[Chinese] Want to learn Chinese? :)

[Jessica]

I'm not sure about that. :/ I don't think there's any place that don't use yu. they all use it. and wen too. they are both correct. yu is used most often.

My mom is from Suzhou and my dad is from Binhai

[chanman]

There are a couple instances where the two words are not interchangeable, but they are for the most part.

Just make sure you never say 中语

[adfsdu]

Chinese is a very difficult language to learn. Do you think so?

[Jessica]

meh not really, but then again, I'm Chinese ..... hard for some, but maybe not that hard for others

[chanman]

In terms of grammar needed for basic conversation, not really. As you get more advanced though, it does get difficult because there are many different things you can do, and its hard to know what exactly you can't do.

Pronunciation and writing/reading are, however, difficult for speakers of most languages.

[ceri]

@Planet hopper
Jaja, Cantonese is perhaps one of the most tonal among all Chinese dialects. It has 9 tones and 3 base tone levels!

Originally Posted by Planet hopper

Elaina,
If 4 tones look difficult, try Cantonese (Guangdong hua), it has 7 tones...

@Rusty
Technically speaking, currently there is no so-called 'standard' romanizations among the Chinese-speaking world of the Greater China(Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and other Chinese-speaking regions or overseas Chinese communities).
Pinyin (aka Hanyu Pinyin romanization systems for Mandarin Chinese) is the current standard system used in mainland China and adopted by the Singapore governments, too.
In Taiwan, I think they use Gwoyeu Romatzyh (aka GB, literally "National Language Romanization") or Mandarin Phonetic Symbols II(aka GR 2), but don't know for sure.
In Hong Kong, our official language is actually Cantonese rather than Mandarin, and we mainly use two or three types of romanizations: HK Government Cantonese Romanisation, Jyutping or Standard Cantonese Pinyin.
Among the overseas Chinese speakers, some people, especially the older generations, may still use other systems such as Wade–Giles, or Yale Mandarin(Cantonese).

Originally Posted by Rusty

Thanks for your explanation. We've all wondered, I'm sure, how Peking and Beijing, two radically different 'standard' spellings, could possibly have the same pronunciation. How close is Beijing to the actual pronunciation, and are there tone markers?
I know that hao sounds like how. Does the last syllable of pengyou sound like you (yoo), or is it said like the American pronunciation of yo?

@ Tomisimo
Kinda? Complicated? Those words are two mild, lol!
The measure words are totally daunting. They drove me crazy and they still do...

Originally Posted by Tomisimo

The measure word thing sounds kind of complicated.

@Jessica
Phew, I didn't even manage to finish the whole thread(I really tried). Great work you are doing here, Jessica!~You rock!

[lee ying]

ming tian qi xing ji? =) zui jin hai hao ma? I amtaking chinese class . I am so happy my dream came true .^^ wo shi yi ge xue sheng. wo shi zhong wen xi de xue sheng!!!=) ming tian jian!!! =) I just have 2 weeks having chienese class. but I learnt a lot of thign from you !!!!

[lee ying]

hi, I`d like to learn some verbs =)

[Jessica]

which verbs do you want to know?

[lee ying]

索菲娅
for example: to know, to speak. to go, to look (ka) to eat, take a shower .. so on =)
qing

[lee ying]

jessica =) what´s up ^_ ^ would you mind to traslate those verbs

[lee ying]

hi!! I want to be better in chinese. jessica. help me

[chinitovaliente]

Originally Posted by lee ying

索菲娅
for example: to know, to speak. to go, to look (ka) to eat, take a shower .. so on =)
qing

there are many ways to express these verbs in Chinese depending solely on context.

here is just a basic overview:

to know someone personally
认识
to know of an object or someone informally
知道
speak
讲话 or 说话
to go
去
to look
看 or 瞄
to eat
吃
take a shower
洗澡

there are also many ways to say these things depending on what region of china you are from.

[Apalánter]

I would like to learn Chinese, but I found it difficult. I only know "ni hao" that stupid isn't it?

Me gustaría aprender chino, pero me resultaba difícil. Lo único que sé "ni hao" que tonto no es

想学习中文，但我发现很难。 ：（我只知道“你好”的愚蠢是不是：D值 ( don't think I speak it, I just got this from the translator thing.

[Jessica]

needs to be 我 wo in front of xiang 想

I think 愚蠢 is traditional Chinese, not simplified, but I have to make sure. I also think "的愚蠢是不是" is wrong and has to be something else. I'll ask my mom to double check

there also needs to be 是 (shi) after dan 但

但是 = but

[chanman]

Originally Posted by Jessica

needs to be 我 wo in front of xiang 想

I think 愚蠢 is traditional Chinese, not simplified, but I have to make sure. I also think "的愚蠢是不是" is wrong and has to be something else. I'll ask my mom to double check

there also needs to be 是 (shi) after dan 但

但是 = but

The 是 is unnecessary, especially in colloquial and fast speech.
(WOW, I am reviving an old thread XD)

[VivaEspana]

一话从工头
正好一提星者先生诸渐消矢放
A WORD FROM THE BOSS
Just a reminder, mister Peter Leigh...

Can somebody please edit my poem. Xiexie..

[lee ying]

你好。 我在学习汉语by myself 哈哈 我很高兴。

[ApfelZhu]

I am a Chinses too.
我也是个中国人。

Soy de china.