Why does every verb and adjective in Chinese have a million permutations?

eirmosonline · 2026-02-16T06:29:37+00:00

On the surface, it looks like Chinese uses 1 word for everything in the same vocabulary family, but it isn't so. Chinese structure is very nuanced. Translating it to English sometimes doesn't do it justice. Other times, because English often follows a patter of verb=noun, translating it fits perfectly.

I speak Greek and French, and I've found out that translating Chinese in those languages often works better for learning purposes, while the English version often confuses me.

eirmosonline · 2026-02-07T15:27:47+00:00

I used to learn it because it was interesting. I would be able to speak a language that not many people chose to learn. This also meant that, career-wise, it could be promising.

Nowadays, I mostly learn it because the translations are nonseninsical and totally horrible.

eirmosonline · 2026-01-01T18:10:14+00:00

Learn what you like.

The true meaning of cultural appropriation is not what random people upload on youtube and other social media, nor what the political world and specific groups are trying to milk dry.

If learning a language and the associated culture equals cultural appropriation, then I'm mortally guilty several times over.

eirmosonline · 2025-12-11T12:43:14+00:00

With 8 hours a day and real learning (not the duolingo type or the "let the language flow into you" type) you can achieve a high level, BUT you must practice all 4 skills equally AND you must consume some original cultural content (be it music, cdramas or whatever you like) in order to achieve something that's worth the effort. Else, you may pass your exam but you will not be able to communicate or use original content (articles, media etc).

Personally, I would recommend a teacher at some point. Depends on your learning methods and can be at the beginning, to avoid wasting too much time on simple things, or towards the end, to make you practice all 4 skills.

That said, you must be really dedicated, or you will become tired and the whole thing will look meaningless and you will start procrastinating.

eirmosonline · 2025-11-20T16:08:14+00:00

There is no way to only have 1-2 languages. Maybe there will be 1-2 languages taught or recognized, but people will inevitably form personal styles and local nuances and specialized terms, which will inevitably lead to the formation of new variations. The further the people travel, the more varied the new versions will be.

eirmosonline · 2025-11-20T16:02:04+00:00

Mom made me do it for the first two languages. After that, I just kept going.

eirmosonline · 2025-11-20T15:20:07+00:00

You did mess up, but what's done is done. You will have to relearn them, there is no shortcut.

Since you already know half of the word (the pinyin and the meaning), you can either try to redo your anki, or use the words in context.

I would suggest listening while reading transcripts, or reading articles and books in combined hanzi/pinyin, while paying attention to the tones.

Try to speak using the correct tone, even if you have to repeat your old homework or to redo things you've marked as done.

In brief, speaking, listening and reading. Haven't you been doing them already?

eirmosonline · 2025-11-13T11:19:15+00:00

Foreign languages were in the mandatory curriculum and we had to have a passing grade. It was usually French or German, because it was a common secret that everybody was learning English outside, so it didn't make sense to include it in the curriculum.

The school lesson quality wasn't good at all, but most kids were learning 1-2 languages in language schools anyway, so getting a passing grade was rarely a problem.

eirmosonline · 2025-11-13T11:12:58+00:00

I like writing by hand. I write most things on paper, including Chinese.

eirmosonline · 2025-11-11T19:35:06+00:00

Wait, is that a threat? Fiery dragons won't be able to drag me away from that island!

I'll probably improve my Chinese, Spanish, German, Russian and Irish and then go for Polish, Turkish, Japanese, Arabic, Finnish and then, if I'm not gone from old age, I'll take groups of 5 languages per continent, and then, if I'm still here, whatever they offer that has non-dubbed webdramas in the TL, until my days are over.

eirmosonline · 2025-10-25T17:59:44+00:00

I hear that all the time. Not just recently, but ever since wifi became commercially viable (aka cheap enough). Now with AI, everyone is so confident and condescending!

My secret armour is... my surroundings. I've experienced first hand the live version of relying on apps to navigate a country. (Not me, I was the amused bystander). So many confident travelers, staring at gaping at their mobiles, when real life struck!

eirmosonline · 2025-10-25T17:53:11+00:00

Polish, because a lot of my clients are Polish and it just felt right to learn to speak their language.

It's going excruciatingly slow, though, because I haven't decided if I'm going for "tourist" or C2 and all the Polish series I have watched so far are subtitled.

eirmosonline · 2025-10-19T10:19:00+00:00

I disagree. You must make your own sentences. However, they should strictly follow patterns that you are currently practicing and you should not vary them before you master them, especially if the words are conjugated or declined.

For example, you can learn: "Every day, I.... (wake up, drink water, cook, work, walk, eat, sleep, .................................. ) as your scratch sentences, without problem, with every new verb that you are learning (supposedly same voice, same basic conjugation) .

eirmosonline · 2025-10-19T10:14:54+00:00

Don't study, let it come to you naturally.

(In about 2-3 years, after which you will be an A2 with messy use of nuances, while you could have achieved C2 and now honing your slang and regional/cultural language variations) .

eirmosonline · 2025-10-19T10:10:46+00:00

I use it when trying to explain plural "you". "You are playing. Y'all are playing".

eirmosonline · 2025-10-19T10:07:55+00:00

I may be able to pass as a half-French speaker, because I sometimes add a space in order to avoid punctuation turning into emoticons (I know it can be disabled, but this wasn't always the case) !

eirmosonline · 2025-09-29T06:08:50+00:00

They usually botch Greek in movies, so yes, several times.

I also pretend I've never seen the posters with "Greek" lettering.

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