece on ...
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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 ...
4
votes
4answers
162 views
For all I know
There is an expression in English:
"For all I know, ...."
The following clause often has a modal expressing uncertainty or the hypothetical nature of the assertion, like "might", "may", "could", ...
5
votes
1answer
128 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 ...
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7answers
185 views
Learning/remembering Chinese
I lived in China for a few months and picked up quite a bit of Mandarin. Now that I've moved back to the US, I have forgotten the Chinese I knew and spoke while there. Other than actually living where ...
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3answers
165 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
84 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 ...
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votes
2answers
201 views
Language Learning Software That Teaches Mechanics (Not Phrases)
I've tried out various language learning software (Rosetta Stone, Tell Me More, Transparent), and I've been severely disappointed by the fact that not one of them actually teaches you the LANGUAGE, ...
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votes
5answers
294 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 ...
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3answers
122 views
What is the Mandarin equivalent for the Shanghai term for dirty?
In the Shanghai dialect dirty is pronounced something like "o co" with the o pronounced like the "o" in cot and the "c" pronounced like the usual c in pinyin (kinda like an 'ts' sound).
Which ...
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2answers
170 views
Taiwanese Mandarin vs Mainland Mandarin [closed]
A reference request.
Is there any good source of the differences word choice/meaning between Taiwan and Mainland Chinese?
Not asking about Chinese Characters, but usage.
Spain have different ...
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votes
2answers
150 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 ...
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5answers
577 views
Origin of 呆在 vs 待在
Both 呆在 and 待在 are acceptable ways of writing dai1 zai4 meaning "stay at/in". For instance, a couple sentences from iciba:
我们因天气寒冷呆在家里。 Because of the cold weather, we stayed at home.
...
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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 ...
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4answers
223 views
That mystical 就 again
Here is a sentence:
厨房壁炉架上的那面镜子就把哈利吓了一跳
Below are my translation variants. Bold letters should be a 'jiu' english analog here.
The mirror on top of the kitchen's fireplace scared Harry the ...
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2answers
142 views
Ordering food from a menu in a restaurant
How should I order food from a menu in a restaurant?
In English I'd usually say something like 'I'll have the beef' or 'one of these and two of those' while pointing.
In the past in China I have ...
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2answers
168 views
What effective methods exists for visual learners to get Chinese grammar?
I want to learn Chinese grammar (e.g. sentence structure), however, I am a highly visual person and feel a visual learning process would help me the most.
I have already taken a beginner Chinese ...
13
votes
5answers
392 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 ...
1
vote
3answers
228 views
国家 vs. 国, when can 国 be used alone?
In the Chinese book for beginners by Bellassen, it is stated that 国 cannot be used alone: it doesn't have a meaning on its own, and thus the word country/fatherland is 国家 and not 国.
However... I am ...
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2answers
213 views
留学: Why the use of “留”?
I'm sure like many students of Chinese, my first encounter with the character 留 was in the word 留学, meaning "to study abroad".
Some time later I encountered 留 as an independent word, meaning "to ...
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5answers
485 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?
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1answer
123 views
Tone of 竟 and 境 in Mandarin and Cantonese
竟 and 境 are both read ging2 in Cantonese, which usually corresponds to a third tone syllable in Mandarin (as is the case for 警, which is ging2 in Cantonese and jing3 in Mandarin).
However, both of ...
14
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5answers
520 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 ...
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votes
1answer
159 views
How to ask someone to take a photo?
Recently on vacation I wanted to ask a Chinese tourist if they would mind taking a photo of my wife and I - but I didn't know how, so just asked 你可以吗? (nǐ kěyǐ ma?) while pointing to my camera.
How ...
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1answer
116 views
Expressions that have no meaning (什么/来着）
I know that these two expression, in certain circumstances, have no meaning and are optional. I'm trying to figure out how to use them, even though they have no meaning.
什么
This has a meaning, ...
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1answer
71 views
Usage of 感动 (active/passive?)
According to mdbg.net 感动 means both 'to move (emotionally)' and 'moving'.
But from what I understand from some texts I have '邻居们都很感动' implying a more passive meaning for 感动.
Can someone shed some ...
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1answer
103 views
(Literally) Seeing Through Things
Earlier today, I ended up in a discussion which somehow involved people who were (literally) transparent. I was somewhat at a loss for how to say "Can you see through him?".
After some research, I've ...
5
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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
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2answers
256 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 ...
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1answer
201 views
Is the cantonese expression 五福臨門 present in Mandarin too?
A recent question prompted me to look for expressions related to the Chinese New Year and, among them, I found one that particularly stroke me as interesting:
五福臨門 = according to the poster it ...
