27
votes
11answers
2k views
Resources for learning Mandarin Chinese
This is a specifically created Community Wiki which gathers resources for learning Mandarin Chinese and it has been approved by the Community itself.
It should be clear that the resources are not ...
7
votes
11answers
513 views
Techniques for learning and retaining characters
For many of us, memorizing characters is a difficult thing. In Chinese, just because you can speak the word doesn't mean you can read it. Just because you can read it doesn't mean you can write it. At ...
9
votes
5answers
301 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
199 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 ...
14
votes
5answers
346 views
How can one determine the radical for a given character?
Many times, when reading Mandarin, I will happen across a character that I don't know. Usually, the radical along with some context will clue me into the meaning, but if I can't determine the ...
12
votes
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 ...
11
votes
5answers
264 views
Number two in chinese: 二 vs 两
I always knew, from my studies of Japanese, that the number two is 二 (èr). I am not sure about the actual etymology, but looking at the character, it's understandable why it represents the number "2".
...
6
votes
1answer
152 views
What are the different kinds of poems in Chinese?
In the question "Are there poems in Chinese that rhyme?", a debate started about what is considered a poem in Chinese.
The texts I presented — 《三字經》 (Three Character Classic), 《百家姓》 (The Hundred ...
9
votes
5answers
420 views
How offensive is 他妈的?
How offensive is the expression 他妈的? What is an English expression with a similar degree of offensiveness? In what situations is this expression appropriate / not appropriate?
7
votes
6answers
133 views
What etymology dictionaries are available?
What dictionaries (online, software-based or in paper form) explain the origins of a word and its evolution over time? E.g. how the character was once written, how the usage – and the meaning – ...
0
votes
3answers
166 views
What are the relative literacy rates in for simplified and traditional characters?
I'm trying to decide whether it would be better to use traditional or simplified characters for an iPhone game I'm making. If something is written in traditional, how many people will be able to read ...
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?
6
votes
3answers
259 views
Why is it written LIU in Pinyin, when there's clearly an O sound?
Does anybody know why this decision was made in Pinyin, about not writing any hint of the sound /O/ in liu, instead of writing something like liou or liow ?
Because the first reaction of any ...
3
votes
2answers
181 views
Is it common for zh/j, ch/q, and sh/x to be merged?
I learned formally that in the standard Beijing accent, zh, ch, and sh are pronounced more in the back in the mouth than j, q, and x. However, I got lazy and speak all six of these consonants in the ...
3
votes
2answers
510 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 ...
2
votes
2answers
182 views
What are some good dictionaries about Mathematics?
I have found a dictionary about Mathematics; however, it goes from Chinese to English. I have tried different bookstores in my city, but they don't have an English to Chinese dictionary.
I have ...
2
votes
2answers
75 views
Translation of “this much and no more”
I found this sentence and its English translation on tatoeba.org:
我知道的就這麼多了。
Beyond this I know nothing.
Now I'm trying to parse the sentence structure, and I'd like some confirmation or a ...
0
votes
1answer
267 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 ...
19
votes
7answers
663 views
Is there a lot of value in learning to write Chinese characters?
I have noticed that a lot of my friends that study Chinese at university spend a lot of their time learning to write Chinese. I would estimate more than 50% of their chinese study time is spent on ...
13
votes
1answer
177 views
What is the difference in use between 以及, 和 and 与?
I have a book with the following lesson titles:
中文以及中国
聚会和饮食
交通与环境
Why are these terms connected with 以及 / 和 / 与, why not always use 和 for example?
Are there any rules for proper use of these ...
13
votes
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 ...
8
votes
2answers
232 views
Using 的 at the end of a sentence
I'm looking for confirmation of the way I'm parsing a sentence with 的 at the end, and I'd appreciate some background or other examples of this usage.
I found this sentence on tatoeba.org:
...
2
votes
3answers
361 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
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
votes
2answers
204 views
Reading handwriting
How can I get better at reading handwriting? Are there fonts that look like it, or web sites with examples for practice? Are there some common shortcuts that people take when writing by hand?
8
votes
6answers
388 views
Are there word games in Chinese?
Do Chinese characters make it a lot harder to create or play word games in Chinese than it is in English? I have seen a few Chinese crosswords, but it seems like they aren't as densely cross-linked as ...
8
votes
2answers
109 views
Are there standard dictionaries for Chinese?
Standard dictionaries have had a profound effect on languages like English. They've helped normalize spelling and pronunciation and provide reference for meanings and disambiguation.
When thinking of ...
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 ...
5
votes
7answers
350 views
What is the difference between using 光 vs using 只?
What is the gramatical difference between 光 and 只?
光剩下2毛钱 does not have the same meaning/context as 只剩下2毛钱
It seems there is more emphasis to the part that comes after 光. When is the right time to ...
4
votes
4answers
151 views
太: Meaning in 灰太狼
灰太狼
灰太狼 (A character in a TV show) is translated in English as "Grey Wolf".
What has happened to the 太, wouldn't 灰狼 be enough to mean "Grey Wolf"?
2
votes
1answer
315 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?
13
votes
4answers
250 views
Where to practice speaking Chinese?
Living in Utah, I find it quite difficult to find places to practice speaking Chinese, especially Cantonese. Apart from accosting people in stores and other public places when I happen to hear them ...
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?
10
votes
6answers
1k views
Why is stroke order important when writing Chinese characters?
I often see people having a big focus on correct stroke order for writing Chinese characters.
My question is, for most learners, is it important to know the stroke order, and if so, why is it ...
7
votes
2answers
151 views
Implications of “旧的不去，新的不来”
I found this idiom while looking for another idiom my friend told me about like 回去回来 or 回来回去. I'm wondering about the implications of 旧的不去，新的不来 though. Can this be used for people who hold onto broken ...
7
votes
6answers
349 views
Do acronyms borrowed from English use neutral tone for all syllables?
I was just reading a Q&A here about Chinese words for DVD and the discussion also included other acronyms from English.
It struck me that nobody wrote the pinyin for any of the terms which made ...
7
votes
5answers
586 views
Why were some letters like Q, X, C, chosen for Pinyin which confuse non-Chinese speakers?
A romanization system is basically a system in which roman (latin) letters are used for languages that use non-roman scripts. This has the obvious benefit that people who can (maybe only) read roman ...
7
votes
1answer
167 views
Rules for saying numbers
I just wondered what are the rules of saying numbers...
For example:
10 = 十
19 = 十九
100 = 一百
1,000 = 一千
10,000 = 一萬
but
119 = 一百一十九
then
110 = 一百一
1,100 = 一千一
11,000 = 一萬一
and then
10,110 = ...
6
votes
2answers
335 views
How will translate “谁让你” into English?
How will translate "谁让你" into English? For example,
我不得不服从你的安排。 谁让你是我的老板呢？
5
votes
2answers
248 views
How did 外国人 become 老外?
From Baidu:
老外，是中国人对国外人的一种俗称，类似与老张、老王、老李之类的称呼。称呼中加“老”显得亲热，比如“老乡”“老表”，称呼你老外，就像称呼老张老李那样，大大咧咧，随便亲切。过去中国人对外国人的称呼都是用在第三人称上，只有“老外”可以用于第二人称。
To translate, it says laowai is a colloquial term for ...
4
votes
5answers
212 views
In this sentence, what is the purpose of 的?
Consider this sentence:
你说的是什么？
I understand that 的 permits creating adjectives, like 我的 would be "my". But here, I can’t see how it works. What is its purpose?
3
votes
2answers
175 views
“If you say so”: Dismissive agreement
I would like to know some ways to agree in a non-committal or dismissive way. For instance, in English, we have:
If you say so.
Is that so? (with a flat intonation)
Really? (flat ...
3
votes
4answers
117 views
Searching for characters by parts
Are there any online or computer dictionaries that allow searching for characters by any sub-part of the character? Occasionally it I see a character the parts of which I can already type. But I ...
1
vote
2answers
145 views
Authoritative source for 一 changing to 4th tone before 1st, 2nd or 3rd
In another users answer http://chinese.stackexchange.com/a/2046/38 they said:
一 is pronounced in the first tone when it stands alone. It is
pronounced in the fourth tone when it precedes a ...
1
vote
1answer
62 views
What computer games provide practice? [closed]
What On-line, for download or for purchase software-based games provide fun language practice for learners of Chinese? What level of learner are they best suited for? What platform do they run on?
9
votes
6answers
340 views
When is it appropriate to address a lady as 先生？
Chairman Mao addressed Soong Ching-ling as 宋庆龄先生. Yang Jiang was also addressed as 杨绛先生 by the public. My dad used to tell me to address some of his female colleagues as 先生 too.
I wonder why a lady ...
9
votes
4answers
287 views
How is 就 (jiù) used?
Pimsleur's Mandarin course teaches "I'm leaving very early tomorrow morning" as:
我明天早上很早就走 (wŏ míngtiān zăoshàng hĕn zăo jiù zŏu)
It says that 就 (jiù) doesn't have a corresponding meaning in ...
8
votes
5answers
2k views
How to say “cool” in Chinese
Basically I am looking for words in common usage which are roughly synonymous with English "cool", "wicked", "awesome", "sweet", and related positive slang adjectives.
I would also like to know how ...
