Moving beyond the basics of Chinese into deep waters

Learning to speak Mandarin as a foreigner in Shanghai can lead to awkward, but funny, moments. While most locals are forgiving and give credit for your effort, mistakes in professional situations, even small mispronunciations, can be fatal.

Last year I was moderating a high-tech venture capital panel in Beijing. One of the speaker's surnames was Ye, which is quite common in China and should be pronounced in the fourth tone. His name was to be followed by Zong, which means head or chief.

While on stage, I mixed up the tones and repeatedly addressed him as "Ye Zong," in the third tone. In short, I was calling him "Chief Love Child" the entire time. Fortunately, he was a good sport about the mix-up.