Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Tāng - Táng - Bāng - Děng - Dàn

Last time I wrote about Chinese Writer -software I wrote. I have now added over 400 words to the word database of the software and it's becoming quite useful writing tool. There are also several improvements in the user interface to speed up the writing process. Most importantly, the Hanyi (chinese characters) and Pinyin (phonetic romanisation) are now entered to same field and pinyin-syllables replaced in-place with the chosen hanyi-character. Second improvement is integration with Google translate for quick adding of new words. One can select unknown hanyi-characters and press Alt+A to open Google translate window with those characters and their pinyin plus English translation. Finally, there is connection to the helpful pinyin table website for checking pronunciation of the syllables:


My expanded usage of pinyin has been encouraging me to try to clarify the subtle differences (if any) in pronunciation of some common similar sounding words. Like I wrote in the beginning of my blog, the major difficulty in mandarin language is the huge number of similar sounding words. After one year of studying I must conclude that this is very real and practical source of confusion and not just some theoretical issue. In many commonly used words of every day language, the sound difference is minimal if any. Here are some of my common stumbling blocks that I still mix up when listening to the audio lessons and even more when speaking myself:

"Zhu"-sounding words that have high tones:
  • To go:  去 Qù      (like Finnish  "Zhy")
  • Out:   出  Chū     (like Finnish  "Zhu" in back of mouth)
  • Vinegar:  醋  Cù  (like Finnish  "Zhu" in front of mouth)
  • To live: 住  Zhù    (like Finnish "Zu")
  • To eat: 吃 Chī     (like English "Zrr")
"yy"-sounding words with middle-low tones:
  • Rain:  雨  Yǔ      (like Finnish "yy")
  • Language:  语  Yǔ   (like Finnish "yy")
  • Fish:  鱼  Yú   (like Finnish "yy")
"tang"-sounding words:
  • Soup:   汤  Tāng   (like Finnish "tang")
  • Sugar:  糖   Táng  (like Finnish "tang", bit lower tone)
  • Wait:   等   Děng (like Finnish "tang", low tone)
  • Egg:     蛋  Dàn    (like Finnish "tan")
  • Help:   帮   Bāng (like Finnish "pang")
English vs. Music:
  • English language: 英语  Yīng yǔ  (like Finnish "ingjyy")
  • Music: 音乐 Yīn yuè  (like Finnish "ingjye")
I know vs. I'm late:
  • I know: 我知道 Wǒ  Zhī dào    (like Finnish "voo tsrr tao")
  • I am late: 我迟到 Wǒ  Chí dào   (like Finnish "voo tsrr tao", with "ts" bit lower tone)
Sometimes vs. Busy:
  • Sometimes:  有时  Yǒu shí  (like Finnish "jou srr")
  • Busy: 有事  Yǒu shì (like Finnish "jou srr", bit stringer voice)
But as we call it in the software business: it's not a problem, it's a challenge :-)

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