[Chinese] Want to learn Chinese? :)

[chanman]

Originally Posted by jchen

There are 3 ways to ask How old are you?:

• Nǐ duō da? 你多大？You can ask anyone this :P This actually means "How big are you?"
• Nǐ duō shǎo suì? 你多少岁？Ask people a little older this.
• Nǐ jǐ suì? 你几岁？You ask people that are very young (under 12 I think) this.

suì (岁) means age.

¿Cuántos años tienes?
Tengo _____ años.

Nǐ duō shǎo suì?
Wǒ ______ suì.


chanman, if you have additional info, please post it ^_^ and tell me if I have my info wrong....:/

你多大? (nǐ duō dà) - This is generally asked to young children. It literally means "How big are you?"
I've always been more under the impression that 你几岁 (ní jǐ suì) and 你多少岁 (nǐ duō shǎo suì) are the same thing, although I would say it is slightly more tactful to say "你多少岁？ (nǐ duō shǎo suì) to adults (even if you are an adult yourself.)
I have also commonly heard:
"你几年出生的？ (ní jǐ nián chū shēng de?) - What year were you born?
This seems to be the most tactful way of asking a person's age. But remember, as in most cultures, it is untactful to ask a woman her age. Just don't do it. Jaja.

[chanman]

Ways to say "I am from":

我在_____出生的
wǒ zài ____ chū shēng de
I was born in ….
Nació en...

我在____ 长大的
wǒ zài ____ zhǎng dà de
I grew up in...
Crecí en...

我住在____
wǒ zhù zài
I live in...
Vivo en...

我从_____来的
wǒ cóng ____ lái de
I am from ….
Soy de....

[Jessica]

ah yes -.- I am not an expert, as you already know.

thanks for the info!!

[lee ying]

both are great persons that I haven´t known *_* You´re good persons and good teachers * _ * 1000 gracias

[lee ying]

ya u can ask a gilr's age like ni fangling duo da * _ *

[chanman]

I've never heard "fangling"...
Are you talking about "nián líng"? 年龄

[chanman]

Two very useful words/Dos palabras muy útil:

这
zhè
This
Este/Esta

那
nà
That
Eso/Esa, Aquel/Aquella

哪
nǎ
Which
Cuál

Derived words/Palabras Derivadas:

这(个)
zhè ge
This (one)
Este (uno)/Esta (una)

那(个)
nà ge
That (one)
Aquel (uno)/Aquella (una)

哪(个)?
nǎ ge
Which (one)?
¿Cuál (uno)?

Note: 个 (ge) is used here, but it is only the most generic of many “counter” words in the Chinese language. In English, there are various words you use to “count” objects, such as a *sheet* of paper, or a *block* of wood. In Chinese, this is taken to a much greater extent, and there may be upwards of one hundred counter words in Chinese. For example, 一本书 (yī běn shū) is a book, and 一棵树 (yī kē shù) is a tree. You would say 这棵树 (zhè kè shù) for “This tree” and 那本书 (nà běn shū) for “That book”.
Aviso: 个 (ge) está usado aquí, pero es sólo una de los posiblemente cientos de las palabras de “cuenta”. En español, hay varias palabras que puedes usar para contar objectos, como una *hoja* de papel, o un bloque de madera. En chino, hay muchas más. Por ejemplo, 一本书 (yī běn shū) es un libro, y 一棵树(yī kē shù) es un árbol.

那些
nà xīe
Those
Aquellos/Aquellas

哪些
nǎ xīe
Which ones?
¿Cuál (unos)?

这些
zhè xīe
These
Estos/estas

[lee ying]

well, I was chatting with someone from china and he told me this sentence. I show him your sentences. but I didn´t know that.. * _ *

[Jessica]

thanks chanman again

[Jessica]

chanman tell the others the difference between shi hou and ji dian (with accents and characters). I already made a post with words about time but if you want you can post it again

[chanman]

时候 (shí hòu) and 几点 (jí diǎn) are both used for time, but there are different idioms for each.

¿Que hora es?
What time is it?
现在几点(了)？
Xiàn zài jí diǎn (le)?

Or simply/O simplemente:

几点了？
Jí diǎn le?
(Less polite; menos cortés)

Only 几点(jí diǎn) is used to ask for the current time.
Sólo 几点 (jí diǎn) es usado para preguntar la hora actual.

When you ask when a future event will happen, you can use either 几点 (jí diǎn) or 时候 (shí hòu).
Cuando preguntas cuando un evento futuro ocurrió, puedes usar 几点 (jí diǎn) o 时候 (shí hóu).

For example/ Por ejemplo:

When are you going to the movie theatre?/¿Cuándo vas al cine?

你几点去电影院？
Nǐ jí diǎn qù diàn yǐng yuàn?

Voy a las nueve./I am going at nine.
我九点去。
Wǒ jíu diǎn qù.

Or/o:

你什么时候去电影院？
Ní shěn me shí hòu qù diàn yǐng yuàn?

Voy la semana proxima./I am going next week.
我下个星期去。
Wǒ xià ge xīng qí qù.

Note: 什么 (shén me) is necessary when时候 (shí hòu) is used in this context
Aviso: 什么 (shén me) es necesario cuando usas 时候 (shí hòu) en este contexto.

The primary difference is that 几点 (jí diǎn) is a question in and of itself, while 时候 is a noun that must be phrased into a question.
La diferencia primaria entre 几点(jí diǎn) y 时候(shí hòu) es que 几点(jí diǎn) es una pregunta en sí mismo, mientras 时候 (shí hòu) es un sustantivo que es usado para hacer una pregunta.

Also, when asking 几点 (jí diǎn), you are asking for a specific time (a number), while 时候 is more general.
También, cuando estás preguntando 几点 (jí diǎn), estás preguntando para una hora especifica, mientras 时候 (shí hòu) es más general.

When talking about things that already happened, unless you are asking for a specific time, you should use 时候。

[Jessica]

thanks! ^_^ I already posted info about time, but yours is more detailed

[lee ying]

I haven't seen this post but
It's something that I was looking for months。
very important information this gonna help us too much special for me. now I'm on vacation I'm going study these senteces with time。 lol I liked it。
how do you say happy bitrthday in chinese?
because last week I made 21 years old.

[Jessica]

zhu (fourth tone one u) ni (3rd on i) sheng (1st on e) ri (4th on i) kuai (4th on i) le (no tone)

Chanman, you can provide the characters. basically, sheng ri means birthday and zhu means wish. Kuai le means happy


And happy late birthday!

[chanman]

祝你生日快乐

zhù nǐ shēng rì kuài lè!

¡Feliz Cumpliaños!

[Jessica]

Originally Posted by chanman

祝你生日快乐

zhù nǐ shēng rì kuài lè!

¡Feliz Cumpliaños!

Feliz cumpleaños ??

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by jchen

Feliz cumpleaños ??

Yes, cumpleaños, with "e"

[chanman]

Oh, oops. I knew that though. Haha.

[Jessica]

that's okay everyone once in a while makes dumb mistakes

[irmamar]

I do a lot, too.

Or I make a lot, better.