Chinese is a HARD language. I mean, I'm eons beyond where I was a year ago, and I'm learning fairly quickly (according to my teacher), but I still find myself thinking, "Huh??" most of the time.
*I recently found out that I was mispronouncing "pumpkin" (nangua) as "sad" (nanguo). No wonder the fruit guy seemed so puzzled and concerned last fall...*
Reading is pretty much out of the question at this point. I know about 60-70 characters, but that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the tens of thousands of Chinese characters. I take 2 hours of Chinese class every week and studied intensively for four weeks this summer, in addition to what I learn while I'm just out and about. Everyone has become my Chinese teacher - the fruit guy, taxi drivers, my ayi, my students, my friends, the lady who sells me yogurt, strangers in the elevator, random passersby. I'm really thankful for people who take the time to stop and help me understand what's going on around me.
*I recently found out that I was mispronouncing "pumpkin" (nangua) as "sad" (nanguo). No wonder the fruit guy seemed so puzzled and concerned last fall...*
Reading is pretty much out of the question at this point. I know about 60-70 characters, but that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the tens of thousands of Chinese characters. I take 2 hours of Chinese class every week and studied intensively for four weeks this summer, in addition to what I learn while I'm just out and about. Everyone has become my Chinese teacher - the fruit guy, taxi drivers, my ayi, my students, my friends, the lady who sells me yogurt, strangers in the elevator, random passersby. I'm really thankful for people who take the time to stop and help me understand what's going on around me.
It's just hard. Seriously. But I'm working on it and I'm seeing progress.
http://www.effectivelanguagelearning.com/language-guide/language-difficulty |
So since I've gotten down many of the basics - how to order the perfect latte, find my way home, compliment someones clothes, and specify that I actually want the pink shirt and not the yellow one - I'm ready to spend some time focused on something a little more meaningful. The Word.
The perfect latte |
http://www.chinese-bible.com/index.php
http://www.wordproject.org/multi/bi_en_cn_py.htm
I love these because they show English, Chinese characters, and Pinyin (the phonetic spelling). The second one is great because there are so many languages available.
So far I've learned this one...
✓Habakkuk 2:14 - For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Rènshi Yēhéhuá róngyào de zhīshi , yào chōngmǎn biàn dì , hǎoxiàng shuǐ chōngmǎn yáng hǎi yìbān .
What should I learn next? Any suggestions? :)
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