interFood (21-24 November 2012)

繁华闹市 两个孩子牵头骆驼乞讨

http://news.xinhuanet.com/photo/2012-10/08/c_123792885_2.htm

Introducing Yourself--自我介绍

Introducing yourself

In China, when people meet for the first time, they ask about surnames before first names. This shows respect.

nín guì xìng？/ 您 贵 姓

May I know your name?

wǒ jiào ... / 我 叫

My name is ...

nǐ zhù zài nǎ er？/ 你 住 在 哪 儿

Where do you live?

wǒ zhù zài / 我 住 在

I live in ...

... Yīng guó / 英 国

... England

... Wēi ' ěr shì / 威 尔 士

... Wales

... Sū gé lán / 苏 格 兰

... Scotland

... Ai ’ěr lán / 爱 尔 兰

... Ireland

Did you notice that only the names of countries start with a CAPITAL LETTER in pinyin?

Here are a couple of useful phrases you might need if the speaker talks too fast or you don’t catch what they say!

wǒ bù míng bái / 我 不 明 白

I don't understand.

qǐng zài shuō yī biàn / 请 再 说 一 遍

Repeat that, please.

qĭng shuō màn yī diăn er / 请 说 慢 一 点 儿

Slower, please.

Greetings-问候

Greetings

When Chinese people meet each other, if they are of similar age, they shake hands and say:

nǐ hǎo / 你 好

Hello

Children usually bow to elderly people to show politeness and say:

nín hǎo / 您 好

Hello (polite)

You can also say:

zǎo shang hǎo / 早上 好

Good morning / good day

nǐ hǎo ma / 你 好 吗

How are you?

wǒ hěn hǎo / 我 很 好

I’m fine.

wŏ bù shū fu / 我 不 舒 服

I’m not well (literally, comfortable).

nǐ ne / 你 呢

And you?

To say goodbye, you could use:

zài jiàn / 再见

Goodbye

míng tiān jiàn / 明 天 见

See you tomorrow

yí huì er jiàn / 一 会 儿 见

See you later (very soon)

In China, it's important to respect your elders. You'd usually bow to a teacher before speaking to them. You'd also bow to your grandparents and other elderly people.

xiān sheng / 先 生

Mr

nǚ shì / 女 士

Ms

DID YOU KNOW ... if a waiter asks if you'd like more of something, you don't reply 'please' as you would in English but 'thank you'.

xiè xie / 谢 谢

Thanks

Numbers

Numbers 1-10

Numbers are always a useful thing to know - for quantities, measurements, distances; for the time and your age.

yī / 一

one

èr / 二

two

sān / 三

three

sì / 四

four

wǔ / 五

five

liù / 六

six

qī / 七

seven

bā / 八

eight

jiǔ / 九

nine

shí / 十

ten

wǒ qī suì / 我 七 岁

I'm seven years old.

wǒ bā suì / 我 八 岁

I'm eight years old.

Four Tones

Sounds / Phonics

Mandarin is the official language of China. When you listen to Mandarin, you'll hear that there are some sounds that seem unusual to English-speaking ears.

There are two ways of writing Mandarin. One uses letters, which are the same as, or similar to English. This is called PINYIN. The other uses CHARACTERS, which are like pictures made up of lines or STROKES. For example, the PINYIN for 'mother' is mā and the CHARACTER is 妈.

When you are learning Mandarin, PINYIN helps you to say the words, but the goal is to learn to write using the CHARACTERS. Unlike English, in PINYIN, you only use a CAPITAL LETTER for place names, you don't need one at the beginning of a sentence.

Take a look at the PINYIN and CHARACTERS below for some of the 'special' sounds of Mandarin.

Q - qī / 七      seven

(Sounds a bit like 'ch' in 'cheek'. You have to put the tip of your tongue behind your bottom teeth and really push the sound out hard.)

X - xī / 西      west

(This sounds like 'sh' in 'she'. Do the same thing with your tongue as for Q.)

ZH - zhī / 只 (a measure word)

(Try making a sound that's a cross between 'j' in 'joke' and 'dr' in 'draw'.)

C - cí / 词      word

(Think of the 'ts' at the end of 'cats'.)

Z - zĭ / 子       child

(Almost exactly the same as C but stronger, almost like a hiss.)

Did you notice that some of the vowels (a, e, i, o, u) have symbols on top? These are called TONES and they change the sound of the letter AND the word the letter is in.

There are four TONES and a NEUTRAL TONE in Mandarin.

In the FIRST TONE, the symbol is a flat, straight line. The sound is long, like singing a note:

ā ō ē ī ū ǖ    

1st tone

In the SECOND TONE, the symbol is a straight line going up. Make your voice start low and go up at the end:

á ó é í ú ǘ

2nd tone

The symbol goes down, then up in the THIRD TONE. Try to make your voice go as low as it can, then bounce up:

ă ǒ ě ǐ ǔ ǚ

3rd tone

In the FOURTH TONE, the symbol is a straight line going down. Start the word with your voice as high as you can make it and then drop it:

à ò è ì ù ǜ

4th tone

The NEUTRAL TONE doesn't have a symbol and it's short and light.

a o e i u ü

neutral tone

Listen to the words below. They have the same letters, but different TONES:

mā / 妈

mother

má / 麻

linen (cloth)

mǎ / 马

horse

mà / 骂

tell off

 ma / 吗

question particle (a word to make a question)

Did you notice that each word also has a different CHARACTER and meaning? It's really important to get the TONES right or you could end up talking about a horse instead of your mum!

Why Learn Mandarin?

Mandarin is “too hard” to learn, right? Despite this widely-held belief, millions of people are studying Mandarin Chinese as a second language.

But if it’s so hard, why bother to learn Mandarin?

Is Mandarin Difficult?

There is no doubt that written Chinese is difficult to learn – even for the Chinese! But the spoken language is a different kettle of fish.

In many ways, Mandarin Chinese is much easier to learn than European languages. Here are some features which make Mandarin easy:

•    no subject/verb agreement

•    no plurals

•    no conjugations

•    no tenses

•    simple numbering system which is applied to dates and time expressions

•    simple conditional sentences

•    simple prepositions

•     

Why Learn Mandarin?

So Mandarin is easy, but why learn it? The number one reason is that Mandarin Chinese is the most widely-spoken language in the world. Learn to speak Mandarin and you can speak with millions of people around the world. More reasons:

•     Business - Business people who speak Mandarin have a huge advantage in tapping into the Chinese market. It is much easier to develop all-important relationships if you can speak Mandarin.

•     Travel - China and Taiwan offer exciting travel opportunities. Getting around is much easier if you can speak Mandarin.

•     Culture - With thousands of years of history, Chinese culture is endlessly fascinating. Whether your interests are in history, architecture, music, or cuisine, a knowledge of Mandarin will enrich your understanding of Chinese culture.

Chinese Characters

The Chinese writing system is quite a challenge, but this is another reason to learn it! Despite its difficulty, learning to read and write Chinese will give you a lifetime of intellectual stimulation. The real beauty of the language is revealed in the writing. There are thousands of Chinese characters, but they are not randomly constructed. There is a system to their design, and understanding that system makes it much easier to learn new characters.

So take the challenge and learn Mandarin Chinese! It is your ticket to a lifetime of reward.

Learn Mandarin Chinese

•    The Four Tones

•    The Sounds of Mandarin

•    Mandarin Greetings

Reading And Writing Chinese

•    PinYin Romanization

•    Computer Input for Writing Chinese

•    Introduction to Chinese Characters