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[FrenchVanillaNYC]

I'm using an NJstar IME now, but I was using the one you use now before.

[shiro]

yeah NJStar!!
I'm running Win98 Chinese now, I hate how some programs I have use Ctrl+Shift shortcuts.
Stupid auto-IME........

I really need to start studying Mandarin.
My spoken's coming along fine, but I can't read and write.

[Jasel]

对不起
我来解释一下. I'll explain it.

欢迎 = Welcome
你 = You

恭喜 = Congratulations
安装 = Install
中文 = Chinese
输入法 = IME


I don't understand = 我不懂. wo bu dong.
I haven't learned that yet. = 我还没学过. wo hai mei xue guo.

I thought I don't understand was "wo bu ming bai"?

Or is that just another way of saying it? Because I know dong can mean different things in different contextual situations...

[FrenchVanillaNYC]

^It's a different way of saying it.
Ming bai = understand
Dong = understand

"Wo bu qingchu" = I'm not sure/ I'm not clear...

etc.

[Eclectic Asian]

没关系 is used in response to 对不起, right? but i remember when taken apart (没 and 关系), they have different meanings. my teacher explained them but was talking too fast while i was copying the characters down. and so i ask....

also, i noticed there's lots of contextual situations in chinese....right?? like the 到 when you say "I'm here" during role call and the 道 from 知道.

[FrenchVanillaNYC]

没关系 is like "it doesn't matter" 没 = "There is no/ No" 关系 = "connections", also can be interpreted as "concern", so literally it's "There is no concern".

You can also say 没问题 (No problem) or 没事 (No thing).

[Eclectic Asian]

i need to restrategize my studying....

therefore i ask you french, how did you go about your mastering of mandarin???

i feel like i'm placing too much emphasis on memorizing characters and their meanings and their stroke orders and neglecting grammar. i'm also not getting a lot of verbal practice.

hmmm.....how is balance achieved???

[FrenchVanillaNYC]

Well, you're in the right direction if you can understand each character's fundamental meaning (That's what I was getting into with the grammar thing in the beginning of the thread).

After that, you definitely need to focus on grammar and which characters express what in grammar.

Stroke orders, in the end, aren't nearly as important as meanings and grammar.

[YoGuRtY]

or you could learn to write chinese here.

http://www.formosa-translation.com/chinese/index.shtml

It has most of the words you usually use in your daily life so its quite useful but i think the pronouciation is all wrong.

[shiro]

I don't understand = 我不懂. wo bu dong.

I thought I don't understand was "wo bu ming bai"?

Or is that just another way of saying it? Because I know dong can mean different things in different contextual situations...

懂 means "to understand"
听不懂 is often said when you don't understand something you heard (i.e: someone talking to you)
看不懂 is often said when you don't understand something you read (i.e: 我看不懂中文。)

Sorry, I should write that in pinyin, too.
听不懂 = ting1 bu4 dong3
看不懂 = kan1 bu4 dong3

or you could learn to write chinese here.

http://www.formosa-translation.com/chinese/index.shtml

It has most of the words you usually use in your daily life so its quite useful but i think the pronouciation is all wrong.

Thanks for the link.
Bookmarked.

I don't think the pronunciation's wrong, but tones aren't listed, and the system used is not standard pinyin.
Looks like Taiwanese romanization, to me.

This post has been edited by shiro: Oct 7 2005, 12:19 AM

[freefallz]

"ming bai" has the meaning of being clear and understood.

Wo ming bai
I'm clear on it.
Or
I understand.

This post has been edited by freefallz: Oct 7 2005, 12:10 AM

[Jasel]

If I said

ni yao xian zai qu wu fan ba

how does that translate?

[SantaKlaws]

You want now go lunch.

[Jasel]

I figured it would be closer to

You are going to lunch now

but I was wondering if the particle "ba" at the end made it a suggestion, a command, or would it have to be taken in context and could mean either one.

This post has been edited by Jasel: Oct 9 2005, 12:57 PM

[FrenchVanillaNYC]

Sometimes 吧 is more like the equivalent to "..right?" or "okay?"
Kind of like Japanese "ne" in a way.
So it doesn't always have to be a command/suggestion type thing.

[Jasel]

Ok so if I wanted to turn that sentence into a command what would I have to do?

[FrenchVanillaNYC]

You can say something like "Kuai qu chi wufan ba"
Or even "a" at the end, "la" too.

This post has been edited by FrenchVanillaNYC: Oct 9 2005, 01:15 PM

[Eclectic Asian]

i like your personal romanizations, it helps me pronounce the real pinyin

btw, more questions!

早 means early right?? and 你早 means "good morning" right???

ok let me get a clarification on this. 华人 is for overseas chinese and 中国人 is for chinese living in china correct???

also, my teacher said "了" is very hard for foreigners to understand. why is that?? all i know is that it can't be used by itself and it modifies the tense???

take the phrase 我来晚了。the 了 makes it past tense??? also, the 来 doesn't have to be there right?? since 晚了 works as well right? but then again i think the 来 is needed to emphasize the verb of coming late. "i came late".

argh i'm so confused....help!!!

EDIT: btw, is the top part of 华 supposed to be the human/person radical and seven (七）????

谢谢你!

This post has been edited by Eclectic Asian: Oct 10 2005, 09:48 PM

[FrenchVanillaNYC]

Yep, 早 is "early", so 你早 is "good morning" since you're literally saying "You're (up) early!"

Actually 华人 means Chinese for any kind of Chinese...meaning Taiwanese, HKers, Chinese in China, Chinese in America, just "Chinese". 华侨 (hua2 qiao2) means a Chinese living abroad. 中国人 means a Chinese from China.

了 tends to be hard for foreigners at first because often it's not explained right to begin with. 了 is best described as "already/now" in English although it's not the exact meaning. It expresses a change in something and thus used to mean "-ed" (logically if you did something in the past, it's "already"/a change in something.) Here are some examples:

叶红了. Ye4 hong2 le. = The leaves have turned red. (Gramatically "Leaves red already.")
他透了. = He stole. (Gramatically "He steal already")

我迟到了 Wo3 chi2dao4 le. = I was late. (Gramatically: I am late already.)

I hope you get it.

晚 can be used that way? I thought 晚 was "late" as in evening "late", not tardy "late".

At the top of 华 (simplified from 華) there is a "化" hua4 (to transform). What 化 consists of is a person 人 and not seven 七, but a bi3 匕. 匕 is a person sitting down viewed from the side. So if a person goes from standing up 人 to sitting down 匕, that's a transformation (化).

This post has been edited by FrenchVanillaNYC: Oct 10 2005, 10:10 PM

[Dara]

Hey. Good thread, the first post is especially useful. Thanks for posting that FVNYC.

Does anyone have an audio files on what zh, sh, ch, etc.. sounds like? Cos I don't much difference.

This post has been edited by Dara: Oct 11 2005, 02:31 PM