One of my favorite things about Chinese is that it has a wide range of depth and meaning, especially when it comes to characters, or combinations of characters that have evolved into daily conversation piece over time. One such word is “放水 (fàngshuǐ)”.
Are you still single? You’re not the only one. In China more and more people are choosing to remain “单身 (dānshēn) single.” In fact, the number of single people in China has reached 200 million. So what’s the reason? There are a few, actually:
Western traditions, especially those involving holidays and events such as weddings, are becoming more popular in China these days. One thing some people are now doing for fun is making a “New Year’s Resolution”, just as those in other countries have done for years. The …
Business relationships can be just as influential as personal ones in our daily lives, if you spend a lot of time at work. My fellow teachers and I are constantly interacting with one another, and this makes our lives richer and more fun, and it …
Although our students enjoy private, personalized 1-to-1 Chinese classes, each individual student is not alone in being part of the eChineseLearning team. We have a team of teachers from around China and an alumni of tens of thousands of students from over 100 countries (and …
Recently, U.S. president Donald Trump made his first trip to Asia. This trip included a visit to Beijing, where President Trump was greeted by Chinese President Xi Jinping with the friendly meeting over tea and a lavish dinner in the Forbidden City. However, even among …
There are some Mandarin Chinese words that just don’t have an exact equivalent in English.
Because when it comes to slang, there are a lot of hidden meanings behind each and every word. And you really have to know the full meaning to be able …
You may have seen people who are either carefree or holding an indifferent attitude to almost everything. In this lesson, we will learn two authentic expressions regarding such characteristics.
1. A: Lìli, nǐ yào mǎi zhèime duō yīfu, zhèi xiē yīfu …
Have you heard about “刷脸 (shuāliǎn) Face Recognition” technology? It is beginning to become a popular and exciting development in China. Recently, during the celebration of National Day, a Kentucky Fried Chicken KPRO restaurant in Hangzhou Vientiane City utilized this new technology. Customers would go …
You never know what someone is going to say in Chinese class! I have a million fun memories of moments with my students. But one of my favorite moments was a few years ago when a student of mine, a man in his 30s, was …
Have you ever met someone and been very impressed by how down to earth they are? In Chinese we have a phrase which is an equivalent to this idea in English and it is “接地气 (jiē dìqì)”. Native Chinese speakers often use it in daily …
My Chinese class is never dull! My students always keep me on my toes and laughing with their funny mistakes and their funny ways of learning. One of my favorite “Daily Mandarin” classes was when one of my students was practicing conversational Chinese. He wanted …
I have been teaching Chinese for over 12 years. And I have seen my Chinese language-learning students every Chinese language mistake in the book! But I have noticed over the years that there are some mistakes almost everyone makes. Chances are you are making them, …
In a previous article , we introduced Initials and Finals. Today we will teach another important part of Pinyin: Tones. Many learners have difficulties mastering the tones of each character, but correct tonal pronunciation is essential for intelligibility because of the vast number of words …
Today I will introduce to you one of my favorite lessons that I teach my foreign students. This topic is about how we address each other in China. It’s quite different from how people in the west address each other. In particular, I will explain …
1. About Learning Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin Chinese is the official language of Mainland China and Taiwan. There are many versions of Chinese spoken throughout China; including Cantonese (spoken in Guangdong province), the Beijing dialect and the Shanghai dialect; but Mandarin Chinese is most common dialect …
When teaching my foreign students the importance of using the correct Mandarin Chinese speaking tones, I often use the example of “问 (wèn) ask” and “吻 (wěn) kiss” to show how a change of tone can completely change the meaning of a word. This speaking …
Correct Answer
1. C
Translation:
Tom, gàn de búcuò a! Alice: Tom, 干 得不错 啊！ Tom, well done!
Wǒ zhǐshì yì ge càiniǎo, háiyào duōduō xuéxí la. Tom: 我 只是 一 个 菜鸟， 还要 多多 学习 啦。 I’m just a newbie; I need to learn more.
Analysis:
“菜鸟 (càiniǎo)” mean “newbie.” The character “菜 (càiniǎo)” normally means …
Test takers for HSK Level 3 will have to know 617 characters from Levels 1 and 2 (cumulative) and also learn 270 “new” characters for Level 3.
…When my Mandarin Chinese students come to China and study in our program, they often think that the stressful, high-pressure days of test-taking are behind them. Not quite! Mandarin Chinese students have goals to set and reach just as junior high and high school students …
