I love this video and want to show it to my students! I got goosebumps when you said you started dreaming in Chinese! I teach middle school math and computer science and many students are eager to give up if they don't get something right away. I think you're a great example of perseverance and hard work!
im actually learning chinese by my self, using some apps and by watching some chinese videos with chinese subtitles, and i think its working pretty well, i practice chinese characters every day and i seem to be memorizing them very fast, so i think that with some 2 or 3 more years of practice i will be ready to speak fluent chinese or start a conversation. the reason why i dont go to chinese classes its because there are not chinese teachers in my city :/
I've been studying French for about 7 years at school. When I spoke French though, I would start to stammer, too. It is _so_ true that you really have to put the language to the test for you to improve quickly! This is true for every foreign language
That is something *the CIA never seem to understand!* That *a language isn't just catchphrases* to memorise, but an entire way of thinking and outlook on the world!
@@BlondieinChina There are 500 different Chinese languages and dialects rich in culture and they are worth to be carried forward! It is heartbreaking to witness some Chinese dialects and Chinese culture are languoring over the years!
Learning another language is good for us all. There are more job opportunities or life opportunities if u have another backup language, any language will do.
Great to see another Aussie that has an interest in the Chinese language. I’ve been teaching myself for the past 9 months while in uni and have joined up to private classes in the hopes to land a rad scholarship to China next year.
As a chinese descendant who lives in indonesia, listening to a person whose native language is non-tonal speaking chinese well always surprised me and at the same time, awesome. How hard it must have been for you learning this language. 你说汉语说的非常棒。佩服你了。会永远看你的UA-cam频道。加油
Hi! I'm also Chinese indonesian! Don't you know, chinese grammar is crazy similar to our day-to-day grammar. I'd say, people who only speaks English would face harder time learning it than us! Good luck in studying chinese
Honestly French doesn't even sound that good. It's almost like they sound like they are trying to spit out some flem. Spanish and maybe Italian is better in my opinion.
It’s really an amazing feeling to hear you share this story, because it’s exactly what I have been going through-as a Chinese learning English. I studied English in China, then I went to Australia, alone, to travel around the country meanwhile improving my English, as you said, environment is very important. I found my English improved dramatically as your Chinese did, through exactly the same daily struggles such as talking to a waiter or so. And now I’m in the Columbia University in New York attending an English language program. For the First time in my life, I have the chance to engage fully and exclusively in English, just like you did. And even the situation that everyone ends up speaking their first language after class is the same as you! Let alone those good old days singing English songs with my classmates, struggling to put as much English as it could be into my daily life..... There are so much common struggles, and so common that if I switch the word “Chinese “ into “English“ in your video, it becomes my self introduction! 很有意思，虽然我们的经历完全相反，但感觉上是完全一致，Cheers！
I'm learning 3 languages right now Japanese,Chinese and Korean Korean and Chinese are really similar so I think learning Chinese will be pretty easy for me
thank you for your video, it's so inspiring! I'm a language student (majoring in english and chinese) and my chinese level is really low compared to other people in my classes, but next year I'm going to Chongqing to follow a (not really intensive) chinese language course, and you motivated me to do my best to succeed ! My biggest problem is that I am really shy, so it will probably be hard for me to speak to strangers with my terrible pronunciation and to make friends, I'm afraid that I'll end up alone on the other side of the world with no one to speak chinese with... But well, I'll do my best ! (and I am personally really jealous of your skills!)
I am also a shy Chinese learner, I have been living in Shanghai for two years and my best piece of advice is consume as much Chinese media as possible, force yourself to go to language mixers and once you are here the average Chinese person is going to force you to speak Chinese anyway :)
As someone who grew up speaking Mandarin Chinese, you speak it pretty well! A couple of pronunciation issues but overall everything else is really good!
She did say her Chinese is not perfect. From my experience, unless you grow up in a Chinese environment or spend more than a decade in China speaking Chinese all day, it's very hard for us "foreigners" to get it super accurately, there's always that annoying tone shifting. We can definitely communicate though.
You are so inspirational and it's so awesome how you have gotten to this level with all of your experiences! I am also an Aussie and have only been learning Chinese for about 3 months (2 months at university this year so far and 4 weeks on and off when I went to Harbin for a summer program last year). This language, culture and everything about China really amazes me and I can't wait to finally go back to China and practice speaking Chinese with locals. The steps that you have mentioned in this video make me feel much more confident because I don't want to rush either but want to have many experiences that will lead me to fluency one day. I will return to this video to see this comment and it will be amazing to see how far I have come from now until then. Thank you for making this really motivating video and keep up the awesome work!
I like your down-to-earth journey of how slowly you have progressed, and that there is no right or wrong, and that you should not be scared to make mistakes. I'm actually not learning chinese now but clicked this bcuz i love seeing different approaches to learning a 2nd language. I loveeee ur story. So inspiring and encouraging, beyong explanation. Thx mate, lots of love from korean sheila hahaha 😍
Your Chinese dating show video randomly popped up on my feed - I thought I recognized you and this video confirmed that. We met briefly in Shanghai, I was also studying at Fudan, with the Norwegian crowd! Interesting videos, congrats on the Chinese, very impressive! I definitely am envious of your fluency xD. Will be following some of your good tips - going to check out that Chinese show. All the best :)
@@stevel5806 I have no idea whether you are an ABC. But most Chinese who lives in China will only say "ni hao ma" to people that they meet for the first time. They won't say that to their friends.
Hi! Thanks for the inspiring video! I started self studying Mandarin in the UK 3 1/2 years ago and I’m soon to be 60, and this is my first attempt at learning a secondary language. How I wish I’d started learning Chinese many years ago! Yes it’s a challenging language but so interesting and rewarding. I recently passed my HSK1 exam and my target is to get to HSK 3, and then who knows😄 You are so right about learning the Hanzi. Admittedly it has slowed down my progress, but from the outset I was determined to learn the characters as I went along, and I’m so glad I did! Working full time it’s difficult to have full immersion in the language via classes etc. I used a professional teacher on Skype to get me through the basics, and also a couple of language partners, and I still use these aspects for my studying. You’re observations on the learning process are so accurate and I’m sure reflect the experience and thoughts of many people learning Chinese ( and undoubtedly other languages), especially the frustrations! However, for me, a big part of the learning is in the first instance having an interest in the language and secondly once you start learning actually enjoying it! After all it’s a journey, and some journeys take longer than others, but ultimately even when you are a few steps in, the satisfaction of actually knowing you have started off is a great confidence booster. Hopefully once I retire I can spend some quality time in China travelling with my wife😄 Good luck in your future career, and thanks again for a frank and honest video. I look forward to watching your others👍
Practice is everything. But how to practice is a problem. Amy has found very practical ways to practice Chinese. She is not only beautiful, but also very clever. That's why she attracts me so much.
The people I met ALWAYS asked "你吃了吗?" Have you eaten yet... I heard that multiple times a day from basically everybody. Maybe it was the culture where I was.
Hi! I just found your video, and I am humbled by the progress of your Chinese journey. I am 14 and Chinese but I live in Norway. I speak fluent Chinese with my Chinese parents but reading and writing is difficult for me as I don’t know that many characters. You inspire me to work harder with my Chinese. Thank you! I just got home from a trip in Xian where I visited my grandparents, and I must say, if you haven’t already visited Xian, you MUST do so. I would recommend visiting Xian Cui Hua Sheng, Dayan Pagoda, Bell Tower and the Terracotta Army! As a Chinese person, I learned so much more about the Chinese culture by visiting China! And I must say, I really do feel intrigued and kind of attracted to my homeland, even though I have never lived in China, and I want to, maybe one day, possess a future there.
absolutely your Chinese is really easy to understand for native Chinese speakers, your progresses are incredible. I know learning languages is how difficult and depressed thing that sometimes you made a lot effort just had no result. But your story really impressed and encouraged me to learn Chinese. Thanks a lot and hope you enjoy your life in China.
Agree with you 100% Amy. I've learned my English by watching American sitcoms. My very first English novel was Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster, also took me a while to finish, but it was a big accomplishment at the time. Being immersed in the environment definitely helps with learning a new language, not just semantics, but also common expressions used, the tones and cultural differences. I'm drawn to your channel because of your positive energy and open mindness. Looking forward to more episodes of your life in China!
I’m an ABC and I remember somebody once came to me and said:” 你好，你好吗？(hello, how are you?)” and I was like... uh... and the person asked if it means “how are you?” So I was like: OHHHHH yeah yeah... I guess 😂
Enjoy what you are doing is the most useful advice in learning a new language. I feel all the multilingual people out there are building bridges and making the world a safer place. Only open-minded person would commit themselves in learning a foreign language. (Of course, there are people learning a foreign language just to enable themselves to attack foreigner, without making any effort to understand the other people’s perspectives. They probably have enough intelligence to be multilingual, but I suspect they might have some emotional control problem or borderline personality disorder. Or traumatized broken souls. Or professional global trolls. Just maybe...) Amy, you are definitely one angel that brings love to the world. 💕
I'm so glad I stumbled on your YT channel! This is the first video that I've watched from you, and I already subscribed! I'm currently studying mandarin, and It's very good to see your excitment towards the language and chinese culture. Btw, I was also SO addicted to 我的歌聲裡! It's so good, I can't get enough. There're also 天亮以前說再見 and 愛 , 存在, maybe you'll like it too!
You can immerse yourself in Mandarin by watching Chinese children's videos and movies. This has been suggested for language-learning in general by experts. The context and people's expressions partially give you the gist of what they're saying. I've done this myself. If you're on the computer, you can pause and repeat parts of it; then imitate the speaker. That's a good idea to read a translation because, although the translation might not faithfully reflect the original, it matches more closer the patterns of thought of the learner, so it's more comfortable for him or her. I'm a beginner in Standard Mandarin, but I've read a lot of «Harry Potter» in Irish Gaelic (Gaeilge), so I know that translations of familiar books can help. Right now I have originals and translations of romance novels in about twelve European languages (from used-book sales), but I had a Russian-translator friend once who was multilingual and had a room filled with them. I've been told I speak Russian with a Ukrainian accent; it's because my university Russian instructors were from Ukraine. When people write language-learning books, they use a frequency dictionary, which is a list of words and phrases as they appear in a large number of books, magazines, and newspapers, ranked by how many times they appear in all of them together (how frequently they appear). You can download frequency dictionaries for free from the WORTSCHATZ (Lexicon) at the University of Leipzig, which is here: tinyurl.com/yd3ohjmz (at the bottom of the page you can choose to view it in English or Deutsch/German). Here's the page for Mandarin downloads, for example: tinyurl.com/yd83amws You can look for "all languages" (alle Sprache) at the homepage or just access it at the Mandarin page for which I gave the page link. Once you download the file, you'll find it is of gz-type, so you'll have to decompress (unzip) it; you should put the file you're going to decompress in a folder (directory) of its own. The decompressed file is of tar-type, so you'll have to compress that. You'll need a file-compression manager such a 7-Zip, which can be downloaded and installed for the Microsoft(c) store for free. The second decompression will give you a folder that contains several txt-type text files; the largest two of those will be one containing a frequency list of sentences from the corpus (all the sources) and a frequency list of words that each have a sequence number (1, 2, 3...) on the left and the number of times it appeared in the corpus. You'll notice that the numbers on the left ascend (go up) and the numbers on the right descend (go down) in size. If you have a spreadsheet editor (calc) like Microsoft Office(c) or Apache OpenOffice(c) (which is free on the Internet at tinyurl.com/oxt5qxo ), you can copy and paste the rows of words in the text file and put the left and right numbers in separate columns, while still keeping the frequency order. You can then remove the column with the frequency number (on the right) to make more room for a translation and notes to the right. I like to save it as an rtf-type wordpad file or copy-and-paste it into a blank wordpad file (because it takes less computer resources). I've divided up the original word-frequency file into 12 wordpad files. You can get translations of the words with Google Translate(c) at tinyurl.com/7adadfe There are also the Mandarin pages of Wikipedia(c) starting here: tinyurl.com/oa4kba2 Most of the articles in Wikipedia have versions in other languages, which you can select from the left of the column. The main article on Beijing has versions in over 200 other languages. Some of the translations may not match the original enough to tell word for word, but all of them will have the same information in similar or identical sections. You can then copy-and-paste words, phrases, or whole sections into Google Translate. One of the places at which I like to start when beginning with a new language is the page about the Solar System: tinyurl.com/ybhsoeyl The page about the Earth is also fun: tinyurl.com/yclnhfsv From statements such as " 地球是太阳系内部的第三颗行星。/ The earth is the third planet in the solar system." you can start to explore the use of sentence order and measure words. Google Translate also gives you the pinyin parallel with the kanzhi, which here is Dìqiú shì tàiyángxì nèibù de dì sān kē xíngxīng. The Asian languages have aspects unique to them that makes approaching the learning of them different from what is more normal with a European language, and vice versa (the other way around). The historic way in which words and the order of words have been built up into sentences is fundamentally different. Western linguists learned only in the last century or two that trying to mold Asian languages into the structure of Latin (which was used when teaching a European language) was highly inappropriate. One of the advantages of using a Chinese source for learning Mandarin is that the rules are taught according to the Chinese methodology. I'm well read in European linguistics, but I found out, when talking with a Chinese instructor with an advanced degree in the language, that the concepts I knew were anchored (锚定) in Western traditions and basically foreign to Chinese linguists. That's one of the reasons, I think, that immersion in the language, of any sort, is worthwhile to reduce Western prejudices.
Chinese way of greeting people on the street: 1. See that person walking is someone you know 2. See that he also sees you. 3. Raise your head up intensely. 4. Time saved for initiating small talks. Profit.
@@pakashishamarwein9640 I know both English and Chinese and I think the one of the most important parts of Chinese is the tones. You should try to listen to people speak it and familiarise yourself with it
What a beautiful story! Wonderful to know China has become a part of you and you have become a part of China. Hopefully this long continuous intertwining will one day make you the Aussie Ambassador to China! :D
What a fantastic video! Your advice is excellent. I've just started learning Chinese again after a 13year break, so back to square one. Your advice about TV shows is great, especially as Netflix now has a heap of Chinese dramas. I've become addicted to watching Meteor Garden. New subscriber here. 😊😊💗
Vintage Current There are two great new Chinese tv series available on UA-cam. 1 is called ‘nothing but 30’, the other is ‘I will find you a better home’. They are phenomenal in china right now. (Also we created short Chinese listening videos if that helps :) )
Hi !! I'm from morocco and i started learning chinese last september and i feel that the far u go in chinese , the most excited you become .. i loved this video and this is the second time that i watched it ♥ thank you for motivating us little blondie ♥
Heyyy Blondie, I'm a Chinese student currently studing in Melbourne, its suprised to know that you are a Aussie, like your accent and video, and the way how you expericen and introduce Chinese culture. And one more thing is I recommend my hometown Fuzhou city in Funjan province. The climate there is quite similar to Sydney, and it's famous for it's beautiful greenary and parks. Looking forward to see your video inroducing my hometown:）
I started learning Chinese from an app called Hello Chinese, and I adore it. It's such a good app, and I'm making progress really fast. It starts from the very beginning like Pinyin, tones and that stuff, along with the grammar and speaking lessons. I highly recommend it!
It's great but it isn't perfect. Learning Hanzi using Hello Chinese is too difficult. It doesn't teach differences like 哪儿 and 哪里 etc. and it doesn't explain differences in pronunciation like shenme as shenmo or gebe instead of gebo. It's also a pretty slow process and it teaches way too little vocabulary and grammar. Apart from these points it's great and, although I'm studying Chinese at a university at a very different level, I'm still using it because it's fun and it helps a lot
Of course is way far from perfect, but I'm living in Germany, and I'm from Serbia, and my priority is German language which I speak a little. So just for fun, but yet you are able to learn basics, app i pretty much good.
OK according to my calculation based on Chinese astrology, you were an ancient Chinese warrior and general in your past life. And obviously was a masculine and macho man! So in your present life subconsciously you wanna connect to Chinese language and culture. Hehehe..just kidding..😅😅😅 very inspiring video indeed!! All the best to you, girl!!
@@BlondieinChina Thank you! Please come and visit Malaysia! There are many ethnic Chinese in Malaysia too, almost 30% and we can speak Chinese too but we have a Southern Chinese accent though hehe!!
Man, I never knew just how long an I and an S was in Mandarin, imma stck to french I think. Just jokes, you're actually a real inspiration for me, and even though you say that your chinese isn't perfect, it's better than any other person (including youtubers) that I've seen!
an incredible young lady, bless her & hope she does well in China. I married a Chinese lady (been 20yrs now) & while we have been a very happy couple living in OZ I traveled to China s many times as a dumb westerner unable to speak Chinese. But my wife fen did all the work for me, shopping, booking tickets, ordering at restaurants, hotels etc. I was the only westerner in the extended family that were sprinkled all over the world. They treated me very well in China. I never had to worry about walking the streets, traveling all over, booking hotels, restaurants since they did it all with at least one traveling with my wife Fen & me. Just about every place in China I've visited at least once and took trips to Russia as well. Now my wife & I are getting old (me 78yrs) & the two-three months trips to China each year has come to a stop because of Covid19. But like Blondie I find China just an amazing place. I just wish I had learnt Chinese long ago.
Excellent tips in this video. I speak very little Mandarin and I will be in Shenzhen for 6 months. I need to binge-watch all the "Dad where are we going?".
Amazing video 妳真的很棒！！ Another local Sydney sider here looking for some motivation, I admire your tenacity and enthusiasm!! Loved the video of your sister haha! I have a long way to go, studied in Taiwan for a year but definitely losing it, 我很期待看妳別的UA-cam vids!
Real love your adventuring mind that has led you to be very open-minded on differences (not only about culture) and use them to broaden the perspectives and in a very positive way of seeing life 💕💕
Thanks Blondie. I'm in year 5 now, having done 2 years Confucius Institute at Univ of Hawaii. I made myself an immersive environment at home because 2 or 3 hrs at school per week just wasn't cutting it, and, worse, after watching a bit of Chinese tv I knew for sure that if I didn't leave school I'd end up speaking Chinese like a Western tourist. So came home, discovered Language Exchange, got myself a WeChat account and have been having a fair good time of it, despite the 18-hr time difference 'tween Hawaii and China. Trying to trade ESL for Mandarin. I love this language and love the people. Hope to go China soon, most interested in the Southwestern regions, at least those where some of the people can speak Mandarin.:)
hey Amy, " have you ate" for greetings is a particular way you will find in Beijing as a trademark of the Beijing accent, people from any other places don't say that as a greeting, I believe even young generations in Beijing right now they don't. So what kind of greetings would people from other places use? I believe there are tons of ways to say greetings and it depends on who you meet and how close you are with the people, for example I'm from Henan province, and normally when I meet my friends when we hangout I would say:" 最近咋样了，OR 最近忙啥呢“，which means how is it going lately and what have you been up to lately, somethings like this you know, just to check out your friend's lately status and in the meantime you will share yours. But don't get me wrong, still China is a country with tons of accents and dialects, so what I told you is just my city, I'm not even sure if the people from other places in the province would say the same. I think the key is still age, people at different ages use different ways to greet, slangs and popular words are used by young generations as you will find it the same in any other countries, that's human beings, and traditional greeting ways are old generation's preference.
I lived in Liuzhou, Guangxi 柳州, 广西 (near 桂林 Guilin) for 8 months and I was asked nonstop "have you eaten yet/ 你吃了吗?" Both by young people and older ones
i can recommend you the app "hello chinese" , it gives you a nice overview and it's great for beginners. Also i recommend watching dramas (for example "meteor garden", "well intended love" or TV shows like "the collaboration")
@@yasso6378 great! Hearing the language often will really help your hearing! But Don't be frustrated when you don't understand anything in the beginning! Hahaha chinese can be very tough 😅
there are some apps where you can speak with foreign people who understand English also, so both can learn from each other. or just make Chinese friends and use them as a advisor, slowly learn independantly and practice with them. Im Chinese but born in nz and it's so admiring to see others wanting to Learn the culture.
A Chinese from southern China here, normally, 你吃饭了吗 or "Have you eaten yet" are used to greet someone who you are familiar with, such as neighborhoods, friends, roommates etc. at breakfast/lunch/dinner time, 你去哪里/你怎么在这里/你在这里干嘛 or "where are you going" / "why are you here" / "what are you doing here" are perfect and widely-used phases to start a conversation with someone you have known at anytime. If you and your friends don't meet each other for a long time, maybe a couple of days/weeks/months/years, you can say: 好久不见，最近过得怎么样/好久不见，最近去哪里了or "long time no see, how are you these days" / "long time no see, where have you been". Basically, Chinese people show their caring for someone before starting a conversation with others.
wow, thank you for sharing how to learn chinese, i also like feeling so awkward i am just beginner omg, but after i watched this video i trusted myself, i will be fluent in chinese, and also i am learning english it feels omg, sometimes it's seems very very hard to me but i can do it, anyways i like watching your vlogs, i am learning english and chinese language from your videos and other things by my self, so finally thank you, and also can you talk in chinese language with english subtitle in your some vlogs , i think it's very helpful to people who learning chinese like me
Girl you're very talented! Thanks for the video. I've been learning Chinese for 2 years and after I watched to your video it feels like I'll get to learn it much better now! Thank you!
Hi, Amy! I just discovered your channel a couple of days ago and already have enjoyed dozens of your videos. I am an American who lives in Hawaii. I lived in Taiwan 1994-2006, and my wife is Taiwanese. This particular video on your history as a Chinese learner is hands down the best introduction to (and set of recommendations for) the topic I’ve ever encountered. It’s true that everyone as their own path in becoming proficient in a second language. One of my strategies learning Chinese in Taiwan was to buy the Chinese subject textbooks that children used to learn characters in grades 1-6 (they were referred to in Taiwan as 國語課本）。 Once I had exhausted the standard intro textbooks for Chinese learners, it was through these school textbooks that I learned characters, and I learned SO MUCH Taiwanese/Chinese culture from learning characters in this manner. I never met another non-Chinese who learned characters primarily through studying pedagogical material for native Chinese speakers, though it’s a recommendation I’ve tried to pass on to others. I thoroughly enjoy your series. Apart from Taiwan I’ve only ever been to Hong Kong and Macau, and I have a great desire to explore the vast Chinese continent as you have. When I finally have the chance to, I will certainly consult your series for suggestions! Keep going! UA-camrs of the world, unite and take over! (Allusion to an old song from the Smiths.)
I sat here watching and felt so jealous of you and everyone who can speak a second language so fluently and confidently. Then I realized - I'm from Sweden and English is my second language which I read and speak quite fluently and confidently. Still really jealous of Mandarin speakers though... :)
I am happy to know that you are a successful person in learning Chinese. It is an inspiration to anyone who wants to learn Chinese. I thought you are going to tell your story in Chinese, but I am surprised that it is in English. All the same, you have contributed greatly to all the people who only know English or other languages. I am a Malaysian who does not know Chinese even though I am a Chinese - I was borne to a Chinese family and live all my life in Penang, Malaysia and also I have not studied any Chinese language. It is a pity, but I am now making an effort to learn beginner Chinese from You-tube. I find learning Chinese fun and it has given me joy to know the beauty of the Chinese's language small progress so far.
I felt like I was recording this video hahah everything you said could have easily come out from my mouth. Including all those experiences. Thanks for the video and all the best!!!!
We like them! Those of us who watch them really enjoy them except they’re a bit longer than SOME of the shows were used too. It’s funny to see the dubbed and the graphics are fun to watch as well. But we enjoy them like any other show 😊 As a mandarin learner it’s really fun for me to catch onto the words they say and hear the slang.
You cannot "speal Chinese". Chinese is a general term that includes all the 500 languages and dialects in China, E.g. Mandarin/ Putonghua, Hokkien, Cantonese, Taishanese, Wuhan dialect, Suzhou dialect etc. Chinese is referring to the text, the Chinese characters.
My favorite method for learning conversational Chinese was to memorize a series of questions, and then ask the taxi driver, the barber, the security guard or any Chinese person that I met these questions. It helped me to become good at guessing what they meant, when I recognized just a few words of their answers. Whenever I learned new words, I would develop new questions based on those new words. For example - Do you believe in ghosts? 你信奉幽灵吗？
This is so true. Chinese is my mother tongue and of course, I spent my entire childhood learning it. However, a funny thing about a language is that if you don’t use it, you sort of lose a feeling for it. You become rusty. In 2014, I was in China for 5 weeks and my goodness, the environment forced me to remember my stuff. Nothing forces you to adapt like being out of your comfort zone. There’s a phrase if i remember correctly, about ants on a hot pan. That was me. LOL. Good times. EDIT: Occasionally I watch stuff like Legends of the Condor Hero. No cap, that stuff improves your chinese. Chinese wuxia drama has a tendency to condense a sentence into 4 words and its incredible how much meaning chinese can convey in 4 words. Surefire way to improve.
I discovered your channel through your Xiamen video and have started binging your video's from the beginning. Although I'm originally from Fuqing, Fujian, I grew up in the Netherlands and my chinese is bad. Your video's are so fun, inspirational and I love your personality ❤
Fantastic video, really motivating. When I began learning Chinese in 2017, I was literally the person you refer to in this video who decides early on to skip learning the characters to save team and commit to learning to speak. 3 years later I have had to go back to the very beginning a learn to read. As you say here, anyone that's reading don't do this. When you are illiterate there is always a ceiling on the level of fluency you can reach and as this video rightly says you miss out on so much by not being able to communicate on social media. Anywhere but particularly in China! Commit to learning to read from day one! I am now taking the HSK4 exam this summer, fingers crossed and I hope that someday I can reach your level of fluency!
aaaaa don't worry about it. if you ever get to meet a native speaker online or in real life who seems like an understanding person who's willing to help you practice, just try it out and don't worry too much! i think most of us native speakers appreciate that other people are interested in our language.
I’m Chinese and still enjoying your video very much. I’m currently learning a fourth language, and your positivity and strong will is motivating me💪🏻💪🏻
Haha love it! So I have been learning a little bit of Mandarin off and on for past couple of years.. cannot speak properly yet but one of the things I started doing was listening to Chinese music and watching some programs so I could start to listen to the language and get more familiar with it. Singing with your sister at 9:50 made me laugh and I had to comment... this was one of the first songs I learnt and can also sing the entire thing off the top of my head.. maybe I'm on the right track :) - keep up the awesome content.. I'm not a foodie but still enjoy your videos none the less.
meanwhile，a Chinese watch your video to learn English.
me too, but I had to click the pause button to understand clearly and transelete some words...
JQ XU and me
Me toooo ahhaha
JQ XU me too, with no subtitle2333
The same, her pronunciation make it easy for me to get the point.
hi from Peru
I actually won a scholarship to go to China and i´ll go on july :)
Cómo le hiciste para obtener la beca Alejandra?
Wow, congrats, 祝贺你!
Congratulation!
En qué universidad vas a estudiar?
Eres del puente chino o postulaste por el inst confucio?
I love this video and want to show it to my students! I got goosebumps when you said you started dreaming in Chinese! I teach middle school math and computer science and many students are eager to give up if they don't get something right away. I think you're a great example of perseverance and hard work!
Thanks so much!!! I hope your students can also learn something from this video! Thanks so much for the kind words
Wait... middle school computer science...
im actually learning chinese by my self, using some apps and by watching some chinese videos with chinese subtitles, and i think its working pretty well, i practice chinese characters every day and i seem to be memorizing them very fast, so i think that with some 2 or 3 more years of practice i will be ready to speak fluent chinese or start a conversation.
the reason why i dont go to chinese classes its because there are not chinese teachers in my city :/
加油！
@Green Sage lingodeer
pedro parancan Don’t feel upset about it, just keep learning, you’ll find yourself making huge progress when you look back one day.
Could I ask which city you live in?
@@judiewang6487 Calbuco, Chile
im spanish
I've been studying French for about 7 years at school. When I spoke French though, I would start to stammer, too. It is _so_ true that you really have to put the language to the test for you to improve quickly! This is true for every foreign language
When you learn a language, it's faster if you learn the culture as well.
so true!!! Chinese language and chinese history/culture is so intertwined! You can hardly learn one without the other!
That is something *the CIA never seem to understand!*
That *a language isn't just catchphrases* to memorise, but an entire way of thinking and outlook on the world!
@@BlondieinChina There are 500 different Chinese languages and dialects rich in culture and they are worth to be carried forward! It is heartbreaking to witness some Chinese dialects and Chinese culture are languoring over the years!
you also provided ways for me to learn English,
That's awesome!!
We chat is good but makes you lazy until my battery runs out haha haha
@@BlondieinChina I think he/she is asking
This is so inspiring!! I’m a Chinese Australian and I regret not learning chinese
Cool, I'm a native Chinese speaker, I think it coll
DUDE SAAAME 😭😭 ABC here and I regret not taking those Saturday Chinese School classes seriously
It's never too late to learn. Chinese has a much smaller vocabulary than English and super simple grammar rules.
hahha, it should be easy for you to catch up, there are So many Chinese students You can communicate with. I believe they would be happy to help u
Learning another language is good for us all. There are more job opportunities or life opportunities if u have another backup language, any language will do.
0:45 damn an “s” in chinese is so long, I think I will just stick by learning Japanese
hahahah apologies for the subtitle error!!!
a*** not an
ʚ Memey Gacha I wrote “in” first so that’s why but thanks for pointing out
Blondie in China no problem it’s funny actually 😂
@@roomijsjeeee lmaooooooooooooooo
Great to see another Aussie that has an interest in the Chinese language. I’ve been teaching myself for the past 9 months while in uni and have joined up to private classes in the hopes to land a rad scholarship to China next year.
As a chinese descendant who lives in indonesia, listening to a person whose native language is non-tonal speaking chinese well always surprised me and at the same time, awesome. How hard it must have been for you learning this language. 你说汉语说的非常棒。佩服你了。会永远看你的UA-cam频道。加油
Hi! I'm also Chinese indonesian! Don't you know, chinese grammar is crazy similar to our day-to-day grammar. I'd say, people who only speaks English would face harder time learning it than us! Good luck in studying chinese
Mandarin is probably one of the nicest sounding language. Apart from French. The pinyin has nice melody.
@Andrew Lim Vietnamese as well
@@MrJermson probably the worst sounding language. No offense
YES. That is true also when you hear what the Chinese say about French..
*I know a French girl who speaks Mandarin fluently after living in Taiwan! And you might know her too as "Julie Flower"!*
Honestly French doesn't even sound that good. It's almost like they sound like they are trying to spit out some flem. Spanish and maybe Italian is better in my opinion.
@Blondie in China, you're such a treasure to China! She is so lucky to have you on her side... Wishing you all the happiness and success!
Simon Xyz AGREE!!!
It’s really an amazing feeling to hear you share this story, because it’s exactly what I have been going through-as a Chinese learning English.
I studied English in China, then I went to Australia, alone, to travel around the country meanwhile improving my English, as you said, environment is very important. I found my English improved dramatically as your Chinese did, through exactly the same daily struggles such as talking to a waiter or so.
And now I’m in the Columbia University in New York attending an English language program. For the First time in my life, I have the chance to engage fully and exclusively in English, just like you did. And even the situation that everyone ends up speaking their first language after class is the same as you!
Let alone those good old days singing English songs with my classmates, struggling to put as much English as it could be into my daily life.....
There are so much common struggles, and so common that if I switch the word “Chinese “ into “English“ in your video, it becomes my self introduction!
很有意思，虽然我们的经历完全相反，但感觉上是完全一致，Cheers！
"... I felt like a piece of me was at home." Don't know why, but this gave me goosebumps.
She's basically Chinese at heart with western clothing.
哈哈哈哈，太好了。 我是美国人，我知道中文。加油！！！ I have been learning Chinese for around 4 months now. I'm learning pretty fast!
Wonderful to see you doing great Michael.💪👍
加油~
哇 你的中文真棒！ awesome
才4个月就这么6了！厉害👍
I'm learning 3 languages right now Japanese,Chinese and Korean Korean and Chinese are really similar so I think learning Chinese will be pretty easy for me
How I learned Chinese: being born in China.
哈哈好厉害
How is this 厉害?
shhh…thats a super secret，hold your tongue pls
Teach me please haha
Nice cheat code
thank you for your video, it's so inspiring! I'm a language student (majoring in english and chinese) and my chinese level is really low compared to other people in my classes, but next year I'm going to Chongqing to follow a (not really intensive) chinese language course, and you motivated me to do my best to succeed ! My biggest problem is that I am really shy, so it will probably be hard for me to speak to strangers with my terrible pronunciation and to make friends, I'm afraid that I'll end up alone on the other side of the world with no one to speak chinese with... But well, I'll do my best !
(and I am personally really jealous of your skills!)
flamine Welcome to China, Chinese people are friendly, and don’t be shy, maybe most Chinese are shyer than you😂
flamine hello I’m a Chinese ，I can teach you Chinese ，and I’m learning English
I am also a shy Chinese learner, I have been living in Shanghai for two years and my best piece of advice is consume as much Chinese media as possible, force yourself to go to language mixers and once you are here the average Chinese person is going to force you to speak Chinese anyway :)
As someone who grew up speaking Mandarin Chinese, you speak it pretty well! A couple of pronunciation issues but overall everything else is really good!
She did say her Chinese is not perfect. From my experience, unless you grow up in a Chinese environment or spend more than a decade in China speaking Chinese all day, it's very hard for us "foreigners" to get it super accurately, there's always that annoying tone shifting. We can definitely communicate though.
@@ShenShen88 of course, they're just stating what they've noticed from the video and cheering her on.
You cannot "speak" Chinese. Chinese is referring to the text, the Chinese character, not the language.
传人龙的 my bad! Mandarin :)
@@传人龙的-c1cwhen people talk about the Chinese language, they’re referring to Mandarin
You are so inspirational and it's so awesome how you have gotten to this level with all of your experiences! I am also an Aussie and have only been learning Chinese for about 3 months (2 months at university this year so far and 4 weeks on and off when I went to Harbin for a summer program last year). This language, culture and everything about China really amazes me and I can't wait to finally go back to China and practice speaking Chinese with locals. The steps that you have mentioned in this video make me feel much more confident because I don't want to rush either but want to have many experiences that will lead me to fluency one day.
I will return to this video to see this comment and it will be amazing to see how far I have come from now until then. Thank you for making this really motivating video and keep up the awesome work!
Nice tips.
Really enjoyed the video and I look forward & pray to study in Tsinghua University too. Its always my dream.
Love from Nigeria.
加油！
Muheeb Ridwan qinghua univ is best univ in China. You are so lucky
good luck 祝你好运！
奥利给！
I like your down-to-earth journey of how slowly you have progressed, and that there is no right or wrong, and that you should not be scared to make mistakes. I'm actually not learning chinese now but clicked this bcuz i love seeing different approaches to learning a 2nd language. I loveeee ur story. So inspiring and encouraging, beyong explanation. Thx mate, lots of love from korean sheila hahaha 😍
Your Chinese dating show video randomly popped up on my feed - I thought I recognized you and this video confirmed that. We met briefly in Shanghai, I was also studying at Fudan, with the Norwegian crowd! Interesting videos, congrats on the Chinese, very impressive! I definitely am envious of your fluency xD. Will be following some of your good tips - going to check out that Chinese show. All the best :)
When you say"你好吗“ in Chinese, it is like you are asking someone whether he has recovered from a disease. That is why it is strange.
Thank you for that info!
Or like if you broke up with someone and you see them again after 10 years, you say: how are you?
not true，i always say ni hao ma to friends i havent seen in a while
@@stevel5806 I have no idea whether you are an ABC. But most Chinese who lives in China will only say "ni hao ma" to people that they meet for the first time. They won't say that to their friends.
通常 你好 就可以，视环境而定，你好吗也不是不可以，就是怪怪的😂
Hi! Thanks for the inspiring video! I started self studying Mandarin in the UK 3 1/2 years ago and I’m soon to be 60, and this is my first attempt at learning a secondary language. How I wish I’d started learning Chinese many years ago! Yes it’s a challenging language but so interesting and rewarding. I recently passed my HSK1 exam and my target is to get to HSK 3, and then who knows😄 You are so right about learning the Hanzi. Admittedly it has slowed down my progress, but from the outset I was determined to learn the characters as I went along, and I’m so glad I did! Working full time it’s difficult to have full immersion in the language via classes etc. I used a professional teacher on Skype to get me through the basics, and also a couple of language partners, and I still use these aspects for my studying. You’re observations on the learning process are so accurate and I’m sure reflect the experience and thoughts of many people learning Chinese ( and undoubtedly other languages), especially the frustrations! However, for me, a big part of the learning is in the first instance having an interest in the language and secondly once you start learning actually enjoying it! After all it’s a journey, and some journeys take longer than others, but ultimately even when you are a few steps in, the satisfaction of actually knowing you have started off is a great confidence booster. Hopefully once I retire I can spend some quality time in China travelling with my wife😄 Good luck in your future career, and thanks again for a frank and honest video. I look forward to watching your others👍
I am a native speaker, why I watch this video, cuz I really appreciate this fantastic girl, u worth more.
Practice is everything. But how to practice is a problem. Amy has found very practical ways to practice Chinese. She is not only beautiful, but also very clever. That's why she attracts me so much.
Aww thank you!
we dont ask ppl have they eaten or not..maybe our grandparents do..in fact we dont greet ppl normally, we kinda skip that part by simply saying hi
The people I met ALWAYS asked "你吃了吗?" Have you eaten yet... I heard that multiple times a day from basically everybody. Maybe it was the culture where I was.
Simon Wei it’s used more in northern China. My friend from Beijing said they always say it.
Simon Wei 说的对
Hi! I just found your video, and I am humbled by the progress of your Chinese journey. I am 14 and Chinese but I live in Norway. I speak fluent Chinese with my Chinese parents but reading and writing is difficult for me as I don’t know that many characters. You inspire me to work harder with my Chinese. Thank you! I just got home from a trip in Xian where I visited my grandparents, and I must say, if you haven’t already visited Xian, you MUST do so. I would recommend visiting Xian Cui Hua Sheng, Dayan Pagoda, Bell Tower and the Terracotta Army! As a Chinese person, I learned so much more about the Chinese culture by visiting China! And I must say, I really do feel intrigued and kind of attracted to my homeland, even though I have never lived in China, and I want to, maybe one day, possess a future there.
absolutely your Chinese is really easy to understand for native Chinese speakers, your progresses are incredible. I know learning languages is how difficult and depressed thing that sometimes you made a lot effort just had no result. But your story really impressed and encouraged me to learn Chinese. Thanks a lot and hope you enjoy your life in China.
This is a really moving video for all us former 留学生 😭 I hope we can go back to China soon. Chinese language and culture are addictive.
Thank you for you tips! Now I feel like I'm true Chinese....
@Sheila Feng taiwan boi ^^^
Sheila Feng Wow. This is a bad guy from Taiwan.
Sheila Feng 傻逼货，到处冒充中国人
没有听懂
北京欢迎你
It's the same for learning any foreign languages. I should just do what you said to improve my English. Love your videos.
Agree with you 100% Amy. I've learned my English by watching American sitcoms. My very first English novel was Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster, also took me a while to finish, but it was a big accomplishment at the time. Being immersed in the environment definitely helps with learning a new language, not just semantics, but also common expressions used, the tones and cultural differences. I'm drawn to your channel because of your positive energy and open mindness. Looking forward to more episodes of your life in China!
I’m an ABC and I remember somebody once came to me and said:” 你好，你好吗？(hello, how are you?)” and I was like... uh... and the person asked if it means “how are you?” So I was like: OHHHHH yeah yeah... I guess 😂
what is your Chinese like now?
When chinese greet each other its more like eh, eh laile laile
Enjoy what you are doing is the most useful advice in learning a new language. I feel all the multilingual people out there are building bridges and making the world a safer place. Only open-minded person would commit themselves in learning a foreign language.
(Of course, there are people learning a foreign language just to enable themselves to attack foreigner, without making any effort to understand the other people’s perspectives. They probably have enough intelligence to be multilingual, but I suspect they might have some emotional control problem or borderline personality disorder. Or traumatized broken souls. Or professional global trolls. Just maybe...)
Amy, you are definitely one angel that brings love to the world. 💕
You are such a beautiful and lovely lady. The Chinese love your kind heart a lots! Gob bless you and respect!
aww thank you so much!
@@1969mmoldovan haha, gob
Your Chinese is definitely one of the best I’ve heard.
I'm so glad I stumbled on your YT channel! This is the first video that I've watched from you, and I already subscribed! I'm currently studying mandarin, and It's very good to see your excitment towards the language and chinese culture. Btw, I was also SO addicted to 我的歌聲裡! It's so good, I can't get enough.
There're also 天亮以前說再見 and 愛 , 存在, maybe you'll like it too!
You can immerse yourself in Mandarin by watching Chinese children's videos and movies. This has been suggested for language-learning in general by experts. The context and people's expressions partially give you the gist of what they're saying. I've done this myself. If you're on the computer, you can pause and repeat parts of it; then imitate the speaker.
That's a good idea to read a translation because, although the translation might not faithfully reflect the original, it matches more closer the patterns of thought of the learner, so it's more comfortable for him or her. I'm a beginner in Standard Mandarin, but I've read a lot of «Harry Potter» in Irish Gaelic (Gaeilge), so I know that translations of familiar books can help. Right now I have originals and translations of romance novels in about twelve European languages (from used-book sales), but I had a Russian-translator friend once who was multilingual and had a room filled with them. I've been told I speak Russian with a Ukrainian accent; it's because my university Russian instructors were from Ukraine.
When people write language-learning books, they use a frequency dictionary, which is a list of words and phrases as they appear in a large number of books, magazines, and newspapers, ranked by how many times they appear in all of them together (how frequently they appear). You can download frequency dictionaries for free from the WORTSCHATZ (Lexicon) at the University of Leipzig, which is here: tinyurl.com/yd3ohjmz (at the bottom of the page you can choose to view it in English or Deutsch/German). Here's the page for Mandarin downloads, for example: tinyurl.com/yd83amws You can look for "all languages" (alle Sprache) at the homepage or just access it at the Mandarin page for which I gave the page link. Once you download the file, you'll find it is of gz-type, so you'll have to decompress (unzip) it; you should put the file you're going to decompress in a folder (directory) of its own. The decompressed file is of tar-type, so you'll have to compress that. You'll need a file-compression manager such a 7-Zip, which can be downloaded and installed for the Microsoft(c) store for free.
The second decompression will give you a folder that contains several txt-type text files; the largest two of those will be one containing a frequency list of sentences from the corpus (all the sources) and a frequency list of words that each have a sequence number (1, 2, 3...) on the left and the number of times it appeared in the corpus. You'll notice that the numbers on the left ascend (go up) and the numbers on the right descend (go down) in size. If you have a spreadsheet editor (calc) like Microsoft Office(c) or Apache OpenOffice(c) (which is free on the Internet at tinyurl.com/oxt5qxo ), you can copy and paste the rows of words in the text file and put the left and right numbers in separate columns, while still keeping the frequency order. You can then remove the column with the frequency number (on the right) to make more room for a translation and notes to the right. I like to save it as an rtf-type wordpad file or copy-and-paste it into a blank wordpad file (because it takes less computer resources). I've divided up the original word-frequency file into 12 wordpad files. You can get translations of the words with Google Translate(c) at tinyurl.com/7adadfe
There are also the Mandarin pages of Wikipedia(c) starting here: tinyurl.com/oa4kba2 Most of the articles in Wikipedia have versions in other languages, which you can select from the left of the column. The main article on Beijing has versions in over 200 other languages. Some of the translations may not match the original enough to tell word for word, but all of them will have the same information in similar or identical sections. You can then copy-and-paste words, phrases, or whole sections into Google Translate. One of the places at which I like to start when beginning with a new language is the page about the Solar System: tinyurl.com/ybhsoeyl The page about the Earth is also fun: tinyurl.com/yclnhfsv From statements such as " 地球是太阳系内部的第三颗行星。/ The earth is the third planet in the solar system." you can start to explore the use of sentence order and measure words. Google Translate also gives you the pinyin parallel with the kanzhi, which here is Dìqiú shì tàiyángxì nèibù de dì sān kē xíngxīng. The Asian languages have aspects unique to them that makes approaching the learning of them different from what is more normal with a European language, and vice versa (the other way around). The historic way in which words and the order of words have been built up into sentences is fundamentally different. Western linguists learned only in the last century or two that trying to mold Asian languages into the structure of Latin (which was used when teaching a European language) was highly inappropriate. One of the advantages of using a Chinese source for learning Mandarin is that the rules are taught according to the Chinese methodology. I'm well read in European linguistics, but I found out, when talking with a Chinese instructor with an advanced degree in the language, that the concepts I knew were anchored (锚定) in Western traditions and basically foreign to Chinese linguists. That's one of the reasons, I think, that immersion in the language, of any sort, is worthwhile to reduce Western prejudices.
Loved the bit about travelling, similar things happened to me when I was travelling in South Western China, was a good laugh looking back at it.
I admit that I'm watching your video to improve my English LOL
Chris Huang Haha same and I am from Malta 😂😂
Australian English
"The Chinese speaker jealousy is real" Too real. 😂
Your efforts at maintaining your Mandarin standard is inspiring! All the best in attaining your dream of perfecting your mandarin!
'a native speakah" instantly knew that you were an aussie ahaha
err, her 1st english sentence gave it away, strewth!
@@dave101t 🤡💞💖💕
The first point about ‘how are you’ thing is so true!! (I am chinese) we just don’t start our conversation like that🤣
Chinese way of greeting people on the street:
1. See that person walking is someone you know
2. See that he also sees you.
3. Raise your head up intensely.
4. Time saved for initiating small talks. Profit.
I eagerly wanted to learn Chinese...... Would you please help me with that.....
@@pakashishamarwein9640 I know both English and Chinese and I think the one of the most important parts of Chinese is the tones. You should try to listen to people speak it and familiarise yourself with it
What a beautiful story!
Wonderful to know China has become a part of you and you have become a part of China. Hopefully this long continuous intertwining will one day make you the Aussie Ambassador to China! :D
Yay!!! Hopefully one day that can happen!!!
What a fantastic video! Your advice is excellent. I've just started learning Chinese again after a 13year break, so back to square one. Your advice about TV shows is great, especially as Netflix now has a heap of Chinese dramas. I've become addicted to watching Meteor Garden.
New subscriber here. 😊😊💗
Yesssss! Meteor Garden is sooo good!
There are many Chinese series on viki.com too, if u wanna give it a try😊
Vintage Current There are two great new Chinese tv series available on UA-cam. 1 is called ‘nothing but 30’, the other is ‘I will find you a better home’. They are phenomenal in china right now. (Also we created short Chinese listening videos if that helps :) )
Netflix has Chinese dramas now?
Hi !! I'm from morocco and i started learning chinese last september and i feel that the far u go in chinese , the most excited you become .. i loved this video and this is the second time that i watched it ♥
thank you for motivating us little blondie ♥
Heyyy Blondie, I'm a Chinese student currently studing in Melbourne, its suprised to know that you are a Aussie, like your accent and video, and the way how you expericen and introduce Chinese culture. And one more thing is I recommend my hometown Fuzhou city in Funjan province. The climate there is quite similar to Sydney, and it's famous for it's beautiful greenary and parks. Looking forward to see your video inroducing my hometown:）
I started learning Chinese from an app called Hello Chinese, and I adore it. It's such a good app, and I'm making progress really fast. It starts from the very beginning like Pinyin, tones and that stuff, along with the grammar and speaking lessons. I highly recommend it!
It's great but it isn't perfect. Learning Hanzi using Hello Chinese is too difficult. It doesn't teach differences like 哪儿 and 哪里 etc. and it doesn't explain differences in pronunciation like shenme as shenmo or gebe instead of gebo. It's also a pretty slow process and it teaches way too little vocabulary and grammar.
Apart from these points it's great and, although I'm studying Chinese at a university at a very different level, I'm still using it because it's fun and it helps a lot
Of course is way far from perfect, but I'm living in Germany, and I'm from Serbia, and my priority is German language which I speak a little. So just for fun, but yet you are able to learn basics, app i pretty much good.
i’ve been learning chinese for three years now, and so many of your experiences are completely the same as mine. love your videos, very motivating! ❤️
OK according to my calculation based on Chinese astrology, you were an ancient Chinese warrior and general in your past life. And obviously was a masculine and macho man! So in your present life subconsciously you wanna connect to Chinese language and culture. Hehehe..just kidding..😅😅😅 very inspiring video indeed!! All the best to you, girl!!
WEI of the DRAGON hahahahahahahahah I love this!!!
@@BlondieinChina Thank you! Please come and visit Malaysia! There are many ethnic Chinese in Malaysia too, almost 30% and we can speak Chinese too but we have a Southern Chinese accent though hehe!!
Man, I never knew just how long an I and an S was in Mandarin, imma stck to french I think.
Just jokes, you're actually a real inspiration for me, and even though you say that your chinese isn't perfect, it's better than any other person (including youtubers) that I've seen!
an incredible young lady, bless her & hope she does well in China. I married a Chinese lady (been 20yrs now) & while we have been a very happy couple living in OZ I traveled to China s many times as a dumb westerner unable to speak Chinese. But my wife fen did all the work for me, shopping, booking tickets, ordering at restaurants, hotels etc. I was the only westerner in the extended family that were sprinkled all over the world. They treated me very well in China. I never had to worry about walking the streets, traveling all over, booking hotels, restaurants since they did it all with at least one traveling with my wife Fen & me. Just about every place in China I've visited at least once and took trips to Russia as well. Now my wife & I are getting old (me 78yrs) & the two-three months trips to China each year has come to a stop because of Covid19. But like Blondie I find China just an amazing place. I just wish I had learnt Chinese long ago.
This is absolutely awesome. You must be very proud of yourself. 👍
Blondie, you know I learn from this video to improve English. lol
Excellent tips in this video. I speak very little Mandarin and I will be in Shenzhen for 6 months. I need to binge-watch all the "Dad where are we going?".
I’m watching this video again and receiving so much encouragement! Can’t thank you enough for making this video, Amy. 😄
oh thank you Joe!!! So happy it can be helpful!
Good advice, especially, not to skip learning the characters!
Don't forget to read the classics.
I do the same with the books✨ I choose my favorite book (in Spanish) and then I read it in English
Amazing video 妳真的很棒！！ Another local Sydney sider here looking for some motivation, I admire your tenacity and enthusiasm!! Loved the video of your sister haha! I have a long way to go, studied in Taiwan for a year but definitely losing it, 我很期待看妳別的UA-cam vids!
Real love your adventuring mind that has led you to be very open-minded on differences (not only about culture) and use them to broaden the perspectives and in a very positive way of seeing life 💕💕
Thanks Blondie. I'm in year 5 now, having done 2 years Confucius Institute at Univ of Hawaii. I made myself an immersive environment at home because 2 or 3 hrs at school per week just wasn't cutting it, and, worse, after watching a bit of Chinese tv I knew for sure that if I didn't leave school I'd end up speaking Chinese like a Western tourist. So came home, discovered Language Exchange, got myself a WeChat account and have been having a fair good time of it, despite the 18-hr time difference 'tween Hawaii and China. Trying to trade ESL for Mandarin. I love this language and love the people. Hope to go China soon, most interested in the Southwestern regions, at least those where some of the people can speak Mandarin.:)
hey Amy, " have you ate" for greetings is a particular way you will find in Beijing as a trademark of the Beijing accent, people from any other places don't say that as a greeting, I believe even young generations in Beijing right now they don't. So what kind of greetings would people from other places use? I believe there are tons of ways to say greetings and it depends on who you meet and how close you are with the people, for example I'm from Henan province, and normally when I meet my friends when we hangout I would say:" 最近咋样了，OR 最近忙啥呢“，which means how is it going lately and what have you been up to lately, somethings like this you know, just to check out your friend's lately status and in the meantime you will share yours. But don't get me wrong, still China is a country with tons of accents and dialects, so what I told you is just my city, I'm not even sure if the people from other places in the province would say the same. I think the key is still age, people at different ages use different ways to greet, slangs and popular words are used by young generations as you will find it the same in any other countries, that's human beings, and traditional greeting ways are old generation's preference.
@PottiYao - I agree that expression (你吃了吗？) is not common with younger people, but I have heard older people say it in cities like 沈阳 and 哈尔滨.
I lived in Liuzhou, Guangxi 柳州, 广西 (near 桂林 Guilin) for 8 months and I was asked nonstop "have you eaten yet/ 你吃了吗?" Both by young people and older ones
@@alex73217 oh, that's awesome, just make sure you didn't get the map up side down.
i wanna learn chinese but i dont know how or from where to start...i’ve just discovered your channel n i love it btw 💕
i can recommend you the app "hello chinese" , it gives you a nice overview and it's great for beginners. Also i recommend watching dramas (for example "meteor garden", "well intended love" or TV shows like "the collaboration")
Helen Winter oh thank you i m a drama addict so i ll try the chinese ones!
@@yasso6378 great! Hearing the language often will really help your hearing! But Don't be frustrated when you don't understand anything in the beginning! Hahaha chinese can be very tough 😅
Helen Winter thank you so much for the advice 💕
there are some apps where you can speak with foreign people who understand English also, so both can learn from each other. or just make Chinese friends and use them as a advisor, slowly learn independantly and practice with them. Im Chinese but born in nz and it's so admiring to see others wanting to Learn the culture.
we as Chinese, can be very direct most of time, but we can also be very indirect sometimes 😉
Laughed out so hard when u and ur sister singing, thank you for sharing!
A Chinese from southern China here, normally, 你吃饭了吗 or "Have you eaten yet" are used to greet someone who you are familiar with, such as neighborhoods, friends, roommates etc. at breakfast/lunch/dinner time, 你去哪里/你怎么在这里/你在这里干嘛 or "where are you going" / "why are you here" / "what are you doing here" are perfect and widely-used phases to start a conversation with someone you have known at anytime. If you and your friends don't meet each other for a long time, maybe a couple of days/weeks/months/years, you can say: 好久不见，最近过得怎么样/好久不见，最近去哪里了or "long time no see, how are you these days" / "long time no see, where have you been". Basically, Chinese people show their caring for someone before starting a conversation with others.
I'm pretty inspired by you! You seem pretty awesome!!
chinese never judge foreigner with their chinese accent. but not always the other way around（such as our english accent)
That's a huge lie. Completely the other way around
并不会 外国人根本不会judge你的发音 听得懂就行
不会第二种语言的人有可能会judge you，因为他们不知道学语言有多么难
Hetsapa 事实上真不会 至少英语国家很少
@@angelaxu4645 probably because you never went to school here lol or never met a racist person.
wow, thank you for sharing how to learn chinese, i also like feeling so awkward i am just beginner omg, but after i watched this video i trusted myself, i will be fluent in chinese, and also i am learning english it feels omg, sometimes it's seems very very hard to me but i can do it, anyways i like watching your vlogs, i am learning english and chinese language from your videos and other things by my self, so finally thank you, and also can you talk in chinese language with english subtitle in your some vlogs , i think it's very helpful to people who learning chinese like me
Oyundari 021 Keep going! You’ll get there eventually ❤️❤️ enjoy the journey
You can do it! Let us know if we can help. Try a free trial lesson online as well.
@@eChineseLearning-school I'm interested in that. Can you leave the link?
@@eChineseLearning-school ......me too I'm interested.... Would you please help me
Girl you're very talented! Thanks for the video. I've been learning Chinese for 2 years and after I watched to your video it feels like I'll get to learn it much better now! Thank you!
Hope it helps!!!
Hi, Amy! I just discovered your channel a couple of days ago and already have enjoyed dozens of your videos. I am an American who lives in Hawaii. I lived in Taiwan 1994-2006, and my wife is Taiwanese. This particular video on your history as a Chinese learner is hands down the best introduction to (and set of recommendations for) the topic I’ve ever encountered. It’s true that everyone as their own path in becoming proficient in a second language. One of my strategies learning Chinese in Taiwan was to buy the Chinese subject textbooks that children used to learn characters in grades 1-6 (they were referred to in Taiwan as 國語課本）。 Once I had exhausted the standard intro textbooks for Chinese learners, it was through these school textbooks that I learned characters, and I learned SO MUCH Taiwanese/Chinese culture from learning characters in this manner. I never met another non-Chinese who learned characters primarily through studying pedagogical material for native Chinese speakers, though it’s a recommendation I’ve tried to pass on to others.
I thoroughly enjoy your series. Apart from Taiwan I’ve only ever been to Hong Kong and Macau, and I have a great desire to explore the vast Chinese continent as you have. When I finally have the chance to, I will certainly consult your series for suggestions! Keep going!
UA-camrs of the world, unite and take over! (Allusion to an old song from the Smiths.)
Nice video! Thanks!
Love you from China!
Tsinghua university ranks 1st as best universities in Asia and I saw her video in tsinghua university vlog
I sat here watching and felt so jealous of you and everyone who can speak a second language so fluently and confidently. Then I realized - I'm from Sweden and English is my second language which I read and speak quite fluently and confidently. Still really jealous of Mandarin speakers though... :)
I am happy to know that you are a successful person in learning Chinese. It is an inspiration to anyone who wants to learn Chinese. I thought you are going to tell your story in Chinese, but I am surprised that it is in English. All the same, you have contributed greatly to all the people who only know English or other languages. I am a Malaysian who does not know Chinese even though I am a Chinese - I was borne to a Chinese family and live all my life in Penang, Malaysia and also I have not studied any Chinese language. It is a pity, but I am now making an effort to learn beginner Chinese from You-tube. I find learning Chinese fun and it has given me joy to know the beauty of the Chinese's language small progress so far.
I felt like I was recording this video hahah everything you said could have easily come out from my mouth. Including all those experiences. Thanks for the video and all the best!!!!
Can you please make a video on Chinese TV shows? As a Chinese, I’m really curious about how westerners think about Chinese TV shows
Chen Gao they just don’t watch Chinese tv shows 😂
Type Happy Chinese on UA-cam it teaches you Chinese phrases and is very good and somewhat interesting...😁hope you check it out
she commentate on a dating show she was on
We like them! Those of us who watch them really enjoy them except they’re a bit longer than SOME of the shows were used too. It’s funny to see the dubbed and the graphics are fun to watch as well. But we enjoy them like any other show 😊
As a mandarin learner it’s really fun for me to catch onto the words they say and hear the slang.
Chen G I’m from the U.S. and I love Chinese TV shows. I have always really loved tv shows in different languages as I aspire to be a linguist.
"I even started dreaming in Chinese"... LOL!!!
Hello Grace, you are beautiful, how are you ?
I'm sorry for disturbing you, can we be friends?
wmilly1201@gmail.com is my personal email
Im chinese and is learning how to speak chinese from non chinese peoples. Great
Ayeeee same here
Same with me
You cannot "speal Chinese". Chinese is a general term that includes all the 500 languages and dialects in China, E.g. Mandarin/ Putonghua, Hokkien, Cantonese, Taishanese, Wuhan dialect, Suzhou dialect etc. Chinese is referring to the text, the Chinese characters.
My favorite method for learning conversational Chinese was to memorize a series of questions, and then ask the taxi driver, the barber, the security guard or any Chinese person that I met these questions. It helped me to become good at guessing what they meant, when I recognized just a few words of their answers. Whenever I learned new words, I would develop new questions based on those new words. For example - Do you believe in ghosts? 你信奉幽灵吗？
This is so true. Chinese is my mother tongue and of course, I spent my entire childhood learning it.
However, a funny thing about a language is that if you don’t use it, you sort of lose a feeling for it. You become rusty.
In 2014, I was in China for 5 weeks and my goodness, the environment forced me to remember my stuff. Nothing forces you to adapt like being out of your comfort zone.
There’s a phrase if i remember correctly, about ants on a hot pan. That was me. LOL. Good times.
EDIT: Occasionally I watch stuff like Legends of the Condor Hero. No cap, that stuff improves your chinese. Chinese wuxia drama has a tendency to condense a sentence into 4 words and its incredible how much meaning chinese can convey in 4 words. Surefire way to improve.
Hahahah love your singing, just love it.
As a Chinese, why do I enjoy watching a foreigner❤️ teach me how to learn Chinese?
I would say the closest equivalent of “how are you” might be “最近咋样?”🤔
may be“干哈呢”
how is it going 呢？
I discovered your channel through your Xiamen video and have started binging your video's from the beginning. Although I'm originally from Fuqing, Fujian, I grew up in the Netherlands and my chinese is bad. Your video's are so fun, inspirational and I love your personality ❤
Fantastic video, really motivating. When I began learning Chinese in 2017, I was literally the person you refer to in this video who decides early on to skip learning the characters to save team and commit to learning to speak. 3 years later I have had to go back to the very beginning a learn to read. As you say here, anyone that's reading don't do this. When you are illiterate there is always a ceiling on the level of fluency you can reach and as this video rightly says you miss out on so much by not being able to communicate on social media. Anywhere but particularly in China! Commit to learning to read from day one! I am now taking the HSK4 exam this summer, fingers crossed and I hope that someday I can reach your level of fluency!
你的中文够完美了
Omg this is the exactly things i want to hear 😭😭 I've been learning for years and not confident to talk :(
aaaaa don't worry about it. if you ever get to meet a native speaker online or in real life who seems like an understanding person who's willing to help you practice, just try it out and don't worry too much! i think most of us native speakers appreciate that other people are interested in our language.
Maybe you should try to make a Chinese friend, for example， me😀
@@非常人-r5w I have many of them but still not confident :(
@@thepriceofsalt9003 thank you ❤️
Farah Wahidah 那就多跟他们交流，加油💪
Big shout out to you! I also studied at UNSW.
I’m Chinese and still enjoying your video very much. I’m currently learning a fourth language, and your positivity and strong will is motivating me💪🏻💪🏻
You nailed it with the no small talk bit, I 100% respect you getting this cultural difference.
This has been really inspiring. ☺️ I think it's time for me to take the leap and enrol at the Confucius Institute in USyd.
Awesome attitude ..
I learned Chinese while I lived and worked in China for about 5 years.
Andrew Esswein can we chat in Chinese !?
Wow. Watching this video vs the current videos and your Chinese has gotten insanely good!
Haha love it! So I have been learning a little bit of Mandarin off and on for past couple of years.. cannot speak properly yet but one of the things I started doing was listening to Chinese music and watching some programs so I could start to listen to the language and get more familiar with it. Singing with your sister at 9:50 made me laugh and I had to comment... this was one of the first songs I learnt and can also sing the entire thing off the top of my head.. maybe I'm on the right track :) - keep up the awesome content.. I'm not a foodie but still enjoy your videos none the less.
us Malaysian Chinese usually begin our conversation by 你好吗？ then followed by small talk before going into the main topic.
哈哈 之前都不知道。那你跟中国人说话的时候，也没有人说 你好吗？
Lu jiaba liao?
Nei sek zuo mei?