Mandarin Weekly #153

 

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Hi! This is Mandarin Weekly #153, a free newsletter read by more than 21,000 students of Chinese around the world.

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Connective phrases Intermediate Grammar

Connecting ideas together can be done in a number of ways in Chinese; here are some phrases to do this more easily:

https://www.mandarinblueprint.com/blog/2017/6/15/conversation-connectors-

Twitter: @MandarinBP

How to form questions Beginner Grammar Video

How do you form questions in Chinese? You can use question words, but that’s not always enough:

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/how-to-form-questions-in-chinese/

Twitter: @Fluent_Mandarin

Mandarin MOOCs Beginner Learning

Want to learn Chinese, but save some money? A MOOC (massive open, online course) might be just the ticket:

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/chinese/2017/12/20/mandarin-mooc/

Twitter: @FluentU

Remembering tones Beginner Pronunciation

Tones are one of the hardest things for many people to grasp in Chinese, but getting them right will make you far more understandable. Here are some suggestions for remembering them:

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/chinese/2017/12/20/how-to-remember-chinese-tones/

Twitter: @FluentU

Tips for listening practice All Learning

How can you improve your listening comprehension when learning a new language? By investing the time actually listening, as described here:

https://medium.com/@peterrettig/6-listening-practice-tips-for-my-seventh-language-128b987449bc

Chinese holiday terms Intermediate Culture Video

Here’s a roundup of Chinese festivals, the traditional activities done on each one, and the foods eaten on each one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpeVtQh4KGI

Twitter: @chineseclass101

Christmas in China All Culture Video

How do people celebrate Christmas in China? Like in the West, but with some additional twists:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6ssLHuG2XM

Twitter: @chineseclass101

Swearing in Chinese All Culture

People who start to learn a language often want to learn the swear (i.e., curse or rude) worse first. Regardless of where you are in learning Chinese, here are some terms to avoid saying in polite company:

https://www.livethelanguage.cn/chinese-swear-words/

Podcast review Intermediate Reviews

Podcasts are a great way to learn any subject, and Chinese is no exception. Here’s a review of a relatively new podcast aimed at upper-intermediate level Chinese learners:

https://mandarinwithmanu.wordpress.com/2017/12/23/podcast-review-%e7%8b%97%e7%86%8a%e6%9c%89%e8%af%9d%e8%af%b4-%e7%ac%ac260%e6%9c%9f/

Twitter: @MandarinWManu

Overcoming the learning plateau Intermediate Learning

Have you reached a plateau in your Chinese learning, such that you aren’t advancing quickly? Here’s what one person did to ensure that he kept improving:

https://mandarinwithmanu.wordpress.com/2017/12/21/breaking-through-a-plateau/

Twitter: @MandarinWManu

Christmas songs Intermediate Culture

Want to sing Christmas songs in Chinese?

https://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/christmas-songs-in-chinese/

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

Winter solstice Beginner Culture Video

Winter solstice is a traditional festival in China, and there are special ways to celebrate it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MteUpOV0JMU

Twitter: @ECLSchool

Winter solstics foods Beginner Culture

If it’s the winter solstice (or thereabouts), then people in China are celebrating with special foods:

https://speakmandarin1.wordpress.com/2017/12/19/%e5%86%ac%e8%87%b3/

About the winter solstice Beginner Culture

It’s cold outside, and also dark — here’s a description of this period of the year according to traditional Chinese custom:

http://teresarainsegna.blogspot.com/2017/12/solstizio-dinverno-winter-solstice.html

Christmas vocabulary, part 1 Beginner Culture Video

How do you say “Christmas,” and the words associated with it? Here are the basics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNOi9O5dyxM&t=23s

Twitter: @ECLSchool

Christmas vocabulary, part 2 Beginner Culture Video

Here are some more Christmas words in Chinese:

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

Twitter: @ECLSchool

New thinking Intermediate Story

Get rid of the old, in order to make room for the new:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/14-2009-12-02-23-37-05/3027-2017-12-22-02-32-17

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Little figurines Advanced Story

Learn about Anna and her figurines:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/13-2009-12-02-23-35-40/3026-2017-12-21-02-13-48

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Directional complements Intermediate Grammar

You can add a directional complement to many verbs in Chinese, allowing you to indicate more than just the action:

https://www.saporedicina.com/english/directional-complements-verbs-prepositions-chinese/

Learning from one another All Reviews

Want to improve your Chinese? Consider HelloTalk, which lets people help to improve one another’s vocabulary:

https://www.digmandarin.com/hellotalk-review-helping-people-learn-languages.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

在 (zài) or 者 (zhe)? Advanced Grammar

What’s the difference between these verb forms? They seem very similar, but play different roles:

https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/28130/effect-of-%e5%9c%a8-and-%e7%9d%80-on-verbs-what-are-the-best-single-word-translations

Lots of things Intermediate Grammar

How do you say “more than 500” of something?

https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/28132/what-does-500%e5%a4%9a%e4%b8%aa-mean


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