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Simple Chinese Words

  • 12-02-2006 9:12am
    #1
    the_syco
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 37,316 ✭✭✭✭


    Any chance of writing up some basic words in Chinese here, such as "hello", etc?

    At the moment, I only know "tonyma" (pronounced: toe-NY-ma) which I'm pretty sure means something worse than "f*ck your mother" (learnt it off the chinese I worked with in a pub).

    Why? Cos I'm the type of person who'd say "hi", if I knew the person, and as I know one or two chinese, I could say it to them. Finally, I'm asking ye, and not them, as ye can tell me how to pronounce it from an english speaking perspective.

    Thanks.


Comments

  • #2
    **elaine**
    Closed Accounts Posts: 222 ✭✭**elaine**


    Don't know many myself, just one or two..

    Hello is "Ni Hao" (pronounced knee how)

    How are you is "Ni hao ma" (pronounced knee how ma)

    Thank you is "xie xie" (pronounced sé sé, as in the irish word for six)

    Not sure if you want to know what Mammy and Daddy are but here you go anyway!

    Mammy is Mama

    Daddy is Baba

    That's all for now, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on any of these, I just remembered them from hearing them when I was in China.


  • #3
    davros
    Closed Accounts Posts: 857 ✭✭✭davros


    All fine there, apart from 'thanks', which is more like "shyeh shyeh".

    The 'x' in 'xie' is not quite a 'sh' though. Try saying 'sh' with the tongue a little further forward in the mouth.


  • #4
    DEmeant0r
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,165 ✭✭✭DEmeant0r


    "Please" is "Mmm Goi" (Cantonese)

    "I'm fine" is "Nyaw ho" (Canto as well)

    You should be able to pick up a few words or two on the "Cantonese word of the day" sticky thread, I was supposed to restart the thread, but laziness has taken over me again...


  • #5
    kwalsh000
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 390 ✭✭kwalsh000


    heres some quick ones off the top of my head, i have alot of chinese friends bu my pronounciation isnt the best (have to work on that more, :P) here is the romanisation way of spelling, of course missing the tones to tell you how to say it but the approx way to say it is in brackets. hope this helps. go to chinese pod on itunes podcast. very good..or shud i say, hen hao!
    Ni hao ma (ne hao ma...easily said) how are u
    Xie Xie (sheh sheh) thank u
    Mei Guanxi ( may guan she) its okay
    Bu yong xie (bu yung sheh) your welcome
    Wo hui shuo yidian zhong wen (wo hway schu-eh e-dien joong-wen) i can speak a little chinese
    Duibuqi (d-bu-chi) sorry, excuse me
    gangbei (gang-bay) cheers, but when said, u have to finish the drink in one go:P
    numbers.
    yi, er, san, si, wu, liu, qi, ba, jiu, shi,
    e, eur, san, sueh, ooh, lao, chi, ba, jao, shi


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