In English, the word “often” means “frequently” or “many times”. In Chinese, the adverbs常常(cháng cháng) and 往往(wǎng wǎng) can both be translated as “often”. However, like other synonym pairs, they have some differences, and in Mandarin, their usage can signify…
Here is a lesson that is a bit more advanced, and it involves two words that are often thought to have the same meaning and are sometimes used interchangeably. These two words are “通过(tōng guò)” and “经过(jīng guò)”. Even if…
If something was originally a certain way, or "should be" a certain way, two words, "本来" (běn lái) and "原来" (yuán lái), are often used in daily Chinese conversation. Sometimes they are interchangeable, but they are also used in different…
If you learn Chinese, you must know the character “把” and its corresponding uses in your first learning session. Besides the common use of 把 sentence, there is another use which is measure word. In modern Chinese language, a number…
It has been very cold in Beijing recently, and out on the streets, you might hear some Chinese people saying: “冷死了(lěng sǐ le, I’m freezing).” "死 (sǐ)" literally means “to die,” or “death,” and is generally a taboo word with…
Once your Chinese learning reaches an intermediate level, you may find that you have some difficulty with synonyms. Most Chinese learners wonder if these synonyms are interchangeable, or wonder which particular word(s) to use in a situation where a couple…
In Chinese, there are two words for “two”: 二（èr) and 两(liǎng), and Chinese learners are often confused by which one they should use. Today, we will illustrate the correct ways to use each of them. The biggest different between…
Do you have inquiries about learning Chinese or about Chinese culture? Here we recommend a website called Quora.com. You can learn ask any question and there will be great answer from someone who has first hand experience with the topic.…