i am baby

[hugseverycat]

I’m trying pathetically to learn Mandarin via the Hello Chinese app but I didn’t go on it for a few days and now I’ve forgotten everything. Not that I actually know how to say much in the first place. 我喜欢我的猫。今天是星期三。我没有狗。我想去饭馆。Brilliant, scintillating conversation skills. Of course, cdramas have taught me 是吗 (shi ma, or “what”/“really”?) and 闭嘴 (bizui, or “shut up”) so I can also be rude if I want, and let’s not forget 不知道 (bu zhidao, or “i don’t know”).

I just wish it didn’t exit my brain as soon as it entered :( I guess this is what happens when you get old, you can’t remember shit

Comments

[theladyscribe]

I've been using Hello Chinese too! It gets easier with time, though it always seems to take me forever to match characters to their translation. Like I can muddle through responses but heck I'd I know what I'm saying! XD

[hugseverycat]

One of the weirdest things about the Hello Chinese app is that one of the first things you learn is... the names of some fruit? Like why do I know how to say “pineapple” (I don’t remember how to say pineapple but I’ve been taught it) but I don’t know how to say “thank you” (I know how to say this from cdramas lol)

[peachpai]

Yeah like...I took conversational Mandarin when I was in my mid-20s and even that was a struggle of age. I remember almost nothing lol. It's just so hard to learn languages after a certain point! Endless frustration.

[hugseverycat]

Yeah it’s really annoying. I wish my local community college had classes because that kind of organized setting works really well for me. I need to be forced to be around people because my inclination is to hide and be embarrassed. But unfortunately my options are the local big college ($$$$$ although i’m an alumnus so maybe there’s a discount?) or private orgs (also $$$)

[hugseverycat]

wow, i take it back, last time i checked the community college didn’t have chinese but maybe it was just that term because they have it on their list now. hmmmmmmmmm definitely something to look into post-covid.

[peachpai]

Oh that is good news! I agree, it's pretty hard to learn languages on your own, taking a structured class is much better. Maybe they do online instruction?