Group lessons in reading Chinese, do they exist anywhere?

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  1. #1

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    Group lessons in reading Chinese, do they exist anywhere?

    Would prefer group to private lessons and I already know basic Cantonese but would like to be able to read signs & menus, easy simple stuff.

    I've tried books but not getting anywhere, I snooze after 5 mins

    Is it best to learn traditional or simplified?


  2. #2

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    Unless you're planning on relocating to the Mainland, then learning traditional characters is best.


  3. #3

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    I don't have any info on group lessons, but I think reading menus is not simple stuff, because a lot of Chinese dishes have exotic names with characters that are not frequently used. Most people who learn written Chinese (as adults) are able to read simple articles and novels long before they are able to completely decipher a menu in a Chinese restaurant.

    I'd recommend to make a list of dishes you like and learn their written forms. This saves time and won't be too boring.

    The traditional versus simplified Chinese issue is impossible to answer in general. It depends on your own circumstances. For example, if you expect to stay or live in Mainland China for extended periods, then simplified Chinese makes more sense. If you are mostly in Hong Kong, Taiwan or overseas Chinese communities, then traditional Chinese is probably more useful. Actually, there are only a few hundred simplified Chinese characters that look totally different from the traditional ones. So the additional effort of learning to recognize both variants is quite small in comparison of the overall effort of learning written Chinese.


  4. #4

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    menus are not hard to understand, unless you're in a really posh restuarant, though you do need to understand the principals of chinese characters to learn how to recongise and read chinese.

    there are many ways of learning chinese, depends on what suits yourself..


  5. #5

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    Yes it is the 'principles' that I found difficult to understand from the books, it just goes right over my head.
    I just want to be able to read simple stuff so that when I get handed a Chinese menu I can at least pick out 'noodles, ho fun, congee, rice' and what meats!
    Its a bit embarrassing when I have to admit I can't read, they always snigger at me plus there is the chance that they will rip me off which I'm sure has happened a couple of times now.

    Is there a good, easy to read & understand book anyone can recommend ?


  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by imparanoic:
    menus are not hard to understand, unless you're in a really posh restuarant
    I don't know. When I tried to read a Dim Sum menu for the first time I did not understand anything even though I knew the basic characters for the various meats and vegetables at that time. (Especially the extended Dim Sum names with 5 or more Chinese characters are quite challenging). I think being able to read Chinese menus in general and completely understand them is very difficult, unless you are ok with only having a very vague idea of what some dishes contain.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by London2HK:
    I just want to be able to read simple stuff so that when I get handed a Chinese menu I can at least pick out 'noodles, ho fun, congee, rice' and what meats!
    I don't think you need books or classes for that. I'd recommend to make a list of the food items you'd like to know and look up their written forms in the online Cantonese dictionary. Once you got the written forms, one of the fastest ways to memorize them is to use a free flash card / SRS software like Anki.
    Last edited by geo-seb; 11-07-2009 at 09:20 AM.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by London2HK:
    Yes it is the 'principles' that I found difficult to understand from the books, it just goes right over my head.
    I just want to be able to read simple stuff so that when I get handed a Chinese menu I can at least pick out 'noodles, ho fun, congee, rice' and what meats!
    Its a bit embarrassing when I have to admit I can't read, they always snigger at me plus there is the chance that they will rip me off which I'm sure has happened a couple of times now.

    Is there a good, easy to read & understand book anyone can recommend ?
    i also happen to be a bbc as well, though it's not easy to learn chinese, with dedication and desire, you will prevail,( i did not learn from a school, i self taught my self, i can read mags, comics, everythings, though newspapers are bit complex to understand)
    any way i know many bbc/abc/cbc, etc who live in hong kong who can not read, if i have time, i explain the principals for chinese laters ( for menu reading)

  9. #9

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    if you understand the basic principals, you can identify chinese characters, even type chinese using this web site ( using ping yam

    Online Cantonese Input Method 網上廣東話輸入法


  10. #10

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    using ping yam method (拼音 )


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