i'm glad i was born in HK and had school there till grade 2. that's where all my chinese skills came from.
i only can read and write some very basic characters....but that's not enought to read newspaper or book >.< i am currently learning it myself...but it's so hard! ...my aim is to be able to read newspaper or mags one day^^
I can read Chinese. I have lived in HK for 14 years. So, I have no problem reading Chinese. Somehow, I feel bad for Chinese people who can't read Chinese. So, they can't sing K and read mag.
^ They learn and memorize the pronounciation of the lyrics (without recognizing the characters), hard work always steer towards the wrong things <_<
My Chinese is competent enough that I can understand magazines/newspapers, but I certainly can't read all the words <_< still can't write that well though
Even living in canada, I'd say I speak more chinese than english throughout the course of the day. Also been going to chinese classes since I was 3, so that's where I learnt to read/write I guess.
I can only read the easy words or most common words. If hardly read chinese magazines or newspapers because I cant read every word and dont understand what they say either but wish I could read and write with no problem though
reading is no prob.. but writing.. sometimes i tend to forget how to write the most simple characters.. so needa spend some time thinking first =P but i think chinese allows me express myself more easily.. so i'd prefer writing in chinese rather than english sometimes =)
^ How did you learn how to spell? Practice, of course. And once you know how to read, reading A LOT helps too.