Lessons 1-10

Lesson 13 学外语很难。It is difficult to learn a foreign language.

说 Shuō Speak / 汉语 Hànyǔ Chinese (language) / 难 nán difficult
/ 写 Xiě to write /
There are many names for the Chinese language. Standard Chinese, or Mandarin, called 普通话 Pǔtōnghuà, is strictly speaking an artificial construct derived from Beijing and other Northern dialects. It is taught in the schools as a top-down attempt to provide the Chinese people with a standard mode of communication. Although, if you want to be pedantic about it, no one actually speaks this language per se.

However, most people in Northern China do speak something very close to the Standard Chinese taught in the Chinese school system, with some cities (Beijing, Harbin) being closer to the textbook language than others (Tianjin, for example). Also, many foreign students of Mandarin actually study a slightly modified version to reflect the influence of Beijing and other Northern dialects on the country as a whole.

汉语 Hànyǔ is another name for the Chinese language, it literally means "Han language" or the language of the dominant ethnic group in China.

中文 Zhōngwén is probably the closest to the general term "Chinese".

中国话 Zhōnɡɡuóhuà "Chinese language" can be taken to mean any language spoken in China, but chiefly the Platonic ideal of Mandarin (standardized Chinese). You don't see this much in Chinese language textbooks, but in China proper it is used fairly often, especially in relation to foreigners speaking the Chinese language.

Example sentences:

说 普通话 很 难。 Speaking Mandarin is very difficult.
Shuō Pǔtōnghuà hěn nán.
Speak common-dialect very difficult.

学 汉语 很 难。 Learning Mandarin is difficult.
Xué Hànyǔ hěn nán.
Learning the Han dialect is not difficult.

说 汉语 难 吗? Is it difficult to speak Mandarin?
Shuō Hànyǔ nán ma?
Study Han dialect difficult question?

写 英语 不 难。 Writing English is not difficult.
Xiě Yīngyǔ bù nán.
Write English not difficult.

学 英语 很 难。 English is difficult to learn.
Xué Yīngyǔ hěn nán.
Study English very difficult.

学 外语 很 难。 It is difficult to learn a foreign language.
Xué wàiyǔ hěn nán.
Study external-language very difficult.

学 俄语 很 难。 Russian is very difficult to learn.
Xué Éyǔ hěn nán.
Study Russian-language very difficult.

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Sound files for the example sentences:

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Dialogue

A 写汉字难吗?
   Xiĕ hànzì nán ma?
   Is it difficult to write Chinese characters?

B 很难。我不认识汉字。
   Hĕn nán. Wŏ bú rènshí hànzì.
   Yes, it’s very difficult. I can’t make out Chinese characters.

A 说也难吗?
   Shuō yĕ nán ma?
   Is speaking also difficult?

B 说不太难。
   Shuō bú tài nán.
   Speaking is not too difficult.

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Sound files for the dialogue:

>> Download MQ teacher and VG teacher performing this dialogue (right click to save)

>> Download DL teacher and DP teacher performing this dialogue (right click to save)

Lessons 11-20
Lessons 21-30
Lessons 31-40
Lessons 41-50
Lessons 51-60
Lessons 61-70
Lessons 71-80
Lessons 81-90
Lessons 91-100
Lessons 101-110
Lessons 111-120
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The Mandarin language is not as difficult as you might think. There’s a reason why it’s the world’s most spoken language! A lingua franca for much of Northern China since the Yuan dynasty, Mandarin has a simple, no-nonsense grammatical system and a vocabulary that builds upon itself. So don’t be daunted! You too can speak this beautiful language.