Can I read in Chinese?

A short video answer to the question whether I can read and write in the languages that I speak, including Chinese.
Language Blog: www.foreverastudent.com
Many thanks for letting me use the music to:
/ beatchild
Song: / it-starts-with-the-bas...
Website: www.beatchild.com

[@LongyuGuan]

damn, your hand writing Chinese is good...even better than me (I am a Chinese, and I've been forced, by my parents, to practiced Chinese calligraphy for 7 years when I was a kid...sadly this skill has been kinda forgiven as I moved to Europe and never practiced any Chinese hand writing in the past 10 years)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Thank you:)

[@PikaPika-Tassie]

Grant L u r just stupid. For him it is good enough, but that is just a Chinese kid’s level.

[@realbaguette2802]

You are such a huge inspiration to me! Keep up the inspiring videos! :D

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Thank you:)

[@inchinaxp8663]

Hi Vladimir. Your channel and blog is of huge help to me as I live in Beijing and study Chinese, it's very useful for me to listen to advice from foreigners who have achieved a high proficiency in Chinese :) Thank you !

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Thank you:) Good luck with your studies.

[@itsmartinszekely]

My frieeeend, you are so talented! Keep doing this :)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Thank you.

[@eveneve3399]

Nice video as always. BTW, although I can't read / write in Chinese, your handwriting looks really pretty!

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Thank you. I try:)

[@eroklok]

Awesome? I just find your video just now? It's very helpful for me, I'm just starting to learn to write the Chinese characters

[@kallewangstedt]

Good work, man! It's also really nice to see that you've started posting quite often. Keep it up!

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Thank you Karl. I'll try to do my best! :) Are you going to Thessaloniki?

[@kallewangstedt]

Unfortunately not. Instead I decided to go to Budapest this weekend to visit a slovak friend. :) But I hope we can meet in Berlin in the spring.

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

I'll do my best to be there:) Have a good time in Budapest. I actually wanted to go there this past weekend too.

[@kallewangstedt]

I will! If you have any suggestions for what not to miss I'm all ears. Have a great time in Thessaloniki and please post some videos from there. :)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

I'll try:) I'm not too familiar with Budapest unfortunately, but there is a great Humus bar in the streets close to the St. Stephen's Basilica. Then again, it depends what you are looking for:)

[@WouterCorduwener]

Thanks for the video. I also checked your other channel where you are talking about the Chinese characters. I think I will use it more to learn how to write. Cheers mate

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Thank you Wouter. Good luck with your studies.

[@imyh]

Your chinese handwriting is already wayy better than many native writers/speakers! (although mirrored in this video). I seldom leave comments on youtube but just gotta write something here. haha. You're so awesome! If I have to choose a superhero power, it has got to be omnilingualism. have a great week ahead vladimir! - from singapore

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Thank you very much:) Yes, the mirror thing is annoying.

[@PikaPika-Tassie]

imyh you can say his is good, but that is really just a 8-year-old kid’s level

[@olegabbatini7015]

Hello Vladimir, have you taken the HSK or any other exams in Chinese? I am just starting learning Mandarin and from what I understand the HSK 1 & 2 exams have pinyin as well as characters, but at HSK level 3 they remove the pinyin and keep only the characters. So, I imagine quite a steep learning curve to move from A2 to B1?

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

I haven't taken the HSK, but I remember taking the Taiwanese version (TOP/TOCFL). I don't remember it too well though. I think I took level 3 at that time and it was all in Chinese characters. I don't like proficiency tests too much to be honest. I actually made a whole video about that.

[@olegabbatini7015]

Thanks for the reply. I assumed that because you work as a translator, you had some exams. How did you prove your level in order to get the job? From your university studies? I am hoping to become a translator/interpreter, so I will likely end up studying for some language certificates even though I'm not a fan, which I think you're not a fan either after seeing your video just now on the topic of language certificates. Thanks for making these great videos and keep up the good work Vladimir :)

[@tiffanycarpenter707]

hi can you make a video about all the different job option one has knowing multiple languages as you do? can you also mention what exactly the different between a translator and interpreter is?

[@DancingTroll1359]

Tiffany Carpenter A translator works on text, adapting something such as a poem or book or document from one language to another. An interpreter translates spoken language, such as during a meeting or interview :)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Hello Tiffany. I'll try, if I have time.

[@hirokonishizawa9878]

私は日本人だから、中国語の漢字は苦労しませんが、西洋の方が繁体字や簡体字をマスターするのは、本当に本当に骨の折れることだと思う！実は私も中国語を勉強しています！前回ハートマークありがとう💕

[@zh5566]

Could you make more videos of you speaking Chinese? :)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Yes, I would like to make those regularly.

[@artugert]

@@VladimirSkultetyOfficial This was 7 years ago, and you still haven't done it. Lol

[@Mati1242]

Is there a video of you talking about how you got into learning Chinese in particular? Ps. You're amazing.

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Thank you. Maybe this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p17Zf6eHhaxgiKc or this one kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6fGfaiKidNsppo but I'm not sure:)

[@Mati1242]

Thank You, and one more thing. Do you think that reading books in foreign language (English for me) will help when I'm on like B1-B2 level? Cheers.

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Mati1242 Yes. Reading books is a very intelligent thing to do, when you want to improve in your foreign language. I made a few videos about that too.

[@Mati1242]

Thank You for your answers, and good luck in further learning.

[@anticsBack]

During your stay in Taiwan have you studied how to use Zhuyin in order to type Chinese characters ? I was always curious about the Taiwanese system, seems far more complex than Pinyin.

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Hello. No, I didn't study Zhuyin, but I had friends who have.

[@anticsBack]

蠻好了！謝謝你呀！我將來到台灣後一定想要習慣用主音來打字.

[@shoes8568]

不客氣。歡迎你來台灣:) * 是「注音」，不是「主音」哦！

[@anticsBack]

等不及了 :) 對啦，謝謝您改正！還有不少的要學到.

[@jagosvujovic2086]

Tehnically you can speak Montenegrin, Bosnian and Croatian if you can speak Serbian because Montenegrin and Bosnian are almost the same and Croatian is diffrent (but not too much). Im not sure but i know that German and Austiran are similar and also Swiss and German as well (i know that one part of Switzerland speaks French, one Italian but most of it speaks German).

[@TheChrisinger]

Hi, yes German German and Austrian German is similar, Austrians can understand Germans without any problems. On the other hand, Germans do have a harder time understanding Austrian dialect. And the Swiss dialect is probably the farthest away from the German dialects. Source: I'm from Austria

[@hatujemeletsplayeryheskyce6460]

Je práce tlumočníka těžší než práce překladatele? A v jakých jazycích to je obráceně

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Podla mna to zavisi od toho co sa komu paci. Ja prekladanie hrozne nemam rad, takze pre mna je to utrpenie, ale su ludia, ktori sa v tom vyzivaju. Pre mna je urctie tlmocenie jednoduchsie, ale je vela ludi u ktorych je to naopak.

[@kristinajeskova6465]

Tento september som začala študovať v bilingválnej (anglickej) triede na gympli v Piešťanoch.. Veľmi ma inšpirujú vaše videá ... veľký obdiv 😄👌🏻

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Dakujem pekne:) Drzim palce v studiu.

[@gbtt69]

Can you read and write both traditional and simplified characters?

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

I can, but not both equally well. I lived in Taiwan for 5 years so I know how to read in Traditional Chinese much much better. On the other hand, I've read a few articles in Simplified Chinese and even though it takes some time to get used to, it's not that difficult. If there is enough contexts, it's easy to guess what a simplified character means. Writing is another story:) I can't write simplified at all. Just a very few basic ones. I started learning Chinese at the Chinese department in Prague and we were learning Simplified Chinese. We even had to dictations (the teacher reads a text we have to write it in characters) so I knew how to write some Simplified Chinese, but it was a long time ago.

[@user-ql5pr1ih4j]

thank you for video ，i should devote more for language learning ，such read books ，more books ，all in all just work harder ....

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Hello and good luck with your studies.

[@yexu6035]

The way I practiced my Chinese handwriting or calligraphy when I was a kid was to follow and copy the handwriting of a calligrapher . Both my dad and grandma are very good at calligraphy and my dad gave me a tough training. I still remember those days I wept myself to finish my Chinese homework in the damning criticism by my dad. But that's how I get a nice handwriting now. “字是敲门砖” I don't know if you ever heard that saying.

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Hello. No I've never heard that saying. A lot of Taiwanese people gave me the suggestion to take up calligraphy classes, but remember I am a foreigner. I don't even know how exactly a large number of characters should be written (負擔，膽囊，平壤 etc), not to mention what the absolutely exact form, shape, stroke angle etc of individual strokes should be so for me it is very impractical to learn how to write Chinese characters learning from a calligrapher.

[@yexu6035]

Vladimir Skultety I have never taken calligraphy class myself either. I just practiced by myself by following copybook " 字帖 of calligraphers. Just like you did for speaking. And you are right, Chinese characters have their own structures and layouts (like a constryction) which are even hard for natives. And that is why so few of us can handwriting well. But it can be a little hobby, like playing piano or violin. Hard to be a professional, but something you love to do in your spare time :)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Ye Xu True, true:)

[@assyamhb6228]

im a morocan ho lives in spain and i talk standard arabic french spanish english and a little chinese I whish that someday I m will be able to talk many languages like you

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Thank you and congratulations to your language knowledge.

[@harawibj1085]

Hey there are you follow living in Spain? I would like to get in touch with people with the same interests

[@bernardobila4336]

You are one of my real life heroes

[@polinakham2529]

Много у Вас языков на клавиатуре?

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Привет. Нет, у меня только 4. Китайский, русский, словацкий и английский.

[@lollol-nj9yb]

hello:) I was wondering, how long will it take a 13 year old to speak a different language?

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

It depends on a lot of things. It's impossible to guess, really.

[@geovannychoc6892]

This guy is really handsome speaking different languages; that’s cool!!!

[@HanChinesemuslim]

I can tell u that ur writing is better than many of Chinese.

[@PikaPika-Tassie]

Ephram Song you can encourage him, but no need to lie. That is just a kid’s level.

[@prehistoricape]

Cauko, ja chodim na cisto otvoreny bilingvalny cinsko-slovensky gymple v banskej bystrici, mozno si o tom pocul, vieme uz zhruba 70 znakov a nieco okolo 240 sloviciek, mame 20 hodin tyzdenne

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Ahoj. Ano, pocul som o tom. Ako sa vam zatial dari? Nic tazsie ako cinstinu som sa v zivote neucil a neviem si predstavit ako by som zvladol ucit sa gymnazialne ucivo len po roku pripravy.

[@prehistoricape]

Vladimir Skultety zatial je ta cinstina lahka, teda aspon pre mna.. akurat preberame predlozky a svetove strany, to je trosku tazsie ale inak to je v pohode

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Tak nech sa dari.

[@prehistoricape]

Vladimir Skultety mame 10 hodin s cinankou ta nas uci rozpravat a 10 hodin so slovakom, on nas uci znaky a citat ich.. a tiez som zvedavy na dalsi rocnik ale tak dost sme toho prebrali za mesiac a pol, uvidim co bude na konci

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Mozno to vyjde, kto vie:)

[@nendoakuma7451]

I have no idea how people would learn Chinese very well without knowing how to read. I frequently need to find the meaning of a word and the only place I can find it is in a Chinese-Chinese dictionary.

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

I learned how to speak Chinese without knowing how to read:) I learned how to read much later.

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

How did you learn your mother language?

[@nendoakuma7451]

I only knew a fraction of my native language before I learned to read and write. As an adult I need a much higher language level to fully function self-sufficiently.

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Everyone's experience is different of course.

[@hapgull]

Gratulálok! Lenyűgőz, hogy mennyi nyelven tudsz. És ez a 100 könyv, amit kínaiul olvastál....! Hogyan és mennyi idő alatt tanultál meg kínaiul?

[@hapgull]

Ja, látom egy másik kommentre válaszként már megadtál 2 videót azzal kapcsolatosan, hogy hogyan tanultál meg kínaiul. Megnézem azokat... :-)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Koszonom szepen:)

[@carolchen5511]

When you write better than I do (born and raised in Mainland until eleven) I need to practice handwriting more, ughhh

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

:)

[@user-ef7mt4ge8i]

but Hokkien / Taiwanese share the same characters in mandarin. The difference is at the pronunciation of each characters and the use of certain phrases. Hokkien, Cantonese, are more of spoken languages. If you wrote a sentence in standard chinese (mandarin), fluent Cantonese speaker like myself can understand that. Some of the things that we say in cantonese (idioms, nouns) does not translate to mandarin, and they're considered grammatical errors. That is why the chinese school I used to attend have a strict rule of not letting their student speak dialects. However, Cantonese is not exactly a dialects, it's a completely different language.

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

I think you are confusing two things here. The fact that Mandarin and Cantonese are both written with Chinese characters has nothing to do with the fact that I can't write in Cantonese. Swedish and English use the same Roman letters but I can't write in Swedish.

[@user-ef7mt4ge8i]

sorry maybe I wasn't explaining it clear enough but what I'm trying to say is there iae little to no difference in Mandarin, Hokkien/taiwanese because they're ALMOST the same. So sir, you need not to worry about that.

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Hello again. They are not "almost" the say by no means. A person who grows up in Beijing cannot understand Hokkien at all.

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

I'm sorry, but you are not well informed. It's not only the pronunciation that is different. The languages differ in sentence structure, grammar, vocabulary etc. and they differ a lot. You cannot judge the similarity of these languages based on one sentence. "House" is written as "Haus" in German, pronounced almost the same way as in English, but you cannot say that English and German are 'almost' the same and differ only in pronunciation based on this one (or several similar) example(s).

[@ivanluzak9103]

Cinstinu sa ucim zhruba dva mesiace a oproti inym jazykom mi pride ukrutne zlozita. Nie v zmysle memorovania znakov, ale skor v najdeni si systemu, ktory by ucenie ulahcil, pretoze stale treba prihliadat na vsetky zlozky ako znakova podoba, pinjin, vyslovnost a vyznam v slovencine/anglictine. Obcas si dookola prechadzam vyslovnost a pinjin, az nakoniec zistim, ze neviem, aky ma dane slovo znak.

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Konecne niekto, kto napisal, ze cinstina je zlozita a nie je to kvoli znakom. Ja som sa osobne znaky zacal ucit, ked som vedel cinsky dobre. Neuveritelne to spomaluje.

[@ivanluzak9103]

V znakoch problém nie je, ale keď rodený Han vystrelí hovorovou rečou, prehltne polovicu tónov a myšlienku, na ktorú potrebujeme viac než 10 slabík, aby sme si ju v hlave rozložili, zúži na 5 slabík, trvá dlhšie, kým sa európsky mozog prispôsobí lingvistickej zmene, (Koniec koncov, o tom si vravel v jednom videu.) nehovoriac o dialektoch :)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Ivan Lužák Rozmyslal som akurat, kde som pocul tu vetu:)) Nejde ani o Han-a. To moze urobit kludne aj moj kamarat Japonec, ktory hovori cinsky skoro tak dobre ako japonsky.

[@Ethentent]

Man I want your job....

[@dansmith6856]

Vladimir, do you have any kids? I swear you'll make an awesome dad someday! Also: When and what, got you into meditating? :-)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Hi Dan. Thank you:) No I don't have any kids yet. I started quite some time ago. I've been meditating every now and then for more than 20 years I think, but haven't been meditating too much lately. At home we had an audio cassette with some basic meditating techniques and I just listened to it one day.

[@TheEmperor2004]

Can you read german? Kannst du deutsch lesen?

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Natürlich.

[@kevincheung436]

Most Chinese people will be impressed with your spoken and written Chinese. That includes myself.... ... well done...

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Thank you.

[@putinniejimmy5795]

1:10 Do you know your writing is reversed??

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

The whole video is reversed, not the writing.

[@yinghuang4313]

Your Chinese handwriting is good enough..

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Good enough for what?

[@owenzou2673]

哈哈哈之前看你用中文回复别人的评论 就觉得你都能打那么多字了 怎么还有那么多人质疑你不会写中文呢......估计是不懂中文的人会这么去质疑你吧.......btw 你在1分多钟给大家看的写的东西是镜像的.......是不是因为你摄像头没设置好的缘故呢......anyway nice video.

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

「估计是不懂中文的人会这么去质疑你吧」 應該是吧。我也不知道 ^_^ 我用我的筆記型電腦錄影。鏡頭每次都會這樣。

[@johnnywu330]

赞一个，不过视频是反的。

[@user-kl1op6ty5x]

尤其是台語，很多講的人都不會寫，像我XD

[@alecrosewell6959]

😂

[@YBStark]

sexy

[@yehcc7808]

寫的斜斜的XD 學繁體是好選擇

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

我在台灣住過五年 ^_^

[@pavel857]

寫得比很多中文母語的人漂亮多了XD

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

哪裡哪裡 ^_^

[@AverageJoe-gi1ur]

其實寫得蠻工整的！ 不知道有沒有練過書法？

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Average Joe 謝謝你 ^_^ 我是中文系畢業的。有學過一點點。

[@user-ef7mt4ge8i]

your handwriting is disaster? have you seen mine. I'm much worst