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- No smoking sign in Chinese. Can you read it?
No smoking sign in Chinese. Can you read it?
Danyo Pang
September 26, 2022
Hi friends, today I'm going to share and break down a real Chinese sign about smoking with pinyin, translations, and audio pronunciations.
Reading signs in Chinese drastically improved my overall reading ability because these are the same signs that native speakers interact with every single day. If you want to be like native speakers, it makes sense to consume what they consume.
Below is the 4-step method I use for breaking down real Chinese material for improved comprehension and retention.
Step 1: View original text & try to read as much as you can.
This will gauge your current comprehension and identify gaps in knowledge.
Step 2: Study original text with pinyin + translations.
Look up every word you don't understand.
View this on your chrome browser so you can turn on pop-up Chinese definitions whenever you hover over characters.
Click on the pinyin below to hear the correct audio pronunciation.
Step 3: Read out loud a third time without pinyin.
Most people stop at the second step. This third repetition will help you consolidate your knowledge further using the power of active recall. Did you get your tones right as you read out loud?
本 园区 内本 園區 內 In this park除 停车场 外除 停車場 外 Except for the parking lot全面禁止 吸烟全面禁止 吸菸 Total smoking ban
Step 4: Read the original text again without pinyin + translations.
Did you get your tones right? Were you able to understand it without the pinyin and translations?
👍 Yes - Congrats, you've just read a real sign in Chinese!👎 No - No worries, go back to Step 2 and try again.
This 4-step method works so well because the power of repetition and active recall. It's the same method that helped me learn conversational Mandarin in 4 months and is still the main method I use now as an advanced learner.
Every time I study new material, I use this template to keep track of the 4-step method, new vocabulary, flashcards, and more.
See you again next week for another real example.