Lost in Shanghai

[twistedangel]

Does anyone here speak Mandarin Chinese?

I'm in Shanghai (may move here) - and I need to know how to pronounce 大拇指广场. That's where my hotel is.

I know what it MEANS, but don't know how to pronounce it. The cabbies don't speak any english, and I've been on a fun ride already... right out of Shanghai. I need to know how to SAY IT RIGHT.

Can someone write it in white girl english??Like 谢谢 is "shey shey"

Also, is there anything I should make sure and check out while reviewing the location??

I'm in Pu Dong, but are there other cool parts of Shanghai?

谢谢

[FunkTron]

two things!!!!!!!!!

one........you never said bye

two.......i'll stick with one.........

[ncttrnl]

two things!!!!!!!!!

one........you never said bye

two.......i'll stick with one.........

Damn... of all the people to complain about not being called in the morning.

[Kelly Girl]

ha ha!

[bugzy]

kristen i could help :)

[RollinInGreenz]

Pu Dong


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

[FunkTron]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

i know.......sounds like the result of buttseks

[bugzy]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pudong

idiots !!

its a major finance business district of Shanghai, its basically downtown Shanghai

[slowjet]

hahaha... you guys are fuggdup

[Bimmer Pilot]

Cut & Paste that on a notecard and show it to them...

[paultakeda]

I never liked Pudong. Walk the Bund. Visit old Chinatown (yes, there's a Chinatown in Shanghai), the French quarter. These are all nice areas of Shanghai.

大拇指广场 is "Da4 mu3 zhi3 guang3 chang3".

Americanized: "DAH MOO JI GWANG CHANG".

In detail:

Da is basically DAH. The numbers are the tones, which may be difficult. 4 is like an exclamation point. Almost yelling "No!" or something.

Mu is like saying boo (like frightening someone, not booing someone, which has a long oo to it). Tone 3 is a dip. Kinda like when someone asks you a "Are you twistedangel on SocalEuro?" and you're uncertain who this person is and you go "Yeee-es?", where the Yeee is down then the es is up (almost like a question but halfway up). When you have three symbols with this tone in a row the down beat is removed except on the last one (otherwise you'd sound pretty stupid). The up tone alone, like a question mark, is tone 2 (this one is all the way up like asking a question, unlike tone 3). The missing tone 1 is a flat tone, kinda like singing a note, but it can be any note so long as you don't leave it.

The zhi is a J sound combined with the I sound in the word sit (a short I).

Guang is GWANG, where the A pretty flat but not as flat as an American A. If your A is pretty nasal, try saying it but with your mouth shaped more like it would if you were going to pronounce the letter O. The mouth is halfway between that and a really flat A.
CHANG has the same A sound.

谢谢 is pronounced "Xie4 xie4" in pinyin but for Americans maybe "Shyeh! Shyeh!" works better (say that but with your mouth wider than you would normally use to pronounce "shhh").

[paultakeda]

I'd like to point out that the tones are important in the pronunciation. The difference between ma1 and ma3 is that one is your mother and the other is a horse.

You can see how this can cause problems. Hence the long explanation on how to use the tones with something as long as damuzhiguangchang, which if pronounced with the wrong tones can cause any number of confusion.

I remember walking into the Geological Institute of Beijing looking for a man named Wen Guang. I asked if there was a Wen Guang and they all looked completely confused until I described his work. Then they said, "Oh! You mean Wen Guang."

The difference was that I had said Wen2 Guang1 when it really was Wen2 Guang4.

That misunderstanding took thirty minutes to correct.

Bimmer Pilot's suggestion to keep a card with the name written on it is a good idea, particularly if you're there for a very short period. But if you're there for any longer than that, it'll probably be a good idea to pick up the language. ;)

Oh, and by the way, the Shanghainese speak Mandarin in an accent that I find difficult to understand, having learned Mandarin in Beijing. They understood me fine because I sounded like a news reporter, but their accent? Taxicab conversations were always interesting.

[IfYouSeeKay]

I never liked Pudong. Walk the Bund. Visit old Chinatown (yes, there's a Chinatown in Shanghai), the French quarter. These are all nice areas of Shanghai.

大拇指广场 is "Da4 mu3 zhi3 guang3 chang3".

Americanized: "DAH MOO JI GWANG CHANG".

In detail:

Da is basically DAH. The numbers are the tones, which may be difficult. 4 is like an exclamation point. Almost yelling "No!" or something.

Mu is like saying boo (like frightening someone, not booing someone, which has a long oo to it). Tone 3 is a dip. Kinda like when someone asks you a "Are you twistedangel on SocalEuro?" and you're uncertain who this person is and you go "Yeee-es?", where the Yeee is down then the es is up (almost like a question but halfway up). When you have three symbols with this tone in a row the down beat is removed except on the last one (otherwise you'd sound pretty stupid). The up tone alone, like a question mark, is tone 2 (this one is all the way up like asking a question, unlike tone 3). The missing tone 1 is a flat tone, kinda like singing a note, but it can be any note so long as you don't leave it.

The zhi is a J sound combined with the I sound in the word sit (a short I).

Guang is GWANG, where the A pretty flat but not as flat as an American A. If your A is pretty nasal, try saying it but with your mouth shaped more like it would if you were going to pronounce the letter O. The mouth is halfway between that and a really flat A.
CHANG has the same A sound.

谢谢 is pronounced "Xie4 xie4" in pinyin but for Americans maybe "Shyeh! Shyeh!" works better (say that but with your mouth wider than you would normally use to pronounce "shhh").

Dude.... you should teach.

[twistedangel]

I never liked Pudong. Walk the Bund. Visit old Chinatown (yes, there's a Chinatown in Shanghai), the French quarter. These are all nice areas of Shanghai.

大拇指广场 is "Da4 mu3 zhi3 guang3 chang3".

Americanized: "DAH MOO JI GWANG CHANG".

In detail:

Da is basically DAH. The numbers are the tones, which may be difficult. 4 is like an exclamation point. Almost yelling "No!" or something.

Mu is like saying boo (like frightening someone, not booing someone, which has a long oo to it). Tone 3 is a dip. Kinda like when someone asks you a "Are you twistedangel on SocalEuro?" and you're uncertain who this person is and you go "Yeee-es?", where the Yeee is down then the es is up (almost like a question but halfway up). When you have three symbols with this tone in a row the down beat is removed except on the last one (otherwise you'd sound pretty stupid). The up tone alone, like a question mark, is tone 2 (this one is all the way up like asking a question, unlike tone 3). The missing tone 1 is a flat tone, kinda like singing a note, but it can be any note so long as you don't leave it.

The zhi is a J sound combined with the I sound in the word sit (a short I).

Guang is GWANG, where the A pretty flat but not as flat as an American A. If your A is pretty nasal, try saying it but with your mouth shaped more like it would if you were going to pronounce the letter O. The mouth is halfway between that and a really flat A.
CHANG has the same A sound.

谢谢 is pronounced "Xie4 xie4" in pinyin but for Americans maybe "Shyeh! Shyeh!" works better (say that but with your mouth wider than you would normally use to pronounce "shhh").

Thank you Paul. You are a wealth of information. I'm working on my Chinese. I'm pretty good at pronouncing new words... I pick up languages easily

Also, thank you for your suggestions. Your recommendations are pretty much on par with my agenda. I just need to learn to haggle now... any tips??

I'm going to Suzhou on Saturday. I really want to see those gardens...
i know.......sounds like the result of buttseks

You think that's bad ... the company that bought Quorum is on "Long Dong" Road.
Don't worry dude, I'll be back and forth a lot. I've got a lot to deal with in SD still.

Also, the person that said something about a card, that's what I've been doing, but if you're gonna live somewhere, you need to figure out how hard acclimation would be and jump in with both feet.

:D

[bugzy]

suzhou is very nice, the water city sorta

i recommend you find a tour guide that speaks english ... and they can take you around

[twistedangel]

Check this out!! totally cool... works on my blackberry for free!!
http://www.xuezhongwen.net/chindict/mobile.php

Or on your computer
http://www.xuezhongwen.net

I think I'll get that sharper image one that says it out loud to you, also
http://www.sharperimage.com/us/en/catalog/product/sku__FK104

[paultakeda]

Another good one is http://www.zhongwen.com.

Haggling is a learned art form. That you learn by trial and error. Usually I just asked how much, thought about, gave my price, and if they said no I walked away. Sometimes they'll bargain down and I'll just say "keep going". Sometimes they agree immediately. Sometimes they tell me to go take my cheap self out of there. You just have to know how much you want to pay for it and stick to it... like eBay. :)

[twistedangel]

Another good one is http://www.zhongwen.com.

Haggling is a learned art form. That you learn by trial and error. Usually I just asked how much, thought about, gave my price, and if they said no I walked away. Sometimes they'll bargain down and I'll just say "keep going". Sometimes they agree immediately. Sometimes they tell me to go take my cheap self out of there. You just have to know how much you want to pay for it and stick to it... like eBay. :)

Went down to the textile mall yesterday ... the prices were already 1/4 of the US price. Funny how easy it is to walk away over a $.75 difference tho ... You know you're a cheap ass when their eyes pop. And how cheap 25 Y really is, you're already down from 40 Y. I am bringing home some nice shirting and a few beautiful silks and silk velvets.

Is it true that some vendors can actually be offended if you don't even try to haggle? Someone told me it's like not giving them any of your time.

Dang the food is good here, got some awesome duck down on Haihuai. A feast of a king for $55 US ... two people and a bottle of wine. Haven't tried the shark fin but the Hairy Crab is awesome.

Going to try to score a few full box purchases for Xmas stocking stuffers now... I like this this kind of shopping!!

[bugzy]

and thats expensive

if you leave shanghai, you'll find a kings meal will cost you like $10 ;)

[twistedangel]

BTW - I'm back. I'm still up in the air as to whether or not I'm moving to Shanghai or not. And if I do, it won't be anytime soon.

Got that sharper image translator. And returned it.
Everyone should know that it sucks @ss.

Again, thanks everyone for the help!! Where do I get a king's feast around here for $10? I gotta say all of the Chinese food I've had here is nowhere as good as what I had there....