The other day I went to the bank to deal with some issues with my account. When telling the lady at the bank what I want she said “Wow, your Chinese is so good! Did you grow up in China? I didn’t even realize you are a foreigner!” It’s a great compliment that boosts my […] Read more…
As a learner of Madarin Chinese, being able to write Chinese characters is a huge part of studying. Even though I learned how to actually write Chinese characters with hours and hours of hard practice, most of the communication I am involved with that requires Chinese characters is all digital: on the computer or smartphone. […] Read more…
Happy late Thanksgiving everyone! Hope you had a great day with your family or did something else awesome if you are away from your family! 每个人都会在黑色星期五购物. Měi gèrén dūhuì zài hēisè xīngqíwǔ gòuwù Everyone goes shopping on Black Friday. Did you go shopping on Black Friday? Read more…
Today’s guest post is by Becky, an American writer, traveler, and tea drinker. She’s a former magazine editor, current book author and teacher living in China. In her post, she writes about possibly the best way to learn a language: through your partner! I also became fluent in Chinese after dating a Chinese man and came to […] Read more…
Something I had to use frequently this season! I just love pumpkin spice latte! 秋天我最喜欢的饮料是南瓜拿铁！ Qiūtiān wǒ zuì xǐhuān de yǐnliào shì nánguā ná tiě! My favorite beverage for fall season is Pumpkin Latte! What’s your favorite fall/winter beverage? Read more…
Happy Halloween! 万圣节快乐！Wànshèngjié kuàilè! How do you celebrate Halloween in your country? Read more…
Today’s Chinese word is 剩女 (shèng nǚ). 剩 (shèng): to be left over (eg. 剩下的 – shèngxià de – that which has been left over) 女(nǚ): female (eg. 女孩子 – nǚháizi – girl) “剩女必看：拥有10种特质，男人绝对娶你回家“ “shèngnǚ bìkān: yōngyǒu 10 zhǒng tèzhì, nánrén juéduì qǔ nǐ huíjiā” “Leftover girls must read this: If you have these 10 characteristics, guys will definitely marry […] Read more…
A new word I learned which is popular among young Chinese people: also short 神经 How do you call a psycho in your native language? Read more…
The Korean language is actually much more related to Chinese than one might think. Korean is also very closely related to Japanese, probably even more than Chinese, but Chinese words actually do make up about 60% of the Korean vocabulary, though in actual speech (especially informally) native words are more common. These Chinese words in Korean are […] Read more…
Today’s word is very important for ladies at the hairdresser’s: 我想把头发染成渐变色。 Please dye my hair in ombre style. What is your favorite hairstyle in Chinese? Read more…
It seems like many Europeans and Americans have come to appreciate learning languages of lands farther away than France, Spain/Mexico or Portugal/Brazil, Italy, etc. Especially Asian languages are extremely popular to learn at the moment and more and more schools and universities begin to offer full language courses or degrees in these oriental languages. Being […] Read more…
A new word I learned while sitting in a taxi and listening to the radio: 他最近一直忙忙碌碌。 He has been super busy recently. How do you express it in Chinese when you are super busy? Read more…
The writers from “My New Chinese Wife” provided me with this awesome infographic that helps you to integrate into Chinese society and ultimately become a local laowai! Thanks for sharing this with me! “Many thanks to Linda for the opportunity to let us share with you an “infographic” we have prepared about living in China. […] Read more…
Since I moved back to China, my Chinese has gotten better and better. Being the only foreigner in my company and almost only hanging out with Chinese people made me speak the language on a different level than before. When I speak English or German again, though, I sometimes like to use certain Chinese words […] Read more…
The other day, I held a presentation about living, working and traveling in China at my old university. The audience was mostly made up by current Chinese students as well as a few teacher. During the Q&A period, a lot of students asked me how they could improve memorizing Chinese characters 汉字. That’s why I decided to […] Read more…
Thanksgiving is right around the corner, so if you are an American in China or you are going to celebrate with Chinese people in the US, you better know how to call that turkey in Chinese! Of course, Thanksgiving is not celebrated in China but when you are teaching English in China it might be […] Read more…
Today I want to share my favorite ways how to improve your Chinese skill with you. I am not a fan of simple studying with a textbook because it has been proven not very effective. You have to ask yourself the question: “How do babies learn a language?” It’s simply by listen and repeat. So […] Read more…
Some Chinese learners start learning the language by only studying Pinyin; but at some point sooner or later you will notice that you cannot get around learning how to read and write Chinese characters 汉字. When learning 汉字 most Chinese students start with the simple 我，你，很好 etc. which are usually very easy to memorize within a […] Read more…