Mandarin Weekly (每周中文) #121, 2017-May-8

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This is Mandarin Weekly #121, a free newsletter read by more than 17,000 students of Chinese around the world.

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What to eat and drink Intermediate

Traditional Chinese medicine strongly influences the food and drink that people in China have. Here are some basic ideas to consider and keep in mind:

https://www.writtenchinese.com/the-mysterious-impact-food-can-have-on-the-body-according-to-tcm/

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

More or less Intermediate

How long will it take? How hot will it be today? How quickly do you type? These and other questions are often answered not with a specific number, but with an approximate one. How can you indicate that the value is approximate in Chinese?

http://www.digmandarin.com/expressing-approximate-number-mandarin.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Starting a conversation Beginner

Maybe you can have a conversation in Chinse, but how do you start the conversation? Here are some tips and ways to do so:

https://mandarinhq.com/2017/05/start-a-conversation-in-chinese/

Twitter: @MandarinHQ

Body parts Beginner

How do you say different body parts in Chinese? This video provides numerous examples of the most common body parts, as well as some expressions you can use with them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f98EJHin0to

Twitter: @ECLSchool

Restaurant phrases Intermediate

Planning to eat in a restaurant soon, and want to practice your Chinese? Here are 60 words and phrases you can use, along with an explanation of when they would be appropriate:

http://www.fluentu.com/chinese/blog/2017/05/03/chinese-restaurant-phrases/

Twitter: @FluentU

About Einstein Advanced

Albert Einstein was one of the most prominent scientists of the 20th century. This story, in Chinese, describes his life and accomplishments:

http://www.alllanguageresources.com/albert-einstein-advanced-reading-practice-audio/

A mouse? Or a monster? Intermediate

A short story (well, the first part of one) describing an emperor who couldn’t’ tell the difference between a mouse and a monster:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/15-2009-12-02-23-37-29/2833-2017-05-06-07-00-31

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Reading narrowly All

How can you improve your Chinese reading? “Narrow reading” is one technique, which helps you to improve your fluency by focusing on a single subject or author. Here’s how to use it:

http://www.hackingchinese.com/narrow-listening-reading-can-help-learn-chinese/

Twitter: @HackingChinese

Custom fonts All

Here is a collection of book covers in that use custom Chinese characters, adding to the design:

http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2017/05/03/cool-custom-fonts-for-chinese-book-covers

Popular foods Beginner

What are some of the most famous foods in China? This video introduces them, so that you can know what to order when you next go out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R8MOddWr4E

Twitter: @chineseclass101

Ancient Chinese money Advanced

What was Chinese money like in ancient times? Here is a story that describes it:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/13-2009-12-02-23-35-40/2830-2017-05-04-08-29-32

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Wedding words Intermediate

How do you talk about engagement, marriage, and everything else having to do with getting married? Here are some useful words, and an explanation of how the words are related:

http://blog.hellochinese.cc/2017/05/05/woman-will-get-married-character-%e5%a9%9a-will-tell/

Twitter: @HelloChineseApp

Watch more TV! (In Chinese) Advanced

Watching TV in Chinese might be challenging, but it’ll improve your comprehension and expose you to current cultural and linguistic thinking. Here are some Chinese shows to watch out for:

https://www.yoyochinese.com/blog/5-Popular-Chinese-TV-Shows-Immerse-You-Chinese-Culture

Twitter: @YoYoChinese

Chinese calligraphy All

Chinese calligraphy is a famous form of art that you’re likely to see on any trip to China. Here is some background on calligraphy, along with vocabulary to describe it:

http://www.saporedicina.com/english/art-calligraphy-china/

Checking a report Beginner

A student asks his mother to check his report for school, in this short dialogue:

http://mychinesereading.com/can-check-paper/

Only Beginner

How do you say “only” in Chinese? You can use the character 只 (zhǐ),but how do you include it in your sentences, and is it always appropriate?

https://themandarincornerblog.com/2017/05/06/its-only/

I’ll take care of it Beginner

A short story exhibiting the use of a common idiom:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/14-2009-12-02-23-37-05/2831-2017-05-05-06-23-36

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Counting days Beginner

Why do we use 天 (tiān) for counting days in Chinese, rather than 日 (rì)?

https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/23627/why-%E5%A4%A9-is-chosen-for-counting-days-instead-of-%E6%97%A5-in-mandarin

Look out! Advanced

What does the expression 好自为之 (hǎo zì wéi zhī) mean? And is it to be take positively or negatively?

https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/23686/translating-the-two-meanings-of-%e5%a5%bd%e8%87%aa%e4%b8%ba%e4%b9%8b


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