Category Archive: SF Mandarin Tutor
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"Shi" “是”
Many people learn the word 是 (shi) as the equivalent of “is, are, or am” in English, but is it?
For example, you can say 他”是”美國人 (he is an American), but you can’t say , 他“是”高 (he is tall). If you want to say he is tall in Chinese, you can say 他很高 (he-very-tall), or 他高 (he-tall)
This is because the later ones are considered “Subject-Comment” sentences.
When you have a comment or adjective describing the subject, you would not translate the word “is, am, or are” into “shi” in Chinese. Instead, you would say your comment directly after the subject.
However, it is not to say that no adjectives can be placed after 是. As long as it is accompanied by a noun, it is ok to use it.
Such as 他是好孩子 (he is a good kid), or 那是一輛紅色的車 (that is a red car).
One case that you might find a little confusing is a sentence like this:
那輛車是紅色的。(That car is red)
It seems like there is only the adjective “red” after 是, but in fact, the 的 after “red” still makes it an adjective noun combination. So what you are really saying in Chinese is “the car is (a) red (car).
Secrets of Learning Mandarin
For the past several years of my tutoring, I have students from 7 to 65 years old, it is always fascinating to find out how differently each of my students feel about learning the language. An extremely rich and sophisticated language, Mandarin has been considered by most people to be the hardest language to learn. A word can have 5 tones, with each meaning 10 different things, let alone the structure of the phrases, is it even possible to learn?
In my point of view, it is definitely a language that can be challenging to learn, especially at the very beginning. When a person decides to study Mandarin, she is ready to enter a world that’s filled with symbols, signs and images, rather than letters.
This is a unique trait about Mandarin. I highly recommend people who are considering learning Mandarin to learn the characters. There are plenty of textbooks that have not a single Chinese character in them. If you are learning for a short trip and might not be using it ever again, it make sense to have a quick result. But if you do wish to let it stick to your head, learning the characters is the way to go.
Ask yourself “why do I want to learn?” and “how much do I want to learn?” Even if you are just learning for pleasure, it helps to be clear about your goals.
One of the most common things I hear my students say is that: I have no talent in learning a language. Well, it’s true that we all have different talents, and having a talent means certain parts of your brain is fully cultivated. In my opinion, to be good at a language requires the most part of the brain, so sure it can be tough, but isn’t it exciting to to keep your brain active? My student Megan told me that she thinks learning Mandarin keeps her young, I do believe it has a lot to do with her native language being English, and Mandarin is so different from it. Like many people who masters several languages, she said she always try to learn with a child’s perspective, meaning that she just opens up to accept the way a language is, along side with the culture and philosophy that comes with it. I totally agree with her!
Rules and structures is crucial to study of course, but when you did all your homework, I encourage you to just relax and participate using the language, it creates the best learning environment- even when you are just talking to yourself!