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Thank you for your very comprehensive answer; greatly appreciated.

Hi Members,

I am a new beginner in learning Conversational Mandarin.

I have a doubt regarding the following:

What is the difference between the 2 phrases:

1) nǐ jiào shénme míngzì

2) nǐ jiào shénme

From what I have learnt so far, the first phrase translates to "What is your name?" and the second phrase translates to "You called what?" (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Which phrase is more appropriate to be used if we want to ask others for their name?

Thank you.

Note: Sorry I only know Hanyu Pinyin.

firewheel wrote:
1) nǐ jiào shénme míngzì

2) nǐ jiào shénme

From what I have learnt so far, the first phrase translates to "What is your name?" and the second phrase translates to "You called what?" (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

I'm Chinese but not exactly native.

1. You're called what name?
2. You're called what?

Both are normal. 2 could mean other things in other contexts, while 1 is completely specific. So, just as with any language, if there is potential confusion, or if you're not completely confident about your pronunciation, the longer and more specific version would be clearer.

smallwhite wrote:

firewheel wrote:
1) nǐ jiào shénme míngzì

2) nǐ jiào shénme

From what I have learnt so far, the first phrase translates to "What is your name?" and the second phrase translates to "You called what?" (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

I'm Chinese but not exactly native.

1. You're called what name?
2. You're called what?

Both are normal. 2 could mean other things in other contexts, while 1 is completely specific. So, just as with any language, if there is potential confusion, or if you're not completely confident about your pronunciation, the longer and more specific version would be clearer.

Thank you for your reply

Hi Members,

I have another doubt regarding the following:

Is there a difference in the usage of the following two words?

1) Guójiā
2) Guó

I have learnt that both words mean 'country'. However, I'm not sure if they are just synonyms or not.

Thank you.

firewheel wrote:Hi Members,

I have another doubt regarding the following:

Is there a difference in the usage of the following two words?

1) Guójiā
2) Guó

I have learnt that both words mean 'country'. However, I'm not sure if they are just synonyms or not.

Thank you.

Chinese often features two letter compounds. guó - 国 - is used in combinations with other letters to form new words and holds the meaning of country, where as guójiā - 国家 - can be used without adding another character.

If you just say country, you would use guójiā , if you would be more specific (specific country) or use a compound with verbs or other things you would use guó.

wǒ de guójiā - 我的国家 - my country
zhōngguó - 中国 - China
měiguó - 美国 - USA
huíguó - 回国 - returning to your country
Zhōngguó shì yī gè hěn dà de guójiā. - 中国是一个很大的国家 - China is a big country. - here both words are used.

A compound I find fun is 我国 wǒguó 'our country' (=China), very often seen in news articles... Note that the plural is basically meant even though it doesn't have the 们 -men. In Classical/Literary Chinese, 我 wǒ could be singular or plural, maybe that's the explanation.

Querneus wrote:A compound I find fun is 我国 wǒguó 'our country' (=China), very often seen in news articles... Note that the plural is basically meant even though it doesn't have the 们 -men. In Classical/Literary Chinese, 我 wǒ could be singular or plural, maybe that's the explanation.

It's a typical construction. In business correspondence, 我司 is "my/our company", 我校 is my/our school, 我社 when your orgainisation type is not 公司 but Ｘ社, 我方 is "my/our side" in competitions or debates or contracts etc... It's stuffy but short and sweet. It's not too different from 我媽 我家, and you don't say "our mother" either when you have siblings so I'm not sure "our country" is plural or just convention

Thank you for your replies friends.

Hi Members,

I have another doubt to ask you.

I have just learnt about the following rule regarding tones:

When a 3rd tone is followed by another 3rd tone in a word or a phrase, the first 3rd tone changes to a 2nd tone.

I am listing a few examples below:

- wǒ hěn hǎo is to be pronounced as wó hén hǎo

- wǒ yě shì zhōngguó rén should be pronounced as wó yě shì zhōngguó rén

- wǒ yě hěn hǎo is to be pronounced as wó yé hén hǎo

- The name Lǐ Xiǎolóng should be pronounced as Lí Xiǎolóng

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Thank you.