Now that we’ve learned so many names for countries, states\/provinces, and cities, I figured it’s a good time to review how to talk about where you’re from, your nationality, and the language you speak.<\/p>\n
Countries<\/h2>\n![\"\u4e2d\u56fd](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2015\/09\/DSC_0105.jpg\")
\u4e2d\u56fd 🇨🇳<\/p><\/div>\n
As a foreigner in China, people always want to know what country<\/strong> (\u56fd\u5bb6 – gu\u00f3 ji\u0101) you’re from. In fact, this is probably the #1 question you’ll be asked if traveling\/living in the Middle Kingdom. If you go back and study the previous posts with the Chinese names for various countries, you’ll notice that the character\u00a0\u56fd (gu\u00f3) comes up again and again:<\/p>\n\n- \n
USA (\u7f8e\u56fd – m\u011bi gu\u00f3)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
England (\u82f1\u56fd – y\u012bng gu\u00f3)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
South Korea (\u97e9\u56fd – h\u00e1n gu\u00f3)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Thailand (\u6cf0\u56fd – t\u00e0i gu\u00f3)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
A lot of Chinese names for countries use the character\u00a0\u56fd as a short form of\u00a0\u56fd\u5bb6. Other Chinese names for countries are more of a transliteration; i.e. the Chinese name uses characters that sound like the actual name. Go back and review the previous posts and you’ll see plenty of those:<\/p>\n
\n- \n
Canada (\u52a0\u62ff\u5927 – ji\u0101 n\u00e1 d\u00e0)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Ecuador (\u5384\u74dc\u591a\u5c14 – \u00e8 gu\u0101 du\u014d’\u011br)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Finland (\u82ac\u5170 – f\u0113n l\u00e1n)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Italy (\u610f\u5927\u5229 – y\u00ec d\u00e0 l\u00ec)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How can you ask\/answer about where a person is from? Here are some common questions and the corresponding answers:<\/p>\n
\u4f60\u662f\u54ea\u4e2a\u56fd\u5bb6\u7684? (n\u01d0 sh\u00ec n\u01ce ge gu\u00f3 ji\u0101 de)
\nWhich country are you from?<\/h3>\n\u6211\u662f… \u7684 (w\u01d2 sh\u00ec… de)
\nI’m from…<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
\u4f60\u6765\u81ea\u54ea\u91cc? (n\u01d0 l\u00e1i z\u00ec n\u01ce l\u01d0)
\nWhere are you from?<\/h3>\n\u6211\u6765\u81ea… (w\u01d2 l\u00e1i z\u00ec)
\nI’m from…<\/h3>\n
To answer those questions, simply add the name of your country after the …<\/p>\n
Nationalities<\/h2>\n![\"\u6211\u662f\u7f8e\u56fd\u4eba\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2012\/01\/merica.jpg\")
\u6211\u662f\u7f8e\u56fd\u4eba<\/p><\/div>\n
Learning nationalities in English can be a bit complicated. For some countries, you add -an (American, Korean, Australian), for others you use -ese (Chinese, Portuguese, Japanese), and so on. Thankfully, it’s much easier in Chinese – simply add the character for person<\/strong> (\u4eba – r\u00e9n):<\/p>\n\n- \n
Brazilian (\u5df4\u897f\u4eba – b\u0101 x\u012b r\u00e9n)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
German (\u5fb7\u56fd\u4eba – d\u00e9 gu\u00f3 r\u00e9n)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Indian (\u5370\u5ea6\u4eba – y\u00ecn d\u00f9 r\u00e9n)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Mexican (\u58a8\u897f\u54e5\u4eba – m\u00f2 x\u012b g\u0113 r\u00e9n)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
To say your nationality, it’s quite simple:<\/p>\n
I’m… (\u6211\u662f…\u4eba –\u00a0w\u01d2 sh\u00ec…\u00a0<\/span>r\u00e9n)<\/span><\/h3>\nLanguages<\/h2>\n![\"Chinese](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2013\/04\/DSC_0154.jpg\")
Chinese + English = Chinglish<\/p><\/div>\n
When it comes to talking about languages<\/strong> (\u8bed\u8a00 – y\u01d4 y\u00e1n), interestingly enough the most difficult one to talk about in Chinese is… Chinese. There are quite a few Chinese names for the Chinese language:<\/p>\n\n- \n
\u4e2d\u6587 – zh\u014dng w\u00e9n<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\u6c49\u8bed – h\u00e0n y\u01d4<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\u4e2d\u56fd\u8bdd – zh\u014dng gu\u00f3 hu\u00e0<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Of course, when it comes to speaking Chinese, there are many different variations you could be talking about. The two most common are:<\/p>\n
\n- \n
Mandarin (\u666e\u901a\u8bdd – p\u01d4 t\u014dng hu\u00e0)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Cantonese (\u5e7f\u4e1c\u8bdd – gu\u01ceng d\u014dng hu\u00e0)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Thankfully it’s a bit easier when you’re talking about other languages. For pretty much any other language, you’ll use the character\u00a0\u8bed (y\u01d4):<\/p>\n
\n- \n
English (\u82f1\u8bed – y\u012bng y\u01d4)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
French (\u6cd5\u8bed – f\u01ce y\u01d4)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Portuguese (\u8461\u8404\u7259\u8bed – p\u00fa t\u00e1o y\u00e1 y\u01d4)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Spanish (\u897f\u73ed\u7259\u8bed – x\u012b b\u0101n y\u00e1 y\u01d4)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
As you can see, some languages use a shortened form of the country name, while others use the whole name. Here’s how you would ask\/answer about what language you speak:<\/p>\n
What languages can you speak?
\n\u4f60\u4f1a\u8bf4\u4ec0\u4e48\u8bed\u8a00? (n\u01d0 hu\u00ec shu\u014d sh\u00e9n me y\u01d4 y\u00e1n)<\/h3>\nI can speak…
\n\u6211\u4f1a\u8bf4… (w\u01d2 hu\u00ec shu\u014d…)<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
After studying this post, you should be able to confidently ask and answer about countries, nationalities, and languages in Chinese. What other topics would you like to learn about here on the blog? Leave a comment and I’ll do my best to get to your requests as soon as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2012\/01\/merica-234x350.jpg\")
Over the past few months, we’ve had a lot of Chinese geography lessons. In case you missed them, here are the links to those posts: All 50 US States Canadian Provinces, Territories, and Cities European Countries North American Countries South American Countries and Capitals Asian Countries Now that we’ve learned so many names for countries…<\/p>\n
\u4e2d\u56fd 🇨🇳<\/p><\/div>\n
As a foreigner in China, people always want to know what country<\/strong> (\u56fd\u5bb6 – gu\u00f3 ji\u0101) you’re from. In fact, this is probably the #1 question you’ll be asked if traveling\/living in the Middle Kingdom. If you go back and study the previous posts with the Chinese names for various countries, you’ll notice that the character\u00a0\u56fd (gu\u00f3) comes up again and again:<\/p>\n A lot of Chinese names for countries use the character\u00a0\u56fd as a short form of\u00a0\u56fd\u5bb6. Other Chinese names for countries are more of a transliteration; i.e. the Chinese name uses characters that sound like the actual name. Go back and review the previous posts and you’ll see plenty of those:<\/p>\n How can you ask\/answer about where a person is from? Here are some common questions and the corresponding answers:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To answer those questions, simply add the name of your country after the …<\/p>\n \u6211\u662f\u7f8e\u56fd\u4eba<\/p><\/div>\n Learning nationalities in English can be a bit complicated. For some countries, you add -an (American, Korean, Australian), for others you use -ese (Chinese, Portuguese, Japanese), and so on. Thankfully, it’s much easier in Chinese – simply add the character for person<\/strong> (\u4eba – r\u00e9n):<\/p>\n To say your nationality, it’s quite simple:<\/p>\n Chinese + English = Chinglish<\/p><\/div>\n When it comes to talking about languages<\/strong> (\u8bed\u8a00 – y\u01d4 y\u00e1n), interestingly enough the most difficult one to talk about in Chinese is… Chinese. There are quite a few Chinese names for the Chinese language:<\/p>\n Of course, when it comes to speaking Chinese, there are many different variations you could be talking about. The two most common are:<\/p>\n Thankfully it’s a bit easier when you’re talking about other languages. For pretty much any other language, you’ll use the character\u00a0\u8bed (y\u01d4):<\/p>\n As you can see, some languages use a shortened form of the country name, while others use the whole name. Here’s how you would ask\/answer about what language you speak:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After studying this post, you should be able to confidently ask and answer about countries, nationalities, and languages in Chinese. What other topics would you like to learn about here on the blog? Leave a comment and I’ll do my best to get to your requests as soon as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Over the past few months, we’ve had a lot of Chinese geography lessons. In case you missed them, here are the links to those posts: All 50 US States Canadian Provinces, Territories, and Cities European Countries North American Countries South American Countries and Capitals Asian Countries Now that we’ve learned so many names for countries…<\/p>\n\n
USA (\u7f8e\u56fd – m\u011bi gu\u00f3)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
England (\u82f1\u56fd – y\u012bng gu\u00f3)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
South Korea (\u97e9\u56fd – h\u00e1n gu\u00f3)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Thailand (\u6cf0\u56fd – t\u00e0i gu\u00f3)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
Canada (\u52a0\u62ff\u5927 – ji\u0101 n\u00e1 d\u00e0)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Ecuador (\u5384\u74dc\u591a\u5c14 – \u00e8 gu\u0101 du\u014d’\u011br)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Finland (\u82ac\u5170 – f\u0113n l\u00e1n)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Italy (\u610f\u5927\u5229 – y\u00ec d\u00e0 l\u00ec)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u4f60\u662f\u54ea\u4e2a\u56fd\u5bb6\u7684? (n\u01d0 sh\u00ec n\u01ce ge gu\u00f3 ji\u0101 de)
\nWhich country are you from?<\/h3>\n\u6211\u662f… \u7684 (w\u01d2 sh\u00ec… de)
\nI’m from…<\/h3>\n\u4f60\u6765\u81ea\u54ea\u91cc? (n\u01d0 l\u00e1i z\u00ec n\u01ce l\u01d0)
\nWhere are you from?<\/h3>\n\u6211\u6765\u81ea… (w\u01d2 l\u00e1i z\u00ec)
\nI’m from…<\/h3>\nNationalities<\/h2>\n
\n
Brazilian (\u5df4\u897f\u4eba – b\u0101 x\u012b r\u00e9n)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
German (\u5fb7\u56fd\u4eba – d\u00e9 gu\u00f3 r\u00e9n)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Indian (\u5370\u5ea6\u4eba – y\u00ecn d\u00f9 r\u00e9n)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Mexican (\u58a8\u897f\u54e5\u4eba – m\u00f2 x\u012b g\u0113 r\u00e9n)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
I’m… (\u6211\u662f…\u4eba –\u00a0w\u01d2 sh\u00ec…\u00a0<\/span>r\u00e9n)<\/span><\/h3>\n
Languages<\/h2>\n
\n
\u4e2d\u6587 – zh\u014dng w\u00e9n<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
\u6c49\u8bed – h\u00e0n y\u01d4<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
\u4e2d\u56fd\u8bdd – zh\u014dng gu\u00f3 hu\u00e0<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
Mandarin (\u666e\u901a\u8bdd – p\u01d4 t\u014dng hu\u00e0)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Cantonese (\u5e7f\u4e1c\u8bdd – gu\u01ceng d\u014dng hu\u00e0)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
English (\u82f1\u8bed – y\u012bng y\u01d4)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
French (\u6cd5\u8bed – f\u01ce y\u01d4)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Portuguese (\u8461\u8404\u7259\u8bed – p\u00fa t\u00e1o y\u00e1 y\u01d4)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Spanish (\u897f\u73ed\u7259\u8bed – x\u012b b\u0101n y\u00e1 y\u01d4)<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What languages can you speak?
\n\u4f60\u4f1a\u8bf4\u4ec0\u4e48\u8bed\u8a00? (n\u01d0 hu\u00ec shu\u014d sh\u00e9n me y\u01d4 y\u00e1n)<\/h3>\nI can speak…
\n\u6211\u4f1a\u8bf4… (w\u01d2 hu\u00ec shu\u014d…)<\/h3>\n