#bc its like the two hardest things to draw combined into one
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hi mann, im here for the matchup event? if im doing it wrong then feel free to ignore lmao
fandom: jjk
three things abt me:
- i startsd using dude and bro as a joke, but i don think its a joke anymore
- im awkwardly tall and im kinda smart but also dumb at the same time, everything else is kinda in the average or above average ngl
- i hate being the center of attention
dynamic:
- i want a dynamic that's like a me thinking the worse of the other bc of their outward personality, but after meeting them i get whiplash and suddenly they're my best friend. a 'Damn i hated u at first but you're actually rlly cool, srry for being judgemental lol'
what i want in a partner:
- i want a partner that would help me during social situations and lead the way bc Anxiety™
who i get along with:
- i get along with ppl who are like, the Opposite of me, outgoing, extroverted, willing to lead or be the center of attention
this took way too long for me to ask but yolo ✌️
Your Match Is
Itadori Yuuji
Why?
Itadori is selfless. He would do almost anything to help others, no matter how deep or shallow their connection is.
He's naturally a leader
Maybe not a good one, but he will try his best to direct attention away from you if you don't want it.
Like I said, he's willing to help with most everything. If you communicate your anxiety to him, he'll do anything to help alleviate that.
🂠🃑🃁🂱🂡
First Impressions
Itadori never really seemed all that interesting to you. In all honesty, his outgoing personality just doesn't sit right with you. That combined with the curse in his body, attention practically follows him everywhere he goes. Being around him just seems... tiring.
To him, however, you're interesting and friend shaped. Despite being pretty average to most, he just stares up at you with stars in his eyes. (Which usually results in you having to awkwardly shuffle around him).
First impressions are a doozy, huh?
🂠🃑🃁🂱🂡
Meeting
Itadori will try his damn hardest to be your friend.
You're in the courtyard?
Well shucks looks like he's there too.
You're walking to or from classes?
You can bet he'll be somewhere nearby, trying to get your attention in a totally non-creepy way.
Eventually it gets to the point where you wonder just what is up with him. He's always lurking around and never saying anything!
So you, being a completely rational guy, decide to confront him about it.
And by confront, you stayed up late into the night trying to figure out how to deal with this huge fucking ball of sunshine.
Which, by the way, was a total bust because Itadori was planning on doing the exact same thing.
The next day, you were mustering up your courage in order to talk to him, but he beat you to it.
You were in the library for whatever reason when he just happily bounds up to you and sits down.
You just look at him and ponder what the hell you've got to say.
Eventually you just settle with "Why are you following me?"
He sputters a bit.
He really didn't intend for it to be creepy or weird, but he supposes that that's how it came across.
"I just noticed that you don't really like hanging around people much," he shyly turned his head away, "So I just kinda wanted to keep an okay distance before saying anything."
Your face went blank. Seriously?
His nature is loud and outgoing, and maybe being around him is tiring.
Even so, the considerate way he tried to keep his distance was kind of heartwarming.
You shrugged and looked back down at whatever you were doing.
"Sure."
How He Is
Itadori will one hundred percent lead for you. If you get nervous ordering something, or there are a ton of people and you're feeling anxious, or if you're just feeling uneasy in general, he'll try his hardest to ease the discomfort. He'll order for you, or draw peoples attention away.
He will lead for you, and that's what makes you two a good fit.
🂠🃑🃁🂱🂡
Honorable Mention
Nobara Kugisaki
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episode 8 thoughts
i was gonna watch later, since i’ve got other things to do, but i burnt the shit out of my hands making hot chocolate like an idiot so i watched an episode first LOL.
this episode starts out with that really strong fairy tale scenery i absolutely adore, with yusaku and ai trying their hardest to get blue angel to wake up.
i seriously could talk about the imagery in this scene for days lmao. i love the sleeping beauty aesthetic, but i also really love the colors. LV goes through so many different color palettes through the series, but i love the purples and blues of this area here. i’m not sure if the intention was to make blue angel seem like she was meant to be there, while in contrast playmaker stands out due to his hair, but i seriously replayed this section twice because it looked so nice.
i have a lot to say about this episode, and it will also be my most screenshot heavy post so far lol, so once again, buckle up!
this episode starts to really build up yusaku as a character - his sense of justice, his core values, etc etc. on top of that, it takes its time to flesh out akira, and to show his worse qualities, which we’ll get into in a minute.
first, though, is one of my favorite awkward exchanges in the series lmao:
i’m surprised he even caught onto what akira was getting at, tbh with y’all. vrains started out ship teasing yusaku/aoi really hard these episodes, but drop it almost completely up until the minimal tease we get in s3, which i find really funny. i was always really invested in them becoming friends, though, so while i’m happy we had that happen in s3, i would’ve really liked to see it happen earlier. not this early, though - yusaku’s nowhere near ready for that.
I HAD TOTALLY FORGOTTEN VYRA WAS HERE. yugioh hair makes it known that she’s going to be an important character, but i had really completely forgotten she was working as one of aoi’s doctors during this part lmao. i love this so much, actually.
moving onto everyone talking shit about blue angel on forums and stuff. this kinda shit:
would be really awful to deal with. it’s very real, though - cancel culture, anyone? but seriously, this is so brutal. on top of that, does this imply that she’s never really lost before? she is the number 2 charisma duelist in LV, so i wouldn’t be terribly surprised if that meant that she hadn’t really lost since starting to make it big as an idol. once again showing off how good of a duelist aoi actually is, even if the show makes her lose a lot. tbf, her loss/win ratio isn’t that bad looking at the other main girls - 5 wins, 5 losses on screen, and considering the kind of opponents she faced (soulburner, bohman, ai), that’s seriously not bad.
next up we get the chess pieces again, and boy howdy, does this conversation make me seethe.
i understand it’s partially a cultural difference thing, but i can’t help but get angry about it LOL.
i didn’t remember how often the chess pieces were actually utilized in these first few episodes, either. i guess i can understand why people were irritated they were just dropped, but i don’t really see them as a plot point, more like... just a kind of weird way to run a company? just show your faces and have normal meetings like everyone else, y’all don’t have to be so extra.
the akira/emma meeting is nice because it shows you more of emma’s character, but it also gives you more of akira’s stupider (and ruthless) side.
you don’t see him like this very often, but honestly, when you think about all the unsavory jobs he was doing to keep him and aoi afloat way back when, it kind of makes sense. even if he was originally a gentle person, you don’t last doing... any of the jobs he’s done, being that way. even a higher up in a company like SOL tech would have to be a bit harsher to get to that point imo. i don’t see a lot of people talk about this side of akira’s character tbh which makes me kind of sad.
also, seriously, he’s an idiot. how did he arrive at this conclusion? when he saw that it was aoi who was baiting him into the duel? no matter what direction i approach this from, i can’t understand how he ended up on that conclusion lol.
also, the worst father ever award goes to....
seriously! i hate that man so much lmao. to say that directly to your own child, on top of everything else...
it’s a nice look into revolver, too, though you wouldn’t know it at first glance. his reply says everything, though. he fully accepts his role in his father’s life and has an incredibly toxic attachment to him, and wants his approval more than anything. we never see him get physically abused by kogami or anything of the sort, but you can’t deny the mental anguish he must’ve been going through in order to keep on his father’s good side.
i know a lot of people like to say that revolver is kind of not a great guy, seeing the tower of hanoi arc, and how he probably should’ve went to jail etc etc but really, he was manipulated hard core. and extremely suicidal. i could really talk a lot about this all day, but i’ll cut myself off and instead say how much i love how vrains sets up revolver as a character. this, combined with “i’ll fulfill your wishes, father” from episode 3 gives you his motivations nice and clearly, but this specific scene also gives a bit of a hint as to where his character arc goes and what he has to work through. just thinking about this makes me so excited to get to 116 again lmao.
anyways, though. another excellent exchange comes up. seriously, lmao, ai being like “waaaah that’s illegal !!!!” and kusanagi’s just very casual
makes me laugh every time i see it. they are criminals, even if what they’re doing is for the greater good. they’re not exactly innocent here lmao.
then there’s the talk about the virus infecting her, and it’s a nice way to bring up how that works before the another arc comes up in.. a couple of episodes, right? tbh it’s the arc i remember the least about, so i’m looking forward to rewatching it.
actually though, the idea of viruses in LV being able to infect someone’s body is so, so interesting. i really, really wish they had done more with the whole LV/rl merge idea, but guess i’ll just have to write more fanfic instead lol.
i mentioned at the beginning of this post we get into yusaku as a character more here, and this is one of the lines that really made him interesting to me originally:
he has such a strong sense of justice, but what sets him apart from other ygo protags is that he is not defined by it. he’s not the classic, stereotypical do-gooder who gets caught up in something and has to make it right, his justice is more so that he is not okay with seeing other people hurt because of what happened to him. his justice is driven by his trauma, almost entirely.
revolver even brings it up this episode:
where he talks about how some rando wouldn’t have done them any good because it wouldn’t have been public enough. yusaku doesn’t really care about the little people, not in the same way, say, yugi would. it’s not that he wants them to be hurt or see them get hurt or anything, it’s just that unless it effects him directly, it’s not on his radar. but once he gets involved, he feels fully responsible.
while he didn’t plant the hanoi virus into her, he probably knows it was to intentionally draw him out thanks to ai (and the fact that he beats them up all the time). he feels fully responsible for what happened to her, and he’s prepared to do what is needed to make it right again.
i really like yusaku for this. i find those kinds of characters really interesting, and yusaku is no exception.
we get the whole emma/blue angel/yusaku scene, which is pretty sick tbh looking at it again - just shoot a church straight up from the ground for dramatic effect! - and i’ll bring up more of akira’s ruthlessness here.
seriously, this is not a line from someone who is just angry about his sister. and it’s also him being fuckin DUMB. playmaker willingly lets himself get caught into your trap, and he tells akira straight up what he has to do to save his sister - no sugar coating it, no trying to make it cryptic or difficult despite being caught in that hand and in that trap. he’s incredibly honest, and akira still does this lmao.
then it’s probably the wildest turn of events in all of vrains:
where’s that post that’s like, “remember when playmaker gets caught in a gothic looking church while he’s getting tormented by a giant demon hand controlled by his classmate’s brother and then his rival who he hasn’t met yet shows up in a lightning bolt to save him”? bc really LMAO what the fuck. it was so hype watching it the first time, and it’s still awesome watching it back.
and why is this never really??? brought up again later???? and when he leaves in that datastorm to go prepare to fight playmaker LMAO i know it’s supposed to look cool but the animation is so dorky, i love it.
more on yusaku, though. before playmaker goes to fight revolver, who he’s been gearing towards for awhile now, we get this exchange:
to which playmaker responds with “i don’t hate you. i only hate the knights of hanoi”. which is another really good moment for his early characterization and very, very consistent with his backstory that we find out in about 12 episodes.
everyone who wasn’t involved in the LI in any way just... exists to him. they’re completely neutral. if something happens to them because of him, he feels directly responsible, because he feels like he got them tangled up in a mess that nobody should be in. i mentioned that briefly earlier, but this really drives that point home.
he doesn’t even hate akira for torturing him mere minutes ago. because he’s been through worse. because akira was doing what he thought was right by his sister, no matter how stupid he was being.
and even more so than that, he’s not seeing this as fighting for akira. he feels responsible for blue angel, but also, here’s his chance to fight revolver. it’s a two birds one stone situation here for him.
anyways, i’m gonna stop myself there lol this is really long OOPS. gotta take care of a few things, and then onto the first rev vs playmaker duel!
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here you go @baura-bear (i’ve also definitely done these before but i know i’ve changed so)
1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?
i’m kind of a hoarder so all of them?? but mostly mugs and water bottles
2. chocolate bars or lollipops?
CHOCOLATE
3. bubblegum or cotton candy
cotton candy slaps
4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?
very shy but a good learner
5. do you prefer to drink soda from cans, bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?
soda sounds really unappealing right now so none?
6. pastel, boho, tomboys, preppy, goth, grunge, formal, or sportswear?
a combo of boho tomboy and grunge
7. earbuds or headphones?
earbuds
8. movies or tv shows?
i don’t have the patience for either, podcasts are superior
9. favorite smell in the summer?
i walked by this couple yesterday who had ice cream and just... the smell of sugared cream and waffle cones.... delicious
10. game you were best at in pe?
volleyball maybe, but i still wasn’t good at that
11. what do you have for breakfast on an average day?
a granola bar, which sucks bc my first period is choir this year so i won’t be able to eat first period!!
12. name of your favorite playlist?
“oh boy i’m pining for someone”
13. lanyard or keyring?
my keychain is so heavy that wearing a lanyard would slowly break my neck
14. favorite non-chocolate candy?
GUMMI BEARS!!!!!!!
15. favorite book you’ve read as a school assignment?
either romeo and juliet, to kill a mockingbird, or and then there were none
16. most comfortable position to sit in
i like legs crossed but i also like just the ideal Leg Bounce position
17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?
my grey converse high tops
18. ideal weather?
like... 60 degrees and mildly cloudy
19. sleeping position?
on my side or occasionally on my stomach
20. preferred place to write?
in a notebook, writing on my laptop gets old after a while
21. obsession from childhood?
MAGIC TREE HOUSE or dolls in general
22. role model?
eva fucking noblezada
23. strange habits?
i like to shake my foot when i see something i like (is this stimming? probably and i kind of like it)
24. favorite crystal
emerald but just bc it’s my birthstone
25. first song you remember hearing?
probably something off of rumors by fleetwood mac
26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?
i hate warm weather but i like shopping
27. favorite activity to do in cold weather
go to school?? i kind of feel like my outfits are the coolest in winter and that gets me a lot of compliments
28. five songs that describe you?
just pick five random queen songs and it’ll probably be pretty accurate
29. best way to bond with you?
literally just talk to me. i can ramble for hours about shit you probably don’t care about
30. places that you find sacred?
my bedroom and the two giant woods in my hometown
31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?
basically just blue jeans a flannel and a black tank top. not very cool but i feel nice in it
32. top five favorite vines
all i can think of rn is i’m gonna munch i’m gonna crunch so there’s that (stream revolution lover)
33. most used phrase in your phone?
fdhslfhdjslkfdk or any other keyspam
34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?
i have adblock lmao
35. average time you fall asleep
like 12:30 now that it’s summer
36. what is the first meme you remember seeing?
ehrmagerd or however you spell it
37. suitcase or duffel bag?
duffel bag
38. lemonade or tea
both, including when they’re combined (arnold palmers slap)
39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?
cake
40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school
high school: this past year’s senior prank which did give me a mental breakdown but it was kind of hilarious
middle school: The Smell
41. last person you texted?
my dad
42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?
pants, i always feel like shit will fall out of my jacket pockets
43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket, or bomber jacket?
hoodie and cardigan, Maximum Coze
44. favorite soap scent?
i kind of like dessert scents
45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy, or superhero?
none of them??
46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?
my fav flannel which is very soft and underwear
47. favorite type of cheese?
the one that comes on pizza
48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?
....... a watermelon? i look pretty appealing from the outside but i’m actually 92% water
49. what saying or quote do you live by?
andre deshields’ three rules to longevity from the tonys :,)
50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?
i can’t remember but i’ve definitely peed myself laughing in like... elementary school
51. current stresses?
“am i waiting too long to snap back my crush” and “OH SHIT I HAVEN’T STARTED ANY OF MY ESSAYS”
52. favorite font?
helvetica or comic sans if i’m in the mood
53. what is the current state of your hands?
i last washed them like 30 mins ago, my left hand’s nails are painted black, and my right pointer finger is bleeding
54. what did you learn from your first job?
i haven’t had one yet lol
55. favorite fairy tale?
i have no idea
56. favorite tradition?
i don’t really have any noteworthy ones
57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?
That Time In October 2017, The Week Of May 6 2019, and The Week Of Mamma Mia Auditions And The Week After (those are the official titles in my brain lmao)
58. four talents you’re proud of having?
i have a good fashion sense, people tend to like my art?? i’m good in a choir?? and i guess i’m a bit naturally smart
59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?
something like “i’m gay”
60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?
some combination of yuri on ice and ouran high school host club
61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc?
i particularly like that one dude in hp and the sorcerer’s stone that was described as a toothless walnut
62. seven characters you relate to?
uhh my mind is really drawing a blank rn
63. five songs that would play in your club?
like... a combination of 70′s queen, cousin simple, and memes that’ll make people go buckwild
64. favorite website from your childhoos?
girlsgogames
65. any permanent scars?
(small tw) i have a scar on my left middle finger from when i tried to change razor blades and i just noticed today i have one single self harm scar left on my left leg and nnnnnnnhhhhhhh
66. favorite flowers?
roses and ik ferns don’t count but ferns are v pretty
67. good luck charms?
i have the shittiest luck lmao
68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?
i’m infamous for never trying new foods
69. a fun fact you don’t know how you learned?
idk, pretty much every fun fact ever?
70. left or right handed?
right
71. least favorite pattern?
like.... stripes of any kind make me look fatter than i am
72. worst subject
physical science, but it’s all bc of my shitty teacher
73. favorite weird flavor combo?
uhhhh fries and a wendy’s frosty?? or sometimes i squeeze a lemon into my coke
74. at what pain level out of ten do you have to be at before you take a pill?
hahahahahahaha i can’t swallow pills so i suffer
75. when did you lose your first tooth
i have no fuckin clue
76. what’s your favorite potato food?
fries!!!!! good!!
77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?
ferns or cacti
78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?
neither?
79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?
my school id but only bc i don’t have a license yet lmao
80. earth or jewel tones?
earth
81. fireflies or lightning bugs?
fireflies
82. pc or console?
pc?? although all i play on is my laptop which isn’t technically a pc
83. writing or drawing?
neither rn, i’m feeling uninspired
84. podcasts or talk radio?
P O D C A S T S
85. barbie or polly pocket?
neither, i was a liv doll kid
86. fairy tales or mythology?
mythology but i can also dig some like... brothers grimm shit
87. cookies or cupcakes?
both but it depends on my mood (i could really go for a cookie rn)
88. your greatest fear?
experiencing eternal blackness after death
89. your greatest wish?
move into an apartment with my soulmate and act for a living
90. who would you put before everyone else?
nobody really rn
91. luckiest mistake?
coming out to my parents maybe? although it wasn’t a mistake, i would defo be in a bad place if i was closested at home
92. boxes or bags?
i have no clue
93. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight, or fairy lights?
fairy lights!!
94. nicknames?
none but if any future partners can come up with one for me i will marry them instantly
95. favorite season?
fall or spring
96. favorite app on your phone?
instagram or tik tok (KILL ME)
97. desktop background?
a nice landscape one of my fav artists painted
98. how many phone numbers have you memorized?
just my own lmao
99. favorite historical era?
60′s/70′s (i hate to be that bitch but that’s when music was at its peak)
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10 Facts About the Chinese Language
Chinese is one of the two world languages with over a billion speakers. It is the most used mother tongue on the planet with over 900 million native speakers and more learning it as their second (or more) language. Let's take a look at 10 facts you should know about this complicated and very different language.
1. Chinese Is the Most Used Mother Tongue
China has many minority groups that speak their own unique languages and dialects but Mandarin Chinese is still the most used language in China.
While the Internet has sealed the place of English as the most used (second) language, Chinese (Mandarin) still holds the top position as the most used mother tongue. In 2010, the number of Chinese native speakers totaled 955 million people. Just think of how many more people you'd be able to talk to after learning some Chinese!
2. It's Considered One of the Hardest Languages to Learn
Multiple factors blend together into making Chinese one of the hardest languages learn for native English speakers. With a different writing system, different grammar, and even different pronunciation style and sound, there are not many things English and Chinese have in common. People who wish to study Chinese must put in years of work to reach fluency and even then it is rare to achieve native-like proficiency. Typically, you must learn 3,000 characters in order to be considered fluent enough to read the morning newspaper. However, the language consists of tens of thousands of characters that make ultimate fluency a daunting task.
Further complicating the issue is the fact that the written forms of Chinese words give no clues on the pronunciation and must be learned separately. With over 67% of the words being made up of two or more characters, you can see how it earns the title as one of the most difficult languages to learn.
3. Chinese Has Different Calligraphy Styles
Artists work diligently to perfect the art of their calligraphy.
There are five traditional forms of Chinese calligraphy: Seal Character, Official Script, Formal Script, Running Script, Formal Script, Running Script, and Cursive Hand. These are considered classical arts and representative of Chinese art styles. The most popular calligraphy style is the Seal Character style developed by the Han people. It first appeared during the Zhou Dynasty (1045 - 221 BC) and is still popular among calligraphy artists today.
4. Chinese Has The Most Similar Sounding Words
Thanks to its unique sound system, Chinese is filled with similar sounding words. This makes it quite difficult for non-native speakers to differentiate between words and sound combinations. When you add in the ones we will discuss below, it adds up to make Chinese one of the most difficult languages listen to and understand. Since we have not been exposed to these similar sounds, it is often impossible for English speakers to pick out the differences.
5. It's the Only Modern Pictographic Language
These 3 mountain peaks show how the character 山 came to be.
Reminiscent of hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt, Chinese is the only extant pictographic language.
The Chinese language was developed using images, which means in its simplest form it resembles a game of Pictionary. Many (not all) of the Chinese characters we use today come from ancient drawings of the items they are meant to describe. This can be very helpful for those learning Chinese for the first time. A common example is a word for mountain "shan, 山." The three points of the character are meant to resemble the three peaks of a mountain ridge.
6. Chinese Handwriting Is the Most Unrecognizable
While most of us in the West have a hard time recognizing the handwriting on our prescriptions, the Chinese struggle with handwriting in almost every situation. This is due to the large variation in writing styles and the changes that occur between typed text and handwritten characters.
For example, the most used character (de, 的) has a very neat structure when typed here but becomes almost unrecognizable (a couple of loops) when scrawled at speed by native speakers of Chinese. Because we learn from books where clearly font text is used, making the transition to reading handwritten Chinese is incredibly difficult for language learners.
7. Chinese Is One of the Oldest Languages Still in Use
A man draws characters carefully with a brush and water in the park.
The origin of Chinese comes from the discovery of the famous Oracle Bones and what is believed to be the earliest samplings of Chinese script. These bones date from the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE). With such a rich history, Chinese has obviously undergone many changes and influences due to wars and cultural shifts. However, the language has taken these all in stride and continued to grow.
8. Chinese Is a Tonal Language
If you are an English speaker first learning Chinese, the most difficult part may very well be the five tones. Since Chinese is a tonal language, the meaning of your words can change drastically based on the tone you use to pronounce them.
For example, the syllable ma can have multiple different meanings depending on whether you speak it using the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth (neutral) tone: mā má mǎ mà ma. This can cause some serious errors for Chinese learners. You don't want to slip up and call your mother (妈, mā) a horse (马, mǎ).
9. The Most Complicated Character in Chinese Is...
biang Chinese character
You might be thinking it would be difficult to pick one character as the MOST difficult and complex out of all the varied characters in Chinese. However, there is one character so complex it stands out from the rest: biang. and it takes a total of 57 strokes or 11 radicals (pictographic parts) to write. It's an onomatopoeia for the sound of noodles slapping against the chef's table. The word occurs in the famous biangbiang noodle dish, (biángbiáng miàn).
[𪚥 (zhé 'verbose') and 𠔻 (zhèng 'flourishing') each have 64 strokes, but both repeat a radical four times, so aren't really so complicated.]
10. Borrowed Words from English Might Sound Familiar
When you're walking around China, you might be surprised at the number of words you're able to pick up quickly. Thanks to an increase in exposure to Western culture, Chinese has many loanwords, or words borrowed from English, in use today. Some examples include: kafei (咖啡 /kaa-fay/) = coffee, shafa (沙发 /shaa-faa/) = sofa, and qiaokeli (巧克力 /chyaow-ker-lee/) = chocolate.
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10 Facts about Chinese Language
Chinese is one of the two world languages with over a billion speakers. It is the most used mother tongue on the planet with over 900 million native speakers and more learning it as their second (or more) language. Let's take a look at 10 facts you should know about this complicated and very different language.
1. Chinese Is the Most Used Mother Tongue
China has many minority groups that speak their own unique languages and dialects but Mandarin Chinese is still the most used language in China.
While the Internet has sealed the place of English as the most used (second) language, Chinese (Mandarin) still holds the top position as the most used mother tongue. In 2010, the number of Chinese native speakers totaled 955 million people. Just think of how many more people you'd be able to talk to after learning some Chinese!
2. It's Considered One of the Hardest Languages to Learn
Multiple factors blend together into making Chinese one of the hardest languages learn for native English speakers. With a different writing system, different grammar, and even different pronunciation style and sound, there are not many things English and Chinese have in common. People who wish to study Chinese must put in years of work to reach fluency and even then it is rare to achieve native-like proficiency. Typically, you must learn 3,000 characters in order to be considered fluent enough to read the morning newspaper. However, the language consists of tens of thousands of characters that make ultimate fluency a daunting task.
Further complicating the issue is the fact that the written forms of Chinese words give no clues on the pronunciation and must be learned separately. With over 67% of the words being made up of two or more characters, you can see how it earns the title as one of the most difficult languages to learn.
3. Chinese Has Different Calligraphy Styles
Artists work diligently to perfect the art of their calligraphy.
There are five traditional forms of Chinese calligraphy: Seal Character, Official Script, Formal Script, Running Script, Formal Script, Running Script, and Cursive Hand. These are considered classical arts and representative of Chinese art styles. The most popular calligraphy style is the Seal Character style developed by the Han people. It first appeared during the Zhou Dynasty (1045 - 221 BC) and is still popular among calligraphy artists today.
4. Chinese Has The Most Similar Sounding Words
Thanks to its unique sound system, Chinese is filled with similar sounding words. This makes it quite difficult for non-native speakers to differentiate between words and sound combinations. When you add in the ones we will discuss below, it adds up to make Chinese one of the most difficult languages listen to and understand. Since we have not been exposed to these similar sounds, it is often impossible for English speakers to pick out the differences.
5. It's the Only Modern Pictographic Language
These 3 mountain peaks show how the character 山 came to be.
Reminiscent of hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt, Chinese is the only extant pictographic language.
The Chinese language was developed using images, which means in its simplest form it resembles a game of Pictionary. Many (not all) of the Chinese characters we use today come from ancient drawings of the items they are meant to describe. This can be very helpful for those learning Chinese for the first time. A common example is a word for mountain "shan, 山." The three points of the character are meant to resemble the three peaks of a mountain ridge.
6. Chinese Handwriting Is the Most Unrecognizable
While most of us in the West have a hard time recognizing the handwriting on our prescriptions, the Chinese struggle with handwriting in almost every situation. This is due to the large variation in writing styles and the changes that occur between typed text and handwritten characters.
For example, the most used character (de, 的) has a very neat structure when typed here but becomes almost unrecognizable (a couple of loops) when scrawled at speed by native speakers of Chinese. Because we learn from books where clearly font text is used, making the transition to reading handwritten Chinese is incredibly difficult for language learners.
7. Chinese Is One of the Oldest Languages Still in Use
A man draws characters carefully with a brush and water in the park.
The origin of Chinese comes from the discovery of the famous Oracle Bones and what is believed to be the earliest samplings of Chinese script. These bones date from the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE). With such a rich history, Chinese has obviously undergone many changes and influences due to wars and cultural shifts. However, the language has taken these all in stride and continued to grow.
8. Chinese Is a Tonal Language
If you are an English speaker first learning Chinese, the most difficult part may very well be the five tones. Since Chinese is a tonal language, the meaning of your words can change drastically based on the tone you use to pronounce them.
For example, the syllable ma can have multiple different meanings depending on whether you speak it using the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth (neutral) tone: mā má mǎ mà ma. This can cause some serious errors for Chinese learners. You don't want to slip up and call your mother (妈, mā) a horse (马, mǎ).
9. The Most Complicated Character in Chinese Is...
biang Chinese character
You might be thinking it would be difficult to pick one character as the MOST difficult and complex out of all the varied characters in Chinese. However, there is one character so complex it stands out from the rest: biang. and it takes a total of 57 strokes or 11 radicals (pictographic parts) to write. It's an onomatopoeia for the sound of noodles slapping against the chef's table. The word occurs in the famous biangbiang noodle dish, (biángbiáng miàn).
[𪚥 (zhé 'verbose') and 𠔻 (zhèng 'flourishing') each have 64 strokes, but both repeat a radical four times, so aren't really so complicated.]
10. Borrowed Words from English Might Sound Familiar
When you're walking around China, you might be surprised at the number of words you're able to pick up quickly. Thanks to an increase in exposure to Western culture, Chinese has many loanwords, or words borrowed from English, in use today. Some examples include: kafei (咖啡 /kaa-fay/) = coffee, shafa (沙发 /shaa-faa/) = sofa, and qiaokeli (巧克力 /chyaow-ker-lee/) = chocolate.
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