Mandarin Weekly #137

 

Image

Hi! This is Mandarin Weekly #137, a free newsletter read by more than 20,000 students of Chinese around the world.

Sorry about the delay in getting this out, but I just returned from a (great, relaxing, fun-with-family) vacation.  We should be back on a normal schedule starting next week (i.e., September 11th).

Customize Mandarin Weekly for your interests and learning level, and support the creation of each issue, by subscribing to Mandarin Weekly Plus. It costs less than $1/week, and less than 50¢/week for students. Click here to subscribe!

If you enjoy Mandarin Weekly, please share it with others. And don’t forget to take advantage of our list of discounts for students of Chinese.

To receive Mandarin Weekly every Monday, sign up MandarinWeekly.com. Every Tuesday, we go up on Facebook, at http://facebook.com/MandarinWeekly, Medium, at http://medium.com/@mandarinweekly, and Twitter, at @MandarinWeekly.  Please like, share, and retweet us!

If you offer products or services aimed at students of Chinese, and want to sponsor one or more issues, then please contact Reuven at reuven@lerner.co.il.

Word order Beginner Grammar Video

How different is word order in Chinese from English? This video provides a useful perspective, with simple but effective examples:

http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2017/08/30/chinese-word-order-and-english-word-order-how-similar

Types of characters All Characters

There are many different Chinese characters, but there are only a few types of characters, distinct patterns into which the characters can be organized. Here is an introduction to these patterns, and how to use them to read more easily:

https://www.writtenchinese.com/lowdown-6-types-of-chinese-characters/

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Emotions Beginner Grammar Video

Want to express emotions and feelings in Chinese? These cute videos demonstrate a variety of them, with some catchy music, to boot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glbjvNh0Iv8

Twitter: @ChineseBuddy

Question words Beginner Grammar

How do you ask questions in Chinese? You use a question word, of coursze, just like in English and many other languages. Here is an introduction to the various question words in Chinese:

http://www.fluentu.com/blog/chinese/2017/09/04/chinese-question-words/

Twitter: @FluentU

Flirt in Chinese Intermediate Vocabulary Expressions

Love is in the air! Lots of Chinese-learning blogs have recently posted about how to flirt in Chinese. In case you missed the other posts, or just want to try a few new and different ways to say you find someone attractive, here’s the latest way to flirt in Chinese:

http://www.fluentu.com/blog/chinese/2017/08/28/flirt-in-chinese/

Twitter: @FluentU

Let’s get dressed! Beginner Vocabulary

Want to get dressed in Chinese? Here are some essential vocabulary words you’ll need to do so:

http://allaboutchinese.tumblr.com/post/164718394088/allaboutchinese-%E6%89%93%E6%89%AE-dress-up

Verbling review All Reviews

Want to improve your Chinese speaking (and listening) ability? Verbling is another company offering paid, online instructors with whom you can practice in real time:

https://www.alllanguageresources.com/verbling-review-an-alternative-to-italki/

Basic travel expressions Beginner Travel

Planning to travel in China? Knowing some Chinese, even if you’re totally new to the language, will help a great deal. Here are some basic phrases that you should learn before your first trip:

https://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/4-must-know-expressions-for-chinese-beginners-traveling-in-china/

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

Organic in China Intermediate Food

Want to buy organic produce in China, or eat at restaurants that only use organic products? You’ll find yourself challenged to do so, but after reading this article, at least you’ll know how to ask the right questions (and even understand the answers):

https://chinesepod.com/blog/2017/08/30/going-organic/

Twitter: @ChinesePod

Ghost month! All Culture

This is “ghost month” in China, during which certain traditions (or even “superstitions”) come out of the wordwork. Here are some things to know about ghost month:

https://www.digmandarin.com/chinese-ghost-month.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Animal expressions Intermediate Expressions

Chinese is full of sayings and expressions. These often mention animals, as we can see here:

https://www.digmandarin.com/chinese-idioms-chengyu-animals.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Listen better Intermediate Listening

Learning to hear the sounds of Chinese is important not just for comprehension, but also for speaking correctly. Here are some suggestions for improving your listening, and a new course that can help you to do so:

http://www.hackingchinese.com/training-and-testing-your-ability-to-hear-mandarin-sounds/

Twitter: @HackingChinese

Mandarin vs. Cantonese All Culture

Mandarin Weekly is about, well, Mandarin Chinese. But there are other forms, or “dialects,” of Chinese. One of the most common is Cantonese. How are Mandarin and Cantonese similar, and how are they different?

https://www.tutormandarin.net/en/similarities-differences-cantonese-vs-mandarin/

Twitter: @MyTutorMandarin

Numbers in Chinese Beginner Grammar

Counting is very easy in Chinese, once you get the hang of the number system:

http://www.saporedicina.com/english/chinese-numeric-system/

Different ways to travel Intermediate Vocabulary

There are different words for “travel” in Chinese, but is there any difference between them? For example, we can say either 旅游 (lǚ yóu) or 旅行 (lǚ xíng), as described here:

https://themandarincornerblog.com/2017/08/25/whats-the-difference-between-lu-you-%e6%97%85%e6%b8%b8-and-lu-xing%e6%97%85%e8%a1%8c/

Eclipse fever All Vocabulary

Much of the United States was gripped by eclipse excitement in August, with a total solar eclipse. How can you describe it in Chinese? Here’s a nice article on the subject:

https://teachmechinese.wordpress.com/2017/08/29/learn-the-chinese-word-for-a-total-solar-eclipse/

Measuring meals Advanced Grammar

顿 (dùn) and 道 (dào) can both be used as measure word for meals and eating. How are they different?

https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/26331/whats-the-difference-between-%e9%a1%bf-and-%e9%81%93-as-a-measure-word-for-meals


Also published on Medium.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *