Saturday, December 22, 2012

Serves me right?!

click for a full size version
Let's start at the very beginning, right?
The other day I was speaking to a native Mandarin speaker from the Mainland, who asked me who I practise with, given that I live in Hong Kong where the native language is Cantonese, and where spoken Mandarin is "non-standard".

He was shocked to hear that most of my time spent speaking Chinese is actually with Hong Kong people. In fact, he went as far as to say it would probably be better not to practise at all, than to practise with someone who doesn't speak "standard" Mandarin.

This makes no sense to me. If I want to learn Chinese then I need to practise, and in fact imperfect practice is better than none at all. This reminds me of a great ironic post by Khatzumoto (founder of the AJATT "All Japanese All The Time" system) - definitely worth reading after you have finished reading this post!


F*** me, right?
There is a great meme which comes from the movie Superbad, that features Jonah Hill (in the picture above). You can read more about the origins of this particular meme, and see many variations at KnowYourMeme and QuickMeme, but let me summarise as follows: The meme, in its various forms, implies that they were trying to do a good thing (written at the top of the page) but in fact people are being negative about that. Examples include:
  • I'm just trying to give you a better education.  F*** me, right?
  • I did what I was asked.  F*** me, right?
  • I'm doing 60kmph in a 60kmph zone. F *** me, right?
  • I want to make a living doing something I love.  F*** me, right?
I'm sure you get it now. Right?


So f*** ME, right??
And that was basically how I felt when I was being told that I shouldn't be practising my Chinese with people who don't speak perfect standard Mandarin. Right?


There's a lesson in here, right?
Well, when I mentally linked my conversation to this meme, I started wondering how I might say that in Mandarin. Frankly, despite speaking to several native speakers, I didn't get a (literal) suggestion that I liked. But Yi (thanks Yi!) suggested something that did feel right, although disappointingly it doesn't contain any swear words. F*** me, right?

She suggested the phrase 活该 (huógāi), which could mean "deservedly so" or "serves [you] right". I like this, and so my own variation of this meme - seen above - contains that phrase. I've added in the 吧 (ba) character to emphasis it's more of a leading suggestion than an actual question.

Naturally, when I want to make sure I remember a word, it invariably finds its way into my flashcard pack, and for your interest, this is the sentence I used:

     She ate too much and feels sick, serves her right
     她吃太多了感到难受,活该
     她吃太多了感到難受,活該
     ta chī tài duō le, gǎndào nánshòu, huógāi


Notes you might find useful, right?
  • If you don't know what a meme is, look here
  • "Standard Chinese" is how people commonly refer to the variation of Mandarin which is the official version - because there really are so many versions & dialects. In Mandarin you would use the word 标准 (biāozhǔn).
  • Some readers might notice that I use both the words 'practice' and 'practise'. This is not an error, in English one is a noun and one is a verb  :-)
  • If you have suggestions for alternative translations, especially ones that contain swear words :-) then please leave comments below.
I just thought you might be interested to note the above points. F*** me, right?

Thursday, November 22, 2012

The first Chinese song I ever wrote

I always thought that once I got good enough in Chinese, I would write a song.  I'm glad to say that, after all these years, I have reached a very satisfying level, and I wanted to share it with you.

I'm a terrible singer, so I probably won't add a recording, but here are the lyrics. Try to sing along yourself.

Vocab
Here are some quick-reference words for you:
      a song / 一首歌 / yī shǒu gē
      very irritating / 很烦的 / hěn fán
      I know / 我知道 / wǒ zhīdao

The Chorus: please sing along
      我知道一首很烦的歌
      很烦的歌
      wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
      hěn fán de gē


Greg's first Chinese song: 
Very Irritating

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē //
hěn fán de gē
I know a very irritating song
A very irritating song

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌

很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē



我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē

我知道一首很烦的歌
很烦的歌
wǒ zhīdao / yī shǒu hěn fán de gē // 
hěn fán de gē


























Thursday, November 15, 2012

Your past (probably) equals your future

Like many people, my favourite personal development blogger is Steve Pavlina - and if you haven't read his stuff then I recommend you do.

Learning a language is one of the many ways people choose to improve themselves. And with all the other aspirations people have, so many decide they are going to learn a language, few actually begin, and fewer still get to much of a meaningful level.

When I read Steve's blog, it is easy to work through an article on vegetarianism and to simply replace that goal with learning a language - and the lessons are directly applicable. The same applies for getting fit, losing weight, making more money, starting your own business, etc.

I recently re-read an article of his from 2010 called "The Past DOES equal the Future". It takes on a different stance to what Tony Robbins usually says, and there was one section that I found really good!

So I'm quoting that portion below, and encourage you to take some time to think about the bigger picture of learning a language. Not the details of whether to use flashcards, or whether you should choose the Simplified or Traditional character set ... No, think about the bigger picture of your goals & aspirations, but most importantly, your habits.

Enjoy ...



To Change the Future, Change the Past

Consider two scenarios.

Bill and Ted both want to have written a book within the next year. Neither has written a book before.

Bill has no habit of daily writing. But he has a clear written goal/intention for his book. He knows what kind of book he wants to write. When people ask him what he’s working on, he tells them he’s writing a book. In the past 30 days, he has spent a lot of time thinking about his book. He’s even jotted down some ideas for it, but mostly at random intervals.

Ted has no written goals, intentions, or plans for his book. He hasn’t told anyone he’s writing it. He’s not even sure what the chapters will be. But for the past 30 days, he’s gotten out of bed every morning at 5am, and he’s worked on his book till 7am before having breakfast. He has averaged about 2 pages of potentially usable content per day. He’s been working only on his book during that time and nothing else. He’s done this every day without fail. Nothing has come up in his life during that time that would disrupt this habit or indicate that it’s likely to be disrupted.

If I told you that only one of these two gentlemen finished their book within that year, which one would you bet on? Which approach do you believe is more likely to lead to a completed book within a year?

Which approach are you betting on in your life right now?

How’s that approach working for you?

Is your success predictable? Is your lack of success predictable?


Thursday, November 8, 2012

Permit Access (permit+permit+exist+take)

The following word appeared in my flashcards this morning:
     允许存取
     允許存取
     yǔnxǔ cúnqǔ
     permit access

I remember the day when I added it to my flashcards! I was trying to log in to a Chinese-based website, and one of the buttons I was asked to press was [允许存取]. I had never seen this word before, so looked it up, and found it it means "permit access".

Dissection
That seemed like a mouthful, so I dug a little further into the phrase to understand it better, and hopefully to be able to remember it in future.  In this short post, I want to do two things: (1) give you the chance to copy & paste this phrase into your flashcards if it's not there already; and (2) take you through my thinking while I dissected the word, in case that's helpful to you for your own learning.

My starting point in understanding the phrase was to consider the meaning of the characters, and for this I used the Heisig keywords:
     sufficient permit deposit take

What?  Here's another example of when using Heisig keywords doesn't help - although I am (as you probably know) a big fan of the method. Anyway, so let's try something more powerful ...

If you use a dictionary, you get a more meaningful breakdown of the characters:
     (permit) (access)
     = (permit permit) + (exist take)


Conclusion
And I guess that's why I thought this was an interesting phrase ...

 - The first word is an example which is made up of two characters, both of which have the same meaning as the word they make up. (permit+permit=permit)
 - The second word is made up of two characters which build up logically (access = take something that exists)

In future when you read or hear the phrase, you will automatically know what it means without having to dissect again. Practice helps! But when faced with new words & phrases, it's worth taking a few moments to explore them, and this is an example of how I did that.


PS. If you did not know the phrase before reading this article, and you haven't already copied it into your flashcards, you have to ask yourself why not?

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Who's on First? (this time in Mandarin Chinese)

A couple of years ago, I wrote a post entitled "Who's on First?" - which made reference to the famous Abbot & Costello sketch. If you haven't seen it, now would be a good time to watch that video.

With all the hype around the Gangnam Style music video, there is even a Mandarin version called "Laowai Style" - I wrote a post that included the lyrics of the Chinese parodied version (and also included some vocab & grammar lesson :-).

It was put together by Jesse Appell, and it seems that he has also created a Mandarin version of the "Who's on First?" sketch in Mandarin Chinese.

Having just watched it, I can confirm that the humour still works, and in fact it doesn't even require a very high level of Mandarin to follow.

For your amusement, here is the video ...




Monday, October 22, 2012

Laowai Style - the lyrics! (a Gangnam parody)

Ganging Up

Unless you have been based in the most rural parts of China without Internet access for a year, you will have come across the Gangnam Style music video (over 500 million views on YouTube!) - extremely catchy and definitely fun. And as with most popular music on the Net, that video has been parodied to death.

The "Laowai Syle" parody is of particular interest to us in the Chinese/Mandarin circles, and a number of sites & blogs are already linking to it, such as Confused Laowai, ChinaSmack & Lost Laowai.

Here's the video, have a watch if you haven't already. The lyrics written by Jesse Appell for this parody are really good, and they contain some interesting insights into Mandarin, which are worth exploring - and I'll do that below.



Finding the lyrics

I've looked around the web trying to find the lyrics - and came up empty-handed. So I spent some time this evening transcribing the lyrics off the above video. I opened a nice bottle of South African red wine to help the process (1999 KWV Cabernet Sauvignon, sometimes I spoil myself), and overall had a good time.

Along the way I fixed a couple of spelling errors that appeared in the official subtitles, especially the one entire line about the BMW, where they got it totally wrong!

And for those wanting to make it a little intellectual, I have included some "lessons" that might be extracted from the lyrics - you can find them in the final section of this post, below.


Laowai Style - lyrics

大哥是老外Style (This guy is Laowai Style)
老外Style (Laowai Style)

大哥是长期住在北京的老外
(I'm the type of Laowai who's lived in Beijing a long time)
每天吃中国菜也不会用勺吃的老外
(The type of Laowai who eats Chinese food every day and doesn't use a spoon)
过马路也不等红绿灯变绿的老外
(The type of Laowai who doesn't wait for the traffic light to turn green)
普通老百姓的老外
(Just a regular guy who's a Laowai)
哥是那种老外 (I'm that type of Laowai)
被朋友封为K歌之王那种老外
(Whose friends have crowned him the King of Karaoke, that kind of Laowai)
在清华研究中国文化的那种老外
(Who researches Chinese culture at Tsinghua, that kind of Laowai)
觉得燕京喝酒本来好和那种老外
(Who thinks Yanjing beer is actually pretty good, that kind of Laowai)

大哥那种老外 (I'm that type of Laowai)

北京生活丰富多彩 (Life in Beijing is rich & vibrant)
拍照片就发微博 (Taking pictures and putting them on Weibo)
北京这城市,我不想离开 (This city of Beijing, I don't want to leave)
那么多中国朋友 (So many great Chinese friends)
哥们儿姐们儿跟我大声的说 (Guys and Gals sing it with me loud!)

大哥是老外Style (This guy is Laowai Style)
老外Style (Laowai Style)
大哥是老外Style (This guy is Laowai Style)
老外Style (Laowai Style)
大哥是老外Style (This guy is Laowai Style)

黑!老外来了! (Heeey! The Laowai is here!)
大哥是老外Style (This guy is Laowai Style)
黑!老外来了! (Heeey! The Laowai is here!)
大哥是老外Style (This guy is Laowai Style)

哥是大篮球打地特别臭的老外
(I'm the type of Laowai who sucks as basketball)
在秀水街买东西也不会被骗地老外
(The type of Laowai who buys stuff at Silk Street but doesn't get ripped off) ?
不开宝马骑着二手电动车的老外
(The type of Laowai who doesn't drive a BMW and instead drives a second-hand electric bike)
普通老百姓的老外
(Just a regular guy who's a Laowai)
哥是那种老外 (This guy's that kind of Laowai)
高峰期绝过避免北三环
(Who absolutely avoids the North Third Ring Road at rush hour)
那种老外 (That kind of Laowai)
省钱只有破破烂烂手机
(Who saves money by having a crappy phone)
那种老外 (That kind of Laowai)
只喝王老吉,不吃肯德基
(Who only drinks Wang Laoji and doesn't eat KFC)
那种老外 (That kind of Laowai)

就是那种老外 (I'm that kind of Laowai)

北京生活丰富多彩 (Life in Beijing is rich & vibrant)
拍照片就发微博 (Taking pictures and putting them on Weibo)
北京这城市,我不想离开 (This city of Beijing, I don't want to leave)
那么多中国朋友 (So many great Chinese friends)
哥们儿姐们儿跟我大声的说 (Guys and Gals sing it with me loud!)

大哥是老外Style (This guy is Laowai Style)
老外Style (Laowai Style)
大哥是老外Style (This guy is Laowai Style)
老外Style (Laowai Style)
大哥是老外Style (This guy is Laowai Style)

黑!老外来了! (Heeey! The Laowai is here!)
大哥是老外Style (This guy is Laowai Style)
黑!老外来了! (Heeey! The Laowai is here!)
大哥是老外Style (This guy is Laowai Style)

你跟我玩儿,你跟我一起玩儿 (Come play with me, everyone play with me)
世界各国朋友大家跟我一起玩儿 (Friends from all around the world, come and play with me)
你跟我玩儿,你跟我一起玩儿 (Come play with me, everyone play with me)
世界各国朋友大家跟我一起玩儿 (Friends from all around the world, come and play with me)

我说什么呢? (You know what I'm sayin'?)
大哥是老外Style (This guy is Laowai Style)

黑!老外来了! (Heeey! The Laowai is here!)
大哥是老外Style (This guy is Laowai Style)
黑!老外来了! (Heeey! The Laowai is here!)
大哥是老外Style (This guy is Laowai Style)

大哥老外Style (This guy is Laowai Style)



Laowai Style - lessons

(1)
老百性: Literally this is "old 100 surnames": The basic meaning, as I learned this evening, is 'regular' - as the lyrics suggest. It's like saying that it's what lots of people do.

(2)
When Niel from Confused Laowai linked to my blog, it was to a post entitled "The sentence with (the girl with (the dragon tattoo) )".  Yes, that heading does look a little confusing, but it's an interesting construct that is common in Mandarin, which is heavily relied upon in the lyrics of this song. First, read the above article I wrote. Then the following annotations will make more sense:

     大哥是(长期住在北京)的老外
     He is (lived a long time in Beijing)'s Laowai

     在秀水街买东西也不会被骗地老外
     ( (On Silk Street) (buy things) (not cheated) )'s Laowai

(3)
哥们儿: The official pinyin of this is "gēmenr" - 'gē'​being 'big brother', 'men' for plural, and 'er' for Beijing-style enunciation. Actually, this word sounds more like "gummer" and the closest translation I can think of for this is "Dudes" :-)

(4)
破破烂烂 (pòpòlànlàn): This AABB pattern is quite common in Mandarin - probably the most common one being 马马虎虎 (mǎmahūhū, or: horse horse tiger tiger), which means 'so-so' or 'neither here nor there'). In this case, the literal translation is broken-broken-spoiled-spoiled, which has the meaning in the English lyrics as "crappy".

Literary genius indeed!


Edits: (1) Corrected to 姓 as per Peckish' comment below; (2) Fixed the line relating to the BMW, thanks to a message from Yen about what it actually said!   


Thursday, October 11, 2012

The "strict photographer" guide to pinyin pronunciation

A couple of years ago, I wrote a post entitled The "sleeping cats" guide to pinyin pronunciation, which was actually one of my more popular posts, I guess because amongst all the beginners learning Chinese, it sometimes is the really simple stuff which is most confusing.

Today, while doing flashcards, the sentence below popped up again, which reminded me of a common pronunciation mistake I used to make (and probably still make, I'm just in denial!) - and that triggered a desire to write another "pinyin pronunciation" guide - which is this post.

 - "Hold that pose, don't move," said the photographer.
 - "Bǎo​chí nage zī​shì, bié dòng," shèyǐng​shī shuō.
 - “保持那个姿势,别动,” 摄影师说。

I can't remember where I found this sentence, but somehow it made it into my flashcard pack. And reading it today immediately reminded me of how much difficulty I had at the beginning differentiating between pinyin's 'she' and 'shi' - and both sounds appear in the word for 'photographer' which is why this is a particularly interesting word (for beginners) or interesting sentence (for intermediates).

The first syllable of ''shèyǐng​shī" is shè, which actually rhymes with the end of the word 'photographer' or perhaps I can even say 'photograph-uh'. The final syllable shī might best be written as 'shr' - sounding as if there is no vowel.

Perhaps if you hear it pronounced correctly, it would be easier to understand?  So visit MDBG.net​, (my favourite online dictionary, which I've written about before) and specifically look up the word photographer.  You can hear it pronounced by clicking on (>>) and then on the audio button. Do it.

So there you have it - a relatively common pronunciation mistake for beginners, but if you learn just one word correctly - photographer - you will have a clear picture of how to say it correctly. Forever.


PS. If you haven't read it already, I've written a post in the past about the mispronunciation of the word 'pronunciation'. Check it out.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Chinese characters, or art?

I popped across the border from HK to China a couple of weeks ago (I have a multi-entry visa, so I may as well use it!), and happened to see a couple of really clever stylised Chinese characters that felt more arty than just characters - certainly very cleverly put together.


The first one I took off the side of a box of tissues - which in itself is pushing the boundaries of what qualifies as art! Take a look ...
To my rather untrained eye, it looks like this character:  (wēi) - which has a dictionary definition of "power / might / prestige", and a Heisig keyword of 'might'.   I actually think it's quite beautifully done!


This is the second character I saw, at the China Ferry Terminal building:
This one was easier to identify, being  (hǎi) - meaning "sea / ocean / maritime".  I left the full picture in, so you can see it is the logo for the Marine Department.  The water radical on the left has been replaced by a stream of water, and the 母 (mother radical) has been made to look like a flag - which suits what it is designed to represent.


These are not the first times I've seen characters written up so artistically, but this time I happened to take pictures of them. If you have seen other characters done unusually, please include links below ...

Sunday, September 23, 2012

When the boat arrives ...

The other day, in response to something I said in a Mandarin conversation, the person replied, "船到桥头自然直" (chuán dào qiáotóu zìrán zhí). I stared blankly - these were words that my brain figured I should understand, but I didn't quite get what they were saying.

Actually, it's a Chinese idiom - and I've had lots to say about such idioms in the past. Literally it means "When the boat gets to the bridge-head, it will naturally go straight", or in other words, "Everything will be alright."

I made a note to copy this into my flashcards, and when I got home I typed "船到" into my dictionary, only to discover that there are actually a few idioms that begin when the boat arrives.


Without much explanation, for your interest, amusement & education, here they are:

船到江心,补漏迟
chuán dào jiāng xīn, bǔ lòu chí
Once the ship has reached the middle of the river, it's too late to plug the leak
(English equivalent: No point in closing the stable door after the horse has bolted)

船到码头,车到站
chuán dào mǎtóu, chē dào zhàn
The ship has docked, the carriage has reached the station
(The job is over, it's time to relax)

船到桥门,自会直
chuán dào qiáomén, zì huì zhí
When the ship arrives at the bridge we can deal with the problem
(No point in worrying until it actually happens)


And actually, there are a few such idioms which talk about cars arriving too:

车到山前必有路
chē dào shān qián bìyǒu lù
When we get to the mountain, there'll be a way through
(The same meaning as the opening idiom about boats)

车到山前自有路
(A slight variation of the above)

车到山前必有路,船到桥头自然直 车到山前必有路,船到桥头自然直
chē dào shān qián bìyǒu lù, chuán dào qiáotóu zìrán zhí
When we get to the mountain, there'll be a way through and when the boat gets to the pier-head, it will go straight with the current
(This is a mega version combining both ships & cars)


Make sure you quickly copy at least one of these into your flashcards NOW, before you realise that your ship has sailed  :-)


Saturday, August 25, 2012

Total failure

I have not even picked up Heisig 2 in about four weeks. Just too much happening at the moment, I really don't have time. I get a few minutes to do Chinese each day, and right now I spend it going through flashcards while travelling to and from work. That's it.

If I can get through August and get work under control again, I'm sure I'll pick it up again in September. I'm sure that I'm sure.

I think.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Just stick to one image, OK?

This post is for people who are using Heisig to learn to read & write Chinese, or for anyone using another image-based system with similar structure.

This is an issue that I came across relatively early on with the first book, but now after reaching a certain page in the second book, I had to roll my eyes a little ...
  • If you look at the photo on the right (you can click on it for a larger version), you will see that all three of these consecutive characters use the '王' primitive.
BUT - and this is the crazy part - the first instance of 王 uses the 'ball' keyword, the second uses 'jewels' as the keyword, and the third uses 'king'.  Sure it's nice that the book gives us various options for what we might use to visualise a certain character, but I've found multiple images confusing. And if you happen to be working with the wrong one for that 'scene', the Heisig approach might fail

For example let's say that you're reading Chinese and see the character 汪. - and the image you constructed was based on "water ... jewels" as indicated in the photo. But later, when you try recall the meaning, you discover that "water ... king" doesn't ring any bells, and neither does "water ... ball". And so you fail.

Please try, when you're creating images, to have just one image for each keyword, and stick to it. I wrote an article entitled Tips & Tricks for Heisig Visualisations back while studying Book 1, and even at that time I had a section devoted to "Pick just one meaning for primitives" - because experience showed quite early on that it's a recipe for failure.

Chinese is hard enough when you do it right, so try to avoid the alternative.