Can you help translate my name Cao Mỹ Thanh to Chinese?
This is difficult to translate, mainly because modern Vietnamese uses a phonetic writing system based on the Latin alphabet. I suggest you go back and …
Can Chinese speakers distinguish between tones? What is the right tone in a word?
Yes, I think so. I mean, there are Chinese characters or expressions sharing same spellings in alphabet letters, but their tones are different. Let’s use …
What is the distinction between the characters 女 and 妹 in the Chinese language?
Know someone who is a ballerina? Doesn’t she looks like 女？ The description is in the hands of the word for girl. She is the …
Is Chinese really that hard to learn at least spoken Chinese so I can at least talk?
No, it’s not really hard. Here’s how: (1) Ignore the characters (at least until you can speak fluently). 2) Get a grounding in applied linguistics, …
If Mandarin is Northern China’s dialect, then what is the dialect of Southern China?
There are multiple dialects in South China. Strictly speaking, Mandarin is not a dialect. It is a language with multiple dialects. The national language of …
When did China switch traditional Chinese to simplify Chinese and who invented it?
The official standardized simplified word now appeared in 1955 and was implemented in 1956. The purpose is to increase the rate of literacy. Simplified characters …
Should I learn Chinese?
Yes, you should. Why? There are a lot of reasons that apply generally to English speakers. Learning a language like Mandarin represents a significant cognitive …
When was simplified Chinese characters created?
First of all, be patient, and let’s clarify some THINGS. This will help us to understand why there are so many categories, names, or branches …
What does Mandarin sound like to foreigners?
When I was a kid, I associated Chinese with sounds like bing, tong, ting, ching, chung; a bit like playing golf in a room full …
How does it feel to learn Mandarin Chinese outside China by yourself?
It’s hard, yet it’s very satisfying. My first language is Indonesian, which has no similarity at all with Mandarin Chinese. The easiest part is reading …