#mandarinblr
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Duolingo Sucks, Now What?: A Guide
Now that the quality of Duolingo has fallen (even more) due to AI and people are more willing to make the jump here are just some alternative apps and what languages they have:
"I just want an identical experience to DL"
Busuu (Languages: Spanish, Japanese, French, English, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Polish, Turkish, Russian, Arabic, Korean)
"I want a good audio-based app"
Language Transfer (Languages: French, Swahili, Italian, Greek, German, Turkish, Arabic, Spanish, English for Spanish Speakers)
"I want a good audio-based app and money's no object"
Pimsleur (Literally so many languages)
Glossika (Also a lot of languages, but minority languages are free)
*anecdote: I borrowed my brother's Japanese Pimsleur CD as a kid and I still remember how to say the weather is nice over a decade later. You can find the CDs at libraries and "other" places I'm sure.
"I have a pretty neat library card"
Mango (Languages: So many and the endangered/Indigenous courses are free even if you don't have a library that has a partnership with Mango)
Transparent Language: (Languages: THE MOST! Also the one that has the widest variety of African languages! Perhaps the most diverse in ESL and learning a foreign language not in English)
"I want SRS flashcards and have an android"
AnkiDroid: (Theoretically all languages, pre-made decks can be found easily)
"I want SRS flashcards and I have an iphone"
AnkiApp: It's almost as good as AnkiDroid and free compared to the official Anki app for iphone
"I don't mind ads and just want to learn Korean"
lingory
"I want an app made for Mandarin that's BETTER than DL and has multiple languages to learn Mandarin in"
ChineseSkill (You can use their older version of the course for free)
"I don't like any of these apps you mentioned already, give me one more"
Bunpo: (Languages: Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Korean, and Mandarin)
#EDIT: Added a great resource for ESL and African languages that weren't found elsewhere#I do NOT recommend memrise and will talk about it another day but#langblr#duolingo#duo#language learning#language learning apps#mandarinblr#resource#reference
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Can someone explain to me, are alternatively link me to a grammar resource that explains the difference in usage between:
什么都不/没
什么也不/没
一点都不/没
一点也不/没
I've seen all of these pop up as various ways of expressing "not at all." I'm mostly confused about when to use 也 vs 都.
ETA:
Okay, based on the responses I've received, I think there's some major confusion regarding what kind of explanation I'm asking for in this post.
I am NOT asking about the general differences between 也 vs 都.
I am also NOT asking about the general differences between 不 vs 没.
I am asking about the 4 phrases I listed. The SPECIFIC 4 phrases that I listed:
什么都不/没 i.e. 我什么都不知道 - I don't know anything at all
什么也不/没 i.e. 我什么也没干 - I didn't do anything at all
一点都不/没 i.e. 这对他一点都不好 - This is not good for him at all.
一点也不/没 i.e. 我一点也没生气 - I am not angry at all.
I am ONLY asking how to differentiate between these 4 phrases, and these 4 phrases alone. All of them seem to mean basically the same thing, so I'm asking how I pick between them when trying to express the concept of "not at all."
That's it.
#chinese langblr#chinese vocabulary#chinese grammar#mandarinblr#I was doing french->chinese translation exercises in an app and all of these phrases were translations for “ne...pas...du tout"#with no way for me to determine why one translation was chosen over another for a given sentence
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youtube
Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared
The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!
#ACLA24#ACLA24Leaders#youtube#youtube video#climate leaders#climate solutions#climate action#climate and environment#climate#climate change#climate and health#climate blog#climate justice#climate news#weather and climate#environmental news#environment#environmental awareness#environment and health#environmental#environmental issues#environmental justice#environment protection#environmental health#Youtube
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A sentence I got on Clozemaster a while ago
#langblog#langblr#language learning#chinese langblr#mandarinblr#mandarin langblr#mandarin#clozemaster#chinese
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🌿🌕✨
外国的月亮比较圆 - “the moon is rounder in other countries”
A funny phrase I learned today, the equivalent of “the grass is always greener on the other side”!
Do you feel that way sometimes too? 🌝
#proverb#vocab#mandarin#chinese language#mandarin chinese#chinese#mandarin vocab#language learning#chinese vocab#mandarin langblr#mandarinblr#idiom#chinese idiom
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Best Mandarin Comprehensible Input channel on Youtube
This woman has some kind of magical power (aka she's an incredible teacher) ! Even when I don't look at the subtitles and don't know half the words she's using, I can still get a sense of what she's talking about and even understand words in context !! She's doing an incredible job so go check her channel out !
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Adult girl problems:
- Working during severe hangover and not complaining
- Remember to prepare for test on Mandarin grammar next Tuesday
- Start preparing at 10 pm
Back to the test, I just got what topics are included today. Due to overloaded week, will break preparation into 3 days:
今天 - look though the notes I made in handovers, write down in one place (be define, not spread over, be concisely laconic)
Topics to cover today:
- Numbers 1-100
- Date and age
- Currencies and asking about price
- Measure words
- Modal verbs 可以，能，会，要，想
- 有/没有 usage
明天 - reciting words from the glossary, hometask (describe any picture in 11 sentences minimum and write down)
星期二 （test day) - read through notes left today, plus recite glossary.
Soo, that's it for today~ 拜拜 (ᵔᴥᵔ)
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Guys, I swear the source website of this picture had helped me out so much both when I started learning chinese and now!
Link:
I don't usually recommend pinterest to find useful websites but I did find this website there somehow lol. Istg half the links of pinterest are unavailable or something.
#langblr#chinese langblr#mandarin langblr#mandarinblr#chineselangblr#chinese vocab#mandarin vocab#chinese vocabulary#chinese language#chinese studyblr#mandarin vocabulary#mandarin chinese#mandarin studyblr#mandarin#learn chinese#study chinese#chinese study#learn mandarin#study mandarin#learning mandarin#studying mandarin#langblog#language learning#languageblr#learning languages#zhongwen
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People who learned mandarin chinese fluently or are learning rn: What is a method you used/use for learning tones in mandarin? How long did it take you to be able to instinctively tell them apart? Especially in a sentence. I'm having such a tough time, i think i might actually be tone deaf hahaah, any study method or resource would be really helpful
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突 = to dash or move forward quickly; abruptly; suddenly; unexpectedly, protrude
It's all about things moving forward and unexpectedly with this one!
Random words that come to mind include unexpectedly or out of the blue 突然 (tūrán), as well as conflict 冲突 (chōngtū) or 突出 (tūchū), something that is prominent or that sticks out.
突发 (tū fā) is interesting as well — it means to break out or appear unexpectedly... like 疾病突发 (jí bìng tū fā), the outbreak of an illness.
It's also a cute onomatopeia for things that have a tapping sound or that chug along, like when your heart goes pit-a-pat (你的心突突地跳, nǐde xīn tūtū de tiào).
#mandarin#learn mandarin#chinese#language learning#learning chinese#chinablr#mandarinblr#studyblr#普通话#国语#中国#汉字#中文#汉语#hanzi#chinese characters
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新年快乐！龙年大吉！
Art: Tan Jiu
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There is some spicy Chinese discourse about the OTW Election happening on social media right now
Note: This post contains some terms that readers might be unfamiliar with. I've attached ℹ️ links to those terms, which will direct readers to the relevant Wikipedia page.
A Chinese candidate, Tiffany G, is running for the 2022 OTW ℹ️ Board Election [election website] that is currently taking place.
The OTW, in case my followers are not aware, is the nonprofit organization that runs AO3 ℹ️, the world's largest fanfiction hosting web archive, as well as the world's 7th most popular entertainment website [source].
The AO3 website is banned in China, because it hosts content that violates China's censorship laws (see more details at the bottom of this post).
.
I wanted to see what Chinese twitter had to say about this Chinese board candidate, so I picked a few tweets at random to translate.
最无奈的一点，是那个Tiffany G真觉得这么做是为了ao3好。
但是ao3即使和晋江一样，大爹也不会放ao3进来了。
她这种不是与世界接轨而是不仅在国内要阉，还要走出国门去阉的精神……
称一句敬事房总管不为过了。
— loreki (@loreki1) August 12, 2022 [source]
Translation: It's a bit exasperating that this Tiffany G really thinks doing this to ao3 would be a good. But even if ao3 was the same as JìnJiāng, dà diē ("Big Brother") still wouldn't accept it. She is not in line with the global mindset; it wasn't enough for her to "castrate" (impose censorship) in China, she has to go abroad in the spirit of "castrating" other countries……
Respectfully, she should not placed in a position of power.
.
🤡这个Tiffany G是不是虾啊···除了虾谁会说AO3被封是因为儿童色情···甚至举报材料都是故意曲解AO3分级，AO3是儿童X情文学集中地的谎言。
— Wendy (@Wendy21694072) August 12, 2022 [source]
Translation: 🤡This Tiffany G is a "prawn" (bully/mean girl ETA: I've been informed that in this case "prawn" 虾 refers to a Xiao Zhan fan group who take credit for reporting AO3 to the Chinese authorities and getting it banned)...Who else but a prawn would claim that AO3 was blacklisted because of értóng sèqíng (CP ℹ️)...going so far as misrepresent the charges that were brought against AO3; it's a lie [to claim that] AO3 is a place full of CP.
.
Can ppl not wash down the AO3 Tiffany G thing with “oh you’re just xenophobic/racist” when tons of Chinese ppl from mainland China are telling y’all that this is a serious issue???
有些老外对威胁他们创作自由的人完全没有戒备心，居然还帮人家说话… 我要吐了，你们是生活在真空里的吗
— Commander Goose | Levi’s Delivery Service (@CDR_Goose) August 12, 2022 [source]
Translation: There are some foreigners (Westerners) who are totally, dangerously oblivious to those who might threaten their freedom. I don't get how decent people would [defend Tiffany G]... I want to throw up, do y'all 'live in a cave' or what?
.
Tiffany G自述10年AO3用户，高考失利当年接触AO3，那年龄推算跟我接触AO3的时间差不多，那个年代同人圈主流说白了就是审核去死，不要说欧美圈AO3，就是去ACG的B站A站也是一样，搁现在会被出警的内容到处都是，那时候如果就搞同人，怎么会不知道呢？我合理怀疑她在撒谎，在编故事，🦐味有点冲
— BrokenMesa (@yawezh0902) August 12, 2022 [source]
Translation: Tiffany G says that she's been an AO3 user for 10 years, and that back then she messed up on her college entrance exam being on AO3. That's about how long I've been on AO3. Back in those days, (Chinese) fan communities could speak openly in the mainstream [without worrying about being investigated]. No need to go on a Western fansite like AO3.
Whereas now, regardless of whether you go to Bilibili (B站 ℹ️) or AcFun (A站 ℹ️), the ACG ℹ️ fan culture is the same: any content that government censors might target has been taken down on all [of the Chinese fansites]. You have no way of knowing when the authorities might come for someone.
It's reasonable for me to assume [Tiffany G] is lying, and that her story is fabricated. Smells a little fishy.
⚠️I had a really hard time with this particular tweet, so there's a good chance I mistranslated some things.
.
和朋友聊了tiffany g，她让我意识到这人的迷惑提议背后可能是试图让ao3面向主流社会的想法，国内那一堆同质化的应用已经够我受的了，有生之年还是��让我看到这个了
— 喘气等待世界毁灭 (@Sierranopatient) August 12, 2022 [source]
Translation: I discussed tiffany g with a friend. [My friend] made me realize that the purpose of [Tiffany G]'s proposals is to try bring AO3 into the mainstream. There's a whole pile of homogeneous apps/platforms in China and that's more than enough for me. Don't make me watch [AO3 turn into yet another mainstream platform] in my lifetime.
.
Additionally, one twitter account has been leaving a bunch of replies on various Tiffany G tweets [source], endorsing her candidacy with the same copy-pasted comment:
我是Tiffany G的朋友，我认识Tiffany G很多年，Tiffany G非常有理想正气，我看不惯对Tiffany G泼脏水的人，特意声援支持Tiffany G，ao3不是法外之地，讲好中国好故事，弘扬中国正能量，人人有责，请大家支持Tiffany G
— 小潘女权日报 (@pyx18122270719) August 12, 2022 [source]
Translation: I am Tiffany G's friend. I've known Tiffany G many years. Tiffany G is very righteous and a paragon. I cannot bear to see Tiffany G attacked by mudslingers and I intend to support Tiffany G — ao3 is not above the law. [People should] say good things about China and spread Chinese positivity. It's everyone's responsibility. Please support Tiffany G
The account might be a sockpuppet ℹ️.
.
At the beginning of this post, I alluded to the fact that AO3 is banned in China. The ban took place in 2020 [source]. The site is blocked by China's internet firewall.
People in China can still access AO3 if they circumvent the firewall with a VPN. Ironically, China's decision to block AO3 actually resulted in AO3 gaining even more Chinese visitors and members, many of whom had never heard of the website until after it was banned.
In Tiffany G's candidate bio [link] on the OTW election website, she mentions that she works for the government.
I've seen a few Chinese fans on tumblr expressing concerns [source], [source], that she is a government plant, and that if elected, she would use her position on the board to access private user information and doxx AO3 users living in China, reporting their activities to the Chinese authorities.
ETA: I should clarify that these concerns are unfounded. OTW board members do not have access to users' private data. Even if this conspiracy theory were true, OTW board members don't have this kind of power.
I did not find anything explicitly pro-censorship in Tiffany G's campaign platform, however several of the statements she made in the OTW Election Q&A [source] sounded like pro-censorship "dog whistles" ℹ️ to me.
Notably, she implied that AO3 was hosting illegal content. She quickly backtracked when questioned by the interviewer, claiming that her words had been misinterpreted.
The twitter account I mentioned above that has been endorsing her candidacy also implied that AO3 hosts illegal content.
AO3 is an American website subject to American laws. All of the content hosted by AO3 is legal in the USA. Of course, Chinese laws are very different from American laws. A lot of the content on AO3 is in violation of China's very stringent censorship laws.
#ao3#Tiffany G#fandom wank#mandarinblr#chinese translation#please keep in mind these tweets are just random people's opinions; not verified facts
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Facts are facts (a collection)
The first time I noticed someone saying shì shìshí , it was Jingyan in Nirvana in Fire, episode 37:
After that, it was Xue Yang in The Untamed, also episode 37:
Then both Mei Changsu:
and Xia Jiang in Nirvana in Fire episode 49:
And here's the one that prompted me to make this post, the late empress in Journey to Love, episode 17:
Do you have any others?
#chinese langblr#cdramas#nirvana in fire#琅琊榜#the untamed#mdzs#cql#journey to love#chinese language#中文#mandarinblr#langblr
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How I learned to read in my target languages (Part 2)
I will mention multiple others sources I used to improve my reading. Basically I would read for as long as I need to get 15 or 20 words daily.
I can't recommend WordSwing as much as I recommend DuChinese, but it's still worth using if you want to read more.
I don't remember using DuHanZi, but apparently I finished all free stories on it, there probably weren't a lot of them.
Once I had enough vocab and I was bored of DuChinese, I used a website, that I found on Reddit — www.mylingua.world.
It forms your recommendations on what news you can understand, based on your vocab knowledge. Once you see a word you've learned, you just mark it as learned. Gradually after marking more and more words, you see how much progress you've made and it's really motivating.
Would I recommend reading news to improve your vocab? Unless it's an article on your interests, I would say no. There's no need to force yourself to consume what you're not interested in to improve your language skills.
Another useful feature from this website is being able to add your own texts in chinese. Which significantly improved my reading skills in just a few months of reading fanfiction.
The main con of this resource is inaccuracy. While in most cases you won't notice it, some words on there have innaccurate translation. But don't worry, just use Pleco or an online dicitionary.
I have a dictionary I want to recommend to those of you who know Russian, it's name is PocketChinese. The app may be a bit laggy, but in a lot of cases where Pleco failed to explain a word or a phrase to me, PocketChinese succeeded. So as long as you switch between these two and mylingua.world, you'll probably be fine.
A few months ago they've set a limit on how many articles you can fully read weekly and on how many you can upload. But i assure you that even with the limit you still have a lot of possibilities to learn.
Just remember to bookmark articles you've found interesting, since finding them later is hard.
When I played games in chinese and had difficulties with writing down words to search for them I would use Deepl. It has a scan feature that allowes you to make photos of chinese texts. It automatically translates that, but you can also copy it and work with it.
My top resource is mylingua.world. Genuinely simplifies my life so much when I want to figure out new vocab in a new text.
#langblog#langblr#language learning#mandarinblr#mandarin langblr#mandarin#chinese langblr#chinese#pleco#pocketchinese#mylingua.world#wordswing#duchinese#duhanzi#deepl
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纸上谈兵
纸上谈兵 (zhǐ shàng tán bīng) – literally, “to discuss military strategy on paper”
Meaning – “inflexible theory will not solve real-world issues in practice” or even as a descriptor meaning “armchair strategist”
大家好！
Welcome back everyone for another 成语 aka Chinese idiom or proverb, brought to you by yours truly, 萝卜！Today we will be learning 纸上谈兵！This is a real historical story about the Battle of Chángpíng (长平之战) during the Warring States period in ancient China but it definitely still has relevance today. I’m sure you can all imagine a time where being “book-smart” has landed someone in hot water! Let’s get to it!
During the Warring States period, General Zhào Shē (赵奢) famously repelled an invading Qín army while significantly outmanned, becoming a hero of the Zhào kingdom (赵国). His son, Zhào Kuò (赵括) surrounded himself with military books, reading them over and over until he could handily defeat both peers and military officers in discussions about military strategy. Consequently, Zhào Kuò developed quite a reputation as a strategic genius! (With arrogance to match!) Despite this, his father feared that he simply recited theory and lacked the flexibility required in real battle. He warned the country officials that, should his son ever lead an army, the country would suffer a great defeat. This fell on deaf ears, however, as they assumed “like father, like son”. Surely it would work out...
Later, after Zhào Shē passed away, a protracted battle was occurring at Chángpíng between the Qín and Zhào armies. Led by another famous general named Lián Pō (廉颇), the Qín army could not break through. Instead, they started a rumor: “Oh the Qín army is soooo afraid of Zhào Shē’s son, the famously brilliant strategist!!” As the rumor spread, the king of Zhào sent Zhào Kuò to replace Lián Pō, who was elated to finally get to put his knowledge to the test. Upon arrival, Zhào Kuò changed the entire strategy, much to the chagrin of the soldiers. Without a choice though, they followed his orders into battle, where all 400,000 of them were lost in battle, including Zhào Kuò!
And that’s it! Did you enjoy the story? Not a very happy ending (unless you’re from the kingdom of Qín, who did eventually unify China!) but a fitting pair to 熟能生巧 (“practice makes perfect”). It’s one thing to be book-smart, another to put it into action! While it’s good to build knowledge, don’t be afraid to hop in and start practicing whatever you want to improve! Your mind is a muscle too! 💪
Here are the other idioms that popped up in this story:
以少胜多 (yǐ shǎo shèng duō) – “using few to defeat many”, meaning “to win from a position of weakness”
哑口无言 (yǎ kǒu wú yán) – “dumbstruck and unable to reply”, meaning “left speechless” or “at a loss for words”
虎父无犬子 (hǔ fù wú quǎn zǐ) – “a lion father cannot have a dog for a son”, meaning “like father like son”, though n.b. this would exclusively be used in a positive manner! More like “with such a distinguished father, the son is sure to do well”.
听信谣言 (tīng xìn yáo yán) – “to take heed of idle chatter”
See you next time! 再见！
#成语#chengyu#idiom#chinese idiom#纸上谈兵#vocab#mandarin vocab#chinese vocab#language learning#chinese language#mandarin chinese#langblr#mandarinblr#mandarin langblr#mandarin#chinese
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