Mandarin Weekly #98

大家好! (Hi, everyone!) This is Mandarin Weekly #98, a free newsletter with links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

Thousands of people from around the world now subscribe to Mandarin Weekly. If you enjoy it, please share it with your teacher and/or fellow students:

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Full archives are at http://MandarinWeekly.com, as is our list of discounts for students of Chinese.

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Sponsor: Du Chinese

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Food shopping, the Chinese way

Beginner Need to buy food while you’re in China? You could go to a supermarket, but here’s some basic information about 菜市场 (cài shì chǎng), or an open-air market — delicious, with good prices, and a great way to practice your Chinese:

http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/the-exotic-outdoor-chinese-food-market

Twitter: @ECLSchool

Investing in your Chinese

How much time should you spend practicing your Chinese? Perhaps a more important question is, what should you be doing when you practice? This post describes ways that you can make that practice more effective and efficient:

http://www.hackingchinese.com/three-factors-decide-much-chinese-learn/

Twitter: @HackingChinese

How are you feeling?

Beginner Do you feel great? Terrible? How about just so-so? Jealous? Furious? Elated? This post has a full collection of emotions for you to try out in Chinese:

https://www.writtenchinese.com/having-mixed-feelings-talk-about-your-emotions-in-chinese/

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Tracking time in Chinese

Beginner Expressing time in Chinese is often done in terms of space. In this interview, well known Chinese expert Chris Parker describes the notion of time in Chinese:

http://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/expressing-time-chinese/

When do we want it? Now!

Beginner One of my favorite words in Chinese is 马上 (mǎ shàng), which means “right away.” In this video from LearnChineseNow.com, we learn how to use it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4AU55XhM24

Twitter: @LearnChineseNow

I got a fever

Intermediate If you’re sick, then you might 发烧 (fā shāo), have a fever. But if you’re an enthusiastic fan, then you might be a 发烧友 (fā shāo yǒu):

http://www.e-putonghua.com/zone/index.php/2016/11/22/grammar-42/

Twitter: @eputonghua

Pokemon Go!

Intermediate The Pokemon Go craze is worldwide, so you really need to be able to discuss it in Chinese. (OK, perhaps “need” is a bit strong.) Here’s a video from ChinesePod.com that introduces Pokemon Go’s Chinese vocabulary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE102mHTWJY

Twitter: @ChinesePod

Visiting Hebei province

Looking for a slightly off-the-beaten-track place to go in China? Here’s some information about 河北 (hé běi), with characters and vocabulary, as well as some interesting things to do:

http://www.saporedicina.com/english/travel-to-hebei/

Book review

Advanced A review (in Chinese) of the book 十宗罪, which sounds like a great novel if your Chinese is up to it:

https://themandarincornerblog.com/2016/11/26/book-review-%e5%8d%81%e5%ae%97%e7%bd%aa2/

Unmarked passive

Intermediate You can use 被 () to mark a passive sentence. But in many cases, passive sentences don’t need any marker at all:

http://www.digmandarin.com/unmarked-passive-sentence-in-chinese.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Chinese beer

Beginner China has many brands of beer; here is some history, and the names (in Chinese, of course) for some of the better known ones:

http://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/chinese-beer/

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

Thanksgiving

Beginner The American Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone, but in case you’re still interested (or eating leftovers), here are some Thanksgiving-related terms in Chinese:

http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/thanksgiving-day-chinese-lesson

Twitter: @ECLSchool

The meanings of 出轨

Intermediate Technically speaking, 出轨 (chū guǐ) means “to go off the rails.” But there are some other, even less sympathetic, meanings:

http://www.decodemandarinchinese.com/use-of-chu-gui%E5%87%BA%E8%BD%A8/

Twitter: @DecodeChinese

Cool and confident

Intermediate Sure of yourself? Confident that you’re right? Steady and unhurried? Yeah, that’s 笃定 (dǔ dìng):

http://www.e-putonghua.com/zone/index.php/2016/11/25/dialect/

Twitter: @eputonghua

Don’t bother pressing “close door”

Intermediate A short story (in characters, with English translation) about the “close door” button on elevators, which might not do anything:

http://www.decodemandarinchinese.com/close-door-button-on-your-elevator-is-a-scam/

Twitter: @DecodeChinese

Beautiful characters

What are some nice-looking characters that you feel are especially aesthetically pleasing?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/5e3qmh/what_are_some_aesthetically_pleasing_characters/

Uses of 把 and 将

Advanced When would we use 把 (bǎ)? And when would we use 将 (jiāng)? These markers change the emphasis and structure of the sentence:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/21960/what-is-the-motivation-for-the-use-of-%e6%8a%8a-or-%e5%b0%86

Using 就 and 才

Intermediate Many students of Chinese struggle to understand when and how to use 就 (jiù) and 才 (cái). Here is a detailed description that might help:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/21963/%e8%bf%99%e5%b0%b1%e6%98%af%e5%8f%b0%e6%b9%be-%e8%bf%99%e6%89%8d%e6%98%af%e5%8f%b0%e6%b9%be-cracking-the-%e5%b0%b1-again

Of lattes and transliteration

How do you write “latte” in Chinese? Or “Hollywood”? It turns out that Mainland China and Taiwan use different transliterations, which leads to some interesting thoughts about the entire subject:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/21936/why-is-latte-written-as-%e9%82%a3%e5%a0%a4-in-traditional-chinese

Positive and negative with 一方面

Advanced The construct 一方面. . .另一方面 (yī fāng miàn . . .lìng yī fāng miàn) is a way of saying, “On the one hand, and on the other hand.” Do both need to be positive (or negative)?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/21932/%e4%b8%80%e6%96%b9%e9%9d%a2-%e5%8f%a6%e4%b8%80%e6%96%b9%e9%9d%a2-can-you-use-it-with-a-positive-and-negative-idea

I understand

Intermediate How do you say “I understand” in Chinese? Why are there two verbs, 理解 (lǐ jiě) and 了解 (liǎo jiě), and how are they different?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/21927/a-%e7%90%86%e8%a7%a3-and-%e4%ba%86%e8%a7%a3-comparison

Mandarin Weekly #97

大家好! (Hi, everyone!) This is Mandarin Weekly #97, a free newsletter with links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

Thousands of people from around the world now subscribe to Mandarin Weekly. If you enjoy it, please share it with your teacher and/or fellow students:

Twitter Facebook WeChat WhatsApp Email

Full archives are at http://MandarinWeekly.com, as is our list of discounts for students of Chinese.

To receive Mandarin Weekly in your e-mail inbox every Monday, just use the box on our Web site, at MandarinWeekly.com. Or follow us on Twitter, at @MandarinWeekly! We’re also on Facebook, at http://facebook.com/MandarinWeekly, and Medium, at http://medium.com/@mandarinweekly.

Going out to eat

Intermediate Going out to eat in a restaurant in China? Great! Here are some important vocabulary words and phrases you’ll want, from ordering, to asking for the right amount of spiciness, to telling the waiter who is receiving which dish:

https://www.writtenchinese.com/how-to-relax-converse-and-eat-well-in-a-chinese-restaurant/

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Doing two things at once

Intermediate Are you walking and chewing gum? Talking and eating? Fleeing and shooting? (OK, perhaps not.) If you’re doing two things at once, you probably need the 一边。。。一边 (yī biān…yī biān) grammar pattern:

https://chelseabubbly.com/2016/11/18/%e4%b8%80%e8%be%b9%e3%80%82%e3%80%82%e3%80%82%e4%b8%80%e8%be%b9-doing-while-doing/

Twitter: @Chelsea_bubbly

Don’t ask 你好吗 (nǐ hǎo ma)?

Beginner Newcomers to Chinese want to be polite when meeting someone, and thus ask, 你好吗? The problem is, no native Chinese speaker says this. Why not, and what you should ask instead, is here:

https://www.asianlanguageschool.com/how-to-greet-in-mandarin-do-not-use-ni-hao-ma/

Twitter: @AlsSydney

How to immerse yourself in Chinese

Immersion is a key ingredient in learning a language. But many foreigners who come to China are surprised to find that it doesn’t happen automatically. This posting is full of hints for how to ensure you’re surrounded by as much Chinese as possible, helping to boost your fluency at a faster pace:

http://www.saporedicina.com/english/why-chinese-language-immersion-is-important/

Culture! Privacy! Reading practice!

The Chinese text here is of intermediate-advanced level, but there is a translation into English — and the issues of privacy and culture are important for anyone learning Chinese, or planning to travel to China. If you’ve ever wondered why Chinese people gret each other by asking if they ate, or generally how Western and Chin:

http://carlgene.com/blog/2016/11/cultural-differences-between-chinese-and-westerners-part-1/

Twitter: @carlfordham

Chinese breakfast

Beginner Having breakfast in China? You can probably find corn flakes, yogurt, and toast — but traditional Chinese breakfast foods are quite different, as introduced in this post:

http://www.e-putonghua.com/zone/index.php/2016/11/16/chinese-breakfast/

Twitter: @eputonghua

Oh, yeah?

Intermediate Someone got you angry? You need to tell them off? Yeah, but how will you do it in Chinese? Here are some useful words and phrases for when you’re feeling angry:

https://www.writtenchinese.com/feeling-angry-learn-how-to-insult-someone-in-chinese/

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Tone changes

Intermediate When do tones changes? And how do they change? And how important is it to get these tone changes right? Many students of Chinese ask these questions; in this posting, we get clear answers and hints for remembering these rules:

http://www.hackingchinese.com/optional-obligatory-tone-change-rules-mandarin/

Twitter: @HackingChinese

Roll those eyes

Beginner Tired of being asked the same question, again and again? Or perhaps you’re tired of being asked the same question, again and again? Either way, you can respond with 翻白眼 (fān bái yǎn), rolling one’s eyes:

https://themandarincornerblog.com/2016/11/14/when-youre-lost-for-words/

Lots of meanings for “meaningful”

Intermediate The word 意思 (yìsi) means “meaning,” but takes on different meanings in different contexts, as we see here:

http://www.theworldofchinese.com/2016/11/a-meaningful-exchange/

Twitter: @WorldOfChinese

Connections

Beginner The word 关系 (guān xi) can be translated as “relationship,” but it’s more than that in China, as this posting describes:

http://www.yoyochinese.com/blog/What-to-Know-Chinese-Networking-Guanxi

Twitter: @YoYoChinese

Ethnic food

Beginner You’re in China, but don’t want to eat Chinese food. Fortunately, major cities offer many ethnic specialties. Here’s a list of how to say different ethnic cuisines, along with their most famous dishes:

http://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/chinese-vocabulary-international-cuisine/

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

Alternate “one”

Beginner When you’re reading off a phone number containing a 1, did you know that you can (should) pronounce it as yāo? More information about this alternate is here:

http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/show-off-your-chinese

Twitter: @ECLSchool

All in the family

Beginner The names of family members in Chinese are more complex than in English, in that you have to take into account the side (mother/father) and age (elder/younger) of the person you’re describing. Here are some basic family vocabulary words for starters:

http://learningchineseblog.com/family-relations%e5%ae%b6%e5%ba%ad%e5%85%b3%e7%b3%bb%ef%bc%89/

Basic questions

Beginner Here are some questions that everyone should be able to ask (and answer), even as a new student of Chinese:

https://mandarinhq.com/2016/11/personal-info-chinese/

Twitter: @MandarinHQ

Putting the “er” in Er Hua

Intermediate Mandarin is typically taught using a nortern pronunciation, known as 儿化 (ér huà). Is the 儿 character typically written out?

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/er-%E5%84%BF%E5%8C%96-represented-in-writing.2681272/

Characters vs. words

Beginner When can you use a character on its own? Ad what’s the relationship between characters and words?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/21875/how-to-determine-if-character-can-be-used-separetely

Going to work

Beginner How do you say that someone is at work? There are several different ways to say it, as described here:

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/%E6%88%91%E5%9C%A8-%E5%B7%A5%E4%BD%9C-%E4%B8%8A%E7%8F%AD.3252308/

Talking

Beginner One of the first verbs learned by a newcomer to Chinese is 说话 (shuō huà). What happens when you reverse these characters? Or when you only use one? Different meanings emerge, demonstrating the complex relationship between characters and words in Chinese:

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/%E8%AF%B4%E8%AF%9D.1955938/

Mandarin Weekly #96

大家好! (Hi, everyone!) This is Mandarin Weekly #96, a free newsletter with links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

Thousands of people from around the world now subscribe to Mandarin Weekly. If you enjoy it, please share it with your teacher and/or fellow students:

Twitter Facebook WeChat WhatsApp Email

Full archives are at http://MandarinWeekly.com, as is our list of discounts for students of Chinese.

To receive Mandarin Weekly in your e-mail inbox every Monday, just use the box on our Web site, at MandarinWeekly.com. Or follow us on Twitter, at @MandarinWeekly! We’re also on Facebook, at http://facebook.com/MandarinWeekly, and Medium, at http://medium.com/@mandarinweekly.

Guide to Pinyin

Beginner If you’re learning Chinese, then you’re likely using Pinyin, using Latin letters to represent Chinese sounds. Here is a guide to Pinyin, including some traps into which many native English speakers fall:

http://www.saporedicina.com/english/pinyin-guide/

Using 总 (zǒng)

Intermediate The character 总is used in many words, as well as on its own. Here is an introduction to this impotant, frequently used character:

http://www.decodemandarinchinese.com/all-about-the-use-of-zong/

Twitter: @DecodeChinese

Transition words

Intermediate How do you get an elephant into the refrigerator? It’ll require several separate steps. In this combination video and blog post, we learn what those steps are, and which Chinese transition words are most appropriate for describing them:

https://chelseabubbly.com/2016/11/06/sequential-transition-words-first-of-all-and-then-next-lastly/

Twitter: @Chelsea_bubbly

Big talker

Beginner Is someone you know bragging? You know, about winning the US presidential election, or something similar? Well, you can say that they are 吹牛 皮 (chuī niú pí):

http://www.e-putonghua.com/zone/index.php/2016/11/11/slang-7/

Twitter: @eputonghua

Singles’ Day

Beginner Have you heard of “Singles’ Day”? It was on November 11th, aka 11/11, because of the four 1s in the date. It has become quite a shopping bonanza, thanks to the online sales. Here is some information, and vocabulary, about Singles’ Day:

http://www.hanbridgemandarin.com/article/chinese-learning-tips/chinese-vocabulary-for-singles-day/#

Twitter: @HanbridgeOnline

Mimicking native speakers

One of the best ways to sound more authentic and fluent is to listen to (and then mimic) native speakers. In the latest Hacking Chinese challenge, we’re asked to try to engage in intensive mimicking, to improve the way our Chinese sounds:

http://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-mimicking-challenge-november-10th-30th/

Twitter: @HackingChinese

Using pronouns

Intermediate Chinese pronouns are similar to those in English, but are used somewhat differently. Here are some examples of mistakes English speakers make when working with pronouns, and how to avoid them:

https://themandarincornerblog.com/2016/11/10/why-chinese-and-english-speakers-use-pronouns-differently/

You paid how much?

Beginner If you’re shopping in China, then you’re probably looking for bargains. And many bargains aren’t advertised; you need to ask for them. How can you ask for a discount?

https://mandarinhq.com/2016/11/bargain-in-chinese/

Twitter: @MandarinHQ

Lots of it

Beginner If you have a lot of something, you can use the phrase 多了去了 (duō le qù le), as described here:

http://www.e-putonghua.com/zone/index.php/2016/11/13/spoken-chinese-6/

Twitter: @eputonghua

It’s tough

Intermediate Are you having a dilemma? Unsure of what to do? The phrase 左右为难 (zuǒ yòu wéi nán) might well apply:

http://www.e-putonghua.com/zone/index.php/2016/11/09/idiom-15/

Twitter: @eputonghua

No 为!

Intermediate The character 为 can be pronounced in two different ways (no pun intended) — as wèi and wéi. What’s the difference between the two?

https://chelseabubbly.com/2016/11/11/the-two-difference-pronunciations-of-%e4%b8%ba-wei-and-its-meanings/

Twitter: @Chelsea_bubbly

Using 才 (cái)

Intermediate The character 才 can be used in a number of ways,

http://www.decodemandarinchinese.com/how-to-use-cai/

Twitter: @DecodeChinese

Talking about sports

Beginner What sports do you play? In this video from eChineseLearning.com, you can learn to talk about them in Chinese:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qyo_wRUzrR8

Twitter: @ECLSchool

Enough!

Intermediate The word 够 (gòu) means “enough,” but it can be used in a variety of useful contexts:

http://www.decodemandarinchinese.com/how-should-i-use-gou-as-a-verb/

Twitter: @DecodeChinese

Drawers

Intermediate How do you say “drawers” (i.e., things in which you store things, such as clothing or papers)? The answer is more complicated than you might expect:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/21788/what-is-this-called%e6%a9%b1or-%e6%8a%bd%e5%b1%89

Withdrawing money

Beginner How do you talk about withdrawing money, such as from an ATM? There are, of course, several ways to describe this action:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Chinese/comments/5cmdl4/whats_withdrawing_money_my_clients_said_something/

生产 (shēng chǎn) vs. 产生 (chǎn shēng)

Intermediate What is the difference between these two words?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Chinese/comments/5cfdif/%E7%94%9F%E4%BA%A7%E5%92%8C%E4%BA%A7%E7%94%9F%E6%9C%89%E4%BB%80%E4%B9%88%E4%B8%8D%E5%90%8C/

Why does Chinese still use characters?

An interesting discussion describing the good and bad points of Chinese characters:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Chinese/comments/5c8c3p/why_dont_the_chinese_adopt_a_phonetic_script/

Referring to family members

Intermediate How do you refer to family members? In particular, how would you refer to the husband of your maternal aunt in Chinese?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/21779/is-there-any-difference-between-%e5%a7%a8%e4%b8%88-and-%e5%a7%a8%e5%a4%ab

Simple jokes

Intermediate Here are some wordplay-related jokes that you can enjoy in Chinese:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/5c2sak/simple_mandarin_jokeswordplay/

Mandarin Weekly #95

大家好! (Hi, everyone!) This is Mandarin Weekly #95, a free newsletter with links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

Thousands of people from around the world now subscribe to Mandarin Weekly. If you enjoy it, please share it with your teacher and/or fellow students:

Twitter Facebook WeChat WhatsApp Email

Full archives are at http://MandarinWeekly.com, as is our list of discounts for students of Chinese.

To receive Mandarin Weekly in your e-mail inbox every Monday, just use the box on our Web site, at MandarinWeekly.com. Or follow us on Twitter, at @MandarinWeekly! We’re also on Facebook, at http://facebook.com/MandarinWeekly, and Medium, at http://medium.com/@mandarinweekly.

Get the bonus content:

Going to the supermarket

Beginner I love going to the supermarket when I’m visiting China; it’s both similar to my supermarket at home, and yet is so different. Here are some useful tips and vocabulary words to keep in mind when you next shop in China:

https://www.writtenchinese.com/food-vocabulary-and-shopping-in-a-chinese-supermarket/

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Renting an apartment

Intermediate What questions should you ask before renting an apartment in China? I combination of vocabulary practice and insights into how you would go about renting a place to live:

http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/4-things-you-must-ask-when-renting-an-apartment-in-china

Twitter: @ECLSchool

Implicit and explicit learning

If your Chinese is going to improve, then you’ll have to use a combination of techniques. In this post, Olle Linge suggests what we can concentrate on to accelerate our learning, and how using both explicit and implicit techniques can help:

http://www.hackingchinese.com/learn-chinese-implicitly-exposure-seasoning-explicit-instruction/

Twitter: @HackingChinese

Gotta go

Beginner Three words all describe going somewhere, but mean different things. Here’s an introduction to the differences between 走 (zǒu),去 (qù) and 到 (dào):

https://chelseabubbly.com/2016/10/31/the-differences-between-%e5%8e%bb-qu-%e5%88%b0-dao-%e8%b5%b0-zou/

Twitter: @Chelsea_bubbly

Socializing in China

Beginner How do Chinese people socialize? In all of the usual ways you would expect, but also in a few uniquely Chinese ways. Here is a description, plus vocabulary, for describing these Chinese forms of recreation:

http://www.yoyochinese.com/blog/4-Chinese-People-Socialize-Hangout-Friendship

Twitter: @YoYoChinese

More and more

Intermediate The word 越 (yuè) can be used in a few very useful ways, all of which have to do with something increasing over time:

https://chelseabubbly.com/2016/11/02/%e8%b6%8a-yue%e3%80%82%e3%80%82%e3%80%82%e8%b6%8a-yue%e3%80%82%e3%80%82more%e3%80%82%e3%80%82and-more%e3%80%82%e3%80%82%e3%80%82/

Twitter: @Chelsea_bubbly

Using 把 (bǎ)

Intermediate The 把 construct allows you to change the order, and thus the emphasis, of a sentence. Here’s a guide to using this popular, and hard-to-understand (for many), grammar pattern:

http://www.saporedicina.com/english/ba-chinese-grammar/

Workplace vocabulary

Beginner Ready to work in China? Here are some useful phrases and terms you can use when you’re getting ready to go to the office, or when you’re just setting up there:

https://mandarinhq.com/2016/11/describing-workday-mandarin-chinese/

Twitter: @MandarinHQ

Chinese etiquette

Intermediate China has a long history and tradition of unwritten rules for social interactions. Here’s a guide, along with Chinese vocabulary, describing many of these behaviors, and how you can embrace them:

http://www.saporedicina.com/english/chinese-etiquette-the-complete-guide/

Voting in Chinese

Planning to vote in the US presidential election? Or just to watch the results? Here are some useful election-related terms; whether you’re delighted or horrified by the results, at least you’ll know how to talk about them in Chinese:

http://www.thechairmansbao.com/us-election-chinese-vocabulary/

Twitter: @TheChairmansBao

Using 对 (duì) and 给 (gěi)

Intermediate The words 对 (duì) and 给 (gěi) are used in a variety of ways, including to indicate to whom an action is directed. In this video from HanbridgeMandarin.com, we get a better understanding of how and when to use them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLycU3vrRYA&feature=share

Twitter: @HanbridgeOnline

Nursery rhyme

Intermediate Enjoy this Chinese nursery rhyme, 大 风车 (dà fēngchē), with characters, pinyin, and translation:

http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/chinese-nursery-rhyme-da-fengchethe-big-pinwheel

Twitter: @ECLSchool

How have you been?

Intermediate A love song sung by 周兴哲 (Zhou Xingzhe), with characters, pinyin, and translation:

http://www.chinesetolearn.com/%e4%bd%a0%ef%bc%8c%e5%a5%bd%e4%b8%8d%e5%a5%bd%ef%bc%9f-ni-hao-bu-hao-%e5%91%a8%e5%85%b4%e5%93%b2-zhou-xingzhe-eric-chou-lyrics-pinyin-english-translatioin-also-english-versio/

Twitter: @ChineseToLearn

Breaking up

Intermediate It’s always hard to end a relationship — but thanks to this video from ChineseClass101.com, at least you’ll know how to do so in Chinese:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJzaRT1uuXQ

Twitter: @chineseclass101

Too late!

Intermediate Is it too late to do something? Use the phrase 来不及 (lái bu jí) to indicate that:

http://www.e-putonghua.com/zone/index.php/2016/11/01/grammar-40/

Twitter: @eputonghua

Using 的 (de) with people

Beginner The word 的 is used as a possessive, but when we’re describing people, we don’t always have to use it. When can we ignore it?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/21711/using-%e7%9a%84-with-people

Are months 月 (yuè) or 月份 (yuè fèn)?

Advanced Which word should be used when talking about months? The answer, of course, depends:

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/%E6%9C%88-%E6%9C%88%E4%BB%BD-in-month-names.1410353/

One’s tone

Beginner How does the tone for 一 change, based on the following character’s tone?

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/pronunciation-%E4%B8%80%E4%B8%AA-%E5%9B%9B%E4%B8%AA.3247682/

Chinese book club

Advanced Want to read and discuss a book in Chinese with other learners? This month’s book 临界·爵迹 by 郭敬民:

https://np.reddit.com/r/chinesebookclub/comments/5b03m5/the_november_book_is_%E4%B8%B4%E7%95%8C%E7%88%B5%E8%BF%B9_by_%E9%83%AD%E6%95%AC%E6%B0%91/

Organizational terms

Intermediate Someone asked a question about organizational terms, and the answers provided some insights into when and how to use each of them:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/5ac1ld/%E8%AF%B7%E9%97%AE%E6%9C%BA%E5%85%B3%E6%9C%BA%E6%9E%84%E9%83%A8%E9%97%A8%E5%8D%95%E4%BD%8D%E6%9C%89%E4%BB%80%E4%B9%88%E4%B8%8D%E4%B8%80%E6%A0%B7/

Bots

Advanced Software “bots,” which answer questions and otherwise interact with people and computers automatically, are a growing trend. How do you say “bot” in Chinese?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/21756/how-do-you-say-bot-in-chinese

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Mandarin Weekly #94

大家好! (Hi, everyone!) This is Mandarin Weekly #94, with links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

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Advice and opinions

Intermediate How can you express your opinion in Chinese? There are many verbs and nouns, each of which expresses a slightly different idea. Here is a collection of such words, along with many examples of how and when to use them:

https://www.writtenchinese.com/what-do-you-think-giving-advice-sharing-opinions-in-chinese/

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Passive voice

Intermediate Constructing passive sentences in Chinese typically uses the character 被 (bèi). Here are two introductions to this structure:

http://www.saporedicina.com/english/%e8%a2%ab-bei-passive-structures-chinese/

http://www.digmandarin.com/chinese-bei-structure.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Is that really helping?

Beginner One word can make a difference: 帮忙 (bāng máng) means to help. But 帮倒忙(bāng dào máng) means that your help is more problem than solution. This description is followed by a nice introduction to “help” in Chinese:

https://themandarincornerblog.com/2016/10/24/thanks-for-nothing/

Words fail me

Intermediate You know how sometimes people say things to you that are so shocking, stunning, or ridiculous that you’re at a loss for words? That happens in Chinese as well, and there’s a great phrase to express that:

https://chelseabubbly.com/2016/10/25/%e7%9c%9f%e6%8b%bf%e4%bd%a0%e6%b2%a1%e5%8a%9e%e6%b3%95-i-give-in-you-leave-me-speechless-in-an-awkward-way/

Twitter: @Chelsea_bubbly

Doctor, doctor

Advanced China seems to be suffering from many cases of silly-name-condition-itis. In this humorous blog post, we find out about new “diseases” and “conditions” in modern China:

http://carlgene.com/blog/2016/10/random-trivia-12-interesting-conditions/

Twitter: @carlfordham

From comfortable to fluent

How do you move from comfortable use of Chinese in everyday conversations, to fluency? Olle Linge summarizes his Chinese-learning biography with suggestions for how you can achieve true fluency:

http://www.hackingchinese.com/how-i-learnt-chinese-part-7-teaching-writing-learning/

Twitter: @HackingChinese

Sounding more polite

Intermediate Want to take a rough, or commanding, edge off of your statements? Use 一下 (yī xià) after a verb, and you’ll sound more natural and friendly, as we learn in this video from LearnChineseNow.com:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0GMSQy7hnE

Twitter: @LearnChineseNow

Unexpected

Intermediate Did things turn out differently than you expected? A good phrase to know is 事与愿违 (shì yǔ yuàn wéi):

http://www.e-putonghua.com/zone/index.php/2016/10/30/idiom-12/

Twitter: @eputonghua

Measure word 包 (bāo)

Beginner A bundle. A packet. A sack. All of these terms, more or less, are covered by the measure word 包, which can be used in a variety of ways:

http://www.e-putonghua.com/zone/index.php/2016/10/29/measure-word-bao/

Twitter: @eputonghua

Chinese cinema

Want to improve your Chinese, or at least your knowledge of Chinese culture? Here is a list of must-see Chinese movies:

http://www.saporedicina.com/english/chinese-movies/

Radicals and stroke order

Beginner If you want to read Chinese well, then you’ll need to identify radicals (and non-radical components) in characters. This post introduces many popular characters and their radical forms, and also mentions stroke order:

https://www.asianlanguageschool.com/chinese-characters-radicals-stroke-order/

Twitter: @AlsSydney

Glossika review

Intermediate Many people learning Chinese, looking to further their education, turn to Glossika. Here is a review of Glossika’s Chinese lessons, with the pros and cons laid out clearly:

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/get-beyond-beginner-stage-language-review-glossika/

Twitter: @Fluent_Mandarin

Western food

Beginner If you’re in China, then you’re probably enjoying great Chinese food. But sometimes, you want to have some Western cuisine. How do you say your favorite Western foods in Chinese?

http://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/chinese-vocabulary-western-food/

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

Why not just Pinyin?

Beginner When you first start to learn Chinese, you discover that you can read the language with characters (hard!) or Pinyin (much easier). So, why not just use Pinyin? Some ideas and resources on this subject:

https://chinesepod.com/blog/pinyin-just-isnt-enough/

Twitter: @ChinesePod

Using question words as pronouns

Beginner You can use “who,” “what,” and “how” words in Chinese (谁, 什么, and 怎么) as pronouns, or fillers, in your sentences, as described here:

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/52661-flexible-use-of-interrogative-pronouns-%E8%B0%81%EF%BC%8C%E4%BB%80%E4%B9%88%EF%BC%8C%E6%80%8E%E4%B9%88%EF%BC%8C%E5%93%AA%E5%84%BF/

Potay-to, Potah-to

Beginner How do you say “potato” in Chinese? There are two terms to know:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Chinese/comments/59w8oh/%E9%A9%AC%E9%93%83%E8%96%AF_vs_%E5%9C%9F%E8%B1%86_any_difference/

Characters vs. pinyin

Beginner Does wǔ mean “dance” or “five”? With Pinyin, it’s not so clear. But with characters, it is. But wait, what about when you’re speaking (or listening)? A discussion of two characters, pinyin, and learning to listen for context:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/599syd/noob_question_wu3_5_or_dance/

Non-simple zero

Beginner Characters for numbers are pretty simple. Why, then, is the character for zero (零) so complex?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/5949c9/why_didnt_%E9%9B%B6_get_simplified/

What does 子 do?

Beginner Many nouns consist of one character, followed by 子 (zi). What does this character do? Does it have any other uses?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/58zjdd/what_is_the_purpose_of_%E5%AD%90/

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