Would You Marry Me?
Marriage is one of the most significant things in a person’s life. In Chinese, “婚”(hūn) is the literal meaning of marriage. This Chinese character has two parts, that is to…
Dhruv’s Two Cents on Answering Direct Questions
After spending some time in China, one soon realizes that many things in your textbook were written in a foreigner-friendly way. In reality, from the perspective of a foreigner, the…
Culture Wok with Kirsten: 大家好！
I remember it quite distinctly: Bus after city bus had been packed to sardine-can limits, and it was still too cold to comfortably walk the two miles back to my…
Slang Similarities in English and Chinese
In the process of learning Chinese, you may find that many slangs or idioms between Chinese and English are similar, like in English “a piece of cake”and in Chinese “小菜一碟…
Mandarin You Need that You Can’t Find in a Textbook
As an English teacher in the Guandong province for the last five weeks, I’ve noticed many things in my daily conversations that none of the Chinese textbooks I studied from…
Learning about Chinese Culture “Off the Great Wall”
If you really want to master a language, you should not ignore the spectacular culture associated with it. If you are interested in Chinese and the Chinese culture, you should…
It’s all about eating—Or is it？— Expressions about“吃”in Chinese
In China, people say that “民以食为天 (Bread is the staff of life.),” and that is true. Eating is such an important element of our lives that friends meet at restaurants,…
Culture Crossover: Discover 14 Chinese Loanwords in English
Borrowing words from other languages is a common linguistic phenomenon, facilitating cross-cultural exchange and enriching our vocabulary. As you may have noticed, there is a growing trend of English words…
Mid-Autumn Festival in 10 Chinese Characters
On September 29th 2023, a traditional Chinese holiday called The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated. For the entire Chinese nation, it is a time to gaze at the moon and enjoy…