Have you ever been to a Chinese restaurant in Rio rancho and wondered why you couldn’t understand the menu? There’s a hidden language in between all of those characters.
It’s called Pinyin, and it’s made up of symbols that represent the sounds of Mandarin — not what’s written on the page. Many people who speak English have no idea that this exists, but it is one way to make learning Mandarin easier for non-native speakers. Let me break down how Pinyin works for you…
1. Each “tone” or “syllable” is written in a separate box. Tones make Mandarin Chinese sounds. Think of them as letters, but in between each tone there is a small symbol called a “diaeresis” (pronounced: DY-uh-ree-SIS). This symbol is like an upside down “e,” the letter that looks like the letter “y.”
2. The Pinyin for each word uses all of the same tones and diaeresis combinations, but adds numbering. The only difference between the Pinyin for each word and that for saying aloud with your mouth closed is that you’re using your brain to figure out which sound it comes from.
3. What if there are more than one sound in a word? Pinyin uses an apostrophe to break down the word into pronunciation.
4. The Pinyin for English is already written on the menu, which should help you know how to pronounce it. But, remember that Chinese people will be reading Pinyin too, so it might not be a good idea to ask for something that’s impossible to say.
5. The best way to learn is by listening to people speak Chinese and repeating what they say over and over again until you can’t forget it. If you want the name of a good Chinese teacher in your area, email me at “[email protected].”
6. Pinyin is just one way to write Chinese — you can also use traditional characters or even a mixture of both. When writing in Pinyin, you don’t have to learn any characters, but Chinese people will always read the traditional way.
7. Pinyin is useful for reading menus, making conversations easier with people you meet in your travels, learning to read Chinese characters, and even writing with a Chinese pen.
8. The Pinyin example above the menu can help you figure out the pronunciation of certain words that aren’t translated into English on the menu.
9. Pinyin is a good way to remember Chinese words and phrases, but it’s not as easy as translating from one language to another because there are fewer spoken words in each example.
10. Some Chinese people will talk to you in Pinyin, but some people will talk to you only in Chinese characters. Scholars and even people trained in learning Mandarin can also write Pinyin for you for a fee.
11. If you’re planning on studying Chinese, it is best to learn Pinyin first because there are less words that need learning than characters.
12. Pinyin is a useful way to communicate with non-Chinese speakers who want to learn Mandarin but can’t speak Chinese, but it’s best not to use them too much because they don’t help make up the language … they just make it easier while learning it!
13. For more information on Pinyin, you can visit the Official Pinyin website.
14. As a bonus, here’s a video that explains how Pinyin works…
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21. Don’t worry, you can find the meaning of Pinyin terms in our Mandarin dictionary. You can see it here .
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