Best aha moments in your Chinese learning journey
bababardwan
April 08, 2010, 02:15 PM posted in General DiscussionI was hoping some Poddies would be generous enough to share with us their best "aha" [now I get it] moments when it has come to learning Chinese.We might all learn something from it.In a similar vein,some of the best breakthoughs in your studies....things that helped you leap forward.
bodawei
April 08, 2010, 02:37 PMMost people would be familiar with the little private rooms around the sides of a Chinese restaurant. I probably became aware of them first in 2006 on a holiday in China. I have never learnt what to call them .. until last night. In South West China if you want a private room you say 我要包间。 wǒ yào bāo jian. Aha. That's it. It has taken me about four years to learn this vocabulary, because although I have eaten in many I have never had to book the room.
These private rooms range from converted store rooms that smell of petrol to very comfortable 'saloons' safe from prying eyes. Someof the latter private roomscome with plasma TVs, for when conversation dries up, and some have their own personal bathrooms. (Someone else was paying.)
bababardwan
great tip thanks mate.I'll have to remember that one.I like those one way mirror affairs.I wonder if any have them and zenme shuo?
bodawei
我们可以透过单向镜子别的人。 (We can see the others though the one-way mirror.) Sounds kind of kinky.
bababardwan
Sounds kind of kinky
hehe, maybe, but it's not sounding too kanky the way it currently stands...no 看？
bodawei
Sorry .. you are right, it should be:
我们可以透过单向镜子看别的人。
You can probably also use 监视 jiānshì (to monitor, watch) here:
我们可以透过单向镜子监视别的人。
bababardwan
April 08, 2010, 03:03 PMgreat tip thanks mate.I'll have to remember that one.I like those one way mirror affairs.I wonder if any have them and zenme shuo?
xiaophil
April 09, 2010, 04:08 AMWhen I realized that the difference between chu and qu isn't the ch and q but the vowel sound of u.
go_manly
You mean the second difference?
xiaophil
At least how I formulated it in my head, there is only one difference.
go_manly
The difference between ch and q is the same as the difference between sh and x, and between zh and j. The first in each pair can only be followed by u, and the second can only be followed by ü, but both are still different sounds. But perhaps your formulation allows for that without you realising.
xiaophil
Exactly, that is what I am saying. I think you don't understand what I wrote, which might very well be my fault. Anyway, what I wanted to say is that the u's sound different. The u in qu is actually a ü sound. That said, the q and ch sound exactly the same (and likewise sh/x, zh/j sound the same too).
go_manly
I'm sorry to disagree, but q and ch do not sound the same at all, and they are made using entirely different tongue positions. The same goes for the other pairs.
changye
Hi xiaophil
> the q and ch sound exactly the same (and likewise sh/x, zh/j sound the same too)
Really?
xiaophil
Go Manly and Changye,
I honestly can't hear a difference. You really can? I am often told my pronunciation is pretty good. Could be that Chinese are just being polite, but actually, I always felt that this is one part that I can do well (normally). I figure it doesn't really matter what you guys and I think as long as Chinese understand us and we understand them. It is interesting though. I just spent five minutes listening to CPod's pinyin chart and honestly my opinion hasn't changed.
go_manly
Well ch is like the English ch, in that it it pronounced with the tip of the tongue against the palate. Only the tongue is further back in the mouth, creating a more abrupt and puffier sound.
q is not pronounced with the tip of the tongue, The sound is made by the blade of the tongue against the palate, while the tongue-tip is held down and out of the way.
changye
Hi xiaophil
As for the consonants "ch" and "q", I recommend you try to pronounce them differently even if they sound the same to you.
xiaophil
changye
Thanks for the advice, but how am I supposed to pronounce them differently if I can't hear the difference? And again, I do hear a BIG difference between qu and chu. I just isolated the ch and q sounds with audacity. They do sound slightly different (e.g. q has a more hissing sound), but are very, very similar, and in my opinion, the difference is mostly due to the influence of the vowels that follow.
Perhaps we can all agree on this: the major difference between qu and chu is the vowel sound? (or better yet, agree to disagree?)
The main point here is that regardless if there is or isn't a big difference between q and ch, I can pronounce these two relatively well after my discovery.
go_manly
April 09, 2010, 04:22 AMYou mean the second difference?
mark
April 09, 2010, 04:32 AMI memorized some Chinese dialogs and listened to the recordings over and over again, and then one day Chinese wasn't just noise to me. If I knew the words, I could understand Chinese at natural speed.
I haven't had any other breakthrough momemts though. The rest has just been slow progress. I can't say that steady.
zhenlijiang
April 09, 2010, 04:09 PMSorry Baba, no breakthroughs or leaps forward to speak of yet!
Most of my "aha" moments in studying Chinese have to do with getting something in Japanese. If I think of anything specific I might come back to share. （＾ｖ＾）
祝大家周末快乐！
changye
April 09, 2010, 04:57 PMHi xiaophil
Looks like your Chinese pronunciations are somewhat "energy-saving", hehe.
changye
April 09, 2010, 05:21 PMHi xiaophil
As for the consonants "ch" and "q", I recommend you try to pronounce them differently even if they sound the same to you.
go_manly
April 08, 2010, 02:28 PMMy breakthrough here occurred when I realised CPod is not actually a teaching site, just a collection of very useful resources. Its up to me to teach myself using these resources.