I am born in china so I already know how to speak chinese fluently. I just need to learn how to write. I'm currently going to take Chinese 101 in college and I was thinking about taking Japanese aswell my second semester.

I heard that the hardest part of learning Chinese is pronunciation (easy part for me) and the hardest part of learning Japanese is grammar.

I'm pretty devoted to learning both languages. Do you think its possible to learn both languages at once under my circumstances?

You know how Japanese kanji have a pronunciation for whether they're used alone or used to form a word? Are Chinese hanzi the same way?

Hi, I have a number of questions about Mandarin pinyin pronunciation:

1. How do you know when "i" in pinyin should be pronounced "uh" or "ee" or "er" as in the English word "fur" (examples of usage in chi and shi)? I've heard it as all these ways and am very confused as to which is correct, keeping in mind I am aiming for the Beijing accent.

2. In the pinyin "e", how does one know if it is to be pronounced as the English sound "uh" or "eh"? I have heard "ye" as both "yeh" and "yuh".

3. Does it really make a huge difference if you give your "ch" and "zh" different forces of air, like I know some of the sounds have more air than others, like "p" and "b"...?

4. Which region's/city's accent is the most understood throughout the PRC?

5. "Eng"- pronounced like "ung" or "ang" in the english word "hang"? How do I know which is right? Like for example, cheng2 chi2

I know that if I heard the word before I should know how to spell it in pinyin the problem is I'm hearing so many different ways to say things! Please help! Xie Xie!!
So are there exceptions to the pinyin "e"? Such as in "de" in "wo de"? Isn't that pronounced "duh"?

Thanks for the info on pronunciation variations though...I'm sure it's similar to Spanish, with Castilians having a lisp and the Argentines with their pronunciation of "ll".

Hi everyone,
So,I have a mini-fashion show in my school and I have to represent China by wearing traditional clothes and I would love to say something about China in chinese!!Do you all know any site that may translate and give me the pronunciation of what I have translated?I'd love if you all can give me some.Also,which chinese should I translate in?Traditional or simplified?I have no clue about it....I need all the help I can get.Thank you

The pronunciation [ds'] of再(zài) in the phrase再见(zàijiàn) should be pronounced as [z] and how should I pronounce it?

大家好!!!
Hello everyone! I'm starting my first year of Mandarin Chinese at College.
I love the language, I'm intrigued by the culture and History....I'm in simply in love with it.
My question is, would practicing Chinese conversation 2 or 3 hours a a day everyday improve my pronunciation for the next 3 months?
For the ones who have studied Chinese, how long would it take to acquire and "OK" accent? My mother tongue is Spanish so it helps me to imitate sounds easier.
Any suggestions welcome! And any tutors too!

Ok, so I go to this Chinese school on Saturdays and I am trying to learn to speak Chinese, have been doing so for the past 4 years... and my teacher says I need to work on the tones and my accent, I was wondering if there was anyone out there who would be willing to talk Chinese with me and help me with pronunciation....perhaps through Skype? Please it would be much appreciated, xie xie....

I know the "technical" tones are Wo(3) xiang(3) qing(3) ni(3) chi(1) wan(3) fan(4). BUT, I thought the rule was that if there are 2 third tones, the first word becomes second tone. So how come when I listen to pronunciation it sounds like Wo(3) xiang(3) qing(2) ni(3) . . . ?

I've tried to convince some Chinese students that reading aloud every morning to improve their pronunciation/oral English is actually a mistake. The reason is, I believe it will only form bad habits. Surely they are repeating the same pronunciation errors again and again until forms a habit. Am I right? If their pronunciation was perfect to start with, the method might have a little merit. I'm trying to get them to copy the voices of native speakers using mp3's instead. I think it will be much more beneficial because it will help their pronunciation and fluency which is what they want. My gut and experience tell me I am right but I'd still like to hear the opinion of some experienced English teachers. Am I right to try to get the students to stop reading aloud every morning? Is the mp3 alternative better? Thanks.

Oh, I nearly forgot. Just one more question. Reading quietly is better than reading aloud for improving reading skills, isn't it?