Good ways to learn Chinese?

[gopunk]

well i don't want to discourage you too much, since the more people that learn chinese the better

it comes down to this... if you are willing to bust your ass trying to learn it for a few years, you will probably sound really close to normal as far as chinese goes. but, that is a pretty big committment if you ask me.

and in the helping spirit of AT, i leave you with a few words...

xie xie - thank you
nee hao - hello

 

[gopunk]

In addition, why learn Cantonese? IMHO, Cantonese is losing popularity. Almost every Chinese person understands Mandarin...but Cantonese....eh....uh....um....not that many people speak Cantonese.

a.) cantonese sounds cooler (i only know how to speak mandarin, but cantonese just sounds cooler)
b.) plenty of people speak cantonese. southern china and hong kong for example.
c.) cantonese is the "original" chinese, just a bit of trivia for ya

 

[Ionizer86]

c.) cantonese is the "original" chinese, just a bit of trivia for ya

Gopunk, very interesting. I didn't know that at all...But still, a lot more people use Mandarin. The majority of the Chinese population speak Mandarin and their local dialect.

 

[Jfur]

<< i know known... not even a word of chinese >>



when I was 16 my Mom taught me how to say "Would you like some little dried testicles?" and sent me to ask that to several older, conservative relatives at a banquet. She told me it meant something else, something innocuous. I've been too traumatized since that time to learn much...

 

[pookguy88]

<< c.) cantonese is the "original" chinese, just a bit of trivia for ya >>



it is??
i thought mandarin was the original?
i have heard that cantonese has the most slang though...

 

[chuckieland]

the trick is pratice more
speak often
because chinese is a hard language
it's a lanugage of art

 

[Uclagamer_99]

hmm if cantonese is og chinese why do more people speak mandarin

 

[EvilYoda]

I really don't think Cantonese sounds better........I just met a girl over the weekend who is from northern china, so she has the traditionally "thicker" tone of speaking (accent?), but if you speak a Taiwanese Mandarin (sounds oxymoronic, doesn't it), I think it sounds much better than Cantonese......more civilized, refined, not as many guttural/nasal sounds.
Just my opinion, having just come back from Toronto where the majority of both Chinatowns speak Cantonese.

krwell, as for your situation, if you think you're really going to have problems with her parents just cuz you aren't Chinese, speaking it might sway them a bit, but at the same time, it might just be a novelty act to them. The best way would probably to learn from someone one-on-one, like someone else mentioned earlier. I don't envy your situation, Chinese isn't easy to learn. rather, it's f*cking hard. good luck nonetheless however.

 

[RoninRXN]

I'm Chinese...and like pillage2001 said...you'd be surprised how many of us speak perfect English along with our native tongues. I'm not majoring in English...nor would I ever want to. English lectures are boring as hell...

Anyways, <hands krwell a book "So You Decided To Hook Up With Chinese Girls>...

Dude, if you don't know any Chinese languages and you gotta meet her parents soon...give it up. It's impossible for a guy our age to learn a language well in that kind of timeframe.

HOWEVER...and listen up now...you do NOT need to speak to her parents in Chinese. Hear me out on this one. Just have the girl translate back and forth. However, this does not mean you don't learn anyways. Learn VERY basic sayings such as:

English: How are you?
Mandarin: Nee How Ma?
Cantonese: Lay Hoa Ma?

English: Thank you.
Mandarin: Shea Shea (or shea shea nee)
Cantonese: Doah Zhea or Umm Goy

Stuff like that. You don't have to be able to read them the teachings of Confucius but Chinese parents will be impressed that you at least took the effort to learn a few common phrases. If anything, if you learned the entire language, I'd think that would be quite a bit of ass kissing. Have your gf prompt you to say stuff that you learn.

Also...as for Cantonese sounding better...it does on some levels because the phonetics are more defined. Mandarin definetely sounds better in singing though.

Good luck, white boy!

 

[Kermy]

Ok, my parents are chinese, my whole family is chinese, I can speak ok chinese but the language is tough sh!t. I took 5 year sof saturday chinese school and I didn't learn one thing other than how to write I, You, Big, and Person. That's it. Save your time and do something else. Put your efforts into making more money, a better way to winning asian parents over.

 

[gopunk]

<<

<< c.) cantonese is the "original" chinese, just a bit of trivia for ya >>



it is??
i thought mandarin was the original?
i have heard that cantonese has the most slang though... >>



originally, the people in southern china (the majority of them there now) were in northern - central china. then these dudes from manchuria invaded, pushed them down south. invader language + cantonese = mandarin.

 

[gopunk]

I really don't think Cantonese sounds better........I just met a girl over the weekend who is from northern china, so she has the traditionally "thicker" tone of speaking (accent?), but if you speak a Taiwanese Mandarin (sounds oxymoronic, doesn't it), I think it sounds much better than Cantonese......more civilized, refined, not as many guttural/nasal sounds.
Just my opinion, having just come back from Toronto where the majority of both Chinatowns speak Cantonese.

it's the same in seattle china town. i never said it sounded more refined or anything like that, just that it sounds cooler. it's spoken with more gusto, if you will.

 

[Jzero]

<< hmm if cantonese is og chinese why do more people speak mandarin >>


Why do more people speak English than German?
Or Latin as opposed to any other Romance language?

Just one of those things...

 

[gopunk]

<< hmm if cantonese is og chinese why do more people speak mandarin >>



two reasons afaik, the first is that the han are pretty much the dominant people in china. second is that mandarin is the official language of china, not cantonese.

 

[PsychoAndy]

<<
English: How are you?
Mandarin: Nee How Ma?
Cantonese: Lay Hoa Ma?

English: Thank you.
Mandarin: Shea Shea (or shea shea nee)
Cantonese: Doah Zhea or Umm Goy

Also...as for Cantonese sounding better...it does on some levels because the phonetics are more defined. Mandarin definetely sounds better in singing though. >>



BTW, Mmm goi reflects a saying thanks for a favor, ie: thanks for giving me a ride to autozone

Something like daw jehh would be more appropriate for "hung bao" (If they like you you'll figure this out REAL soon!!!!!)

 

[gopunk]

Also...as for Cantonese sounding better...it does on some levels because the phonetics are more defined. Mandarin definetely sounds better in singing though.

eh, i dunno, i heard two versions of the leon lai song that was on that flash video earlier, and i liked the cantonese one better. it could be because it's leon lai's native language, but i think it just sounds more... "wei feng".


the few bits of cantonese i know:

1 = yat
2 = ye
3 = san
4 = se

 

[OS]

<< when I was 16 my Mom taught me how to say "Would you like some little dried testicles?" and sent me to ask that to several older, conservative relatives at a banquet. She told me it meant something else, something innocuous. I've been too traumatized since that time to learn much... >>



You have a chinese heritage jfur? I always figured you were white for some reason.

 

[bandXtrb]

Ni hau ma? Wo hen hau

Tsai Jien !!

 

[PsychoAndy]

<<


the few bits of cantonese i know:

1 = yat
2 = ye
3 = san
4 = se >>



5= oom
6=look
7=tsut
8=baht
9=guow
10=sup
11=sup yut
12=sup yee
13=sup sam
14=sup se
15=sup oom
16=sup look
17=sup tsut
18=sup baht
19=sup guow

thats all i can VAGUELY remember.....correct me if i'm wrong

 

[gopunk]

<<

<< when I was 16 my Mom taught me how to say "Would you like some little dried testicles?" and sent me to ask that to several older, conservative relatives at a banquet. She told me it meant something else, something innocuous. I've been too traumatized since that time to learn much... >>



You have a chinese heritage jfur? I always figured you were white for some reason. >>



omg! i had no idea too! i thought you were a round eye! are both your parents chinese?

 

[Anghang]

mandarin sounds better, but cantonese is easier to learn being that its pronounciations are sharper...duno if that makes sense...hehe

vulgarity and slang in cantonese sounds a lot harsher than in mandarin tho...especially when your yelling...hehe

all IMHO...

 

[bandXtrb]

Wait, if "Shea shea" is "Thank you," then what is "Tsai Jiyen"?

 

[pillage2001]

<< Wait, if "Shea shea" is "Thank you," then what is "Tsai Jiyen"? >>



Means. bye byeeeeeeeeeeee

 

[bandXtrb]

<< Means. bye byeeeeeeeeeeee >>



oh, okay. THis I remember from 7th grade language "introduction" class.

The teacher gave us mooncake and we threw it at each other. People said I smelled like "shea shea"

 

[RoninRXN]

<< Also...as for Cantonese sounding better...it does on some levels because the phonetics are more defined. Mandarin definetely sounds better in singing though.

eh, i dunno, i heard two versions of the leon lai song that was on that flash video earlier, and i liked the cantonese one better. it could be because it's leon lai's native language, but i think it just sounds more... "wei feng". >>



I agree. Leon sounds better in Cantonese but in general, I like Mandarin music better. You know of Jay Chow, Tension, etc, right?