It depends on your gift for language-learning as well as the time you are able to dedicate to learning it. If you study a few hours every day you’re going to learn a lot faster than someone who only spends one day a week. For …
Correct Answer: C Zuò wán shǒushù, Liú dàifu de shǒu dōu zhǒng le, kě tā xīnlǐ shì gāoxìng de. 做 完 手术， 刘 大夫 的 手 都 肿 了，可 他心里 是 高兴 的。 After completing the surgery, Doctor Liu’s hand was swollen, but in his …
Seen regularly around town, many foreigners will notice signs featuring the Chinese characters “禁止 (jìnzhǐ).” From street signs near buildings and public offices, or even on the side of the road these characters are very important to know! They may even save your life one …
Correct Answers 1. B 2. D The “七夕 (qīxī)” festival is commonly known as “Chinese Valentine’s Day.” The characters “七夕 (qīxī),” when taken apart, actually mean the “七 (qī) seventh,” “夕 (xī) night.” Indeed, this romantic holiday always falls on the 7th night …
If you’re interested in learning Chinese, I strongly suggest you work with a qualified teacher. A teacher will be able to help you make the most of your studies in a way that studying on your own is hard to imitate. And since going to …
The northeastern provinces of China are still the best places to study and practice Chinese. Many learners choose to go to Hebei, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning. These provinces are where native Mandarin speakers speak with the clearest accent. Here are a few cities that are excellent …
商务介绍礼仪 (Shāngwù jièshào lǐyí) Business Etiquette–Business Card Exchanges and Introduction
Key Learning Points (Preview):
介绍 (jièshào): v/n. to introduce/introduction
年龄 (niánlíng): n. age
名片 (míngpiàn): n. business card
In China, the first “介绍 (jièshào) introduction” is crucial in business relationships. It is a stepping …
Nowadays, everyone is using the internet for something, whether it be for shopping online or just surfing the web, the internet has become an important tool for daily life. This means in your journey to become fluent in Chinese, it is important to learn some …
Did you know that by knowing some simple English words you already can speak some popular colloquial Chinese phrases? If you have been studying Chinese for a while some words might immediately jump to mind. What occurs is actually the adoption of particular words from …
Read the Story:
“五个手指头的对话(Wǔ gè Shǒuzhǐtou de Duìhuà)” The Five Fingers’ Dialogue
Yìtiān wǎnshang, wǔ gè shǒuzhǐtou tǎng zài chuáng shàng liáotiān. 一天 晚上， 五 个 手指头 躺 在 床 上 聊天。 One night, five fingers laid on the bed chatting.
Zhōngzhǐ shuō: “āiyō, mǔzhǐ …
One of the hardest parts of learning the Chinese language is understanding the various meanings of the same word, and then knowing how and when to throw them into a conversation. Today we will take a look at a simple, yet versatile phrase: “干吗? (gànmá?)” …
Previously, we introduced two other Chinese words related to the character “霸(bà)”: “学霸(xuébà)” and “麦霸(màibà).” In this issue we will learn about another one, which is “霸王餐(bàwángcān).”
Literally, “霸(bà)” means “to dominate, lord over, tyrannize over or rule by force” and “王(wáng)” means “king.” Together, …
For Chinese learners, one major difficulty you may face during your Chinese studies is the pronunciation of the four tones. These include the 1st tone which is level, the 2nd tone which rises, the 3rd tone which falls then rises, and the 4th tone …
Answer: B In option A, “蜜蜂(mìfēng)” means “bee” and “蜂蜜(fēngmì)” means “honey.” In B, “苹果(píngguǒ)” is “apple” but the character combination “果苹(guǒpíng)” doesn’t hold any meaning in Chinese. In option C, “国王(guówáng)” refers to “a king” and “王国(wángguó)” is his “kingdom.” Finally, in D, “白雪(báixuě)” …
In Chinese, some two-character words or phrases will take on new meanings if the order of the two characters is swapped. For example, “牛奶(niúnǎi)” means “milk” but “奶牛(nǎiniú)” means “cow”, “喜欢(xǐhuān)” is “to like” but “欢喜(huānxǐ)” is “happy”, and “刷牙(shuāyá)” means “to brush one’s teeth” …
Answer: C In Chinese there are a few polyphones, or characters with multiple pronunciations, “扫(sǎo/sào)” in the test is one of them. The two pronunciations of “扫(sǎo/sào)” express different meanings. “扫(sǎo)” means “sweep” in English, as in to clean the dust and rubbish away, like …
Correct Answer: A
The character 八(bā) means eight and 卦(guà) means trigram.
The character 新(xīn) means new and 闻(wén) means smell.
The characters …
Correct Answer: B
The character 棉(Mián) means cotton and 线(xiàn) means thread.
The character 明(Míng) means bright or clear and 星(xīng) means star.
Correct Answer: C
The character 饼(bĭng) means cookie or cake and 干(gān) means dry.
The character 橙(chéng) means orange and 子(zi) is used as a suffix here.
Correct Answer: A
A. 莫名其妙(mòmíngqímiào) is the word for “Baffling.” The character 莫(mò) means do not; 名(míng) means to express; 其(qí) means this or that and 妙(miào) means wonderful. B. 心灰意冷(xīnhuīyìlěng) is the word for “Downhearted.” The character 心(xīn) means heart; 灰(huī) means grey; …
