I’m learning Chinese, and would love to have some people to chat with. I’m not good, for sure, but I really enjoy it a lot!
你好叫我BartsBigBugBag！我是美国人，我是社会主义者。我明年希望去中国陆游。我是学生的汉语。你说汉语吗？你怎么样？你现在做什么？你明白我的汉语吗？谢谢你！
We do have a [email protected] community although it is a bit inactive.
I can mostly understand your statements (after RoomAndBored’s correction) but not so much your questions. I should learn some basic Chinese grammar sometime.
Subscribed, thanks for the link! I have a feeling my grammar is at best that of a toddler, but I’m having a ton of fun learning, and this thread has taught me a lot!
没事儿，以你的汉语水平外加上机翻够解决95%的问题了 It’s all right. Your Chinese skill and with the help of computer translation are enough to solve 95% of the problems.
谢谢你！
To sound less like a robot, here’s my suggested rewrite for you ;D
你好，我叫xxx，我正在学汉语。你好吗？你会说普通话吗？有没有时间陪我聊聊天？
Etc.
谢谢你！
So what I read in that is:
Hello, I am xxx, I am (doing?) Chinese language. How are you? Do you speak (something)? Do you have any (something something 我 something something something)?
That gives me a great perspective on how to sound more natural, and some characters to learn too, thank you again!!
有没有 have or not have 时间 time 陪我 accompany me/accommodate me 聊聊天 chat a bit
谢谢你🙏
Your help is greatly appreciated! It will not be forgotten!
Should i use that style of question for any yes or no question? Like you did 有没有, I’ve also seen 是不是 and similar others also.
It’s a way to turn any action into a question. It could be a more casual and informal, more endearing /soft way of questioning something (depending on the actual emotional tone you say it with, if course) .
看没看过？have…seen it? 吃没吃过？have… eaten it? 玩没玩过？have … played it? 读没读过？have … read it?
是不是 （很好玩）？isn’t it (fun)? 好不好 isn’t it good? 看不看xyz–do (you/we/they) wanna watch xyz? 知不知道xyz–do…know xyz?
Etc.
对啊，我也会说一点儿汉语。我学习中文一年了，我们可以聊天一下吧
我。“我是学生的汉语”这句有点奇怪，但总体来说不错。
Lmao translating it back from your comment I realize what sounds strange in it. Thanks for pointing that out.
谢谢你！
It might take me a bit to get back to everyone. I’m trying to translate the comments without machine assistance, and some words I don’t know yet, so I need to do more studying first!
that is 100% google translate translated chinese
For the introduction, you could use:
怎么样，我是「BartsBigBugBag」！
It is more colloquial
Thank you. Is it common to ask someone how they are before you introduce yourself? Here it would be seen as either small talk, or as if you didn’t care to know the answer to the question in the first place, since you immediately spoke after asking.
For greeting, you could also say (in person): 吃饭了吗? / 吃了吗?
if you know them a bit better
That’s a great one I hadn’t learned yet. Instead they had me asking what time people eat, which seemed a bit formal and specific. This sort of more casual conversation is exactly what I need to not sound like a robot or Google translate.
It is a remnant from the Northern Song Dynasty, as a form of etiquette and being polite, to not to disturb them while eating.
“凡往见人，入门必问主人食否 […] 度无所妨，乃命展剌。有妨则少俟。”
“Whoever you visit, you should ask them if they have eaten or not […] if they are about to eat, don’t enter the house until after they finish the meal. Otherwise, you would be intruding.”
From the book “Lü Convention” 《吕氏乡约》
Wow that’s such a neat piece of history, thank you for sharing!
I was worried about using 我是because i didn’t know if there was a specific nuance around screen names Vs actual names, so I figured “call me BartsBigBugBag” covered that base effectively lol.
No, It’s not, though I had to look up how to say “hope to travel to”.