Being able to speak fluently and interact with native Chinese easily is the ultimate goal of many Chinese learners. However, it can also be seen as a great weakness. Based on my observation of students, the reasons were either they…
There have been many tips and articles on how and why you should learn Pinyin and how necessary it is to learn Chinese. To learn Pinyin is an unavoidable stage that cannot be skipped or ignored. For general learning of…
An interjection is an exclamation, especially as a part of speech. An example of an interjection in English would be “Ah!” or “Oh!” Many of you may already know it’s a common phenomenon for Chinese sentences to end with interjections,…
What are the differences between Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (collectively called CJK, for short)? Are Chinese characters (hànzì) the same as Japanese kanji and Korean hanja? You are not alone if you are confused. Let’s debunk some of the biggest…
Unlike other languages such as English, Mandarin does not change the form of its verbs to express past, present, and future tenses. Instead, there are other ways to say how something will happen soon or the near future. Below, we…
As a Mandarin teacher, I am always delighted to observe and learn from my students. One thing I have noticed in my interactions with my students is how hard most of them have to struggle during the learning process. The…
In my first year as a high school Chinese teacher in India, I noticed that sometimes my students giggled when I spoke. At first I thought it was my Chinglish and tones. But then one day they asked me:…
The Chinese are famously pretty vague in giving answers. As most will readily admit, they prefer to offer estimations rather than specifics, especially if there may be consequences involved. Instead of getting frustrated, we straight-talking foreigners can benefit from adopting…