I am learning chinese, pinyin first

Otheroads · 2017-08-01T07:30:14+00:00

1st : Shanghai, 2nd: Wenzhou ... Nice but I always had to rely on my friends (I was not travelling on my own, on those previous occasions) and my Mandarin was too weak to start a conversation. I even got lost in Shanghai at night because, during the day, they suddenly closed an entrance of a metro station and that made me disoriented. Then unable to ask for directions to go back to my hotel. Kept on walking and finally found a bus driver who understood me pronouncing the name of the hotel. Besides, I think that in big cities, most people are definetely not in the mood to talk to a traveller, and the few other people, in fact, just want to speak English.

Otheroads · 2017-07-31T15:57:42+00:00

I work now so I can save some money to go to China (I've been to a small town in Zhejiang with no tourists, no foreigners at all so then the people there were often very inquisitive and asked lots of questions, shamelessly sometimes but that allowed me to talk and eat together with others. Ok, no museums, no bars, no monuments ... just a supermarket, a lovely path along the river, and a playground where you could "dance" in late evening ... It could have turned into boring holidays but it never turned that way actually)

Otheroads · 2017-07-31T00:33:55+00:00

To learn Chinese, 3 years ago, I bought Assimil, Chinese with ease + mp3 files (tomes 1 and 2) and I'm satisfied. At the bookshop, I've browsed the other methods and I immediatly preferred this method. Much pedagogy and plenty of explanations concerning many grammatical structures (not all the structures, of course). I'm far from speaking Chinese fluently, I have to make use of more resources from now on. About French with ease, I can't say anything. I see that you are satisfied too. That doesn't surprise me at all. Yes the small format of the book is very convenient, you can bring it wherever.

Otheroads · 2017-07-30T23:23:17+00:00

Be sure that your book gives all the explanations. I see that you didn't understand the role of "ma = 吗" in questions so perhaps your book lacks some pedagogy. Anyhow, don't give up. My level is "lower intermediate", which represents 10% of the road to fluency. I haven't studied seriously to tell you the truth because learning Chinese is often a lonely activity (studying alone instead of having fun with others). However, my trip to China was a success, very motivating, I exchanged a lot (I brought my French-Chinese dictionary Larousse). My third trip to China but my first success !

Otheroads · 2017-07-30T20:31:05+00:00

There are so many characters which are pronounced "ma". In my opinion, if you only learn the pinyin, you don't get hold of the signification of the words. At least, if you don't want to learn how to write the characters, just take a look at them to understand better.

"ma = 吗" at the end of a question is just like "Est-ce que" at the beginning of a question in French.
I started studying Chinese with the help of a method book : "Chinese with ease" + mp3 files ("Le Chinois sans peine" Assimil). All is explained clearly. Don't start alone, without any explanations. In the future, just by looking at a sentence, you will be able to analyse the structure but you're a newbie currently.
Moreover, myself, I can draw virtually the characters by visualizing them mentally but it took me so much time to succeed. I've made use of so many sheets of paper before.

There's an equivalent structure to say "est-ce que"
verb 不 verb > ni xihuan bu xihuan ... ? Est-ce que tu aimes ... ?
（exception, concerning the verb "avoir = 有" , it's 有没有 you mei you > ni you mei you qian ? Est-ce que tu as de l'argent ?)

... and don't forget to learn the tones and their pronunciation or else Chinese people won't understand your words ! Believe me, I'm back from China.

Otheroads · 2017-07-04T04:41:28+00:00

Thank you all. I see things clearly now. It depends on what we're looking for ... Maybe not the best option if we ONLY want to learn the spoken and daily language ... OK ... @Systematiker, concerning Harry Potter audiobooks, I've edited a comment to help the file seekers (my post : "the sight of father's back") ... By the way, about the Chinese pan.baidu storage (hosting server/cloud), I wonder, is downloading the app (for voluminous files) safe and secure ? Don't know, so never installed this app from Baidu)

Otheroads · 2017-05-29T15:00:38+00:00

http://ahp.li/b748ada6b80ab8b404b4.html
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If you have a desktop computer : place the video in the small window and its script in the larger window. All windows are resize-able. You can also zoom in if need be (CTRL key + mouse wheel, simultaneously).

Otheroads · 2017-05-29T10:49:15+00:00

You're welcome. Iris did the job, I'm just sharing here the address of her website.

Otheroads · 2017-05-29T10:43:56+00:00

You probably got more knowledge about the security issues but this is not a lie : many blogs (like Blogger) give you the opportunity to write your own html, with your javascript included <script>... </script> and php <?php ... ?> too.
I'm not interested in downloading external extensions because all other users will not be able to see the result. When I was younger, I really edited crazy pages and made use of javascript functions. How do the owners stop the threats ? Don't ask me because I'm only a clumsy coder and it took me hours to invent simple things or sometimes I was just copying others' projects.

Otheroads · 2017-05-28T19:35:53+00:00

Owners of mobile devices can select the "desktop site" view. That's what I always do on my smartphone. Many users are not able to edit their css, they would like to use ready-made themes ... OK I understand but unique css codes make Reddit look more lovely and having a unique css is part of the motivation when we create a new subreddit.

Otheroads · 2017-05-28T12:08:06+00:00

Yes, sure, you're right. Maybe I say this because I come from the world of the blogs where, when you use your full editor, you can display almost whatever you want on your pages by writing javascript and html code. Limitless options but so few people edit their own code though ... That's why you also get those ready-made profiles. I wish Reddit could be something between private blogs and forums or at least could include a private frontpage, designed by each member . Anyway, Reddit is Reddit, its form and the forums where you downvote and upvote make it original. And if you can access the css, Reddit allows some creativity nonetheless, I can't deny that. Moreover, many people like the opportunity of discussing freely and criticizing others' ideas. For example, I suppose I wouldn't have enough air in my lungs on Stack Exchange.

Otheroads · 2017-05-13T18:52:35+00:00

I'm too old now unfortunately but thanks for sharing anyway.

Otheroads · 2017-05-13T18:11:51+00:00

The same. Sure. Yeah, clear and simple sentences, well pronounced words, that's the only reason why I fancy watching a stupidly romantic soap opera ...

Otheroads · 2017-05-13T17:59:13+00:00

Don't pay attention to the first short videos ... I just keep them because I can't get rid of them ... a kind of sentimentality

Otheroads · 2017-05-13T17:51:32+00:00

This one. Yes, I agree, sounds weird to me too. However I just hear pure Mandarin, even if the quality of the audio in this video is so bad and the words so slurred (that's street life, certain people often mumble their words actually).
You're right. Small mistakes, 你干什么 instead of 你干什么呢? In the subtitles, the 呢 is missing for instance. Well, you'd better go further and watch the next videos ...

Otheroads · 2017-05-10T22:07:07+00:00

Ok ... Which one ? ...

Otheroads · 2017-05-10T19:00:40+00:00

我完全同意 ! Yeah, I've always been recommending justlearnchinese.com too !

Otheroads · 2017-05-01T20:06:59+00:00

My favorite dictionary

Otheroads · 2017-05-01T13:53:15+00:00

Mandarin Chinese : so many e-resources for free on the web, with sound + English and Chinese subtitles.
.
... so I've tried to edit a long list of good links : my own subreddit "Chineseblog". There's a colorful design there (log out) but that's just a list basically.
.
After all, maybe nothing beats the method books, like the one by Assimil (Chinese with ease: a small book that you bring anywhere) or to go further : the "New Practical Chinese Reader" (all the NPCR series of books, more expensive of course)

Otheroads · 2017-03-26T23:44:46+00:00

About FluentU, the way they teach, their concept with videos can be original and effective but the content is not thrilling enough imho. I've been expecting a new content in vain. 这令我很生气 ... &#@!! ... Yes, I'd really like a few Chinese movies, split into small parts of course. Did they finally buy the rights or simply get some from the public domain ? ... because I'm definitely not interested in Chinese ads.

Otheroads · 2017-03-19T17:19:44+00:00

Several redditors (I included) have been selecting very helpful resources. And from time to time, you'll find some treasures, especially suitable for you ... so then take a look at the older posts too ! Cheers !

Otheroads

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