3

Usually I end up saying

我并非/不是以中文为母语的人,(...so please forgive my mistakes).

Is there any way to avoid the awkward-seeming "以中文为母语" construction here but still get this point across, without saying something totally different like "I'm a foreigner" - there are other situations where I really do need to be referring to the specific level of Chinese language capability. It's obvious that I'm not, but I still feel the need to say something along these lines for politeness' sake, from time to time.

Improve this question
4
  • 4
    汉语不是我母语/我母语不是汉语。It's true for all languages, the simpler the better.
    – imrek
    Commented Dec 31, 2014 at 19:55
  • it also looks like i can drop the initial "以" according to some quick google searches, e.g. "...中文为母语的人“... does the double "语" ("汉语" and "母语") make it sound weird, though?
    – Master Sparkles
    Commented Dec 31, 2014 at 20:02
  • 1
    @MasterSparkles Unlike in western languages, character/word level repetition in Chinese isn't much of a problem, as long as there is no redundancy in meaning.
    – NS.X.
    Commented Dec 31, 2014 at 20:27
  • that's actually a very good thing to keep in mind. It's hard for that kind of repetition not to sound unwanted. Thank you!
    – Master Sparkles
    Commented Dec 31, 2014 at 20:28

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
3

A rather concise way: "中文不是我母语"

Improve this answer
1

中文 is the language, and we speak in 普通話 (Mandarin), 廣東話 (Cantonese), etc. You'd better say "我的母語不是普通話".

Improve this answer
7
  • 普通话 is not Chinese, that's Mandarin. And Cantonese has also nothing to do with the question, the OP is talking about Chinese in general.
    – imrek
    Commented Jan 2, 2015 at 11:52
  • People won't say "I am not a native American English speaker" or "I am not a native British English speaker" because they sound similar enough to be named commonly as "English" in this context. Chinese is a different story. Mandarin, Cantonese, etc. are called Chinese because they are backed by a common written language. If one merely says "Chinese speaker", we can only guess the spoken "form" by the social context.
    – Henry HO
    Commented Jan 3, 2015 at 1:49
  • Perhaps, but this is not what OP wants to know. Check again.
    – imrek
    Commented Jan 3, 2015 at 9:42
  • One cannot have "Chinese" as mother tongue, unless he/she is (implicitly) referring to spoken forms like Mandarin or Cantonese.
    – Henry HO
    Commented Jan 6, 2015 at 10:28
  • Look, you may be right, but it's irrelevant to the OP.
    – imrek
    Commented Jan 6, 2015 at 10:47
1

If you think you cannot get your meaning across,you can append 我中文说的不太好，请见谅。 or 我不太会说中文。.

Usually, it not necessary, we can simply understand the fact that you are a foreigner from your accent.

Improve this answer
1
  • yup - that's why I was referring to a written context, specifically.:)
    – Master Sparkles
    Commented Jan 21, 2015 at 21:52

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.