# Learning Mandarin



## AceHBK (Feb 17, 2008)

Ok since I have just moved to Minnesota I am bored to death when I am not at my ne wjob.  I have decided to take Mandarin lessons with a private tutor.  I am thinking about 4 days a week an hour a day.  I found a lady on craigslist who is only $10/hr for one on one lessons.  If I go 4 hours a week I am hoping to be fluent in a year.  Is that too high of an expectation?

Anyone with any suggestions or hints for a beginner?

Also why is it that you can't find a cantonese teacher?  Is it not as practical of a dialect as Madnarin? Funny thing is that I know some people who prefer Cantonese as opposed to Mandarin.


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## Sukerkin (Feb 17, 2008)

*Ace*, if you're going to commit to this learning process I'd suggest you come over to Japancast and have a peek at this thread here:

http://japancast.ning.com/forum/topic/show?id=1994846:Topic:1504

Esther is fluent in mandarin and cantonese and I'm sure could give you some useful insights.


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## ggg214 (Feb 17, 2008)

AceHBK said:


> Also why is it that you can't find a cantonese teacher? Is it not as practical of a dialect as Madnarin? Funny thing is that I know some people who prefer Cantonese as opposed to Mandarin.


 
it's hard to find a cantonese?i think living in other country, there are more catonese.

some people living in southern china, such as Guang zhou province and Hongkong, speak catonese more fluently. but in other places, few people can understand this dialect. and madnarin is accapted by all chinese.


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 17, 2008)

AceHBK said:


> Ok since I have just moved to Minnesota I am bored to death when I am not at my ne wjob. I have decided to take Mandarin lessons with a private tutor. I am thinking about 4 days a week an hour a day. I found a lady on craigslist who is only $10/hr for one on one lessons. If I go 4 hours a week I am hoping to be fluent in a year. Is that too high of an expectation?
> 
> Anyone with any suggestions or hints for a beginner?
> 
> Also why is it that you can't find a cantonese teacher? Is it not as practical of a dialect as Madnarin? Funny thing is that I know some people who prefer Cantonese as opposed to Mandarin.


 
Fluent in a year, possible, but not easy. IMO your would need to move to China to do that. But you can learn a lot in a year if you study, As a note to be considered literate in Mandarin you need to know about 2000 characters in Cantonese I believe it is 4000 or 6000 not exactly sure but it is considerably more than Mandarin

Cantonese, stay entirely away form Cantonese if you are learning mandarin. Learn Mandarin first and when you are fluent then start learning Cantonese. I tried it a few years back and it completely messed up both.

Mandarin is the official language of China and it is likely wherever you go in China you will find people that speech Mandarin. It is not likely you will find many Cantonese speakers outside of Hong Kong, Guangzhou in China. 

However you will find mainly Cantonese speakers in Many of the Chinatowns in the US but again it is likely they also speech Mandarin.

All Chinese Dialects are tonal and in Mandarin you have 4 and in Cantonese I believe you have 6.

Hints and tips, practice A LOT


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## masherdong (Feb 17, 2008)

Xue hit the nail on the head.


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## AceHBK (Feb 17, 2008)

Thank you for all the useful help you guys.
Sukerkin...I will definately check her out and ask her as well.

I have wanted to take manderine before and tried using Rosetta Stone bu that software was of no help to me at all.  I dont see how a person can learn from using that.  I found the website Chinesepod.com  It looks like a great tool to assist in learning.

Now with time on my hands and the luck of findin a cheap teacher for one on one classes i figured this would be the best time to get started.

Xue...I didnt knw there was so much much in terms of characters.  I am curious to see how this will go.  I really would like to get to the point where I can watch a hong kong movie without the subtitles and generally know what is being said.

People always say chinese and english are two hard languages to learn.  Is english really that difficult?

I will call her up today and try and schedule my first lesson hopefully monday.

I will let you guys know how the first lesson went.


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## Sukerkin (Feb 17, 2008)

As to whether English is difficult, I think it depends on the native language of the learner.  

I was talking with a Greek the other day an he reckoned English was easy to learn.  As that ran counter to what I'd genearlly heard, we talked some more and in fact it turns out that Greek seems to have a fair bit in common with Japanese when it comes to structure and social complexity .

Anyhow, looking forward to hearing how your lessons develop, *Ace*.


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 17, 2008)

There are somewhere around 50000 Characters in Chinese. What most people know and read today are simplified characters which are different in many cases then traditional and can cause some interesting translating issues.

English; When my wife was in high school learning English they assigned the sound of music to assist in learning and my wife is getting me Chinese movies to help me learn too. I have asked for martial arts movies


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## AceHBK (Feb 17, 2008)

Xue Sheng said:


> English; When my wife was in high school learning English they assigned the sound of music to assist in learning and my wife is getting me Chinese movies to help me learn too. I have asked for martial arts movies


 
LOL...I watch a lot of Chinese movies now in order to help me pick up words and phrases.  Funny thing is that it does help some.  Now I just have to make sure that I do change the audio from Cantonese to Mandarin.

Sukerkin....wow, I thought it would have een hard.  I do notice that people from oter countries try to make sure to learn some english.


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## East Winds (Feb 18, 2008)

I've been working with the Pimsleur course for a year now. Not cheap but quite superb. Knew I was making progress when I understood a few words and phrases from Crouching Tiger!!!:shrug: And my local Chinese restaurant (all Mandarin speakers) get a good laugh at my attempts to order, but at least they understand some of what I want.

Keep at it. Its very rewarding

Very best wishes.


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## 007tycoon (Feb 18, 2008)

East Winds said:


> I've been working with the Pimsleur course for a year now. Not cheap but quite superb. Knew I was making progress when I understood a few words and phrases from Crouching Tiger!!!:shrug: And my local Chinese restaurant (all Mandarin speakers) get a good laugh at my attempts to order, but at least they understand some of what I want.
> 
> Keep at it. Its very rewarding
> 
> Very best wishes.


I am using Pimsleur Mandarin, as I have used them for other languages, and they are excellent. Your pronunciation will be excellent in using their products.

Fluent in Mandarin in a year? Forget it. I am moving to Taiwan and I hope to be half-way decent after two years of using and studying the language every day. Remember, true fluency is to be able to read and write the language, as well as speak it.

Here's a great site to check out regarding languages:

http://www.how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/default.asp

Good luck! :ultracool


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## ggg214 (Feb 18, 2008)

shall we open a chinese sub-forum under this forum to practise chinese?
then i can upload CMA articles written in chinese


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## AceHBK (Feb 19, 2008)

007tycoon said:


> I am using Pimsleur Mandarin, as I have used them for other languages, and they are excellent. Your pronunciation will be excellent in using their products.
> 
> Fluent in Mandarin in a year? Forget it. I am moving to Taiwan and I hope to be half-way decent after two years of using and studying the language every day. Remember, true fluency is to be able to read and write the language, as well as speak it.
> 
> ...


 
THanks for the link!
I heard Pimsleur was a good program as well ut I never tried, I choose Rosetta Stone and to me it was a waste.

ggg....that doesnt sound like a bad idea.

Well I got in touch with the teachers and I will start my first class today after work for a hour.  We spoke briefly over the phone and she BARELY speaks any english.  I think she  said that she just moved over here to the U.S. like a year ago.....or she coulda said something else since her english was fairly limited.   
Well looks like it could be immersion for me but I will definately come back to tell you guys how it went.


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 19, 2008)

AceHBK said:


> Well I got in touch with the teachers and I will start my first class today after work for a hour. We spoke briefly over the phone and she BARELY speaks any english. I think she said that she just moved over here to the U.S. like a year ago.....or she coulda said something else since her english was fairly limited.
> Well looks like it could be immersion for me but I will definately come back to tell you guys how it went.


 
This is a good thing to find out; where in China is the teacher from?

There are words in Mandarin that Cantonese speakers, Shanghai dialect speakers, Fujian speakers, etc. cannot pronounce properly. This does not mean that this woman is not a good choice as a teacher it is just good to know.

My teacher (my wife) is from Beijing and that is "Mandarin Central" but there is a Beijing Accent that I am picking up that can at times make it hard for non-Mandarin speakers (other Chinese Dialects) to pick up. This does not mean we cannot communicate just that I something have to try and explain what I am saying.


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## AceHBK (Feb 19, 2008)

Ok you guys, I had my first lesson!!!!
Wow I must say that it is difficult but hopefully if I work hard at it I can improve.  She was a lil impressed with some stuff I knew (thank you hong kong movies...lol)
Oh man the tones are hard to grasp but she has done a great job of showing me of how to use tones when I saw the words.  I do see that this will take a long ime to grasp but im up to it.  Xue...give me a month and hopefully I can have a 45 second conversation on the phone with you.....just dont speak fast!  lol
My teacher is young and very nice.  She just moved to Minnesota about 10 months ago and she is trying to learn english.  It is a lil hard to communicate due to languages but we managed to make it through.

I am rather excited now but I see this will take a lot of time and effort
I am thinking about getting some flash cards to help me remember things.  I will also purchase a tape recorder so I can record her saying the phrases that I learn so that I can hear the correct tones and work on it.
Any suggestions any of you have to help ease things?

lol..it was funny at times b/C she was like "you do very well for a beginner."  I told her tons of chinese movies that I make sure to put into mandarin and read the subtitles I guess helps.

Zai jian!


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## Sukerkin (Feb 19, 2008)

:applause:

Keep at it my good fellow - understanding the language is ever a first step towards understanding the culture so I'm sure that in some subtle ways your linguistic studies will assist your martial.


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 19, 2008)

AceHBK said:


> Xue...give me a month and hopefully I can have a 45 second conversation on the phone with you.....just dont speak fast!


 
My first conversation with my Brother-in-law, by phone consisted of me saying "wo hui shuo yi dian putonghua" to which he responded with (in full spead Beijingren Putonghua, what I was later told by my wife "that's ok try". to which I responded with "Wo shuo de bu hao" to which he responded, as I was later told by my wife, "That's ok give it a try".... Actually I was spent that is all I knew. 

wo hui shuo yi dian putonghua = I speak a little mandarin

Wo shuo de bu hao = I don't speak very well.

Also "Dian" is a good example of my Beijing Accent. I pronounce this (phonetically) Dee-Are



AceHBK said:


> My teacher is young and very nice. She just moved to Minnesota about 10 months ago and she is trying to learn english. It is a lil hard to communicate due to languages but we managed to make it through.
> 
> I am rather excited now but I see this will take a lot of time and effort
> I am thinking about getting some flash cards to help me remember things. I will also purchase a tape recorder so I can record her saying the phrases that I learn so that I can hear the correct tones and work on it.
> ...


 
Cool 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 that is good to hear, but you need to use it a lot. I learn some, don't get a chance to use it and then forget more and go back and learn again. And I too think Pimsleur's program is pretty good, you won't be conversational but you will be able to get by.

And a good friend of mine from Hong Kong Highly recommends Pimsleur Cantonese, that is what she bought her husband and he can now speak to her family between the CDs and her help.

Here is a god one to know in China, forgive me if I get the Pinyin wrong on this one but I beleive it is mei yo chen = I have no money. It gets rid of the high pressure vendors VERY fast


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## AceHBK (Feb 20, 2008)

Sukerkin said:


> :applause:
> 
> Keep at it my good fellow - understanding the language is ever a first step towards understanding the culture so I'm sure that in some subtle ways your linguistic studies will assist your martial.


 
Thanks and that is very true.  Once you start learning the language then it is good to take the time to learn the culture as well.  It is funny how when you learn a new language you spend time learning the culture and everything else.


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## AceHBK (Feb 20, 2008)

Xue Sheng said:


> My first conversation with my Brother-in-law, by phone consisted of me saying "wo hui shuo yi dian putonghua" to which he responded with (in full spead Beijingren Putonghua, what I was later told by my wife "that's ok try". to which I responded with "Wo shuo de bu hao" to which he responded, as I was later told by my wife, "That's ok give it a try".... Actually I was spent that is all I knew.
> 
> wo hui shuo yi dian putonghua = I speak a little mandarin
> 
> ...


 
lol...it amazes me how fast they speak.  The speed seems faster than some people speaking spanish.  But I guess it is like someone from the south for the first time listening to a new yorker speak.
Since you all have mentioned Pimsleur I guess I need to check it out.

LMAO!!  I will make sure to record that saying to memory!


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## ggg214 (Feb 20, 2008)

Xue Sheng: 
Ni3 hen3 you3 yi4 si1=you are interesting!


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 20, 2008)

AceHBK said:


> ...it amazes me how fast they speak.


 
That's nothing; wait till you hear how family speaks to family. If we put a Miles Per Hour mark on it and say the average Mandarin Speaker in Beijing speaks at say 60mph, my wife and her sister speak at 130mph. Although my Brother-in-law speaks a bit slower, say 90 to 100mph.

It is just a blur of Mandarin that I pick up little or none of... They slow it down for the meiguoren 

It is my understanding, and from the conversations I have heard, Cantonese is faster. 


Oh another good one to know "shenme" = what (shen-ma)

and 

"Wo Shou de bu hao" = I don't understand what you are saying. (whoa sho-wa de boo how) 

These have ALWAYS helped me and I am VERY good at these type things in Mandarin :uhyeah:


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 20, 2008)

Xue Sheng said:


> "Wo Shou de bu hao" = I don't understand what you are saying. (whoa sho-wa de boo how)


 
:duh: OOPS Sorry that is wrong, it's a good one to know though but I translated it wrong

Wo Shou de bu hao = I do not speak very well

Wo bu ming bai nie shou shenme = I do not understand what you are saying



Xue Sheng said:


> I am VERY good at these type things in Mandarin


 
Obviously not as good as I thought. :duh:

Sorry about that :asian:


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 21, 2008)

You may be interested in these to help with your Mandarin Studies

Mandarin Book

Sun Houzi - Sun Wukong - Monkey King Cartoon in Mandarin


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