Mandarin Monday: Let These Chinese Proverbs Guide You in Making Your New Year Goals
If you’re at a loss where to find your driving force to learning Chinese, here are some proverbs that may help you in the journey.
Mandarin Monday: The 24 Solar Terms
Last Saturday marked the September (autumn) equinox, which meant we’ll once more get an equal length of day and night. Soon after, nights will become long again. The Chinese call it 秋分 (qiūfēn), the 16th point in the 24 Solar Terms (24 节气 jiéqì), an important part of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. The astronomical …
Mandarin Monday: Your Cool Guide to Buying That Thirst-Quenching Beverage
The summer heat is just getting unbearable, isn’t it? One great way to cool down is to sip a cold, thirst-quenching beverage. Of course, water is fine, but these sweltering days call for a refreshing taste, courtesy of your local café or milk tea stall.
Subway Sunday: The "Grim" Gate on Lines 2/4, Located Just Near a Church
In today’s Subway Sunday, we travel to Xuānwǔmén (宣武门), one of Beijing’s ancient imperial gates southwest of the Forbidden City. Today, Xuanwumen is a transfer station for both Line 2 (the Second Ring Road loop) and Line 4 (Daxing Line). Its namesake, Xuānwǔmén or literally the “Gate of Military Proclamation” was informally referred to as the …
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Mandarin Monday: Looking for Common Household Items? Here Are Their Chinese Names
It’s true that living in a country where English is not the primary language is difficult. But that shouldn’t scare away newcomers in Beijing as staying here can be a learning experience. New expats, and even those who’ve been here for quite a time, mostly find it hard to find common household items in stores …
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Mandarin Monday: Cool Down by Using These Summer-Related Words
It’s undeniably hot and what better respite is there than to stay under a shade and listen to summer anthems. Of course, life isn’t always like that and we still need to endure the scorching July sun to do our daily activities. Here are some cool words and phrases you can use to beat the heat.
Mandarin Monday: Learn the Correct Character Stroke Order Using This App
Ask a Chinese guy on the street, “你知道多少汉字?” Nǐ zhīdào duōshǎo hànzì? (How many Chinese characters do you know?) Chances are that person might say around 4,000 characters. That’s a lot! When you’re accustomed to a language that uses the alphabet (in any forms) as a writing system, memorizing and pronouncing words can be simple. Chinese is a logographic language (in …
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Mandarin Monday: The HSK Cheat Sheet – 300 Words for Levels 1 and 2
When learning a new language, it is important to know basic greetings and words to help you get by. Of course, a wide vocabulary doesn’t come in an instant; it takes countless hours of reading, practicing, and immersing yourself with native speakers to grow. You might have heard that Chinese has thousands of characters … …
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Mandarin Monday: Challenge Your Chinese Proficiency with These Game Apps
I have a good pictographic memory, and that makes it easier for me to remember Chinese characters. Recognizing them is just one thing; remembering their pinyin equivalents is another. And speaking them is a whole different level. These components of learning Chinese might be the ones that frighten off new learners, but of course there’s …
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Mandarin Monday: Using Podcasts and WeChat to Step Up Your Chinese Study
“Talk to locals,” “Speak it daily,” “Always practice.” These are my mantras in learning (or rather self-studying) Chinese but usually…