ngl learning mandarin again after forgetting most of what i learned as a kid is so annoying. i'd almost rather just start from scratch because what do you mean i sound near-native and even have a northern accent but i can't remember ever being taught the word for 'now/currently'? like i couldn't remember how to say 'i'm learning chinese' because i knew there was supposed to be a word between wo3 and xue2 to indicate that i'm doing it right now and not that i learn it in general, but i had no idea what it was (it's zai4 btw). this is bullshit, i already learned the language, why do i have to do it again? and of course it's super boring to revise stuff i already know as if it's the first time, and for some reason bing1qi2lin2 was important enough for me to remember but zen3me wasn't so i can't just pick up where i left off. i can understand speech super easily and the language is really intuitive, but my memory is just so bad that i can't use any of what i know.
on the plus side, one of my soon to be roommates speaks it fluently so i'll get some speaking practice in.
Chinese skincare vocab: reading ingredients (part 2)
A continuation of my previous post. Here's the final part of a vocab list to decode your labels and making sense of whatâs actually in your products:
Chinese tech vocabulary: chargers, cables and ports
Needing to buy headphones and being unable to specify that you need wired headphones and NOT wireless ones can happen to anyone, so here is some technical related vocab in Chinese to help.
Phone > allĂŽ ?; standard when answering a personal phone + bonjour, [company name]; formal business greeting
Email/written > Madame, Monsieur (no last name); formal email/letter opening + bonjour; standard professional email opening + salut; informal email to close friends
Group Gatherings > bonjour Ă tous; neutral/formal group address + salut tout le monde; casual group greeting
After a long absence > ça fait longtemps/un bail (slang) ! - long time no see!; opener, comes with a greeting
Here are some French Youtube channels that were recommended by the lovely people that answered this post.
I've tried to make some vague categories, based on the titles of the first videos I could find - don't quote me on any of that - I actually don't know the majority of these channels)
(a special thanks to @myrmecomorphisme and @insertusernameici who listed quite a few and gave some extra descriptions, you can find their posts, in French : here and here )
@fillioxalyn was faster than me and made a great post in French with some recommendations : here
Travel :
- Bruno Maltor
Science / Tech / Medicine / Biology :
- GMilgram
- Fantine et Hippocrate
- Astronogeek
- La Tronche en Biais
- BaladeMentale
- CedrikJurassik [Paleontology]
- Faune cool [animals]
- EGO [AI , computer science] (ENGLISH/FRENCH SUB AVAILABLE)
- ici Amy Plant [computer science, hacking]
- Fouloscopie
Culture / Movies / Dub / Music / Fantasy / SF :
- Misterfox
- Chronik Fiction
- Durendal (FRENCH SUB AVAILABLE)
- LinksTheSun
- LaSuitedeTrop
- Notserious_s (FRENCH SUB AVAILABLE)
- SEB [Music industry]
- misterjday
- Ratelrock [reviews of horror films/franchises]
- Nexus VI [SF]
- Alt 236
- Occulture [occultism/fantasy]
- Calmos
Litterature/Book review :
- jeannot se livre
- Qu'est ce qu'on lit ?
Video Games :
- Joueur du Grenier,
- Pseudoless1 [recent games /game design] (FRENCH SUB AVAILABLE)
- Ache [criticism, feminism and trans-identity in video games] (FRENCH SUB AVAILABLE)
- Feldup
What they donât tell you about speaking multiple languages is that your brain does not in fact have a box labeled Spanish and another one labeled German. Instead it has a box labeled âNot Englishâ and sometimes when youâre talking or writing in one of the languages you speak it will just start pulling random words from that box.
Whenever someone addresses me in a language I donât understand my first reflex is to answer in Norwegian. Itâs just unfortunate if the person was in fact speaking Italian or Czech.
I am only fluent in English and I have a few words in Korean and Spanish but it still happens, Iâll be trying to say no in Spanish and my brain is like here is the non English word you are looking for and itâs ìë
for someone interesting in learning ancient greek, what would u recommend to start with :) ? tips and tricks? thank U!
how exciting that you want to learn ancient greek!! itâs a challenging but oh so rewarding language to learn :) iâve put together a mini guide on how i would approach learning ancient greek for the first time, hope it helps! <3
when it comes to writing, i like to think of a specific line written by greek grammarian Dionysios Thrax, that goes something like this (loosely translated): âPythagoras strove to appreciate the beauty of letters, drawing each stroke with a geometric symmetry of angles and curves and linesâ. it is my goal to write in ancient greek with as much love and care as Pythagoras did. romanticising it in this way makes the process even more enjoyable!
i am still a beginner myself and have much to learn, but these are some of the tips i would give to somebody whoâs just starting out. let me know if you have any other questions about ancient greek, my study methods or even general questions about uni life! iâm happy to answer it all to the best of my abilities. good luck <3
Here is a list of tips to help you learn these languages or improve them.
BUY A DICTIONARY. Some people prefer using online dictionaries, but in my experience it is much simpler and easier if you buy a dictionary because:
you can save a lot of time
you can remember the words fasterÂ
Donât try to memorize the vocabulary only the grammar. Iâve seen some posts here on Tumblr that recommend to memorize all the words. This is what you donât have to do. I said it was important to buy a dictionary, hereâs why: each dictionary of Latin and Classical Greek comes with a small grammar book. That grammar is the basic content that you need to memorize in order to translate texts quickly and easily. Do not try to translate long texts until you have memorized it.
Donât waste your time trying to translate Ovidâs works or Ciceroâs works if you didnât previously have managed to translate simple sentences. Unless youâre able to translate basic phrases, donât try to translate big texts. The truth is that there are latin/greek authors who are easier to translate and others that are more difficult, that is why we have to start with the easiest ones first, so youâll be able to translate more complicated texts in the future.
Check different translations made by different people. It is a good way both to check if your sentence is well translated and to see if the sentence is too literal.
If you want to improve your Latin and Classical Greek. This is probably the best tip you can try. Try to translate a text without using a dictionary. YES. Youâre reading this correctly. This is the most effective way to improve because youâll have to try to remember the words.
ALL ADVICE TO IMPROVE YOUR FRENCH ( French is my native language ) đ
I give you all the advice to improve your French. French is my language, my mother tongue, so I have been speaking it since I was about 1 year old, so I can give you advice âĄ
àłšà±ż Learn false friends: These words that look similar in French and your native language but have different meanings can be confusing. For example, "actuellement" (in French = "currently" in English, not "actually," which means "in reality")
đ⎠Focus on prepositions: In French, prepositions are crucial and often difficult for non-natives (for example, we say "attendre le bus," but "attendre Ă la gare"). Work on the most common ones
Û¶âąà§. Use immersive resources: Watch series or movies in French without subtitles or with French subtitles. This will help you get used to everyday language usage
đąđș Practice irregular verbs: Many verbs in French change unexpectedly. Knowing the most common conjugations (like ĂȘtre, avoir, faire, aller, etc.) is essential
àłšà±ż Use spaced repetition: Use apps like Anki to revise vocabulary and conjugations through flashcards, spacing out reviews to better memorize them
đ⎠Record yourself speaking: Listen to yourself afterwards to spot pronunciation errors and improve your accent
đąđș Ask questions in French: When you learn something, try to ask questions in French about the topic to reinforce your understanding
Û¶âąà§ Focus on logical connectors: Mastering words like "en revanche," "de plus," and "cependant" will help you structure your sentences more effectively
đ⎠Donât be too shy: Donât be afraid to make mistakes while speaking. The more you speak, the better you will get
I still have hundreds of tips to give you to improve your French. I hope this will help you âĄ
