URLLesson Introduction
Never thought we'd one day be just another illiteracy statistic, but, alas, learning Mandarin can be a humbling undertaking. If you just wrote down your name and the squinting clerk is turning the paper upsidedown, sideways and backward, this podcast is for you. Do not be daunted! Listen and learn how to get someone to write a Chinese character for you. And do not despair--literacy initiatives have worked in developing countries. There's hope for us yet.
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sparechange says
What's the difference between 会 and 可以? I've seen them both translated as "can" in English.August 22, 2007
maxiewawa says
That's more a comment on English than Chinese. 会 ＝ can, 可以 = may, have permission to Remember the old joke? Student: Teacher, can I go to the toilet? Teacher: I don't know, can you? Teacher is pointing out the difference between 'can' and 'may'. What the Student should have said was 'may I go to the toilet?' It's just that in modern English, 'can' and 'may' are interchangeable. No such confusion in Chinese. 老师，我可不可以去上厕所？ 可以。August 22, 2007
linguisticpotato says
Sparechange, 会 means to be able to in terms of knowing how to do the procedure at hand or having the talent to do so. Examples include the following: "Can you speak Chinese?" "我会。" "Do you know how to drive?" "我会。" 可以 is used for situations of having time and permission to do something. Here are a couple: "Can you go to the movies with us tomorrow?" "不可以。" "Can I have a cookie?" "不可以。"August 22, 2007
john says
Good explanations, you two! Thanks.August 22, 2007
sdaasa says
gregdfvdfvrbvbbergfdgfdvfgfgregregfdvdfeAugust 22, 2007
michfromprovence says
maxiewawa and linguistic potato you're wonderful teachers! crystalclear explanations; thank you.August 23, 2007
changye says
I seldom or never write something by hand, so I have no confidence at all in writing Chinese characters without using a computer. Let me try…..At least, I seem to be able to write 美国!!August 23, 2007
phuongthuy says
This's great page to learn Chinese, really ! Pls Join !August 23, 2007
mikenotinjubei says
Wow! New Home Page Ok. I find that my Chinese friends are more tolerant of my almost correct writing of Chinese Characters than they are of my butchering of tones and pronunciations. Anyone else feel the same ? It seems as though when I write (which I think is not bad it resembles a 2nd or 3rd grader) they all are willing to help a balding, pudgy, aging kid. But when I speak, I am more likely to get blank looks from my even my friends if i am off. In Japan, where I am now, the guys just look puzzled and amazed when I read Kanji or write (to them Kanji) and to me (Hanzi). Mike no not Jubie and not yet Shanghai but TokyoAugust 23, 2007
user11695 says
I like the new home page a lot. It seems easier to use. I would also like to say how useful the "The Fix" is. I can go back to a lesson -just check out the fix and you can tell straight away how much you have retained. Great addition! The other thing that is great is the Grammar guide.August 23, 2007
bill says
John， Seems we need to mention 能 along with 会 and 可以。 A: 我不能去上厕所! wo3 bu4neng2 qu4 ce4suo3. I can't go to the toilet! B: 怎么了？ zen3me le? What's wrong? A: 没有卫生纸。 mei3you3 wei4sheng1zhi3. There's no toilet paper. B: 我有一张报纸。 wo3you3 yi1zhang1 bao4zhi3. I have a news paper. BillAugust 23, 2007
bill says
Oops - pinyin typo: ... qu4 shang4 ce4suo3.August 23, 2007
bingge says
Wow, I love the new look! Does anyone know if there's a program out there that will let you draw a character with your mouse and then figure out for you what that character is? Seems like that would be SO much easier than using a dictionary :) It usually takes me forever to figure out the radical and then find the character in the dictionary. Any suggestions? (besides "don't be so lazy" :-)August 23, 2007
bingge says
:-)August 23, 2007
sparechange says
Thanks everybody for the explanations!August 23, 2007
gmulliga says
bingge I just found this mouse input tool yesterday http://www.chinese-tools.com/tools/mouse.html I think it was mentioned in a recent conversation as well. So far I like the new homepage. Lots of stuff available with one clik. I do miss the calendar though. sighAugust 23, 2007
yeroca says
hui4 is related to zhi5 dao... to know. From context it seems to be that zhi5 dao is used more in the context of to know or understand some thing, but not really in the sense of "know how" or skills. Is that right?August 23, 2007
yeroca says
oops..correction... that's zhi1 dao, not zhi5 daoAugust 23, 2007
daizi says
会 can also mean likely (something will happen) so, 你明天会去吗？ Nǐ míngtiān huì qù ma? Will you [likely] be going tomorrow? or 她回来的。 Tā huì lái de. She will [probably] come.August 23, 2007
mikenotinjubei says
Maybe I am not the only one who can't write (type). Is there a mistake in the first line of the Traditional PDF ? (simp.) 对不起 (trad.) 對不起 duì bù qǐ It doesn't quite look like "起" to me. btw: what is that character in the PDF? MikeAugust 23, 2007
bingge says
Thanks a bunch, gmulliga! I'm going to give it a try.August 23, 2007
john says
Bill, Great dialogue. You're right about those different auxiliary verbs, which is exactly why we have a "能 VS 会 VS 可以" entry in the Grammar Guide. Unfortunately, it's not done yet, but it will be soon!August 23, 2007
amorpoge says
This site is helpful. I am learning Mandarin here in the Philippines.August 23, 2007
john says
bingge and gmullgia, There's character entry functionality in the nciku dictionary. In my opinion, it is far superior to the one on Chinese-Tools.com. Give it a try!August 23, 2007
john says
yeroca, That's right. xiaodai, Also right, although I think you meant to write: 她会来的。 Tā huì lái de. There's more on 会 in the Grammar Guide entry.August 23, 2007
amber says
hi mikeinjubei, It looks like that the traditional character is correct in the PDF. Please check this linkAugust 24, 2007
mikenotinjubei says
Amber Thanks but maybe because it is Friday and we are in Ghost Month now or close to it. But, Wenlin and Pleco on my PDA have qi like this "起" Mike in the : (Trad.) 混 亂 區 hùnluàn qū (Simp.) 混乱 区August 24, 2007
mikenotinjubei says
Amber So I tried YellowBook too . If I put in '起' I get the same definition as your link. Ah Time for a Beer Let Bazza and the next shift figure it out.August 24, 2007
amber says
mikeinjubei, you got it! where's a 7-11 when you need one!?August 24, 2007
AuntySue says
Sorry, I'm with Mike. When I copied and pasted the character into another program, it looked correct, so sure, it is logically the correct character. However its appearance is quite wrong. The component on the right hand side should be a 己 shape, however in the PDF that component is a distinct unambiguous 巳 shape, or at least that's how it displays for me. It looks wrong, and confusing. Talking about confused, you guys had me going for a while. Because I didn't recognise 會 above, it wasn't until I started thinking about 不 and 能 that I caught on what that funny looking character was! :-) Silly me, I should have just read the pinyin which most of you took pains to include. Thanks much for that, especially in newbie and elementary zones, it helps to make everyone feel they can follow along.August 24, 2007
yeroca says
AuntySue, it occurs to me that typos in a native language are often easy to recognize, but ones in a foreign language can cause a lot of head-scratching!August 24, 2007
gmulliga says
John I just checked out your suggestion http://www.nciku.com/ and I agree. This is a great tool for me and will help my very tentative entry into learning characters. I have set up a personal study page there and voila (is there an expression like that in mandarin?) I am set up with yet another great learning tool thanks GrahamAugust 24, 2007
d4rko says
John I have to agree with gmulliga, that's a great tool! Thank you very much. :)August 28, 2007
luckystar217 says
This site is very helpful. Thank you so much.August 28, 2007
meige says
Thank you so much to the people who include pinyin transcriptions of the Chinese words in comments. It makes things much less frustrating for those of us who are just beginning. Terrific website. As an FL teacher of unfortunately long experience, I'm impressed by the pedagogical organization. And by the presentation skills of Ken and Jeni. Thanks for al your hard work, team.August 29, 2007
user14528 says
Came back to CP after a long time and am glad to see so much improvement. CP is really a trail blazerSeptember 7, 2007
keqing says
I found another cool tool... I was so excited when I found the chinese-tools thing... but I found another one... http://www.yellowbridge.com/language/ this is a dictionary that you can search for characters by shape... fantastic if you can't quite get the stroke order or whatever... also has the stroke order for many common strokes... its amazing!.. the nciku site doesn't seem to like my mac but I am going to persevere!September 7, 2007
shiggins9 says
I have been practicing these lessons online for 2 weeks since I moved to Shanghai, but I am amazed and somewhat puzzled by all the intricate questions involving typing Chinese characters. Do you people really learn all that just by coming to this website and practicing the newbie lessons? I don't know any characters!September 26, 2007
Kyle says
I think most people have been studying for a little longer than 2 weeks, so don't get down on yourself. =) Also, try using the vocab database that CPod provides, along with the flashcards. Add all the new vocab you learn to your personal vocab list and drill yourself using the memory game and flashcards. You can also install an East Asian language pack via your Windows installation CD, and then be able to type characters like everyone else. (To type characters you just use the pinyin for the character and then select from a list.)September 26, 2007
motomike says
Thanks everyone at chinesepod. I've been in slump learning Chinese but these lessons and this site are really great. Thank you.October 12, 2007
ewong says
I've been having trouble reading simplified chinese :( how can i change the pdf to traditional chinese?January 18, 2008
amber says
hi ewong, Please see here for the firefox plug-in for traditional characters: http://blog.praxislanguage.com/2007/04/25/firefox-plugin-for-traditional-chinese/January 20, 2008
texastochina says
I am a beginner and learning to write the traditional text. Is the traditional more useful? Which to use seems to be a matter of opinion.February 27, 2008
tahir says
hi Amber,hope that will be fine.i wnat to help me learning chinese,for this you send me your yahoo or hotmail Email or if you want then add my Email,this is my Email tahir_tahir74@yahoo.com or tahir_tahir74@hotmail.com thanks for this kindness.April 3, 2008