HOW I LEARNED CHINESE

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  • čas přidán 9. 06. 2024
  • This is my China story. It's a long vid! So here's some key parts if you feel like skimming! ↓
    0:53 - How I started learning Chinese
    2:50 - Why you should start learning Chinese in a classroom
    4:59 - Why you should study abroad in China
    7:33 - How travelling in China improves your Chinese
    8:59 - 3 ways to immerse yourself in Chinese when not in China
    12:25 - My 'Chinese Bridge Competition' experience
    14:38 - Tsinghua University intensive language course
    15:57 - Making Chinese friends is IMPORTANT
    MY FAV CHINESE TV SHOWS FOR LEARNING CHINESE
    爸爸去哪儿 (kids travelling with their dads)
    爱情公寓 (it's like the Chinese version of 'Friends')
    非常完美 (Chinese dating show)
    我的前半生 (Last years hottest TV show in China)
    都挺好 (Right now hottest TV show in China)
    DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW MY NEW INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT!!!!
    @blondieinchina
    / blondieinchina
    Love y'all xx

Komentáře • 2,5K

  • @jqxu6232
    @jqxu6232 Před 4 lety +2504

    meanwhile,a Chinese watch your video to learn English.

    • @vr4u271
      @vr4u271 Před 4 lety +32

      me too, but I had to click the pause button to understand clearly and transelete some words...

    • @kathrinanchen
      @kathrinanchen Před 4 lety +3

      JQ XU and me

    • @huum4430
      @huum4430 Před 4 lety +4

      Me toooo ahhaha

    • @gloriaz2486
      @gloriaz2486 Před 4 lety +1

      JQ XU me too, with no subtitle2333

    • @wasurebachi
      @wasurebachi Před 4 lety +9

      The same, her pronunciation make it easy for me to get the point.

  • @alejandragallo783
    @alejandragallo783 Před 5 lety +1379

    hi from Peru
    I actually won a scholarship to go to China and i´ll go on july :)

  • @k_wang64
    @k_wang64 Před 4 lety +1245

    How I learned Chinese: being born in China.

  • @pedroparancan3760
    @pedroparancan3760 Před 4 lety +399

    im actually learning chinese by my self, using some apps and by watching some chinese videos with chinese subtitles, and i think its working pretty well, i practice chinese characters every day and i seem to be memorizing them very fast, so i think that with some 2 or 3 more years of practice i will be ready to speak fluent chinese or start a conversation.
    the reason why i dont go to chinese classes its because there are not chinese teachers in my city :/

    • @nan2460
      @nan2460 Před 4 lety +3

      加油!

    • @DayTube24
      @DayTube24 Před 4 lety

      What apps did you use

    • @pedroparancan3760
      @pedroparancan3760 Před 4 lety +2

      @@DayTube24 lingodeer

    • @snowlight9425
      @snowlight9425 Před 4 lety +13

      pedro parancan Don’t feel upset about it, just keep learning, you’ll find yourself making huge progress when you look back one day.

    • @judiewang6487
      @judiewang6487 Před 4 lety

      Could I ask which city you live in?

  • @shisteve23
    @shisteve23 Před 5 lety +214

    When you learn a language, it's faster if you learn the culture as well.

    • @BlondieinChina
      @BlondieinChina  Před 5 lety +46

      so true!!! Chinese language and chinese history/culture is so intertwined! You can hardly learn one without the other!

    • @Suite_annamite
      @Suite_annamite Před 4 lety +11

      That is something *the CIA never seem to understand!*
      That *a language isn't just catchphrases* to memorise, but an entire way of thinking and outlook on the world!

    • @user-fj2ly2eg2p
      @user-fj2ly2eg2p Před 4 lety +4

      @@BlondieinChina There are 500 different Chinese languages and dialects rich in culture and they are worth to be carried forward! It is heartbreaking to witness some Chinese dialects and Chinese culture are languoring over the years!

  • @roomijsjeeee
    @roomijsjeeee Před 4 lety +785

    0:45 damn an “s” in chinese is so long, I think I will just stick by learning Japanese

    • @BlondieinChina
      @BlondieinChina  Před 4 lety +141

      hahahah apologies for the subtitle error!!!

    • @panpan4944
      @panpan4944 Před 4 lety +2

      a*** not an

    • @roomijsjeeee
      @roomijsjeeee Před 4 lety +1

      ʚ Memey Gacha I wrote “in” first so that’s why but thanks for pointing out

    • @roomijsjeeee
      @roomijsjeeee Před 4 lety +11

      Blondie in China no problem it’s funny actually 😂

    • @rogerjr.6588
      @rogerjr.6588 Před 4 lety +3

      @@roomijsjeeee lmaooooooooooooooo

  • @timothyxu5161
    @timothyxu5161 Před 4 lety +210

    When you say"你好吗“ in Chinese, it is like you are asking someone whether he has recovered from a disease. That is why it is strange.

    • @briancole1687
      @briancole1687 Před 4 lety +15

      Thank you for that info!

    • @bluebluebl
      @bluebluebl Před 3 lety +6

      Or like if you broke up with someone and you see them again after 10 years, you say: how are you?

    • @stevel5806
      @stevel5806 Před 3 lety +3

      not true,i always say ni hao ma to friends i havent seen in a while

    • @timothyxu5161
      @timothyxu5161 Před 3 lety +11

      @@stevel5806 I have no idea whether you are an ABC. But most Chinese who lives in China will only say "ni hao ma" to people that they meet for the first time. They won't say that to their friends.

    • @luchris6365
      @luchris6365 Před 3 lety +3

      通常 你好 就可以,视环境而定,你好吗也不是不可以,就是怪怪的😂

  • @Marc-rx5xg
    @Marc-rx5xg Před 4 lety +28

    I've been studying French for about 7 years at school. When I spoke French though, I would start to stammer, too. It is _so_ true that you really have to put the language to the test for you to improve quickly! This is true for every foreign language

  • @hollywu8957
    @hollywu8957 Před 4 lety +571

    This is so inspiring!! I’m a Chinese Australian and I regret not learning chinese

    • @derekwong8772
      @derekwong8772 Před 4 lety +8

      Cool, I'm a native Chinese speaker, I think it coll

    • @chibeechan
      @chibeechan Před 4 lety +34

      DUDE SAAAME 😭😭 ABC here and I regret not taking those Saturday Chinese School classes seriously

    • @jimtso9802
      @jimtso9802 Před 4 lety +37

      It's never too late to learn. Chinese has a much smaller vocabulary than English and super simple grammar rules.

    • @thomasmao5811
      @thomasmao5811 Před 4 lety +5

      hahha, it should be easy for you to catch up, there are So many Chinese students You can communicate with. I believe they would be happy to help u

    • @Mrs.miriam
      @Mrs.miriam Před 4 lety +10

      Learning another language is good for us all. There are more job opportunities or life opportunities if u have another backup language, any language will do.

  • @mommakittyhiking
    @mommakittyhiking Před 5 lety +199

    I love this video and want to show it to my students! I got goosebumps when you said you started dreaming in Chinese! I teach middle school math and computer science and many students are eager to give up if they don't get something right away. I think you're a great example of perseverance and hard work!

    • @BlondieinChina
      @BlondieinChina  Před 5 lety +12

      Thanks so much!!! I hope your students can also learn something from this video! Thanks so much for the kind words

    • @GewalfofWivia
      @GewalfofWivia Před 4 lety +2

      Wait... middle school computer science...

  • @Huaneyk
    @Huaneyk Před 4 lety +11

    It’s really an amazing feeling to hear you share this story, because it’s exactly what I have been going through-as a Chinese learning English.
    I studied English in China, then I went to Australia, alone, to travel around the country meanwhile improving my English, as you said, environment is very important. I found my English improved dramatically as your Chinese did, through exactly the same daily struggles such as talking to a waiter or so.
    And now I’m in the Columbia University in New York attending an English language program. For the First time in my life, I have the chance to engage fully and exclusively in English, just like you did. And even the situation that everyone ends up speaking their first language after class is the same as you!
    Let alone those good old days singing English songs with my classmates, struggling to put as much English as it could be into my daily life.....
    There are so much common struggles, and so common that if I switch the word “Chinese “ into “English“ in your video, it becomes my self introduction!
    很有意思,虽然我们的经历完全相反,但感觉上是完全一致,Cheers!

  • @aidan7933
    @aidan7933 Před 4 lety +7

    You are so inspirational and it's so awesome how you have gotten to this level with all of your experiences! I am also an Aussie and have only been learning Chinese for about 3 months (2 months at university this year so far and 4 weeks on and off when I went to Harbin for a summer program last year). This language, culture and everything about China really amazes me and I can't wait to finally go back to China and practice speaking Chinese with locals. The steps that you have mentioned in this video make me feel much more confident because I don't want to rush either but want to have many experiences that will lead me to fluency one day.
    I will return to this video to see this comment and it will be amazing to see how far I have come from now until then. Thank you for making this really motivating video and keep up the awesome work!

  • @fdja001
    @fdja001 Před 4 lety +983

    Mandarin is probably one of the nicest sounding language. Apart from French. The pinyin has nice melody.

    • @MrJermson
      @MrJermson Před 4 lety +10

      @Andrew Lim Vietnamese as well

    • @felixyi349
      @felixyi349 Před 4 lety +95

      @@MrJermson probably the worst sounding language. No offense

    • @jdemeulenaer123
      @jdemeulenaer123 Před 4 lety +11

      YES. That is true also when you hear what the Chinese say about French..

    • @Suite_annamite
      @Suite_annamite Před 4 lety +8

      *I know a French girl who speaks Mandarin fluently after living in Taiwan! And you might know her too as "Julie Flower"!*

    • @z1lla4
      @z1lla4 Před 4 lety +62

      Honestly French doesn't even sound that good. It's almost like they sound like they are trying to spit out some flem. Spanish and maybe Italian is better in my opinion.

  • @qizhang5129
    @qizhang5129 Před 5 lety +431

    you also provided ways for me to learn English,

    • @BlondieinChina
      @BlondieinChina  Před 5 lety +18

      That's awesome!!

    • @salihzanatta3116
      @salihzanatta3116 Před 5 lety +3

      We chat is good but makes you lazy until my battery runs out haha haha

    • @dr_amalia
      @dr_amalia Před 4 lety

      @@BlondieinChina I think he/she is asking

  • @maitlandbezzina2842
    @maitlandbezzina2842 Před 4 lety +19

    Great to see another Aussie that has an interest in the Chinese language. I’ve been teaching myself for the past 9 months while in uni and have joined up to private classes in the hopes to land a rad scholarship to China next year.

  • @singing.winnie
    @singing.winnie Před 4 lety +16

    I like your down-to-earth journey of how slowly you have progressed, and that there is no right or wrong, and that you should not be scared to make mistakes. I'm actually not learning chinese now but clicked this bcuz i love seeing different approaches to learning a 2nd language. I loveeee ur story. So inspiring and encouraging, beyong explanation. Thx mate, lots of love from korean sheila hahaha 😍

  • @harrylouw2511
    @harrylouw2511 Před 5 lety +66

    As a chinese descendant who lives in indonesia, listening to a person whose native language is non-tonal speaking chinese well always surprised me and at the same time, awesome. How hard it must have been for you learning this language. 你说汉语说的非常棒。佩服你了。会永远看你的CZcams频道。加油

    • @user-hc6tn2qn1q
      @user-hc6tn2qn1q Před 4 lety +1

      Hi! I'm also Chinese indonesian! Don't you know, chinese grammar is crazy similar to our day-to-day grammar. I'd say, people who only speaks English would face harder time learning it than us! Good luck in studying chinese

  • @dyrectory_com
    @dyrectory_com Před 5 lety +170

    @Blondie in China, you're such a treasure to China! She is so lucky to have you on her side... Wishing you all the happiness and success!

  • @babylou
    @babylou Před 4 lety +21

    "... I felt like a piece of me was at home." Don't know why, but this gave me goosebumps.

  • @Maik-iz7gs
    @Maik-iz7gs Před 4 lety +3

    i’ve been learning chinese for three years now, and so many of your experiences are completely the same as mine. love your videos, very motivating! ❤️

  • @simonwei9788
    @simonwei9788 Před 5 lety +39

    we dont ask ppl have they eaten or not..maybe our grandparents do..in fact we dont greet ppl normally, we kinda skip that part by simply saying hi

    • @alex73217
      @alex73217 Před 5 lety +6

      The people I met ALWAYS asked "你吃了吗?" Have you eaten yet... I heard that multiple times a day from basically everybody. Maybe it was the culture where I was.

    • @genxman7211
      @genxman7211 Před 4 lety +1

      Simon Wei it’s used more in northern China. My friend from Beijing said they always say it.

    • @lunantshao1050
      @lunantshao1050 Před 4 lety

      Simon Wei 说的对

  • @flaminem
    @flaminem Před 5 lety +36

    thank you for your video, it's so inspiring! I'm a language student (majoring in english and chinese) and my chinese level is really low compared to other people in my classes, but next year I'm going to Chongqing to follow a (not really intensive) chinese language course, and you motivated me to do my best to succeed ! My biggest problem is that I am really shy, so it will probably be hard for me to speak to strangers with my terrible pronunciation and to make friends, I'm afraid that I'll end up alone on the other side of the world with no one to speak chinese with... But well, I'll do my best !
    (and I am personally really jealous of your skills!)

    • @melodyhuang1233
      @melodyhuang1233 Před 5 lety +5

      flamine Welcome to China, Chinese people are friendly, and don’t be shy, maybe most Chinese are shyer than you😂

    • @shanwoozeng7574
      @shanwoozeng7574 Před 5 lety +2

      flamine hello I’m a Chinese ,I can teach you Chinese ,and I’m learning English

    • @lawrencesao7379
      @lawrencesao7379 Před 4 lety +2

      I am also a shy Chinese learner, I have been living in Shanghai for two years and my best piece of advice is consume as much Chinese media as possible, force yourself to go to language mixers and once you are here the average Chinese person is going to force you to speak Chinese anyway :)

  • @JingLu8
    @JingLu8 Před 2 lety +2

    Agree with you 100% Amy. I've learned my English by watching American sitcoms. My very first English novel was Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster, also took me a while to finish, but it was a big accomplishment at the time. Being immersed in the environment definitely helps with learning a new language, not just semantics, but also common expressions used, the tones and cultural differences. I'm drawn to your channel because of your positive energy and open mindness. Looking forward to more episodes of your life in China!

  • @petrawu2305
    @petrawu2305 Před 4 lety +3

    Hi! I just found your video, and I am humbled by the progress of your Chinese journey. I am 14 and Chinese but I live in Norway. I speak fluent Chinese with my Chinese parents but reading and writing is difficult for me as I don’t know that many characters. You inspire me to work harder with my Chinese. Thank you! I just got home from a trip in Xian where I visited my grandparents, and I must say, if you haven’t already visited Xian, you MUST do so. I would recommend visiting Xian Cui Hua Sheng, Dayan Pagoda, Bell Tower and the Terracotta Army! As a Chinese person, I learned so much more about the Chinese culture by visiting China! And I must say, I really do feel intrigued and kind of attracted to my homeland, even though I have never lived in China, and I want to, maybe one day, possess a future there.

  • @andyhong3812
    @andyhong3812 Před 5 lety +3

    Great video as always! Super funny, helpful and cute at the same time. Keep the up the great work Amy!

  • @AussieMarine123
    @AussieMarine123 Před 5 lety +13

    Loved the bit about travelling, similar things happened to me when I was travelling in South Western China, was a good laugh looking back at it.

  • @joeshephard81
    @joeshephard81 Před 4 lety +2

    I’m watching this video again and receiving so much encouragement! Can’t thank you enough for making this video, Amy. 😄

  • @2112ming
    @2112ming Před 3 lety +2

    Real love your adventuring mind that has led you to be very open-minded on differences (not only about culture) and use them to broaden the perspectives and in a very positive way of seeing life 💕💕

  • @rozzischen
    @rozzischen Před 4 lety +10

    I'm so glad I stumbled on your YT channel! This is the first video that I've watched from you, and I already subscribed! I'm currently studying mandarin, and It's very good to see your excitment towards the language and chinese culture. Btw, I was also SO addicted to 我的歌聲裡! It's so good, I can't get enough.
    There're also 天亮以前說再見 and 愛 , 存在, maybe you'll like it too!

  • @amalbouih9191
    @amalbouih9191 Před 4 lety +4

    Hi !! I'm from morocco and i started learning chinese last september and i feel that the far u go in chinese , the most excited you become .. i loved this video and this is the second time that i watched it ♥
    thank you for motivating us little blondie ♥

  • @luckaoaquino
    @luckaoaquino Před 4 lety +2

    Girl you're very talented! Thanks for the video. I've been learning Chinese for 2 years and after I watched to your video it feels like I'll get to learn it much better now! Thank you!

  • @user-bd1jl9sl9z
    @user-bd1jl9sl9z Před 4 lety +4

    absolutely your Chinese is really easy to understand for native Chinese speakers, your progresses are incredible. I know learning languages is how difficult and depressed thing that sometimes you made a lot effort just had no result. But your story really impressed and encouraged me to learn Chinese. Thanks a lot and hope you enjoy your life in China.

  • @muheebridwan5308
    @muheebridwan5308 Před 5 lety +92

    Nice tips.
    Really enjoyed the video and I look forward & pray to study in Tsinghua University too. Its always my dream.
    Love from Nigeria.

  • @e11eme
    @e11eme Před 3 lety +16

    Your Chinese dating show video randomly popped up on my feed - I thought I recognized you and this video confirmed that. We met briefly in Shanghai, I was also studying at Fudan, with the Norwegian crowd! Interesting videos, congrats on the Chinese, very impressive! I definitely am envious of your fluency xD. Will be following some of your good tips - going to check out that Chinese show. All the best :)

  • @weijianfeng5523
    @weijianfeng5523 Před 3 lety +1

    Laughed out so hard when u and ur sister singing, thank you for sharing!

  • @arabesque2222
    @arabesque2222 Před 4 lety +7

    Your efforts at maintaining your Mandarin standard is inspiring! All the best in attaining your dream of perfecting your mandarin!

  • @gabrielladoucette4124
    @gabrielladoucette4124 Před 5 lety +3

    im almost a year into living in japan (been going to language school the whole time) and struggling and having one of the bad days, so your video really helped me, thank you!

  • @veryverygentle
    @veryverygentle Před 5 lety +139

    Thank you for you tips! Now I feel like I'm true Chinese....

  • @poleyeahmai
    @poleyeahmai Před 4 lety

    You energy is so infectious, thank you for your video! As a Chinese Canadian I am absolutely wowed by your Chinese and it's really motivating me to try and pick up what I should have learnt (but didn't)!

  • @sdensford
    @sdensford Před 4 lety

    You’re amazing! Well done! I’m on the journey and find your story and suggestions inspiring!

  • @luzhdzz1926
    @luzhdzz1926 Před 5 lety +3

    Finally! I’ve been waiting for this video! I’ve been learning Chinese for a couple of months now and im even more motivated to learn. Hopefully one day I’ll be as good as you! 😭❤️

    • @josephstone4828
      @josephstone4828 Před 5 lety

      加油^^

    • @eChineseLearning-school
      @eChineseLearning-school Před 5 lety +1

      You can do it! We have videos to help. If it does not enough take a trial lesson with us online. We can help you to succeed.

  • @wkl6432
    @wkl6432 Před 5 lety +24

    It's the same for learning any foreign languages. I should just do what you said to improve my English. Love your videos.

  • @feliciab75
    @feliciab75 Před 4 lety

    Thanks for sharing your journey to learning Chinese. I am embarking on that journey later in life, with 4 young kids. I'm teaching myself and my kids. Thanks for all your tips and encouragement! I will definitely be following you. Thanks for letting us live vicariously through your adventures!

  • @marraris9647
    @marraris9647 Před 4 lety +145

    As someone who grew up speaking Mandarin Chinese, you speak it pretty well! A couple of pronunciation issues but overall everything else is really good!

    • @ShenShen88
      @ShenShen88 Před 4 lety +42

      She did say her Chinese is not perfect. From my experience, unless you grow up in a Chinese environment or spend more than a decade in China speaking Chinese all day, it's very hard for us "foreigners" to get it super accurately, there's always that annoying tone shifting. We can definitely communicate though.

    • @thepriceofsalt9003
      @thepriceofsalt9003 Před 4 lety +16

      @@ShenShen88 of course, they're just stating what they've noticed from the video and cheering her on.

    • @user-fj2ly2eg2p
      @user-fj2ly2eg2p Před 4 lety

      You cannot "speak" Chinese. Chinese is referring to the text, the Chinese character, not the language.

    • @marraris9647
      @marraris9647 Před 4 lety +4

      传人龙的 my bad! Mandarin :)

    • @CharlieCharlie88
      @CharlieCharlie88 Před 7 měsíci +2

      @@user-fj2ly2eg2pwhen people talk about the Chinese language, they’re referring to Mandarin

  • @setthegooseloose
    @setthegooseloose Před 4 lety +4

    Hi! Thanks for the inspiring video! I started self studying Mandarin in the UK 3 1/2 years ago and I’m soon to be 60, and this is my first attempt at learning a secondary language. How I wish I’d started learning Chinese many years ago! Yes it’s a challenging language but so interesting and rewarding. I recently passed my HSK1 exam and my target is to get to HSK 3, and then who knows😄 You are so right about learning the Hanzi. Admittedly it has slowed down my progress, but from the outset I was determined to learn the characters as I went along, and I’m so glad I did! Working full time it’s difficult to have full immersion in the language via classes etc. I used a professional teacher on Skype to get me through the basics, and also a couple of language partners, and I still use these aspects for my studying. You’re observations on the learning process are so accurate and I’m sure reflect the experience and thoughts of many people learning Chinese ( and undoubtedly other languages), especially the frustrations! However, for me, a big part of the learning is in the first instance having an interest in the language and secondly once you start learning actually enjoying it! After all it’s a journey, and some journeys take longer than others, but ultimately even when you are a few steps in, the satisfaction of actually knowing you have started off is a great confidence booster. Hopefully once I retire I can spend some quality time in China travelling with my wife😄 Good luck in your future career, and thanks again for a frank and honest video. I look forward to watching your others👍

  • @paecpc
    @paecpc Před 5 lety +3

    Yes! It’s definitely true, learning to sing the songs of the language you are learning can help to improve the proficiency.

  • @LLoo-xy2rh
    @LLoo-xy2rh Před 3 lety +1

    So happy that you are so passionate with learning and educating yourself.

  • @demon39063
    @demon39063 Před 4 lety +1

    What a wonderful video and wonderful bits of advice -- it's definitely a very frustrating language to learn at times, but so rewarding. Thank you for sharing! 加油!

  • @jackl2257
    @jackl2257 Před 4 lety +6

    Your Chinese is definitely one of the best I’ve heard.

  • @RespectOthers1
    @RespectOthers1 Před 5 lety +9

    What a beautiful story!
    Wonderful to know China has become a part of you and you have become a part of China. Hopefully this long continuous intertwining will one day make you the Aussie Ambassador to China! :D

  • @carlitanonyme6751
    @carlitanonyme6751 Před 4 lety

    You're truly giving us SO MUCH motivation.
    加油大家!

  • @alexandracodrea4030
    @alexandracodrea4030 Před 4 lety

    Thank you for this video! I am currently learning chinese as my third language and I was feeling a little bit down because I am not learning it as easy as I thought I should,but this video made me realise that I should not feel down and just concentrate on the progress I make. Thank you for making me realise this.

  • @voongnz
    @voongnz Před 5 lety +7

    This is absolutely awesome. You must be very proud of yourself. 👍

  • @blissuca263
    @blissuca263 Před 5 lety +3

    because of people like you,Chinese culture is spreading around the world in a good way,thank you so much

  • @yannikin
    @yannikin Před rokem

    Wow. Watching this video vs the current videos and your Chinese has gotten insanely good!

  • @dvancamp6710
    @dvancamp6710 Před 4 lety +1

    Wow! What an incredible journey! You've accomplished so much in such a short time and I am jealous of your fluency! 加油!

  • @Cla_Disney
    @Cla_Disney Před 5 lety +3

    Thank you for this video, I've just started studying Chinese and this motivated me so much! Thank you, love your videos, they are so inspirational ♥

  • @gracefeng7301
    @gracefeng7301 Před 5 lety +4

    Nice video! Thanks!
    Love you from China!

  • @chrisfoley203
    @chrisfoley203 Před 4 lety

    Fantastic video, really motivating. When I began learning Chinese in 2017, I was literally the person you refer to in this video who decides early on to skip learning the characters to save team and commit to learning to speak. 3 years later I have had to go back to the very beginning a learn to read. As you say here, anyone that's reading don't do this. When you are illiterate there is always a ceiling on the level of fluency you can reach and as this video rightly says you miss out on so much by not being able to communicate on social media. Anywhere but particularly in China! Commit to learning to read from day one! I am now taking the HSK4 exam this summer, fingers crossed and I hope that someday I can reach your level of fluency!

  • @manueldamora
    @manueldamora Před 4 lety +1

    I felt like I was recording this video hahah everything you said could have easily come out from my mouth. Including all those experiences. Thanks for the video and all the best!!!!

  • @xanxuss
    @xanxuss Před 4 lety +207

    chinese never judge foreigner with their chinese accent. but not always the other way around(such as our english accent)

    • @cooliipie
      @cooliipie Před 4 lety +24

      That's a huge lie. Completely the other way around

    • @angelaxu4645
      @angelaxu4645 Před 4 lety +6

      并不会 外国人根本不会judge你的发音 听得懂就行

    • @Hetsapa
      @Hetsapa Před 4 lety +2

      不会第二种语言的人有可能会judge you,因为他们不知道学语言有多么难

    • @angelaxu4645
      @angelaxu4645 Před 4 lety +1

      Hetsapa 事实上真不会 至少英语国家很少

    • @wimprezax
      @wimprezax Před 4 lety +2

      @@angelaxu4645 probably because you never went to school here lol or never met a racist person.

  • @rubyzheng9410
    @rubyzheng9410 Před 5 lety +42

    The first point about ‘how are you’ thing is so true!! (I am chinese) we just don’t start our conversation like that🤣

    • @chizhang2765
      @chizhang2765 Před 5 lety +2

      Chinese way of greeting people on the street:
      1. See that person walking is someone you know
      2. See that he also sees you.
      3. Raise your head up intensely.
      4. Time saved for initiating small talks. Profit.

    • @pakashishamarwein9640
      @pakashishamarwein9640 Před 5 lety

      I eagerly wanted to learn Chinese...... Would you please help me with that.....

    • @toiletrat6892
      @toiletrat6892 Před 4 lety +1

      @@pakashishamarwein9640 I know both English and Chinese and I think the one of the most important parts of Chinese is the tones. You should try to listen to people speak it and familiarise yourself with it

  • @IhabFahmy
    @IhabFahmy Před 2 lety

    You come across as very genuine and relatable in chronicling your journey to Mandarin mastery. Thank you for sharing.

  • @laskiki6219
    @laskiki6219 Před 4 lety

    I am becoming your fans today!!! It is so nice to watch your Vlog and know your story in China. I wish I would be one of your best friends.

  • @ekstasiqX
    @ekstasiqX Před 4 lety +385

    哈哈哈哈,太好了。 我是美国人,我知道中文。加油!!! I have been learning Chinese for around 4 months now. I'm learning pretty fast!

    • @grasspitchstreet6675
      @grasspitchstreet6675 Před 4 lety +6

      Wonderful to see you doing great Michael.💪👍

    • @ajiu2785
      @ajiu2785 Před 4 lety +4

      加油~

    • @karmasbitch9024
      @karmasbitch9024 Před 4 lety +7

      哇 你的中文真棒! awesome

    • @shirestewart
      @shirestewart Před 4 lety +4

      才4个月就这么6了!厉害👍

    • @xiaocomehome5201
      @xiaocomehome5201 Před 4 lety +5

      I'm learning 3 languages right now Japanese,Chinese and Korean Korean and Chinese are really similar so I think learning Chinese will be pretty easy for me

  • @michelehlim
    @michelehlim Před 4 lety +10

    Amazing video 妳真的很棒!! Another local Sydney sider here looking for some motivation, I admire your tenacity and enthusiasm!! Loved the video of your sister haha! I have a long way to go, studied in Taiwan for a year but definitely losing it, 我很期待看妳別的CZcams vids!

  • @dominicchanwenshun
    @dominicchanwenshun Před rokem

    Thanks Blondie. I really like this video, it’s really, really inspiring, especially on learning any languages.

  • @janc3462
    @janc3462 Před 3 lety +1

    Love your love & energy for China, your passion to learn chinese culture & the rather complicated language. 你真的很棒!

  • @VintageCurrent
    @VintageCurrent Před 4 lety +47

    What a fantastic video! Your advice is excellent. I've just started learning Chinese again after a 13year break, so back to square one. Your advice about TV shows is great, especially as Netflix now has a heap of Chinese dramas. I've become addicted to watching Meteor Garden.
    New subscriber here. 😊😊💗

    • @anyaj5171
      @anyaj5171 Před 4 lety +3

      Yesssss! Meteor Garden is sooo good!

    • @EmmaVallerya
      @EmmaVallerya Před 4 lety

      There are many Chinese series on viki.com too, if u wanna give it a try😊

    • @CurrentChinese
      @CurrentChinese Před 3 lety +1

      Vintage Current There are two great new Chinese tv series available on CZcams. 1 is called ‘nothing but 30’, the other is ‘I will find you a better home’. They are phenomenal in china right now. (Also we created short Chinese listening videos if that helps :) )

    • @globetrotterbengaluru
      @globetrotterbengaluru Před 3 lety +1

      Netflix has Chinese dramas now?

  • @Myth520
    @Myth520 Před 5 lety +12

    I am a native speaker, why I watch this video, cuz I really appreciate this fantastic girl, u worth more.

  • @unclefiction5364
    @unclefiction5364 Před 4 lety

    Im from Oz China is on my bucket list, I'm finding your channel honest & informative.
    Great work happy trails.

  • @gilchristhaas9865
    @gilchristhaas9865 Před rokem

    Hi, Amy! I just discovered your channel a couple of days ago and already have enjoyed dozens of your videos. I am an American who lives in Hawaii. I lived in Taiwan 1994-2006, and my wife is Taiwanese. This particular video on your history as a Chinese learner is hands down the best introduction to (and set of recommendations for) the topic I’ve ever encountered. It’s true that everyone as their own path in becoming proficient in a second language. One of my strategies learning Chinese in Taiwan was to buy the Chinese subject textbooks that children used to learn characters in grades 1-6 (they were referred to in Taiwan as 國語課本)。 Once I had exhausted the standard intro textbooks for Chinese learners, it was through these school textbooks that I learned characters, and I learned SO MUCH Taiwanese/Chinese culture from learning characters in this manner. I never met another non-Chinese who learned characters primarily through studying pedagogical material for native Chinese speakers, though it’s a recommendation I’ve tried to pass on to others.
    I thoroughly enjoy your series. Apart from Taiwan I’ve only ever been to Hong Kong and Macau, and I have a great desire to explore the vast Chinese continent as you have. When I finally have the chance to, I will certainly consult your series for suggestions! Keep going!
    CZcamsrs of the world, unite and take over! (Allusion to an old song from the Smiths.)

  • @user-zx6os1fy6w
    @user-zx6os1fy6w Před 5 lety +46

    Practice is everything. But how to practice is a problem. Amy has found very practical ways to practice Chinese. She is not only beautiful, but also very clever. That's why she attracts me so much.

  • @vaniar.1583
    @vaniar.1583 Před 3 lety +9

    This is a really moving video for all us former 留学生 😭 I hope we can go back to China soon. Chinese language and culture are addictive.

  • @alfredchow2460
    @alfredchow2460 Před 3 lety

    This is the third of your videos I have watched and the best so far !

  • @shan5582
    @shan5582 Před 2 měsíci

    I discovered your channel through your Xiamen video and have started binging your video's from the beginning. Although I'm originally from Fuqing, Fujian, I grew up in the Netherlands and my chinese is bad. Your video's are so fun, inspirational and I love your personality ❤

  • @kick-S-ssh
    @kick-S-ssh Před 4 lety +11

    Good advice, especially, not to skip learning the characters!
    Don't forget to read the classics.

  • @keawewong6110
    @keawewong6110 Před 4 lety +5

    Excellent tips in this video. I speak very little Mandarin and I will be in Shenzhen for 6 months. I need to binge-watch all the "Dad where are we going?".

  • @teikhoelee5538
    @teikhoelee5538 Před 4 lety

    I am happy to know that you are a successful person in learning Chinese. It is an inspiration to anyone who wants to learn Chinese. I thought you are going to tell your story in Chinese, but I am surprised that it is in English. All the same, you have contributed greatly to all the people who only know English or other languages. I am a Malaysian who does not know Chinese even though I am a Chinese - I was borne to a Chinese family and live all my life in Penang, Malaysia and also I have not studied any Chinese language. It is a pity, but I am now making an effort to learn beginner Chinese from You-tube. I find learning Chinese fun and it has given me joy to know the beauty of the Chinese's language small progress so far.

  • @user-xe8zw9ru7i
    @user-xe8zw9ru7i Před 2 lety

    I’m Chinese and still enjoying your video very much. I’m currently learning a fourth language, and your positivity and strong will is motivating me💪🏻💪🏻

  • @zalo_tuandriverga
    @zalo_tuandriverga Před 5 lety +70

    You are such a beautiful and lovely lady. The Chinese love your kind heart a lots! Gob bless you and respect!

  • @janelleodionu3631
    @janelleodionu3631 Před 5 lety +14

    I'm pretty inspired by you! You seem pretty awesome!!

  • @darrellwong4097
    @darrellwong4097 Před 3 lety

    This is a very inspirational and instructional video Amy. Awesome. Keep it up!

  • @itspatriciaa3728
    @itspatriciaa3728 Před 4 lety

    This brought back my motivation to keep hustling and learn Chinese because it actually makes me happy. Thank you for sharing these interesting and resourceful videos :))

  • @AtlantaBill
    @AtlantaBill Před 3 lety +4

    You can immerse yourself in Mandarin by watching Chinese children's videos and movies. This has been suggested for language-learning in general by experts. The context and people's expressions partially give you the gist of what they're saying. I've done this myself. If you're on the computer, you can pause and repeat parts of it; then imitate the speaker.
    That's a good idea to read a translation because, although the translation might not faithfully reflect the original, it matches more closer the patterns of thought of the learner, so it's more comfortable for him or her. I'm a beginner in Standard Mandarin, but I've read a lot of «Harry Potter» in Irish Gaelic (Gaeilge), so I know that translations of familiar books can help. Right now I have originals and translations of romance novels in about twelve European languages (from used-book sales), but I had a Russian-translator friend once who was multilingual and had a room filled with them. I've been told I speak Russian with a Ukrainian accent; it's because my university Russian instructors were from Ukraine.
    When people write language-learning books, they use a frequency dictionary, which is a list of words and phrases as they appear in a large number of books, magazines, and newspapers, ranked by how many times they appear in all of them together (how frequently they appear). You can download frequency dictionaries for free from the WORTSCHATZ (Lexicon) at the University of Leipzig, which is here: tinyurl.com/yd3ohjmz (at the bottom of the page you can choose to view it in English or Deutsch/German). Here's the page for Mandarin downloads, for example: tinyurl.com/yd83amws You can look for "all languages" (alle Sprache) at the homepage or just access it at the Mandarin page for which I gave the page link. Once you download the file, you'll find it is of gz-type, so you'll have to decompress (unzip) it; you should put the file you're going to decompress in a folder (directory) of its own. The decompressed file is of tar-type, so you'll have to compress that. You'll need a file-compression manager such a 7-Zip, which can be downloaded and installed for the Microsoft(c) store for free.
    The second decompression will give you a folder that contains several txt-type text files; the largest two of those will be one containing a frequency list of sentences from the corpus (all the sources) and a frequency list of words that each have a sequence number (1, 2, 3...) on the left and the number of times it appeared in the corpus. You'll notice that the numbers on the left ascend (go up) and the numbers on the right descend (go down) in size. If you have a spreadsheet editor (calc) like Microsoft Office(c) or Apache OpenOffice(c) (which is free on the Internet at tinyurl.com/oxt5qxo ), you can copy and paste the rows of words in the text file and put the left and right numbers in separate columns, while still keeping the frequency order. You can then remove the column with the frequency number (on the right) to make more room for a translation and notes to the right. I like to save it as an rtf-type wordpad file or copy-and-paste it into a blank wordpad file (because it takes less computer resources). I've divided up the original word-frequency file into 12 wordpad files. You can get translations of the words with Google Translate(c) at tinyurl.com/7adadfe
    There are also the Mandarin pages of Wikipedia(c) starting here: tinyurl.com/oa4kba2 Most of the articles in Wikipedia have versions in other languages, which you can select from the left of the column. The main article on Beijing has versions in over 200 other languages. Some of the translations may not match the original enough to tell word for word, but all of them will have the same information in similar or identical sections. You can then copy-and-paste words, phrases, or whole sections into Google Translate. One of the places at which I like to start when beginning with a new language is the page about the Solar System: tinyurl.com/ybhsoeyl The page about the Earth is also fun: tinyurl.com/yclnhfsv From statements such as " 地球是太阳系内部的第三颗行星。/ The earth is the third planet in the solar system." you can start to explore the use of sentence order and measure words. Google Translate also gives you the pinyin parallel with the kanzhi, which here is Dìqiú shì tàiyángxì nèibù de dì sān kē xíngxīng. The Asian languages have aspects unique to them that makes approaching the learning of them different from what is more normal with a European language, and vice versa (the other way around). The historic way in which words and the order of words have been built up into sentences is fundamentally different. Western linguists learned only in the last century or two that trying to mold Asian languages into the structure of Latin (which was used when teaching a European language) was highly inappropriate. One of the advantages of using a Chinese source for learning Mandarin is that the rules are taught according to the Chinese methodology. I'm well read in European linguistics, but I found out, when talking with a Chinese instructor with an advanced degree in the language, that the concepts I knew were anchored (锚定) in Western traditions and basically foreign to Chinese linguists. That's one of the reasons, I think, that immersion in the language, of any sort, is worthwhile to reduce Western prejudices.

  • @christophequerelle6280
    @christophequerelle6280 Před 5 lety +3

    Your video is suo much empowering and motivating. Thank you!

  • @pollyviva
    @pollyviva Před 4 lety

    Thank you for the video, you’re such an inspiration! I’m learning Chinese for three years, and spent one year in Guangzhou as an exchange student. So I understand what are you talking about, especially when you said how did you feel when you just arrived to China. Thank you and good luck to you, girl. Regards from Russia 💃🏼

  • @mengyuanxiu5753
    @mengyuanxiu5753 Před 2 lety

    One of the best language learning stories inspiring and practical and applicable to anyone trying to learn a second/third language. Thanks so much for sharing!

  • @JassielT1905
    @JassielT1905 Před 5 lety +9

    I do the same with the books✨ I choose my favorite book (in Spanish) and then I read it in English

  • @minjieliang5603
    @minjieliang5603 Před 4 lety +5

    Heyyy Blondie, I'm a Chinese student currently studing in Melbourne, its suprised to know that you are a Aussie, like your accent and video, and the way how you expericen and introduce Chinese culture. And one more thing is I recommend my hometown Fuzhou city in Funjan province. The climate there is quite similar to Sydney, and it's famous for it's beautiful greenary and parks. Looking forward to see your video inroducing my hometown:)

  • @zz2766
    @zz2766 Před 2 lety

    Great video! Lots of great tips!

  • @AbAb-mm3og
    @AbAb-mm3og Před 4 lety

    'liked' and subscribed. Thanks for the video. Thanks for sharing your journey, and the names of TV shows. Quite impressed and am happy for you that you can discuss about life, religion and politics in Chinese. I wish I could do that. Nice to see you having a really good time in China. May you always be happy, and through you your viewers. 🙏

  • @demitakaye1773
    @demitakaye1773 Před 4 lety +45

    "The Chinese speaker jealousy is real" Too real. 😂

  • @AlastairGilfillan
    @AlastairGilfillan Před 5 lety +4

    This has been really inspiring. ☺️ I think it's time for me to take the leap and enrol at the Confucius Institute in USyd.

  • @plejaran7
    @plejaran7 Před 4 lety

    You are awesome! Love your talk about learning Chinese!

  • @jfarlandutube
    @jfarlandutube Před 2 lety

    Amazing story. Love your videos.

  • @marijaa3145
    @marijaa3145 Před 4 lety +5

    I started learning Chinese from an app called Hello Chinese, and I adore it. It's such a good app, and I'm making progress really fast. It starts from the very beginning like Pinyin, tones and that stuff, along with the grammar and speaking lessons. I highly recommend it!

    • @niku..
      @niku.. Před 4 lety +1

      It's great but it isn't perfect. Learning Hanzi using Hello Chinese is too difficult. It doesn't teach differences like 哪儿 and 哪里 etc. and it doesn't explain differences in pronunciation like shenme as shenmo or gebe instead of gebo. It's also a pretty slow process and it teaches way too little vocabulary and grammar.
      Apart from these points it's great and, although I'm studying Chinese at a university at a very different level, I'm still using it because it's fun and it helps a lot

    • @marijaa3145
      @marijaa3145 Před 4 lety

      Of course is way far from perfect, but I'm living in Germany, and I'm from Serbia, and my priority is German language which I speak a little. So just for fun, but yet you are able to learn basics, app i pretty much good.

  • @dennish5150
    @dennish5150 Před 5 lety +5

    Hahahah love your singing, just love it.

  • @oileengrace8228
    @oileengrace8228 Před rokem

    Learning phrases in any language is helpful imho. You should be so proud of yourself! I cannot seem to learn to read and write though I speak 3 dialects. Well done, Amy!

  • @angela-mr3sc
    @angela-mr3sc Před 4 lety +1

    learning a new language is really fun!! i’m learning Korean atm. i’ve been wanting to learn Chinese but i don’t know where to start and i think it’s really hard. 😩 thank u for this!!