In Part 1 of Chinese idioms and slangs, we talked about the 龙（dragon） and the 凤（phoenix, two animals that are traditional symbols of Chinese culture. But of course, they are not the only two animals that are a part of…
Animals have always been an indispensable part of the Chinese people’s daily lives. Naturally, many Chinese words reflect the close relationship between animals and the Chinese people. For example, in the Year of the Dragon, people will say “生龙活虎”(shēng lóng…
Many people say Chinese is the most difficult language in the world. Some may not agree, but the fact is that Chinese is definitely not easy for beginners. To start learning Chinese, you need to seriously prepare yourself. But how…
Socializing can be a challenge anywhere, but it can be especially stressful in a Chinese business setting! It’s evident that there’s an ongoing increase in the number of international businesses and entrepreneurs looking to work with Chinese corporations. What’s more,…
Before we start our topic today on Chinese homophones, let’s first look at the following two sentences: (1)一朵漂亮的花儿。(Yī duǒ piàoliàng de huār. ) (2)他今天花了一百元。(Tā zuátiān huā le yībǎi yuán.) We can see that both of these sentences have“花”, whose meanings…
We’ve all been there. You do research on the language you plan to learn and then stumble across countless studying tips. Or perhaps you’re an intermediate learner getting bored and seeking new ways to keep yourself engaged in studying the…
I`ve been a Chinese teacher for a long time and I’m frequently asked about writing Chinese characters. This article will summarize my thoughts on this issue which I hope will help all Chinese character learners. Here are the top two questions…
With the wealth of internet resources of the modern age, many people are turning to websites designed to help mandarin students, blogs, or even chatrooms for help. The days of reliance on courses and textbooks are behind us and it…