Western languages such as English have several ways to express tense. The most common are verb conjunctions which change the form of the verb depending on the time frame. For example, the English verb "eat" can be changed to "ate" for past actions and "eating" for current actions.
Tag: in mandarin
Daily Mandarin Lesson: “What” in Chinese
Learning how to say "what" in Chinese is a very helpful vocabulary word that will enable you to ask and understand questions.
Laoban – Daily Mandarin Lesson
Titles are important in Chinese culture, and they are used more frequently than in most Western countries. One good example of this is that titles can be used to address people, which you might be familiar with from your Mandarin class where you can call the teacher 老師 (lǎoshī). While that can be done in English too, it's usually reserved for younger kids and not as common as in Mandarin Chinese.
Pinyin Romanization to Learn Mandarin
Pinyin is a Romanization system used to learn Mandarin. It transcribes the sounds of Mandarin using the western (Roman) alphabet. Pinyin is most commonly used in Mainland China for teaching school children to read and it is also widely used in teaching materials designed for Westerners who wish to learn Mandarin.
The Potential Complement DE
There are three DE particles used in Mandarin Chinese: the possessive de (的), the adverbial , and the potential complement de (得). If you want more general information about how to use these three, check this overview: The three DE particles in Mandarin. In this article, we're going to look at the potential complement, written 得.
The Four Mandarin Chinese Tones
Tones are an essential part of proper pronunciation. In Mandarin Chinese, many characters have the same sound. Therefore tones are necessary when speaking Chinese in order to differentiate words from each other.
How to Address Family Members in Mandarin Chinese
Family relations can reach out over several generations and through many extensions. English terms for family members only consider two factors: generation and gender. While in English, there is only one way to say "aunt," for example, there are multiple ways to say "aunt" in Chinese depending on many factors.
The Mandarin Tone System
The Mandarin language has a fundamental difference from Western languages: it is tonal. Tones are one of the biggest challenges for Mandarin learners, but their mastery is essential. Incorrect tones can make your spoken Mandarin difficult or impossible to understand, but using the correct tones will allow you to express yourself clearly.
The neutral tone in Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language, meaning that the pitch contour of a syllable influences the meaning of that word. This is introduced in all basic textbooks, often even before the first chapter begins. Mandarin Chinese has four tones that are often introduced properly (with the exception of the third tone, which is often not described clearly at all).
Why Mandarin Chinese is easier than you think
Mandarin Chinese is often described as a difficult language, sometimes one of the most difficult ones. This is not hard to understand. There are thousands of characters and strange tones! It must surely be impossible to learn for an adult foreigner!
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