28 replies to this topic

[anon6969]

Is there any place I can download a large number of Chinese Sentences for practice in my Spaced Repetition software (I have Anki, Mnemosyne, ZDT and Supermemo).

I am currently studying HSK words in Anki, however I would like to move on to sentences.

I know I could input them myself, but is there any collection of Sentences that I could just download and immediately study from?

[student]

Brian Vaughan has complied a mnemosyne data base of "20,000+ chinese sentences with translations and pinyin",
http://www.mnemosyne-proj.org/node/115

The sentences were apparently generated by searching online dictionaries for words in the HSK vocabulary lists. The database is classified by (1) the HSK level of the target word; and (2) the maximum HSK level of the other words in the sentence.

[anon6969]

Awesome. Thanks. You even gave me twice what I asked for!

I was having trouble with the website before as it's blocked in China these days.

20000 sentences should keep me busy - that's enough for 10 new sentences each and every day for the next 6 years !!!!!!

[imron]

I was having trouble with the website before as it's blocked in China these days.

Shameless affiliate link for Witopia, which will solve that problem too.

[chaxiu]

Hey, the database looks really cool. Would anyone know a simple way to convert the characters in the xml file to Traditional.

Thanks
Chaxiu

[anonymoose]

20000 sentences should keep me busy - that's enough for 10 new sentences each and every day for the next 6 years !!!!!!

If you can do that for the next six years without missing a day, and also remember all 20000 sentences by the end, I'll buy you a beer.

[anon6969]

If I manage to finish 20000 I will buy you a drink!
I think 55 a day will have me finished in a year :-)

How many WORDS and how many CHARACTERS contained in these 20000 sentences?

[Shadowdh]

Just one beer... guys c'mon... would be worth at least 2 maybe 3...

[weregoingunion]

How can I open/print these .xml files to make them useful?

I downloaded Mnemosyne but it only opens .mem files, not .xml.

Thanks.

*edit*
I just noticed the import option so I got the .xml in Mnemosyne, but does anyone know a good way to print them?

[renzhe]

You can use Mnemosyne to export them to a tab-separated format.

You can load that with your favourite text editor or spreadsheet (like Excel or oocalc) and print from there.

EDIT: This is assuming you want a listing, and not actually print flashcards.

[xiexieniii]

I'm not familiar with the file I was supposed to download from that site. I'm using a Mac -- I don't suppose I'd be able to view it?

[renzhe]

You have to use a program called Mnemosyne to read it. You can download it from here. The Mac version is the one that ends in ".dmg".

[xiexieniii]

I downloaded the Mnemosyne application, and I downloaded the "chinese_sentences" folder from the link. Now I have a folder with two .xml files and a readme.txt. How do I put these files together with the Mnemosyne application so I can view the flashcards?

[renzhe]

1) Start Mnemosyne
2) Select File -> Import from the menu
3) Select "XML" as input format
4) Select the xml file you want by browsing for it
5) Click on "Import"

You only need to do this once, afterwards, Mnemosyne will save it in its own format.

The next time you start Mnemosyne, it will automatically load the database you used last.

[tgray88]

Whenever I try to import the files mnemosyne will crash...also, I use Anki as my primary SRS tool, so is there a way I can use these files with Anki? I tried to import them into anki earlier but it did not recognize them.
Also, when I tried to load it into excel it crashes there too...I hope its not just my computer...

Edited by tgray88, 07 March 2009 - 05:39 AM.

[renzhe]

Anki can import Mnemosyne files (the XML format, I believe), but I've never actually tested this.

You can't open these files in excel.

Which version of Mnemosyne are you using? I have never had Mnemosyne crash on me, and I have been using it several times a day for over 2 years. I have never had any data corruption, instability, or anything else. That's the reason why I like the program so much.

[tgray88]

Actually I just fixed my problems today. Its because my computer is really slow and the 20,000 facts really slowed down my computer.
You can open the file in excel, but not all 20,000 at once; at least not for me. I can open only 500 facts without causing problems. I tried 1000 and some of the file got corrupt because I the sheer number of cells in excel.

[thph2006]

Brian Vaughan has complied a mnemosyne data base of "20,000+ chinese sentences with translations and pinyin",
http://www.mnemosyne-proj.org/node/115

This list is impressive work and is pretty close to what I need but I've run into a few problems with the pinyin and some of the sentences seem a bit off. Does anyone know of another source of sentence flashcards that follow the HSK vocabulary? I'd really like a set with integrated audio as well. I'm willing to pay for the right package. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks, tom

[renzhe]

I'm not aware of any such database, and I believe that most collections of such size will have mistakes, as most of the data will be automatically generated (hence the errors in the pinyin and translations).

You might be very interested in this thread, though. Perhaps this is something that could be useful to you?

[crjcrj]

I took the HSK Level 1 sentences, and put them in a simple Pleco Flashcard File.

You can find it here:
http://www.plecoforu....php?f=7&t=1846

Exported the list using this option: Text with Tab Separated Q/A
Used find and replace to get rid of all the ;; in the document
saved it as a Unicode Text
and then saved and uploaded to Pleco

My only suggestion would be, if doing this for other levels, maybe do it in smaller chunks than the whole level, 2698 cards is kind of a lot!!