whats the best way to start learning chinese?

[Mo0o]

btw, the best way to start from scratch is to learn "ping ying" which is basically phoenitically spelling out chinese characters w/ english characters. all elementary chinese kids start out learning ping ying before getting to real characters.

 

[nativesunshine]

Originally posted by: MrDingleDangle
i dont have the funds right now to be able to afford a class, which i know i would have to do to learn it, but is there a good starting part, cause i have a lot of free time*


*want to please my g/f**


**want my g/f to stop saying i dont try to understand her culture

Awww...that's sweet. My boyfriend just called me up earlier tonight saying that his mom was telling him to learn chinese for me so he can talk to my parents better. I thought it was the sweetest thing.

Good luck.

 

[AzNmAnJLH]

use google.... there are a lot of website that have audio clip and lessons plan all free to help you start learning phrases

 

[EvanGeliSt]

Originally posted by: MrDingleDangle

Originally posted by: nanyangview several questions before we start 1) how old are you 2) what language other than english do u speak 3) are you trying to learn CANTONESE(dialect) or MANDARIN(official language of china) 4) chinese is not a language, it is a race 5) Are you just trying to speak/listen or speak listen +write and read?

1) 24 2) american and took 5 years of spanish in jr. high and high, but now know little to none 3) mandarin 4) yeah yeah yeah...trust me i get yelled at enough for calling her chinese (she's taiwanese) 5)speak/listen her mother speaks little/no english so when i go to dinner i just sit there and she compliments my chopstick ability

Sorry but I couldn't burst out laughing at your fifth point ...

My guess with every language is to start speaking and get some beginner's books. Go for Eng-chinese translation dictionaries as well... - I'm learning japanese from animes -- That's a start

 

[Mo0o]

Originally posted by: EvanGeliSt

Originally posted by: MrDingleDangle

Originally posted by: nanyangview several questions before we start 1) how old are you 2) what language other than english do u speak 3) are you trying to learn CANTONESE(dialect) or MANDARIN(official language of china) 4) chinese is not a language, it is a race 5) Are you just trying to speak/listen or speak listen +write and read?

1) 24 2) american and took 5 years of spanish in jr. high and high, but now know little to none 3) mandarin 4) yeah yeah yeah...trust me i get yelled at enough for calling her chinese (she's taiwanese) 5)speak/listen her mother speaks little/no english so when i go to dinner i just sit there and she compliments my chopstick ability

Sorry but I couldn't burst out laughing at your fifth point ...

My guess with every language is to start speaking and get some beginner's books. Go for Eng-chinese translation dictionaries as well... - I'm learning japanese from animes -- That's a start

rofl i all could learn from watching anime is how to say sh!t and what?

 

[EvanGeliSt]

Lol - Nandemonai. - Nothing at all

I think learning the correct pronounciations in mandarin is going to be quite a quite a big step Best of luck. Ganbatte! (Work hard!)

 

[nativesunshine]

i just read dingledangle's reply....

omg..he sounds almost exactly like my boyfriend. kinda scary.

 

[igowerf]

Can't be a monolingual cripple your whole life.

 

[AndyHui]

Originally posted by: EvanGeliSt
Lol - Nandemonai. - Nothing at all

I think learning the correct pronounciations in mandarin is going to be quite a quite a big step Best of luck. Ganbatte! (Work hard!)

It helps if you can distinguish between Japanese and Mandarin though...

 

[pillage2001]

Originally posted by: AndyHui

Originally posted by: EvanGeliSt
Lol - Nandemonai. - Nothing at all

I think learning the correct pronounciations in mandarin is going to be quite a quite a big step Best of luck. Ganbatte! (Work hard!)

It helps if you can distinguish between Japanese and Mandarin though...

LOL

 

[MrDingleDangle]

Originally posted by: nativesunshine
i just read dingledangle's reply....

omg..he sounds almost exactly like my boyfriend. kinda scary.

my response, to my g/f when she told me that her mother was impressed by my chopstick ability was "im white, not retarded" but she wouldnt tell her mother that

oh she also refers to me as a foreigner even though she has been living in the US for around 8 years... like last time "is the foreigner coming to dinner with us"

 

[DieselUV]

Don't you have those stands in the mall that sell those "Learn how to speak ......"

 

[jpbushido99]

Originally posted by:MrDingleDanglemy response, to my g/f when she told me that her mother was impressed by my chopstick ability was "im white, not retarded" but she wouldnt tell her mother that

oh she also refers to me as a foreigner even though she has been living in the US for around 8 years... like last time "is the foreigner coming to dinner with us"

My Landlord is Chinese and sometimes his daughters come down to visit him, and he said when I first saw them, that if I flirt or sleep with them I will be kicked out, it would be inappropriate to be apart of his family since I am American and a Black -- his words. I said I will screw your daughter marry her and make babies all over the place just because he said that, and he said we will compromise, I will take 100 off the rent if you leave them alone. And I said fine I won't marry them, but I still want to screw your daughters.

 

[nativesunshine]

Originally posted by: MrDingleDangle

Originally posted by: nativesunshine
i just read dingledangle's reply....

omg..he sounds almost exactly like my boyfriend. kinda scary.

my response, to my g/f when she told me that her mother was impressed by my chopstick ability was "im white, not retarded" but she wouldnt tell her mother that

oh she also refers to me as a foreigner even though she has been living in the US for around 8 years... like last time "is the foreigner coming to dinner with us"

Well, my parents speak and understand english...just not very well.

They talk fine wtih my boyfriend...but we've been kinda worried about how our parents would talk to each other...b/c they're so different. my parents would be all polite and nodding their heads pretending to undertand everything hisparents say...andhis parents will just blab on and on and on. hehe..it'd be so funny.

I should talk to him about setting something up...so our parents can finally meet. Aww..that would be so sweet. Heehee..

 

[MrDingleDangle]

Originally posted by: nativesunshine

Originally posted by: MrDingleDangle

Originally posted by: nativesunshine
i just read dingledangle's reply....

omg..he sounds almost exactly like my boyfriend. kinda scary.

my response, to my g/f when she told me that her mother was impressed by my chopstick ability was "im white, not retarded" but she wouldnt tell her mother that

oh she also refers to me as a foreigner even though she has been living in the US for around 8 years... like last time "is the foreigner coming to dinner with us"

Well, my parents speak and understand english...just not very well.

They talk fine wtih my boyfriend...but we've been kinda worried about how our parents would talk to each other...b/c they're so different. my parents would be all polite and nodding their heads pretending to undertand everything hisparents say...andhis parents will just blab on and on and on. hehe..it'd be so funny.

I should talk to him about setting something up...so our parents can finally meet. Aww..that would be so sweet. Heehee..

yeah...her parents dont speak any english, well her step-father does, but her mother doesnt at all...i claim she should be the one learning english, not me learning chinese as she has lived in seattle for 8 years, but that has never been accepted ...

there would be no point in getting familys together because i dont even get talked to when i go out with them, they just continuously put food on my plate