Friday, July 13, 2007

Mandarin cool... so are Japanese and Korean! #1

Lesson 1 - Greetings

Hanyu Pinyin is used as the basic form of pronounciation here, unless otherwise stated. For those not familiar in Hanyu Pinyin (were you sleeping in your Primary school chinese lessons?), these are some illustrations:

a = a as in art
i = i as in ink
u = oo as in cool
e = a as in air
o = aw as in paw
ao = ou as in ouch
an = un as in until



John: Good morning!
Xiao Ming: 早上好 (zao shang hao) OR 早安 (zao an)
Nakamura: おはようございます (o ha yo-u go za i ma-su)
Yong Su: 안녕하세요 (an nyong ha se yo)

John: Good afternoon!
Xiao Ming: 下午好 (xia wu hao) OR 午安 (wu an)
Nakamura: こんにちは (kon ni chi wa)
Yong Su: 안녕하세요 (an nyong ha se yo)

John: Good evening!
Xiao Ming: 晚上好 (wan shang hao)
Nakamura: こんばんは (kon ban wa)
Yong Su: 안녕하세요 (an nyong ha se yo)

John: How are you?
Xiao Ming: 你好吗(ni hao ma)
Nakamura: おげんきですか(o gen ki de-su ka)
Yong Su: 안녕하세요 (an nyong ha se yo)


Noticed something? Korean's 안녕하세요 is really such an all-in-one! :)


Disclaimer: I'm not a Chinese/Japanese/Korean teacher and I'm only sharing what I know. These lessons are not part of any formal text books and you don't get any certifications from learning them. You will not become an expert from these lessons because I'm not any expert myself. The only thing I can guarantee is that your Chinese/Japanese/Korean friend can finally understand what you're trying to say.

No comments: