City Travel Guides > Books > Chinese

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.Easy-peasy Chinese: Mandarin Chinese for Beginners (Book & CD)
City Travel Guides > Books > Chinese
from: Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd

May 03, 2007
Firstly I'd like to say that I have studied Mandarin before and I bought this because I have recently started studying again, so a lot of what is covered in the earlier stages of this book I already knew.
However that takes nothing away from this book, for a complete beginner this book is worth twice what you pay for it!
The way it's laid out is good, the illustrations make it fun to read, it gives you characters and PinYin from the start which is essential, the CD is useful and the topics covered are also great for building your "Chinese Language Foundations".

My one criticism is that it doesn't cover degree or school subjects and that the vocabularly is still a little thin, sure you could probably go to China for ... Read More:
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Used Price: £4.56

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.Oxford Beginner's Chinese Dictionary
City Travel Guides > Books > Chinese
from: OUP Oxford

September 07, 2006
When I bought this dictionary there was no clear idea which books to get for each part of the language. Most people start speaking along with pinyin writing. Later on most wish to at least try out chinese script with no idea where to go.

This book has all the necessary information and is clearly set out. The two main sections, as expected, are Eng-Chi, Chi-Eng. The definitions set this apart from other dictionaries. English words are matched with common expressions used when a single word translation is not permitted and pinyin words are matched with translations and several contexts in which they may be used.

Along with the definitions are the chinese character equivalent of the pinyin written so finding out how to ... Read More:
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Used Price: £6.04

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.Mandarin Phrasebook (Lonely Planet Phrasebook)
City Travel Guides > Books > Chinese
by: Anthony Garnaut

September 01, 2006
On a trip to China I ordered this phrasebook as I have absolutely no knowledge of Mandarin and was told China was quite difficult to get around in due to the low level of English spoken over there.

In truth, at places like airports staff there will speak English and signs will be written in English. In Beijing airport I was even able to ask a janitor a question in English and he understood me. In more rural China (specifically I went to Fujian province) it's very unlikely that you'll come across someone that can speak English, but places still have some signs in English.

Following on from my previous point, the writing system will pose a problem and is one this book cannot solve, not that it aims to. Rather you will ... Read More:
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Used Price: £0.99

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.First Thousand Words in Chinese (First Thousand Words)
City Travel Guides > Books > Chinese
by: Heather Amery

November 24, 2006
On a trip to China I ordered this phrasebook as I have absolutely no knowledge of Mandarin and was told China was quite difficult to get around in due to the low level of English spoken over there.

In truth, at places like airports staff there will speak English and signs will be written in English. In Beijing airport I was even able to ask a janitor a question in English and he understood me. In more rural China (specifically I went to Fujian province) it's very unlikely that you'll come across someone that can speak English, but places still have some signs in English.

Following on from my previous point, the writing system will pose a problem and is one this book cannot solve, not that it aims to. Rather you will ... Read More:
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Used Price: £2.74

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.Beginner's Chinese - Book and double CD pack (Teach Yourself Languages S.)
City Travel Guides > Books > Chinese
by: Elizabeth Scurfield, Lianyi Song

September 30, 2003
A great way to learn Chinese. I found it fantastic.
There are no translations of the conversations, but all the words and grammar you need to use are given, so you can work out the translations, this makes it a great learning tool.
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Used Price: £14.98

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.A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers
City Travel Guides > Books > Chinese
by: Xiaolu Guo

January 03, 2008
This book apperaed to cover a few literary interests of mine. Mainly Chinese literature. I find the insights into China, past and present, interesting for some reason (but do I need one?). I also enjoy a good story that is able to move me emotionally. This can include a romance story. This book failed to please my appetite in both instances.

I found the structure clever enough to give this review two stars, however.

The potential for this book was big. The diary format is not my favourtie, it has to be said but it is not bad. Overall though, I found the book rushed and lacking a lot of depth. This made any potential for emotion to build non existant. For example, I could not build up any mental picture for what the man looks ... Read More:
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Used Price: £0.01

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.Colloquial Chinese: A Complete Language Course (Colloquial Series)
City Travel Guides > Books > Chinese
by: Kan Qian

September 14, 1995
As others have said the dialogues are good, the subjects contemporary and the language is very much as it is spoken in China. But it does throw you right in at the deep end, and I can imagine a lot of people despairing and giving up.

I bought it before going to China to work, and it was worth it to see my Chinese teacher's face when I was able to pronounce the Chinese for 'I'm pleased to meet you' apparently first time. In reality it was because I'd spent a good hour playing the phrase on the CD.

But without a teacher to go through the things like basic pronounciation, which this book really skates over, I wonder how useful it would really be.

I also think you're better learning the characters from the start, because ... Read More:
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Used Price: £9.00

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.Confidence Chinese Vol.1 Getting Started: Vol 1
City Travel Guides > Books > Chinese
by: Tong Yan; Ying Fu; Moon Tan; Huang Yinghong; Haitong Wang

December 01, 2006
As others have said the dialogues are good, the subjects contemporary and the language is very much as it is spoken in China. But it does throw you right in at the deep end, and I can imagine a lot of people despairing and giving up.

I bought it before going to China to work, and it was worth it to see my Chinese teacher's face when I was able to pronounce the Chinese for 'I'm pleased to meet you' apparently first time. In reality it was because I'd spent a good hour playing the phrase on the CD.

But without a teacher to go through the things like basic pronounciation, which this book really skates over, I wonder how useful it would really be.

I also think you're better learning the characters from the start, because ... Read More:
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Used Price: £31.49

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.Michel Thomas Method: Mandarin Chinese Foundation Course (Michel Thomas Series)
City Travel Guides > Books > Chinese
by: Harold Goodman

September 28, 2007
For once in my life I've actually completed a language course. And very enjoyable it was, too. I actually looked forward to doing it. It was rarely a chore. And I think I must've retained 70% of what I was taught. However, it was only on the last CD that I realised that the majority of it was utterly useless. I mean, okay, if you want to say, "He has a television under his table," it's quite brilliant. Or "Do you have a good teacher in your school?" Again, essential. But if you want survival language to get you around China, alas, it's a major disappointment. Pity that.
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Used Price: £52.06

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.New Practical Chinese Reader: 1
City Travel Guides > Books > Chinese
by: Liu Xun

November 01, 2002
For once in my life I've actually completed a language course. And very enjoyable it was, too. I actually looked forward to doing it. It was rarely a chore. And I think I must've retained 70% of what I was taught. However, it was only on the last CD that I realised that the majority of it was utterly useless. I mean, okay, if you want to say, "He has a television under his table," it's quite brilliant. Or "Do you have a good teacher in your school?" Again, essential. But if you want survival language to get you around China, alas, it's a major disappointment. Pity that.
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Used Price: £12.56