Mandarin is a group of Chinese dialects that use as standard pronunciation the dialect of Beijing.
11
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6answers
343 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 ...
4
votes
5answers
200 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 ...
12
votes
7answers
4k 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 ...
7
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?
3
votes
2answers
523 views
Characteristics of Northern and Southern accents
My first language is Cantonese. I learned Mandarin as a second language. Native speakers of Mandarin often understand me with no major issues. Of course, they recognize the Southern accents right ...
0
votes
1answer
273 views
How are the words “engineering” or “engineer” translated in Cantonese? [closed]
I've been looking for the words "engineering" or "engineer" in Cantonese, and also in Mandarin, but less. Most of my family members describe them by their physical expectations, like "they make ...
13
votes
5answers
424 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 ...
2
votes
3answers
407 views
What Chinese podcasts are available to improve my listening skills? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Resources for learning Mandarin Chinese
I'm a big podcast fan, and I think listening to Chinese podcasts would be a great way to improve my listening skills. I enjoy ...
13
votes
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 ...
11
votes
5answers
233 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 ...
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 ...
2
votes
1answer
338 views
What cartoons are available in Chinese? [closed]
To practice my listening and reading, I like to buy cartoons films and TV shows. What cartoons which available with Mandarin pronunciation and suitable for an intermediate student?
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
220 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?
3
votes
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 ...
