I’m learning Chinese, and would love to have some people to chat with. I’m not good, for sure, but I really enjoy it a lot!

你好叫我BartsBigBugBag！我是美国人，我是社会主义者。我明年希望去中国陆游。我是学生的汉语。你说汉语吗？你怎么样？你现在做什么？你明白我的汉语吗？谢谢你！

    • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.mlOP
      3·
      10 months ago

      Subscribed, thanks for the link! I have a feeling my grammar is at best that of a toddler, but I’m having a ton of fun learning, and this thread has taught me a lot!

    • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.mlOP
      4·
      10 months ago

      You are the best! Those were some of the characters I hadn’t been able to get it to display easily. When I’ve noticed it using the wrong character(which I often just don’t notice yet), I’ve often had to resort to googling the pinyin and copying the character.

      认识你也很高兴！

  • jlyws123@lemmygrad.ml
    71·
    10 months ago

    没事儿，以你的汉语水平外加上机翻够解决95%的问题了 It’s all right. Your Chinese skill and with the help of computer translation are enough to solve 95% of the problems.

  • Blinky_katt@lemmygrad.ml
    4·
    10 months ago

    To sound less like a robot, here’s my suggested rewrite for you ;D

    你好，我叫xxx，我正在学汉语。你好吗？你会说普通话吗？有没有时间陪我聊聊天？

    Etc.

    • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.mlOP
      2·
      10 months ago

      谢谢你！

      So what I read in that is:

      Hello, I am xxx, I am (doing?) Chinese language. How are you? Do you speak (something)? Do you have any (something something 我 something something something)?

      That gives me a great perspective on how to sound more natural, and some characters to learn too, thank you again!!

    • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.mlOP
      2·
      10 months ago

      Should i use that style of question for any yes or no question? Like you did 有没有, I’ve also seen 是不是 and similar others also.

      • Blinky_katt@lemmygrad.ml
        4·
        10 months ago

        It’s a way to turn any action into a question. It could be a more casual and informal, more endearing /soft way of questioning something (depending on the actual emotional tone you say it with, if course) .

        看没看过？have…seen it? 吃没吃过？have… eaten it? 玩没玩过？have … played it? 读没读过？have … read it?

        是不是 （很好玩）？isn’t it (fun)? 好不好 isn’t it good? 看不看xyz–do (you/we/they) wanna watch xyz? 知不知道xyz–do…know xyz?

        Etc.

    • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.mlOP
      1·
      10 months ago

      Lmao translating it back from your comment I realize what sounds strange in it. Thanks for pointing that out.

      谢谢你！

  • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.mlOP
    3·
    10 months ago

    It might take me a bit to get back to everyone. I’m trying to translate the comments without machine assistance, and some words I don’t know yet, so I need to do more studying first!

  • The_Jewish_Cuban [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    3·
    10 months ago

    你好朋友！我也学汉语。我觉得我说的话很不错，但读中文还很难。你几年学中文？你有母语人士的朋友吗？希望你继续学中文。对我来说就是很不错的爱好。

    • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.mlOP
      3·
      10 months ago

      你好朋友！认识你很高兴！我有学中文的一个月。我也觉得读中文很难。我不有母有人的朋友。

      对不起，我不明白都这：

      希望你继续学中文。对我来说就是很不错的爱好。

      Edit: bonus pic of me translating your comment! picture!

      • The_Jewish_Cuban [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
        2·
        10 months ago

        没事啊，不明白是第一步哈哈。你手工翻译我的贴子。你吹捧我了哈哈。 因为你没有母语人士的朋友我推荐你下载“Hello-talk"和外国人的“微信”。你用”hello-talk"为找到新朋友，然后转到微信聊一聊。 除了住在中国以外，我认为这儿个看法最好的。而且这样你去中国时就有一个朋友去看啊！

        Don’t worry, not understanding is the first step! I can’t believe you translated my post. You flatter me haha. because you don’t have a fried who is a native speaker, I really suggest using the app “hello-talk” and getting the foreign version of “we-chat”. Hello-talk is a monetized to hell and back but there are many many native speakers looking to practice English. So using that to find some people who you can vibe with and then talking with them on we-chat is how I made my language partner (and now great friend) who I’ve known for going on 3 years. I think this is important as otherwise you might chat with me and even though it’s passable sometimes I’m still going to teach you the mistakes I make when speaking or writing. Besides living in China, I think this method is the best and, moreover, then you maybe have some one to meet when you visit.

        Side note: I think your progress is remarkable for one month. It’s very impressive work! 加油！💪

        • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.mlOP
          2·
          10 months ago

          Thanks much for the callout to HelloTalk! I’ve spent the last few days chatting away with people, and I’ve learned a ton. Everyone is so kind and friendly too!

      • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.mlOP
        41·
        10 months ago

        Thank you. Is it common to ask someone how they are before you introduce yourself? Here it would be seen as either small talk, or as if you didn’t care to know the answer to the question in the first place, since you immediately spoke after asking.

        • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.mlOP
          4·
          10 months ago

          That’s a great one I hadn’t learned yet. Instead they had me asking what time people eat, which seemed a bit formal and specific. This sort of more casual conversation is exactly what I need to not sound like a robot or Google translate.

          • Better Red Than Dead@lemmygrad.mlEnglish
            5·
            10 months ago

            It is a remnant from the Northern Song Dynasty, as a form of etiquette and being polite, to not to disturb them while eating.

            “凡往见人，入门必问主人食否 […] 度无所妨，乃命展剌。有妨则少俟。”

            “Whoever you visit, you should ask them if they have eaten or not […] if they are about to eat, don’t enter the house until after they finish the meal. Otherwise, you would be intruding.”

            From the book “Lü Convention” 《吕氏乡约》

      • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.mlOP
        31·
        10 months ago

        I was worried about using 我是because i didn’t know if there was a specific nuance around screen names Vs actual names, so I figured “call me BartsBigBugBag” covered that base effectively lol.