Learning Mandarin??? is it the same as chinese?

Question

i want to learn Mandarin, i was wondering if it's the same as chinese?? also, how can i learn or aid me leanr?? any advice would be nice, thank you!

guys you forgot the second part: any books or aid guides because i will be taken some classes

Lizard sweety thank you for reading the WHOLE question!

Answer 1

Well, sorry for disappointing a few of you but Chinese isnt such a difficult language to learn. Actually, Icelandic is the MOST difficult to learn (inflexions, plus declinations, plus grammar, plus verb tenses, plus word genders....). Chinese actually has a very basic tense (present, use one special word for past, and another for future and you got it!), no gender (just special classifiers), very basic grammar. Ppl will scare you with the tones, and the number of signs, and the signs themselves...its nothing really.

Mandarin is a simplified version of Chinese. When the government realized there were too many illiterate ppl (accurate no. of words necessary for everyday life, a few thousands), it was decided to simplify the writting (compare Cantonese and Mandarin) and use Ping Yin (pronouciation of the words) to help the population.
You need memory, but when you learn how to write, you will know that each sign is a representation (like a little drawig if you wish) and it makes them easier to remember!
If you use them everyday, you remember them as well.
But dont think all Chinese remember all the signs, they dont either.

Mandarin is spoken in all Mainland China with different dialects in different region. Mandarin has 4 tones, Cantonese (in HK) 9 (not 20 as someone else said).

And dont give up because they dont understand you. Chinese wont usually "accept" the fact you speak chinese to them, and are not that use to hearing foreingers speak it, so they will be very picky with your pronounciation. In China they are more willing to teach you, but in HK...its a whole different story! Been here 14 years, ad I speak fluently now, but every now and again, I fall on the "wall". Someone who wont even listen to me, because I'm white and cannot grasp the fact that I speak cantonese. After a few secs though, their faces brigthen up...oh...I understand the White Ghost Woman (thats how they call foreigner)!!!

So, persistance is important.
Dont get yourself down because you cant hear the differences in sounds. Do you actually truly believe they hear the different sounds correctly when they talk to each other with their mouths full? Nope...
Just go on. Give it a try. You'll see, monosyllabic languages (one sound, one meaning) can be fun!
Sorry I didnt help out at all in finding a place to learn. Can only give you refs for Cantonese. By yourself any beginner's book, go through it and try to memorize a word a day. Get a book with a tape or CD to help you with preliminary pronounciation.
Then, look for classes. I guess any Community College could have some of these classes.
Have fun!

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Mandarin is a dialect of Chinese. There's different languages that people speak if they are Chinese. There's also Cantonese and others. Just warning you it's gonna be hard, but I don't personally know the language but my friend does. She has been learning it for over 8 years and she hardly knows much. She takes a class in Chinatown by the way, but I think there are programs you can buy to learn.

Answer 4

Mandarin is the most common form of Chinese and is the official language of mainland China.
I am studying it in my spare time, so let me tell you of some things that have been useful to me.
If you are a beginner and you have the money then I would suggest that you begin with Pimsleur Mandarin Chinese. It's a little expensive, but like I said if you have the money then in my opinion it is worth it.
As for websites, the Chinese government is currently trying to promote Chinese, both the language and culture, throughout the world. They launched a website some time ago: linese.com I haven't looked at it much, but I have heard some good things about it.
For a decent dictionary and other random tidbits you can try mandarintools.com
Finally [save the best for last :) ] you can go to my forum if you have any questions about Mandarin. www.daxueyingyu.com/forum Many of the users are Chinese university students who speak English. In general they are very helpful, friendly and eager to have a chance to communicate with foreigners. Check it out, I think you might find it quite useful.

There are two books that I would also like to recommend to you, but I'm not sure if you can find them online. One is "Kan tu shuo hua" and the other is "hanyu yuedu jiaocheng." Many foreign students in China use these two books when they first begin. I'm not sure of the exact price when you factor in shipping and all that jazz, but I got both of them for about 50RMB which is somewhere around US$7. If you need more information feel free to contact me either through yahoo or my forum.. hehe preferably my forum :P

Good luck with your studies, I think learning a language is a very rewarding experience!

Answer 5

when people say chinese they usually mean mandarin because its the language that most everyone in china learns or knows how to speak. mandarin is call putonghua or regular language. there is cantonese which is spoken in hong kong and surrounding areas, ths shanghai dialect is spoken in shanghai...duh.... and a whole bunch of other dialects but nearly all educated people speak mandarin.
the thing is about chinese is that you have to have a good memory. since chinese is made up of characters (students learn (and memorize!) over 22000 by middle school but only 15000 are needed for everyday use...) and not an alphabet you have to actually remember the word and what it means and how to pronounce it. you cant sound to word out like in english or french or western languages. for beginners there is usually ping ying which is the word in alphabet form so you can learn to read and pronounce stuff. the thing is is that mandarin has 4 accents and for a person that doesnt speak it as a mother tongue it is quite hard to pronounce well. i have chinese friends born in america who speak chinese everyday but still have a really strong accent. the good thing about learning mandarin is that there are only 4 accents. cantonese has about 20....=)

Answer 6

Mandarin is the official language of Main Land China. It is the Chinese language and not a dialect that is normaly thaught in every school around the country except Hong Kong where they learn Cantonese.

Answer 7

Mandarin is the most commonly used dialect in Chinese; however it is not an equivalent of Chinese. Chinese has a lot of dialects of which Mandarin is one. In China, it is often known as "pu tong hua" which means "commonly spoken Chinese".
Although Chinese is considered as one of the most difficult languages, it is not that hard to learn. You must accept it as it is when you learn it. Do not take it for granted that what can be applied to English can also be applied to Chinese!
Don't be afraid of the characters! Writing in chinese is just like drawing small pictures. Chinese characters have their traces in ancient hieroglyphics, sometimes their meanings are self-evident.
Besides, only 1,000 of them are the most frequently used, and some are very easy to learn. "一" refers to one, "二", two, and "三", three.
At last, good luck to your studies!

Answer 8

Mandarin is a type of Chinese. It is the hardest language on earth to learn, though. It has over 15,000 characters that you have to learn. Only a few people know Mandarin Chinese fluently.

Answer 9

Normally, people in China think Chinese is Mandarin. Do not doubt that. Mandarin is standard Chinese. All Chinese people use that everyday, though they also speak their dialects sometimes.

Answer 10

Mandarin is a distinct dialect of Chinese. Different parts of China speak different dialects of Chinese. Mandarin, I believe is the most popular or a great population of people speak it [: