I've lived in Asia for a few years now and I've always managed to live in the most out-of-the-way, not a Westerner in sight kind of places, so I've picked up pretty decent proficiency with the tools necessary to communicate in Chinese out here. So, I'm going to list them below for your review:
First things first. In the age of smartphones, there's no reason you should have extensive problems communicating unless you're too poor to afford a smartphone. That said, it's probably worthwhile for you to stop punting for a month to save up for one, it'll pay off the long run.
Since not everyone owns an iPhone, I'll start with a generic tool:
MDBG.net, a dictionary and whole phrase/paragraph translator.
Usefulness:
████████ 7/10
Now, everyone loves Google Translate and I'm not going to talk too much shit about it, but the nature of the Chinese language (whether Mandarin or Cantonese, etc.) is that each character has multiple meanings. Google Translate only gives you one translation back. Did you know that 会can be pronounced as
huì or
kuài and can mean gather, able or accounting depending on context? Yeah, neither does Google Translate. Now, MDBG can fall prey to the same problems, but you can scroll down and see the multiple meanings for each character which can help you unravel the real meaning of what's trying to be said. They also include a lot of maxims and traditional phrases, so when you get asked about exploding their chrysanthemum, you'll know what's going on.
Beyond the dictionary and translation page, there are also ways to learn how to write the characters and a bunch of other stuff I don't bother much with.
It loses points because you have to be on a network to use it, but it's pretty fucking handy if you're completely at sea with Chinese.
For those of you with a little more experience and can handle some basic vocabulary and verbs, you'll probably want the next tool.
DianHua Dictionary, dictionary only, but offline, for the iPhone
Usefulness:
█████████ 8/10
Really, really great app. Allows you to search in English, Pinyin or characters, displays Simplified (mainland) or Traditional (Taiwan and Hong Kong) characters as well as pinyin for each word, so you'll know how to say it. Pinyin is only for Mandarin, though, not Cantonese, though I'd say 95% of the WG here in Hong Kong speak Mandarin.
If you learn how to add the Chinese writing keyboard to your iPhone (or the Pinyin keyboard as I've found younger WGs don't know how to write characters very well), you can hand the phone over to them and let them communicate as they wish. Very handy.
This dictionary is great because it's offline and it's pretty comprehensive. Here's a screenshot:
Last, but not least:
Dirty Chinese, a book of mainland slang from watching movies to eating food and like eight different ways to say "I'm coming"
Usefulness:
███████████ 10/10!
For those of you that can't speak any dialect, don't have an iPhone or a web ready phone, there's the good ol' reliable--books.
This books has the characters (Simplified), the Pinyin and the English translation or equivalent where appropriate. It's pretty comprehensive:
My name is Martin. Wo jiao Mading. 我叫马丁
I'm from Nebraska. Wo laizi Meiguo de Neibulasijia zhou. 我来自美国的内布拉斯加州
I've got a terminal illness. Wo shen huan juezheng le. 我身患绝症了
And I'm innocent of the ways of the world, I have never known a woman. 我没怎么见过世面，还没尝过奴人的味道
And on to more carnal matters:
Let's do some serious fucking. Women cao shuang yidian ba. 我们肏爽一点吧
Threesomes. 三匹。 Ass fucking. 爆菊花 (this is exploding the chrysanthemum as mentioned earlier). Cowgirl. 骑乘位.
And on and on. The authors had a great sense of humor and they've included fun classics like "it's not your fault you're ugly, but it is your fault that you're going outside and scaring everyone with your ugly face"
Last, but not least:
Chinese Classes at CUHK
Usefulness:
██████████ 9/10
- $5400 per class
- Speaking Mandarin gets you wider access to WGs and arguably better service (YMMV)
- They still won't teach the things you'll learn in the book above
- http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clc/regular.htm
If you've got the time and the inclination, go native and learn the language. Twice a week for 2 hours each and you'll be surprised how quick you pick it up. It's not as hard as they want you to think it is.
That said, I'm still not to the point where I can understand street names in Mandarin yet. Curse you, Chinese PPS HGs!
Good luck and good punting. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help!
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Last edited by frontline at 24-8-2011 23:20 ]
