Is there any language that is harder than Mandarin Chinese, excluding Cantonese?
For adult learners, most languages in the world are harder than Mandarin. The only real challenge when learning Mandarin is tone, and you can get …
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How many Chinese characters am I required to know in order to speak in a sophisticated way?
Characters are for writing, not speaking. I have an acquaintance who is functionally illiterate in Chinese but, according to the Chinese people I’ve asked, he …
Are new Chinese characters still being invented?
Very very rarely. One big problem of inventing new characters nowadays is you cannot type it easily. Different from new English words, which a just …
In Eastern Guangdong, do some Chaoshan people understand some Cantonese language?
The Chaoshan (潮汕) region has its own language, Teochew (or Chiuchow) – which isn’t mutually intelligible with Mandarin or Cantonese, actually I find it closer …
How does China have so many different languages but still call them all “Chinese”?
Again, China in your imagination is China retold from western perspective. Even as someone a Chinese diaspora in eastern hemisphere, who has growing up through …
Why did the ancient Chinese create such a beautiful but difficult writing system?
Chinese writing evolved. It started out as pictures. Sometimes they used images to represent ideas; even in today’s writing, you can see that 大 is …
Why do the Chinese use so many words with the letter “X” pronunciation?
Because of Zhou Youguang and his team. Chinese, of course, has its own script distinct from the Roman alphabet. And like many languages, it uses …
Is Chinese language written one way, and read and spoken in two completely different ways?
Linguists divide Chinese into about ten varieties that are not mutually intelligible, although some count with fewer and some with many more. They are not “dialects”, they …
Do you speak Cantonese? If so, when did you start speaking it and why?
Unfortunately, I do not. I’ve had over three years of Mandarin lessons because I assumed it would enable me to better communicate with Chinese people. …
What would a good Chinese girl name be that’s not too old fashioned that includes either the character 莲 or 雨?
Well, in my humble opinion, these two Chinese characters don’t sound too old-fashioned. 莲 means lotus and its Pinyin is lián. And in a metaphorical …