To be fair, zero is a complicated number

  • alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I’m sure the chinese have equivalent memes about having to learn arabic numbers, at least you don’t have to use it in written out numbers, 20 is 二十, two-ten, 200 is 二百, two-hundred, 2000 is 二千, two-thousand, 200,000 is 二十万, two-hundred-thousand.

    There less memorizing irregular words like twelve and X-teen and converting 30 to thirty, since it’s all pronounced as written.

    • lobut@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      It probably sounds silly but I quite enjoy not memorizing different names for days of the weeks and months like when I was learning french … Lundi, Mardi …

      Nice to be like 星期一,星期二,星期三 … for week days and 一月,二月,三月… for months.

      • alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        Same, and not having to remember different versions of words for tense and gender is great. Where Chinese gets you back though, is measure words. Is a can of beans many 颗? 粒? One 包? Oh I was supposed to remember 罐?

        • Annoyed_🦀 @monyet.cc
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          I mean tbf you’re addressing a can of bean, so 罐 is correct. It’s the container that count, not the content.

        • Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          1 year ago

          I don’t mind the measure words so much because you can always use the generic one and people will understand, it’s the tones that really mess me up.