User Comments - blackjacksadie

Posted on: Don't Never Say Never

我从来没去过中国。:(

Posted on: A Correction of Tones

@china4me:

There are four newbie lessons addressing each individual tone:

http://chinesepod.com/lessons/the-first-tone/discussion

http://chinesepod.com/lessons/the-second-tone/discussion

http://chinesepod.com/lessons/the-third-tone/discussion

http://chinesepod.com/lessons/the-fourth-tone/discussion

Here is another newbie lesson about tones:

http://chinesepod.com/lessons/ten-four/discussion

And here is a beginner level lesson about when two third tones suddenly meet:

http://chinesepod.com/lessons/tone-rule-two-third-tones/discussion

For some reason, I always imagine the third-tone rule being like two very shy people who have just met in the street when one runs away embarassed. Weird.

Posted on: Trip to the Vegetable Market

This is so much fun! I work as a cashier in a grocery store while I'm going to school and find myself trying to think of the Chinese words for all the different foods as they pass down the conveyor belt. I tell myself that if I can memorize all the PLU codes that I can certainly memorize their Chinese names.

Posted on: The Expat Show and a Jingle Contest

你好！I'm relatively new to CPod.

I agree that a new jingle would only be an improvement, and I really like the idea of a Hendrix-style anthem. I wish that I could play something besides the radio at times like these.

再见！

Posted on: What's Your Name?

I have just started the trial of this website, and I am enjoying it very much so far. I wanted to share my favorite tools for learning characters. For writing, Tuttle publishes a book called 250 Essential Chinese Characters for Everyday Use. There are two volumes, making for 500 characters. There are stroke-by-stroke instructions as well as examples in sentences and compounds with a whole half a page blocked off for practicing writing. A short description is given of the components of the character, and there are good reviews spaced throughout. Great for just drilling. They also sell flash cards that correspond order-wise, and these cover at least a couple of thousand characters I believe (I bought just the first box and it has more than both books together). Tuttle also publishes a book called "Learning Chinese Characters" that is invaluable. They assign a meaning to each building block of a character and tell a story to remember the meaning. It sounds like a lot of work, but it you're memorizing tons of characters it REALLY helps (for reading, not writing). They also include part of the story for remembering pronunciation, including tone. I memorized dozens of characters the first day I seriously tried it. Anyhoo--good luck everyone!