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

Get 15% off ChineseZeroToHero with the MANDARINWEEKLY15 coupon code

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


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