Language Barriers and Learning

Can I just say ya’ll...Mandarin is tough! 

For a girl from the south, learning this language is a whole new world. The tones still get me to this day. Ha! But it is sooooo worth it. Some times I get laughed out when I'm out trying to speak, but most of the time its just because the locals here are shocked that a foreigner is trying to learn their language. Its so totally different from English, especially my Southern English! But I confess...I'm loving learning. It makes me feel more empowered to live in this new world. 

I made the mistake of not starting my lessons until we had been here for almost a year. But I had my reasons. Pickle (my son) was only 4 months old when we arrived. So my time was not my own. Then I just got busy with life. My dear sweet Singaporean friend did a fabulous job of teaching me the basics, but eventually I decided I needed to take lessons. 

About a year into our time in China I met the wonderful husband and wife team of Wisdom Mandarin Education. I began my lessons shortly after. My lessons are once a week for an hour and a half. Now granted...after this my head hurts to no end and I MUST have my coffee to help me focus, but I love learning. I highly recommend learning if you are at a place in life here that you can. 

Leo, my Mandarin instructor. 

But I do realize that its just not for everyone. Tractor Man just doesn’t have time to take lessons and learn because of everything else on his plate, so he just relies on me to get us around and order food when we go out to eat. One wonderful thing about Wuxi is that so many people do speak English here, so it makes it easier in some ways. 

I do want to share with you a few sentences that have been extremely helpful for me in starting to learn. These will help you in getting around as well. This is a very short list of phrases, but a good starting point. A huge shout out to June at Wisdom Mandarin Education for the pinyin and characters below. 

Hello -  nǐ hǎo 你好

Good bye - zài jiàn 再见

I -  wǒ  我

You - nǐ 你

He / She -   tā 他/她

Water -  shuǐ 水

Bathroom - xǐ shǒu jiān 洗手间

I am an American - wǒ shì Měiguó rén. 我是美国人。

I don’t know -  wǒ bù zhī dào. 我不知道

I don’t understand -  wǒ bù dǒng. 我不懂。

How much is it? - duō shǎo qián?  多少钱？

It is too expensive! - tài guì le! 太贵了！

I don’t want. -  wǒ bú yào. 我不要.

I don’t have. -  wǒ méi yǒu.我没有
Thank you - xiè xiè . 谢谢
 

No problem -  méi wèn tí 没问题

One -  yī 一

Two -  èr  二

Three - sān 三

Four - sì 四

Five - wǔ  五
 

Six - liù 六
 
Seven - qī 七
 

Eight - bā 八

Nine - jiǔ 九

Ten - shí 十

Don't let this overwhelm you. Its much easier when you get started, trust me. Can't wait to hear your stories of how you learn. I would love to hear from you about your language experiences. 

Always, 

Southern Belle