Who is currently learning Mandren?

[hellokittymania]

Can you type in Manderin or write it as well as conversation?

But you don't type in mandarin. You type in Chinese.

Sorry I always forget that written Chinese is the same it's just spoken that you have Cantonese and Mandarin. I think .....

I can only type. I don't have the patience to learn the strokes and the specific order.
Written Chinese is not all the same as you can use simplified or traditional characters. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan and HK.

I find the simplified characters a lot easier to read. I am visually impaired so even as it is I have to magnify them to an absolutely huge font. I had to do like a nursery school student and learn to make the characters I know using Play doh!

When I am typing I will often use voiceover which will identify which character it is.

I asked the school of oriental and African studies if there was a way to take the HSK exam as I am at an intermediate level but the oral exam is the best option.

I'm guessing from your name that you are in Shanghai. However did you learn Cantonese? I try to pick up when I am in Hong Kong but I still find it very hard to learn. There is a great Dictionary on the yellow bridge website that speaks the word in Mandren which I have found very useful. If only there was a talking Cantonese dictionary.

I am learning Mandarin, not Cantonese.
I use memrise.com to learn new vocabulary - just started the vocab for HSK 4, but it seems like a never-ending process!

I've never heard of that website, but will check it out

There are talking Dictionarys. Or at least for Cantonese, so I assume Manderin also! DH has one which has a touch screen you can write on, a mini keyboard to type English, and a speaker for pronunciation.

The kids can speek Cantonese much better than they can read. And reading is better than their writing. We haven't tried typing (only one has really typed in English tho, and that is painfully slow). I'm not sure DH can type easily in Chinese.

Red sand where did you buy your talking dictionary for Cantonese? I am badly in need of one.

Hong Kong, sorry.
Where are you?? [[www.amazon.com/Besta-CD747S-English-Chinese-Computerized-Dictionary/dp/B00NHXWBZE/ref=pd_sbs_229_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00NHXWBZE&pd_rd_r=SGM8FNJ76YC6WQR69YY6&pd_rd_w=cMInu&pd_rd_wg=PuuVw&psc=1&refRID=SGM8FNJ76YC6WQR69YY6&tag=mumsnetforum-21 Amazon US has availability]]

sorry, clicky link

Thank you for the link I will order one. Everybody says that in Hong Kong everyone speaks English blah blah blah. I find that when I am seriously lost, absolutely nobody speaks English I often eat at small places and find the same problem and not everybody can understand Manderin. As I can't see, I really really really depend on communication.

I had to get a Vietnamese visa and I forget where the Vietnam embassy is, but it was an excursion ......

You're in HK? Fortress is your friend.