At Chinese New Year, you will often hear the phrase "nián nián yŏu yú", meaning "may you have abundance every year". You will also see it written in Chinese calligraphy on scrolls which hang on walls and by doorways, accompanied by a picture of a golden carp. What is the connection? The word for "fish" is pronounced in the same way as the word for abundance: Both are yú. SO, if you were to hear someone say "nián nián yŏu yú", it could mean "May you have fish every year!!
For another example, wǒ xiǎng wèn nǐ, means I want to ask you - Simple enough. But, if you were to say wǒ xiǎng wěn nǐ, it would mean I want to kiss you! The only difference is the tone over the e in wen! That could be a bit scary LOL.
Altogether there are over 50,000 characters in Mandarin Chinese, however, a modern dictionary will only list about 20,000, and you only need to know approximately 2000 to be able to read a newspaper.
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千里之行，始于足下 Qiān lǐ zhī xíng, shǐ yú zú xià
A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. Laozi, Daoist philosopher (6th Century BC)
One to bear in mind as you take your first steps in the Chinese language!
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