Our writing lesson for today brings us a bit more than halfway through our list of rules for how to write Chinese characters. It also brings the number of characters recognized by our Chinese Writing Pad to around 160 hanzi in both simplified and traditional form.

  • 先写左上点：为、门、们、闲、闷、问、闩、闭

And our new rule for you is very simple. Chinese has some characters and radicals with a dot in their upper-left corner. In all cases you want to write this dot first. There is a common variant in characters with the 门 radical that involves writing the long vertical stroke first and if you do this no-one is going to lose any sleep, but you'll end up having more trouble with cursive character input so we recommend sticking to the standards. As always, if you're a premium subscriber you can click through to the writing section of this lesson and practice until this is second nature.
ashfaqhussain_55
 said on
September 13, 2009
i want to learn chinese very well but i dont what to do it realy difficult language in this world i can speak five languages but chinese is the world difficult language
trevelyan
 said on
September 13, 2009
@hussain - Chinese isn't as difficult as you think - if you find yourself really struggling it may mean you need to rethink your approach to learning it, or adjust your expectations. Non-native speakers in China take about three years to reach full communicative fluency (the point at which they can talk to anyone about pretty much anything as long as they know the relevant nouns).

If you're just a beginner, we recommend focusing on extensive listening and practice with phrase-level material. Our beginner lessons are mostly structured to teach useful words and phrases that can be used in multiple contexts. Be aware of the tones, but don't kill yourself over them as long as you're doing a lot of listening. Many people make the mistake of trying to theoretically understand the tones, but don't practice enough speaking and listening so they never internalize them. It's really important that you try to speak! So practice along with the podcasts and use the fix.

When we're working with people through our chinese tutoring service, we like to recommend they listen to the lesson podcast and fix at least once together. Then review a day later. We prefer a one-on-one-off tutoring schedule so there is speaking practice every second day or so - you can easily replicate this by finding a mandarin-friend willing to spend 20 minutes every two days helping you out. At the pace of a new lesson every two days, you'll already find enough material here on Popup Chinese to take you a long way towards fluency.
Echo
 said on
September 14, 2009
@hussain,

I think maybe French is the most difficult language in the world for a lot of Chinese people :)

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
Gail天堂的声音
 said on
September 14, 2009
@Echo,

I think German is the easiest one in the world...^_^
paglino9
 said on
September 14, 2009
I want add my two cents in the easiest language in the world to learn, and from my experience it would be

Yoruba- A Nigerian ethnic language. In college all the football players and athletes took the class, since there was a language requirement for most majors, and it was extremely easy.

So now I get to practice my Yoruba with all the Nigerians hanging out by Sanlitun late at night.
Brendan
 said on
September 14, 2009
Chinese is about as easy as it gets, I think, though I've heard about Yoruba before -- sounds like a fun language. Spanish is also pretty easy for native English speakers.
Ian
 said on
September 15, 2009
@Gail

I moved to Switzerland from England many moons ago, and although German is a "sister" language to English the thing that get's me is the "Der Die Das", Masculine Feminine Neutral, which leads to more fun like, Ihr ihre Ihren, Dein Deine Deinen Deinem and so on.

What I find as illogical about it all is, how can one have a feminine window "Die Fenster" it's a piece of glass and wood after all.

In English a man is "he" a woman is "she" and the rest is "it", now I'm learning and understanding some 中文 I find it much easier than German.

Übrigens sprichst du auch Deutsch?
toneandcolor
 said on
September 15, 2009
@Ians,

Ja, die Deutsch Grammatik macht mir Kopfschmerzen!
Gail天堂的声音
 said on
September 15, 2009
@toneandcolor,

ehrlich? ja, i also had this problem for a long time, and the der das die things. grammars are traps for German learners but it is still an interesting language.

you know? chinese say French is a language spoken to lovers; English is a language spoken to frends; German is a language spoken to dogs.
Gail天堂的声音
 said on
September 15, 2009
@Ians,

yes, the N G D A are really annoying. And that's why chinese is easy for language learners. o(∩_∩)o...

Chiese people are pretty lucky to speak a language without any kasus, or deklination, or konjugation.lol.

trevelyan
 said on
September 15, 2009
@Gail - I always take it with a bit of salt when someone tells me how easy their language is to learn.... :)

I personally think Chinese is objectively pretty difficult, but mostly because the barrier to using the language is really high for an absolute beginner. It's a big challenge having to learn a new written system, start picking up the tones, and learn a new written script all at once. The drop out rates back in my university days were pretty atrocious.

That said, noun genders are really strange and illogical (as Ian says, "it's a piece of glass and wood"). I'm really glad Chinese doesn't have them.
Ian
 said on
September 16, 2009
@Gail

I do agree with you German is an interesting language, especially Swiss German it has a bit more "life" in it, not so clinical like "high" German

"German is a language spoken to dogs."

Now that made me chuckle
Ian
 said on
September 16, 2009
@toneandcolor

Ja, Ein regel recht schmerz in den hintern
henning
 said on
September 16, 2009
Uiuiui,

@ians: Fortunatelly Fenster is not feminine but neutral - Es ist "das Fenster"! A gramatical gender is indeed not the same as a sexual one. I once read an interesting book in which the claim was made that linguistically grammatical genders (der, die, das) are actually a crippeled form of measure words! How cool is that?

@toneandcolor:

"Ja, die Deutsch Grammatik macht mir Kopfschmerzen!" should be

"Ja, die Deutsche Grammatik macht mir Kopfschmerzen!"

@ians:

"Ja, Ein regel recht schmerz in den hintern" - Huh?

My wife always claims that German is easier than English - because she thinks it is structured like a programming language - with sub clauses that behave like sub-routines (she holds degrees in Computer Science and Information Systems).
Ian
 said on
September 16, 2009
@henning

I stand corrected, I must admit grammar is not one of my strong points in any language, in Swiss German you can slur words like in English so in speech der, die or das sounds like dsss.

"Ja, Ein regel recht schmerz in den hintern" read "A downright pain in the posterior".

Yes German is like a programming language, you have to pronounce every letter in the word or it doesn't work.

While were at it, Fortunately "Fortunatelly" is spelt Fortunately ;o)
Gail天堂的声音
 said on
September 16, 2009
@trevelyan,

But English is a beautiful language. o(∩_∩)o...

Usually we would imitate foreigners speaking chinese by pronouncing every character in a sentence in the first tone and the last character in neutral tone. So if you speak chinese too good, then the chinese will be shocked. Take care.
Gail天堂的声音
 said on
September 16, 2009
@henning,

I absolutely agree with your wife!!!

@ians,

Really? Actually most Chinese German learners think it's really hard understand Swiss Deutsch. Here in China everyone learns Hochdeutsch, so for a long time the Swiss one is not understandable.

and the dialects of German would also give us Kopfschmerzen, esp the dialect of Bayern.T_T
Santiago
 said on
September 16, 2009
Well, if you really want to learn you do it easy. You have to enjoy, to like to be in progress is the key.

I am studying Deutcsh, I like very much, principaly whem the W join with Z... Like Zwei..

And I think Portuguese more difficult than English or German or Spanish, french, italien. But Mandarin... I don`t even can compare, because I don`t have any idea of this language!
Echo
 said on
September 16, 2009
@Santiago,

Hi! Welcome to Popupchinese!

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
Gail天堂的声音
 said on
September 16, 2009
@Santiago,

If you really want to learn you do it easy. - Good point.

Welcome to popupchinese, I hope you have a good time here.
Ian
 said on
September 17, 2009
@Gail

Yes I‘ve heard that the Germans think Swiss is more of a German Farmer accent, there are also many French words thrown in, for instance Velo instead of Fahrrad for Bicycle, the closer one gets to the French speaking areas the more French words there are. It really is more of a spoken language, there are no official learning books, children learn German grammar at school. All the newspapers and 95% of the books are all in High German, so I learned it like a child really, reading and writing in High German and talking in Schwiitzertütsch. All Swiss German people understand High German but not the other way around

But then again, when writing cards, notes or in online forums people do write in Schwiitzertütsch, there are even Cantonal dialects in a small country that has 4 official languages.

This is from the Bern area: Berntüsch isch jo würkli scho no än gäilä Dialäkt

This is from St. Gallen area: Im Ärnscht, so Sachä wiä giuä chömär i dä Oschtschwiiz kum usprächä, mir schnorät halt scho no äs bizeli andersch

This is from where live in the Aargau area: Es Argauerdüütsch im eigentliche Sinn vom Wort gits nöd. Des het historischi Gründ u het au mit de Brünig-Napf-Rüüs-Linie z due.

As you can see no der, die or das in any of the examples.

Have you heard the Austrian accent now that is 真可爱
Gail天堂的声音
 said on
September 17, 2009
@ians,

What's this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can only understand several words that i have already heard, like: isch...

我晕！
Echo
 said on
September 17, 2009
@Ian,

I always envy those people who were born and bred in the Western Europe, since they can easily speak multi languages from childhood. I have learned French for a while, but still find it's too difficult and unfamiliar.

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
Gail天堂的声音
 said on
September 17, 2009
@Echo,

come on echo, you are good at French.
trevelyan
 said on
September 17, 2009
ha ha ha ha. no comment ;)
Echo
 said on
September 18, 2009
@Gail,

你真是太给我面子了，哈哈！

@trevelyan,

不许笑 >.<

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
Ian
 said on
September 18, 2009
@Gail

Hey next time I come to 北京 we can zame schnore (砍大山) in tüütsch ~_^

@Echo

That is true, I was once in Belgium, which is also bilingual, French and Flemish (Dutch), buying something in a shop, The girl on the checkout was talking to her friend in Flemish, the women in front of me was talking to the girl in French, then I came with English, and she was still at the turn of the head talking to her her friend in Flemish, That impressed me.

I think were lucky because most are Latin, Germanic derived, Dutch sounds like a cross between English and German to me, my mother is from davids neck of the woods, Quebec, but I only know the french I learnt in school, in England its English and nothing else, Island mentality, then again no one likes French hehehee,

Have a go at German its quite close to English, it even has many words the same, one has a strange difference though, the word: Gift, in English as you know its a present, but spelt and spoken the same in German means poison

你们祝好
Gail天堂的声音
 said on
September 18, 2009
@ians,

sure, you will let us know when you are in China, ok?

you know, my bf sent me a present several days ago, and told me it's poison. and i have to help him to do some work now.

so, every gift can be some poison, that's why German has Gift with the meaning Gift. hahahahaha
Ian
 said on
September 19, 2009
@Gail

当然 might be next May

Is your bf German? If not and you need some help with German, I would be happy to help you both out (^_^)
Gail天堂的声音
 said on
September 21, 2009
@ians,

haha, great!

If I have any question in future, I will definitely bother you o(∩_∩)o...

Actually, I have a korean bf instead. Koreans don't speak English, let alone German.:-)
henning
 said on
September 21, 2009
@Echo,

being born and bred in Western Europe isn't necessary sufficient. I was, but I sucked at languages. English was bad, Latin was a waste of time and my French was, well, the French teacher let me pass for promising that I won't continue with the class. I always messed up all important details :(

Fortunately, later I decided to study Chinese. The words of my Latin teacher are still in my ears: "Latin is the model language for all languages. Conjugation, declination, active-passive...". :)

Echo
 said on
September 21, 2009
@henning,

Haha, you have your special 天赋 for Chinese :)

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com