抬杠(táigàng) to argue for the sake of arguing
Where does the phrase originate from?
In the north of China in early times, there existed a custom called “抬杠会(táigànghuì)” argue meeting. On the day of Lantern Festival, some strong men carried the bamboo “杠(gàng), ” on …
Learn Chinese Tip (VI): If a student wants to know her Chinese level, the best way is to take a Mandarin Chinese Proficiency test. There exist several authoritative Chinese tests such as AP Chinese exam, HSK, etc. For foreign …
乌鸦喝水(wūyā hē shuĭ) How did a Thirsty Crow Successfully Drink Water?
Yìzhī wūyā kŏukĕ le, dàochù zhăo shuĭ hē. 一只 乌鸦 口渴 了，到处 找 水 喝。 A crow felt thirsty and was looking for water everywhere.
Zhèshí, wūyā kànjiàn yígè píngzi. …
当男孩遇上女孩(dāng nánhái yùshàng nǚhái) When a Boy Meets a Girl
Man: Nĭhăo! wŏ juéde nĭ tĭng tèbié de, néng zuò gè péngyou ma? Man: 你好！ 我 觉得 你 挺 特别 的，能 做 个 朋友 吗？ Man: Hello! You are really special. …
Wúlùn shì guójiā háishì gèrén, zhĭyŏu jiāndìng xìnniàn, míngtiān cái huì gèng měihăo. “无论 是 国家 还是 个人，只有 坚定 信念， 明天 才 会 更 美好。” “No matter whether concerning countries or individuals, as long as they continue to keep the faith, all of them will …
碰壁(pèngbì) Be rebuffed
In this word, 碰(pèng) means “bump” and 壁(bì) means “wall.” The whole word 碰壁(pèngbì) literally means “run up against a wall.” But people usually use it to describe a situation in which you are turned down or rebuffed. In Chinese feudal times, …
The phrase “金婚(jīnhūn)” has become more popular ever since the release of the TV series (learn Chinese through movies and TV programs) “金婚(jīnhūn)” in 2006. As the title suggests, it is a story about an ordinary couple’s fifty-year marriage from 1956 to the …
In this issue, more tips to learn Chinese will be introduced. Learning Chinese Tip (V): learn Chinese by systematic Chinese reading. By doing so, you know more about Chinese characters, Chinese culture and enlarge your Chinese vocabulary. Please select Chinese reading material according to your …
Instructions: Fill in the blanks
Hints:
⑴ a cadre ⑵ life ⑶ strength ⑷ quantity, amount
① work on something ② be angry with something ③ power ④ mathematics
A rabbit and a tortoise decide to hold a race competition, and the winner will win the ticket to the Forest Concert. (Want to take part in a concert and listen to some beautiful songs.)
Xiaonei.com, widely believed to be the Chinese version of facebook, was set up in December, 2005 and was the earliest Social Networking site for universities in China. 校内(xiào nèi) means “within campuses, within universities.” At Xiaonei.com, only those who have specific university IP addresses could …
Carl has promised his girlfriend May to have dinner with her after work in a new restaurant. But the taxi driver dropped him off at a wrong place and he had troubles in finding the restaurant.
拼音(pīnyīn) pin yin: chī
笔画(bĭhuà) number of strokes: 6
含义(hányì) meaning: eat
笔顺(bĭshùn) stroke order:
1) eat; take
吃早饭(chī zăofàn): have breakfast
吃奶(chīnăi): take milk from mother
2) live off
吃父母(chī fùmŭ): live off one’s parents
坐山吃山(zuò …
吃闭门羹 (chī bìméngēng) To be denied entrance Wáng xiānsheng hé tā de péngyŏu chăojià hòu, měicì xiăng qù héjiě dōu huì chī bìméngēng. 王 先生 和 他 的 朋友 吵架 后，每次 想 去 和解 都 会 吃 闭门羹。 Ever since the quarrel between Mr. Wang …
Learn Chinese Tip III: Learning Chinese characters comes just after learning Pinyin. To learn Chinese characters, you can read books, such as Fun with Chinese Character, which explains the structure and meaning of each character with illustrations and little stories. Learn Chinese Tip IV: Most …
Chinese character is one important part to learn Chinese. In the previous issues(June 10, 2009 & June 17, 2009), six kinds of basic Chinese character strokes were introduced: 撇(piĕ) left-falling stroke, 竖(shù) vertical stroke, 捺(nà) right-falling stroke, 横(héng) horizontal stroke, 点(diăn) dot …
炒鱿鱼 (chăo yóu yú) Get fired
In China, when people are fired by their boss, they often like to say “我被炒鱿鱼了(wŏ bèi chăo yóu yú le) I am fired.” If foreigners hear this phrase for the first time, they may not understand.
Now take a …
Instructions: Fill in the blanks
Hints:
⑴to lease ⑵children ∕ sons and daughters ⑶child
①to devote ②rent a house (topic of the conversation in the previous issue of Newsletter) ③daughter ④childhood
Instructions: Fill in the blanks
Hints:
①swine flu (a word occurring in the third issue of Newsletter) ②new words (part of the conversation in each issue of Newsletter) ③grammar
⑴popular words ⑵law
In 2009, a movie called 孔子(kŏngzĭ) Confucius is being filmed in China. It claims that it will give a realistic portrayal of 孔子(kŏngzĭ) Confucius’ life. Famous Chinese Hong Kong actor Yun-Fat Chow will play the leading role. Despite the 争议(zhēngyì) controversy, surrounding this movie, many …
