DEAR READER
Claire Keane
Cosmic Funnies
Love Begins
pixel skylines
★
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
No title available
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
No title available
todays bird
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
trying on a metaphor
noise dept.
祝日 / Permanent Vacation
Discoholic 🪩
Keni
we're not kids anymore.
Kaledo Art
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
seen from Lithuania
seen from Belarus
seen from Japan
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from Netherlands
seen from Bangladesh
seen from United States
seen from Bangladesh
seen from Bangladesh
seen from United States
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@ecoson
Silim! I’m live on twitch right now translating some poetry into Sumerian (imagine that!) Please drop by and ask questions or translation requests, or just hang out & enjoy learning some grammar and vocab. See you there!
Update: Stream has wrapped, thanks to all who dropped by! If you missed it, I stream Sumerian stuff on the second and fourth Friday of every month. Cheers!
Hey did you know I keep a google drive folder with linguistics and language books that I try to update regularly
**UPDATE**
I have restructured the folders to make them easier to use and managed to add almost all languages requested and then some
Please let me know any further suggestions
….holy shit. You found the holy grail.
….. is this a DIFFERENT person keeping gigabytes worth of language books on google drive? Holy crap.
This. This here. Is why I love Tumblr.❤️❤️❤️
Update from OP:
UPDATE because apparently not everyone has seen this yet the new and improved version of this is a MEGA folder: https://mega.nz/folder/kQBXHKwA#-osWRLNCXAsd62ln8wKa8w
2411 files and 819 subfolders
Holy shit. OP you are a wonderful human being.
O.O Linguistic Holy Grail…
A Resource for Reading Practice: The Chinese Reading World
I wanted to share a resource for reading practice that I stumbled across recently. It’s called the Chinese Reading World, and it was a project led by the University of Iowa.
The site was put together from 2005 to 2008, so it’s not super up to date. However, there is a ton of content! Everything is sorted into 3 levels: beginning, intermediate, and advanced.
Each level has 30 units, and each unit has 10 lessons. The lessons begin with a vocab pre-test, then there is a reading with some comprehension questions. Lastly, there is a vocab post-test, which is the same as the initial test (at least for the lessons I’ve done so far). There’s audio for each lesson text, but unfortunately it can’t be streamed—you have to download it. There is also an achievement test at the end of each unit.
My experience has actually been that I already know all the words on the vocabulary tests, but the reading passages contain other words that I’m not familiar with.
So far, the readings I’ve encountered are not very long. This is nice since reading longer pieces can be frustrating at times. With shorter readings, you can just read 1 or 2 on some days and read more when you have more time/patience. I believe the readings are taken from Chinese newspapers.
Also, every unit has a theme. With 90 units total, there are bound to be themes that interest you. Example unit topics:
Directions and Asking Direction 方向和问路
Sports and Outdoor Activities 体育和户外运动
Chinese Music and Musicians 中国音乐和音乐家
Chinese Minorities and Local Customs 地方习俗和民族风情
Chinese Sports and Olympic Games 体育和奥林匹克
Contemporary Chinese Literature and Writers 中国当代文学和作家
The 3 levels also each come with 5 proficiency tests. They seem to be based on vocabulary knowledge, so expanding your vocab is clearly a huge focus of this site. The only thing I’m unclear is about is I’m not sure exactly when the proficiency tests are meant to be taken. After completing all units? Or are they spaced out so you are supposed to take test 1 after the first few units, test 2 after the next few, etc.?
I’ve started working my way through the advanced section this week. With 300 advanced lessons alone, it really feels like I have an infinite number of articles to go through!
Sitting amid the bric-a-brac of generations of seafarers before him, fisherman and museum curator John Bhaba Jeaic Ó Confhaola of Galway, Ireland, tried to describe a word to interviewer Manchán Magan. The word, in the Irish language, was for a three-bladed knife on a long pole, used by generations of Galway fishermen to harvest kelp. Ó Confhaola dredged it from his memory: a scian coirlí. “I don’t think I’ve said that word out loud for 50 years,” he told Magan. It was a sentiment that Magan would hear again and again along Ireland’s west coast. This is a place shaped by proximity to the ocean: nothing stands between the sea and the country’s craggy, cliff-lined shores for roughly 3,000 kilometers, leaving it open to the raw breath of the North Atlantic. […] Early last year [2020], Magan […] began collecting coastal words from towns along the west coast, in an effort to preserve them. […] The recordings make up the Foclóir Farraige, or Sea Dictionary: an online database of recordings and definitions sorted by their regional origin. Magan also recently published a selection of words in an illustrated book. […]
Yet the words are often much more than utilitarian. They carry a sense of poetry, and a perspective on nature. There is the town of Donegal’s mada doininne, a particular type of dark cloud lining the horizon that foretells bad weather. The word, literally translated, means “hounds of the storm.”
Or bláth bán ar gharraí an iascaire, a description of choppy sea from the county of Galway that means “white flowers on the fisherman’s garden.” […]
A coastal Irish speaker, walking the beach at night, might have equally expected to hear stranach (the murmuring of water rushing from shore), or the whisper of caibleadh (distant spirit voices drifting in over the waves).
They knew the ceist an taibhse (the question for the ghost) – a riddle used to determine if someone they met along the way was human or supernatural.
Many words describe ways of predicting the weather, or fishing fortunes, by paying attention to birds or wind direction; to the sea’s sounds; or to the colors in a fire. […]
Ó Baoill and Magan both point out that preserving Ireland’s traditional coastal vocabulary is especially important in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss. Take a word like borráite, from Carraroe village, which describes a rocky offshore reef found in the area. Kelp once grew on these reefs in abundance, tangling with other seaweed species and providing refuge for fish. Due to climate change and overfishing, however, Magan says that a borráite today would host neither kelp nor many fish.
“Contained within that word is the entire ecosystem that was in that area,” Magan says. Words like this, he hopes, can both remind us of what we have lost and reconnect us to what we might still preserve.
——-
Headline, captions, and text published by: Claudia Geib. “To Speak of the Sea in Irish.” Hakai Magazine. 17 March 2021. Published alongside illustrations and animations by Aurelie Beatley.
Déanaim Quizlets! Tá siad as Gaeilge. Déanfaidh mé tuilleadh quizlets, ach faoi láthair - tóg mo fhoirne Quizlet
Tabhair moltaí dom faoi Quizlets gur cheart liom a dhéanamh freisin!!
Hi, I love your blog! Do you have any advice on moving to France? I'm hoping to move next year<3
Thanks for the love!! 💜
Yes, I have lots of advice! I am going to assume you are going to be going as a student, but if not I'll include some more general things. There will be too much to write in one post but if you have any specific questions do feel free to send me an ask.
If you aren't offered CROUS accommodation or you aren't a student, rent through an agency or private company to avoid scams! I have found rental scams to be really prevalent in France and you have to be really careful.
If you don't have a french guarantor, sign up for VISALE as most people require to have a french guarantor if you are renting.
If you're a student, sign up for CAF asap! This is basically money from the government to supplement your rent. They get a lot of applications at the start of the academic year so it can take a couple months to receive your money.
Sign up for Carte Vitale! This will save you so much money on things related to health and medicine.
Doctolib app will enable you to book doctors appointments in your area. You can find specialists, book covid tests, find people who speak your native language, and even book online appointments. I know health is a really scary thing when you're abroad, especially booking doctor's appointments, and this application saved me from a lot of anxiety.
French pharmacies are great! They usually have something available for most minor problems you may have and the medicine is actually quite affordable.
If you're in a city with a travel subscription card, BUY ONE! It will save you so much money.
Download the metro app for your city (if it has one). It is much more sufficient than google maps and will show you the best mode of public transport to take.
Travel around France or even the rest of Europe. It's so cheap to travel around and see new places and a great experience.
If you receive paperwork, fill it out as soon as you receive it. French bureaucracy is a mess! So the less time you take to get things done the quicker of a process it will be for you.
Keep passport photos of yourself in your wallet/purse!!! A lot of paperwork will require you to give them a photo of you.
Save copies of your important documents on all your devices. You're going to need a lot of different forms for different services. Like I said... French bureaucracy...
Use leboncoin to buy secondhand items for when you first move in and even to sell your unwanted items when you move out. This is a great platform to use and really helped me when I moved out of my apartment as I couldn't take certain household items on the plane for me. It also meant I could earn a bit of cash.
Download the Covid app for France. You are going to need to show proof of vaccination for most things you want to do in France. You'll also be required to have evidence of having a booster jab soon.
In terms of speaking French:
French people speak quite fast so don't be afraid to ask them to repeat themselves or slow down
Try to speak the language and they will appreciate the effort. I wouldn't feel offended if they switch to English either as they just want to make you feel more comfortable,
Also if you get stuck- feel no shame in using a translator to try and communicate. What matters most is that you try your best to learn the language and you will certainly find yourself improving very quickly.
There are Facebook groups or even the app meetup designed to help you meet people for language exchange so I would highly recommend that. Check out your university services to see if they offer a language exchange program, my university's program was called MINERVE.
Like I said, I am sorry if this post is too geared at students. But if you have any questions about living in France or being a student in France, please put a question in my ask box (anon is okay too)! I would love to help.
Mandarin resources (free) Beginner.
HSK 1 LIST
Hsk.Academy Simplified and Traditional (with pinyin), exercises and sentences examples
TONES
Digmandarin *Tone explanation (but with words with more than 1 syllable, which is great because the hard part is when a word has 2 o more syllables)
Sinosplice More tones! (pair drills)
*Youtube vid explaining tones and exceptions (like tone modification and the half 3 and 4 tones) Link Link2 (edit 1)
** Tone pairs youtube vid by Yoyo Chinese (Individual tones 0:00-8:30 // Tone pairs 8:30-27) Link (edit 10)
Tone pairs chart + Exercises from said chart (edit 9)
Tone pairs + audio for all the tone combinations Link (Edit 11)
*Exercises: (edit 7)
which tones do you hear (tone pairs)
another which tones do you hear (single syllab or tone pairs)
match pinyin + tone to the sound
match the sound to the pinyin + tone
differenciate between tones
tone speaking practice (listen and repeat recording yourself)
PINYIN
Pinyin introduction (follow the “Pronunciation Index”) Link (edit 10)
Pinyin chart from Yoyo chinese Link (edit 9)
*Pinyin and tones self quiz (i love this one) Link
*Course: Phonetics with Chinese Characteristics (edit 8)
Youtube (in english) Link
Youtube (in spanish) Link
Exercises: (edit 7)
Pinyin spelling
WEB COURSE (edit 5)
From ”ChineseClass101″. Those have characters with the option simplified/traditional, pinyin and english translation. It also comes sometimes with a brief cultural insight and grammar lesson, all with audio and class trasncription. Really useful because besides the audio class, you have a vocab list with the audio option played 0.5x slower
Getting Started
Absolute Beginner Season 1
Level 1 Chinese
FLASHCARDS
Anki, HSK 1 vocab Link
Anki, HSK 1 grammar Link
*TOFU learn ( Web / App) this is like a flashcard app but with the option to quiz yourself (with 6 choices to answer instead of the usual 2) and the exciting part: it can quiz you on the writing too! It has many deck choices too. Big fav of mine (edit 12)
DICTIONARY (edit 6)
Character dictionaries:
Line dict = Pinyin, with audio, english definition, sample sentences and animated stroke order. Also a daily “Today’s expresion/quote” addittion which is cool.
Chinesepod = simplified and traditional, english translation, sample sentences
Sentence dictionaries:
Chinese yabla = breaks the sentence into words, each one with pinyin and english translation.
SENTENCES
Chengyu list (edit 8)
125 lessons with different sentences. It has characters, audio, pinying and different exercises to test them in each lesson. Link
Diferent dialogues (directions, weather, introductions, shopping) with audio characters, pinyin and english Link (edit 1)
* Podcast: 2/3 sentences, broken down by topic and by words Link (edit 2) [I use this one when im walking and i repeat what they say trying to memorise it]
EXTENSIONS
*Language Learning with Youtube, Chrome extension. Allows 2 sets of subtitles (example: vid of Idol Producer) (edit 9)
*Zhongwen: Chinese-English Dictionary by: Christian Schiller. Allows you to hoover over the hanzi and shows the pinyin and meaning. Chrome extension, Firefox extension (edit 4)
BOOKS (edit 4)
(Not free, sadly) For grammar and some course book i would recomend
HSK 1
New Practical Chinese Reader 1 Textbook/Workbook
INPUT
Reading
Mandarinbean Characters with pinyin and audio. Traditional and simplified option. If you click on a word the meaning of it pops up, but not the whole sentence Link
HabloChino Dialogues with characters, pinyin, translations (in Spanish) and audio
AprendeChinoMandarin Spanish web with different topics and sentences. it has games to practice too (edit 4)
Chinese books read aloud on Youtube. Some examples: Link1 Link2 (edit 2) [If you cant find any audiobooks with text, there’s probably someone reading a book of it on youtube]
Du Chinese (App) Link
Beelingua (App)
HskReading (web) (edit 15)
Chinese little fox: You might think oh this is a web for kids but listen there are tons of stories, with little cartoon videos easy to follow, and with extra resources to review the vocab and listening, give it a go. (edit 13)
*Little Chinese Readers: also directed at kids BUT, it has lessons AND stories, but hold on, havent told you the best thing about it: you have a story mode that allows you to select between all of this features: zhuyin, pinyin, traditional or simplified characters and english. All of it you can switch them off or just select the ones you want. Also you can select Read to me/I want to read mode. (edit 14)
Videos
Media input (Videos and Audios with transcriptions and timestamps you can get back to. First click on the character shows pinyin, second click shows meaning.) (edit 9)
Youtube Channel: Learn Chinese with Movies, series and animation (edit 12)
Podcasts
Learning Chinese through Stories Stories in mandarin, more on the intermediate/advanced side BUT hear me out, it’s good for immersion and get used to the inflexions and flow of the language. So good for listening while doing chores or easy stuff. (edit 15)
TVs and Films
iQiyi (edit 15)
WatchAsian (edit 15)
Viki (edit 15)
OTHER (random interesting stuff that I don’t know where to put them)
Learn Chinese with Poems, free course (edit 9)
Learn Chinese with Songs, free course (edit 9)
**Frecuency list –> Most common characters and words in: books, movies, components and by HSK. Simplified and traditional options. (Sound, definition, animated stroke order, sentence examples w audio, and writting practice. Very interesting and complete.) (edit 9)
Do you have more useful resources? Please tell me so i can add them here.
I sporadically get back to this post and update it with more useful links. (Each time i edit this post i add a little “edit 1 / 2 / 3…”).
[This post looks better on the original post/blog, since the linked webs are highlighted and easier to see, and also more up to date]
Last edited/updated:
4 / October / 2021 = (edit 15)
Youtube channels in Mandarin
I wanted to make a list of some youtubers I know who speak only Mandarin and not any other dialect from Chinese. All of these youtubers talk about miscellaneous topics, some of the topics are rather interesting, other ones are funny. At the end of the day, you end up learning new vocabulary and expressions. Most of them speak fluent mandarin & have subtitles in their videos while others don’t. If you have an intermediate to advanced level, then check them up!
Fulinfang拂菻坊
He is a British youtuber who talks about random things in general that include controversial topics and vlogs. Most of his videos are in mandarin. His last videos are subtitled, the older ones are not.
杰里德Jared
He is an American youtuber who talks about his daily life in China and the differences between western culture and chinese culture. (I can confirm these since I have lived there lol) Some of his videos are subtitled while others are not.
Kevin in Shanghai
I think he speaks more than 3 languages. Pretty much the same format as Jared. Talks about cross cultural differences, languages comparisons, etc.
MYBY孟言布语
Dayday (american) and Blair (british) talks about their lives in China, random stuff, chinese vs western culture and such. Most of his videos have Chinese and English subtitles.
Mamahuhu
Mamahuhu is a cross-cultural comedy platform mixing Chinese and Western elements. Based out of Shanghai and ran by two Scottish brothers and their friends, Mamahuhu produces sketches, documentaries, travel, food, music videos and more.
Kat&Sid
The channel is run by a couple, a Chinese guy and an American girl. They mix English and Chinese in their videos and talk about random things as well plus vlogs. They are really fun to watch.
LIT我的海漂时代
LIT comes from Lost in Translation. LIT is an entertainment hub that creates content catered for Chinese international student & Chinese-American audiences. Basically “Chinese students react to…” videos. The videos have subtitles!
小马在纽约
He is an American youtuber who speaks mandarin. His videos are interviews to random people about Chinese and Asian culture in general. There are Chinese subtitles when he speaks in English.
Xinshidandan 信誓蛋蛋
This channel is about two French guys talking about their daily lives in Chinese. The videos only have Chinese subtitles. No translation at all.
德国派 German Pie
Interviews to Chinese people who are living in Germany. The videos only have Chinese subtitles. No translation at all either.
If you know other Chinese speaking youtubers, please let me know.
Ooh! Some great channels on that list. Kat and Sid also have a podcast which I’ve posted about on this blog before. Here are a few more channels! Some of these channels are in a similar vein as the ones above–non native speakers and language instruction channels. I’ve also shared several channels from native speakers or that have mostly native speakers speaking that are a relatively intermediate to advanced level. Not included are the many cooking channels and Taiwanese musicians who have youtube channels and post short vlogs.
ShuoshuoChinese 说说中文
Shuo is a Chinese language teacher based in Thailand. Her videos are generally in English for the instruction but with lots of spoken Chinese examples. Mostly she posts fun language lessons that challenge textbook learning. No subs when she’s speaking English. Subs in pinyin and Chinese simplified characters when she’s giving examples in Chinese.
Everyday Chinese does something very similar to ShuoshuoChinese
Miriam Follin 米粒的一家
Swedish-Chinese couple and family vlogging in a mix of Chinese, English, and a bit of Sweden. The backlog of videos on this channel shows a lot of rural China. Subs in Chinese simplified characters and English.
Katherine’s Journey to the East 阳离子东游记
I actually found this channel while I was finishing up the list. American-Chinese couple vlogging travels in China. A mix of Chinese and English and subs in both languages (simplified chars). Normally I’m not a fan of people putting “East” in their titles, but this is a nice reference–do you recognize it 😉
子时当归
A Chinese vlogger based in Sydney, Australia. Her vlogs are usually food or home aesthetic centered. When she speaks, it’s in Chinese (Mandarin). Subs in Chinese simplified characters and English.
2分之一强
A Taiwanese reality TV show that brings on a panel of non-native speakers based in Taiwan to play games and answer questions about their experiences in Taiwan. Humor is central here. Useful for practicing listening to a Taiwanese accent. Subs in Chinese traditional characters.
万物有光
Short National Geographic or Discovery Channel style videos about China. Very standard pronunciation and slower speaking pace than, say, a news tv clip. Subs in Chinese simplified characters.
居妮Ginny Daily
Taiwanese fashion and beauty vlogger. Another one for practicing listening to a Taiwanese accent. Also a great way to learn beauty vocab. I believe beauty vocab may be location specific though. Subs in Chinese traditional characters.
Asian Boss
This channel does interviews in various styles with people from all over Asia. The street interviews based in China (usually in big cities like Shanghai and Beijing) can be good Chinese listening practice. You may hear some of the same words or phrases in different accents when people answer the same questions. Subs in English.
大树君TreeMan
Social experiments intended to show The Good of Humanity. Based in China. You may have seen some clips from these videos floating around tumblr. Newer videos have both English and Chinese simplified subs on screen. Older videos have Chinese subs and English subs in the Youtube closed captions.
歪果仁研究协会 Y China
Two foreigners asking other foreigners about their experiences in China and also showing viewers parts of China foreigners may not yet be aware of. The cast of foreigners and the intended audience is truly international. A mix of English and Chinese (and sometines other languages too!). Subs in Chinese simplified characters and English.
*The first three characters of their channel title are a joke/slang/an internet term. Can you figure it out?
Blondie in China
Food! So much food! Food and travel vlogger from Australia focusing on China and Chinese cuisine. Mostly in English when speaking to viewers, but includes conversations and interviews with locals in Chinese. Subs in English and Chinese simplified characters.
聪生家 Chengdu Family
Vlogger couple from Chengdu. They have a series of travel vlogs in Malaysia and another in Japan. Their videos are aesthetic with a healthy dose of humour. Super fun videos! Subs in Eng and Chinese simplified.
JJSays雪莲说
I’m personally not a big fan of either channel but since 小马在纽约XiaomaNYC is already on the list, I’d be remiss not to mention a youtuber who has featured on his channel and is also an American based in NYC who has learned Chinese and bases her channel around it. Recently JJ / 雪莲 has been doing a lot of singing songs in Chinese. She also has a pretty big following on Bilibili and Douyin if I’m not mistaken. Eng + Chinese simplified subs.
Found the coolest website to immerse in Arabic with called playaling.com! There are various dialects, transcripts in English/Arabic, the option to MOUSE OVER the transcripts and have the video pause whilst you read! You can also slow down the audio. There’s a lot of content there per various levels of comprehension. Do recommend!
Hey did you know I keep a google drive folder with linguistics and language books that I try to update regularly
UPDATE because apparently not everyone has seen this yet the new and improved version of this is a MEGA folder
I know there’s so many more urgent things but if you like this resource you may consider buying me a ko-fi to keep this project alive
Here's a short list of short stories in Spanish that would be good for intermediate readers to get into reading some more! The stories are short but will provide enough of a challenge to be worthwhile. I tried to pick stories that were pretty engaging, so I hope you enjoy them. In bold are my personal favorites!
Un alma pura, Carlos Fuentes
El evangelio según Marcos, Jorge Luis Borges
El almohadón de plumas, Horacio Quiroga
La isla a mediodía, Julio Cortázar
La salud de los enfermos, Julio Cortázar
La casa de Adela, Mariana Enríquez
En la estepa, Samanta Schweblin
Los censores, Luisa Valenzuela
La mujer que camina para atrás, Alberto Chimal
Las invitadas, Silvina Ocampo
Mr. Taylor, Augusto Monterroso
El recado, Elena Poniatowska
Download Zhongwen: The Popular Chinese Learning Tool for Firefox. Official Firefox port of the Zhongwen Chrome extension (http://github.com/cschiller/zhongwen). Translate Chinese characters by hovering over them with the mouse. Includes internal word list, links to Chinese Grammar Wiki, tone colors, and more.
Wish I’d known about this sooner. Once it’s installed you can just hover over any Chinese word in a webpage with your cursor, and a little box will pop up with the pinyin pronunciation and English definition.
Unsurprisingly this tool is designed to work on regular text, so it doesn’t work on Netflix subtitles, but I’m very pleased to note it DOES work on the subtitles in the Little Fox (chinese.littlefox.com) animated story videos! I’m currently watching Little Fox’s Journey to the West series. The epic is broken up into 108 6-7 minute videos. Lately I don’t often have the mental energy to get through an entire cdrama episode every day, so I’m enjoying these little bite sized episodes.
Thanks for the tip! I have Opera on my computer too, and I was able to install it there since Opera’s a chromium browser. It’s probably good to have it separate from my main browser so I don’t get distracted by all my tabs.
stop dictionary, ur scaring me
It is from Greek κλινοπάλη.
Ecce:
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dklinopa%2Flh
κλι_νο-πάλη [α^], ἡ,
A.bed-wrestling, sens. obsc., Suet.Dom.22.
Hahahae, bed-wrestling!
explodeforscience
Some verb sheets plus one about the weather
Routledge Masterpost
Here are all of the Routledge Grammar PDFs that I currently have. I’ll be updating whenever I find more. Let me know if there’s one in particular you want me to look for^^
Last Update: 2017/04/24
Fixed Intermediate Japanese: A Grammar and Workbook link
Added books for Czech, English, French, French Creoles, Persian, Ukranian
Added more books in Cantonese, Danish, Greek, Polish, Spanish, Swedish
Arabic
Arabic: An Essential Grammar Basic Arabic: A Grammar and Workbook Modern Written Arabic: A Comprehensive Grammar
Cantonese
Basic Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook Cantonese: A Comprehensive Grammar Intermediate Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook
Czech
Czech: An Essential Grammar
Danish
Danish: A Comprehensive Grammar Danish: An Essential Grammar
Dutch
Basic Dutch: A Grammar and Workbook Dutch: A Comprehensive Grammar Dutch: An Essential Grammar Intermediate Dutch: A Grammar and Workbook
English
English: An Essential Grammar
Finnish
Finnish: An Essential Grammar
French
Modern French Grammar Workbook
French Creoles
French Creoles: A Comprehensive and Comparative Grammar
German
Basic German: A Grammar and Workbook German: An Essential Grammar Intermediate German: A Grammar and Workbook
Greek
Greek: A Comprehensive Grammar Greek: An Essential Grammar of the Modern Language
Hindi
Hindi: An Essential Grammar
Hebrew
Modern Hebrew: An Essential Grammar
Hungarian
Hungarian: An Essential Grammar
Indonesian
Indonesian: A Comprehensive Grammar
Irish
Basic Irish: A Grammar and Workbook Intermediate Irish: A Grammar and Workbook
Italian
Basic Italian: A Grammar and Workbook
Japanese
Basic Japanese: A Grammar and Workbook Intermediate Japanese: A Grammar and Workbook Japanese: A Comprehensive Grammar
Korean
Basic Korean: A Grammar and Workbook Intermediate Korean: A Grammar and Workbook Korean: A Comprehensive Grammar
Latin
Intensive Basic Latin: A Grammar and Workbook Intensive Intermediate Latin: A Grammar and Workbook
Latvian
Latvian: An Essential Grammar
Mandarin Chinese
Basic Chinese: A Grammar and Workbook Intermediate Chinese: A Grammar and Workbook Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar Chinese: An Essential Grammar
Norwegian
Norwegian: An Essential Grammar
Persian
Basic Persian: A Grammar and Workbook Intermediate Persian: A Grammar and Workbook
Polish
Basic Polish: A Grammar and Workbook Intermediate Polish: A Grammar and Workbook Polish: A Comprehensive Grammar Polish: An Essential Grammar
Portuguese
Portuguese: An Essential Grammar
Romanian
Romanian: An Essential Grammar
Russian
Basic Russian: A Grammar and Workbook Intermediate Russian: A Grammar and Workbook
Serbian
Serbian: An Essential Grammar
Spanish
Basic Spanish: A Grammar and Workbook Intermediate Spanish: A Grammar and Workbook Spanish: An Essential Grammar
Swahili
Swahili Grammar and Workbook
Swedish
Swedish: A Comprehensive Grammar Swedish: An Essential Grammar
Thai
Thai: An Essential Grammar
Turkish
Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar
Ukrainian
Ukrainian: A Comprehensive Grammar
Urdu
Urdu: An Essential Grammar
Welsh
Modern Welsh: A Comprehensive Grammar
Yiddish
Basic Yiddish: A Grammar and Textbook
Hope this helps everyone out a bit! Happy studying^^
-koreanbreeze
Mandarin grammar
Five general rules
Here are five general grammar rules to help you get a feel for Mandarin Chinese and how it works.
1. What precedes modifies what follows
Despite it sounding complicated, this rule is actually quite straightforward. It simply means that modifiers come before the thing they modify.
Here are some examples:
他不喜欢 贵的 东西。(Tā bù xǐhuan guì de dōngxi.) - He doesn’t like expensive things.
我哥哥 慢慢地 开车。(Wǒ gēgē mànmande kāichē.) My older brother drives slowly.
As you can see, the modifier comes before the thing it modifies. 贵的 (expensive) comes before 东西 (things) and 慢慢地 (slowly) comes before 开车 (drive).
Knowing this rule can be very helpful to identify modifiers (adjectives and adverbs) and the things they are modifying (nouns and verbs) more easily, and to know that adjectives should be placed before the nouns they modify and adverbs before the verbs they modify.
2. Words do not change
Unlike in European languages, words in Mandarin do not change. They have a fixed form that is the same no matter what they are used for or where they appear in a sentence. For example, verbs are not conjugated:
我去工作。(Wǒ qù gōngzuò.) - I go to work.
她去工作。(Tā qù gōngzuò.) - She goes to work.
我们去工作。(Wǒmen qù gōngzuò.) - We go to work.
他们去工作。(Tāmen qù gōngzuò.) - They go to work.
The verb 去 (go) is the same in every sentence and does not change.
It is not just verbs that never change; adjectives are also fixed in their form.
我看到了一些 黑色的 猫。(Wǒ kàn dàole yīxiē hēisède māo.) - I saw some black cats.
这是一件 黑色的 衬衫。(Zhè shì yī jiàn hēisède chènshān.) - This is a black shirt.
The adjective in these sentences, 黑色的 (black), is the same for each of the items, as there is no gender or grammatical number in Mandarin.
3. Mandarin is topic-prominent
This means that it puts the thing the sentence is about first. English is subject prominent, which means that it puts the doer of an action (the subject) in a sentence first.
The topic is not a grammatical role, but the thing that the sentence is about, i.e., the main point of the sentence. It is also called the theme of the sentence.
I’ve finished my work.
In this sentence, the subject is “I”, but the sentence is not about the speaker, it is about the work. So the topic of this sentence is “the work”.
Because Mandarin is topic-prominent, it is often possible and very natural to put the topic first in a sentence rather than the subject:
红酒我不太喜欢。(Hóngjiǔ wǒ bù tài xǐhuan.) - Red wine, I don’t really like.
一支笔有吗？(Yī zhī bǐ yǒu ma?) - A pen - got one?
You could also form the sentences with the subject first, and they would be just as grammatical.
The last sentence does not include the subject (you) at all, because Chinese grammar is primarily interested in the topic (a pen) and not the subject.
4. Aspect, not tense
Another big difference between European languages and Mandarin is aspect and tense. European languages usually indicate both of these things in a sentence, whereas Chinese tends to only indicate aspect.
Tense is about when an action took place relative to now. Aspect is about the completeness of an action relative to when it took place.
I will set off to Beijing.
I will have set off to Beijing.
Both of these sentences are in the future tense. But the aspect is different because the completeness of the action (setting off to Beijing) is different in the time frame of each sentence. The speaker has not yet set off to Beijing in either sentence. In the time frame they are speaking about in the second sentence, though, they will have.
5. Mandarin is logical
One of the joys of studying Mandarin is that on the whole it is a very logical, consistent language. This is very true in vocabulary, as you can usually see the logic behind most words. It is also true in grammar rules, which tend to be consistent and reusable once you have learned them.
One example of this is that Mandarin tends to only indicate things once in a sentence. For example, if the time has already been made clear, it does not need to be mentioned again.
French verbs list
Here you can find 681 French verbs. I’m considering using this as a base to make similar lists of Russian and Ukrainian verbs (maybe Polish too if someone’s interested) but it will take some time to finish so stay tuned.
A
abaisser to lower abasourdir to daze, bewilder abattre to knock down abolir to abolish absoudre to absolve abstenir (s’) to abstain accepter to accept acclamer to cheer, acclaim accompagner to accompany accorder to admit accourir to hurry accrocher to hang (up) accueillir to welcome accuser to accuse, acknowledge acheter to buy achever to achieve acquérir to acquire adjoindre to appoint admettre to admit admirer to admire adorer to adore adresser to address advenir to happen affaiblir to weaken agacer to annoy agir to act aider to help aimer to like, to love ajouter to add aller to go aménager to fit amener to take amuser to amuse animer to bring to life (a party) annoncer to announce apercevoir to see apprendre par coeur to memorize apparaître to appear appartenir to belong appeler to call apporter to bring apprendre to learn approcher to approach approuver to approve (of) armer to arm arracher to pull up/out arraisonner to hail arranger to arrange arrêter to stop, arrest arriver to arrive assaillir to assail asseoir to sit down assister to attend assurer to assure astreindre to compel attaquer to attack atteindre to attain attendre to wait for attirer to attract attraper to catch augmenter to increase avancer to advance aventurer to venture avoir to have avoir besoin to need avoir raison to be right
B
baisser to lower alancer to sway balayer to sweep bâtir to build battre to beat bavarder to chat bêler to whine (like a sheep) bénir to bless blaguer to joke blâmer to blame blanchir to bleach blesser to hurt, offend boire to drink bouger to move bouillir to boil briser to break brosser to brush broyer to grind brûler to burn
C
cacher to hide casser to break causer to chat, cause céder to give up ceindre to put on célébrer to celebrate cesser to cease changer to change chanter to sing charger to load chasser to hunt, chase cheminer to walk on chercher to look for chérir to cherish choisir to choose chuchoter to whisper circoncire to circumcise circonscrire to contain circonvenir to circumvent clore to close coller to stick combattre to combat commander to order commencer to begin, to start commettre to commit comparaître to appear comparer to compare compléter to complete comprendre to understand compter to count, intend concevoir to conceive conclure to conclude concourir to compete conduire to drive confire to preserve confondre to confuse conjoindre to unite connaître to know conquérir to conquer conseiller to recommend consentir to consent considérer to consider consommer to consume construire to construct contenir to contain, to fit conter to recount continuer to continue contraindre to compel contredire to contradict contrevenir to contravene contrôler to control convaincre to convince convenir to convene correspondre to correspond corriger to correct corrompre to corrupt coucher to put to bed coudre to sew couper to cut courir to run coûter to cost couvrir to cover craindre to fear créer to create crier to shout croire to believe cueillir to gather cuire to cook culpabiliser to make one feel guilty
D
danser to dance débattre to debate décevoir to disappoint déchirer to rip décider to decide déclore to reopen déconfire to be beaten découdre to unpick décourager to discourage découvrir to discover décrire to describe dédire (se) to retract déduire to deduce défaillir to faint défaire to undo défendre to defend défricher to lay groundwork dégager to free déjeuner to have lunch demander to ask for déménager to move demeurer to live, stay démolir to demolish dénoncer to denounce départir to accord dépasser to exceed dépêcher to hurry dépeindre to depict dépendre to depend dépenser to spend déplaire to displease déranger to disturb descendre to descend désirer to desire, to wish désobéir to disobey dessiner to draw déteindre to bleach détenir to hold détester to hate détourner to divert détruire to destroy développer to develop devenir to become dévêtir to undress deviner to guess devoir to have to différer to differ diminuer to diminish dîner to have dinner dire to say diriger to direct discourir to discourse discuter to discuss disjoindre to disconnect disparaître to disappear dissoudre to dissolve divorcer to divorce donner to give dormir to sleep doubler to pass douter to doubt
E
échapper to escape échouer to fail éclore to hatch éconduire to dismiss écouter to listen écraser to crush écrire to write effacer to erase effrayer to frighten égayer to entertain élever to raise élire to elect éloigner to move away embrasser to kiss, embrace emmener to take émoudre to sharpen emparer to impare empêcher to prevent employer to employ, use empreindre to imprint emprunter to borrow enclore to enclose encourager to encourage encourir to incur endormir to fall asleep enduire to coat enfreindre to infringe enfuir (s’) to run away engager to bind enjoindre to enjoin enlever to remove ennuyer to bore, annoy énoncer to state enquérir (s’) to inquire enregistrer to record enseigner to teach ensuivre (s’) to ensue entendre to hear enterrer to bury entraîner to involve, to pull entreprendre to undertake entrer to enter entretenir to look after entrouvrir to half-open envoler to take flight envoyer to send épeler to spell épouser to marry épreindre to juice éprouver to test; to feel équivaloir to equal espérer to hope essayer to try essuyer to wipe estimer to estimate établir to establish éteindre to extinguish, turn off étendre to stretch étonner to astonish étourdir to stun, daze être to be étreindre to embrace étudier to study évaluer to evaluate éviter to avoid exagérer to exaggerate exclure to exclude excuser to excuse exiger to demand exister to exist expliquer to explain explorer to explore exprimer to express
F
fâcher to get angry faiblir to weaken faillir to lack faire to make, do falloir to be necessary feindre to feign féliciter to congratulate fendre to split, crack fermer to close feuilleter to leaf through fier to depend on finir to finish fixer to fix fonder to found fondre to melt forcer to force forclore to debar fouiller to dig deeply fournir to furnish, provide frapper to knock frémir to shudder frire to fry fuir to flee fumer to smoke
G
gagner to win, earn, gain garder to keep gaspiller to waste gâter to spoil geindre to groan geler to freeze gêner to bother gérer to manage goûter to taste grandir to grow gratter to scratch, grate grêler to hail grimper to climb gronder to scold guérir to cure
H
habiller to dress habiter to live haïr to hate hésiter to hesitate hoqueter to hiccup
I
ignorer to be unaware of, ignore imposer to impose inclure to include indiquer to indicate induire to mislead informer to inform inquiéter to worry inscrire to write down insister to insist instruire to instruct interdire to forbid intéresser to interest interroger to interrogate interroger to question interrompre to interrupt intervenir to intervene introduire to introduce inventer to invent inviter to invite
J
jaillir to spurt out jaser to chatter jaunir to turn yellow jeter to throw joindre to join jouer to play jouir to enjoy juger to judge jurer to swear, vow
K
kidnapper to kidnap klaxonner to honk
L
lâcher to loosen laisser to leave lancer to throw laver to wash lever to lift, stand lire to read loger to lodge louer to rent luire to shine
M
maigrir to lose weight maintenir to maintain manger to eat manquer to miss marcher to walk, to function maudire to curse méconnaître to be unaware of médire to malign méfier to mistrust mélanger to mix menacer to threaten mener to lead mentir to lie méprendre to mistake mépriser to scorn mériter to merit mesurer to measure mettre to put modérer to moderate monter to climb montrer to show moquer to mock mordre to bite moudre to mill, grind mouiller to wet mourir to die
N
nager to swim naître to be born naviguer to navigate négliger to neglect négocier to negotiate neiger to snow nettoyer to clean neutraliser to neutralize nier to deny noircir to blacken nommer to name noter to write down nouer to tie, knot nourrir to feed noyer to drown nuire to harm
O
obéir to obey obliger to oblige obtenir to obtain, to get occlure to occlude occuper to occupy offrir to offer oindre to anoint omettre to omit oser to dare oublier to forget ouvrir to open
P
paraître to seem parcourir to cover, travel pardonner to forgive parler to talk partager to share participer to participate partir to leave parvenir to reach passer to pass, spend time patiner to skate payer to pay pécher to sin pêcher to fish peigner to comb peindre to paint peler to peel pendre to hang pénétrer to enter penser to think percevoir to perceive perdre to lose périr to perish permettre to permit, to allow persuader to persuade peser to weigh pianoter to tap (like a piano) placer to put plaindre to pity plaire to please plaisanter to joke planter to plant, to crash pleurer to cry pleuvoir to rain plier to fold, bend plonger to dive poindre to dawn pondre to lay (an egg) porter to wear, carry poser to put posséder to possess poursuivre to pursue pousser to push pouvoir to be able prédire to predict préférer to prefer prendre to take préparer (parer) to prepare prescrire to subscribe présenter to introduce pressentir to have a premonition presser to squeeze prétendre to claim prêter to loan prévaloir (se) to pride oneself on prévenir to prevent prévoir to foresee prier to pray produire to produce projeter to project promener to walk promettre to promise prononcer to pronounce proposer to propose, suggest proscrire to prohibit protéger to protect prouver to prove provenir to come from, be due to puer to stink punir to punish
Q
quérir to summon quitterto leave
R
raconter to tell, recount ralentir to slow down ranger to arrange rappeler to recall rassurer to reassure rater to miss ravir to delight recevoir to receive reconduire to renew reconnaître to recognize reconstruire to rebuild recoudre to sew back on recourir to run again recouvrir to recover récrire to rewrite recueillir to collect, gather rédiger to write redire to repeat réduire to reduce réélire to re-elect refaire to redo réfléchir to think refléter to reflect refuser to refuse regarder to look at regretter to regret rejeter to reject rejoindre to rejoin relire to reread remarquer to notice remercier to thank remettre to put back (on) remoudre to regrind remplacer to replace remplir to fill rencontrer to meet rendre to give back renoncer to renounce renouveler to renew rentrer to return home renvoyer to dismiss répandre to spread, spill reparaître to reappear réparer to repair repasser to iron, to pass again repeindre to repaint repentir (se) to repent repérer to locate répéter to repeat répondre to answer reposer to rest reprendre to take again, to recover réprimander to reprimand reproduire to reproduce résoudre to resolve ressembler to resemble ressentir to feel rester to remain restreindre to restrict reteindre to dye again retenir to retain retourner to return réussir to succeed réveiller to wake up révéler to reveal revendiquer to take responsibility revenir to come back rêver to dream revêtir to put on revoir to see again riposter to counteract rire to laugh rompre to break rougir to redden, blush rouler to roll, to drive (a car) rouvrir to reopen
S
saillir to protrude saisir to seize salir to soil satisfaire to satisfy sauter to jump sauver to save, rescue savoir to know secouer to shake secourir to help séduire to seduce séjourner to sojourn sembler to seem sentir to feel, smell séparer to separate serrer to grasp, squeeze servir to serve siffler to whistle signaler to signal signer to sign signifier to mean skier to ski songer to dream sonner to ring sortir to go out souffler to blow, pant souffrir to suffer souhaiter to wish souiller to soil soumettre to submit sourire to smile souscrire to subscribe soutenir to support souvenir (se) to remember subir to undergo subvenir to provide for succomber to succumb sucer to suck suffire to suffice suggérer to suggest suivre to follow supplier to beg supporter to support, endure supposer to suppose surprendre to surprise survenir to occur survivre to survive survoler to fly over susciter to cause
T
tapoter to tap teindre to dye téléphoner to call tendre to strain, strive tenir to hold tenter to try, to tempt terminer to end tirer to pull tomber to fall tondre to shear, mow tonner to thunder toquer to knock tordre to twist toucher to affect tourner to turn tousser to cough tracer to draw traduire to translate trahir to betray traiter to treat, to negotiate transcrire to transcribe transmettre to transmit transparaître to show through travailler to work traverser to cross tressaillir to shudder tricher to trick, cheat tromper to deceive, mislead trouver to find tuer to kill tutoyer to use “tu”
U
unifier to unify unir to unite user to wear out utiliser to use
V
vaincre to defeat valoir to be worth vanter to praise varier to vary veiller to stay up vendre to sell venger to avenge venir to come verdir to turn green vérifier to verify verser to pour vêtir to clothe vieillir to age viser to aim visiter to visit vivre to live voiler to veil voir to see voler to steal, fly voter to vote vouloir to want vouvoyer to use “vous” voyager to travel
W
warranter to guarantee with a warrant
Z
zébrer to stripe zézayer to lisp zoner to zone
Amazing resource for all my fellow francophones out there! Xx
