Chinese Song: Counting Ducks (Elementary)
数鸭子 (Shǔ yāzi): Counting Ducks
Lyrics:
Mén qián dàqiáo xià, 门 前 大桥 下， Under the bridge and in front of the gate,
Yóu guò yìqún yā. 游 过 一群 鸭。 A team of ducks are swimming by.
Kuài lái kuài lái shǔyishǔ, 快 来 …
Chinese song: The Little Swallow (Elementary)
小燕子(Xiǎo yànzi): The Little Swallow
Lyrics:
Xiǎo yànzi, chuān huā yī, 小 燕子，穿 花 衣， The little swallow, brightly dressed,
Niánnian chūntiān lái zhèlǐ. 年年 春天 来 这里。 Comes every spring to visit us.
Wǒ wèn yànzi nǐ wèishá lái? 我 问 燕子 你 …
You’re Never Too Old to “广场舞 (guǎngchǎngwǔ) Square Dancing!”
Too shy to let your guard down and bust a move when you’re on a night out? Maybe you should let China’s square dancers help you get in the groove. If you walk around a Chinese city in the evening, you’ll surely find them. “广场舞 …
Chinese Idiom: 对牛弹琴 To Play the Harp to A Cow
“对牛弹琴 (Duìniútánqín)” is used by Chinese people to describe someone who is explaining something complicated to a fool, or sometimes this idiom is used to describe a person who is trying to tell something to the wrong audience. In English, people sometimes joke around by …
7 Tips for Choosing a Good Wonderful Chinese Tutor!
(Click to enlarge image)
Finding a good Chinese tutor is key if you want to learn the Chinese language correctly and in an effective way, but how do you know if your tutor is the right one for you? Use the following checklist as …
小白兔乖乖 Little Rabbit (Beginner)
(Learn Chinese through listening to popular kids’ songs.) Xiăobáitù guāiguai, bă mén kāi kāi, kuàidiăn kāi kāi, wǒ yào jìnlái. 小白兔 乖乖， 把 门 开 开，快点 开 开，我 要 进来。 Little rabbit, hurry up and open the door, I want to come in.
Bù …
4 Must-Know Ways to Address Chinese Young Men
In a previous lesson we learned how to address young Chinese women, so how about young Chinese men?
In general, depending on different situations and the age of the person speaking, there are four ways to address young Chinese men:
帅哥(shuàigē)
“帅哥(shuàigē)” literally means …
丢手绢 Hide the Handkerchief
Listen to this song: Diū shǒujuàn, diū shǒujuàn, qīngqīngde fàngzài xiǎopéngyoude hòumian, 丢 手绢， 丢 手绢， 轻轻地 放在 小朋友的 后面， Hide the handkerchief, hide the handkerchief. And gently place it behind the children.
Dàjiā búyào gàosu tā, 大家 不要 告诉 他， Please do not tell …
Are They China’s Baby Boomers-“80后(bālínghòu)” and “90后 (jiǔlínghòu)”
One basic meaning of “后(hòu)” is “after or later”, such as “一周后(yìzhōuhòu) after a week” and “三天后(sāntiānhòu) three days later.” Example Wǒ sāntiān hòu qù běijīng. 我 三天 后 去 北京。 I will leave for Beijing in three days.
At some point you will come …
“学霸(xué bà)”-Curve Wrecker at School
Literally, “霸(bà)” means “to dominate, lord over, tyrannize over or rule by force.”
xué bà 学 霸
“学霸(xué bà)” is a new buzzword that has recently been spread widely on the Internet, but we also use it in our daily lives. If we call someone …
Top 3 Activities for the Upcoming Chinese Lantern Festival
The “元宵节 (yuánxiāojié) Lantern Festival” is several days after the Spring Festival. The Lantern Festival, which falls on January 15th of the lunar calendar, is another important traditional festival in China. In the evening of that day, streets are decorated with lanterns and festoons and …
Chinese New Year 2015 – Happy New Year!
春节(chūn jié) Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is the most traditional and grand festival in China. It falls on the first of every January in the lunar calendar. 除夕(chú xī) Chinese New Year’s Eve is the last day of last year and means ringing …
Conversation-业余爱好 (yèyú àihào) Hobbies
业余爱好 (Yèyú àihào) Hobbies
初级 (Chūjí) Beginner Level
Lily: Mài Ke, nĭ xĭhuan páshān ma? Lily: 迈克，你喜欢爬山吗？ Lily: Mike, do you like climbing mountains?
Mike: Nà dāngrán le, wǒ de àihào jiù shì páshān. Mike: 那当然了，我的爱好就是爬山。 Mike: Of course, my hobby is mountain climbing.
生词 …
爷爷为我打月饼 (yéye wèi wŏ dă yuèbĭng) Grandpa Makes Moon Cake for Me
爷爷为我打月饼(yéye wèi wǒ dǎ yuèbĭng) Grandpa Makes Moon Cake for Me
Bā yuè shí wŭ yuè ér míng ya, 八 月 十 五 月 儿 明 呀， The moon is bright during Mid-Autumn Festival,
Yéye wèi wǒ dǎ yuèbĭng ya. 爷爷 为 我 打 月饼 …
Conversation-选修课 （xuǎnxiūkè） Elective Courses
话题：返校(huàtí: fǎnxiào) Topic: Back to School
选修课(xuǎnxiūkè) Elective Courses
Beginner Level/初级 chūjí
Hai, Bèidì, háo jiŭ bú jiàn! A: 嗨，贝蒂，好 久 不 见！ Hi, Betty, long time no see!
Hai, Lùxī! Shíjiān guò de zhēn kuài, shŭjià hái méi wán gòu ne, yòu kāixué le! …
Free Tips for Starting Your Chinese Learning Journey
Free Chinese Learning Tips—Where to Start?
Where does one start when learning Chinese? Chinese pinyin should be the first step. Pinyin uses the English alphabet to represent Chinese syllables. The earlier you start learning Chinese Pinyin, the easier it will be to grasp the …
谈爱好 (Tán ài hào) Talking About Hobbies
Background
Wang Bo, Zhang Mei and Rebecca are chating at a coffee house.
Dialogues
zhānɡ méi
张 梅 Zhānɡ Méi: Lì Bèikă, nĭ xĭhuan wán shénme? 张 梅：丽贝卡， 你 喜欢 玩 什么？ Zhang Mei: Rebecca, what are your hobbies? Lì Bèikǎ: Wŏ de àihào hĕnduō, …
龟兔赛跑 (guī tù sàipăo) The Race Competition between Rabbit and Tortoise
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.)
Wèi le yíng dé sēnlín yīnyuèhuì de ménpiào, xiăo
… 对面的女孩看过来 (duì miàn de nǚ hái kàn guò lái ) A girl standing opposite me looks over here
Imagine this: A beautiful and cool girl is standing opposite a young man. He puts on his new clothes, plays his guitar and sings his favorite songs to attract her attentions. Here is a song expressing a boy’s loneliness and complex feelings in this situation. …
Conversation-打出租车(dǎ chū zū chē) Take a Taxi
打出租车 (Dǎ chūzūchē) Take a Taxi
Sī jī: Zǎoshang hǎo. Huānyíng nín dào Běijīng lái. Nín yào qù nǎ? 司机：早上好。欢迎您到北京来。您要去哪？ Driver: Good morning! Welcome to Beijing. Can I help you?
Julia: Wǒ yào qù Běijīngjiŭdiàn. Wǒ kěyĭ bǎ xíngli fàng zài chē hòuxiāng ma? Julia：我要去北京酒店。我可以把行李放在车后厢吗？ …