How to Improve Your Spoken Chinese

Mandarin is the modern standard Chinese. Beijing phonetics are regarded as the standard pronunciation. It is popular in China mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas Chinese as a common language, an official, teaching, media and other standard. Now let’s see some ways to improve your spoken Chinese.1. Pronunciation should be clear and have cadence. Such as “an & ang”, “en & eng”, “in vs ing”, “z,c,s & zh,ch,sh”  ....2. Following with the tape recorder.  There is a research shows that it's one of the best way to practice mandarin. But learner have to pay attention to methods and follow with the standard one.Because China have many dialects, every place of Chinese people speak mandarin is a little different, so be sure to follow with the standard. And also its a good way to help yourself find your own shortcomings and correct it.3. Develop a good habits to speak mandarin in anywhere and anytime. Sometimes it is much better than deliberate practice. Because the casual remark are the really things you master. So when you are going to talk with people in daily life, please speak mandarin.4. With“news broadcast”or “TV show”to practice We need to seize every opportunity to speak mandarin. For instance,there are a lot of different News channels,Chinese films and TV series. You can choose some you are interested in ,and everyday only need half hour to do it. It could happened in bus,taxi,airport,subway or the night before you go to sleep. Because the main characters in the TV speak Chinese normally are standard. This way is not only can practices listening,and also can learn their mouth. 5. Try your best to correctyour wrong pronunciation. For example ,some foreigners are very difficult to pronounce”r ”,”e”,”ü”....  So the only way you need to do is to imitate the correct sound and repeat it a lot in practice,after you get it then push yourself to keep the right one .   6. Creating a good atmosphere to speak Chinese. A lot of foreigner said every timethey try to speak mandarin with Chinese ,but they always reply it in English. So you have to bring all of you friends ,family or colleagues speak Mandarin.   7. Last point and also is the most important one . You need to be confidence,be not afraid the mistake of grammar or pronunciation.   All of these preparations are very important, but less important than your actions. As the saying goes: "Easier said than done”. If you hope to improve yourself , you'd better talk to others.The more you speak, the faster you improve.If you are ready for these, and speak a lot , I believe that everyone can use the fluent Chinese to communication.

2023-07-25

How to Learn Chinese Pinyin

Chinese pinyin is found in 1958. It is mainly used in standard mandarin phonetics of Chinese characters. It is a tool to help us pronounce and remember character. Chinese pinyin scheme can be traced back to 1906 at the earliest in <<江苏新字典jiānɡsūxīnzìdiǎn>> of Zhu Wenxiong,and《中国音标字书zhōnɡɡuóyīnbiāozìshū》of Liu Mengyang in 1908. All of these Chinese characters scheme to provide the basis for the establishment of Chinese pinyin. Now Let’s see what is “pīnyīn”: Pinyin consist of three parts : initials(声母shēnɡmǔ),finals（韵母yùnmǔ）and tones（声调shēnɡdiào. We call it a syllable. A syllable corresponds to a Chinese character. 1. Initials(声母shēnɡmǔ): it is used in front of “yùnmǔ”. 2. Finals（韵母yùnmǔ）: Following the "initial" is the "final", which can be classified into three types: the simple final(below red word ), compound final (below blue word )and final with a nasal ending(below black word ). 3. Tones（声调shēnɡdiào）: In Chinese,there are 4 tones and a neutral tone . First tone  : it’s a high and flat sound . Second ton : it’s a rising tone,like making a question. Third tone : it’s a comparatively long tone falling first and then going up . Forth tone : it’s a falling tone ,strong and short . The neutral tone : no mark,light and short ,usually at the last syllable of a word or a phrase. Like “māmɑ,bàbɑ...”   Rules of pinyin spelling . 1. When “i,in ,ing and u ”to be a syllables by himself ,”y ”and “w”should be placed before it. For example: yī,yīn,yīnɡ,wū... 2. When finals begin with “i”and “u” to be a syllables by himself ,they should be written as “y” and “w”.For example:yǒu,wéi... 3. When “ü”or finals that begin with “ü” meets the initial “j,q,x,y”,the two dots above ü should be omitted. For example: qù,yuè... 4. “iou,uei,uen”have to written as “iu,ui,un”. 5. The tone symbols have to marked on “a,o,e,i,u,ü”. 6. When the final is a compound one,according to the order “a,o,e,i,u,ü”,for example,if there is an “ a” ,then just above “a” .if not,then see if there is an “o”,and so on .For example : xiǎnɡ,wéi... 7. When the tone symbol is marked above “i”,the dot above “i”should be removed. 8. When “i”and “u”are showed in a same syllable,which final at the end then put the tone on it.For example:duì,diū... 9. Finals “er”to be toether with some other sellable . In written ,“r”directly follows other syllables.      For example , huā---huār. 10. The syllables-dividing marks(’) is used to separate two syllables when the second syllable begin with “a,o,e”. For example: xī’ān. 11. When “z,c,s,zh,ch,sh,r”meet “i”,the “i” is not pronounce.“zi,ci,si,zhi,chi,shi,ri” just keep the original pronunciation.

2024-11-10

The 100 Most Common Chinese Family Names

“百家姓bǎijiāxìnɡ”（ Hundred family names ） is an very famous article about Chinese surnames. According to the literature, it was written in song dynasty. There are 411 surnames in beginning, and then increased to 568 in later stage. It includes 444 single surnames and 124 compound surnames.The order of 《百家姓bǎijiāxìnɡ》is not based on the population actual arrangement , but for easy to read ,study and remember.《百家姓bǎijiāxìnɡ》with《三字经sānzìjīnɡ》、《千字文(qiānzìwén)》 are called “三百千(sānbǎiqiān)” in china .It is children's enlightenment books in ancient China. The origin of Chinese surnames: It was called “Hundred family names”，but it doesn’t mean there are only 100 names in 《百家姓bǎijiāxìnɡ》 。According to the different provenance and characteristic, it can divide into 16 different kinds of surname.1. Ancestral Totem。like: 熊(xiónɡ)、马(mǎ)、牛(niú)、羊(yánɡ) 、龙(lónɡ)  、凤(fènɡ) 、山(shān)  、水(shuǐ)  、花(huā) 、叶(yè)… 2. To the name of the word force ancestors surnames。 In Chunqiuperiod, King Ling of Zhou has a son called”王子年夫(wánɡzǐnìnɡfū)"，His descendants used "年"to be the surname。And some others like: 牧(mù)、终(zhōnɡ)、常(chánɡ)、孔(kǒnɡ)、廉(lián)、乐(lè)、皮(pí)、高(ɡāo)。3.  A fief name to be surname。Such as:宋(sònɡ),赵(zhào)、吴(wú)、郑(zhènɡ)、陈(chén)、卫(wèi)、蒋(jiǎnɡ)、沈(shěn). 4. Job or officialposition 司徒(sītú)is a official's name in Yao and Sun times until to Qin and Han dynasty，and in the same way ,like 司空(sīkōnɡ)、司马(sīmǎ)... 5. Mountains and rivers。6. Place。7. Tribe。Like 呼延(hūyán)、慕容(mùrónɡ)、宇文(yǔwén)、尉迟(yùchí)、万俟(wànsì)。8. The anomalieswhen birth.9. Posthumoustitle10. Change the name toavoid disaster, enemy, taboo, suspicion。Like：桂（ɡuì）、田（tián）.11. Given by Emperor。Like：金（jīn）、刘（liú）、郑（zhènɡ）。12. In quantifier, ranking order and Chinese era as the last name。Like： 万（wàn）、丙（bǐnɡ）。13. Aminority name change into a Han ethnic surname。Like 元 (yuán)。14. The Han ethnicchange into a minority name 。There are a lot Han ethnic people change the surname into minority in Liao, xia, jin and yuan dynasty。15. Some minority family name。16. some family name are very easy to read wrong。Chinese characters have polyphone and dialect change etc.    Like:  “万俟”,pronounce “mòqí”，it has often been mistaken for "wànsì".                “区”，pronounce “ōu”, it has often been mistaken for “qū”. The top 8 Chinese last names in 百家姓bǎijiāxìnɡ .            zhào qián sūn lǐ，zhōu wú zhènɡ wánɡ。               赵 钱 孙 李，   周 吴 郑 王  。 “百家姓bǎijiāxìnɡ” was formed in QianTang region in song dynasty.The emperor’s surname is “赵”，that's why 赵 is in the first one .But every surname is equal, no matter poor, rich, expensive, cheap, and high or low are all the same.“百家姓bǎijiāxìnɡ” used “four word”style to arrange the surnames, everyone has rhyme.It played a huge role to pass on Chinese culture and to understand of the Chinese characters.it is also a very important factor to spread Chinese culture in thousands of year.

2024-03-24

learn Chinese for toddlers

Baby can speak with imitation from birth, but his language development is likely to see until in 6 months. When 6 ~ 9 months ,there may be a voice like "daaa"or "baaa" . After 9 months, may be more combination of pronunciation, such as "ah, ga, ba, ma", etc. Ten months later, he already can call "baba" "mama" very clear.Researches show that when baby is around 2 years old ,that will be in the critical period of language learning. So It is very beneficial to the growth of baby's language If parent can create a good language learning environment for the baby, and taught him languages in correct way. So how to help the toddlers understand the language are become very important to the young parents. There are some tips maybe can help you how to teach your kids understand Chinese in daily life. 1. Read the Chinese books for them. You can go to your local library and buy some Chinese books which are suitable for toddles. Every day read one or two books for them. Maybe in the beginning, they cannot understand anything or impossible to read with you,but with the time goes ,she will follow the direction of your fingers to read some words, and start to put the words together. In addition, the baby also will remember the meaning and pronunciation of words. 2. Buy some toys and games involving language. Every kids will like toys and games . It is a very good way for kids to study the language when they are playing. For example, to buy a toy phone speak Chinese. At the same time, we can adjust the button to translate Chinese into English or other language . Toys are able to speak two or more different language that is becoming a trend of language, that is a ideal method to introduce a new language to children. 3. Play Chinese music.   When the baby are playing or eating,you can play some soft music or language tapes as background music, it is good for teaching baby a new language . Even if sometimes seems to be that the baby didn't really listen, but his mind is to absorb the information in the music. With the passage of time, if you play the tape on a regular basis, you will see the obvious effect, and you will understand how much this way work to teach the baby language. 4. Put the audio language learning tool into the daily life. Even the children are under the age of 1 , they also can accept something intuitive from the audio . They can get some basic vocabulary from talk show or movie , television drama ....when they are listen everyday. 5. Tell the people who take in charge of baby this is an very important period for toddles to learn a language. For example, if you hired a nanny to take care of the baby . So you want to hire a people who can speak fluent Chinese, or other languages you want your baby to learn.  As a young child, the baby's ability to absorb information like a sponge, therefore, in order to teach your baby the language using skills better, you need to find some people who use the language fluently around the baby. Because people around baby will continue to use the language fluently, so the baby for the acquisition of the language will become easier.

2024-12-25

How to remember Chinese characters

It is well known that Chinese characters already had five thousand years history .It is the one of the three oldest character systems in the world and used by the largest number of people. Its invention represents the wisdom of the Chinese nation .And it is the carriers of Chinese culture.In order to help more and more people easy to understand and remember characters.First we have to know the origins,elements and explanations behind the formation of the Chinese Characters.There are a lot of legends about the origins of character.But the famous one is about “Cang Jie” who is worked for a founding hero--- Huángdì. Cang Jie was in charged of a lot of things in that era without any script .Everyday he has to remember and record.So he came up with a way which using rope to record the number. But it has limitations.One day ,he walked in a forest and saw some tracks of animal. He suddenly found inspiration. A footprint represent a beast, why can't I use a symbol to represent what I manage.Then Cang Jie start to create a lot of different symbols like below picture.                         Actually we have a total of 6 kinds of word-formation methods. But there are 4 main ways you have to know it ,it is good for students to understand charterers.   1.Hieroglyphic 象形(xiànɡxínɡ) Using a symbolic symbols to be a word.As below : 2. Self-explanatorycharacters指事(zhǐshì) Using symbolic symbols or a graphic symbols with indicative signs to represent the meaning of word. 3.Semasiography 会意(huìyì) Two or more words combined a new word ,the meaning of new word are also combined by individual words. So the learner can based on the composition of word to understand the meaning and will be more easy to remember it . 4.Phonogram.形声(xínɡshēnɡ) Two or more words combined a new word, a word is responsible for the category of things, another is responsible for the sounds of things. After you get the method of making characters as above .It will be more easy to help you understand the meaning and remember each parts of it.Meanwhile you will find a lot of fun in learning Chinese.But these ways are just auxiliary function.If you want to master Chinese characters accurately , you have to read, write and practice a lot in daily life.

2024-11-13

5 Recommended Chinese Textbooks For Kids

With the economy ‘s development ,China become more and more prosperous and important in this world.It brings more and more foreigners to study Chinese.Believe near future Mandarin will become another popular language in this world .So how to choose a suitable textbook are very important to learner .There are 5 recommend books for kids to study Chinese ,hope it will help you.1.《愉快学汉语---yúkuàixuéhànyǔ》                                                                   This series of textbooks is written by Yew Chung international school of Shanghai.It is suitable for primary and middle school students and is also suitable for advanced the concept of teaching Chinese as a foreign language teaching.This series of textbooks have five copies, each volume with a workbook. The emphasis of each book are different, but all of them balanced the development of listening, speaking, reading and writing.This textbook designed for non-native students to study Chinese language .it can be used as teaching material in school  , also is the first choice for students' self-study. The main features of each book: the first and second volume are focus on listening, speaking and to cultivate language sense.The third volume of continuity,  can cause student’s reading interest, develop a good reading habits.the forth and fifth books will focus to read, write, and master the reading skills, learn how to write.The kids can learn it in a very happy and relaxed mood.It is a good teaching material of learning Chinese. 2.《快乐学汉语---kuàilèxuéhànyǔ》--Happy Chinese It is published by Beijing Language and Culture University . This set of books are teaching Chinese as a whole.In the process of teaching pays attention to listen ,speak, read, and write .The unique of this book are adopted the "communicative approach", and combined the difference between Chinese and indo-European language.There are 20 lessons in this book, each class have text, words, notes, exercises, etc. It is focus to improve the students' ability of oral communication as the main goal. 3.《轻松学中文---qīnɡsōnɡxuézhōnɡwén》--Easy steps to Chinese This book also published by Beijing Language and Culture University .There are 8 books in total and has three different stages:book 1 and 2 are the stage 1,book 3,4,5,6are the stage 2,book 7and 8 are the stage 3.the primary goal of this series books are to help the students establish a solid foundation of vocabulary ,knowledge of Chinese and communication skills through natural and gradual integration of language ,content and cultural elements.4.《体验汉语---tǐyànhànyǔ》--Experiencing Chinese This is a very interesting books,the kids can find a lot of fun during study it .you will learn Chinese pronunciation character ,word and sentence.You also can sing with the teacher and classmate,play games ,and do handicrafts and so on .it is a very special teaching material. 5.《中文---zhōnɡwén》--Mandarin Chinese language               This book was written for overseas Chinese and their kids in 1996 by college of Chinese Language and Culture ,Jinan university .this course materials consist of 48 books ,including 12 text books ,24 exercise books ,and 12 teacher’s reference books . It is really  popular with the overseas Chinese teachers, students and their parents and got a very high praise.If for more detail please check the below website from Jinan university. http：//www.chinaqw.com http：//hwy.jnu.edu.cn The last,hope you will start a new wonderful learning journey with a suitable  textbook.

2024-06-13

中国

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火车站

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医院

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超市

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饭店

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学校

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同事

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告别 Farewell

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预定会议 Book a meeting

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谈论运动 Talking about Sports

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接待客户 Receiving Clients

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电话预约 Making A Telephone Appointment

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同事的问候 Greetings Between Colleagues

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参观工厂 Visiting the Factory

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