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 …
Learn different ways to say “goodbye” and show how you care for others.
1. A: Becky, I got a promotion! Yìqǐ qù hē yì bēi? B: Great! Wǎnshang jiǔ diǎn, zěnmeyàng? A: … What would she say? Please choose the best …
Although volunteers of the Beijing Olympic Games are mainly Chinese people from Beijing and other Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, as well as from Hong Kong, Macao and Chinese Taipei. There are also a number of foreign volunteers that have been recruited from China …
Answer: B
“偶然 (ǒurán)” often takes the place of “It just happened that …” in English.
Tā ǒurán fāxiàn le zhè fú huà. 他 偶然 发现 了 这 幅 画。 He discovered the painting …
Often on the first day of class, I like to discuss with my students why they chose to learn Mandarin Chinese in China. Some students are young and interested in the appeal of something mysterious. Some of my students are a few decades older and …
Answer: A
a. 下 (Xià) is the “趋向补语 (qūxiàng bǔyǔ) directional complement” here.
Subject + Verb + Directional Complement + Object. 他 (Tā) + 放 (fàng) + 下 (xià) + 电话 (diànhuà)。 b. 住 (Zhù) = to live. In Chinese, 放 (fàng) + …
Today I’m going to tell you about one of China’s most beloved summer time snacks. They are bright red when cooked. They come from the water. They have ten legs and two claws. Lobster, you might think? Guess again! Over the past twenty years, the …
Is this movie good or not? Are you nervous or not? Are you cold or not? Learn to ask these questions in Chinese.
1. A: Look! Someone is doing bungee jumping. Let’s try it! B: Bungee jumping wēi bù wēixiǎn ā? …
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 …
Ouch! You stepped on my feet! Feeling hurt or surprised? Here come some Chinese interjections!
1. A: Xiǎojiě, zhè shì nín de kāfēi. Xiǎoxīn tàng. B: … What would the customer say? Please choose the best answer. A. Āiyōu! B. Zhēn …
You made a mistake. You decide to admit it and show you are really sorry. Learn to do it in Chinese.
1. A: Hǎo qiú! Tài bàng le! B: Chǎo sǐ le! What would she say? Please choose the best answer. …
Are you planning a trip to China? Then you should be prepared with knowledge of daily life in China. These four must-know facts will allow you to be one step ahead of your friends as you get to know Chinese culture and language.
Either way is fine with me! It’s up to you! Whatever! In Chinese, you can just say “随便 (Suíbiàn)!”
1. A: Jenny, wǒmen wǎnshang qù chànggē, hǎo mɑ? B: Xíng. A: Wǒmen qù něi jiā KTV? B: Wǒ dōu xínɡ, suíbiàn. …
I’m going to introduce a Chinese word that is useful to everyday situations of human interaction. We often use it in group work or when trying to get things accomplished. The word is 帮倒忙 (bāng dàománg) and I’m going to explain how we use it …
I’m writing about two simple and useful words in Mandarin Chinese that you can use on a daily basis to describe things that are fast or slow. These terms, “龟速 (guīsù) slow” and “神速 (shénsù) fast”, I learned when reading and discussing Children’s stories in …
In today’s Mandarin Chinese lesson, Teacher Becky introduces the the parts of the face and gives useful examples of how these parts can be used in a sentence (and also how the Chinese traditionally find them attractive!). Let’s take a look:
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 …
As a student of Mandarin Chinese and a native English speaker, there are some things that fascinate me in comparing our two languages. One of these fascinations are the words that have no equivalent between the two languages. Some English words that don’t translate to …
Guess what? I got a job offer from Google! I’m very happy!
1. A: Guess what? I have finally closed the deal with Disney! Wǒ hěn gāoxìng! B: Gōngxǐ nǐ, Bella! Which of the following sentences best describes how Bella is …
Plans Foiled? “泡汤 (pàotāng)”! “泡汤 (pàotāng)”? Pick Yourself Up and Move Ahead! Our lives are filled with hopes and dreams. Unfortunately, part of our life experience is to watch those hopes dashed to pieces! On a positive note, we can learn from heartbreak and approach …
