不要在脑子里翻译

Let me start with something you already know: nǐ hǎo — hello. When you hear nǐ hǎo, don't you get it right away? You didn't think in English first and then in Chinese, right? The moment you heard it, you understood. See? You can already do it.

I'm Xiao Yue, and here in Hangzhou I run a tiny little dessert shop, where I make the cakes myself. Today, it's just me here in the shop, and I want to tell you something really useful — something that will help you speak Chinese.

When you hear Chinese, do you still stop and think: what's the English for this? Once you find the English, then you understand. A lot of people do this. When I was learning English, I did it too.

Speaking Chinese is the same: first you think in English, then turn it into Chinese in your head, and slowly say it. This is called translating. Translating means one extra step in your head. And that's just too slow.

But talking happens fast. A sentence is over in a second. You're still thinking in English, and they're already on the next sentence. You can't keep up — you're too slow.

By the time you've got it, that sentence is long gone. And they won't wait for you. Your mind is still working, so your mouth can't get it out.

Let me tell you something that really happened. One day, a foreigner came into my shop to buy a cake. He smiled and asked me in English: this cake — is it sweet?

I understood him. But in my head, I thought in Chinese first, then in English, trying to work out how to answer him. By the time I had it, he'd bought his cake and left with a smile.

See, that day it wasn't that I couldn't speak — I was just too slow. I thought for a long time in my head, English first, then Chinese. By the time I was ready, the moment had already passed.

That day, alone in the shop, I thought about it for a long time. Those words — I knew them all, I really did. It wasn't that I couldn't; I was just too slow. I wondered: why am I so slow?

Then I realized: some words, I understand the moment I hear them, without thinking any English at all. Like nǐ hǎo and xièxie — they already live inside me.

You're the same way. When you hear xièxie, you don't think in English first; you just hear it and understand, right? These words are already easy for you.

So what we need to do is simple. Just make more words feel like nǐ hǎo and xièxie. You hear them and get it; you open your mouth and out they come.

How do you do that? Don't worry — I'll tell you slowly. What you do is: when you see something, think the Chinese for it directly, not the English first.

See a cat, and in your mind just think māo. Don't think of the English first and then māo. See a cat, and it's just māo — that simple.

Now think of other words. Hear shuǐ, and picture the water you drink. Hear rè, and picture the sun — so hot. No English — one word at a time, slowly, all of them this way.

Hear the word tián, and picture something sweet and delicious. Don't translate it in your head. Tián is just tián — the sweetness you taste when you eat cake.

I practice this way too when I make cakes. I pick up the sugar, and in my mind I think tián. Little by little, I really don't need any English in my head.

Right now, as you slowly listen to me speak Chinese, this is exactly what you're practicing. I speak slowly and simply, and so many of my words you understand at once — and in your mind, there's no English at all.

See? No English, and you still understood. That's you learning — you just don't know it yet. Don't worry — you're already on your way.

So what about a word you don't know? Don't just stand there for ages trying to figure it out. The moment you do, the conversation stops.

Just use the simple words you know, give a smile, and keep the conversation going. Don't be afraid — speak slowly, just finish your thought.

I do the same in my shop. There's English I honestly don't know, so I use simple words, give a smile, hold up a cake to show them — and they understand me too.

My friend Leo grew up in England, and now he's learning Chinese. When he hits a word he doesn't know, he slowly uses the ones he does, not scared at all — I really love that about him.

Don't worry — it's slow at first; everyone starts there. Take it easy, don't rush — tomorrow you'll be just a little faster than today.

Stop reaching for English in your head — relax a little, okay? Let Chinese come and live inside you. Today, you could understand these words of mine, with no English in your head — that's you getting better day by day. Take your time — I'll be right here, with you, walking forward, slowly, together.