Comments on: Reading manga in Chinese for more than just pleasure

By: 8 great ways to scaffold your Chinese learning | Hacking Chinese | Hacking Chinese

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 12:10:44 +0000

[…] too! Naturally, you should start by picking reading resources that already have some visualisation, from simple illustrations or pictures to graphic novels and comics. As was the case for listening comprehension, simply having some idea of the context the language […]

By: Chat your way to better Chinese | Hacking Chinese

Chat your way to better Chinese | Hacking Chinese — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 12:42:21 +0000

[…] Spoken language in written form – One unique advantage of text chats is that you can see the spoken language in written form. People don’t type exactly what they would have said in a conversation, but it’s much closer to naturally spoken language than the dialogues in a film or novel, not to mention your textbook. This allows you to see words written down that you have previously only heard in spoken conversations and might have struggled to understand or link to the written language. The only other good way to do this is to read comics in Chinese, which often also has very colloquia… […]

By: The 10 best free Chinese reading resources for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners - Hacking Chinese

Sun, 18 Sep 2022 20:55:45 +0000

[…] to remove scaffolding, turn it on to add it). My favourite example of this is, without a doubt, reading comics/manga to learn Chinese. It’s an excellent example of how pictures can help your reading […]

By: Jorge Arraño

Jorge Arraño — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 14:34:27 +0000

Hi, could you suggest any manga (or Manhua) for beginners in Traditional Chinese (actually, I live in Taiwan)? I love to read, but the class book (level 1) is so dull.

PD: great article!

By: Olle Linge

Olle Linge — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 09:26:51 +0000

In reply to Elaine Gardner. I'd say interest trumps utility, although I agree with them that it can be confusing. I would much prefer newer material if your goal is to improve Mandarin for communicative purposes. If you're more after enjoyment, then do whatever you like best!

By: Elaine Gardner

Elaine Gardner — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 08:44:03 +0000

Hi Ollie! I’m older and have been trying to learn this beautiful language for probably 2 years now. Unfortunately, I’ve had a LOT of interruptions, mainly health/medication-related, but since my Son moving to China has been put on hold for right now; I’m no longer in a rush to try and cram as much learning as possible into a short amount of time. To be honest, (and maybe part of it is my age ?), I’m finding I’m actually learning MORE taking a more relaxed attitude these days. I’m also having more fun, experimenting with different things like your WordSwing app and I have more Chinese children’s books, manga and “readers” than I’ll probably ever get around to using! I’m also going to be helping out a young couple I’ve gotten to know in Taiwan who have started their own company-actually, they’ve been doing it for awhile, but they’re trying to reorganize it, make it a real course and something they can do full-time. I’ve often referred them to your sites for questions or suggestions. ?. Recently, I got dragged into freelance writing and researching again and because it’s an extremely heavy, involved subject, and can be nerve-wracking, I am often “escaping” into my Chinese studies or reading. As I told my friends yesterday who were concerned about me-I NEED it. I’ve ALWAYS, from a turbulent childhood to a chaotic & often over-active adulthood, used learning and reading as an escape. Some people turn to drugs and alcohol in my former profession (I was an ER Doc ?. Put myself through Medical School as a single Mom with 3 kids and several jobs. Then, I lost everything after an accident, spinal injury and divorce. And that’s only a tiny snippet!), I turned to books. I lost most everything in a Fire about 5 years ago. The Fire Dept asked me if I needed to save anything, they probably could before everything went up in flames. “My cat and my books”. Unfortunately, I lost my cat, but they saved most of my library. (I had firemen coming by for months asking if they could borrow books they had seen ?. They also brought me a month-old abandoned kitten, who now seems to understand Chinese more than English. My Chinese friends have bugged me to get her on Weibo..maybe one day soon ?)
I DO, obviously have a question. One of my tutors, (my first one, a lovely young man who’s considered a “genius” in China and who I watched go from college grad at 18, to CFO, to now working as a professional translator after going through a prestigious program in Beijing.) has sent me most of these books and manga anthologies. I’m having particular problems with one, a very old series called SanMao. Because these were done in the ‘40’s -‘60’s, they are a mix of mainly traditional, but some have been updated to simplified. Although these ARE my favorites, Weiwei, my tutor, as well as my friends in Taiwan, are now saying I might want to pack these away for awhile because they could do more to confuse me. Weiwei thought they had all been updated-they haven’t. He’s concerned i’m Spending too much time learning out-dated language that isn’t even used anymore. I, however, am enjoying the “puzzle” aspect and just got the paid pack of Outlier in Pleco. The etymology fascinates me and I have also been learning some Chinese calligraphy with a sweet elderly lady, the grandmother of one of my son’s friends who is also a retired professor. Of course, SHE thinks it’s great that I’m trying to read SanMao!
I really respect your views on these things and would love to hear what you think before I start on a set Weiwei sent me last year. The history and culture in these books also fascinate me; but if you think it could also interfere with my, probably upper-beginner learning level, I’ll back off for now.
What says the learned Ollie? ?

By: Malte

Malte — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 12:11:06 +0000

Thanks for this interesting article. It just reminded me of my last months from my first year in China. I ordered the whole Dragonball Series online (42 Mangas) and as I had nothing else to do I read them all day. Took me about a month to finish them all but it was so much fun and such a good feeling to be able to read something that’s kinda like a book. Later on I started with Conan as it had more difficult vocabulary.

I also can recommend watching Animes in Chinese.

By: Preparing for rainy days and dealing with slumps | Hacking Chinese - 揭密中文

Preparing for rainy days and dealing with slumps | Hacking Chinese - 揭密中文 — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 04:22:56 +0000

[…] …manga, read comics and watch movies, pick a genre you like […]

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 06:13:24 +0000

*collective

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 06:12:18 +0000

This is a great article and it touches on all the elements of why reading 漫画 has become my preferred study method. My complete set of Dragonball books has taught me countless colloquial phrases and 成语, not to mention that the story is a fun read no matter your age. The characters are all very well-developed and represent themselves in fitting speech patterns: precocious kid, stuck-up teenage girl, dirty old man, bumbling would-be robbers, etc. This series in particular is fairly beloved by the collected Chinese inner child. I am shameless by nature, but I’ve never had an unpleasant conversation started with strangers or peers when they see me reading Dragonball or similar series (I’m 25). The foreigner card lets you get away with a bit, so I suggest not taking oneself too seriously. I have taken on a pretty intense collecting habit for 漫画,and would like to offer a few more suggestions:
Dr. Slump (I.Q. 博士）same author as Dragonball, a sight-gag comedy about an android girl and her creator.
Crayon Shinchan (蜡笔小心）a comedy about a perverted 5-y/o and the shenanigans he puts his family through.
Ranma 1/2 (乱马1/2) A martial arts comedy about a boy suffering a curse which turns him into a female whenever he gets wet.