Old Fashioned Bound Dictionaries - fpr the nostalgic and everyone who is a serious Chinese student
For all of you old enough to remember thumbing through a dictionary to find a word, here are some recommendations. As an adult learning Chinese (or if you have a teen or college student) you should have two dictionaries in your home library. One comprehensive Traditional Chinese and one Simplified Chinese dictionary.
The BEST Traditional dictionary I have used is the Far East 遠東 published by the Far East Book Company of Taiwan. My current favorite is the English-Chinese/Chinese-English version 2 in 1 dictionary. I like having a comprehensive Traditional Character dictionary I can use to look up a Chinese or English dictionary at my fingertips in one book. This dictionary has never failed. If you can't find a character in this dictionary, it is likely a very very old word. In the newer Far East Dictionary versions you can look up a Chinese character 2-4 ways - by stroke number and radical, by radical and stroke number and by pronunciation (zhuyinfuhao aka bopomofo, or by pinyin). No matter where you live or what you study, there will be a day when you need to look up a traditional character. Buy one fabulous traditional dictionary and use it forever. I am still using my first Far East dictionary I purchased 25+ years ago in Taiwan.
For Simplified dictionaries, the obvious choice is the Xinhua Dictionary. I currently have a 2000 edition with English translation. It enables lookup by pinyin and radical/stroke count. It is organized alphabetically by pinyin allowing for browsing based on pronunciation. I like that this version includes traditional variants and zhuyinfuhao pronunciation systems along with pinyin. There is something for everyone here.
I own but no longer use the Oxford Concise dictionary. Although my 2nd edition contains fairly up to date vocabulary, I haven't opened it in years. It simply is neither convenient nor comprehensive. When I really need to find a word, I turn to an electronic dictionary and when I can't find it there, I pull out the Far East Dictionary.
Electronic Dictionaries - the Good and the Great!
Android Users - I LOVE Hanping Pro. It is a very very GOOD electronic dictionary. This was my first dictionary on my Android phone and I've found the paid Pro version to be worth every penny. You can get it for free and it is still wonderful, but it is better in the paid version. Now, before you download this dictionary, read about Pleco below. Hanping Pro lets you set your preferences to Traditional or Simplified, Pinyin or Zhuyinfuhao, keeps a list of your most recent words looked up, has audio if you want, includes Idioms 成語, lets you input English, pinyin, handwriting or speech without the need to have additional keyboard input languages installed on your device. If you are new to Android, you must download and install additional input languages - they don't come pre-loaded as on an Apple device. I tested the speech input and found it to be weak when speaking Chinese, but fine for English.
Best Electronic Dictionary - the Great
Pleco is absolutely fabulous. It runs on Android and Mac devices (Ipad/Iphone/Ipod). Pleco is a free dictionary with many many paid extension to choose from. I have been teaching my students to use Pleco and highly recommend the paid handwriting input extension. It tracks your handwriting stroke by stroke updating selections as you write the character. I have not experimented sufficiently with it yet, but initial testing with two 10 year old intermediate students has been highly satisfactory.
I have the benefit of having both Android and Ipad/Ipod devices in the house and like to switch between both platforms and programs - Hanping and Pleco. I'll be focusing on Pleco more intensely over the summer as the kids I work with are primarily Iphone/Ipad/Ipod device users.
For Cantonese & Mandarin speakers/students using Ipad/Ipod/Iphone devices - a student of mine strongly recommends Qingwen. This dictionary allows the user to hear and input Cantonese and Mandarin pronunciation.
Recommendation - download both free versions if you are an Android user - give them a good trial then choose which one you want to add and pay for extensions with.
Children's Dictionaries:
I have not seen any electronic children's Chinese dictionaries so I will ONLY comment on the bound book versions I personally own.
Favorite 2: Usborne's First Thousand Words in Chinese and Times 500 Chinese Words for Children. Truth be told, these aren't really dictionaries. They are thematic picture books with illustrations, simplified Chinese and pinyin. When you want to cover one particular topic such as the kitchen, they provide one stop shopping. There is some but not 100% overlap between these two volumes so I recommend both.
Good Supplemental Book: Another volume to consider if you can find it is the Mandarin Picture Word Book by Ling Li and Barbara Steadman. This is more coloring book than illustrated picture dictionary. It makes a nice supplement to the two children's dictionaries listed above. I don't like the very busy black and white line drawings. I don't find them to be appealing to kids in any way. I do find them to be incredibly useful to parents who want to get a quick list of relevant vocabulary they can use with characters and pinyin. Again, this version only includes simplified characters.
I'll feature a list of Radical Books in an upcoming post. Radicals are what you really need to focus on when starting Chinese, no matter what your age.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Children's Audio Books for Ipad
For the last 6 months, I've been following the 5Q Channel. This innovative resource offers audio Ebooks for Ipad and Iphone. Books are available in Traditional, Simplified, with Zhuyinfuhao or pinyin. The content is suitable for children/students at the ACTFL Novice High to Intermediate High levels.
The animation is charming an the content features traditional Chinese folktales, Idiom stories and children's stories from other cultures. Each story is ranked by level (level 1 is suitable for ACTFL Novice High or Intermediate Low) and age. Note: these stories do require a base in Chinese. If you are unfamiliar with the ACTFL (American Council for Teachers of Foreign Language levels, you can read the proficiency level definitions here: ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines.
In a nutshell, a student at the Novice High level is one who has mastered memorized vocabulary, is beginning to "create with language" but cannot sustain conversations beyond predictable social situations. Students at the Intermediate level are able to begin creating with language - or utilize vocabulary to talk about topics they do not yet possess specific vocabulary for. This is a fancy way of saying the student can talk around a topic where they lack specific or appropriate vocabulary. They create rather than utilized memorized words and phrases.
Strengths:
a. Appropriate content for young children
b. Great audio that is easy to listen and understand
c. Engaging illustrations
d. Cost is fabulous - US$ .99-2.99 per book (higher priced books are sets of 4-6 books)
e. New content is added frequently giving you ample opportunity to build an E Library.
f. Content contains cultural depth presenting an excellent opportunity to study Chinese culture through reading.
g. This is the best Chinese Children's EBook site in the Apple IStore at this time. Highly recommended.
Weaknesses:
a. Students/children must have a strong base in Chinese to use these Audio Ebooks - Novice High or better. This is not a product for absolute beginners but IS suitable for children in native speaking homes.
b. Not all books are available in both Traditional or Simplified Chinese.
c. Not all books are available with Zhuyinfuhao (bopomofo) for those who prefer this to Pinyin.
d. If you do not know the vocabulary, you must look it up in a dictionary - the applications lack built-in tappable dictionary functions or comprehensive vocabulary lists in the back of each EBook.
5 Q Ipad & Iphone apps
or visit them in the IStore.
Happy reading!
The animation is charming an the content features traditional Chinese folktales, Idiom stories and children's stories from other cultures. Each story is ranked by level (level 1 is suitable for ACTFL Novice High or Intermediate Low) and age. Note: these stories do require a base in Chinese. If you are unfamiliar with the ACTFL (American Council for Teachers of Foreign Language levels, you can read the proficiency level definitions here: ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines.
In a nutshell, a student at the Novice High level is one who has mastered memorized vocabulary, is beginning to "create with language" but cannot sustain conversations beyond predictable social situations. Students at the Intermediate level are able to begin creating with language - or utilize vocabulary to talk about topics they do not yet possess specific vocabulary for. This is a fancy way of saying the student can talk around a topic where they lack specific or appropriate vocabulary. They create rather than utilized memorized words and phrases.
Strengths:
a. Appropriate content for young children
b. Great audio that is easy to listen and understand
c. Engaging illustrations
d. Cost is fabulous - US$ .99-2.99 per book (higher priced books are sets of 4-6 books)
e. New content is added frequently giving you ample opportunity to build an E Library.
f. Content contains cultural depth presenting an excellent opportunity to study Chinese culture through reading.
g. This is the best Chinese Children's EBook site in the Apple IStore at this time. Highly recommended.
Weaknesses:
a. Students/children must have a strong base in Chinese to use these Audio Ebooks - Novice High or better. This is not a product for absolute beginners but IS suitable for children in native speaking homes.
b. Not all books are available in both Traditional or Simplified Chinese.
c. Not all books are available with Zhuyinfuhao (bopomofo) for those who prefer this to Pinyin.
d. If you do not know the vocabulary, you must look it up in a dictionary - the applications lack built-in tappable dictionary functions or comprehensive vocabulary lists in the back of each EBook.
5 Q Ipad & Iphone apps
or visit them in the IStore.
Happy reading!
A Great Resource for Older & more Advanced Learners
It is so rare to find a great resource for intermediate and advanced students working on reading skills, I wanted to deviate from the theme and recommend this new product. Decipher Chinese Reader is a new and excellent resource.
http://www.decipherchinese.com/
Currently available in full version for Android devices and in a trial version on the I Store, it offers reading content for HSK (the mainland Chinese proficiency exam) levels 3-5 divided into three separate applications. The Beginner level contains 50 articles at the HSK level 2/3. The Intermediate level features articles at HSK level 4 and Advanced has content at the HSK level 5.
What makes this product unique? Each article has a built-in finger tap dictionary/pinyin feature allowing you to get assistance for words you do not know. The reader can save their progress or mark an article as read. In the Save Progress mode, you can maintain the "tapped" words with pinyin visible for the next time you review the article.
Weaknesses:
a. The product only provides articles in Simplified Chinese.
b. You cannot create a vocabulary list or flash card set of the unfamiliar words.
c. This is not a product geared for young children (I'll recommend an excellent source of Ipad Chinese Children's audio books in a separate post). The articles are not selected for young children and may contain content the is unsuitable for children.
Strengths:
a. Interesting articles geared for adults or teens divided by clearly defined levels associated with a recognized Chinese standard for measuring proficiency (HSK).
b. The application is mobile. It works on Android phones/tablets and will soon work in the full version on Ipad and Ipod allowing the student to study whenever or wherever.
c. Finally something for advanced learners!!!!!!
I have only been using the application for a couple days working my way from the beginning through advanced levels and so far I love it.
http://www.decipherchinese.com/
Currently available in full version for Android devices and in a trial version on the I Store, it offers reading content for HSK (the mainland Chinese proficiency exam) levels 3-5 divided into three separate applications. The Beginner level contains 50 articles at the HSK level 2/3. The Intermediate level features articles at HSK level 4 and Advanced has content at the HSK level 5.
What makes this product unique? Each article has a built-in finger tap dictionary/pinyin feature allowing you to get assistance for words you do not know. The reader can save their progress or mark an article as read. In the Save Progress mode, you can maintain the "tapped" words with pinyin visible for the next time you review the article.
Weaknesses:
a. The product only provides articles in Simplified Chinese.
b. You cannot create a vocabulary list or flash card set of the unfamiliar words.
c. This is not a product geared for young children (I'll recommend an excellent source of Ipad Chinese Children's audio books in a separate post). The articles are not selected for young children and may contain content the is unsuitable for children.
Strengths:
a. Interesting articles geared for adults or teens divided by clearly defined levels associated with a recognized Chinese standard for measuring proficiency (HSK).
b. The application is mobile. It works on Android phones/tablets and will soon work in the full version on Ipad and Ipod allowing the student to study whenever or wherever.
c. Finally something for advanced learners!!!!!!
I have only been using the application for a couple days working my way from the beginning through advanced levels and so far I love it.
Important series on how to study Mandarin
For all of you studying Chinese, teaching your children, or just wondering how to get started, the following series is for you. It outlines practical strategies for pursuing language learning based on RESEARCH. If you are unfamiliar with Dr. Stephen Krashen, please take a few minutes to Google him. A great place to start is this article in the Washington Post about comprehensible input. What is comprehensible input you ask, excellent question.
"The results of studies done over the last few decades by a wide variety of researchers and published in scientific journals support this view: We do not master languages by hard study and memorization, or by producing it. Rather, we acquire language when we understand what people tell us and what we read, when we get “comprehensible input.” As we get comprehensible input through listening and reading, we acquire (or “absorb”) the grammar and vocabulary of the second language." (Stephen Krashen Washintgon Post The Right and Wrong Way to learn a Foreign Language 6/16/12)
In other words - context matters. Vocabulary lists, flash cards, books, and videos that present vocabulary in isolation fail to provide the critical context for language learning. If your child is learning to count or name animals in Chinese, what can they do with that information? Vocabulary in isolation is not useful to the learner, no matter how old or young they are. But, selecting appropriate materials for the age and language level of the learner is not easy. Our previous posts "Why Authentic Content is Best at Any Level" and "Learn Mandarin with Chinese Teletubbies" address this issue.
I highly recommend this series of articles on how to increase your listening practice and identify appropriate content for that practice.
Articles in this series
Introduction http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=1594
Problem analysis http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=1595
Background listening http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=1596
Passive listening http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=1597
Active listening http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=1598
Listening speed http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=1603
Deliberate practice and i+2 http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=1604
Social and motivational aspects (not yet published)
Indirect ways of improving listening ability (not yet published)
Audio resources (not yet published)
"The results of studies done over the last few decades by a wide variety of researchers and published in scientific journals support this view: We do not master languages by hard study and memorization, or by producing it. Rather, we acquire language when we understand what people tell us and what we read, when we get “comprehensible input.” As we get comprehensible input through listening and reading, we acquire (or “absorb”) the grammar and vocabulary of the second language." (Stephen Krashen Washintgon Post The Right and Wrong Way to learn a Foreign Language 6/16/12)
In other words - context matters. Vocabulary lists, flash cards, books, and videos that present vocabulary in isolation fail to provide the critical context for language learning. If your child is learning to count or name animals in Chinese, what can they do with that information? Vocabulary in isolation is not useful to the learner, no matter how old or young they are. But, selecting appropriate materials for the age and language level of the learner is not easy. Our previous posts "Why Authentic Content is Best at Any Level" and "Learn Mandarin with Chinese Teletubbies" address this issue.
I highly recommend this series of articles on how to increase your listening practice and identify appropriate content for that practice.
Articles in this series
Introduction http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=1594
Problem analysis http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=1595
Background listening http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=1596
Passive listening http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=1597
Active listening http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=1598
Listening speed http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=1603
Deliberate practice and i+2 http://www.hackingchinese.com/?p=1604
Social and motivational aspects (not yet published)
Indirect ways of improving listening ability (not yet published)
Audio resources (not yet published)
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Why authentic content is best at any level
We just started a thread where our recommended products are all "made for native speakers." Well, sort of. They are dubbed versions of children's programs (cartoons and live action) designed for the very young.
This has advantages - first the content is suitable for children - no bad words and no inappropriate content. Second, the language level is rather basic and simplistic. The videos we will recommend feature simple sentence structures in short narratives (approximately 5 minutes in length). Although you may like to watch movies, will a full length feature film really provide the repetition and appropriate language level for a beginning student?
Here is an excellent article about why authentic content is best. http://www.fluentflix.com/blog/2011/09/15/6-reasons-to-learn-chinese-in-the-wild-with-authentic-content/
If you have any doubts after reading it, rest assured, it is the latest trend in language teaching. The IPA or Integrated Performance Assessment technique is specifically designed to utilize content for native speakers in language learning classrooms. Teachers trained in the IPA technique can open up a whole new world of relevant content. You can learn more at ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching for Foreign Languages) http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3565. Ask your language teacher if he/she is trained in IPA.
This has advantages - first the content is suitable for children - no bad words and no inappropriate content. Second, the language level is rather basic and simplistic. The videos we will recommend feature simple sentence structures in short narratives (approximately 5 minutes in length). Although you may like to watch movies, will a full length feature film really provide the repetition and appropriate language level for a beginning student?
Here is an excellent article about why authentic content is best. http://www.fluentflix.com/blog/2011/09/15/6-reasons-to-learn-chinese-in-the-wild-with-authentic-content/
If you have any doubts after reading it, rest assured, it is the latest trend in language teaching. The IPA or Integrated Performance Assessment technique is specifically designed to utilize content for native speakers in language learning classrooms. Teachers trained in the IPA technique can open up a whole new world of relevant content. You can learn more at ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching for Foreign Languages) http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3565. Ask your language teacher if he/she is trained in IPA.
Learning Mandarin with Chinese Teletubbies - yes the Teletubbies!
Yuck!!!!! Ewwww!!!! I can hear the groans of parents everywhere. Yes, Teletubbies are our favorite. Why do we love the Teletubbies? The answer is simple - would you like to start your toddler or pre-schooler on the road to speaking Mandarin without pulling you hair out, having them rip the keys off your laptop or break the IPad?
What you really need are basic sentences, presented in a meaningful context that you and your child can understand by watching while you listen. Books, apps, cds and other products that teach lists of words can accomplish only that - lists of words. Products made for older kids can't hold the attention of very young children.
If you have a toddler you know they are very special. Your life revolves around trying to get them to do things you can't make them do - learn to use the potty, eat, say words, go to sleep when you are exhausted. In general, they've turned your adult world up-side down and you may feel that they are in control, not you. How will you introduce a second or third language? Easy, give in and use something designed especially for the 2 year old brain - Teletubbies.
Chinese Teletubbies, unlike their English counterparts, speak clearly without all that baby talk babble. Teletubbies are perfect for beginning level learners. At Chinese for Families we have transcribed most episodes. Contact us for more information and special classes for young children.
If you have a child between the ages of 1 and 4, Teletubbies will give you a few moments of peace, engage your child in a language rich environment designed especially for them, and provide just the right amount of repetition. As an added bonus, you will learn too. Give it a try. We think you will fall in love with the Teletubbies the way we have - well maybe you won't name your car Xiao Po. I did.
Now, not all Teletubbies episodes are created equal. There are some that just don't meet the threshold of content you can understand by watching while you listen. Our recommended DVD/VCDs are:
Here come the Teletubbies
Animals Big & Small
Big Hug
Happy Weather Stories
Hide & Seek
Bedtime
Favorite Things
Go & Let's Dance
Ooooo
Uh Oh Messes & Muddles
Busy Day
We don't like these Teletubby DVDs:
Dance with the Teletubbies, Happy Christmas, Nursery Rhymes.
These tapes have one or more issues that make them unsuitable for language learning: a lack of Mandarin audio (either too much English or too much of another language) and/or a lack of visuals that correspond with the audio track.
There are a number of new Teletubby titles but we have not yet seen them and therefore cannot comment. However, we would LOVE to see them.
The challenge is finding a store to buy Chinese Teletubbies. YesAsia.com has Teletubby DVDs (region 3) from Taiwan and provide high quality authentic DVDs. Video stores in Chinatowns also may carry Teletubbies. Be certain to ask if they have Mandarin audio, not just subtitles. If you have friends visiting China, Taiwan or Hong Kong, ask them to pick up copies for you. VCDs are a less expensive format that will enable you play the video without having a multi-region player.
Stay tuned for our next installment in the video learning realm - Miffy & Pororo.
What you really need are basic sentences, presented in a meaningful context that you and your child can understand by watching while you listen. Books, apps, cds and other products that teach lists of words can accomplish only that - lists of words. Products made for older kids can't hold the attention of very young children.
If you have a toddler you know they are very special. Your life revolves around trying to get them to do things you can't make them do - learn to use the potty, eat, say words, go to sleep when you are exhausted. In general, they've turned your adult world up-side down and you may feel that they are in control, not you. How will you introduce a second or third language? Easy, give in and use something designed especially for the 2 year old brain - Teletubbies.
Chinese Teletubbies, unlike their English counterparts, speak clearly without all that baby talk babble. Teletubbies are perfect for beginning level learners. At Chinese for Families we have transcribed most episodes. Contact us for more information and special classes for young children.
If you have a child between the ages of 1 and 4, Teletubbies will give you a few moments of peace, engage your child in a language rich environment designed especially for them, and provide just the right amount of repetition. As an added bonus, you will learn too. Give it a try. We think you will fall in love with the Teletubbies the way we have - well maybe you won't name your car Xiao Po. I did.
Now, not all Teletubbies episodes are created equal. There are some that just don't meet the threshold of content you can understand by watching while you listen. Our recommended DVD/VCDs are:
Here come the Teletubbies
Animals Big & Small
Big Hug
Happy Weather Stories
Hide & Seek
Bedtime
Favorite Things
Go & Let's Dance
Ooooo
Uh Oh Messes & Muddles
Busy Day
We don't like these Teletubby DVDs:
Dance with the Teletubbies, Happy Christmas, Nursery Rhymes.
These tapes have one or more issues that make them unsuitable for language learning: a lack of Mandarin audio (either too much English or too much of another language) and/or a lack of visuals that correspond with the audio track.
There are a number of new Teletubby titles but we have not yet seen them and therefore cannot comment. However, we would LOVE to see them.
The challenge is finding a store to buy Chinese Teletubbies. YesAsia.com has Teletubby DVDs (region 3) from Taiwan and provide high quality authentic DVDs. Video stores in Chinatowns also may carry Teletubbies. Be certain to ask if they have Mandarin audio, not just subtitles. If you have friends visiting China, Taiwan or Hong Kong, ask them to pick up copies for you. VCDs are a less expensive format that will enable you play the video without having a multi-region player.
Stay tuned for our next installment in the video learning realm - Miffy & Pororo.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Chinese Grammar – A Brief Intro
This blog entry will briefly introduce Chinese grammar. The contents of this article are limited to modern, vernacular Mandarin Chinese.
Here is the good news -- in contrast to the writing system, Chinese grammar is simple and straightforward. We’ll present “just enough grammar” to get you started. At the same time I’ll explain what you would typically see during the first year of Chinese instruction. The explanations and examples will be in English with limited pinyin.
The purpose of this column is to give you a brief overview of the basic “rules” to keep in mind when trying to form a sentence in Chinese. This isn’t a column to burden your child with. Rather, this is intended for adults only! Fortunately, kids approach language learning differently and are less preoccupied with grammatical rules, they just repeat the structures they hear. We adults get bogged down in the semantics because that is the way we have always been taught languages (unfortunately). So, I’m using a format that we are all familiar with to answer some basic questions.
First of all, please keep in mind that Chinese is REALLY not as hard as you were led to believe. This discussion of grammar should convince you. Set aside those concerns about conjugation, case, gender agreement, and the grammatical “pitfalls” that slowed you down when studying other languages. In Chinese, your primary concern is with the order of words in a sentence (the syntax). Once you understand the basic sentence patterns, you just plug in new words.
Basic Word Order
1. Subjects come before Verbs
Subject + Verb
2. Objects can be located in two different places - after the verb or before the verb is a special particle is used
a. Subject + Verb + Object
b. Subject + "particle ba" Object + Verb
3. Time comes at the beginning of the sentence
Time+ Subject + Verb
4. Location also comes at the beginning of the sentece
Subject + location + Verb
a. Subject + Verb + Object
b. Subject + "particle ba" Object + Verb
3. Time comes at the beginning of the sentence
Time+ Subject + Verb
4. Location also comes at the beginning of the sentece
Subject + location + Verb
Subjects & Verbs
Subjects occur before verbs and verbs are not conjugated, nor do they indicate tense. Really, I’m not kidding. Verbs are not conjugated and do not indicate tense!!! Here are some examples:
Examples:
Yesterday I go to the store, today I go to the store, tomorrow I go to the store, GO never changes.
Further: he go to the store, I go to the store, we go to the store. Again, the verb NEVER changes in Chinese.
Incomplete & Completed Actions – not the same as tense
In Chinese you have incomplete and completed actions. A completed action, “yesterday I went to the store” would read:
Examples:
Yesterday, I go to the store le 了.
The use of the special word “le” at the end of a sentence or after a verb indicates that the action is finished or completed. The use of了le can be a little more complicated, but for now this is a sufficient explanation. Please note that le is pronounced with a short vowel, not a long “eeee” sound.
Objects
Next, objects can appear at the beginning (before the verb) or after the verb. If an object appears at the beginning of a sentence/phrase, you just add a special word next to the object. This special word is bǎ 把. A sample sentence would look like this:
Examples:
Cassandra, please bǎ 把pencil pick up. Or
Cassandra, please pick up that pencil.
Nouns, Numbers & Measure Words
There is NO PLURAL, GENDER, or CASE agreement in Chinese. Yippee!!! A noun is a noun is a noun; no matter where it occurs and how it is modified. If you want to indicate that you have more than one of something, like cars, you say exactly how many or indicate that you have a few.
There are special “measure words” that accompany nouns when counting or indicating an amount. These “measure words” are words that indicate categories of shape, size, or other characteristics. So different types of nouns are usually associated with specific measure words. These can be difficult for non-Chinese speakers to grasp since they do not typically occur in western languages, but when you get used to using them in conjunction with their partnered nouns, they become natural over time. Just keep in mind that measure words are like saying you have a “pair of pants.” Pair in this phrase is a measure word. If you don’t know a specific measure word you can always fall back on the generic measure word gè個.
Examples:
3 gè個table (remember that you don’t need to change the noun to indicate a plural, so no “s” at the end in Chinese)
3 zhāng張table
Here are some good resources for measure words:
Adverbs & Adjectives
Adverbs generally occur before verbs but can also be located after with additional modifiers:
slow go. Go slow.
go slow a little. Go a little slowly.
Adjectives are usually indicated by the particle de 的 (which also makes a word possessive by the way).
Examples:
Red de 的balloon. Red balloon.
Beautiful de 的 girl. Beautiful girl.
I/ wǒ我de 的 balloon. My balloon.
Time
Time words always occur at the beginning of a sentence. So, if you are going to the store tomorrow, you say:
Examples:
Tomorrow I’m going to the store. Notice that the time word is in the beginning of the sentence. Here’s another example.
Now, what time is it? In Chinese, because “now” is a time word, it goes before the question “what time is it?”
Place & Location
Place has a special “location” within the sentence. Place words are usually accompanied by a word indicating that you are “in” that location or headed “toward” that location. There is some wiggle room here but the general pattern is below:
Examples:
I zài在school. I am at school. (Subject + location)
I dào 到school go. I am going to school. (Subject + location + verb)
How to Form Questions
There are 3 primary ways to ask questions in Chinese:
- using a question word such as “what, where, why, how, or when,”
- negating the verb “go not go,”
- by adding the question word “ma” or the phrase le méiyǒu 了沒有 to the end of a sentence.
Examples:
a. Using a question word (where) - You dào 到where go? Where did you go?
a. Using a question word (where) - You dào 到where go? Where did you go?
b. Using the negative - You dào 到China go bù 不 (not) go? Did you go to China?
c. Adding ma to the end of a sentence - You dào 到China go ma 嗎? Did you go to China?
d. Adding le meiyou to your sentence - You dào 到China go le méiyǒu 了沒有?” Did you ever go to China?
Resources
Ok, now you know the basics of Chinese grammar – REALLY! We searched for a basic overview of Chinese grammar that would provide clear explanations in English accompanied by characters and pinyin. This was no mean feat. Here are some websites for further reading:
http://www.chinese-outpost.com/language/grammar/ (my personal favorite) http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_grammar
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