The Right Way to Ask Someone’s Age in Mandarin
Lǎoshī: Nǐ jǐ ___? 老 师:你 几___? Teacher: How old are you? Xuésheng: Wǒ jiǔ ___. 学 生:我 9___。 Student: I’m 9 years old. A. 年(nián);岁(suì)
B. 岁(suì);岁(suì)
C. 岁(suì);年(nián)
Lǎoshī: Nǐ jǐ ___? 老 师:你 几___? Teacher: How old are you? Xuésheng: Wǒ jiǔ ___. 学 生:我 9___。 Student: I’m 9 years old. A. 年(nián);岁(suì)
B. 岁(suì);岁(suì)
C. 岁(suì);年(nián)
Correct Answer: B Chinese people tend to put a lot of importance on numbers and they like to associate different numbers with various meanings. For example, Chinese people have come up with an interesting holiday associated with the day November 11th (11.11). This holiday is …
Correct Answer: D The annual Mid-Autumn Festival, which is the second most popular festival in China, is coming up soon! As those living and working away from their hometowns begin to miss their families, hoards of Chinese from every corner of the world head home …
All kinds of colors (color words in Chinese)
make our world vivid and beautiful. Like in English, there are also many color words in Chinese, and “黑(hēi)” is one of them. “黑(hēi)” is an adjective that can be used to describe something that …
Do you think eating delicious foods is an important part of your life? Do you find yourself unable to resist the temptation of food, even when you are on a diet? Do you know where to find the tastiest food in your town like the …
While learning Chinese, we have become familiar with the numbers “七(qī) seven,” “八(bā) eight,” and the two verbs “上 (shàng) up,” and “下 (xià) down.” Such as, “七天 (qī tiān) seven days, ” “八点(bā diǎn) eight o’clock,” “上楼 (shànglóu) go upstairs,” and “下山 (xiàshān) go …
In China, when people talk about price, “贵(guì)” is a word that you will often hear. The basic meaning of “贵(guì)” is “expensive,” and it has the antonym “便宜(piányi) cheap.”
Examples
Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yígè LV de bāo, dànshì tài guì le. 我 想 买 …
In the video, the little girl was introducing herself in Chinese with the help of her mother. She said: “我现在是四岁了。(Wǒ xiànzài shì sì suì le.) I’m 4 years old now.” She was doing great, and only made a small mistake. In the Chinese language, to …
Colors sometimes can express certain feelings such as a blue mood or a black day. However, how colors relate to emotions can be different in different languages. In the Chinese language, the word “眼红(yǎnhóng)” is an example of this.
In English, there are terms like …
Answer: B In traditional Chinese culture, there is an old saying that “arrogant people always fall behind the modest ones.” So Chinese tend to be modest when responding to praise and think of modesty as an essential virtue. More often than saying “thank you,” Chinese …
Yánsè gē 颜色 歌 The Song of Color
Lánsè shì měilì tiānkōng de yánsè 蓝色 是 美丽 天空 的 颜色 Blue is the color of the beautiful sky.
Hóngsè shì xióngxiong ránshāo de huǒyàn 红色 是 熊熊 燃烧 的 火焰 Red is the color of …
“We have to choose the best location, hire a French designer, a British butler wearing a wig stands within the building, and looking like a gentleman. When proprietors come, he will say to them “May I help you, Sir?”, no matter how busy he is! …
One day, Lucy received a love letter from Zhangming. To her surprise, there were no words in the letter, but only some numbers: “584, 5201314.” She was totally confused, and did not know what to think. So she asked her friend Lihua for help. After …
wūyā hē shuǐ 乌鸦 喝 水
Zhèyìnián xiàtiān lǎo yě búxiàyǔ, 这一年 夏天 老 也 不下雨,
It didn’t rain in the summer this year. xiǎohé lǐ hé shuǐtáng lǐ de shuǐ dōu bèi shàigān le。 小河 里 和 水塘 里 的 …
Television singing contests are becoming more and more popular in China with many TV stations airing competitions watched by millions of viewers. Amy, who loves to sing, attended one such singing contest just yesterday. Let’s take a look at a conversation between her and her …
Spring Festival, 春节 (Chūnjié), also known as Chinese New Year, is just around the corner. During this time of year, people of many different walks of life, from students to migrant workers, all suddenly have the same aim: to travel back to their hometown to …
Can you give directions in Chinese? If you and your Chinese friends were separated, could you tell them where to find you?
Let’s take a look at a common scenario. This is Sam’s first trip to Xi’an and his friend Li Ming is waiting for …
Li Hua, who is Chinese, has a friend, Tom, who is from America. They are chatting on the Internet about Chinese culture, Chinese food, and so on. Tom becomes more and more intrigued and begins thinking about a trip to China.
Wǒ xiǎng__ Zhōngguó. Tom:我 …
To celebrate the New Year, (Watch the video and know how Chinese people celebrate the New Year) Wang Wei invites his girlfriend Zhang Li to have dinner at a restaurant, but the two face a few challenges…
Nǐ chī cù ma? Wang Wei:你 …
Christmas, or “圣诞节 (shèngdàn jié),” is on its way! Department stores, shopping malls and supermarkets all over China are adorned with decorations and are blasting holiday song favorites. The crinkling of wrapping paper echoes through hallways as people begin to prepare gifts for their loved …