Hello and Welcome to another lesson
To another dose of Chris’s Class on ”Working” Mandarin Chinese
Chinese mandarin ”PUTONGHUA” > expressed as PU TONG HUA
Following on from my last introduction to Chinese basic usage for travellers street use.
the purpose of this simple approach is to offer the understanding of tones
Do you remember the 4 tones?
Let’s Dive in on them below
Pinyin uses either numbers or tone marks to indicate the tones. Here is the word ‘ma’ with numbers and then tone marks:
-
- 1st tone: ma1 or mā [Numbers after the Pinyin (ma1) represents the tonal sounds ]
- 2nd tone: ma2 or má
- 3rd tone: ma3 or mǎ
- 4th tone: ma4 or mà
Travel basics lesson:2
[Frequently used Phrases}
Wutong Mountain Entrance
go to > zhuǎn dào ……….wo yao [i want] to go to [zhuan dao] toilet [ce suo]
where is > zài nǎ li
toilet/wc > cè suǒ ………….[zai na] where is the toilet [ce suo]
Bank > yín háng ………….zai na le [ yin yang] where is then bank
Buy > mǎi …. ……….. [wo yao] mai de [bing qi ling] [ice-cream]
Doctor > yī shēng . zai na le ………where is the doctor
Dentist > yá yī zai na le. ………where is the dentist
Hospital > yī yuàn zai nal le ………where is the hospital
Sorry > Dui Bu Qi,
nǐ shì > you are
bu zhi dao > dont understand
zài jiàn > goodbye
In Mandarin there is no specific words for saying “yes” and “no.” but Instead, the verb which is used in the Mandarin question is used to make a positive or negative reply.
ABC learn fruit chart
For Example The Question:
Do you like rice? Nǐ3 xǐ huan3 fàn4 ma?
I like. ni xi huan
or
I don’t like. wo bu xi huan
Mandarin Questions and Answers
Q: Nǐ yǒu bǐ ma?
Do you have a pen?
A: Méi yǒu.
No (don’t have).
Q: Nǐ yào bú yào mǎi?
Do you want to buy (it)?
A: Yào.
Yes (want).
Q: Jīntiān shì xīng qī yī ma?
Is today Monday?
A: Shì.
Yes (is)
Note:
Chinese ”Putonghua” is the language of instruction in Chinese school system, and as recent as 2014, approx 30% of the Chinese population do not speak Putonghua.
Those not speaking Putonghua typically live in rural areas and belong to an ethnic minority group of the older generation Chinese
Exercise for you: how to say or write:
- I like ice-cream
- You are a Doctor
- I don’t understand
This Approach
Is to GUIDE you into the basic Language gently, so attempt is to keep it simple and useful.
HAVE YOUR SAY
- Did this post offer useful info for you?
- Did it answer Questions or leave you wanting?
Chris
This was very informational and very interesting facts and ways to pronounce syllables and words. That is interesting how the older generation do not speak Putonghua, is it because they refuse to learn, or is it because they are very into tradition and speaking the ancient language? Would love to see posts on more words and sentences, this is great for someone traveling to China.
Hi Robert appreciate the kind words.Yes i will put together more on basics of mandarin in my next post,
then older generation do speak putonghua but it is very specific to the areas they live as in dialect difference, it is a strain of mandarin but in fact they dont understand each other?
it is incredibly big and with several provinces and smaller towns and villages make it unrivaled in variety of cuisine and language
there are in fact traditional mandarin [more complicated to read and write] even the new generation cant speak or write it much!
then there is simplified Chinese [the modern version] around the Mao-zi dong era
chris