tagged: guest blogger, learn to speak Chinese, rohankamath

Learn to Speak Chinese, the Different Way (Guest Blogger)

Posted by rohankamath in Guest Bloggers

Ni Hao!!

From the moment I stepped into this city, I knew the language would be an issue. While I was cautioned about it, I didn’t know it would be that hard. I was told to enroll for Chinese Lessons in my first month, but I had other plans.

Learn to Speak Chinese — My Way

Being a newbie in the the city, I preferred having lunch at Subway. Since most of their customers are expats, they knew their share of English and that was the opportunity. I started picking up words one at a time, right from greetings (ni hao, xie xie), to food to tissues (tsanjinje) and other words ( from the people behind the counter. Not only was I learning new words, I was giving back as well by teaching them some in English.

I also learnt words while grocery shopping and would ask them what I would call a potato (tudo), tea (cha) and water (shvae) in mandarin. I believe it is definitely a better way to learn the language. It also brings a smile on their face when they hear me repeating the words after them. Although it might be a lot slower and unorganized but it pays off in the end. These people now recognize me (some even know my name) and they teach me something new when I meet them (I don’t even have to ask them to do so).

Share your thoughts if you second my opinion or think otherwise. Also, let us know if you’ve had similar experiences in how you decided how to learn to speak Chinese.