For questions about spoken Chinese (aka "oral Chinese" or "verbal Chinese"); consider also the [pronunciation] tag.
Questions tagged [spoken]
87 questions
11
votes
4 answers
Pronounce ellipsis 《●●● ●●●》 in Mandarin
When I'm reading ellipses in English out loud I usually say et cetera or and so on. What should I say in Mandarin? 等等?
rxmnnxfpvg
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9
votes
2 answers
How can I skip characters I can't read when reading aloud?
As an example, I was at the cinema and I wanted to buy tickets for a film named
北京遇上西雅图
However, I can't read all of the characters.
In English I'd say;
Can I get a ticket for that film "北京*something*上西*something**something*", please?
Is there…
Matthew Rudy 马泰
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6
votes
2 answers
Would an ancient chinese be able to understand today's language?
In the movie "The Mummy: Tomb of the dragon emperor", an ancient chinese emperor is resurrected in 1946, and he wants to take over the world. The emperor in the film is the Dragon Emperor, or Qin Shi Huang, who lived 259 to 210 BC and founded the…
d4zed
- 163
- 7
2
votes
4 answers
Why is speaking 书面语 ("written language") a problem?
Like a lot of HSKers, I've spent a lot of time learning from textbooks, and as a result, I sometimes unwittingly use 书面语 in my oral Chinese. A recent example is where I used 崭新, and was told this is 书面语 ("written language"); I guess I should use…
Becky 李蓓
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2
votes
2 answers
What do new Chinese speakers sound like to native Chinese speakers?
Often when I hear Asians speaking English, it is quite easy to tell if it is their first or second language.
Their pronunciation of certain words and sounds such as the hard r's and hard and soft t's usually gives it away.
So, my question is, is…
BreWoodsy
- 123
- 4
2
votes
4 answers
How do I tell the difference between "ing" and "in"?
I grew in a family that speaks Wu Chinese, so I cannot differentiate between the "ing" sound and the "in" sound. Are there any ways to tell them apart or pronounce them differently? They sound the same to me. (Hanyupinyin)
Charles Chen
- 23
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2
votes
2 answers
"Today" in Spoken Singaporean Mandarin
Is "今日" or "今天" more appropriate to use when speaking Singaporean Mandarin? Is it different than the one that is used in writing?
William Campos
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1
vote
1 answer
Website about talk /speech in Chinese
What's the website to watch about talk /speech in Chinese, like TEDx ?
What's the keyword to type to find video people do presentation in Chinese in youtube ?
yov_dev
- 21
- 1
1
vote
2 answers
How to improve speaking skills during "real" conversations
I have a question regarding how to improve your speaking skills in a particular situation.
Here's my situation: my level of Chinese is somewhat advanced beginner to intermediate, I guess. I'm focusing a lot on reading improvement, by learning…
Rusty
- 13
- 2
1
vote
2 answers
How do you specify 她 in speech?
If you are speaking, but want to emphasize that you would write 她 rather than 他 at a certain point, how do you do that?
I know ways to say the person you are talking about is a woman, as 倪阔乐 suggests. I wondered if there is a way to indicate that…
Colin McLarty
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0
votes
1 answer
How is a speaker introduced at a Chinese mathematics conference?
I'm aiming to give a mathematics presentation at a conference next month (第八届全国组合数学与图论大会; URL). Assuming everything goes to plan, this will be my first conference talk in Chinese (a 15-minute contributed talk), and my first conference presentation…
Becky 李蓓
- 16,291
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0
votes
2 answers
welcoming a chinese delegation
My girlfriend has to welcome and accompany a chinese delegation from different governmental institutions and companies, she wants to know if there are any common phrases for welcoming these guests in Mandarin Chinese.
Marcus Mondel
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