The benefits of learning Chinese are multiple!

More and more students are taking classes to learn Mandarin Chinese, one of the most practiced languages in the world! As you know, China is on the rise, so it’s an understandable trend. Not only because of its booming economy but also because the Chinese language has particularities that make it interesting to learn. Learning a language benefits everyone, you, the individual, the family if you have Chinese relatives and communities in a larger sense.

Now, let’s discover why you should start Mandarin Chinese lessons already!

The multiple and unexpected benefits of Learning Chinese:

Significant advantages for the brain

As you start to learn a new language, especially Chinese, it will benefit your brain in many ways. According to a survey by the Journal of Neuroscience in 2015, bilinguals have better cognitive flexibility. It’s easier for them to do a task than others who speak only their native language.

Specifically, the mandarin Chinese language is a miracle tool to make the brain do its work. The Chinese language helps to activate a specific zone in your brain that other languages do not. That is because characters are graphical in nature, so we need to use that zone in our brain more to recognize them. Need another medical reason? Scientists have discovered that Chinese speakers tend to be less affected by Alzheimer’s or are affected by it later in their life than those who don’t speak Chinese. You know, Chinese is composed of thousands of characters to learn. Practice those, and your memory won’t have a rest! You’ll train your muscle memory more than with other languages. 

Because Chinese characters develop imagination

As you learn to write Chinese, you’ll discover the beauty that hides in the traditional art of calligraphy. You’ll develop your art skills by drawing characters, and so you’ll end up both developing your creative mind and your mental faculty. The fine art of calligraphy helps to build your subtle artistic movement in a good sense! As you discover new characters, you’ll find many ancient cultural meanings hidden in them. It’s almost as appreciating prose poems. also, when you understand the Chinese components, it’s easy to make a story to understand how characters fuze to make new characters and meaning, up to you to make a little story about it.

Ninchanese is an incredible app for learning Chinese!

” I actually graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Chinese.
I’ve used Ninchanese daily, and it has helped me a lot!  “

 – Connor, Ninchanese User

Try Ninchanese, an award-winning method to learn Chinese today:

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Discover a completely new language

The Chinese characters

Interestingly, when learning Chinese, you’re learning a diametrical opposite language compared to our familiar Germanic/Latin language. Contrary to French, Spanish, or Italian, where we can guess the meaning of an unknown word, it is almost impossible to guess a character’s definition at a glance.

You must study Mandarin Chinese characters and review them one by one, Ninchanese SRS is made especially to learn better the Chinese characters. Chinese characters are numerous, and even one character can have multiple meanings: these are called polyphonic characters. But no worry, there’s a way to learn them faster by knowing Chinese character components. You’ll find an excellent course on Ninchanese about radicals and components, that we recommend doing when you are learning Chinese. 

A tonal language

Contrary to English, Mandarin Chinese use tones in pronunciation. Tones are pretty powerful stuff that changes the meaning of a word. So you’ll have to know a Chinese word’s form in characters and also their tones. It’s an entirely different way to speak than what we are used to in English. Yes, it’s sometimes frustrating, but it’s also sometimes amusing!

So, take great care of how you pronounce your characters. Depending on your intonation, the meaning will change! Thankfully, pinyin facilitates the learning process and helps you know which pronunciation to use. Also, the ninchanese app has a speech recognition system that understands your tone and analyzes them for you.

Speak Chinese to Visit China

Who doesn’t want to walk on the great wall of China?

China is the 4th most visited country in the world. So, naturally, China has an essential role in tourism, and many people, from all over the world, come to see its beautiful ancient constructions like the Great Wall and temples. More modern constructions also attract a lot, like, high buildings. If you’re going to visit China, then you should absolutely download our Chinese phrasebook app made for Chinese, it will be really handy.

How about immersing yourself in Chinese society to learn their language?

Whether it is for a holiday, staying with a Chinese family, or only for studying Chinese, being in the country is a great way to learn Chinese. Chinese society’s manners matter and they are handy to know when dealing with Chinese people.

It’s not convenient to use a dictionary or a translating app when you’re speaking directly with someone, so speaking the Chinese language will allow you to make direct communication with natives. That way, you’ll make real connections with the people.

There are multiple benefits to understanding Chinese when you are in China. First, you’ll recognize the signs on the road since they are all in Chinese. And so, you’ll be able to visit Chinese cities without the need to ask and bother people to find your road. Then you’ll have access to hidden experiences that other tourists can’t have. A good thing to know is Chinese likes to bargain, and as you buy souvenirs, speaking Chinese will give you a real advantage by getting you the best price possible! 

China’s billion-strong population will likely shape the coming days of the world, and it is indeed a good move to learn to speak Chinese. It’s becoming more and more important to understand the Chinese people and their society.

Ninchanese is an incredible app for learning Chinese!

” I actually graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Chinese.
I’ve used Ninchanese daily, and it has helped me a lot!  “

 – Connor, Ninchanese User

Try Ninchanese, an award-winning method to learn Chinese today:

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Knowing Chinese to work in China

Mandarin Chinese is the most widely-spoken spoken language globally and one of the largest marketplaces in one nation with 1.28 billion people. So, knowing Mandarin Chinese opens a learner to many career opportunities. The Chinese language is a bridge between an emerging China and the rest of the world.

More people speak Mandarin Chinese than they speak English! One out of seven people speaks Chinese on earth. Chinese speakers are everywhere nowadays, like China, Taiwan, Singapore, and other Asiatic countries. But Chinese speakers are also present in North America, Europe, and, more recently, Africa.

As you can see from the facts above, it’s no wonder that speaking and learning mandarin Chinese are necessary skills today. By learning Mandarin Chinese, you will be able to communicate with more and more people.

Learn Chinese & Discover an Ancient Culture

China is one of the universe’s oldest and richest continuous cultures, over 5000 months old.

Being skillful in mandarin Chinese allows you to know their society better. Old or recent, you’ll discover many other exciting tales, very different from what you’ve previously learned. You’ll also see films in Mandarin Chinese and play a mandarin Chinese video game. China is opening up and creating a lot of cultural content. Knowing how to speak Chinese is the best way to make sure you’re there to enjoy it.

PS: And on the side, learning Chinese characters will help understand their neighbors, the Japanese. As the Japanese language uses many Chinese characters, even if there are differences, it’s close enough to get some insight.

So all in all, China has a richer culture and a rich language that will benefit you in multiple ways. Have fun learning Chinese with Nincha!

The post Why learn Mandarin Chinese, the language of Confucius? appeared first on Ninchanese.

One of the first things you learn about the Chinese language is that it’s a very melodic language. That’s because the Chinese language is a tonal language. A tone is a way to pronounce a syllable with intonation. Yeah, I know. It’s much easier to write it than to say it.

Tone trick: first, let’s go through a real quick reminder of what tones are.

There are four tones in Chinese, and we often say there is also a 5th tone, which is silent. Each tone should be used every time it’s needed to be understood. Even Chinese speakers on TV have courses about pronouncing the tones right. Just for you to see how important it is.

But don’t worry, it’s ok to make mistakes sometimes. Even the Chinese make tone mistakes from time to time. Doesn’t that put the pressure off a little? Having most of your tones right and a few off will be excused and you’ll still be understood if you’re speaking with someone that understands the context. Context over tones, but tones still matter.

Let’s see all 4 tones, because that’s the key to this tone trick. Understanding the tones and how they work.

• The first tone is a flat tone. You just stay on the same tune a little bit longer.
• The second tone is a rising tone. You just tune up the syllable.
• The third tone is a waving tone. Really funny to do, you go down and up when you’re saying that tone on its own, and a little down and mostly up, when it’s in a sentence. (note: the third note behaves differently when combined with other tones, but let’s explore that later on)
• The fourth tone is a drop tone. Like his name tells you, your tune goes down.

Are you starting to understand where I’m taking you with that? The secret about tones is that we already use these 4 tones in our language! When? When we want to put an emphasis on a word.

Isn’t that a meowsome tone trick to realize? Tones in Chinese aren’t so foreign after all.

Ninchanese is an incredible app for learning Chinese!

” I actually graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Chinese.
I’ve used Ninchanese daily, and it has helped me a lot!  “

 – Connor, Ninchanese User

Try Ninchanese, an award-winning method to learn Chinese today:

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Wait, I’ll show you with examples:

• The first tone, a flat tone is actually the same intonation you use when you agree with something. Or when you say ahhhh, when you’re realized something and so you keep the same intonation for a little while.
• Second tone, rising tone. I’m sure you can imagine already: it’s like asking the question what?
• Third tone, waving tone. Easy, you know when you want the other to continue speaking and you’re like humhum? The same.
• Fourth tone, the drop. It’s like when you’re on the verge of winning a Ninchallenge, one more card to go… and your opponent just got a 6 points card correct. And you’re like. No! Oh No! Sharp no. 🙂

  Here’s the tone trick with our cute Nincha and Lupishu as stars.

Okay, now, you’re all set to start speaking Chinese with the right tones. Just imitate how you speak in a certain situation to get you started. It’s a lot less daunting that way!

It’s a good way to start. Granted, it won’t feel natural until after a few tries but your tones will be alright!
Okay, now that you know this meowsome tone trick, you’re all set. Now, you can train your tones on the Ninchanese app. Start a new speaking stage, you’ll have to say words and sentence with the right tones! It’s a great tool to train yourself to use the right tones and pronounce Chinese perfectly.

Did this secret method help you? What’s your favorite way to practice saying tones? Let us know in the comments!

The Nincha Team

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The post The super hidden (and insanely useful) tone trick no one tells you about appeared first on Ninchanese.

World 5 (HSK 5) – Part 2 is out of Beta!

Join Lupishu and Nincha through +100 new stages of advanced academic content to learn Chinese! You’ll be delighted to learn Chinese with these new stages full of HSK 5 vocabulary, upper intermediate to advanced Chinese grammar, and dialogues. It’s time to depart from the eternal intermediate level and move to a fluent Chinese speaker level!

Explore this new island of learning on Ninchanese here.

Why most Chinese learners stay at intermediate levels

It’s not their fault. It’s hard to find a teacher that has the experience to drive them well in their learning at this point. There’s also not much interesting content available for Chinese learners once they are at an upper intermediate level and want to brush past it. And, to give a final blow: the books weigh a ton and look impossible to go through.

They could use something to guide them further in their learning and help them take the next step. They’re ready for it.

A new world 5 to help you cross the bridge to HSK 5 advanced Chinese

At Ninchanese, we bite-sized all HSK 5 needs into small, efficient, and well-thought-out stages. You now have access to a complete world that will effectively help you improve each part of the Chinese language you need to be at ease in. That’s reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

This new advanced HSK 5 Chinese world offers structured learning perfect to support all the learning you’ve been doing up to now and all the freeform learning you’ve done in context.  The best part? Learn however you like, do a session of 5 minutes a day or however much more you want, and feel a recurring sense of achievement and progress.

Ninchanese is an incredible app for learning Chinese!

” I actually graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Chinese.
I’ve used Ninchanese daily, and it has helped me a lot!  “

 – Connor, Ninchanese User

Try Ninchanese, an award-winning method to learn Chinese today:

Start Learning Now

What does it mean to have an “advanced level of Chinese”?

Wondering if this new advanced level of Chinese is for you? If you’re ready? We bet you are. If you see yourself in this, you sure are:

You have made great strides in their Chinese learning up to now. You are good at talking about common topics and are learning a lot on your own, by interacting with a Chinese environment. This has helped you realize there’s still a lot you want to learn.

Does it mean you’re looking for a lot of interesting and authentic content to learn?

That’s a good thing, because the new World 5 in Ninchanese is huge and full of cool content.

To give you an idea: Now that it’s complete, the HSK5 world is as BIG as world 1 to 4 reunited! That’s a good chunk of content to work on!

HSK 5 World 5: Advanced content on two islands

The complete World 5 is so big it had to be split into two islands. Once you’ve done both, you’ll have learned 1 300 Chinese words and over 60 of the more difficult and advanced grammar structures. And that’s not it! You’ll also learn by speaking and writing over 70 new dialogues and 1523 new sentences to be able to speak about advanced ideas.

You’ll be able to read newspapers and magazines, enjoy Chinese films and plays and give a full-length speech in Chinese. Discover the curriculum of the HSK world 5 here.

Vocabulary

The amount of HSK 5 vocabulary to learn and familiarize yourself with is much larger than in the previous worlds. Organized by theme, this vocab will give the keys to understand much of any given situation. You’ll be able to understand the words used in any TV show or newspapers for example.

Grammar

The HSK 5 grammar you’ll study in this world goes in depth. All lessons are still simply explained but you’ll be handling more complex structures here. Not to worry, you’ll have plenty of example sentences to rely on. They are relevant, all full of sense. Learn to use the grammar points and example sentences in the grammar stages, and you’ll be able to use very useful ways to express your thoughts in Chinese.

Dialogues

As always, the HSK 5 dialogues all have a very practical focus and day to day related events. The conversations are also much longer than in the previous worlds. You’ll get a sense of immersion through the interactive way of speaking.

Authentic Chinese material that stays interesting

Too often, content at an advanced Chinese level goes abstract and borderline stuffy, when there are loads of interesting topics to talk and learn about! Modern, day-to-day content, to talk about technology, the news, economics, your favorite artist, to debate and share your opinion, to understand the culture and social etiquette, and a lot more. One area this world particularly focuses on is working in a Chinese environment and doing International business. Those are key things to know to pass the HSK 5.

Learn to work in a Chinese environment: a highlight on one key topic in World 5

As you go through the thousands of dialogues in the app, you’ll see Lupishu evolve and learning working skills. Lupishu is going through every stage of the work market and so will you alongside him. From making a Chinese resume, explaining skills in an interview, starting with an internship at a coffee shop at the airport, to become a salesman for a big company,… Yes, our Lupishu has well grown. We are very proud of Lupishu. And of you, now already, and even more so when you’ll reach his level and you’ll be able to work in a Chinese environment at ease!

What’s else is in store for this new HSK 5 world?

What about the pearl?

The story, of course! Lupishu is still doing his best to recover the pearl from the Emperor! IceAly, one of our early users, loves Ninchanese tremendously and asked to help write the story. IceAly is very creative, lives in China and use daily Ninchanese. We gladly accepted her help to write the story. We are impatient to share this new cat-story full of epic Chinese adventures with you!

Final words

Creating this new world based on the Ninchanese method has been a tremendous and fulfilling amount of work. We greatly thank all the Chinese teachers that poured their hearts into it, and the many little Nincha dragons that beta-tested it and sent their corrections (Noornalini, a special mention to you). Thanks also to all the Nincha team for their excellent work. We hope you’ll love it.

True, we are cute, true we are fun, true we have cats. But very true, that you have access to great educational content is our top priority.

We want to thank all that have helped to make Ninchanese so meowsome.

The Nincha Team

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Try the best way to learn Chinese today.
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PS: Help us spread the word about Ninchanese. Share the Ninchanese adventure with your Chinese learner pals and help the Chinese learning community know about us ;)! And if you like Ninchanese, subscribe to support your meowsome Chinese learning app!

The post World HSK 5: An Epic world for Epic Chinese learning appeared first on Ninchanese.

 How do you say goodbye in Mandarin?

Today, we’re going to see 10 different ways to say “goodbye “in Mandarin. All these expressions you’ll discover here are very common and interesting to know. They each come with a little explanation so you can be sure you’re using the right goodbye in Chinese each time!

#1

再见

zài jiàn

Goodbye; See you

再见 is the most common and standard way to say goodbye in Mandarin. You can use this expression with everybody and in all sorts of situations. 再见 literally means “See you again”, as it’s composed of the character 再 zài, which means “again” and of the character见 jiàn “to see”. That being said, you can still use 再见 if you’re not planning on seeing the person ever again.

#2

拜拜

bái bái

Bye-bye

The most frequent and easy way to say goodbye in Mandarin is going to sound very familiar to you: it’s 拜拜, which means “bye bye” and is pronounced just like in English! It’s casual and informal, but don’t worry, almost all the people use it in China now. 拜拜 was first used in Taiwan, but you’ll hear it used everywhere that speaks Chinese now.
As the word  八 (8), pronounced bā  sounds close to “bye”, you’ll sometimes see 拜拜 written as 88 online. So if someone writes 88 to you, you know now what they mean!

See you soon: Using 见 to say goodbye in Chinese

The following ways to say goodbye all have something in common: they all use 见! As you saw before, 见 means “to see”. It’s therefore not surprising that it’s used a lot in expressions to say goodbye, especially when you plan on seeing the person you’re saying goodbye to again.

#3

一会儿见

yī huǐ er jiàn

see you later/in a while

#3 bis

回头见

huí tóu jiàn

see you later

 When you want to say “see you later”, two expressions you can use are:

• 一会儿见. Here, 一会儿 yīhuǐ er means “a little while”, so 一会儿见 very simply means “see you in a little while”.
• or 回头见.  回头 literally means “to turn one’s head around” and figurately means “later” so, combined with 见, 回头见 means “see you later”.

#4

明天见

míng tiān jiàn

see you tomorrow

When the day is over and you want to say “see you tomorrow” to your classmate or colleague, you can say 明天见！This expression is very easy to use in Chinese, and good to know when you want to say goodbye to someone till a specific date.

#4 bis

周一见

zhōu yī jiàn

see you on Monday

To say to someone “see you” at a specific date, all you need to do is follow this pattern:

[Specific Date] + 见

For example: If you put the date 周一 in front on 见, you get: 周一见 – See you on Monday, since 周一 is Monday.

#5再联系

zài lián xi

Let's catch up later/ let's stay in touch

When a conversation is suddenly broken up but you want to show you’ll stay in contact with someone, you can say 再联系. This indicates to the other person you desire to catch up with them later, and shows you want to stay in touch.  The expression is made up of the words:

• 再, which you saw above, and means “again

• 联系 – lián xi – means “contact, relation, in touch with”.

Ninchanese is an incredible app for learning Chinese!

” I actually graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Chinese.
I’ve used Ninchanese daily, and it has helped me a lot!  “

 – Connor, Ninchanese User

Try Ninchanese, an award-winning method to learn Chinese today:

Start Learning Now

#6

失陪了

shī péi le

Excuse me, I must leave

失陪了 is a very polite and formal way to say goodbye. It carries the meaning of “Excuse me, I must leave”. When you’re at a meeting or a party and you have to leave early, use 失陪了 to take your leave. It shows you have good manners in Chinese.

#7

我先告辞了

wǒ xiān gào cí

(Pardon me), I'll take my leave

Way #7 to say goodbye in Mandarin is a standard and very polite way to say goodbye. 我先告辞了 means: ” I’ll take my leave”, and nearly implies a “pardon me”. This expression is rather serious and mainly used in special situations. You normally use this expression in face-to-face conversations, especially when talking to someone with a higher social position or that is older in age than you, to show your respect. This expression was a lot more prevalent in the past, and was quite serious. Now, if you hear teenagers say that, they most likely are using this expression in a lighter and more casual manner.

Let’s break down the words in this expression:

• 我 wǒ – I, me, my

• 先 xiān – first. In Chinese, it’s very common to say “I’m leaving/going first” as a way to take your leave. Just a little something to keep in mind.

• 告辞 gào cí – “to take leave (of one’s host).

In short, this expression literally means “I’ll take leave first”. If you’re looking for a simpler way to show you want to take leave of your host, you can also say  我先走了 wǒ xiān zǒu le – I’m going first.

#8

后会有期

hòu huì yǒu qī

farewell

You may have heard 后会有期 before. This way to say goodbye is often used in movies, as it’s a little more dramatic than a simple “goodbye”. It means “farewell” or “we’ll meet again someday”. As you can guess, this is an expression to use in Chinese when two people know they won’t meet again easily once they part. You can also use this expression when you don’t know for sure when you’ll meet that person again.

#9

保重

bǎo zhòng

Take care

保重 means to take care. This is a great expression to use when someone is going away on a long journey or leaving far. To show you want to send them off well, you can say 保重 together with 一路顺风 yī lù shùn fēng “May the wind be with you”! With these two expressions, you’re wishing them a pleasant journey! What a nice way to say goodbye in Mandarin, don’t you think?

A less formal way to say to someone you want them to take care is  慢走 Mànzǒu Take care!. 慢走 literally means”to walk slowly”, and is used by hosts when guests are saying goodbye. Its a very Chinese way of seeing someone off.

#10

挂了啊

guà le a

I’m going to hang up

Since you already know how to start a phone conversation by saying 喂? wéi? Hello?, don’t you want to know also how to end a phone call? Ending a phone call in Chinese can be tricky, but here’s a simple way to end your conversation: 挂了啊 guà le a, I’m going to hang up. Here 啊a is only a particle word that adds a little emotion to what you’re saying. You can also shorten it to 挂了guà le.

Now that you know 10 different ways to say goodbye in Mandarin, you’re ready to end any conversation that ends your way! Isn’t that neat? All’s left is to learn how to say hello, and a few things to say in between, and you’re ready to chat away in Chinese. Practice each time you have to bid adieu to your friends! Do you use other expressions to say goodbye in Chinese? Share them with us below!

The Nincha Team

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The post 10 Ways to Say Goodbye in Mandarin appeared first on Ninchanese.

It’s quite normal when you’re starting out in Mandarin to wonder how many characters and words are there exactly in Chinese? And then, to wonder immediately after that, just how many of those Chinese characters do I need to learn? The task may seem daunting, the number of Chinese characters that exist is enormous, but after you read this post, I can assure you that you’ll know exactly how many and how to find Chinese characters to learn. We’ll see first what the Chinese language is made of, then, how many Chinese characters you need to know and finally the amount of characters natives know.

How many characters exist in total in Chinese?

What is the Chinese language made of? Nowadays, the Chinese language is made of more than 80,000 characters, 85,568 characters to be more precise according to the Zhonghua Zihai dictionary. The 中华字海 Zhonghua Zihai dictionary contains all the Chinese characters that have ever existed, from old Buddhist texts to characters used by the Qing, Ming and Song dynasties. Such a very complete dictionary! It sounds very impressive, but you should know that a lot of the characters contained in this dictionary are actually no longer used.

So now you know that there are at least 80 000 characters in Mandarin. But it doesn’t stop there! These 80 000 characters equal many, many, more Chinese words. How does that work?
In the Chinese language, 字 zì characters also known as 汉字 hànzi (hanzi) meaning Chinese characters can be combined together to create 词 cí words. Yes, you heard right.
Single characters can be words on their own, for instance, you can use the character 手 shǒu hand if you want to talk about someone’s hand but most words in Chinese are composed of two or more characters. So if you take this character 手 for example, you can combine it with other characters to create new words like 手表 Shǒubiǎo wristwatch.

The Chinese language works in an interesting way, doesn’t it? It’s a little tricky.

This means if you “only” learned the 80,000 Chinese characters, you’d be able to understand a good number of the words you run across in a text, but not all of them. It’s often possible to guess the meaning of two characters combined together to form a new word, but often, it’s not possible, as you’ll see below.
Let’s take the characters 手 and 机 and their pinyin.

手 shǒu hand

+

机 jī machine

= 手机 shǒujī cellphone

You can easily guess the meaning of the word 手机 in simplified Chinese when you know the meaning of each individual character.

On the contrary, here’s a tougher word to crack, using the characters 上 and 手:

上 shàng above

+

手 shǒu hand

= 上手 shàngshǒu to master

See? The Chinese word 上手 made of the two characters 上 and 手 is harder to guess! And if you don’t know the characters you’ll hardly guess the word’s pronunciation.

Ninchanese is an incredible app for learning Chinese!

” I actually graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Chinese.
I’ve used Ninchanese daily, and it has helped me a lot!  “

 – Connor, Ninchanese User

Try Ninchanese, an award-winning method to learn Chinese today:

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This is why you should master both Chinese characters and terms, to be able to understand the texts you run into in China.

So how many Chinese words are there in Chinese? That’s an even tougher question than how many Chinese characters are there. As Chinese is a living language, it’s hard to give a definite count. The Chinese language is still evolving and new terms and expressions are created every day. To give you an idea, The 汉语大词典 Hanyu Da Cidian (lit: Comprehensive Chinese Word Dictionary) is said to contain 370,000 words. Just like the 中华字海 Zhonghua Zihai dictionary for characters, a lot of the entries in the 汉语大词典 are no longer in use.

You know now how to identify Chinese characters (one syllable max) and words (one or more 字). But are you worried by the sheer quantity of words that exist in Chinese? We have some good news for you: there is no need to memorize all 80,000+ Chinese characters or 370 000 Chinese words. All you have to do is master the characters and terms which are commonly used today in the Chinese language. Conversational fluency in Chinese is within your reach and won’t take years and years of study. Relieved? I’m sure what you’re really itching to know now is: So, how many Chinese characters will I need to learn to be able to handle most texts in everyday circumstances?

How many Chinese characters do you really need to learn?

Many people are afraid of learning Chinese because of the 80,000 characters that make up the Chinese language. It seems like a lot to learn. The truth is you don’t need to know that many characters to speak Chinese. Did you really believe that Chinese natives all know 80,000 characters? Nope! Not at all. Native Chinese speakers themselves don’t know that many words and characters in Chinese! That’d be an incredible amount of terms to know. So before we move on to how many Chinese words and Chinese characters you would be required know to be considered fluent, let’s see first how many characters an average Chinese speaker knows.

In elementary school, Chinese pupils are expected to learn about 2,500 characters which are the most used. Then they assimilate about 1,000 more specific ones during middle school and high school. In the end, Chinese students that have finished high school know about 4,500 characters. For reference, the Chinese government puts literacy at 2000 characters. Well-educated Chinese people know anywhere from 8,000 characters and upwards. That’s really far away from the 80,000 Chinese characters! Only specialized linguists and scholars get closer to those 80,000.

4500 to 8000 characters to know doesn’t sound too bad, right? So how many Chinese characters do YOU need to know to be considered fluent? The number of Chinese characters and words you need to know depends on many things such as your learning goal, your current fluency level or even the frequency of use of these characters.

What’s your learning goal for Chinese?

First, ask yourself what’s your goal in speaking Chinese? What are you looking to do? If you want to live in China, and simply interact in your everyday life in Chinese, a working vocabulary of 1000 words might be enough to start with. You don’t need to learn many characters to travel to China. If you need to order food, read something that’s written on a menu, call a taxi or even asking for a direction, few survival words would be enough. If you want to understand what’s going on TV, on the radio or in the newspapers, you’ll basically need to learn about 3,000 to 4,000 characters. In newspapers you’ll find about 2.500 very common Chinese characters, so knowing 3,000 characters will allow you to understand about 99% of what’s written.

Now if your goal is to be able to read a Chinese dictionary, which is a pretty advanced Chinese goal, then you’ll need to know at least 9,000 to 15,000 characters to be able to comfortably read the definitions.
Having a Chinese learning goal is essential to progress, but knowing what level you are is also very important to know what Chinese characters and terms to learn.

What’s your level?

You’ve just started learning Chinese? Then you belong to the HSK 1 level which requires learning about 150 words. You’ve just entered the world 3 in Ninchanese? Then you’re the HSK 3 level and you’ll need to learn about 300 new terms. Check your level and see how many words you have to learn according to the HSK. As there has been a renewal of the HSK exams.

The numbers of words you need to learn for the new HSK:

HSK 1: 153    –     HSK 2: 150    –     HSK 3: 300    –     HSK 4: 598    –     HSK 5: 1300    –     HSK 6: 2513

The HSK levels are important if you want to prove your Chinese skills by taking the exam, it’s also good for you to know where you are and where you’re heading to. But don’t rely on them, as some terms in the lists are sometimes quite odd, and not that useful on a daily basis.

Pick the right characters to learn: Mind the characters’ frequency

Learning every single Chinese character would be a waste of time as you’ll rarely meet some of them. Why don’t you learn the characters that are the most used in everyday life? Here’s the list of the most frequent characters. See? Currently, the most used Chinese character is 的 de of; particle. If you master the most frequent Chinese characters, you’ll be in theory able to read a newspaper, have a conversation, watch TV and so on. It just depends on how many frequent characters you decide to learn. If you digest 100 of the most common characters, you statistically should have a 42% understanding of the characters you run into.

1000 of the most frequent Chinese characters should bring you an 89% understanding of what you read.The caveat to this method is that the 11%, for instance, you won’t understand will be the characters that bring you the meaning of the sentence. Imagine being able to read everything single word in a sentence that says “I bought an XXX for cheap”. If you don’t know what XXX means, then the sentence is rather pointless isn’t? The best way to counter that is to keep expanding your Chinese vocabulary, by learning new characters, and more specific terms you’re interested in, and more specific until you’ve learned the 3000 to 4000 most frequent Chinese characters. Then, you should be familiar with the vast majority of the characters you running into.

My advice : Do a little bit of everything

Pay attention to these three steps to know what and how many characters you should learn. My best advice would be to put as a goal: master 2,500 to 3,000 characters. Therefore, you’ll be able to understand many things. When you’re HSK 4 level (world 4 in Ninchanese), you should be able to understand about 2,000 characters and terms. But how and what should you learn? In Ninchanese, we help you learn the most common and frequently used Chinese characters. So, take the road to world 4 and you’ll be on the right path to speaking Chinese like a native!

Final words:

Now that you know how many terms and characters exist in Chinese, and how many characters you need to learn, aren’t you glad you asked? You see, there’s no need to be scared of some mischievous Chinese characters! You don’t need to assimilate an entire Chinese dictionary by heart to be fluent in Chinese, just follow our advice, and you’ll soon be learning the Chinese words and characters you need to reach your goal of fluency in Chinese!

Learning words and characters is the key to reading anything you see and fitting in China! The cool thing about Chinese characters is that they are the writing system common to all forms of spoken Chinese. See, you could be learning one of the many dialects of the Chinese language (check out this page to learn more about them), you’ll still be using Chinese characters.
Let’s say, for instance, that you want to learn Cantonese, as Olly Richards did in one year, can you guess what writing system you’ll be using? That’s right, Chinese characters. No matter what spoken form of Chinese you’re learning, you’ll be using them in writing.  So it’s pretty important to learn Chinese characters and really, there’s no need to be afraid of learning them.

Just pick your main learning goal, be realistic in the number of terms and Chinese characters you want to learn based on your actual level and select the characters that are the most frequent if you want to save time and efficiently study Mandarin. We’ve already selected the words you should know in Ninchanese so learn Chinese at your own speed without thinking about what you need to learn. After all, most of the Chinese only know about 5,000 characters and we know you soon will too!

Now tell us, how many words do you think you know in simplified Chinese? Or have you stopped counting?

The Nincha Team

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The post How Many Chinese Characters Do I Need To Learn? appeared first on Ninchanese.

Have you noticed that Chinese people always have a western name? They believe it’ll help them fit in better overseas, and it’s a great idea to do the same as them when you move to China. Chinese names are the key to being accepted and truly immersed in China.It’s also very fun to create one’s name. Follow this guide, step by step, so you don’t make any faux-pas and share with us the Chinese names you pick!

Ninchanese is an incredible app for learning Chinese!

” I actually graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Chinese.
I’ve used Ninchanese daily, and it has helped me a lot!  “

 – Connor, Ninchanese User

Try Ninchanese, an award-winning method to learn Chinese today:

Start Learning Now

Why finding the right Chinese names matter

When it comes to choosing Chinese names, foreigners must be careful to not pick the wrong name. When Chinese parents choose a name for their child, they make sure to pick the right one as it impacts the child’s future. The same applies to you, choosing your Chinese name will also have an impact on your future and your relations.
A good Chinese name will show you took the time to reflect on what Chinese names entail, were respectful of Chinese traditions, and didn’t just use a random Chinese names generator. So, read on and learn the keys to finding and creating the right new Chinese name for you.

Step 1 for good Chinese names: Pick a Chinese name that fits your gender

Chinese parents want to give their children names that are full of the characteristics they hope their children will have when growing older. Based on their child’s gender, their choice will be different, just like in the Western World.

Boys are given Chinese names with “boy” characteristics, and girls have girl-sounding names. For instance, traditional Chinese boy names are related to strength and prosperity. Girls are traditionally given names that are evocative of beauty, grace and flowers. You’ll never run into a Chinese boy named 茉莉 mòlì Jasmine, for example. Can you imagine? His life would be ruined, he’d probably feel ashamed and people would probably laugh at him.

The same goes for you: when choosing your Chinese name, don’t pick a name that doesn’t fit your gender. Or do so at your own risk and be warned that Chinese people may stare at you and think your name is strange.

Now that we have the gender-issue out of the way, let’s move on to the different options you have to build your Chinese name. The three main ways of picking a name in Chinese are :choosing a meaningful one, a good-looking one or a name that sounds like yours. Let’s start with picking a name for its meaning.

Step 2 for good Chinese names: Choose a Chinese name that has a meaning

One way of finding yourself a Chinese name is to pick a name that sounds nothing like your name but has a strong meaning. It’s a common way to pick a name. Based on your character and your personality, you can easily find Chinese words and Chinese characters that will suit you and your unique traits.

For example, if you are a gentle, nice and sweet-mannered girl, I suggest something like 淑婉 shū wǎn. It could fit you perfectly as it means: tender, graceful and virtuous.

You’re a smart and exceptional boy? In that case, 明杰 could be a cool name for you. míng means intelligent, reasonable and clear-sighted and 杰 jié means outstanding. This name should definitely make a good impression.

Meaningful names are always a good idea if you want to show off in front of Chinese people. Hehe~

Step 3 to good Chinese names: Select a name that look beautiful on paper and will make a wow impression

Some people prefer having a beautiful-looking name when written on the paper to choosing meaningful characters. So this can be another good way to choose your Chinese name. If you like this approach, then you have a broad range of good-looking characters waiting for you to pick them. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” as they say, so we’re leaving the choice up to you.

Want to stand out? You can also pick characters from traditional Chinese that are more complex. They’ll add some eccentricity to your Chinese names.

The name 陶淵明 Táoyuānmíng is a good example of a beautiful-in-writing name. It’s written in traditional Chinese and that makes it special. Besides, 陶淵明 was an amazing poet during the Jin Dynasty era.

Step 4 to good Chinese names: Pick a Chinese name that sound just like yours

Like your birth name and want a Chinese name that sounds the same, but in Chinese? That’s also an option. You can translate your name into Chinese. This method is quite popular method among foreigners but it’s also risky. You have to remember to make it sound like a real Chinese name as well, so it’s not weird-sounding to the Chinese natives around you.

Let’s take the name Robert to show you how “Chinesifying” your name works.
Robert becomes 罗佩 Luó pèi. Say it out loud and the magic happens. It sounds about the same, right? There’s no particular meaning added to the translation of Robert, here. But sometimes you can do both: choose a meaningful name while staying faithful to your original name.

Let’s have a little fun: These are the name of the Ninchanese Team aka. “Nincha Team”: Sarah:莎娜, Jean-Rémi: 尚海明, and Pauline: 玻琳. Mathieu didn’t have a Chinese name yet, so we picked this one for him ^^: 马修 and 斯婧’s western name is Hermione.

Step 5: Chinese names dos and don’ts

DO: pick a “short’ name
Chinese names are made of 3 characters maximum, the average is two characters.

Sometimes foreigners shorten their names and combine their first and last name so it looks and sounds better. Let’s take Melanie Hamilton from Gone with the Wind, in Chinese, her name became 韩媚兰 Hánmèilán. Hán is for her last name and mèilán is for Melanie. It was shortened so it’s easier to read and it sounds more Chinese.

DON’T go overboard: So don’t come up with a name like 伟烈伶勇武 + a last name. It would be too obvious that you made up a name by yourself.

DO: When translating your name, pay attention to the meaning of your Chinese name.
陸克文 Lù kèwén Kevin Rudd is a good example, it’s recognizable and it’s not weird for a Chinese because it doesn’t mean anything in particular.

DON’T: Ignore the meaning of your name, even if you’re going for something phonetically close to your birth name. Or you’ll end up on a list of super weird names foreigners picked, like these two:
To all the Roses out there, please, please, don’t choose 肉丝 as your Chinese name: 肉丝 Ròu sī means Slices of pork.
Boys named Daniel, we’ve also found something for you to avoid: 大牛 Dà niú big cow, yup, you heard it. Super ugly, right? Even if it’s funny, we really don’t recommend picking a name like that for everyday use.

DON’T: Something else you should avoid when picking a Chinese name for yourself is choosing a cliché Chinese name. Stereotyped names are the worst and they’ll sound very funny to Chinese people: 美花 měi huā beautiful flower is a terrible choice.

Names like 李刚 Lǐgāng, 王小明 wángxiǎomíng and 张梅 zhāng méi are already very popular Chinese names so try not to pick these and find something less used and authentic!

DO: Take your Chinese name out for a test drive before you make it official.
Another important thing to do before making your new Chinese name official, is to try it out on your Chinese friends. See if they don’t burst out laughing when you tell them, and let them check if it sounds OK in Chinese to them. A native ear is the best way to tell if you’ve given yourself a stellar or less than stellar name.

To sum up

1. Pick different characters for your name based on whether you’re a girl or a boy
2. Decide on how you’re going to create your Chinese name: Do you want it to be meaning based?
3. Do you want it to look pretty?
4. Do you want it to sound like your birth name?
5. Check the do and don’t list to make sure you didn’t forget anything…

And you’ll be good to go! By following all these steps, you’ll be able to choose a Chinese name that fits perfectly. If you respect the rules, you’ll be in total immersion in China. Now it’s your turn to create your Chinese names! You can also check the most used Chinese names. Let us know below what you pick! And tell us, why did you choose those?

The Nincha Team

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The post Chinese Names: The 5-Step Guide to Create Yours appeared first on Ninchanese.

You already know everything about how to say “yes” in Mandarin, but perhaps you’re tired of saying yes to everything?! Sometimes you just need a “OK” to let the others know you got it. Let’s help you diversify your vocabulary then with 5 ways to say okay in Mandarin Chinese. OK? Ok!

Say OK to accept a proposition

Need to answer someone’s question or show you want to accept their proposition? These three words are all good candidates to use:

好 hǎo fine 行 xíng OK 可以 kěyǐ it’s okay

These three words all show you’re okay with the idea or proposition so you can pick your favorite one to answer. For example when someone asks you :

周末去看电影吗? Zhōumò qù kàn diànyǐng ma? Should we watch a movie this weekend?

可以啊 kěyǐ a Ok, sounds great!

You can answer: 可以，好 or 行 if you want to watch a movie with them this weekend.

Say ok with 对 and 没错 – Right!

Let me introduce you two other Chinese expressions to say OK: 对 duì yes; right and 没错 méicuò right. Both can be used to show you agree with that they just. 对 means “correct” in Chinese, and 没错 means “not wrong”, so they are both often used to show your approval of what someone is saying, just like you would in English by saying “Right”.

没错 can be used, for instance to say

你说的没错! Nǐ shuō de méi cuò You’re right / You can say that again.

Say Ok with 我同意 – I agree

我同意! ”wǒ I agree

An easy way to say ok you can use all the time when you agree with something is 我同意. If you’re having a conversation with someone and totally agree with what they just said well this is a perfect way to give them feedback.
For example:
我同意你的看法 wǒ tóng yì nǐ de kànfǎ I agree with your opinion.

Say Ok with 没问题 – No problem / Don’t mention it

没问题! méi wèn tí no problem

Another very Chinese way to say OK is 没问题! It may sound informal, but for Chinese people, it’s not and they use it all the time. When using 没问题, you show you want to put one at ease, to reassure them that everything is okay. 没问题 is a word you can use in many situations when you need someone to feel okay.
For example, if you really need to leave and feel uncomfortable about going at that time, you might want to say, to seek reassurance:

现在可以走了吗? Xiànzài kěyǐ zǒule ma? Can I leave right now?

没问题! méi wèn tí no problem

Don’t you feel reassured upon hearing them say that?
Just for you to know: 没 is for “no” and 问题 is for “problem”.

#5 How to say Ok with 我知道了 – Got it

我知道了 wǒ zhī dào le I got it

You surely know about this one, I mean, it’s one of the first phrases you learn in Mandarin, right?

Wait. You don’t know this sentence? Then check out our last article about useful Chinese phrases to know more about 我知道了.

Ok, imagine, you’re in a meeting and your boss tells you that he wants you to introduce the company in front of everyone. This is your time to shine and you’re so excited. Calm yourself first and answer:

我知道了 wǒ zhī dào le I got it

Another example? Say, if you’ve been studying Chinese really hard and thought you did well on Master Yocha’s test. But then, Master Yocha tells you there are mistakes in the last test you’ve made. You may feel upset, but keep in mind that mistakes are a great way to learn. So, calm down, breathe in and say:

我知道了, 下次注意 Wǒ zhīdàole, xià cì zhùyì Got it, I’ll be more careful next time.

Master Yocha is good-hearted, he knows you’re doing your best!

#6 A non-word to say OK: 嗯

Looking for a not too wordy way to say OK? Use 嗯 èn OK / hmm!

It’s more a sound than a word but you can use it to show your approval of something that was said. Kind of like the “hmm” of agreement in English you might use when you’re okay with something. Just make sure you watch your pronunciation. If you write it or say it with a second tone like so “én”, it means “what?”. Not quite the same meaning, huh?!

#7 Bonus word to say OK: OK了

Update:  A Reddit User aptly pointed out we forgot this essential and extremely easy way to say OK: OK了

Ok了 is, as you see, simply the word okay coupled with 了. 了 as you probably know is a particle that is either used after a verb to indicate the completion of an action; or at the end of a sentence to indicate a change in situation or state, or, and its most likely the case here, as a modal particle to intensify the preceding phrase.

You use it to show your agreement to a suggestion that’s been made; such a positive answer to a suggestion to go out for a coffee or a shopping session, like so:

我们下午去看电影吧？Ok了 wǒmen xiàwǔ qù kàn diànyǐng ba? Ok le Let's go see a movie this afternoon? Ok

You can also use it to show you’ve finished doing something or accomplished something you had set out to do. For instance,

你做完作业了吗？Ok了 nǐ zuò wán zuòyèle ma? Okle Did you finish your homework? Yup.

Easy peasy, right?

Final words

There are many words to say OK in Chinese. The 5 we just shared (and the bonus grunt!) we just gave you are among the most used in Chinese. Learn these so you can be more fluent and pretend to be Chinese hehe~. OK了？！

Your Nincha Mission: Use these 5 ways to say OK to the Chinese speakers around you! Tell us how it went and if they were surprised to hear you use them!

Pauline, Yanjie and

The Nincha Team

Stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Try the best way to learn Chinese today.
Ninchanese is free to use!

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The post How to Say OK Like a Real Chinese appeared first on Ninchanese.

Ninchanese is an incredible app for learning Chinese!

” I actually graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Chinese.
I’ve used Ninchanese daily, and it has helped me a lot!  “

 – Connor, Ninchanese User

Try Ninchanese, an award-winning method to learn Chinese today:

Start Learning Now

Part 1  – Chinese phrases: Everyday basics

Let’s start with a few basic Chinese phrases you can use in everyday conversations to make sure you communicate efficiently. Also, download the Chinese Phrasebook app we’ve made to find all the essential Chinese sentences to know.

#1 不好意思，我听不懂。-  Sorry, I don’t understand.

Have you got yourself in a situation where someone’s talking to you, but you do not understand what they’re saying? First off, kudos! Speaking to locals in Chinese is the best way to get comfortable speaking in Chinese.

But how do you let the other know you’re not quite getting their gist? Instead of shaking your head no, you can say:

不好意思，我听不懂.

Bù hǎo yì si, wǒ tīng bù dǒng.

Sorry, I don’t understand.

Try that?  Great, now that you’ve let the other know you weren’t quite following what they said without offending them, well done! You can move on to:

#2 你可以讲慢点吗?  –  Can you speak slowly, please?

For situations when: You know some Chinese but you’re not used to people speaking fast, yet. Maybe you’d be following what the other was saying if only they weren’t talking like they’re trying to win a 100-yard sprint. This sentence may solve your troubles:

你可以讲慢点吗?

Nǐ kě yǐ jiǎng màn diǎn ma?

Can you speak more slowly, please?

Hang on to this sentence; you might use it a LOT because you’ll find that the Chinese speak fast sometimes!

#3 你说英语吗?  –  Do you speak English?

Is option #2 sound too harsh because your Mandarin Chinese is still too limited to understand entire sentences? That’s okay. You tried, at least. But, now you know that you need to improve your listening comprehension skills in Chinese!

For now, try saying this after sentence #1:

你说英语吗?

Nǐ shuō yīngyǔ ma?

Do you speak English?

It’s perfect for situations when it might be better to switch to English.

#4 我不知道  –  I don’t know

Knowing how to say I don’t know in Chinese is both easy and extremely useful. You’ll find yourself using it often, and you’ll hear all kinds of people in China saying:

我不知道。

Wǒ bù zhī dào.

I don’t know.

Never feel embarrassed to say 我不知道 as there exist thousands of “whys” in this world. In Chinese, just like in many languages, saying this is normal.

Use it: When you need to say you don’t know and want someone to “let you know”!

Part 2 – Chinese phrases: Getting information

Good, you now have learned a few common Chinese expressions to get you started having conversations with native Chinese speakers. Next, let’s move on to basic Chinese phrases to bring you the information you want.

#5 这个用汉语怎么说？  –  How do you say that in Chinese?

You’re an adventurer, and China’s full of strange things you’ll want to discover and adopt in your daily life. As such, you’re always curious to know how to say this or that in Chinese. This sentence is perfect for you:

这个用汉语怎么说?

Zhè ge yòng hàn yǔ zěn me shuō?

How do you say that in Chinese?

Use it when: you want to know what this thing is!

Bonus: Pointing and asking questions is a great way to build your vocabulary and learn many new Chinese words. So get yourself talking!

#6 请问，这里 有 wifi 吗？-  Excuse me, is there any wifi here?

A wireless connection is the most important thing when you’re far away from your home and family so you can keep in touch with them often. When in a coffee shop, a bar, a restaurant, a spa, your hotel, you can ask:

请问，这里 有 wifi 吗?

Qǐngwèn，zhèlǐ yǒuwifi ma?

Excuse me, is there any wifi here?

Bonus phrase

If the 服务员 fúwùyuán waiter answers there is, you can also ask what the wireless code is:

密码 是 多少?

Mìmǎ shì duōshao?

What’s the password?

#7 厕所在哪里？ – Where are the restrooms?

A must when traveling, exploring unknown places, knowing where the toilets are! Ask this to get instructions on how to reach the restrooms.

厕所在哪里?

Cèsuǒ zài nǎlǐ? Where are the restrooms? A good thing to know (if the people going in and out aren’t enough help):

• Look for 男 Nán for the men’s restroom
• Look for 女 Nǚ for the ladies’ room
• Another good word to know is 洗手间 xǐshǒujiān.

Bonus sentence

没有卫生纸了。

Méi yǒu wèishēngzhǐ le

(Remember to always have tissues with you just in case because you may find yourself saying this more than you expected).

#8 请问现在几点了？-  What time is it, please?

Are you the kind of person who always forgets to bring your watch or give juice to your cell phone? Then this question will come in extra handy:

请问现在几点了?

Qǐng wèn xiàn zài jǐ diǎn le?

What time is it please?

You never know when this question may be helpful to ask. But, of course, it’s also terribly beneficial to make sure you’re organizing your time well and are on time!

Part 3 – Chinese Phrases: Shopping

This part is dedicated to two widespread and helpful phrases to know in Chinese when shopping because we know how much you like shopping!

#9 这个多少钱？-  How much is it?

Knowing how to ask for a price is a fundamental skill you’ll be quickly mastering if you travel or live in China; You’ll most likely use it every day in your daily life!

So, to inquire how much something costs, say:

这个多少钱?

Zhè ge duō shǎo qián?

How much is it?

This sentence is very useful to know; You need this sentence to buy things in China!

#10 太贵了，便宜点。-  It’s too expensive, cheaper, please.

Not happy with the price you heard? Then it’s time to try a bit of essential bargaining!
If you only learn one thing about bargaining in China, remember this one:

太贵了，便宜点。

Tài guì le, pián yi diǎn.

It’s too expensive, cheaper, please.

Chinese sellers (often) may try to take advantage of customers that don’t know the trends and actual prices of items. Don’t let that faze you, and keep saying this sentence until they cave (or you walk away). We believe in your power to convince them!

Part 4 – Chinese phrases: Going places

Next up in this selection of typical Chinese phrases, you need a few useful travel sentences!

#11 请问怎么去…？-  Can you tell me how to go to + place, please?

Confused about where you’re supposed to go? To find your way in China, use this Chinese phrase to ask for directions:

请问怎么去...?

Qǐng wèn zěn me qù...?

Can you tell me how to go to + place, please?

China is such a vast country that you should always be prepared to ask how to find your way in Chinese.

Bonus sentence: I’m lost.

Why are you asking how to go to a particular place? Is it because you’re lost? Then, this might be a piece of useful information to slip in:

我迷路了

Wǒ mílù le.

I’m lost.

#12 请问这辆车去哪儿？ / 哪里? Where is this going?

You got on a train, but suddenly it dawns on you-you’re not sure where it’s going. Put your fears to rest with this simple question you can ask your neighbors or the train conductor:

请问这辆车去哪儿?

Qǐngwèn zhè liàng chē qù nǎ'er?

Excuse me, where is this going?

Note: 哪儿？/哪里？ are two ways to say “where” in Chinese. The first one is more used in the North and the second one in Southern China.

# 13  你要去哪里/哪儿? Where do you want to go?

You snagged a taxi to take you to your next destination; well done! Now, the taxi driver is going to ask you:

你要去哪里/哪儿?

Nǐ yào qù nǎlǐ/nǎ'er

Where do you want to go?

So better be prepared for this question and ready to answer!

Here’s how to answer:

• have a card ready with the address written down on it — always a good way to make sure the taxi driver knows where you’re going
• Call the place you’re going, explain your situation, and hand the driver your phone. They’ll take care of guiding your driver to your destination.

Part 5 – Chinese phrases: Asking for help

This last part is dedicated to asking for assistance, information, and help. So let’s get the most serious type of help out of our way first:

# 14 救命 – Help!

For something urgent, when you’re in real danger or are facing a very present issue, say — or yell, depending on the gravity of the situation –:

救命!

Jiùmìng

Help!

Worst comes to worst; simply yell “Help!” I bet all the people understand this word in this universe.

#15 捉小偷！捉小偷！- Catch the thief

Pickpockets and thieves are an ugly reality, no matter where you go, so better learn this sentence just in case your bag gets snatched or your cellphone was stolen out of your back pocket:

捉小偷!捉小偷!

Zhuō xiǎotōu! Zhuō xiǎotōu!

Catch the thief! Catch the thief!

#16 对不起，打扰了。 – Excuse me, I’m sorry to bother you.

Now that you know how to yell for help in serious situations, let’s see what you say when asking someone for information or a little help. 救命 is out of the question. Instead, this is a great sentence to know:

对不起，打扰了.

Duì bù qǐ, dǎ rǎo le.

Excuse-me, I'm sorry to bother you.

then follow up with your question. Trust us, being polite goes a long way when asking people to help you out.

Use it when: you want to get information but want to make you’re not disturbed too much. Type of help you need regular help, nothing too pressing or urgent.

#17 谢谢您的帮助  –  Thank you for your help!

Great, you asked for help and got some very helpful advice. Now it’s time to show your thankfulness!
A simple will work fine, of course, but for extra effect, try:

谢谢您的帮助

Xiè xiè nín de bāng zhù!

Thank you for your help!

Each time someone helps you, even if it’s for a tiny thing,  remember to tell them to thank you!

Part 6 – Chinese phrases: Being sick

#18 我病了 – I’m sick

Your adventure in China might take a different turn, and because of spicy food, change of weather, or whatever reason, you might be sick. If you need help or be noticed, you have to tell about how you’re feeling. Here’s how to start:

我病了

wǒ bìng le

I’m sick.

Saying this will make it easier for the Chinese people to understand how you feel!

#19 我需要医生 – I need a doctor

You’re sick and not getting better? OK, it’s time for you to go to the doctor.

Don’t know where to find a doctor? Then tell someone:

救命!我需要医生

Jiùmìng! Wǒ xūyào yīshēng

Help! I need a doctor!

#20 这儿疼 – It hurts here

Great you found a doctor. How do you tell them what you’re feeling? Well, tell them where it hurts to start with, right?

这儿疼

zhè’er téng

It hurts here.

This may be the most valuable Chinese phrase to keep with you all at times, just in case you never know.

This last sentence concludes this careful collection of 20 (and a few bonus sentences) fundamental Chinese phrases to know and survive your first time in China.

Final words: you know now how to survive in Chinese

And this sentence concludes this careful collection of 20 (and a few bonus sentences) fundamental Chinese phrases to know and survive your first time in China. Because you never know what might happen to you during your Chinese adventure, we’ve gathered here the most useful Chinese phrases to survive any situation: bargaining, going to the doctor, apologizing, calling for help, and asking for assistance in China. With these 20+ sentences, the help of the information you need will never be far away.
So, try some of these fundamental Chinese phrases next time you’re in China (we hope you won’t have to use all of them at once) and fully enjoy your journey! And, tell us: did these expressions help you? Do you know some others that would help or help you there?

You’ll also be very interested in the Chinese phrasebook app we’ve made for Android here.

The Nincha Team

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Baimei, your new favorite cat to speak Chinese to!

Meet Baimei: with her, you’ll learn to meow purrfectly in Chinese!

As one of our Nincha learners put it, in our voice recognition stages, “it’s great not to have to talk to another human being”…because it’s so much better to practice speaking Chinese to a cat, right? ^^

Baimei was always supposed to be the one helping you speaking Chinese. As you may have noticed; she’s often in the dialogues, but she wasn’t actually in the interface. That was a terrible misunderstanding and it’s now been fixed.

Hello Baimei!

A new flow: it’s easier than ever to speak Chinese

Based on your feedback, our last big beta update had focused on improving Yocha’s stages and making your experience learning how sentences work on Chinese a little less intense and a lot more fun. After that, we completely reworked the content to make it  gradual and extremely progressive. The idea? Make sure Nincha’s the only teaching you new words!

Now, we took advantage of this switch to improve the dialogues, based on all you wonderful Nincha Learners’ feedback and Baimei’s demands.

See, Baimei’s likes things to be easy to use, practical and straightforward. She also carefully listened to all your feedback inputs and was able to pinpoint all the areas you wanted improvements in. Here’s what she asked us to implement, now that she is rightfully taking care of the Dialogue stages:

1. to be able to listen to a sentence again before saying it

2. to make it once you’re done saying a sentence, it moves automatically onto the next one

3. to have something that let you Nincha learners know when Baimei is ready to listen to you speak Chinese.

All wonderful ideas, of course, so we happily complied with her – and your – demands and it’s really improved the flow, we think. Do you agree?

Here’s how the dialogues work now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r64Ed4W_ygw

Can’t see the video above? View it here

Meowtastically simple to use, huh?

You listen to the sentence, then you speak. The words you’ve properly pronounced turn green. The words you mispronounced become red.

If you want to know why they became red, simply click on them and we’ll show you what Baimei heard instead.

Like this:

Can’t see the video above? View it here

Baimei also told us she couldn’t hear some users but had no way to tell them that was the case…. So we added comments to let you know what’s going on.

Sometimes the mic doesn’t pick up what you say. It happens. Now it tells you when it’s the case and nicely asks you to repeat.

Sometimes, there are issues with your Internet speed which prevent Baimei from processing what you just said and telling you if it’s correct or not: you’ll now get a little message that tells you when that’s the case. This should come in particularly handy for our Nincha Learners based in China who use a VPN and suffer from a slow connection.

Many of you had also reported there were issues with how numbers were recognized, and how some words were tough to be recognized (homophones, essentially). That’s been fixed too!

So, dear Nincha users, you know what you have to do: come on over to Ninchanese and go speak Chinese with Baimei!

We’ll be adding tweaks and little improvements here and there over the next few weeks but right now, we want to know:

What do you think of this dialogue update? Do you like it?
Let us know what you think of it, we want to know!

Purr, furr and all that good stuff,

The Nincha Team

Ninchanese combines addictive game mechanics, cute cats and efficient Chinese learning techniques to make learning Chinese a lot of fun! The app is now in beta so sign up now for early access to the beta! Check out our trailer and stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google + and Pinterest.

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Using a technique called deep neural networks, Microsoft’s new step in computers understanding and reproducing human speech, touted a “speech recognition breakthrough”, is said to have a greatly improved accuracy, making dreams of removing language barriers suddenly more tangible.

Is Voice recognition the future of language learning?

Microsoft’s first presentation of this technique was from English to Chinese, as you can see in the video above (no video? it’s here). Which got us thinking. Is this going to enable you to speak Chinese without having to actually learn Chinese?

Personnally, we’re torn. We’re big fans of the deeper and deeper integration of technology into our lives. If a software can make things easier for a lot of people, great. It’s easy to dream up positive applications for breakthroughs like this.

But at the same time, are we ready to fully trust technology to speak for us? Are we ready to give up learning a language? We think not.

Can machines understand cultural codes?

Do you think our English way of presenting things can be simply and mechanically translated into Chinese? Chinese have their very own way of putting things, of asking questions; just like we do in English. Cultural aspects, like not losing face, have a lot to do with the way one asks for something in Chinese, for instance.

Do you think machines will ever be able to translate the cultural codes that go hand in hand with speaking a language? Speaking a language is more than just translating words and syntax; it’s also a question of understanding another’s culture. Now, if a software can help us speak Chinese AND avoid unintentional cultural mishaps, we’re in.

Maybe we’d rather learn the language ourselves

Although… isn’t using a phone or a computer to express your feelings instead of trying to voice them yourself already a bit awkward? Can you imagine using a machine to whisper sweet things to your boyfriend or girlfriend? What happens when your battery runs out and you’re in the middle of a camping trip?

So yeah… instead of replacing the need to learn a country’s language and its culture, we still feel technology should be a tool to help us learn a language. For now. Maybe we’ll change our minds when we’re able to directly download Chinese into our brains :).

What do you think? Is voice recognition the future of learning?

Ninchanese is a great new app where you’ll have fun learning Chinese. We’re still working on it, so sign up to be invited to the beta when we launch! And stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google + and Weibo. 

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