I always hear that Chinese is very difficult to learn, usually comparing to English. I don’t quite agree though.
In some respects, Chinese is simpler to understand than English. Not because I am a Chinese but of the fact that Chinese words are in a combining form while English words in a coding form. English can be therefore very hard to understand for a non-English-also-non-Latin speaker, such as me. Let me show you.
FOB. What is that? We have to decipher first. Fill Out Blank? Full Of Beer? Fuck On Bed? You can’t say they don’t make sense, can you? Though they have nothing to do with the correct answer. And there could be a million other possibilities.
离岸价. This one is nicer and you can more or less guess its meaning from each character combined to make the word. 离-离开，岸-岸边、码头，价-价格。离岸价-（货物）离开岸边/码头的价格。You can further deduce that the price is for something to leave the shore and after that your work is done – a close meaning to the truth. Problem solved (let's be less strict with ourselves). Exiting!
This is more obvious in academic situation than in everyday use. Let’s look at more examples.
You might not know a thing about Medicine. Neither do I. But look at this word: 肺炎. Can you guess its meaning? Easily. 肺- lung, 炎-发炎，infection. 肺炎- a lung gotten infected. PS (I’m going to use PS here for Problem Solved). Exiting!
What if you come up with this word: pneumonia? You, remember that you are a non-English-also-non-Latin speaker, can do nothing but seek help from a dictionary. How frustrated.
Another pair. 儿科医生. It just means as literal. 儿-little children，科-department, 医生- doctor. A doctor working in children-department of a hospital who specifically treats children with their diseases. PS. Exiting!
And 'pediatrician'? From where am I supposed to guess its meaning referring to children or doctor? Not a clue. How frustrated.
The next is a bit more sophisticated. 动脉粥样硬化. 动脉-artery, 粥-porridge, 样-a state of something, 硬化-harden. An artery getting hardened like porridge, (you can imagine) which results in deterioration of artery and dysfunction of blood supply. PS. Exiting!
What about 'atherosclerosis'? It looks so terrifying that you might as well pass over it straight. Don’t even bother to feel frustrated this time.
There you see? Which is easier? The combining form of Chinese word can help you understand many words and terms even in academic subjects or cross-discipline.
Chinese isn’t that difficult as you might have presumed. There are 2,500 basic characters used in China Mainland. Once you’ve learnt 700-800 commonly used characters, you’ll be able to deal with most daily reading, writing and conversations. However, even if you’ve learnt 10,000 English words, you still have to look up a dictionary while reading a newspaper!
Well, if you think otherwise, that’s perfectly OK. Actually, as you might have found, I’m sadly complaining about my English learning. Sometimes it can really be frustrating.
Anyway, don't feel so serious with this writing. It's just for relaxation and fun. 😂
In some respects, Chinese is simpler to understand than English. Not because I am a Chinese but of the fact that Chinese words are in a combining form while English words in a coding form. English can be therefore very hard to understand for a non-English-also-non-Latin speaker, such as me. Let me show you.
FOB. What is that? We have to decipher first. Fill Out Blank? Full Of Beer? Fuck On Bed? You can’t say they don’t make sense, can you? Though they have nothing to do with the correct answer. And there could be a million other possibilities.
离岸价. This one is nicer and you can more or less guess its meaning from each character combined to make the word. 离-离开，岸-岸边、码头，价-价格。离岸价-（货物）离开岸边/码头的价格。You can further deduce that the price is for something to leave the shore and after that your work is done – a close meaning to the truth. Problem solved (let's be less strict with ourselves). Exiting!
This is more obvious in academic situation than in everyday use. Let’s look at more examples.
You might not know a thing about Medicine. Neither do I. But look at this word: 肺炎. Can you guess its meaning? Easily. 肺- lung, 炎-发炎，infection. 肺炎- a lung gotten infected. PS (I’m going to use PS here for Problem Solved). Exiting!
What if you come up with this word: pneumonia? You, remember that you are a non-English-also-non-Latin speaker, can do nothing but seek help from a dictionary. How frustrated.
Another pair. 儿科医生. It just means as literal. 儿-little children，科-department, 医生- doctor. A doctor working in children-department of a hospital who specifically treats children with their diseases. PS. Exiting!
And 'pediatrician'? From where am I supposed to guess its meaning referring to children or doctor? Not a clue. How frustrated.
The next is a bit more sophisticated. 动脉粥样硬化. 动脉-artery, 粥-porridge, 样-a state of something, 硬化-harden. An artery getting hardened like porridge, (you can imagine) which results in deterioration of artery and dysfunction of blood supply. PS. Exiting!
What about 'atherosclerosis'? It looks so terrifying that you might as well pass over it straight. Don’t even bother to feel frustrated this time.
There you see? Which is easier? The combining form of Chinese word can help you understand many words and terms even in academic subjects or cross-discipline.
Chinese isn’t that difficult as you might have presumed. There are 2,500 basic characters used in China Mainland. Once you’ve learnt 700-800 commonly used characters, you’ll be able to deal with most daily reading, writing and conversations. However, even if you’ve learnt 10,000 English words, you still have to look up a dictionary while reading a newspaper!
Well, if you think otherwise, that’s perfectly OK. Actually, as you might have found, I’m sadly complaining about my English learning. Sometimes it can really be frustrating.
Anyway, don't feel so serious with this writing. It's just for relaxation and fun. 😂
