Comments on: 6 things in Chinese that are harder to learn than they seem

By: 武文山

武文山 — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 13:59:21 +0000

One of the issues with children’s books at the lower ages is that they are often designed for the parent to read alongside the child, which means it’s not as important to keep them simple. I’ve found that books aimed at a slightly higher age, when kids are starting to read by themselves, are easier. Even so, you still need reasonably good vocabulary to manage. Sometimes non-fiction books aimed at kids are also worth a look if you pick the topic carefully.

By: Olle Linge

Olle Linge — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 09:15:53 +0000

In reply to Harmony. Good idea! I think it depends on target age of the books, though. Like you say, books for very young children will be suitable for very young children. Those are not harder than people think, it's more that they use vocabulary that adults normally don't need, even though you bring up an excellent counter example! However, that doesn't work for the type of book I showed in the article, though, because that's just unnecessarily hard for non-advanced students.

By: Harmony

Harmony — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 01:56:14 +0000

I generally agree, but I did want to chime in that reading content designed for kids is actually super helpful if you are in the situation of having a kid that you’re trying to speak Chinese with. Perhaps not surprisingly, it turns out a lot of vocabulary used in children’s literature is exactly what you need for talking with kids. I’ve been learning Chinese off and on for over a decade so while I’m not a beginner, I have been repeatedly stumped by my adult vocabulary’s insufficiencies when it comes to conversation with a toddler. I agree that the premise of the article, that it’s not easy to start with kids’ stuff is true, but interestingly there’s actually a whole community of people who aren’t necessarily fluent in Chinese but trying to get their kids exposed who are struggling their way through kids’ books to keep their young ones engaged.

By: Will Buckingham

Will Buckingham — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 07:11:53 +0000

This is so true when it comes to children’s books. I can read academic philosophy okay because philosophers use limited, technical vocabulary (bless them) and repeat themselves endlessly. Children’s books, though, can be so much tougher…