·:[ Sound and Fury ]:·
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At least for those of us who know a Romance language as their first. Blame the tones, says this article by the BBC

I believe it.

A few years back, we traveled to Beijing for vacation. As is my custom, I learned a few phrases to help me get along. Not that anyone could ever mistake me for a native - I’m so white I’m translucent - but that it’s a courtesy to at least try. Because I knew even then that Mandarin isn’t easy, I also bought maps and a pointy-talky book.

Since we tend to go off the beaten path a bit, we were soon far from any English speakers. No problem. After all, I knew how to speak Chinese! I saunter over to a line of taxicabs, and confidently state my intended destination. The man looks at me as if I had two heads. I repeat myself. Same blank stare. So, I pull out my map and point to the location. Ahh, hah! He understands. He then repeats what I had been saying (to my atonal ear it sounded like what I had said) to the other cabbies. Riotous laughter ensues.

To this day I don’t know what I had actually asked for, but apparently it was quite funny.

In any case, I’m now going to learn Mandarin. I’ll let you know how it goes.