Mandarin Weekly #165

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Hi! This is Mandarin Weekly #165, a newsletter read by more than 21,000 students of Chinese around the world. Mandarin Weekly is sent to paying subscribers every Monday, and to everyone else every Thursday.

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Work at Concordia Language Villages All Sponsored

森林湖 (Sēn Lín Hú), Concordia Language Villages’ Mandarin language and culture immersion program, is currently accepting employment applications for Summer 2018. To apply, just follow the link:

https://hr.cord.edu/postings/4064

I’m not sure Intermediate Expressions

How can you say that you’re not sure about something?

https://www.echineselearning.com/blog/chinese-slang-phrases-im-not-sure-if-i-have-a-good-foundation

Twitter: @ECLSchool

Sign up for ECL, and get one free week by mentioning “Reuven Lerner”

Using 并 (bìng) Intermediate Grammar Video

How do you use 并 in Chinese? This lesson explains it all:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX-hUK27C-Y

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Eat your vegetables! Beginner Vocabulary

Ask for vegetables in China, listening to this dialogue. (Free registration required)

https://www.chineseclass101.com/lesson/upper-beginner-17-how-to-get-your-vegetables-in-china/

Twitter: @chineseclass101

Click here to sign up for ChineseClass101

Cheers! Beginner Food Culture

白酒 (bái jiǔ) is a famous (perhaps the most famous) Chinese alcoholic beverage. Learn more about it, and drinking culture in China, here:

https://www.writtenchinese.com/ready-set-baijiu/

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Which Mandarin? All Learning

While “Mandarin Chinese” sounds like a standard term, there are differences bewteen the versions spoken in mainland China and Taiwan. This article introduces some of them:

https://chinachannel.org/2018/03/13/sober-beer/

Twitter: @larbchina

Home sweet home Beginner Vocabulary

What rooms are in your home? And what things does it contain? Here is a basic set of vocabulary words about homes and rooms:

https://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/rooms-and-furniture-in-chinese/

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

About Chinese culture All Culture

Some interesting trivia and facts (choose your definition) about China and Chinese culture:

https://www.tutormandarin.net/en/18-things-you-didnt-know-about-chinese-culture/

Twitter: @MyTutorMandarin

Chinese medicine All Culture

Chinese medicine has long been seen as an alternative set of approaches to Western medicine. Here are some famous people and stories from the annals of Chinese medicine:

http://www.theworldofchinese.com/2018/03/divine-doctors-of-ancient-chinese-medicine/

Twitter: @WorldOfChinese

Intro Chinese characters Beginner Characters

Just starting to read Chinese characters? Here are some of the most common, basic, and essential ones you should know:

https://www.livethelanguage.cn/common-chinese-characters/

Twitter: @Ltlmandarin

Thanks so much! Beginner Expressions

How do you thank someone in Chinese? There are a number of ways, depending on the context:

https://mandarinhq.com/2018/03/say-thank-you-in-chinese/

Twitter: @MandarinHQ

Have any money? Beginner Vocabulary Video

Have any money on you? Here is a song about having (and not having) money:

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

Twitter: @ChineseBuddy

Ha ha! Intermediate Grammar Video

Heard a funny joke? Tell everyone that you laughed so hard, your stomach hurt:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=NPjLhi9ZItU

Twitter: @ECLSchool

Sign up for ECL, and get one free week by mentioning “Reuven Lerner”

Vocabulary challenge All Learning

Join the latest Hacking Chinese challenge, pushing yourself to learn new vocabulary:

http://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-vocabulary-challenge-march-2018/

Twitter: @HackingChinese

Chinese cuisines All Food Culture

People talk about “Chinese food,” but there are many distinct Chinese cuisines, from different regions of China. Here is a description of them:

https://www.saporedicina.com/english/chinese-cuisine-traditions/

Mobile payments Intermediate Story Vocabulary

China is switching to mobile payments at breathtaking speed. Here’s a short story in simple Chinese describing this phenomenon:

https://speakmandarin1.wordpress.com/2018/03/13/%e7%a7%bb%e5%8a%a8%e6%94%af%e4%bb%98-mobile-payment/

Just a bit Intermediate Grammar Video

It’s very common to use the term 一下 (yī xià) after a verb. Why, and what does it mean?

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/one-phrase-spoken-chinese-need-know-yi-xia/

Twitter: @Fluent_Mandarin

Getting better? Intermediate Story

If you’re sick, it’ll take time to get better. How much time? Longer than it did to get sick, that’s for sure — as described in this story, and expression:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/14-2009-12-02-23-37-05/3098-2018-03-17-08-04-22

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Who is a coward? Beginner Story

Who is scared? Find out in this story:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/14-2009-12-02-23-37-05/3097-2018-03-17-06-50-10

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Cash or credit? Beginner Story

How will you pay for your items, with cash or a card?

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/14-2009-12-02-23-37-05/3092-2018-03-12-07-59-15

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Get out of bed! Intermediate Grammar

How do you talk about getting out of bed?

https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/29081/is-the-opposite-of-%e4%b8%8a%e5%ba%8a-%e4%b8%8b%e5%ba%8a-or-%e8%b5%b7%e5%ba%8a

Ladies and gentlemen Intermediate Culture Grammar

Is it OK to say 男人 (nán rén) and 女人 (nǚ rén), or is there a more polite way?

https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/29115/do-%e7%94%b7%e4%ba%ba-and-%e5%a5%b3%e4%ba%ba-have-an-unfavourable-connotation

Takeoff in three hours Intermediate Grammar

How can you translate the phrase, “We’re taking off in three hours”? You cannot translate Chinese to English word by word, which leads to an interesting discussion:

https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/29127/how-to-express-until-in-chinese

Mandarin Weekly #164

 

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This is Mandarin Weekly #164, a newsletter read by more than 21,000 students of Chinese around the world. Mandarin Weekly is sent to paying subscribers every Monday, and to everyone else every Thursday.

Customize Mandarin Weekly, getting only the links that are useful to you — and also get it before everyone else! Subscribe to Mandarin Weekly Plus for a one-time fee of $15. Subscriptions help to support the servers and software needed to keep Mandarin Weekly running.

Subscribe to Mandarin Weekly Plus!

What’s funny in China? Intermediate Culture Video

Humor is often based in culture, which raises the question of what people in China consider funny. Here are some hints examples of Chinese humor, and ways you can (hopefully) make people laugh:

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/chinese/2018/03/07/chinese-humor/

Twitter: @FluentU

Using modal particles Intermediate Grammar

Chinese has many “modal particles,” characters added to what you’re saying that change the meaning or emphasis. Here are a number you can and should incorporate into your speech:

https://blog.glossika.com/how-to-use-modal-particles/

Are you OK? Beginner Expressions Video

Worried about your friend? Here’s a phrase you can use to check on him or her:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdxid-4Tz84

Twitter: @ECLSchool

Sign up for ECL, and get one free week by mentioning “Reuven Lerner”

Originally and originally Advanced Grammar

The words 原来 (yuán lái) and 本来 (běn lái) both mean “originally,” but how are they used?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70c5Hfpn1nI

“Third gender” restrooms All Culture Vocabulary

How is China handling the trend toward restrooms for people who identify as neither male nor female? With some interesting new vocabulary and cultural tension:

http://www.theworldofchinese.com/2018/03/a-restroom-by-any-other-name/

Twitter: @WorldOfChinese

Fundamentally Intermediate Grammar

The word 根本 (gēn běn) has to do with the root cause of something — among other meanings. Here are some more ways you can use this word:

https://www.decodemandarinchinese.com/remember-use-%e6%a0%b9%e6%9c%ac-correctly/

Twitter: @DecodeChinese

Observe carefully Intermediate Vocabulary

The character 观 (guān) is used in a variety of words, as described here:

http://www.theworldofchinese.com/2018/03/on-the-character-%e8%a7%82/

Twitter: @WorldOfChinese

Breakfast food All Food

Chinese breakfast foods are a different from those we’re used to in the West; here are some examples of what you can expect to have in a Chinese morning:

https://www.writtenchinese.com/chinese-snacks-101-a-big-pile-of-steamed-dumplings/

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Don’t ignore these things Beginner Learning

Here are some hints and ideas of what not to ignore when you’re learning Chinese:

https://medium.com/@samueltersigni/common-chinese-mistakes-d369dc9c7622

Useful expressions Intermediate Expressions

Expressions are always fun to learn, and often to incorporate into your speech. Here are some that you might not use, but which are fun to know:

https://www.digmandarin.com/cracking-wisdom-chinese-idioms.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Drink too much? Intermediate Expressions

If you drank too much and have a headache in the morning, you might want to learn the word 喝过头 (hē guò tóu):

https://themandarincornerblog.com/2018/03/09/do-you-know-what-past-the-head-means/

Find me a match All Culture

Chinese parents are getting nervous that their children aren’t marrying. What can they do? How about go to the “marriage market” in Shanghai:

https://blog.hutong-school.com/shanghai-marriage-market/

Twitter: @hutongschool

Classic Chinese foods All Food

What foods should you try when visiting China? Here are some ideas and suggestions for what not to miss:

https://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/10-must-try-foods-in-china/

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

What’s the difference? Intermediate Grammar

Are 差異 (chā yì) and 差別 (chā bié) the same, or are they used differently?

https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/29075/whats-the-difference-between-%e5%b7%ae%e7%95%b0-and-%e5%b7%ae%e5%88%a5

The power of love Intermediate Story

The legend of Mèng jiāng nǚ, who searched for her husband:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/15-2009-12-02-23-37-29/3088-2018-03-07-03-48-15

Twitter: @imandarinpod

 

Work at Concordia Language Villages All Sponsored

森林湖 (Sēn Lín Hú), Concordia Language Villages’ Mandarin language and culture immersion program, is currently accepting employment applications for Summer 2018. To apply, just follow the link:

https://hr.cord.edu/postings/4064

Mandarin Weekly #163

 

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This is Mandarin Weekly #163, a newsletter read by more than 21,000 students of Chinese around the world. Mandarin Weekly is sent to paying subscribers every Monday, and to everyone else every Thursday.

Customize Mandarin Weekly, getting only the links that are useful to you — and also get it before everyone else! Subscribe to Mandarin Weekly Plus for a one-time fee of $15. Subscriptions help to support the servers and software needed to keep Mandarin Weekly running.

Subscribe to Mandarin Weekly Plus!

Sponsor: Chinese Text Analyser

ImageHave you ever wanted to generate lists of unknown words from Chinese text?

Chinese Text Analyser (CTA) is a tool for doing just that. It keeps track of your known vocabulary and can generate lists of unknown words from any Chinese text, sorted by frequency (or other  metrics), so you can prioritise which words to learn to get the biggest improvement in understanding.

CTA can analyse a typical Chinese novel in under a second, making it quick and easy to extract vocabulary, compare texts and find content suited to your current level.

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Using 由 (yóu) Advanced Grammar Video

How do you use 由? Here is a video giving you clear examples:

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

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Doubled words Intermediate Grammar

Sometimes, a word (or character) in Chinese will be doubled — for emphasis, or to change the meaning a bit. Here is an explanation of the doubling patterns:

http://nihaohello.blogspot.co.il/2009/01/chinese-duplicated-words-aa-abab-aabb.html

Prepositions Intermediate Grammar

Using prepositions correctly is often a marker of fluency in a language. Here are some prepositions you can and should incorporate into your Chinese:

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/chinese/2018/02/26/chinese-prepositions/

Twitter: @FluentU

How many words? How many characters? All Characters Learning

When someone hears that I’m learning Chinese, they often ask me how many characters are in the language. It turns out, there are even more than I thought! This article explains things well, including the distinction between characters and words:

https://www.tutormandarin.net/en/how-many-chinese-words-are-there-how-many-chinese-characters/

Twitter: @MyTutorMandarin

The sad story of 丧 (sàng) Intermediate Vocabulary Culture

The character 丧 has to do with sadness, bitterness, and depression. Not what you would expect from a popular character, as this article describes:

http://www.theworldofchinese.com/2018/02/wed-sad-sangs/

Twitter: @WorldOfChinese

No big deal Beginner Vocabulary Video

It’s not a big deal? Then tell them so, in Chinese, as shown in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5rOU9qTxnI

Twitter: @ECLSchool

Sign up for ECL, and get one free week by mentioning “Reuven Lerner”

Frequently used sentences Beginner Vocabulary Grammar

If you’re going to China for the first time, then you will want this list of common phrases and sentences to help you through your interactions:

https://www.touchchinese.com/learn-chinese-online/frequently-used-chinese-sentences.html

Oscars in Chinese! All Vocabulary

The Oscars (i.e., US film industry) awards were given out on Sunday night. How can you discuss the awards and nominees in Chinese? Here’s a great article to help you out:

https://www.writtenchinese.com/the-oscars-2018-talking-academy-award-nominees-chinese/

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Lantern Festival All Culture

Just a few days ago, people in China celebrated the Lantern Festival. What is it, and how is it celebrated? Here’s all you need to know:

http://teresarainsegna.blogspot.co.il/2018/03/festa-delle-lanterne-lantern-festival.html

More homophones Intermediate Pronunciation

Last week, we shared some words that sound very similar, but have differnet meanings. Here are a few more:

https://blog.hutong-school.com/chinese-homophones-pt-2/

Twitter: @hutongschool

One learner’s Mandarin journey All Learning

An introduction to Chinese, and some thoughts about learning the language, from someone doing so for about two years:

https://medium.com/@dlyall/a-former-hitchhikers-introductory-guide-to-the-chinese-language-galaxy-29e92784d194

Practicing your Chinese All Learning

Learning Chinese, but don’t have someone with whom you can practice speaking? Here are some tips for finding language partners:

https://www.tutormandarin.net/en/5-ways-to-practice-conversational-chinese/

Twitter: @MyTutorMandarin

Using 很 (hěn) Beginner Grammar Video

How do you describe things? You will probably want to use 很 quite a bit:

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

Twitter: @ChinesePod

Click here to sign up for ChinesePod

Celebrating Spring Festival Intermediate Story

The Spring Festival might be behind us, but you can still read a story about it, and how it’s celebrated:

https://mychinesereading.com/celebrating-spring-festival/

English words from Chinese All Vocabulary

Every language borrows from other languages. Did you know, though, how many words English has borrowed from Chinese? Here are some examples:

https://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/english-words-that-come-from-chinese/

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

Using 把 (bǎ) correctly Intermediate Grammar Video

How can you use 把 in your Chinese? Here is a good explanation, with examples:

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/how-to-use-the-ba-construction-in-chinese/

Twitter: @Fluent_Mandarin

Blocked sites Intermediate Expressions Culture

Is your favorite Web site blocked? Learn how to discuss it in Chinese:

https://themandarincornerblog.com/2018/03/01/why-is-my-blog-blocked/

Vocabulary challenge All Learning

Hacking Chinese is back with another challenge, this time in improving your vocabulary:

http://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-learning-challenges-march-2018-vocabulary-open/

Twitter: @HackingChinese

The year of the Dog! Intermediate Expressions

It’s the Year of the Dog, which means that dog-related expressions are in vogue. Here are some you can use:

https://www.asianlanguageschool.com/popular-chinese-idioms-about-dogs/

Twitter: @AlsSydney

What did you say? Intermediate Grammar

Did someone speak with you in Chinese, but you’re not sure what they said? Here are some ways to tell them you’re baffled:

https://mandarinhq.com/2018/02/say-i-dont-understand-in-chinese/

Twitter: @MandarinHQ

Taking a picture Beginner Story

Here’s a short story about taking a photo:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/14-2009-12-02-23-37-05/3083-2018-03-01-04-07-38

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Kaifeng history Advanced Story

The city of 开封 has lots of history, as described in this story:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/16-2009-12-02-23-37-52/3080-2018-02-24-06-35-29

Twitter: @imandarinpod

What’s important to you? Intermediate Story

Do men and women value the same things? Not according to this story:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/14-2009-12-02-23-37-05/3085-2018-03-01-08-15-18

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Vowel pronunciation Beginner Pronunciation

Vowels in Chinese are pronounced in a certain way. You can get some tips on accurate pronunciation here:

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/chinese/2018/02/28/chinese-vowels/

Twitter: @FluentU

Tinycards Beginner Reviews

Tinycards is a new product to help you improve your Chinese via flashcards. Here’s a review:

https://www.livethelanguage.cn/learning-chinese-phone-tinycards-review/

Twitter: @Ltlmandarin

Lantern Festival Beginner Vocabulary Culture Video

Learn all about the Lantern Festival, including the vocabulary you need to celebrate it, here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rKo-eif1y0

Twitter: @ECLSchool

Sign up for ECL, and get one free week by mentioning “Reuven Lerner”

Work at Concordia Language Villages All Sponsored

森林湖 (Sēn Lín Hú), Concordia Language Villages’ Mandarin language and culture immersion program, is currently accepting employment applications for Summer 2018. To apply, just follow the link:

https://hr.cord.edu/postings/4064

Mandarin Weekly #162

 

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This is Mandarin Weekly #162, a newsletter read by more than 21,000 students of Chinese around the world. Mandarin Weekly is sent to paying subscribers every Monday, and to everyone else every Thursday.

Customize Mandarin Weekly, getting only the links that are useful to you — and also get it before everyone else! Subscribe to Mandarin Weekly Plus for a one-time fee of $15.  Subscriptions help to support the servers and software needed to keep Mandarin Weekly running.

Subscribe to Mandarin Weekly Plus!

Sponsor: 森林湖 (Sēn Lín Hú) is looking for counselors and teachers!

森林湖 (Sēn Lín Hú) is a language and culture immersion program in Minnesota, teaching Chinese to youth for over 30 years. A program of Concordia College, 森林湖 is currently accepting employment applications for Summer 2018. We’re looking for motivated, energetic and proficient Chinese speakers who are interested to work as counselors and teachers. More than half of the staff is from China, so it’s a great way to develop your language skills, get teaching experience, and have an unforgettable summer. To learn more, please visit http://www.concordialanguagevillages.org/youth-languages/chinese-language-village . To apply, please go to  https://hr.cord.edu/postings/4064.

Mind your tones! Beginner Pronunciation

We all know that tones are important in Chinese. Here are some great examples of how things can get difficult or embarrassing if you get them wrong, and why you should be careful:

https://blog.hutong-school.com/chinese-homophones/

Twitter: @hutongschool

Year of the Dog Beginner Story

It’s the Year of the Dog — so here is an appropriate story to start off the year:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/13-2009-12-02-23-35-40/3076-2018-02-18-03-36-14

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Using 而 Intermediate Grammar Video

You can make your Chinese sound far more sophisticated and expressive if you use 而。 Here’s how to do so:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAf9ocrOLyk

Lantern festival All Culture

The Chinese New Year has come and gone, but the Lantern Festival is coming soon. What is it, and how can you celebrate? Here’s some useful information:

https://www.misspandachinese.com/happy-lantern-festival-closing-out-chinese-new-year-celebrations-with-a-lantern/

Twitter: @MissPandaChines

You say it’s your brithday Intermediate Story

Birthdays are happy occasions (for most), but ancient Chinese birthdays weren’t celebrated in the same way at all, as this story relates:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/13-2009-12-02-23-35-40/3077-2018-02-20-07-31-52

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Mastering a language All Learning

Want to learn a language (e.g., Chinese)? Here are some hints for how to do so effectively. It doesn’t mean you’ll have instant success, but it’ll be easier and more satisfying:

https://medium.com/@valeriacalp/10-things-you-need-to-do-if-you-want-to-master-a-foreign-language-f22e33045c7f

Audiobook resources Advanced Reviews

Listening comprehension is important (and hard) when learning Chinese. Here are some resources you can use to improve your understanding of the spoken language:

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/chinese/2018/02/21/chinese-audiobooks-2/

Twitter: @FluentU

No tenses? Intermediate Grammar

If Chinese doesn’t have tenses, then how can you express things that happen in the past, present, and future? An explanation of how Chinese express time without tenses:

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/chinese/2018/02/21/chinese-audiobooks-2/

Twitter: @FluentU

Chinese picture books Beginner Reviews

Are you helping your children to learn Chinese? Then you might want to look at these picture books:

https://www.digmandarin.com/best-chinese-picture-books-kids.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Big language learning mistakes All Learning

This article describes the author’s “biggest” mistake he made during 2017, regarding language learning. Learn and avoid it, too:

https://blog.glossika.com/the-biggest-language-learning-mistake-i-made-in-2017/

Guess the Chinese word Beginner Vocabulary

Many words in Chinese are (more or less) descriptions of what they’re describing. Here are a number of such words; see if you can understand the meaning without looking it up:

https://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/guess-the-chinese-word/

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

Food and drink Beginner Vocabulary Video

Food and drink are central to Chinese culture — but also to everyday life! Here are some useful words to know about eating and drinking:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldbcp4dbp80

Twitter: @ChineseBuddy

Taxi ride Beginner Story

A simple story about riding in a taxi, and marveling at Beijing’s changes:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/14-2009-12-02-23-37-05/3079-2018-02-22-13-47-40

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Spring festival Beginner Culture Video

Spring Festival (aka Chinese New Year) has come and gone, but if you’re still interested in learning its vocabulary, there’s still time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXuCobuXN6A

Twitter: @ECLSchool

Sign up for ECL, and get one free week by mentioning “Reuven Lerner”

Helper verbs Intermediate Grammar

You can express sophisticated verbs and ideas with auxiliary verbs, as described here:

http://teresarainsegna.blogspot.co.il/2018/02/verbi-ausiliari-auxiliary-verbs.html

只 (zhǐ) vs. 仅 (jǐn) Advanced Grammar

Both mean “only,” but that doesn’t mean you can use them interchangeably:

https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/28878/when-to-use-%e5%8f%aa-or-%e4%bb%85