Are you Chinese or English?

[Voodooman]

On 1/2/2024 at 5:02 PM, Lala81 said:

Sorry to elaborate. 

I think it's hard to think high level thoughts in Chinese. 

I find English an incredibly effective way to communicate complex ideas. As in you can listen to very intelligent people and can catch ball easily. But for Chinese, a lot of depth in every word. 

Just like how for Idioms, English ones u roughly can catch ball. For Chinese, really without translation and lot of context, catch no ball. 

 

Agree. Like translating Chinese to English using Google translate, it fails miserably for complex ideas and thoughts but we can probably say the same for a handful of other languages with deep historical and cultural roots as well.

 

[Benarsenal]

On 1/2/2024 at 4:45 PM, Jman888 said:

read, speak n write in both chinese n english, recently join some hobby forum groups in Taiwan n HK hence get to practice more writing in chinese (traditional chinese) 

Actually, I'm curious, why ah? What is your motivation?

[mersaylee]

On 1/2/2024 at 5:48 PM, kobayashiGT said:

I 省吃俭用, but when i wanna buy house i 无可奈何, because the property price 乱七八糟, i shall 顺其自然 .

like this you can understand? ahahaha 

You write until 乱七八糟...i is 无可奈何have to 顺其自然 to understand 忧...😁

[Lala81]

On 1/2/2024 at 6:13 PM, mersaylee said:

You write until 乱七八糟...i is 无可奈何have to 顺其自然 to understand 忧...😁

Only 忧 can 陪我取西经。。。

[Lala81]

On 1/2/2024 at 5:55 PM, Benarsenal said:

But I see some people here Chinese quite tok gong leh 🤭

For me I can't even understand Lianhe Zaobao

Just read what you like lor. Too bad now 晚报 circulation dropped. 

Recent two years， I've been reading quite a bit of prc 漫画。

Ask me reading Zaobao, other than finding articles for my girl to read, no thanks. 

Edited January 2 by Lala81

[Tianmo]

On 1/2/2024 at 5:48 PM, kobayashiGT said:

I 省吃俭用, but when i wanna buy house i 无可奈何, because the property price 乱七八糟, i shall 顺其自然 .

like this you can understand? ahahaha 

KNN, Really is pu nia bor ah 成何体统, !!!!

 

[Lala81]

Amusing thing about how language shapes your thinking.

When I first met my wife. Her Chinese is stronger than her English. At least when she was growing up. Her parents are all 华校生. read Zaobao and laofuzi since they can read. No such things as Archie comics. 

So when you tell her a big number, like few billion.

For us in English, it's millions. Then billions, based on thousand million and so forth. 

Cos in Chinese, it's million 百万, then 100 million 亿. Going up to billion is actually not a natural step. I had to literally tell her in Chinese the same figure. 4 billion is 四十亿。

I noticed my mum was the same but of course, even worse cos the older folks conceptually don't have relationship to such big numbers. 

 

[Tianmo]

I think in combination of teochew, English and sometimes mandarin depending on who I need to relate my thoughts to later.  Most times I will speak to myself in those combination also.

 

[Benarsenal]

On 1/2/2024 at 6:56 PM, Lala81 said:

Just read what you like lor. Too bad now 晚报 circulation dropped. 

Recent two years， I've been reading quite a bit of prc 漫画。

Ask me reading Zaobao, other than finding articles for my girl to read, no thanks. 

Wanbao no more already. Chinese evening newspaper now is Shin Min.

[Ahwhye]

On 1/2/2024 at 5:48 PM, kobayashiGT said:

I 省吃俭用, but when i wanna buy house i 无可奈何, because the property price 乱七八糟, i shall 顺其自然 .

like this you can understand? ahahaha 

not bad liao lah... most gen z will do something like this.....and you not gen z right?

I jin jialat, but when i wanna buy house i bo bian, because the property price luan luan lai, i shall suck it up .

[Benarsenal]

Ironically I listen to Chinese music (mostly oldies) and watch Chinese shows. But I think because those mediums you mostly just absorb, don't need to think. Unlike reading where you need to comprehend and try to understand the meaning in your head.

[Beregond]

On 1/2/2024 at 5:48 PM, kobayashiGT said:

I 省吃俭用, but when i wanna buy house i 无可奈何, because the property price 乱七八糟, i shall 顺其自然 .

like this you can understand? ahahaha 

buay pai leh😂

[Jman888]

On 1/2/2024 at 6:10 PM, Benarsenal said:

Actually, I'm curious, why ah? What is your motivation?

not motivation lah, I was from chinese stream, probably the 2nd last batch in secondary school. After that JC, Uni n work life all English.

Now step away from corporate life and having more own time, go back to chinese lor, in fact I also volunteer in cdac so chinese/mandarin is a must.

[Ahwhye]

On 1/2/2024 at 7:20 PM, Benarsenal said:

Ironically I listen to Chinese music (mostly oldies) and watch Chinese shows. But I think because those mediums you mostly just absorb, don't need to think. Unlike reading where you need to comprehend and try to understand the meaning in your head.

most people with some basic chinese education can do simple listening and conversation,

reading and comprehension is another different animal, one may know every words yet know no shit what the article is talking about;

ability to articulate accurately and precisely whether verbally or in writing is a rare skill nowadays.

[Tianmo]

On 1/2/2024 at 7:09 PM, Lala81 said:

Amusing thing about how language shapes your thinking.

When I first met my wife. Her Chinese is stronger than her English. At least when she was growing up. Her parents are all 华校生. read Zaobao and laofuzi since they can read. No such things as Archie comics. 

So when you tell her a big number, like few billion.

For us in English, it's millions. Then billions, based on thousand million and so forth. 

Cos in Chinese, it's million 百万, then 100 million 亿. Going up to billion is actually not a natural step. I had to literally tell her in Chinese the same figure. 4 billion is 四十亿。

I noticed my mum was the same but of course, even worse cos the older folks conceptually don't have relationship to such big numbers. 

 

Actually it depends on how you read and understand it. In Chinese it goes in 个十百千万， which is in grp of 10s, and because Chinese used physical gold and silver, 万 was the biggest number. So after 万, is 十万, 百万, 千万, which is also in grps of 10s, and again max at 万, therefore 亿 replace 万万. After that in grps of 10s, we get 一亿, 十亿, 百亿, 千亿, and 兆 replaces 万亿.

It is actually very systematic. 

In English, grps of 10s stop at 1000s, and there after stop at millions, billions, trillion, all in grps of 10s,  As long as we understand the basic of the two system,  that Chinese stop at 万， and ang mohs stop at 千. it's actually not that difficult to relate and translate the figures. 

Of course the easiest is just say how many zero lor, both side also same one.

 

Edited January 2 by Tianmo

[Tianmo]

On 1/2/2024 at 7:40 PM, Ahwhye said:

most people with some basic chinese education can do simple listening and conversation,

reading and comprehension is another different animal, one may know every words yet know no shit what the article is talking about;

ability to articulate accurately and precisely whether verbally or in writing is a rare skill nowadays.

汉语 is actually a very interesting and annoying language. I had always thought that my command of the language is above avg, until I open up 易经 and 道德经, then I know I am actually kindergarten standard.

 

[Atonchia]

On 1/2/2024 at 3:45 PM, Benarsenal said:

Just a simple question, no controversy here.

I notice some people here read and follow Chinese language media.

For me, while I can speak Chinese (and have worked in China), I'm a bit illiterate at reading Chinese words. I mostly read in English.

I like both Chinese and English

 

 

 

But have to be female lah

[inlinesix]

On 1/2/2024 at 8:24 PM, Atonchia said:

I like both Chinese and English

 

 

 

But have to be female lah

Chinese + English