May 27 2020 18 mins 44
In this lesson, you'll learn how to have a successful video call, and how to talk about what you're drinking, and what you like.
It's tempting to focus on all the things you don't know how to say yet. But really, why do that? If you consider what you already do know how to say, even after just a handful of lessons, you might be surprised. It's all about combinatorics -- at this stage, everything you learn increases what you're able to say many times over. By the end of this lesson, your range of competency will have increased by an order of magnitude.
Of course, what you know is only useful if you can recall it at will, which is why repetition is so important. Check back tomorrow for the dialogue-only practice recording!
A note about pronunciation: The vocabulary list below includes the Chinese characters and the pinyin romanization system. The advantage of pinyin for English speakers is that it uses the familiar symbols of the Latin alphabet. The disadvantage is that English speakers are easily deceived into thinking these familiar symbols represent the same sounds they do in English. They don't. That said, pinyin can be a useful system to learn, but you must rely on your ears first, eyes second.
Don't expect to be able to pronounce anything just by reading the pinyin; the romanization is just a reference to jog your memory. A language exists primarily in its sounds, which is why daily listening and imitation practice is so important.
Episode vocabulary:
- 看 :: kàn :: to see, to look, to watch
- 得到 :: dédào :: to gain, to successfully do sth, e.g. 看得到 to be able to see
- 開始 :: kāishǐ :: to start
- 在 :: zài :: currently doing sth, e.g. 在看 currently watching
- 什麼 :: shénme :: what
- 喝 :: hē :: to drink
- 東西 :: dōngxī :: thing, something
- 咖啡 :: kāfēi :: coffee
- 喜歡 :: xǐhuān :: to like
- 茶 :: chá :: tea
- 的 :: de :: [possessive]
- 這 :: zhè :: this
- 現在 :: xiànzài :: now
About learning Chinese characters
Teaching Chinese characters is outside the scope of this podcast, but if you are learning Chinese characters with another course or method, you can use the transcript below to follow along.
Learning characters can be a fulfilling project, and can help you to remember and differentiate similar-sounding words. And, of course, it opens up more avenues for practicing your Mandarin, such as reading (books, children's books, comic books) and corresponding with Chinese speakers via email and other messaging apps. I highly encourage you to give it a try!
However, if the thought of memorizing all those characters now gives you a headache, rest assured: you can start speaking Mandarin without being able to read or write. Millions of preliterate children learn to speak Mandarin fluently, and so can you! If and when you are ready to start learning the characters, already speaking some Mandarin will also make it that much easier.
The bottom line is this: Don't let anything stop you or discourage you. The best method is the method you actually use, and any method you choose is better than no method at all! Find a way to move forward. You can always make adjustments later. And most of all, enjoy!
Dialogue transcript
- M: 喂？你聽得到嗎？
- L: 我聽得到！你呢？你聽得到嗎？
- M: 有，我聽得到
- L: 那，我們開始說中文吧！
- M: 呃。。。我們在說中文啊
- L: 喔，對了，哈哈。嘿，你在喝東西嗎？
- M: 有啊，我在喝東西
- L: 你在喝什麼？
- M: 我在喝咖啡。你喜歡咖啡嗎？
- L: 我還好，我喜歡喝茶
- M: 你現在在喝茶嗎？
- L: 有！你看，這是我的茶
- M：那是什麼茶？
- L：這是烏龍茶
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